Gabriel’s POVI was holding her in my arms tightly. Her sobs were a stab to my heart.“Is that why you were so afraid?” I asked her quietly. “You thought I would hate you?”She nodded and looked up at me.“I was sure you would hate me once you realized that the woman who raised me took your family away,” she said with a trembling voice.“She did,” I nodded and wiped her tears away. “But you had no fault in that. And you are nothing like her.”Her lips quivered and she placed her head back on my chest. I hugged her tightly and kissed the top of her head.I looked at Nick and Annie. I could see sadness and worry in their eyes.My heart was breaking when she was in pain. I wished I could take it all away. I wished that bitch took me instead. At least Aria would have been safe here with our grandma.Aria lifted her head and let go of me. She wiped her tears away and sat back down on the bed next to Nick. He lifted her up and placed her in his lap.“No way you are sitting next to me when m
Gabriel’s POVI swear to Goddess, if Nick didn’t stop bouncing his leg up and down, I was going to strangle him.“Stop it,” I growled and placed my hand on his leg, stopping him from moving.“This place is a dump, man,” he sighed. “I can’t believe you used to come here every night.”“It wasn’t every night,” I said with a frown.But he was right. The place looked awful. The whole City looked awful. I had been so wrapped up in everything that was happening with Aria that pushed everything that was happening here to the back of my mind.The streets were completely empty. Everybody was too afraid to come outside. While we were driving here, we saw only a few people walking down the street. I bet they were hunters. The city was constantly clouded by smoke coming from the main square and there was a constant smell of burning bodies lingering in the air. It was even more potent than it was a few days ago. You could hear screams coming from the main square.I had a feeling this would be last
Gabriel’s POVAria smiled brightly when Nick said we will be going to her old village soon.“What is going on in the city?” Annie asked and placed the empty beer bottle on the table.“The streets are completely empty,” I said. “The city is covered in smoke and there is constant screaming coming from the main square. It is much worse than it was just a few days ago. It is only a matter of time before they start rummaging through the suburban area.”“I should tell my parents to go to our cabin for a while,” Nick said. “They haven’t been at work in a few days, anyway. Most of the companies are closed permanently. Some of them moved their headquarters to a less dangerous area.”If Victor continues with this inquisition at this pace, there will be no such thing as a “less dangerous area” soon. We have to stop him.“You have a cabin?” Aria asked him.“Yes,” he nodded. “It’s deep in the woods. They should be safe there.”“Tell them,” I said. “They should leave as soon as possible. As should
Gabriel’s POVI kept glancing at Aria while driving. She was fidgeting nervously in her seat.We have been driving for about four hours now. We stopped a few times to go to the bathroom and grab some coffee.“Will you stop doing that?” I mumbled and placed my hand on Aria’s thigh.She was in the passenger seat next to me. Nick and Annie were sitting in the back. Annie was sitting behind me and Nick behind Aria.“Sorry,” she mumbled. “I am nervous.”“It’s going to go great, A,” Annie said. “Don’t worry.”“What if they are angry at me?” she said quietly, glancing out the passenger side window.“Why would they be angry at you?” I asked, surprised.“Well, I disappeared,” she sighed and turned to me. “I never got a chance to explain why. And I am pretty sure my grandma didn’t tell them anything. What if they are angry about me leaving without saying a word and they refuse to let me explain?”Nick leaned in and wrapped his hands around Aria from behind. She calmed down slightly.“First of a
Nick’s POVI hated the nickname.I hated the way he looked at her.I hated everything about him.He still wanted her. He wanted what was mine.I almost lost it when he hugged her. It was tight and filled with love. I was the only one who could hug her like that.I didn’t like how comfortable she was with him. I didn’t like how he held her while she cried.I wanted to take her into my arms and run as far away from here as possible.Nate was freaking out and growling. He kept pushing me to grab Aria and hide her from that fucker’s constant glaring.I could see Gabriel was not pleased as well. But he was not freaking out as I was.Aria’s friend Cassie was staring at us, wide-eyed.“Who are these people, Ari?” Cassie asked and looked back at Aria.“Come sit down and I will tell you everything,” Aria said and motioned toward the couch.Cassie looked between us, confused, but she walked over to us and sat down next to her brother.Aria turned to the other guy and smiled.“Goddess, Minnie. Y
Gabriel’s POVI was not sure I liked this.I didn’t like how close they were. I didn’t like how familiar they were.It bugged the hell out of me.I had to admit, I didn’t really think it would be like this. I thought four years apart would have left a strain on their relationship, but it didn’t happen. She was so much more comfortable with them than she ever was with us.And I was jealous.Nick and I were walking behind Jacob. He was leading us toward the guest room.Jacob opened the door and we walked inside.The room was simple. There was a big bed in the middle and a closet on the left. A small couch was on the right next to the door to, what I was assuming was, the bathroom.“The bed is big enough for two,” Jacob said. “The couch can be pulled out and two more people can sleep on it. But if you want, the two of you can sleep downstairs.”“No,” Nick said sternly. “We will all sleep in here.”Jacob nodded. “Bathroom is through there.”He pointed at the door to our right.“Do you nee
