Ink Ever After

by Carrie Ann Ryan

  Of course, it wasn’t every day he had to deal with a group of ten pups who decided that rolling next to the thorn bush—and then into the thorn bush—sounded like a good idea.

  He still wanted to wince for those little ones and their sad faces as they pouted. The Alpha’s mate, Brie, had done her best to take care of each of them, but it had been he who’d had to deal with their little cries.

  He hated when pups cried.

  Gina’s arms wrapped around his stomach and he couldn’t help but relax at her touch. Fractionally.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Quinn sighed. “Ten pups. Thorns. Whimpering. Tears.” He paused. “And after I got Gideon to stop crying over the fact that all those kids were whining at him, I had to deal with the kids’ tears.”

  Gina snorted and leaned her head against his back. “Gideon doesn’t cry, dear. You know that. He just sort of grunts and huffs like the Alpha wolf he is. Dad’s even worse sometimes.” They were Redwoods, so Gina’s father, Kade, was their Alpha, but Quinn had grown up a Talon and was good friends with the Talon Alpha and the rest of the family.

  Quinn turned in Gina’s arms and reached around to cup her backside with one hand. Even after sixteen years together, he couldn’t help but love every inch of her. His hand felt right on her ass. Of course, it felt right anywhere he could touch her.

  He let out a growl that reverberated in his chest, and Gina kissed his shirt, right above his heart.

  “I guess we’re done talking if you’re palming my butt as you are?” Gina asked, laughter in her tone.

  Like him, Gina hadn’t aged a day since they’d met. They were wolves, and would perpetually remain the same no matter how old they got. Yet he knew he’d love every bit of her even if they did go old and grey. She was his. His mate, his future, his everything.

  And he was so damned happy she’d walked into his life and turned it upside down.

  Quinn leaned down and licked the curve of her neck over the place where he’d marked her all those years ago. She shuddered in his hold, and he couldn’t help but growl. The mark might not show since it had healed soon after he’d sunk his fangs into her flesh, but everyone in the Pack—any Pack for that matter—would know she was his. The matching mark on his shoulder spoke of the same ownership. They owned each other, just like mates were supposed to.

  He was more dominant that she was, but only just. And since she was the Enforcer of the Pack while he was only a soldier, an enforcer for the Alpha but not the actual Enforcer, she held a higher place in the hierarchy. If he’d been a little less confident in whom they were together, it might have been a problem. But he trusted her with his life and with the lives of those in his Pack, so there wasn’t anything to worry about when it came to dominance.

  Gina reached around and gripped his ass with both hands, arching into him. “Wolf got your tongue?” She grinned, and Quinn leaned down to nip at her lips.

  “This wolf is about to have your tongue.”

  Gina laughed, so he crushed his mouth to hers. She moaned into him and they rocked together, their wolves rising just enough to make it interesting. When he pulled back, breathless, he leaned his forehead against hers.

  “I hate that I have to head to a freaking meeting right now,” he growled. His wolf was too close to the surface, and he had to take deep breaths so he could regain control.

  “I’m sure I can find a way to make a little quickie worth your while.” Gina kissed his jaw and he swallowed hard.

  “You know nothing we ever do is quick.”

  “Well, remember that time out in the woods on our way to the Talons for that Pack circle?” Gina bit his jaw, sending a growl through them both. “We had to be pretty fast then.”

  Quinn ran his hands up her back and let one palm cup the back of her hair. His fingers tightened and she let out a moan. “We’ve been quick before I suppose.” He met her gaze. “We’ve been slow, quick, and everything in between.”

  Gina smiled up at him, her eyes brightening. “I guess that’s what happens when you’ve been together as long as we have.”

  Quinn smiled as well and leaned down to take her lips with his. “I love you, Gina.”

  She kissed him back before pulling away. “I love you too, Quinn. Now, why don’t you tell me what else happened today.”

  He closed his eyes. “Gideon mentioned that he and Brie are talking about having a baby.”

