Inevitably Yours

QUINN

Juniors and Seniors with prom tickets were released from school at lunchtime so we could all get ready. I didn’t really think I needed that long to get dressed, so I planned to use the time to relax. The school was buzzing all morning with talk about something. During our first class, everyone collectively froze, including the teacher. I felt a weird tickling sensation on the back of my neck, but no one talked about it. The teacher left for a moment, then came back and proceeded like nothing had happened. The rest of the day was filled with everyone trying to figure out what happened.

All my friends decided to meet at Kayleigh’s for dinner as restaurant space was limited in the pack. From there, we would all head to the dance together. I planned to drive myself so that I could escape after a reasonable amount of time. Having M help me pick my dress but still not be here was sucking the fun out of it.

I got home and sent him a message, hoping he might not be too busy to chat. The possibility that he would come to be with me had kept my spirits up until after the AP tests. When I was finally done with all three, I asked if he had been able to make it happen, and he gently let me down. Since then, I didn’t have the same enthusiasm for the night.

M didn’t answer, so I decided to put some curlers in my hair. After everything was all pinned in place, I went down to the kitchen and made a small lunch. Sapphire was antsy for some reason, putting me slightly on edge.

I sat at the kitchen table with my phone next to me, slowly eating. I scrolled through Michael and I’s messages smiling at all our silly conversations. I hoped it would still be this easy when we could finally be together in person. I knew even if he wasn’t my mate, I wouldn’t want to be with anyone else. Fated mates were supposed to be your perfect compliment but I couldn’t imagine feeling as complete with anyone else.

The rest of the afternoon, I slowly got ready. I sent M a few pictures as I went but got no response. He hadn’t been this radio silent for a long time. I considered calling Nic to see if she knew if anything was wrong but decided against it.

When my mom got home, I was ready, besides pulling on my dress. She helped zip me up, and then we took about a thousand pictures. My dad wouldn’t fully smile in the pictures, something sad lingering in his eyes. I snapped one last photo of my own and sent it to M.Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

ME

| heading to dinner with friends

| wish it was with you

| hope everything is alright

| talk tonight? love you…

I tried to push my worry away at his lack of response. Tonight was important, and I could still enjoy myself with my friends.

I stuffed the skirt of my puffy dress into the car with me and headed to Kayleigh’s. Everyone was already there and starting to take photos on the lawn. Kayleigh’s mom took some for me on my phone too.

After all that was done, we ate dinner. Kayleigh’s mom made a delicious roasted chicken and some normal sides- macaroni, potatoes, steamed vegetables.

During dinner, Kayleigh’s parents were whispering intensely in the other room to the point we could almost hear them. I heard the words ‘Alpha’ and ‘challenge’ thrown around but couldn’t imagine what they were talking about.

Once we were all full of food, Kayleigh’s parents waved goodbye as we headed out to prom. Due to budget and travel restrictions, the prom committee decided to hold it in the school gym instead of an event hall.

We got in the long line to get inside after meeting in the parking lot.

“This dress is straight out of a princess movie, Q,” Aaron smiled as we waited. There was a photo booth set up for everyone as they entered, so I assumed it was making the wait take forever.

“Thanks,” I smiled. “I had help picking it out.”

“It’s too bad you are single. It’s so wasted,” she joked. She had no idea about M.

“You are too. No date in sight,” I reminded her. “Also, I could never pull off a mermaid dress like that. Where did you even find it?”

We all continued to chat while we slowly moved through the line. We had to be one of the last arriving groups of people because almost no one was in line after us.

When we finally got to the doors, Aaron and I let everyone else take pictures first. We took ours both individually and then together before we headed toward the gym. The hallway was crowded, and people were all whispering to each other about something.

Aaron and I pushed through the crowds and headed inside to find everyone else. “What is going on? Why is everyone just sort of standing around the dance floor?” Aaron asked.

As we got closer, something hit my nose. I stopped walking; Sapphire started jumping. What was that? It was spicy and sweet like apples and mint and pepper, but there was something cool about it, too, like a snowy winter moon. I’d never smelled anything so intense.

“Mate,” I whispered. Goddess, where was he? Why now? There was only one person I wanted to be my mate, and he was far away from this gym.

My feet moved on their own as I tried to push my way through the people blocking my path. I didn’t get very far as everyone was trying to get a peek at the direction I needed to go.

“Make a path,” a deep, sexy voice said loudly. I froze; I knew that voice. How was that possible?

Everyone in front of me parted, making a walkway straight to the center of the crowd. Standing there holding a single blue rose was Michael. He wore my favorite confident, cocky smirk on his face.

