Inevitably Yours

I sat in the court lobby, my leg bouncing uncontrollably as it always did when I had too much energy. I wanted to kick the doors in and tell them who he really was, but that wouldn’t help anyone. I had to wait until I was called as a witness.

“Mr. Gibson, it’s been too long,” I heard a voice from the past say behind me. I turned to see Mr. Ganbar walking toward me with a warm smile and his arms now outstretched. I stood and pulled the small man into a hug. It was nice to see a familiar face, especially one that had been a mentor in a time when I sorely needed one.

“What are you doing here?” I exclaimed, almost forgetting where we were.

“Well,” he paused. “I’ve been called as a witness in this custody hearing.”

The disappointment cut through me like a knife, “He called you, didn’t he.”

“His lawyer did, yes.”

“What are you going to say?” I asked, not knowing how this would play out. I’d never confided in him about why I wrestled or what I was dealing with at home. Now Lawrence was using him against me.

“I can only tell them what I witnessed. I can tell them I’ve always had my suspicions, but I never saw him do anything. There were times when you came in trying to hide your face, unexplained injuries, and those sorts of things I will tell them, too. I don’t want to hurt your mom, but I have to tell the truth.”

It was better than I had expected. Of course, he’d noticed. Tears welled at the corners of my eyes and stung them, but I blinked them back. Not in front of my coach. Not here.

“That’s fair, coach. I need something from you, though,” I pleaded, lowering my voice as quietly as I could as I stepped closer to him.

“What is it? If I can, I will,” he told me, his hand resting on my shoulder with concern written into the lines on his face.

“Quinn,” I said. “I know that you know her and I are close. As far as Lawrence or anyone in Stary is concerned, don’t ever mention her name attached to me. Please. If you do anything for me the rest of my life, I need this one.”

“I’m not sure why it would matter, but it seems important to you. Of course, my lips are sealed.”

I pulled him in for a tight hug, almost losing the battle with the tears burning my eyes, “Thank you, coach.”

“Any time,” he assured me, patting me on the back.

“I, uh, need to go find a restroom,” I told him, needing to pull myself together. Tyler was in a different room waiting, so I didn’t have to worry about leaving him alone.

As I walked away, I heard him call after me, “I want my singlet back!”

“Over my dead body!” I laughed, turning into a restroom close by.

–

Over an hour passed, and I still hadn’t been called in. Ganbar was long gone. He walked by me with a wink and pulled his hand across his mouth in a zipper motion before waving goodbye. Finally, the doors opened. My mom was sobbing again, and Tyler’s stare was blank like he’d seen a ghost. Lawrence came out shaking everyone’s hand, smiling and joking with his attorney, ours, and the judge. I was right; something was up.

“It’s over,” she linked me, apparently unable to speak. “They gave him joint custody, and I have to move back within the bounds of the pack with a geographical restriction on how far I can move away.”

“Why didn’t they call me as a witness?” I almost screamed internally.

“His lawyer blocked you from testifying, and ours didn’t do anything to stop it. Michael, it was awful. They made me sound like a deranged woman who stole an honorable man’s kids from him. They trashed everything about me, and she just sat there.”

I was fuming, but we were in a human courtroom. I couldn’t wolf out here. “How much time do we have?” I asked, trying to figure out how to play this.

“The court ruled that since we’re here, I must let Tyler spend the night with him. Supposedly, your grandmother will be hosting so he won’t be alone with him. I don’t think he’ll try to hurt Tyler with his mom around.”

“Is he going with him now?”

“No, we have a few hours to get Tyler’s things and meet Lawrence and his mom at a neutral location like a fast food place or something.”

“I don’t want him to go, but if he’s with Grandma, he’ll be safe. Grandpa would bury Lawrence under the house if he pulled something stupid under their roof. We’ll allow it for tonight and figure out what to do in the morning. I’m not letting you move back here.” The look on her face told me she didn’t believe me, but we were going to figure this out.

Lawrence walked by me, gave me a weird look, and I realized he must have been trying to link me, “Ah, you joined another pack. A little b***h, just like your s***m donor.”

–

I walked Tyler and my mom into the recently renovated building with golden arches over it, and we sat at a table to wait. As soon as we did, Lawrence ripped the door open and walked in with a cocky smile. Our Grandma and our uncle, Audrey’s dad, walked in behind him. Supposedly, they were there to keep the peace.

“Before we go, can I have a word outside with my oldest?” Lawrence asked no one in particular, although he looked directly at me.

“I don’t think that’s a good id-” my mom protested.

“It’s fine, Mom.”Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

I stepped past Lawrence and through the door. We walked towards the empty parking lot behind the building, and beyond that, I could see a treeline.

“I don’t want to be interrupted,” he laughed. Once we crossed into the trees, he turned and put his back against one. “So,” he began. “Tell me about this Quinn girl you’re so fond of.”

“I… I don’t know what you mean,” I stammered, wholly taken aback. I thought we came out here for him to hit me, not that I would let him anymore. This was much worse.

