Gabe lived outside of the city by choice. He had a very huge house that he had inherited from his parents before they died and he became the Alpha. Gabe had been working all his life in his father's company, the one that was now his, and he had started from the ground up. He had the tallest building on main street, and he was popular with women, as they always want something from him.
He was a hard worker even though he had been born with a silver and gold spoon in his mouth, and he had always been unable to sit down without doing anything for a long time. Now, he was sitting here and waiting for the man Cara had told him about. Cara was Dean's younger sister and had always been closer to him than she was to her own brother. The only reason for that was because Cara had always had a crush on him for the most part of her teenage life until she didn’t, and she had followed him around until they became close. Now she was dating one of the pack's men, her mate. He approved. Tim was a good man and a good wolf as well. He would always do what was in the best interest of Cara and that was good. It wasn’t as if Gabe didn’t have his own siblings, but they were all scattered around the world. He had two other brothers and they lived in Paris and London, while he stayed here in the United States. Aching with inactivity, he stood up from the couch that was in front of his huge house and paced up and down. He was sure that his workers would be surprised as to why he was sitting around or even pacing now. This was supposed to be a favor to Cara, because he really doesn’t have any position he needed a person to fill, but it wasn’t all that bad. Gabe and his pack members might be truly werewolves, but they lived a life of simplicity and among humans. Only about a little number of humans knew about them, but they had accepted them and vice versa, so there was no problem between the two creatures. They lived normal lives, working together, some getting married. As a wolf, sometimes, they might not get to have a mate, and that was the time they would be free to marry whoever they wanted. It might be true that it was better to have a mate than not, but it was also still good when one can find the woman or man one wanted themselves. God, he hated waiting around, but here he was. He could have been going something right now, if only he agreed to something yesterday.This time yesterday, he remembered that the television company had asked if they could use some part of his house to shoot a movie but he had respectfully declined. One thing he loved other than his company and his pack was his privacy. It might be true that he had workers on his property, but only a couple of them stayed on the estate with him, and they had the guest house that was at the back of the house to themselves while he alone stayed in the main house. Cara had told him to accept, but he had declined because he wanted his privacy. That was why he had agreed to give the man coming to a job, to make up for not doing what she had said. He hated it when she made a fuzz. That woman might not be his real sister, but she was a real family to him. He was sure that she would be less angry at him that way, and thankfully, she had only shrugged and said that it was his decision to make. She had told him that the only reason he had told him to “consider” it was because it would make him seem more human and friendly or pleasant.She was thinking that the publicity would help give the bed and breakfasts he intend to start some kind of awareness, and he had agreed, but they had messed up when they said they had to interview him first. He couldn’t stand to sit in his house in front of the glare of camera lights, while some person, human or wolf, snapped a clapperboard in his face like he had seen people do to their interviewee. He looked to the gate at the far end of his property and seeing as nothing seemed to be going on there, even though he couldn’t fully see the surroundings of the gate and fence because of the trees, he whispered. “That’s it.” He shook his head. “I will not be waiting around as if it is I that is in need of the job.”Behind him, the front door opened, and Max walked out. “Sir, you’ve been sitting outside for a long time. Is anything wrong?” He asked. Gabe shook his head. He wasn’t about to admit to one of his workers; the gardener that he had been waiting for some guy to show up for work as promised to Cara. “But sir, you don’t sit around. I could have sworn you said you would be in your office.” He said. Gabe nodded. “That was what I said. I’ll be in soon.” He said, and reluctantly, Max turned and walked back inside. He must still be tending to the flowers on the back porch near the kitchen window. He brought out his phone to call Cara. This wasn’t acceptable, he thought as the phone was held to his ear. “Hey, Gabe.” She called cheerfully when she picked up the call. “Don’t “hey, Gabe” me, Cara. Your human isn’t here.” He said. “And you know how much I hate waiting, right?” Clearly, Cara could tell that he was annoyed, so she said. “I’m sorry about that, Alpha.” She thought that using his title might soften him, but Gabe decided that she would fail. He rolled his eyes at the gimmicks she wanted to use.