Fate Stained - Part Two
Chapter 5 - The Creek

“We need answers” I said quietly.

Jayce and I had been sitting in silence for close to an hour. Our hands remained together and his head remained resting on top of them. At one point I even thought that Jayce had fallen asleep but as soon as I spoke he lifted his head and looked at me.

“From who? Selene? Apollo? I hardly think they would be sharing their secrets with us”

Jayce was right. Selene may indeed be the wolf goddess but she was a very powerful and busy woman. I could almost guarantee that summoning her would prove futile but, luckily for me, I had another deity up my sleeve.

“No. Atropos”

“The thread cutter? The one who inadvertently caused this mess to begin with? Are you sure that’s wise?”

“She fucked up, but she is remorseful. Everyone makes mistakes but when a goddess makes one then unfortunately the repercussions can affect countless beings. I get the feeling she wants to help me…like maybe it makes her feel better. It’s worth a try”

Jayce only grunted and leant back in his chair. He looked down at our hands and I rubbed the pad of my thumb softly over the back of his.

“If this situation is something we need to get used to then surely getting some answers as to why I have two mates, would make getting our heads around it a bit easier”

“I doubt it”

I pursed my lips and Jayce shrugged his shoulders, slipping his hands from my clasp and placing them on his lap.

“It won’t make it easier but I agree that understanding why will be of some benefit. We don’t know if these gods have some grand plan for you in the future, some agenda that benefits them. Don’t tell me that aspect hasn’t crossed your mind”

I blinked several times. To be honest, it hadn’t. The idea that the gods that were meant to protect us, guide us and love us in our afterlife - would do something that hurts me, just to benefit them - hadn’t crossed my mind at all.

“Come on Quinn” Jayce sighed, “use your brain. Why do the gods select fated mates?”

I narrowed my eyes.

“To ensure strong breeding lines”

Jayce nodded.

“Correct. So they have fated you to me - a strong, powerful and feared Alpha wolf. They also fated you to Kyanite - the heir to the only remaining panther kingdom. Hell, it wouldn’t have surprised me if that knob, Darius, was your mate too - it would have made sense in that aspect anyway”

“So you think that my destiny was to breed with strong, virile males and pop out a new line of tribrid Alphas or heirs? The gods give me all this power so I can be barefoot and pregnant until I’ve done my bit to populate the world…then I’m out to pasture?”

I laughed out loud at the concept but my laugh quickly stopped when I realised, from the look on Jayce’s face, that that’s exactly what he thought. I refused to believe it. I was a Tribrid, The Shifter Queen! If that’s what this all came down to, that my soul purpose from birth had been to fuck three men and pop out babies - then it wouldn’t just be Atropos I would be demanding answers from, I would have Zeus quivering in his boots.

“Quinn, I’m not saying I agree with it - quite clearly I don’t - but it’s the only sense I can make out of the whole thing. What if you summon Atropos and she confirms it? What then?”

“I— I don’t know”

I let out an exasperated sigh and rubbed my eyes. I’d only been up a few hours but I was already exhausted. Jet lag from Hell was painful, I wondered if Kyan and Flynn were feeling as shit-house as me.

“I’m going for a walk” I muttered.

I rose slowly from the chair and Jayce watched my every movement. I could tell exactly what he was thinking, he was wondering if I was going to go see Kyan. I’m sure that thought would be plaguing his mind whenever I wasn’t with him. But seeing though Kyan was staying with Cameron, I was sure word would get back to the Alpha pretty quick if I was to pay him a visit of any kind.

“I’m going to the creek and to see Flynn. You’re welcome to come”

Jayce hesitated but then shook his head.

“No, time alone with your brother might do you some good”

I nodded, lingering in the doorway for a moment before stepping through it.

“Quinn” Jayce called out, I turned back around to face him and he gave me a small smile, “will you be home for dinner?”

“Of course, I won’t be too long”

…………………

The walk to the creek took longer than it should have, I’d barely get a couple of metres before pack members would stop me, welcoming me home and asking questions about what Hell had been like. I replied with tight smiles and vague answers, not wanting to upset or scare the curious wolves anymore than what was necessary. When I finally made it to the creek I sighed wearily and flopped down on the grass, slipping off my sandals and sliding my feet into the cool, running water.

I’d missed this; something about the water and the sounds of nature and the fresh air that surrounded me did unexplainable things for my soul. Lying back in the grass, I closed my eyes and let the afternoon sun bath my skin. I groaned, the last thing I felt like doing now was getting up and walking the short distance to Dominic’s cabin; but maybe I didn’t have to.

Flynn. Can you hear me?

Silence. I was sure I’d be able to link with Flynn as he was a blood relation but then I realised that Flynn had probably never received or sent a link before.

Flynn, it’s Quinn. To speak to me through the link just focus in your mind what you want to say and reach out to me through your subconscious. It’s easy once you’ve done a couple of times.

I waited a few seconds longer. I could feel a faint whisper to begin with, then Flynn’s voice echoed in my mind, clear as day.

What about now? Quinn, can you hear me?

Yes! Well done! I’m down by the creek that runs past Dom’s cabin. Come see me.

Be there in a second.

I smiled to myself and wriggled my toes in the cool water. I thought to myself how simple life would be if I could just stay here all day everyday. My animals were at peace here and whilst I closed my eyes and soaked up the remainder of the day’s sunlight, the stresses of my complicated life seemingly faded away.

