Inevitably Yours

My father’s pissy mood prevailed for days. There was no way for me to escape to Quinn or even talk to her. I wanted to go to her, pull her into my arms and not let her go. She had become the light in my day, and I hated the darkness.

My father’s fury was directed at me, so my mom and brother seemed to be spared. I spent the whole next day doing nothing but training. Running, push-ups, pull-ups, drills, lifting. Any way he could physically torment me, he did. I took it all and tried not to show him any fatigue.

The next afternoon, my grandmother had a family party planned. Whether he was satisfied with my persecution or not, my father left me alone for most of the morning. Eros was gunning to go after him, but I knew it wasn’t a good idea.

At least with the rest of our family around, Dad would be forced to behave. As long as Tyler and I kept our heads down at the party, he wouldn’t have any reason to get angry either.

I pulled on a polo and fixed my hair in the bathroom. When I was done, I found Tyler sitting on my bed, dressed similarly. He looked up at me with an apprehensive expression.

“I’m fine,” I told him, going to my dresser to grab my cologne.

“Are you always disappearing to hang out with that girl?” he asked. “Kent’s sister with the weird hair?”

I paused, then continued what I was doing. “I don’t know,” I said, shrugging as I turned to him.

“I won’t tell,” he promised. “She seems nice.”

“Just don’t worry about it. Are you ready?” I asked. “Mom will be looking for us.”

He nodded. I waved him to follow, and we headed downstairs. If I cared about something, I couldn’t let on about it, or it would be swiftly removed from my life. I made that mistake too many times not to learn from it. My father could not find out about Quinn because her family could end up rogue or worse.

–

I sat back against the shed at the far side of the yard. All the adults were inside talking and drinking. I didn’t have the mental energy to be around my family at the moment, so I tried to stay out of the way. Daniel casually strolled toward me. I just closed my eyes and laid my head back against the metal wall behind me, wishing I was with Quinn and not here.

“You look like s**t,” he said, sitting down next to me. My cousin was older than me but still didn’t hang around the adults at these family gatherings. He’d barely just become one himself, so he still went to where he felt like he fit in better. It usually meant talking s**t to us the whole time, like he was superior just because he had already graduated.

I let out a hollow laugh. “Yea,” I agreed. I felt a cold bottle tap my hand. I opened one eye to see him offering me a drink. “I’m good.”

It was quiet for a minute as we sat there. Finally, he said, “So, he’s in a mood in there. You do something again?” I knew exactly who he was referring to.

I shook my head. They didn’t know what it was really like at home. They just saw their powerful Uncle Lawrence getting mad at his degenerate son as usual.

“Of course, you didn’t,” he sighed, rolling his eyes in disbelief.

“It is what it is,” I said. “Things will change when I’m in charge.”

“He isn’t going to let you take the title when you aren’t his pup,” Daniel said offhandedly, then froze. My eyes shot open, and I looked at him.

“What did you just say?” I asked.

“That wasn’t-” he started. “F**k.” He jumped to his feet. “Forget I said anything. I gotta go.”

He started to take off across the grass quickly. I sprang to my feet and went after him. I grabbed him by the arm when I caught up to him, pulling him back. “You need to explain what you meant right now,” I growled. He pulled at my hand, but my grip was firm.

“I can’t, alright?” he said.

“What do you mean?” I asked again.

“You aren’t supposed to know, and we aren’t allowed to say anything,” he said. “Don’t get me in more trouble. Ask your mom.”

I let my cousin go, and he rushed away from me. I stood in the middle of the yard with my mind going to a million places. How could I not be the Alpha’s son? How did that even make sense? My parents were mates; I’m their pup. Yea, my dad could hold the title over my head longer than usual, but eventually, he had to give it over.

I looked at the back windows of my grandparents’ house, watching the adults inside. There was no way this was real, but the way Daniel acted made me suspicious.

“We need to find out for sure,” Eros said. I could feel him pacing, brimming with almost joy at this revelation.Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

“Someone knows something, and I will make them talk,” I agreed, trying to process how I felt. I didn’t want to think about all the ramifications that were possible if I really wasn’t my father’s son. This wouldn’t just affect our family; it would affect the entire pack.

