Fate Stained - Part Two
Chapter 22 - Goddess Save The Queen

Quinn was pregnant.

Quinn was pregnant.

I was going to be a father…or maybe I wasn’t. Either way…Quinn was pregnant.

It didn’t matter how many time I said the words over in my head, they just weren’t sinking in. Flynn explained to us, once we’d got Quinn safely in her bed, that he’d known she was pregnant since she collapsed the other morning. His belief was that the baby, for whatever reason, was cloaked; that was why Moira’s medical equipment couldn’t detect any pregnancy signs with Quinn or any heartbeat on the baby.

Jayce said he had a feeling she was pregnant and that he’d asked her, but she’d denied any and all knowledge of a possible baby.

Part of me called bullshit, not that Quinn didn’t know she was pregnant but that Jayce had. Her scent hadn’t changed, no one apart from Flynn could hear the heartbeat…that dog was just trying to rub it in my face that he knew Quinn better than I did. He was fucking wrong about that though, I knew her better than anyone.

Apart from the odd bathroom break, neither the Alpha nor myself had left Quinn’s side. She’d been unconscious two days now and both Flynn and Moira were expecting her to wake up at anytime.

I sat back in my chair and watched as Flynn finished checking Quinn and the baby’s stats. I had to give it to the guy, as much as I was still pissed about the situation he was responsible for putting her in, Flynn had been at his sister’s side almost this whole time. He’d been checking on her and the baby, relaying his observations to Moira so she could keep them all recorded in her charts. Twice a day he would also ask us to step out of the room so he could transfer power across to her from himself.

“Perfect. Everything is going along as it should. The rest is up to Quinn now, she’ll wake up when she’s ready” Flynn muttered as Moira finished adding to the chart.

“You said that yesterday” Jayce answered, “So why is she still asleep?”

Listening to that wolf being so impatient pissed me off, even though the exact same question had been on the tip of my tongue. Perhaps I just hated that he’d asked it first.

“There could be a number of reasons” Moira answered, shrugging her shoulders, “There is still so much we don’t know about this baby, maybe she is drawing energy from Quinn to help keep herself hidden. I’m not sure”

“But we know Quinn is pregnant now, so there is no need to keep the pregnancy hidden”

The wolf doctor turned to face me and she shrugged again.

“Maybe she wants to stay hidden from others that don’t yet know about the pregnancy, or maybe there is still something she is trying to keep from us”

“Like the identity of the father?” Jayce grunted.

An uncomfortable silence filled the room. There was that question again, the question that everyone seemed to be dodging since the news of Quinn’s pregnancy broke.

Who was the father?

“That would be my bet” Flynn said finally.

The Warlock-tribrid paced the bedroom, rubbing his mouth as he thought.

“This baby - this little girl - is going to be such an important being. Perhaps even more important than her mother is. Magdalene is no longer a threat, so there really isn’t any reason to keep her true identity secret. The fact she will be the next Shifter Queen is monumental, think about what this means for the merging of tribes, packs and kingdoms”

“But what about the tribes and packs that don’t agree with the merging of shifter species? They aren’t going to be too excited to hear they have a new Queen in the making” I said.

Flynn pointed his finger at me and nodded, “Exactly my point. As horrible as this is to think about - when word gets out that Quinn is pregnant and expecting a daughter, these packs could turn on Fern Creek altogether and may even decide that it will be easier taking out a future Queen while she is still a baby…or perhaps not even born yet”

My fists clenched in my lap, my eyes darting over to my beautiful mate lying peacefully in her bed. The idea that any wolf, bear or panther would think about touching a hair on her head infuriated me but the thought of them wanting to harm an unborn baby…it made me see red.

I let my eyes travel over to Jayce and it was clear to see that he was thinking the same thing. His jaw twitched as he ground his teeth and his fists balled tightly until his knuckles looked like they might actually burst through the skin. But a lot of good he’d been doing keeping her safe so far. This was the second time in a matter of days that she’d been lying here in this bed, unconscious. I was beginning to think that maybe Quinn would be safer if she returned with me to Panthera.

“Who do we know of so far that disagrees with Quinn’s role as Shifter Queen and Fern Creek’s stance on the merging of shifters?”

Jayce raised his head at my question but did not look at me as he answered.

“The Kylo pack, The Northern Waters pack and The Falls Edge pack - That’s for the wolves. Then obviously, now that Darius is to be the new King of the Yo-Na tribe, they can be added to that list for the bears…we know how much that prick despises Quinn”

“Can Norah maybe assist with bridging relationships there?” Moira asked.

Both Flynn and Jayce laughed. There was no humour in their tones but it was as if the notion was a joke in itself.

“Norah is gone” Flynn answered.

“What?” That was news to me, “Gone back to Yo-Na?”

“No. She’s gone into hiding. I don’t know where, she left yesterday after I helped Blake cloak her scent. She said once everything settles down she’ll be in touch. But we can rule her out for bridging any gap between us and Yo-Na. If anything, this news - once Darius becomes privy to it - will only piss him off more”

I didn’t doubt what Flynn was saying to be true at all. I’d never had the pleasure of meeting Darius, but I’d heard enough about him to know I wouldn’t like the guy. Once he was King, I could only imagine it would be a matter of days before he and his men came knocking on Fern Creek’s gates.