  Gina stiffened for a moment before relaxing, but he could tell she’d forced herself to do so. “They’ve been mated for over a year now. And the Alpha and his mate need to have children.” She paused. “And I know Brie will be a wonderful mother. She’s a submissive and so nurturing. And Gideon? Well, it will be fun to see him stumble around, you know?”

  Quinn cupped her face. “We can try again, Gina.”

  His mate closed her eyes. “We tried for five years, Quinn. And it didn’t happen. It doesn’t happen for everyone. I get that. We have Jesse.” Jesse was Quinn’s son from his first mating, and Gina had helped raise him as her own.

  Quinn ran his thumb over Gina’s cheekbone. “And Jesse is everything. I know that. I also know that Walker, Hannah, and Mark have been working on a way to try and help us.”

  Gina sighed. “We took a decade off, Quinn. A decade because I was scared. I got on birth control and we just…coasted.”

  Quinn cupped her face. “There was nothing coasting about our time together. If you want to try again, we can. Because I know the Healers want to help, and I want you to be happy.”

  “I don’t need my own children to be happy,” Gina said, and Quinn nodded.

  “I know. We can adopt, or we can do what we’ve been doing. We’ve waited as long as we have because we are happy. But I’ve seen the way you look at the pups and the way you look at the expectant mothers.” He sighed. “I look at them the same way.

  Gina was quiet for so long he felt as if he’d messed up by saying anything. “I want to try again. I’m scared, but I want to try again.”

  His arms tightened around her and he forced himself not to hug her too tightly. “Sounds like a plan,” he said casually, though he was anything but casual.

  “And no matter what happens, I love you. And Jesse.” Gina sounded a hell of a lot stronger than he did.

  No matter what happens, she’d said. No matter what happened, they’d be together. They’d been through hell and had found their fate. Now they would take the next step. Again. Because he would do anything for the woman in his arms.

  Anything.

  TWO

  Gina wasn’t about to get her hopes up, but after ten years of living in a new kind of peace, she couldn’t help it. She and Quinn had tried to have a baby for five years after their mating. When nothing had come of it except countless disappointments, they’d stopped trying. She’d gone on birth control, and they’d spent ten years protecting their Pack and raising Jesse. She’d watched the rest of her siblings grow up as well as her countless cousins, and she’d never once regretted stopping the pain of trying. If she had continued to try, she might have gone down a dark hole she wouldn’t have found a way out of.

  Instead, she’d learned her new role as Enforcer of the Redwood Pack and had found a deep sense of happiness with her mate.

  Quinn was her everything, and nothing would change that.

  And now, she had him by her side as the Healers—past and present from two Packs—worked together to find a way to help her. Them. The three had come close in the past year or so since Finn, her brother and Heir to the Pack, had needed their help to Heal his wolf.

  Since Gina was a half-wolf, she couldn’t go through typical fertility treatments like humans. And thanks to the fact that she was also half witch, sometimes typical Healer connections that went between a Pack member and the Healer went haywire.

  “Don’t be scared,” Hannah said softly. “We’ll take as long as you need.” Gina’s aunt leaned close, and Gina inhaled her honey and crisp apple scent. She loved that scent. It sme
lled of home and healing. “You know it took me a while to get pregnant with the twins, and I had two men in my life.”

  Gina nodded and let out a breath, calming herself. “I do, and I will always remember the way you held me after each time the stick never went the right color.”

  “Quinn was there for you, too, and I know he’ll be right here by your side.”

  Gina knew that with every breath of her soul, and that’s why she felt confident enough to do this. “So, what does this entail?”

  “We’re going to put you to sleep and try to find the connections between you and the goddess that might be fraying,” Hannah said simply. “We might be in a highly technological age, but we’re still of magic. And both of us are witches.”

  Gina smiled. “Then let’s do this.”

  Hannah kissed her temple. “Let’s do this.”

