Inevitably Yours

QUINN

Slowly the black fog over my brain lifted, and I blinked my eyes open. Before I could register where I was, a putrid smell hit my nose. I sat upright and covered my mouth and nose as I gagged at the smell.

“Hey, hey, hey,” a familiar voice said. I turned to see Michael sitting up against our headboard. “It’s okay, we’re home,” he said with a soft smile. I looked down at the bed, realizing a weight was on my legs. Two of our children were in our bed. Looking over the side, there was another asleep on the floor next to me. “They wanted to be with us, and I couldn’t wake you,” Michael smiled.

“What’s that smell?” I asked.

“You,” he frowned. “and me. We desperately need a shower.” I nodded.

“I don’t remember….” I trailed off, trying to recall how we got home. I vaguely remembered M carrying me as we were marched out of that arena, but that was it.

“You passed out. I think it was from using your magic to heal me,” he said. That made sense.

“How long?” I asked.

“The whole way back home until now. I’m not sure how long it was there, but it’s been about six hours since we got home,” he said.

“Did you tell them?” I asked. He nodded. Our children weren’t going to take excuses about what happened, especially with the state we had to be in. “I feel gross.”

“Let’s get clean. We’ll wake them up when we’re done,” he smiled. He gently shifted Belle off of him and then climbed out of bed. I tried to get Daniel, but he was like a rock on top of me. M came around the bed and shifted him off of me gently so he could help me to my feet.

As I stood, I realized everything hurt, especially my back. I sucked in a breath, trying not to move awkwardly. “Are you okay?” M asked softly. I nodded.

“Shower,” I told him with a tight smile. Hot water would make me feel better. I followed Michael nimbly into the bathroom, where he got the shower going. I was still wearing the dirty and now tattered clothes I had been in the Fae world. Slowly, I peeled myself out of them.

When we climbed into the shower, it was steamy and blissful. I stood under the water and closed my eyes, just savoring the feeling. Hands started to rub over me, and the amber and vanilla scent of my body wash filled the room. I opened my eyes and squinted at my mate. I couldn’t see again.

“I’m sorry I passed out,” I told him, raising my arms to hook around his neck. His hands rand up and down my sides, rubbing the soap into my skin. It was heaven on my aching body.

“I’m just glad you aren’t sick this time,” he said. “I think it’s safe to say magic makes you tired.”

My fingers skimmed the top of his shoulders and over his tattoo. For a brief second, my fingers dipped inside, and I felt something odd where the pommel of his sword should have been.

“What?” he asked, reacting to my expression.

“Turn around,” I said. He raised an eyebrow but obeyed. I gently slid my fingers into his tattoo again, managing to grab whatever was in there between my fingers. I pulled it out to find a piece of very thick paper.

“What is it? That felt weird,” he asked as he turned around. I held the paper out of the water as I unfolded it.

“It’s a message,” I said, scanning it. “But I can’t read it all.”

Michael looked at the paper. “Galbraiths, I ask that you take this to Elly. She will know what to do with it. Your friend, Arathorn,” Michael read. The majority of the paper was in a language I had never seen. “Why would Arathorn want us to give this to Elly?”

“I have no idea, but we should find out,” I told him.

–

We set the note aside and then helped each other get clean. We took our time and then just held each other under the hot water. Michael didn’t even complain that it was burning his skin off. When we were done, he got us some clothes while I rubbed copious amounts of lotion into my skin. When we were dressed and feeling slightly better, it was time to wake the kids. Thanks to my nap in dirty clothes, our sheets were filthy.

The kids were relieved to see me awake. Michael sent us all to our little living room to cuddle on the couch while he got our bed changed. He joined us, and we turned on a movie, not caring that it was the middle of the night. My heart finally felt at peace having all of them close again.

I tried to get them all in their beds after the movie, but they refused, so instead, they made beds on the floor, and Michael and I laid on the couch. As we pulled the blanket over us, Michael chuckled into my ear.

“What’s so funny?” I asked.

“Should I use my magic on you?” he whispered, snaking his arm around my waist. I smiled, thinking about the very first time he ever used his “magic” on the lumpy old couch in my parents’ basement.

I cuddled closer to him and hummed. “Too soon,” I chuckled.

“Fair,” he laughed.

–

The next few days were slow. The kids weren’t ready to go back to normal life, and either was I. I wanted to put what happened behind us, but it was difficult. Michael helped make sure everyone in the pack was okay after the rogue attack alongside Jacky and Nic. The kids just wanted to spend time with us, which I was fine with.

I was having trouble sleeping. I had grown used to the sounds of the horses and listening for M’s breathing. When he wasn’t in the room, it was fruitless to try. When he was with me, I couldn’t always sleep. I knew it would worry him, so I tried to at least pretend to be asleep.

A few days after we returned, it was time to get back to work. Things were piling up and needed my attention. We sent the kids back to school to their displeasure, and I headed to my office. I sat down at my desk and turned my computer, checking my email first. I stared at the overwhelming number of unread items and sat back in my chair with a sigh.

It felt strange that all these crazy things had just occurred, and now I was just supposed to go back to normal. I was supposed to approve time cards and run payroll. I was supposed to check over the billing and sign the tax documents. I was supposed to assign seasonal clients to new account managers and review raise requests pushed through to me.