“So we know there are at least three wolf packs that aren’t a fan of Fern Creek’s Luna and the only bear tribe in existence’s King can’t stand her - or you, for that matter…That leaves a pretty big target on her head then, I’d say”

This time Jayce did turn to me. His eyes narrowing as he looked me up and down.

“And you have a way we can fix all of this, I assume” He sneered.

“Yes” I answered matter of factly, “She can come back with me to The Panthera Kingdom”

Jayce snorted and rose from his chair. He walked over to Quinn’s bed and sat on the side of it, taking her hand in his.

“Absolutely not”

“Why?” I countered, “There is only one panther kingdom and I will soon be the King of it. Panthera is cloaked, no wolves or bears will be able to replace it nor enter it without my say so. It’s the safest place I can think for her to be…seeing though she clearly hasn’t been kept safe here”

Jayce’s whole body tensed, as did both Flynn’s and Moira’s. The Alpha didn’t look at me though, he continued to gaze down at Quinn, his hand slowly moving until it rested on top on her abdomen. My panther growled and I shuffled in my seat, the sight of his hand over her stomach infuriated me more than I ever thought it would.

“And what happens when Quinn gives birth to my daughter? How will your panthers think of your queen having an Alpha wolf’s baby in her arms? How safe will she be then?”

That was it. Before I had a chance to check myself, knowing exactly what Jayce was trying to do, I jumped to my feet and stormed over to the piece of shit as he remained sitting on the bed next to my mate. The prick didn’t move, didn’t flinch. He remained where he was, hand over Quinn’s stomach, eyes locked firmly with mine.

“Kyanite…Jayce…” Flynn warned, taking a tentative step closer to us, “Don’t make me teleport you both out of here”

“What makes you so sure the baby is yours?” I hissed between clenched teeth.

“I’ve got her pregnant before”

And we saw how well that ended.

I winced at my panther’s venomous tone, relived that I had enough control to not say those words out loud.

“Just because your disgusting seed has made the cut before, doesn’t mean that it has again. The way I see it, there is equal chance of this baby being either of ours. My view still stands though, Quinn will be safer in Panthera. It won’t be long before Fern’s pack and the Yo-Na tribe come knocking on your door. What then? You’re just going to keep Quinn here in the state she is in? I suppose you’d have her fight for you too?”

“Fern Creek is Quinn’s pack as much as it is mine. What makes you think she would willingly leave when she knows her people will be in danger? I would never force her to stay, but I’ll sure as Hell never force her to leave”

“So you would just sign a death warrant for her child, is that right? Are you that scared that it could be mine that you’d willingly put it’s life in danger?”

Something in Jayce’s eyes snapped and he rose from the bed, stepping towards me with his fists clenched by his sides. I didn’t want to intentionally bait the cock head, the last thing I wanted was an all out brawl at Quinn’s bedside, but it was just too fucking easy. He was willing to keep Quinn here, even if it meant endangering her and the baby’s life.

“I would never harm the baby, regardless of who’s it is. If I ever hear you suggest that again I’ll rip your fucking heart out. This time I won’t miss”

The wolf and I stood chest to chest. He had a couple of inches on me but I had no doubt I could take him. We stared each other down, like two fighters having a face off before they wiped the floor with one another. Jayce’s black eyes bore into my green, a vein pulsating on his forehead which was a pretty obvious sign that I was getting to him.

“Come on, make a move…Alpha. I know you want to”

Jayce’s jaw ticked and I braced myself for the punch I knew was coming, but just as I saw his left shoulder drop—

“Would you two just knock it off already?”

The soft, tired voice that came from the bed tore my focus away from Jayce immediately. We both ceased our power play, turning around to face Quinn as she struggled to sit herself up on the pillows.

“Easy does it” whispered Flynn, beating us to her side as he helped her get comfortable.

My heart skipped a beat and stupid little butterflies fluttered in my stomach as I watched my mate intently. Her thick, dark hair was a mess and her beautiful blue eyes were puffy - looking every bit a person that had been asleep for two whole days. But Goddess, the woman was a vision.

Quinn’s gaze trailed up my body, her eyes coming to rest on mine, “Hey you” she hummed, a smile playing on her lips.

I was just about to answer when her eyes left mine and moved swiftly to the wolf’s, “And hey you” she purred in the exact same tone.

“How are you feeling?” Flynn asked, his hand hovering over her forehead.

Quinn yawned and stretched her ams.

“Good. Like I’ve been asleep for days” She gazed around the room, her features falling to a look of confusion, “What? Why are you all looking at me like that?”

“You have been asleep for days” I answered.

“Oh”

Flynn’s hand hovered over Quinn’s heart for a moment then lowered to her stomach. It seemed everyone in the bedroom froze, staring at his hand, waiting for something to happen - for someone to speak.

“Umm, Flynn. Why is your hand over my belly? Now is not a time to be checking skin folds”

Moira took a step towards the bed, her brow creasing as she looked down at Quinn.

“You don’t remember?”

Quinn looked around at all of us, her face blank.

Shit. She has no fucking idea.

The Warlock brought his hand to his side and stood up straight. No one said a word, but they all stared at him…waiting. He cleared his throat, opening and closing his mouth several times before he looked his sister in the eyes and spoke.

“Quinn. You’re pregnant”

***** This is where you can start reading Galan - The Bear King. Be sure to add it to your reading list ❤️