Inevitably Yours

“We have to go,” Quinn looking at me seriously. “Felix wouldn’t call you if it wasn’t serious.”

Nic burst back into the room, waking Junior up. She cringed when she realized it, “I’m sorry!”

“What is it? We’re kind of in emergency mode right now,” I asked as Quinn grabbed Junior.

“Stephen just called. Hunter and the other Alphas are requesting that we come to assist them with their witch problem. They said they’ve cornered her, but they’re worried about going in without more experienced warriors.”

My heart fell into my stomach, and I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up as pieces of the puzzle started to fall into place.

“They have Haven,” Eros growled.

“Pray they don’t,” I g*****d.

“Nic, what is it the witch did again?” I’d been mostly pushing Hunter back about this because I hated the thought of going after a witch when they aren’t all bad.

“She’s helping wolves leave their pack that are stealing, scheming against their Alphas, and generally causing problems within all the packs that have banded together,” Nic explained. “What’s wrong?”

“I think they have Haven, and they’re lying about what she’s done,” I growled.

Nic’s face went white, “Stephen wouldn’t….”

“I need you to stow that s**t away and go get our newest pack member, the rogue Haven sent. We didn’t press when she got here, but I need answers quickly,” I directed Nic. She set her jaw with determination and turned on her heel to leave. I heard her sniffle as she neared the door, and I softened. “We could be wrong, or maybe he doesn’t know. We’ll figure it out. I didn’t mean to take it out on you; I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine,” she said in a low voice. “I know you have more things to worry about than me.”

“That’s not what I mea-” I called after her, but she was gone through the door. I tried to follow her, but Quinn grabbed my arm to stop me.

“Let her go,” Quinn said softly. “She’s hurt because you snapped at her and Stephen’s possible involvement, but she’s right. Haven’s life could be in the balance here, and that’s what’s important right now.”

“You’re right,” I sighed, letting the door close behind Nic as she left to do as I asked. “We’ll fix it later.”

“I need to get ahold of your dad,” Quinn said as she moved towards the kitchen like a small storm, pulling out bottles and writing instructions down as she went.

“Uh, why?” I asked, rubbing the back of my head as I watched the whirlwind performance.

“Because he’s going to take Junior, and I’m coming with you,” she answered matter of factly without pausing.

“You’re barely healed from birth!” I tried protesting. She wasn’t having any of it.

“Haven saved both of our lives, and I’m not staying behind while she might be in danger. I’m not arguing about it. I’m coming with you, Michael.”

I knew there were fights I could win and fights I couldn’t with my mate. This was one of them. Barring locking her in a room with a guard 24/7, she was coming with me, and I wouldn’t do that to her. I also wasn’t convinced Andrea could handle Quinn on her own anymore from what I’d heard about their training sessions when I was gone.

“Can you get Junior ready while I make sure the pack is ready for us to leave?” I asked, giving in because there was no other choice.

“Go,” she agreed. “I’ve got him. Get ready for the girl and to leave.”

–

I had everything the three of us would need to start our journey in three bags, along with my swords and Quinn’s sai. Nic always carried her karambit, but I grabbed her kunai from her room too. There were six Alphas along with their Betas to worry about in this alliance if things went badly. We’d need every bit of weaponry we had.

I heard a knocking at my office door, and when I turned around, I saw Nic with a sullen ashy expression and the young woman in tow. Rhea looked terrified as if she was being summoned for punishment.

“Please come in and sit down, Rhea,” I said as softly as possible to put her at ease. “You’re not in trouble; I just need to ask you some questions.”

She breathed out sharply as if she’d been holding her breath since Nic came to get her, “Thank you, Alpha. I was worried I’d done something wrong. I really don’t want to have to leave Stary.”

I sat across from her and shook my head, “No one is asking that of you; I promise. I think Haven is in trouble, and I need to know the circumstances by which you came to be here. Out of respect for the two of you, I didn’t ask much, but now that she may be in danger, I need to know. Why are you a rogue? How did Haven help you get here?”

Rhea averted her eyes towards the floor and started nervously wringing her hands, “She um… my pack….”

“I trust Haven, so until you give me a reason not to, I trust you. Just tell me what happened, and everything will be okay. No one is here to judge you,” I pressed.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to settle herself, “Haven has been helping wolves like me leave our packs because we’re being either neglected or abused. I came from Timbering Towers. I was a servant in the packhouse, third generation. They barely fed us, and you can forget about paying us. We were expected to live, work, and die in that packhouse from sun up to sundown every day. I wasn’t allowed to go to school. The only reason I can read and write is because my dad taught me after everyone went to bed, so I could escape and have a better life.”

“So, how did you meet Haven?” I asked as I tried to think back to my time in Hunter’s pack. Now that I thought about it and really paid attention, the staff did seem smaller than they should be. I hadn’t heard any complaints, but I’m sure that was part of their environment that they couldn’t express their discomfort, especially to outsiders.