It all felt so… wrong. I swiveled back and forth, staring at my computer. This all felt off. I decided I needed some coffee, something normal to make me feel normal. I headed down to the kitchen, where Judy was putting the groceries away. As the kids got older, we gave them chores to help her with the workload. She was getting slower and slower, and we knew she wouldn’t be around one day, but she refused to stop helping around the packhouse.

“Good morning, Luna Mommy,” she greeted me.

“Good morning, Miss Judy. Would you like some help with that?” I asked.

“No, no. I do,” she insisted.

“Alright. You take a break if you get tired, though,” I told her, grabbing the chilled coffee from the fridge. I made a glass of iced coffee and returned to my office. Michael was sitting in one of the chairs by my desk. “What’re you doing here?”

“Just checking on you,” he smiled as I stepped around my desk and set my drink down.

“I’m fine,” I told him. “Just trying to get organized.”

“I sent Elly an email so I could meet with her again. Hopefully, she responds,” he informed me. I frowned. “What?”

“I just can’t wrap my head around everything that happened. I mean, it all just seems so insane now that we’re home,” I confessed.

“Sounds like a fairy tale,” Michael joked. I nodded my head. An epic journey of love. “I am going to drop in on my dad. It’s been a minute since we saw him, and I’m not sure he knows what happened.”

“I’ll see you in a bit,” I smiled at him. Michael stood and leaned across the desk to give me a lingering k**s. Then I was alone in my office again.

I slipped a notebook out of my top drawer, one of the blank ones my mom had brought over from my old things. I opened up the blank pages and grabbed a pen. I started from the beginning when a blue-haired girl met a cocky teenage boy at the local swimming pool.

MICHAEL

Quinn was quieter. I knew she was having trouble sleeping and readapting to our normalness. I kept finding her staring into space or writing in her notebook. I just wanted our life to go back to normal. I did get an email back from Elly stating she was traveling and would contact me when she returned, so Quinn and Alpha’s duties were getting my full attention. I was very interested in the connection between Arathorn and Elly, as well as this Farryn person, but I could wait for answers.

Nic and I returned to training together pretty quickly. I needed to ramp things up now that I knew exactly what was out there against us, and I would never let another hammer hit me.

“You haven’t gone this hard in a long time,” Nic said as she watched me swing my sword over and over.

“There are things out there we’ve never been up against. I’ll never be unprepared again,” I told her.

“Is Q okay? Taylor and I have noticed she’s a little spacey,” Nic said. I stopped, frowning.

“I didn’t think anyone else had noticed,” I admitted.

“Of course we did. I mean she isn’t always talkative and bubbly, but she’s been very solitary since you guys got back,” Nic said. “Did they hurt her?”

“Only in the mind games they played with us,” I told her. “Separating us, humiliating us, then Arathorn made her think I was dead. She snapped at the end there. She blamed herself the whole time when it was my fault for not preventing it from happening.”

“It wasn’t either of your faults. It’s a complete accident that she was born with so much Fae in her,” Nic said firmly. “How were you supposed to protect us against a fucker who can stop time?”

I gripped the hilt of my sword and looked at my hands. I couldn’t, and deep down, I knew that. The only reason I got so far in our fight was because he acted honorably and didn’t use his power against me.

“What can we do to help?” Nic asked. “There has to be something that might ground her sort of. Maybe give her mind a place to go sometimes. We do this, but Quinn only trains for your sake.”

An idea flashed into my mind. “I have an idea, “ I smiled at my best friend.

–

I held my hands over Quinn’s eyes as I slowly led her down the hallway. It had taken a couple of weeks and forcing Quinn out on a shopping trip with her mom, but I managed to do it. Adi had been my trusty helper too.

“M, what are we doing? What can’t I see?” she complained.

“It’s a surprise,” I told her. “So hush and walk.” We got to the end of the hall where we housed all the packhouse guests. There were eight bedrooms and three bathrooms. There was a storage closet right at the end of the hall that we didn’t use much. I stopped her in front of the door. “Okay,” I said, letting my hands down.

“You brought me to a closet?” she asked, confused.

“Open the door,” I said eagerly. Quinn looked at me skeptically but opened the door. She gasped as she looked around. The two walls lined with shelves now held all our books and a few new ones. All the walls were painted a light cream color now, making it softer and more comfortable. There was an oversized armchair with a stool and lamp set toward the back with a small table next to it. I added a giant basket of soft blankets as well as some pillows and a rug.

“M, what is this?” she asked with wide eyes.

“This is your own little escape. It’s mostly soundproofed, so you can come in here to relax in peace. Read, write, nap, whatever you need,” I told her. She turned around to face me, and I could see the tears welling in her eyes. I brushed her cheek gently with my thumb. “I know it’s been hard since we got back. I just wanted to give you a place to get away and clear your head. I know this won’t erase what happened, but maybe it will help you get back to normal.”

“I didn’t mean to worry you,” she whispered.

“I’ll always worry about you because that is my job. And I’ll do anything I need to to take care of you,” I promised her. She laid her head against my chest and hugged me around the center. I hugged her back.

“Thanks, M. I think a book might be exactly what I need,” she said.