“Oh, don’t lie to me. Little Andi came by the house and had so much to say about her after she was expelled. She told me to talk to your friend Ricky, and it didn’t take him long to tell me that you asked him to keep an eye on her. Now, why would you do that?” he asked. The evil gleam in his was terrifying me. I was tempted to shift and run to her right now. What if he already had her?

“Keep him talking,” Eros interjected. “If he had her, he’d be dangling her in front of us. He’s fishing.”

“I just thought she was cute, and I got bored with Andi,” I lied. “You told me to get plenty of practice, so that’s what I was doing.”

“Oh, if she’s good for practice, maybe I should let some other wolves have a turn then?”

I couldn’t help it; I was in his face immediately. Even Eros lost control, and I could feel us fighting for my body as I tried to keep from shifting, “You stay the f**k away from her.”

“Ah, that’s more like it,” he said, leaning into me, his face inches from mine, despite my clear murderous intent. “She’s your mate, isn’t she?”

“It doesn’t matter; you’re not going to touch her.”

“Tsk, Tsk,” he taunted. “I’ve wondered what she is for a long time, but I’m pretty sure she’s a hybrid of some kind. Was one of her parents unfaithful? That’s unlikely with the mate. Either way, I’m starting to feel it may be dangerous to allow her to live in my pack.”

“It isn’t your pack,” I growled. “Now, because you’re mad at me, you’re going to pick on a girl still in high school? That’s the kind of man you are?”

He reached forward, grabbing my collar in one of his sad attempts at a collar choke. He spun us around to slam me against the tree he was formerly leaning on, pinning me to it, “I’m the kind of man that will murder her parents in front of her and keep her as a toy. How does that sound?”

“I challenge you for Alpha,” I spat in his face.”It is my birthright, and I demand you accept it.”

“Under what terms then?” his anger fading once again into a smile. He clearly wanted this.

“I don’t give a s**t about the standard terms. I choose the time, no limits. Until the challenge, you don’t even breathe in her direction. Not you, not anyone you control. Nothing. No one even looks at her wrong. You can choose the place. I don’t care where it is; you won’t be able to cheat me like you did my father.”

“You’ve gotten mouthy since you left, you ungrateful little brat,” he growled venomously. He seemed amused. “What is the time then?”

“Let Quinn get through her senior year. I don’t know if she’s my mate yet, but it doesn’t matter. If I win, she got through high school, and we can be together or not depending on what we choose for our life or what the Goddess has fated. If I lose, you let her leave the pack and cast her out. She can go to college somewhere, but either way, she will not stay to be hurt by you in Stary.”

“Well, that doesn’t sound like any fun. What do I get out of it?”

“If I lose and don’t die in the challenge, I will serve as your Beta and do whatever you ask of me the rest of my pitiful life,” I exhaled. I could promise this because I had no intention of staying alive if I lost. I’d poison myself, stab myself in the heart, something. I also had no intention of losing.

“That is an interesting proposition,” he admitted. “Fine, the place will be the same as where I destroyed your s***m donor all those years ago.”

“Now that we’ve settled that,” I began before reaching down to get a firm grip on his hands pinning me to the tree. I ripped them away from me and pushed him in the chest hard enough to get him away from me. Parts of my shirt went with him, but I was unharmed. “Don’t touch me again until the challenge.”

“Getting a bit cocky, aren’t we?” he chastised me, dropping my shirt pieces to the ground and wiping his hands together as if to remove filth from them. “She’s coming to the end of her Sophomore year?” he asked plainly.

“Yes,” I answered.

“I will agree to two years from the end of this month. No more, no less,” he declared.

“That’s right before prom!” I protested. “She won’t have even graduated yet.”

“I know,” he smiled wickedly. “She’ll get to graduate and leave knowing you either died or are my slave. It’ll ruin her life just the same as if I’d kept her.”

“You’re really f****d in the head; you know that?” I asked incredulously. What drove him to be such a sociopath?

“Lastly,” he said. “This will not interfere with my duties as Alpha. I may still speak with the girl in relation to pack business.”

“Pack business will not be misconstrued to f**k with or hurt her. I don’t care if she murders your Beta and puts his head on a pike on her front lawn. No one touches her,” I demanded.

“As you wish, pup,” he agreed, his tone dangerous.

“Just take it. It’ll keep her safe for now,” Eros said.

“Fine, but I don’t trust you to keep your word,” I told him, looking him directly in the eye. His eyebrow raised; I always averted my gaze as a kid.

“How do you plan to make sure I keep it then?” he asked, perplexed.

“I need you to allow a witch to come here.”

“Why is that?” his expression was uneasy now. No more gloating.

“I want us to agree under a witch’s oath to the terms we just laid out. You’ll die the moment you try to break them. On the opposite side-”

“You’ll die if you don’t come,” Lawrence’s evil grin returned.

“Exactly, the same penalty will apply to both of us,” I told him.