Nick’s POVFuck that was hot. I’ve never seen her acting this badass and it turned me on. Goddess, she was perfect.I watched her until she was out of my sight.I turned back to Jacob and saw his eyes were following her as well.My blood started to boil again.They were in here alone in the middle of the night. She wasn’t wearing much, and he saw what only I was allowed to see. He touched her. He touched what was mine.His eyes came back to me, and he frowned.“Listen here, Jacob,” I growled. “I know you want her. But she is mine and you are not getting what you want. So back the fuck off.”He smirked and got up.“You are right,” he nodded. “I do want her. She was mine long before you came into the picture. And I am not backing off. I will fight for her because she is worth the fight.”Nate started clawing for me to let him out.Kill him. He growled. He wants to take my mate from us.“You are not going to win,” I said through my teeth.The only reason that I was not strangling the guy
Gabriel’s POV“Come on, Aria, focus,” I grunted and squeezed her hand.“I am tired, Gabriel,” she sighed. “We have been at it for hours. We can try again later.”“It’s only been an hour and a half,” I said. “One more time and we can stop.”She rolled her eyes and sighed. “Fine. One more time and we are done for today.”I nodded and let go of her hand.After breakfast, Cassie asked Annie to help her pack. They were both crazy about clothes, so Annie accepted her offer with so much excitement that I thought she was going to burst. Nick decided to walk Jacob and Blake through our plan of finding Patricia. So, while everyone was busy, I dragged Aria to the guest bedroom, and we started practicing. We have been trying to find her power, but no luck so far. I felt a small spark of her power a few times, but she couldn’t catch it. By the way, she was as powerful as I am.I made sure to cast a small spell so nobody outside the house could feel us doing magic. It wasn’t as powerful as the spel
Gabriel’s POV“Aria!” I yelled.Where the hell is, she? We are going to be late.I heard footsteps coming into the kitchen. Aria walked in wearing a dress and white sneakers. Her hair was up in a ponytail, and she had a little makeup on.“Why are you in such a hurry?” she asked. “Nick is not even here yet.”“I promised Zack we would come a little earlier so I could help him hang the sign,” I explained.“We will be there on time,” she smiled. “Don’t worry.”There was a knock on the door, and Nick walked inside. His eyes immediately went to Aria, and he gave her a small smile. That guy was totally whipped.“Are you ready?” he asked us, reaching his hand to Aria.“Yes,” she smiled and took his hand in hers.We walked outside, and I locked the front door. We got into my car and started driving to Jake and Cassie’s house.We didn’t really need to drive there, considering it was only a five-minute walk, but the sign was too big to carry, so I had to put it in my car.“Does Cassie know anyth
Gabriel’s POVI woke up in my bed and sighed constantly. It was December 12th, and it was our birthday. I smiled and opened my eyes.It was the first of many birthdays my sister and I will share.I wished this wasn’t the first one. I wished we had shared our birthdays since the first one, like we were supposed to do.But I can’t change the past. I can only be thankful that I have her here with me now. And I didn’t intend to let her go ever again.I was thankful I waited that long for a haircut.I was thankful I slept in that day and had to go to the salon later.I was thankful I opened the door just in time for her to run into me.I was thankful that she bumped into me that day.I was thankful that Nick managed to convince me to go to one more hotel.I was thankful that Mrs. Black was out that day working in the garden. I was thankful she approached Aria, talked to her, and told me about it.I was thankful for each and every decision that led me to my sister.I got out of bed and look
Gabriel’s POVIt’s been a few days since the battle.Patricia, Mike, and Jack went to Victor’s headquarters to end the inquisition. They should come back in a few days. Mike had been keeping me updated. Patricia didn’t try to take Victor’s position. For now. They were shutting his whole operation down. It wasn’t going as smoothly as we had hoped it would, but they were making progress. They were having trouble with some of Victor’s most loyal followers. They didn’t believe he was dead, and they wanted to continue with the inquisition.I trusted that Mike, Jack, and Patricia would be able to deal with them.The rest of us were packing to go home tomorrow. We stayed so Aria could take care of Zack. And she did an amazing job. Zack was up on his feet, and he was doing well. He got tired easily and he still spends most of his time in bed, but his wound healed miraculously well, and his fever was completely gone.Things around here were a little bit tense.There was something going on betw