“Hey, Blue,” he said. He looked like all his pictures, but they couldn’t compare to the gorgeous man in front of me. His all-black tux was fitted over his broad shoulders and thick arms, much bigger than the last time I saw him. He was taller, too, although that seemed impossible. His leg muscles pulled at his pant legs, just asking to break free. His hair was longer; I knew it had grown but seeing it in front of me was different.

“Michael,” I breathed his name, and it was different. I took in a long breath. It was him; the smell was coming from him. He held his hand up in invitation. It was something out of a fairy tale; this was exactly like one of my books.

I took a slow step forward, then another. Shock was still prevailing. I grabbed the puffy skirt of my dress and started moving faster. Michael was here; he was here, and he’s my mate! All this time, he was just out of reach.

I closed the last few steps at almost a run. I slammed into his arms, and he didn’t miss a beat. His mouth was immediately over mine, his hand cupping my face as his fingers slowly pushed up into my curly hair. His other arm wrapped protectively around my waist, holding me flush to him.

All at once, I felt completely at peace and in an utter frenzy. My whole being lit up as soon as he touched me. I never wanted to be anywhere else. This felt too good to be true; I never wanted this feeling to go away.

That beautiful k**s didn’t last nearly long enough. Michael slowly pulled back, smiling as he looked down at me with my favorite intoxicating grey eyes.

I didn’t even realize I said it out loud, my filter gone, “I’m yours.”

He brushed the hair from my eyes and gently rubbed his nose against mine, “I told you, Quinn. It was inevitable.”

Sapphire was the happiest I had ever felt her, and my brain finally decided to catch up.

“I don’t understand. How are you here?” I asked.

MICHAEL

I could smell her as soon as she stepped into the gym. Her scent washed over me, enveloping me before I could even see her. She smelled like a cold rainy day, one of my favorite things in the world. My whole body rose to attention; she was so close. Most of the student body stood around the dance floor whispering. By now, rumors and news was spreading as I imagined it would.

I nervously spun the flower I brought her in my fingers, waiting for her to find me. I could feel her, and I wanted to go to her. Eros was whining and pawing at me to move, to take us to our mate. I couldn’t, though. The brand new Alpha could not attack and mark his mate right in front of people like that.

I kept myself in place, waiting. Everything would be perfect tonight. She would finally be mine, and no one could lay claim to her ever again. The pack was ours, and we would fix it together. I knew she would stay by my side. I faced the direction she was coming from. I could feel her; I’d never felt anyone like this. I knew Alpha’s had stronger connections to their mates, but she hadn’t even been marked yet. It was like every atom in my body was calling out to her, and I suddenly completely understood quantum entanglement. It would never matter how we were separated; we’d always been connected.

Eros was screaming it in my head, but it didn’t feel real until I heard her breathlessly say it from within the crowd, “Mate.” I felt the hair on my neck stand up; the shiver spreading through my body was indescribable. This was happening.

I spoke loud and clear, opening up a pathway between us. As she came fully into my sight, my heart stopped. There she was, the most perfect creature I had ever laid eyes on. The look of absolute shock on her face was everything I hoped it would be. The Goddess had to be laughing somewhere because, for all of the wishings that I could give her this moment in school in front of her friends, it happened.

“Hey, Blue,” I said, holding my hand out to her. I wasn’t sure that once she touched me, I’d ever be able to let her go again. I greedily drank in the incomparably gorgeous woman in front of me. She’d grown so much since I left her at her parent’s house that day. The yellow dress made her look like a princess, just like I knew it would. Cinderella could never hope to achieve the sight in front of me, though. Quinn was my fairy tale. Blue hair framed her beautifully freckled face, and her green eyes looked at me in astonished wonder. She filled out her bust to capacity, and I couldn’t wait to see them set free. The dress was beautiful on her, but it couldn’t compare to the perfection the Goddess achieved when she created Quinn’s body for me. It was a decoration covering a work of art.

“Michael,” her voice came, so quietly I would have missed it if I wasn’t focused on her so intently. I closed my eyes for a moment and cherished the sound. I intended to make her repeat it until she got tired when the dance was over. Then, she was in my arms. She closed the distance so fast, and I couldn’t help but pull her into our first k**s since that summer. She tasted like heaven. Much too soon, I broke our k**s to look upon my mate once more.

Then she said the words I’d been waiting to hear for so long, “I’m yours.”

Our k**s made her curls spill down her face, so I brushed them away to see her brilliant emerald eyes staring back at me. I couldn’t help myself, so I rubbed my nose against hers. It was something I’d wanted to do forever, “I told you, Quinn. It was inevitable.”

“I don’t understand. How are you here?” she asked.

“Ladies and Gentleman,” came a call from the DJ over the speakers.

“I’ll explain everything, I promise-” I started, but I didn’t get it out fast enough.

