Gabriel checked his watch again. He didn’t want to hurry Lori up but they had a long way to go and he already made a reservation to a restaurant in the city, it was far away enough for them to at least hurry.Grace had asked his permission to offer her Suzie’s dress for the dinner and he had no problems with it. Suzie had bought a lot of dresses, many which she intended to wear after the baby was born. She had a generous allowance from Gabriel and she loved lavishing it on fine things.It was quite sad that she didn’t get to wear any of the things she bought. After her death, the staff had packed up all her stuff and put it in the garage, her room had been locked after that, with Gabriel not even daring to open the door to the room. The night she had died had been very hard on all of them, it seemed as if the ghost of Suzie haunted them all, and hung around the room heavily.Gabriel was sure nobody slept a wink that night.The next morning he had ordered that her stuff be put away, h
Gabriel watched the man talking to Lori. He didn't like him. The dressing, the nasty look on his face, the tattoos and the piercings, no he didn't like him one bit.Asher, like Lori had called him was dressed like a gang banger. Baggy, ripped jeans and a large shirt that concealed his muscular frame. He had a heavy Cuban chain on his neck and his head was shaved. His exposed arms was covered in small tattoos and there was a snake tattoo that ran from his neck to his left ear. He was handsome, not in the conventional way but in the ruggedly bad boy way most women might find attractive. The way he looked at Lori, the way his eyes slowly raked over her body, Gabriel found it disgusting. Especially the way he called her name. It sounded familiar, too familiar, like they had history together. Lori on the other hand was shaking and trying very hard to conceal the fear in her eyes, she could barely look him in the eyes, or string a proper sentence. Whoever he was, whatever he was to her,
Where am I? Lori thought as her eyes opened, she felt groggy as she took in her surroundings, slowly, and then she gasped. There was the all too familiar feeling of dread that was pooling deep in her stomach. The dirty brown bed covers, the wall with the peeling paint and the dresser that was in her view, it was all too familiar and scary. All scarily familiar. No! No! This can't be, this can't be! She couldn't be back here, in this same room, where she had so desperately tried to leave. It wasn't possible. What happened? She asked herself as she found out that her hands were tied, so hard that she was already bruising. She wiggled her legs and found out they were tied too, there was no way out.Her eyes darted around the room, she was alone, all alone, that was good, now she had to find a way to leave, because she knew what was coming.She rolled out of the bed and fell hard on the hardwood floor, hitting her head on a pair of old hard brown boots. She ignored the pain, more foc
Lori blinked, her surroundings were different. She wasn't in her own room, but rather someone else's.She rubbed her eyes as she looked around, taking in the entire room and her eyes widened as she realized she was in Gabriel's room.She sat up, startled, she looked next to her and found out that the space next to her was empty and quite cold, Gabriel must have left for work early. She looked around and her eyes landed on the bedside drawer where the time on the digital alarm read 9:45 am. Her eyes widened. How was it that she had slept for so long, so comfortably without even waking up?! She jumped out of the bed, rushing out of the room and back to her bedroom. She met the door of her bedroom completely gone and stared at her open room in bewilderment. It looked like someone had ripped it off it’s hinges.Crazy! She thought as she shook her head. She didn't have time for that though. She thought as she waved her curiosity away and changed into shorts and a large black T-shirt.Sh
Lori took the baby for a walk in the gardens. It was quite a sunny day but it also wasn’t too hot. She thought it would be good for her and the baby to get some well deserved fresh air.Her day had been pretty much mundane. She had been occupied with Emilia all day, she wasn’t complaining though, she loved her job. It was very rewarding and it kept all the bad thoughts away. After what had happened the night before, Lori was determined to get it over with and not think about it again. She knew she would inevitably have to talk about it, but she didn’t think she was quite ready yet. Occupying herself with Emilia kept her busy, it kept all those thoughts away. She also really loved spending time with Emilia too. It made her very happy and at peace with herself.She wandered towards the pool area and was surprised to see someone was inside the pool. As far as she knew the staff didn’t swim in the pool. She didn’t know if it was because they weren’t allowed to but they certainly didn’
Lori followed Gabriel to the nursery, where they would talk. They ran into Grace on the way. “You’re back! Early too?!”She said in a surprised tone and he shrugged.“I actually needed the rest. Decided to close early.”Grace nodded, her face beaming. She patted Gabriel on the back.“That’s great! That’s very good!” “I’ll get dinner started.”She said as she walked past them in excitement. Gabriel made sure he sent Elliot out of the house before they both left though. He specifically told him to go and wait for him in the pool house. Lori didn’t know why he did but she didn’t think Gabriel liked his cousin very much, it was visible in how little they interacted. Especially with the way he treated him, she didn’t know if there was a specific reason he didn’t, but he just seemed not to. They walked into the nursery, Gabriel had taken Emilia from Elliot before he went up the stairs with Lori. He had kissed her cheek and rubbed her head, he must have missed her and she must have mis
They had a slow day. Actually, it had been a slow couple of days. Days like that were popular at the diner, they were in a shitty neighborhood, with about seventy percent old people and a retirement home nearby, it was a wonder they got any customers at all. Finding help had also been very hard, the teenagers didn't like to stay too long, they found the job boring, plus the pay wasn't even that good. Ever since Lori left Birdie was having a hard time dealing with the new hire Yvette. The girl was nineteen and she had a really loud mouth. She questioned everything Birdie, or asked her to do. And she always came to work late. Birdie was sick of her. She honestly missed Lori, and even felt bad for the way she had treated her. Maybe if she had treated her better she wouldn't have left work. Well, who was she kidding? Lori wasn't really going to work at the diner for years like her, she didn't look like she was that kind of person. But the way she had left truly baffled her sometimes.