  All in all, she didn’t feel any different. She’d gone to sleep one moment, and had woken up another moment with Quinn’s arms around her. She hadn’t been awake for the chanting or candles or the way her bond to the Pack had been plucked and played with during the procedure. If she’d been human, any of this would have sounded crazy, but she wasn’t, and this was her life now.

  Quinn kissed the back of her neck, and she grinned. “You feel okay, little witch?”

  She rolled her eyes and turned in his arms. “I’m fine. Though I don’t know if I should be. I mean, I did just let myself be put to sleep while people chanted over me.”

  Her mate chuckled roughly. “We’re a different breed. That’s probably why the humans are a little afraid.”

  Gina pushed the thoughts of the upcoming battles out of her mind and tried to focus on the present. She’d fought for her Pack and her son, Jesse, for so long, that she knew it was okay to be a little selfish now.

  Instead, she kissed her mate’s chin and bit down softly. He growled, and she couldn’t help but shiver in his arms. Goddess, she loved this man, loved him more now than she had when she’d first mated him.

  As soon as she was about to push him against the wall and have her wicked way with him, someone cleared their throat behind them.

  She closed her eyes and had to hold back a laugh.

  “That damn pup of ours has horrible timing,” Quinn growled.

  Gina kissed her mate’s chest before turning in his arms to look at their son.

  Jesse smiled softly at them, his dark hair in need of a cut and coming dangerously close to covering his eyes. Though no matter the hair, she could still see the secrets in those eyes.

  Their son was hiding something. Something that pained him, and there wasn’t anything Gina could do about it. He was of age now, an adult in his own right. She couldn’t force him to tell her everything. He loved her like his own mother, even though his mom still lived.

  Helena had been banished from the Pack during the initial stages of Gina and Quinn’s mating. Yet Jesse had accepted Gina, full stop, with no boundaries.

  She would always be grateful for that.

  Just as she would be grateful for the time when Jesse finally told them what was on his mind.

  She had her son, her mate, and, she thought as she put her hand on her belly, one day soon, she might have another child to call her own.

  She was happy.

  She just hoped she’d stay that way.

  THREE

  Quinn leaned back on the bed, his chest sweat-slick and his breath coming in pants. Gina leaned into him, her own body shaking. He couldn’t help the smug smile from forming at how sated she looked. He knew how to take care of his mate.

  Gina punched him in the side. For someone so sated, she could still hit pretty damn hard.

  “I know you’re doing that grin of yours that tells everyone that can see it that you’re a man and you made your woman come four times. Stop it.”

  Quinn reached around and cupped her breast. When she let out a little gasp, his grin widened. “It was five times, actually.”

  “Whatever. That third time was kind of small so I guess I just counted it as part of two.”

  Quinn let out a growl before turning over. The laughter in her eyes told him she’d been joking, but now he had to prove he could get to six.

  She put her hands on his chest and shook her head. “Oh, alpha mate of mine, I’m good. I promise.” She winced. “And kind of sore, so maybe we should take a break.”

  Immediately, Quinn lowered himself to the side and petted her. “I’m sorry, little witch.”

  Gina sighed and Quinn tucked her close. “I’m worried, Quinn.”

  He kept stroking her. “About having a baby? We’ve only just started trying again.”

  She shook her head then stopped. “Well, I’m a little worried about that. But more about Jesse. He’s been acting weird. Haven’t you noticed? He’s hiding something, and it’s worrying me.”

  Quinn leaned back but kept his hands on his mate. “I don’t know what he could be hiding. Jesse’s always told us what he’s thinking, what he’s doing. Even as he grew up and turned into the man he’s become, he’s always let us in.” Quinn didn’t like that he couldn’t tell what was wrong with his son. For too long it had been him and Jesse against the world. When Gina had come into their lives, it had been for the better, even if he’d fought the mating at first.

  “Do you think it’s because we’re trying for a baby?” Gina asked, her voice uncharacteristically small.