“You haven’t waited that long, now, have you?” she asked, pausing for dramatic effect “I’m sure the human would be there soon.” She said. “If that means having to sit or stand around, then I won’t be doing that.” He said, his eyes gleaming in anger. ‘’No one else would turn up to work for you, Gabe, so you have to be patient.” Gabe scoffed. At what Cara had said, one would think that he wasn’t the one doing her and her human a favor. She had said that no one would turn up for the position as if he had the position sitting idle before or that he didn’t have any workers before. He walked to the recliner and sat down on it. “You know that isn’t true, and if care isn’t taken, I’ll take the position away, so don’t push me, you brat.” He knew calling her that would shut her up because she hated being called what she truly was. He adjusted the recliner to push it back a bit, before leaning his back. “Just so you know, I’m busy, so it’s either you call the human and tell him to get his ass here or something, or you can tell him to go back home.” He said. Cara didn’t bother to correct Gabe, because she knew that he was very angry about having to wait. She would have to call “her human” and see what was keeping her. She was going to also have to go pick her up herself if need be, and she hoped that what she had told her about the last time, wasn’t happening. “I'm sorry. I’ll sort it soon.” She said and ended the call. Gabe cursed, and he stood up to walk into the house. The front hall was deserted of his workers, as they must be working on their various stations. He had a gardener, a cleaner, and a driver. Two of them stayed in the guest house while the cleaner; an elderly woman in her fifties came in thrice a week, with her two sons. He hadn’t taken two steps when he heard a knock on the door. He wondered who was at the door, and thought that it might be one of his workers. But why would any of them be knocking? He asked himself. “Yes?” He flung the door wide only to be forced to adjust his eyes downward to where a small woman stood on his doorstep wearing some type of white dress that reached her knee but had an attachment at the back flowing to the floor. The tip of the cloth was dirty, and he could tell by her barefoot legs that she had been running. “Huh, do you think maybe I can come in?” she asked him, looking up at him.She wasn’t a tall woman, but not too short, with the height that made her barely reach his shoulder. She seemed to have been crying as she had something black run down her face in a tear line. She had a cut on her upper lip, and her left wrist had a dark purple bruise forming there. With a frown, he took her appearance in at a glance, and something stirred inside of him, something that he had never once in his thirty five years felt before. He could feel his sleeping wolf stir and he shook his head, mentally, putting a press on whatever he felt, plus a reminder that appearances could be deceptive. He wondered what she was doing there on his doorstep, and why she was asking if she could come in. The woman looked so young with honey-colored eyes, with her dark hair hanging in drenched lines around a sweet shaped face. She was wearing some kind of scarf around her hair, and her head tilted at a tricky angle, and her clothes were ruined, the clothes that appeared to be a bridal gown. The back of it was all ripped and streaked with mud. He could see that she had not only been crying, but there was grief in her eyes and something he couldn’t discern, yet. He wasn’t sure what it was so he didn’t dwell on it.There was one thing he did know, and that was the fact that she wasn’t entering his house. “Who are you?” he asked frowning. “What do you want, and what is this about?” he asked suspiciously.Alex looked up at the handsome tall man Cara had told her to manage to meet and she sighed. He was so beautiful, with his lashes so long, lashes she would kill for. He had strong arms, and a wide chest as well. He looked as if he had jumped out of some model magazine.If she didn’t know any better, she would have thought that he was some military force man, because of how built he looked. He must be expecting some pretty woman or an older woman, she wasn’t sure, but whatever it was, she was here now. She knew that she looked like a mess right now and that was because she had hitched a ride here from Seattle. Coming from Oregon wasn’t an easy ride, because sitting for five hours straight was something hard to do. She had just escaped her own wedding, running from the man that her parents wanted her to marry. He was an older man and was older than her by at least twenty five years if she was correct. They had wanted her to marry him because he was reached and was looking for a young