Dinner was salmon with buttery garlic green beans and a kale salad. Lori was ravenous. She had taken Emilia for another checkup, her doctor had been monitoring her temperature and giving her medication. Her fever had come back early that morning, after a few days of them being absent. Lori also noticed Emilia was getting bigger. She used to be able to carry her with one arm before but now it seemed like she had grown a lot more faster. She knew it was typical for babies to grow, of course, Emilia was slowly leaving the newborn stage but it didn’t make it any less weird that she was getting bigger and longer. Her hair had also started to grow out, she had been bald for months, with not a hair in sight but Lori was excited to spot a few blond strands of hair on her head. She didn’t know what Suzie looked like, but with the little she could see, Emilia would be blonde, like her mother probably, if her mother was blonde. Or maybe her hair would grow darker and she grew, it was still to
Gabriel's POV. Six months later. I want to marry Lori. I've been thinking about it for months, I've bought the perfect ring. The type I know she will like. A classic, oval cut diamond I’ve caught her admiring at least three times on separate occasions and I’ve been waiting for the perfect time. But something keeps coming up. Lori’s too busy. She has way too much on her plate and sometimes I think adding wedding plans to the mix would be a little thoughtless of me. We just celebrated Jack and Emilia's first year birthday a few weeks ago and the planning drained her. Physically and mentally drained her. She wanted a big party, I didn't mind a small one but we ended up going all out anyways and thankfully it didn't turn into a complete mess. And after the party I thought we'd be getting more alone time since we finally have a new nanny but that's not really the case. Lori has decided to apply for college and while I'm finally happy that she's getting to d
Lori's POVIt's been three months. Three long months but they have been full of more bliss than I've ever had in my life. More peace, more tranquility than ever before. After the issue with Sabine and all that nonsense, Gabriel and I were finally glad and happy that things were back to normal. In our lives and in our children's lives. We could finally live the life we always wanted to live. No, not the whole white picket fence suburban kind of house that Gabriel wanted, but picture something larger, grander, with more rooms and more space for kids to play in.We did move to the old mansion. It was just honestly so much better than the penthouse and for me it held a lot of fond memories. And knowing that Sabine would never step her feet in them again gave me a sense of comfort and relief like never before. It made me happy. And there were so many things to be happy about. I had completed the Luna rites two months ago and I was officially Gabriel's Luna. In were
It all went by in a blur, but every punch, she remembered. For herself, for Gabriel, for her son and most especially, for Elliot, who didn't make it. How could she let her go, how could she let her live after all the pain and harm she caused her?! No, she would not.She didn't plan on letting her walk free. no, she didn't plan on letting her stay alive. She vaguely remembered punching Sabine, then she saw someone pulling her up. The hands around her arms pulling her away with superhuman strength. She fought against it but it was futile, the hands were much stronger than hers. "Loretta. Loretta!!!"The voice called out. Lori snatched her hands away from her mother. "Don't call me that."She murmured as she tried crawling back to Sabine. Her face was bloodied and battered beyond recognition, she was barely breathing but Lori knew that the bitch was still alive. She was like a cockroach. She wouldn't die so easily. "Trust me you do not wa
Even though they had gone over the plan multiple times, Lori still felt jittery and nervous. The anxiety was eating at her, fast and quick. It didn't help that her clothes were still slightly wet and she was uncomfortable and cold. The nephilim guards Ione had got had managed to do a sweep of the area. They estimated the number of wolves around to be at fifteen, all scattered strategically around the mansion. The nephilim guards promised to handle all the guards, just as long as Lori and Gabriel went inside first, they promised to handle everything else. They would block all exits, so no one got out, that way anyone in the house would be unable to escape. Gabriel assured her that it would all be fine, and she tried to stay calm at the thought that it would, they were so close now, closer than they had ever been. Her son was just a few metres away from her. The nephilim guards went in first, and then chaos ensued. The whole party erupted in chaos, Gabriel ushere