  Quinn immediately covered Gina’s body with his own, taking her chin in his hand while leaning on his other arm. “Never think that. He always wanted this for us, even when he was a little kid and helping you learn to knit.”

  Gina blinked away a tear, and he kissed the edge of her temple. “I sucked at knitting.”

  “Jesse was better.”

  His mate snorted. “I guess you’re right. I just worry about him.”

  He kissed her nose then lay back down next to her. “I worry, too.” His wolf paced and he let out a breath. “I think it’s time I confront him.”

  Gina sat up. “We will talk to him. Not just you. And don’t use words like confront. We’ll ask, we’ll talk, we’ll support. Confront might make him feel like we’re ganging up on him.”

  Quinn let out a growl and sat up next to her. “I’m a wolf. I confront.”

  “Wolves also prowl and work as a Pack.”

  “Our son will be okay,” Quinn said after a moment.

  “He’ll be okay,” Gina repeated.

  They sat together in the living room, going over the latest news reports from Washington as they waited for Jesse to come home. While Jesse could have moved out a couple of years ago, he’d stayed with them after the Unveiling. Quinn liked having his son in the house, even if it took a little extra effort to make sure that whenever he and Gina wanted…to let out their wolves, they were alone. They had to be careful.

  Though considering Jesse was a grown man now, Quinn just had to be thankful they’d soundproofed the bedrooms when they had.

  When the front door opened and Jesse walked in, Quinn and Gina looked toward their son. While Gina tried to act casual about it, Quinn wasn’t as good at that.

  Jesse froze before raising his chin. He met Quinn’s eyes before lowering his head. While Jesse was a dominant wolf, he still wasn’t as dominant at Quinn. That might change eventually, but for now, Jesse couldn’t keep eye contact.

  “What’s up?” Jesse cleared this throat and stuck his hands in his pockets.

  “Jesse, you need to tell us what’s wrong,” Gina blurted. She stood and gave Quinn a look he couldn’t interpret. “I’m sorry. I tried to come up with ways to be all nonchalant and work my way up to it, but we’re wolves and I’m not good at that. So, son, honey, tell us what’s wrong. What’s put that look in your eyes?”

  Jesse opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

  Upset that something was wrong with his boy, Quinn stood and moved toward Jesse. “Tell us, Jesse. You’re hurting. My wolf can feel it.”

  Jesse sighed and
leaned into Quinn’s shoulder. Quinn wrapped his arms around his child, and then his mate, as Gina worked her way to their sides.

  “Helena is back.”

  It was a whisper, but Quinn heard it. Every muscle in his body tensed and he let a low growl escape him. Helena had broken the bond with Quinn so she could leave and be on her own. It had almost killed him; had shattered him, really.

  And yet, he would have survived easily if it hadn’t been for Jesse. The pain of what Helena did to their son was what almost destroyed him.

  Her betrayal had almost killed Jesse.

  Gina had saved him.

  Gina had saved Quinn.

  And now, Helena was back.

  “Why is she back?” Gina asked. “She’s banished.”

  Jesse shook against them, and Quinn held him tighter. “I don’t know. I saw her outside the wards when I was doing a perimeter check and she called my name. I ran, Mom and Dad. I ran, and I didn’t look back. I ran, though I told my partner about her. No one could find Helena. It makes me a coward, right? A freaking coward.”

  Quinn put his hand on the back of Jesse’s head before pulling back. “You are not a coward.”

  “Your father’s right. You ran because of your instincts and nothing more. I don’t know why that woman is back, but we will find out.”

  “I don’t know what to do,” Jesse finally whispered. “I’m sorry I kept it from you.”

  Gina kissed Jesse’s cheek and met Quinn’s eyes. “We will figure it out, Jesse. No matter what, you are not alone. You are our family. We will take care of that woman as a family. As a Pack.”

  Quinn couldn’t have said it better himself.

  There was something hurting his family, his Pack, and they would find it and make it stop.

  No matter what.