“Bring the b***h here tomorrow. I will agree to your magical leash as long as you’re on it too.”

I called Haven as soon as I left the woods. Felix refused to let her go, but when I explained what was at stake with Quinn, she didn’t hesitate. I could hear her grabbing keys and rummaging through things on the phone.

“It’s going to take me all night to get there, but it’s not a big deal as long as we can keep the girl safe. That’s all that matters,” she told me from the other end of the line.

“Thank you so much. I know Felix is worried, but please tell him I only called you because this was the only thing I could do to keep him from doing something to her. You told me about the witch’s oath in passing, and it was the only thing I could think of to bind him until the time we agreed to.”

“You did the right thing, and I’m happy you have something to care about now, Michael. I told you, the Goddess does care. Just stay there; we’re coming,” her voice was warm, and the soothing sound pleasantly prickled at the back of my neck and ran down my spine.

“I’ll get you gas money when you get here,” I told her apologetically.

“Michael, I can conjure things from magic. Do you think I pay for gas?” she laughed.

“Fair point. See you when you get here.”

I felt an immense relief wash over me as I sat in the restaurant next to my mom. Lawrence had already taken Tyler and left when I was off the phone. “What the hell just happened?” she asked, looking at me like I was crazy with wide eyes.

“I bought us time.”

–

Haven arrived at almost noon; she’d driven straight through from when I asked her to come. Felix looked pissed, but I’m sure I could make it up to him somehow when I was Alpha. He could even fight me if he needed to. All that mattered was Quinn was safe after this.

Lawrence showed up with Tyler bounding behind him, and for once, Tyler looked relatively happy.

“I wasn’t around him all night, just Grandma and Grandpa. It was awesome.” Thank the Goddess. He was unscathed, and now we could figure out the custody thing when we left.

Haven followed Lawrence and me into the woods, and my mom padded with Felix behind us. I didn’t want her to come, but I wasn’t going to fight her on it right now. Once we were safely out of sight, Haven pulled out a small spell book, a pouch of ingredients, and a small dagger.

“Put your hands out,” she directed us. We looked at each other suspiciously and then outstretched our hands until they were almost touching. She sliced our palms open one at a time. I was determined not to wince, and I didn’t. I stared right into his smug face. Haven mumbled something low that we couldn’t hear and sprinkled powder from inside her pouch over our hands before grabbing us by the wrist and putting our hands together, both of us grasping the other’s wrist now. A light emanated from our hands, just barely visible.

“You will now state your oath out loud. Once you have both completed this, there will be some discomfort, and then the ritual will be complete,” Haven told us.

I slowly repeated what we’d agreed to the night before aloud as my mom’s eyes grew wider. “You can’t agree to that!” she shouted as Felix pulled her back away from us.

“It’s already done, b***h,” Lawrence sneered.

“Keep your comments to yourself,” I growled.

Lawrence ignored me, repeating verbatim what I’d said. The light grew brighter, and a bright white line slowly began extending from our wrists, moving up our arms, across our chests, and finally stopping at our hearts. I felt a searing pain in my chest that brought me to my knees. My heart felt like it was going to explode in my chest, but the pain was gone just as soon as it started. When it subsided, I looked up to see Lawrence on his knee, trying to catch his breath too. I ripped my hand away from him, not wanting to touch him for another moment.

“I’ll see you when it’s time,” I said simply, turning to walk away.

“If you back out, you’ll not only be dead. I will take her for myself,” he sneered.

“There won’t be enough left of you for anyone to remember,” I answered, not looking back at him.

My mom hurried along with me, trying to get me to explain what had just happened. I hadn’t filled her in on any of it. Haven apologized for not calling, but she thought I would have told my mom what I was up to. She was just worried about getting here in time. We got everyone into our respective vehicles, ignoring Lawrence as he stared gleefully behind us.

Just as I was about to close the door, I heard Lawrence call after me, “Give Coach Tagey my best! Maybe watch where you stick your d**k next time. He was pretty happy to tell me where you were.”

I slammed the car door behind me, ice in my veins and my heart thumping in my chest, “That motherfucker….”

We took Haven and Felix to a late lunch to thank them. Once we were seated, I excused myself. I needed to make a call. “Hey son, is everything ok up there?” my dad’s voice sounded through the phone, his nerves evident.

“It’s time, dad. When I get home, you have to take my training to the next level. I just challenged Lawrence.”

“You know how this ends, right, son?”

“He has to die. He threatened Quinn and… he was never my father anyways.”

“Get home. I’ll be ready,” he replied calmly before hanging up the phone.

“Are you ready?” Eros asked. He sounded concerned.

“No,” I answered honestly. “I’m stronger than him, but I need to be more prepared to be an Alpha. I need more training.”

“What if he demanded to fight today?” he asked. I hadn’t exactly planned the challenge, and I hadn’t run it by Eros before yelling it out.

“I would have killed him,” I said coldly. “Ready or not, I won’t let anyone hurt Quinn.”