Lori transformed. The full transformation and the cabin suddenly felt small and stuffy. Two huge men came to her side, one ways holding a book. Lori didn't know what it was or what it was for, but it looked important enough. "We have created a bath, you have to stay submerged in it to drown out our voices and movements."Lori looked around, they pointed to the end of the hallway. She wondered if whatever bathtub they had prepared would fit her wings. "Will this work?! You look unsure."She noted as she got a sense of her mother's emotions now that she was fully nephilim. She could smell her worry, also laced with fear.She wondered if the ritual was safe. "It will. It can take several hours though."Ione answered. Lori decided at this point she needed to alert Gabriel. Just in case anything that wasn't supposed to happen, happened. Come now. As fast as she had sent the message, she heard footsteps on the front porch, the door opened
"Hello?""Who is this?!"Lori asked as she rolled on the floor. Oh Myra had kicked her ass during training. In fact, she could barely feel her legs. Her muscles had been out of use for a while. It had only been about a week or two since she was out of training yet it felt like it had been years. "Loretta? Am I speaking to Loretta?"Lori sat up. Something about the voice was oddly familiar. "Yes?! Who is this?""This is Ione."Ione. Ione. Where had she heard that name before? She could have sworn it was familiar. "Ione what? From who?!""Ione Verstrynge. A friend of yours gave me your number. Her name is Astra."That was when it clicked. Astra had told her. That her mother was named Ione. And that she had heard of her. Lori couldn't believe her ears!She couldn't believe that she was talking to her birth mother. As shocked as she was, she also felt overwhelmingly angry. It had been years, what reason did the
Lori was late. She had promised to start training again and was well on her way there when Grace called and canceled due to a family emergency. Lori couldn’t blame her, but she also had to go to training and needed someone to watch the baby, so she had stayed home till Gabriel came back to take over. She had hurried out of the penthouse, in nothing but sweats and slacks, her gym bag over her shoulder with a pair of socks almost falling out. She stopped at the lobby to stuff it in. One of Gabriel's men was waiting at the parking lot to driver her to the training ground. She was late already and she was also sure that he must have been waiting a while. In her hurry, she bumped into someone and her whole bag came tumbling down again. She muttered a string of apologies as she picked up her bag, not even glancing at the person before turning away. The person touched her hand and she turned, alarmed and confused. Her eyes narrowed as she saw who it was. Axel Walker. She loo
Ione Verstrynge had stared at the contents of the letter ever since it arrived. The words were even starting to replay in her head. Alongside with a past she had fought hard to forget. She had sent for Graham, her right hand man, confused and angry, he was the only one she could trust in her state and the only one she had entrusted the information with the minute she got the letter. If it was true she had a grandson, then her daughter must be alive and in danger. She had lost her for years. Years of running and running had made her paranoid she she had run without looking back. The only problem was that she had left her daughter behind. With no time to look back. For the first few years she visited at least twice. She found out the orphanage had named her Loretta. And that she was a spitting image of her father. That had hurt more deeply than anything and so she had left again. The last time she went back, she didn't find her, too bad, she had wanted to at least see h
“Hello?!”Lori answered the phone, knowing fully well who the caller was. She had been expecting Sabine’s call ever since they launched their series of coordinated attacks on her. It had taken at least five days before she finally deigned to call her. She knew the woman would call once she found out the extent she was willing to go to. And Sabine did not disappoint.“Lori.”She answered in a clipped tone.“How have you been Sabine?”She asked and Sabine didn’t reply for a few seconds. “I’ve been better.”She grunted and Lori resisted the urge to chuckle. She was itching to gloat. “Must have been a pretty hard week…”“I’ve had better…”Sabine murmured. Lori examined her nails as she smiled to Myra who was sitting next to her and listening to every bit of the conversation. Myra had come to ask her when she would resume practice, Lori had avoided all talks of practice and told Myra about what she was up to instead, Sabi