Gabriel’s POV“What happens now?” Annie asked while we were eating.I raised my head to look at her. “Now we go home.”I took Aria’s hand in mine. We will finally be at peace. We will finally be able to live like a normal family.“It seems surreal,” Aria mumbled, looking down at her plate.“What does?” I asked her.She put down her fork and looked up at me. “Everything. Are we sure that this is over? It sounds too good to be true. What about the prophecy? What about his threat?”“He is dead, baby,” Nick spoke before I could. “He is gone forever and this whole story is over. Not all prophecies come true.”She sighed and looked back down at her plate. “I guess.”I placed my hand on her back and rubbed small circles soothingly. “Don’t worry, love. It is over.”She looked up at me and gave me a small smile. She didn’t look convinced. I sighed internally. I would make sure she felt safe. I would make sure she believed that this was over.Because it was.It had to be.Nick watched him burn
Nick’s POVI watched Gabriel walking away with my mate in his arms.My heart clenched painfully.I wanted to go with her. I needed to go with her. She was hurt and I was supposed to be with her.But I couldn’t.I had to make sure the fucker was dead. I had to stay behind and watch his body turn to ash.What he said about the prophecy not being fulfilled made my stomach twist. I had to make sure that he was gone.I watched my mate until I couldn’t see her anymore.I sighed and turned back around. Mike was standing next to me, his arms crossed over his chest, glaring at the fire. Patricia was on the other side. Her eyes were filled with tears.I glanced around the field. Someone was missing.Petra.Fuck.She took Cora’s power. She has so much dark magic right now. She could be dangerous.My eyes darted around the field. I couldn’t find her anywhere.We were so focused on Victor, that we completely forgot about her.“Where the fuck is Petra?” I growled.“Gone,” Patricia mumbled.I looked
Gabriel’s POVThe way he looked at Aria made me furious. I will kill the fucker and dance around his dead fucking body.I gathered my magic and I blasted it toward Victor.He was fast. He pulled up a shield and his eyes snapped toward me.“YOU LITTLE PIECE OF SHIT!” he screamed. “I CAN’T WAIT TO TAKE AWAY YOUR MAGIC AND KILL YOU!”I smirked and fired up my magic again. Victor expected it and sent a blast my way. Aria put up a shield in front of us.At this point, everybody started fighting. Annie and Mike ran toward Petra to help her with Cora. Nick, Jake, Aria, and I focused on Victor.He was strong, stronger than I thought he would be. I glanced over at Aria and gave her a little nod. She was panting hard, trying to hold up her shield.I focused on projecting an image of a cliff toward Victor. Aria focused on projecting pain. As soon as our spells hit him, he staggered back. His magic lost its intensity and his attack stopped.I was relieved. I took a deep breath and focused on keep
Gabriel’s POVAria was next to me the entire time. I held her hand in mine and refused to let go of it, even for a second. I will not lose her again. He was not taking her away from me. She won’t get hurt.My ears were ringing from the constant noise coming from the forest. There were dead bodies lying around us. We tried not to kill, we truly did. But sometimes we didn’t have a choice.I could hear growls all around us. Aria’s eyes were on Nick the entire time. He was merciless. He was bringing other wolves down like it was nothing. He was fueled by anger, and that made him even more dangerous.“Aria!” I yelled, bringing her focus back on our task.There was a man running toward her with a knife in his hands. She snapped her eyes at him, and he was down in a second. He was screaming in pain.“Fuck,” I mumbled.That was close.Zack ran toward us. He took the knife from the man and knocked him unconscious.I looked over at the group fighting with Mike and Jack. I focused on them and pr
Gabriel’s POVIt had been four days since we called Victor. I started to think our plan wasn’t going to work.“What are you doing?” I heard a voice behind me.I turned around and saw Annie leaning on the door frame.I had been sitting in my room for the past hour, staring through my window at the backyard, trying to come up with strategies on how to defeat the fucker. We were done with practice for the day, so I decided to spend some alone time.“Thinking,” I answered, turning back to look through the window.“About?” Annie asked and walked toward me.“Battle plans,” I answered, not looking at her.I heard her sigh. She sat down in the chair next to me. I could feel her gaze on me.“Are you okay?” she asked quietly.I glanced at her before returning my gaze to the window in front of us.Was I okay? Not really. I was tense, pissed off and afraid. I would like to glue Aria to myself, but I knew that I couldn’t. I was terrified he would take her away from me. But I can’t tell her that. I
Gabriel’s POVI gripped Aria’s hand tighter and turned to Nick.“Do you have the phone here?” I asked.Nick reached into his pocket and pulled out Calvin’s phone. He placed it down on the table and looked up at me. My friends sat down at the table and nervously glanced at the phone.I looked at my sister. “Are you ready?”She took a deep breath and nodded slowly.I wish we didn’t have to do this. I wish there was another way. I was against her being here and listening to this. Others thought she had a right to know. Looking at her right now, I regret not fighting against them harder.“We are here for you, okay?” Jake said, reaching over the table for Aria’s hand.She let go of me and took his hand in hers. “Thank you, Jake.”I pulled her hand from Jake and put it back in mine. Jake glared at me, and I gave him a ‘don’t fuck with me right now’ look.Nick reached for the phone, but Patricia stopped him. “Hold on a second.”We looked at her with confused expressions on our faces.“He is