“Mind if I join you?”

A shadow fell over my body and a delicious chill ran through my spine, causing my eyelids to snap open. A clean, well dressed and cleanly shaven Panther Prince looked down upon me, his striking emerald eyes holding my gaze.

“Please” I answered breathlessly, patting the grass next to me.

Kyan smiled - a smile that sent my heart into a tizzy - and lay down on the grass by my side. The gentle thud-thud of his shoes being kicked off and the small splash of his feet entering the water being the only sound to distract from the soothing ambience of the creek side.

“You look nice” I observed after a few seconds of silence.

Kyan chuckled, the sound caressing my ears and bringing a smile to my lips as I closed my eyes again.

“As do you. Although ‘nice’ doesn’t even do you justice” he replied smoothly.

My arm jumped slightly as Kyan’s fingers grazed the back of my hand, but I left my hand in place and eventually his fingers parted mine and we held hands in the grass, a quiet calm falling effortlessly between us.

“Should I come back later?”

Another shadow fell over my body and this time both myself and Kyan looked up. Flynn stood above us, staring down with a bemused smirk on his face.

“Not at all! Come, you’ll enjoy this”

I patted the grass on the other side of me and Flynn hesitated for a moment before shrugging his shoulders and kicking off his shoes. He dropped to the ground with a grunt and lay back so his head was in line with mine and Kyanite’s. As Flynn eased his feet into the water he let out a long and low groan, the sound making me feel slightly uncomfortable.

“Do you need a moment alone with the creek Flynn?” Kyan teased, “last time I made a sound like that it was your sister’s doing”

Flynn snorted and sighed.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve emerged my feet in water. No baths in Hell. I have a vague recollection of dipping my toes in the ocean as a kid when Magdal— the witch - would take me down to the shore. Apart from that…well, there are no creeks where I come from”

“This is my favourite place” I shared, “it gives me clarity when my mind is otherwise jumbled. Maybe it will do the same for you”

The three of us lay there quietly for a few minutes, I’m sure it would have been a peculiar sight for anyone that happened to walk by.

“You disappeared early last night” Kyan muttered eventually, squeezing my hand gently, “everything ok?”

I scrunched up my face, contemplating the answer I should be giving.

“Yeah. I’m exhausted after returning from Hell. Norah thinks maybe it was the use of a portal in quick succession. Anyway, I felt rather unwell and needed bed”

It wasn’t a lie, I just skimmed around the information that would only upset Kyan; information that would suit no purpose if I told him.

“I left when you did” Flynn spoke up before Kyan could answer, “there was a vibe in that hall. I don’t know what it was but my whole body was on edge. Moira came to see me this morning to see how I was adjusting and she seems to think it’s my animal subconscious coming to the surface”

I opened my eyes and released Kyan’s hand, sitting up on my elbows. With everything I had going on with my own personal life, I hadn’t even thought about my brother and his adjustments.

“Normally your first shift happens at midnight on your twentieth birthday, obviously that didn’t happen for you, so how come you didn’t shift the moment you escaped Hell?”

Flynn’s eyes remained closed as he lay back on the grass and he shrugged his shoulders.

“Moira seems to think my human and my animal or animals need to connect more before my first shift. She’s given me a special tea to drink once a day to hold my first shift at bay. She’s knowledgeable and what she says makes sense. I’ll do this her way and go from there”

“Is it just your first shift that this tea will suppress? Or is it other animal instincts as well?” Kyan asked, sitting up next to me and wrapping his arms around my waist.

I smiled at the action but found my eyes darting around to make sure no unwelcome eyes were witnessing our embrace.

“Instincts as in…?”

“The need to fuck any and all hot blooded females that come within a two block radius of you…or cold blooded, whatever floats your boat”

I scoffed and slapped Kyan on the arm playfully. As much as this was not a conversation I particularly wanted to hear in relation to my brother, it was probably a conversation that needed to be had. Flynn had been in Hell since the age of six, and from what I saw in my reasonably short time there, It was not a place overflowing with women that could ease the need to - ahem - mate.

This time it was Flynn’s turn to open his eyes and sit up. He groaned in frustration and dragged his hands down his face, returning them to rub his eyes before turning to face us.

“No. The tea does nothing to suppress that. Maybe that’s why I found last night so bloody hard”

Kyan chuckled at my brother’s choice of words which in turn made Flynn chuckle too. It was nice seeing the two converse like this. Not only did they share the experience of Hell but the also shared in the sense of being outsiders in a pack that was otherwise extremely tight knit. I only hoped that Flynn would bond with Jayce as well as he had with Kyanite.

“You’re handsome” I said to Flynn, giving him a smile, “I’m sure you won’t have a problem replaceing someone to have a bit of fun with”

Flynn sighed and rubbed his face again.

“Yeah. I’m a real catch. The twenty three year old shifter-warlock that hasn’t connected with his animal - that doesn’t even know if he is a Tribrid or not - that has spent the last seventeen years in Hell. Oh, that’s also a virgin”

“Don’t forget that your sister is the Tribrid Shifter Queen Luna of Fern Creek - at least you have plenty of ice breakers…” Kyan added.

We all laughed as we looked out over the water, at least I wasn’t the only one with the frustratingly complicated personal life.