As Alex stood in front of the fireplace, she thought about how she had gotten here. From the escape from her wedding to her arrival here, in Oregon, everything had been such an awful blur. She had hitched a ride here but even that fact didn’t put her in an attentive mood as she should be. She had been dull, her mind all jumbled up, right up until now when it had snapped into focus.When Cara told her there was a job on Berkeley Moore estate, she hadn’t asked any question. All her mind was on was how she would get away from her family. She had an elder brother, but he was as useless as her parents had been in the department of protecting her. Instead, they didn’t mind throwing her to the wolf. Now, she wouldn’t allow herself to be caught in any web as long as she breathed. Her senses were on full alert, and she could feel the eyes of the man behind her on her back. She was fully aware of how her body had reacted as soon as he opened the door, but she wasn’t going to dwell on that. She
As she held out the discarded dress she had just stepped out of, he scowled. He knew she was still feeling so sour about herself, but from what she had told him, it wasn’t her fault. They, her family, had wanted to force her into a marriage because of their own gain, whatever it was that was promised. “I’ll go get you a waste bag.” He said, as he looked at her and saw that her eyes had started to water. “Try getting into the sweatpants and shirt before you freeze to death.” He said, but suddenly, he realized what he had said and wanted to kick himself for the careless choice of words. He walked out of his room and walked slowly downstairs to the kitchen where the bag was. This was going to be a long day for both of them because he really still doesn’t have a job for her. He had thought that the Alex coming over was a man, so he had prepared for him to be the butler; even though he seldom need one. He had mentioned being the housekeeper but he really wasn’t sure what that could entai
“I would take you now to your room, and after you’re done with whatever women do to calm down, be down in the living room, and I'll show you around.” Those were his words when he told her to follow him. At the end of the hall of his room, Gabe stopped at the door that was there, and he grabbed the doorknob to open it. “This is your room. I hope you find it to your liking.” He said. Alex looked around the room at the rich way it was decorated, from the curtains against the window to the rug on the floor and the bedspread. It had no particular design to say it was made for a woman, but it was looking a bit feminine. The wall was painted in green, a darker shade than her eye color, and the curtains are cream in color. The rug on the floor was brown and black, but other colors complemented the curtains, except for the furniture. She had thought that he would be taking her to some guest or servant quarters but here they were. The chair at the corner shoved against the wall was padded, a
Frowning, she squinted her eyes but faced Max again. As she grabbed his outstretched hand, he retrieved it as if he had been burned, but his smile was in place. “It’s nice to meet you both. I’m Alex and will be the housekeeper. I’ll also handle your food if that’s okay.” She said. She saw them look at Gabe then nodded their heads and she folded her hands behind her. There was something about the way they had both kept their hands behind them instead of shaking her that made her mirror their actions. Gabe had told Max not to touch her, he didn’t have to open his mouth because they were both werewolves like he was and they could communicate through their thoughts. Even if he wasn’t the alpha of their clan, they would still do as they were told because he was their boss. No one should touch her, and it included everyone. He didn’t even bother to hide his irritation at Max as he offered his hand, and worse, couldn’t control or stop the growl from escaping his mouth. Thankfully, Alex d
She had thought that Cara would be here first thing, but since that wasn’t the case, after getting breakfast ready, and Gabe out of the house to go for a meeting, she started to look around the house, scanning every little detail. Perhaps, she would be able to tell more about who Gabe was by studying the furniture and the way the house was designed and decorated. She could tell that every piece was expensive and rare; limited editions, they call it now. Everything looked all shiny and new, even though she could tell it had been there for a while. The cleaner was doing a good job then. She would be meeting her tomorrow. She had worked long years for Gabe and would be able to answer some of Alex's questions, questions she couldn’t ask Gabe himself. This house was very huge, and the only thing she had been able to gather so far was Gabe's love for his privacy. She wanted to know more though, and that was why her eyes were fixated on the things around the house. She wanted so badly to fi
Gabe kept thinking about the woman that he had left at home, the one that was now working for him during his meeting with a smile on his face. As the elevator opened up, he picked out his phone to call the personal shopper Cara referred. She had called him this morning to let him know that she had a prior arrangement she couldn’t get out of so she couldn’t come over. She had also sent her the list of what Alex would be needing as clothes and then a phone. According to her, she would get the other female-related products, slash toiletries. When the call was picked up, he briefly told the woman at the other end his address and told her that she would be sending the list of what was needed. It turned out that she was expecting his call as Cara had called her as well. He got into the backseat of the car as its door was held open for him. “Are we going home straight from here sir?” Fabio asked even though he already knew the answer to that. Of course, they were going home. He had nothin