“Taking the dance floor for the first time, the new Alpha of Stary Pack and his date. Please put your hands together for Alpha Michael and Quinn.”

Her eyes grew so big that I thought I might have broken her. I used gentle pressure with the arm around her waist to bring her to the center of the dance floor. The whispers and stares had exploded now that they’d heard the announcement, but the important part was the saxophone playing the intro to the song I’d been waiting for all these years. I wanted our song to be perfect, and this moment was it.

“I will tell you everything when this is all over, but for now, Quinn, may I have this dance?”

She swallowed heavily, but she nodded and buried her face in my chest. We swayed gently to the music, and I leaned down to her ear as the words began. My lips were close enough that I could see the goosebumps rising down her neck as my voice began, “The strands in your eyes that color them wonderful stop me and steal my breath. Emeralds from mountains thrust towards the sky, never revealing their depth. So, tell me… that we belong together…”

She melted into me as I sang softly to her, only her, through the rest of the song. For all that happened, for all that we’d been through, it brought us here to this moment, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

As the song neared its close and the saxophone played its smooth end cap to our song, I lifted her chin to look into her green eyes once more, “In case you didn’t know, I love you, Quinn. It’s always been you, and it will always be you.”

“I love you, too, Michael. It was always you; I was just too scared to admit it,” her soft voice answered.

–

After we danced, I pulled her out of the spotlight and out to the hall with me. I wanted to just rush her out of there, but it was her night, so we would stay if she wanted. I knew she would need a minute without people staring at her, at the very least. To my delight, she wanted to leave, too.

Before we could make it to the parking lot, she stopped me. “My friends…” she seemed to realize for the first time.

“I think everyone knows you left with me,” I laughed. “Do I need to go find them with you? I will.” The Goddess herself couldn’t pull me from Quinn’s side tonight.

“No, it’s okay. You’re right; I’ll text them later to let them know I’m safe with you.”

“Yes, you are safe with me,” I whispered low into her ear as I reached past her to open the door. I could see the shiver run down her spine, and I could not wait to repeat it. She would always be safe with me; the world wouldn’t hurt what I held most precious. I was strong enough for both of us now.

I helped her into my car then took the driver’s seat. Quinn looked nervous now, her face a brilliant shade of crimson, “Are we going to a hotel room?”

I grabbed her hand in mine; it was cold and felt smaller than I remembered as I brought it to my lips and lovingly kissed each knuckle, “I have something more special than that in mind.”

“Oh…” she squeaked, the crimson reaching her ears.

I put the car in reverse and pulled out of my space, quickly heading toward the road before the parking lot became a mess with horny high school kids ditching their formal wear. I didn’t have the patience to wait for traffic. As we neared our destination, I think she realized where we were going. Her hand squeezed mine tighter, and I couldn’t wait for her to see what I had in store for her.

I pulled into the place we’d parked our bikes that summer, and I kissed her hand one last time before getting out. I opened her door and helped her struggle to get out of the car, her dress making it extremely difficult. Looking at the terrain and what she was wearing, I decided to solve the problem. I lifted her into my arms, causing an adorable squeal. Looking down at Quinn, I could not believe this woman was really mine. My mouth found hers again, and I enjoyed her scent and taste until we finally broke away, breathless. Not wanting to get carried away and mark her right where we parked, I carried her around the cover of the trees toward the lake, and when she saw what I’d set up, she gasped.

In the grass, a safe distance from the water, I’d set up a bedroom-sized tent. On the outside, I’d set up battery-powered string lights to illuminate the campsite and the tent. There was a campfire ring if we needed it, and I intended to use it if we got hungry later. I set her down and unzipped the tent door to show her the inside. I’d set up a bed piled with soft, comfortable blankets and plenty of pillows. The inside of the tent was warmly lit by battery-powered candles, and I had a change of clothes laid out and ready for both of us. The top was open mesh, so we could see the stars through it and enjoy the cool weather.

“You did all of this for me?” she asked, looking at me like I was crazy.

“I wanted your first time to be special, Quinn,” I told her seriously, pulling her back into my arms.

“Michael… I’m not…. “

“Your first time can only be given freely, Quinn,” I told her, grabbing her chin and holding her gaze with my own. I meant it with every part of my soul. I brushed the tears from her eyes as they came. “Tonight, I’m going to leave no doubt that every inch of your body belongs to me, and from this moment forward, it always will.”

The look in her eyes changed, and her mouth found mine with hunger. Her hands tried to pull me closer even though it wasn’t possible. I wasn’t the only one that needed this.

“Do you want to change into something more comfortable?” I asked, pulling her lips from mine.

“When we’re done,” she said, her voice clear even though her face was red again. “Didn’t you want this dress on the floor?”