The back door opened, and Tyler came jogging outside toward me. “There you are,” he said. “Mom said we have to go. Dad has to leave immediately, so we’re leaving.”

“Leave?” I asked.

“Yea,” he said. “Something Alpha related. We’re going home.”

“It’ll be much easier to snoop with him gone,” Eros said.

“And I can get back to Quinn,” I smiled.

QUINN

My plan didn’t work. It rarely did, so I knew I was fooling myself. One sleepless night dragged into three. I always felt off without Sapphire, but I hated when it dragged on like this.

The longer I was awake, the more everything slowed down, and I hated the feeling. I couldn’t think properly and was too tired to be interested in doing anything. It was like moving through a wall of water.

The worst part was that Michael had been radio silent since our day at the river dam. He never texted or called me back that night. I sent him another message around lunch the next day but still got no reply. I tried to call him the following day, but it went straight to voicemail.

My mind spiraled about what could be happening, and I didn’t have Sapphire in my head to reason with. My worries ranged from him getting hurt to him deciding he hated me. Both were making me depressingly emotional alongside the lack of sleep. This just frustrated me even more; I wasn’t the kind of girl who got all dramatic over a boy. We were friends, and I was fretting like something more.

Usually, this sleeplessness only lasted for one night, maybe a second. Going three or more days without sleeping wasn’t usual but not unheard of either. It got worse when I got my wolf, but my parents just shrugged it off and told me I probably wasn’t tired enough.

Cross country practice started, and I was useless. I could barely stay upright, let alone actively work out with everyone. To their credit, my friends tried to help hide it from our coach, but they could only do so much when I was moving at half their pace.

When I finally got home from our sunrise practice, I was completely spent. My eyes ached, and my body was sore. I just wanted to shut my mind off. I missed Saph, and I missed Michael. If I couldn’t get some sleep soon, I was going to snap.

The coach told me to come to practice prepared the next day or don’t come at all. When I got in the car, I couldn’t tell my mom that, so I lied and told her everything was great, but I was tired. When we got home, she went about doing stuff in the kitchen, and I went downstairs to collapse on the couch.

I threw a movie in the player from one of the ones sitting next to the TV and curled up in the corner of the couch. I looked at my phone, debating whether or not to try and call Michael again.

If he actually answered, I hoped he would want to hang out. If we did hang out, I wouldn’t be much fun, though. Walking was a chore at this point. If he didn’t answer, it would probably only perpetuate more questions in my head. Was he mad at me? Did I do something wrong? Did he get in trouble? Was he not supposed to be spending so much time with me? Was he ignoring other things to be with me? Was I a bad influence on him?

I sighed and dropped my head onto my knees. Sleep. If the Moon Goddess could just give Sapphire back and let me sleep one night, I could go a couple more without. Whatever cosmic punishment this was, I learned my lesson.

I lifted my head and stared at the TV. The movie was some cartoon thing my brother must have been watching.

“Breakfast!” my mom called from the top of the stairs.

“Not hungry,” I called back.

“Liar. You need to eat after practice. Let’s go!” she responded. If it was possible, I slumped further. I knew she would start yelling again if I didn’t go upstairs. I reluctantly dragged myself back up to the kitchen.

I sat at the table, and my mother put a steamy omelet in front of me. It smelled good, but I barely had an appetite. My brother joined us in the kitchen, and my mom brought him food too.

“What are you guys planning to do for today?” my mom asked, sitting down with us and her coffee cup.

“My friend Tyler called. We are going to play video games later,” my brother said through his mouthful of food. I stilled with my own fork in the air.

“That sounds fun. Q, do you want to go grocery shopping with me?” my mom asked.

“Uh, no thanks. I think I want to chill and maybe practice my music some more. I only have one more day until band starts,” I told her. “Did Tyler say anything else?” I asked my brother.

He shook his head and kept eating. My mom looked in between us but didn’t comment further. “Alright. I am going to take care of the laundry, then go to the store. If you kids need something, let me know. On your own for lunch, but I’ll cook something special for dinner,” she said smiling. My mom may work crazy hours, but she tried really hard.

“Can I have some snacks? Stuff I can take in my bag to practice?” I asked her.

“No problem,” she said.

I forced myself to finish my food, then washed my plate. I schlepped back downstairs, feeling even more crummy than before breakfast.