She stirred, moving her arm from the uncomfortable position it was in, and she felt the heat against her belly. Moaning, she stirred again, and she started to become conscious. Still, with her eyes closed, she woke up, not fully, but she had started to think, and the first thought that came to her was the fact that she had fallen asleep. It was needed, seeing as she had been unable to sleep last night until the early hours of the morning. She knew that it wasn’t an excuse and she needed to get up soon to go make lunch. Thankfully, Gabe wasn’t around, so it would be just her own food, and the gardener’s, if he was interested. She sighed and then, something popped into her head as she remembered Gabe. She had fallen asleep in his room, in his bed. That was her passing her boundary. That snapped her awake fully, but she still had her eyes closed. She should get the hell up and out of here before someone find her splayed on her employer's bed. Just as she was about to open her eyes, sh
Epilogue Three years Later “Gaby, go call your papa for dinner. He should be in his room.” Alex told her three year old daughter. Little Gaby shook her head and said. "No, mommy. Papa is being a wolf outside with Alex.” she pointed to the door of the kitchen that led to the backyard. Alex had two beautiful daughters, twins, Gabrielle and Alexis. They were her life, and she loved them so much. Nodding, she smiled at the girl and shook her head at her as she licked her lollipop. She kept telling them both it was going for their teeth, but their father would sneak it to them. She could tell the only reason Gaby wasn't hiding her candy lollipop was that she was carried away. "Gaby, what's that you have in your hand?” she asked her. “Huh,” she removed the lollipop from her mouth and started at it for a second, then she quickly hid it behind her. Smiling, Alex shook her head.Soon, she heard footsteps coming towards the kitchen door and Gabe stepped inside, Alexis behind him. She al
Alex slept for two hours straight and she had just woken up five minutes ago. She was standing in the kitchen with Gabe standing at the end of the table watching her as she moved around, slicing this and salting that.Mrs. Teddy just arrived ten minutes earlier with the ingredient she had listed off at the hospital, and he had instructed her to wash them and get them all ready and sorted for her. That made Alex's job easier for her. She was making brown rice, fried salmon, and chicken soup. She already had the pot in the cooker and she had put in all the vegetables she chopped into it; including the spinach and broccoli. They are low in calories, and they are a great source of calcium, iron, vitamin C, and heart-healthy antioxidants. She allowed the vegetables to cook on medium heat until they were soft. She stir-fry the vegetables for a little while before she added the boiled chicken and seasoning to it. She was cooking it in the special way her mother had taught her how to. She
After bringing the coffee, Tim asked them to wait outside, and not to go home until they were able to see the cute little baby that just joined the family. Sitting outside with his wife, Gabe wrapped his hand around Alex's shoulder and pulled her to him so that she would rest against him. “Do you think we should stay? You look tired.” “I am, but we should wait.” She said. Thankfully, Tim soon poked his head out of the hospital room's door, and he said to Gabe. "Come on, Gabe. You can now see the baby." He said.With a nod, he stood up. "Will you stay here?” “I'll come with you.” She said and he nodded. They proceeded to the room and followed Tim to the side of Cara's bed. Cara was carrying her daughter and she used a pink blanket to wrap around her. Gabe could have sworn that the baby was as pink as the blanket itself.She was so beautiful and she had chubby cheeks. She was closing her eyes so Gabe couldn't see the color of they were but he knew that they would be beautiful. Cara
Alex was all happy, smiling and nodding at everything Cara said. She had had a peek at the baby before she was taken away so that they could clean her properly. She was so pink and so beautiful that Alex's heart swelled with pride and happiness for her friend. This was what people called a bundle of joy. She was going to be experiencing it soon, in a few months, and she couldn't wait. Although, she had also seen the pain that came with it, and that scared her, but the happiness in her heart at the moment didn't allow her to dwell on it. This was the first time that Alex witnessed childbirth, and so far she feared and loved the experience, the feeling she got. She bent down to whisper into Cara's ear and told her that she was going out to see Gabe.“I'm so happy for you both.” She wanted to say, but she could see that Cara was already so tired. Telling her that would make her all pumped up to talk more about her own feeling and how happy she was. “Okay, you should do that.” She said