“One day, I snuck into the kitchen. I was starving because we’d hosted a huge party the day before. We worked so long that there wasn’t time to eat, and I had to smell the food all day. I found some bread and a little bit of the ham I cooked for the party left over in the fridge, and as I was leaving the kitchen, I got caught by Alpha Hunter….”

“What happened?” I asked, not sure I wanted to know the answer.

“He had Beta Stephen beat me in front of everyone in the packhouse. They tore my shirt off, and he whipped me with a belt in the kitchen until I bled and begged him to stop. It was fifty lashes. My mama just cried, and my dad looked like he was going to snap. He stayed quiet, though, and when it was finally over, he took off his shirt to cover me and tried to take me to my room. Alpha Hunter told him no, that I had chores to do still for the day, and I wasn’t going to lie about just because I’d done wrong. So, I had to go about my day pretending my back didn’t feel like it was on fire and clean the packhouse, wait on Alpha Hunter, and all the other things I was supposed to do in a day. That night, my dad told me he’d talked to Haven, and I was leaving. He shoved a bag of clothes in my hand, and my parents hugged and kissed me goodbye before Haven appeared in the room and asked me to walk through a mirror with her. She brought me close to Stary and sent me to you, but she said she couldn’t come with me. There were other wolves that needed her that night, and she had to get to them too. She told me the other pack Alphas are friends and similar things were happening in the other packs too.”

Nic’s face was white, and I could tell she needed a minute, “Step outside and take a breath. Take a walk, go to your room, whatever you need to do. I’ll call you when we’re ready to leave.”

“Thank you,” she replied simply and excused herself quietly out of my office.

“Is she okay?” Rhea asked.

“She will be,” I answered, giving her a tight smile. “I’m sorry you’ve had to deal with all of that growing up. I hope Stary has been more comfortable for you.”

“Oh Goddess, yes!” she exclaimed. “I love my new job, and I make a fair wage. The lodging you’ve helped me get is very comfortable and more than I deserve, sir.”

“No, I promise you deserve the same amount of comfort and happiness as anyone else,” I assured her. “I do need to leave you here, though. I’m positive Haven is in trouble now, and I need to go help her.”

“Thank you, Alpha,” she said, standing up to bow. “I’ll never be able to repay you.”Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

“Please don’t bow or any of that. You don’t need to repay me. Stary is a safe place for everyone, and I’m glad you’re happy here.”

“I will repay you someday,” she insisted, her eyes surprisingly fierce as she stared back at me.

“As you wish,” I replied as I opened the door for her. I could hear my dad and Quinn talking downstairs.

“Do you need a ride home?” I asked, looking back at her.

“I did ride here with Beta Nic…” she said, not sounding like she wanted to ask for help.

“Don’t worry, wait downstairs in the living room, and I’ll have Andrea take you home. Have you eaten dinner?”

“No, Alpha,” she said, her cheeks rosy and reddening by the moment. I was sure she would still be embarrassed around food with what she’d gone through.

“Don’t worry, I’ll have Quinn put some dinner together for you and plenty extra to take home,” I told her.

“No, please, it’s oka-,” she stammered.

“I’m not letting you leave here without dinner,” I insisted.

–

After getting Rhea settled in the living room, I found my dad and Quinn in the kitchen. He looked sullen, but he was holding Junior, at least. He wasn’t the biggest fan of the diaper thing. It made sense since he’d never actually raised a baby of his own. I stuffed that back inside to move on with what was important. While I talked to my dad, Quinn got food together for Rhea and took it out to her.

“Hey, son,” he greeted me. “Haven’s in trouble?”

“She’s helping mistreated pack members leave their packs, and I think I’ve been asked to help kill her for it,” I explained.

“Quinn has been filling me in. This seems like trouble,” he said before switching to linking me. “Are you sure you want to take Quinn into this?”

“I don’t have a choice,” I admitted. “She’s not a normal Luna, though. She’s just as much a warrior as anyone in our ranks, if not better than most.”

Without another word of dissent, he just nodded to say he understood.

“I’m all ready whenever you are, babe,” Quinn said, ducking under my arm and resting her head on my chest. She was as tense as I was but having her close kept me calm. I thought maybe it was a good idea to take her for at least that reason. Still, I worried about her safety.

Nic popped into the kitchen with the bags I’d left in my office, and with that and some extras Quinn packed, we were ready to leave. Leaving my dad with Junior and hoping he would be okay with a baby alone, we piled into our car and set the GPS for the meeting point Stephen gave Nic. As I looked at the map, it all but confirmed everything we’d been told. It was near Haven and Felix’s pack. It would take us all night to get there, and I was reminded of the time Haven made the same drive to help me with Lawrence. I texted the coordinates to Felix, gave him our ETA, and asked him to wait for us. I didn’t want him charging in and getting both of them killed.

Taking one last look back at our home and around to my mate and my best friend, I turned back toward the road and prayed as I pulled out of the drive, “Please let her hold out until we get there.”