Getting out of the car even before Gabe parked it made him so angry he wanted to yell at her, slamming on the brake before she could jump out. Why the hell was she acting so reckless all of a sudden when she could as well calm down and still get to her sister in the end? He gave her a look that could have melted her head off if that was possible and gritted his teeth. "That was dangerous, Alex. Why did you think it was okay to open the car door when I haven't even stopped the car?”“I'm sorry.” She said, her voice a little bit low. Her phone had been ringing off the hook since they were on their way here. She had picked it every time, and Cara kept telling her to get herself there if she didn't want her to kill her. “You could have been killed if I didn't stop the car. You almost got down from the car if I didn't stop you.” “I wasn't thinking straight.” She said. She had been so distracted, thinking about the kind of pain that her sister must be going through, with the pain that
Alex had just woken up a little minutes past six o'clock in the morning when her phone rang. She had been sleeping with her body half across Gabe's body so she tried to get off him but his hand tightened his hold around her waist. He moaned and moved even closer to her, pushing his face into the crack of her neck. He sniffed and moaned again. He was probably dreaming about her, or at least, that was what she thought was happening.“Gabe,” she called softly. "let me get up, okay.” She said. She wasn't sure he heard her but she would try. She was tired but her phone was ringing, and for someone to be calling at that time, it must be something important.“Gabe, remove your hand off me. I need to get to my phone.” She said again. She tried raising his hand that was across her belly but he was not bulging. She raised her head to look up at him to see his eyes were now wide open, with no residual of sleep on his face. He had been watching her sleep, and she wondered for how long that had
"Alex, finish the bowl," Gabe instructed and Alex made a sour face, not liking the situation at all. She wondered what she had gotten herself into and how she would get herself out of it. "Gabe, I am done. I am not hungry anymore." She whined and pushed the tray away. She held her breath as she said that, hoping that would work and he would leave her the heck alone. "Finish it. You are pregnant. You need to take care of your diet now. I don't want you to black out as you did after the honeymoon." He said and picked up the bowl. He was determined to make sure she finished the food, and if that required him spoon-feeding her himself, then that was exactly what he would do. Filling the spoon with the soup, he raised his hand and extended it towards her mouth, opening his in a gesture for her to go the same. Groaning in a complaint, she finally opened her mouth and allowed him to slide the food inside.“I won't black out again, you know. The doctor already examined me.” She said and he
"And I take her to be my lawfully mated wife,” Gabe said, and the elder that officiated their marriage said. "You may kiss the bride.”Alex knew that she would always remember Gabe's sweet reaction when he turned to kiss her as the elder had said. He was smiling brightly, his eyes laced with tears of joy. She could tell he was as happy as she was even though she had been getting cold feet at the beginning of the day, up until the start of the ceremony itself. He caught her lips as he kissed her passionately, her searing hot mouth making her want more than the kiss he was giving, but she couldn't have. They were outside after all, with a lot of people present, and she wasn't about to give them a free show. That would be doing something nasty. As Alex lost herself in the kiss, it was the loud cheer of the people around them that drew her back a little. She could tell that they were all so happy for them. At least, most of them. There was no way everyone around a person will completel
Today was one of the happiest days of Alex's life, no doubt. She was not just happy though, she was elated, or any other word she could use to describe the way she felt at this very moment. It also happened to be the day she had been waiting for and dreaming about since she became a grown woman. She had basically prepared her mind for this very day and now that it was here, she was glad, feeling ten folds of the happiness she had always dreamt of. She couldn’t wait to be addressed as Mrs. Berkeley, and today was the day she was going to say “I do” to the man that she loved so much, even though it was just going to be one of the wedding ceremonies, it was as important as the one they would do at the pack house to have them officially mated. It was more or less a joining of some sort. She had always dreamt of spending the rest of her lifetime with the man that loved and cared for her and her family this way. She was just too happy to express her joy. She realized that the way she was