Dinner ended rather awkwardly. Even though she knew she should stop, she still poured herself another glass of wine. Gabriel eyed her glass."Are you sure you want any more of that?"Lori shrugged."It tastes okay.""Yes. It does. But you don't seem like someone who drinks.""I don't. I actually think I'm a lightweight."She said and Gabriel nodded."Have you ever been drunk before?"He asked and she nodded."Once. At prom. Some of my classmates snuck in bottles of beer and poured alcohol into the fruit punch. I think we all got drunk from it."He chuckled. "How did it feel?"Oh she could remember the moment as clear as day and it felt horrible when she thought about it. Really horrible. Everyone was either drunk or slightly tipsy and the school had sent them all home early."It felt weird. Really… I wasn't that drunk but I kept tripping, even though I wore a short dress and my heels were low."Gabriel chuckled."But you had fun right?"She nodded."Yes. It was fun." Lori finished
The next morning, Lori woke up in Gabriel's arms, resting on top of his chest. She didn't know when they had switched positions, but she was pleasantly surprised that she woke up early enough for Gabriel to still be in bed. Which was quite a feat to be honest because all the times she had slept in his room, she always woke up to an empty bed. Gabriel stirred and opened his eyes."You're awake."He said as he yawned. Lori gently pulled away from him."And you're still in bed.""Hnmmm."Gabriel said as he buried his face in his pillow."Good morning."Lori said as she climbed out of the bed. She didn't wake up all through the night, Jenny and Sylvia had been alternating Emilia's night feeds just so she could sleep better."Good morning." Gabriel murmured as she walked out of the room and straight into the baby's room.Sylvia was awake and already in the room."Good morning Sylvia.""Good morning Lori."She said as she looked up from the table where she was neatly folding Emilia's clean
Gabriel woke up well rested the next morning. He had tried to get out of bed twice when Emilia got fussy but despite his protests, Lori promised to handle it. So when he woke up and still found her sleeping he decided to give her more time to sleep. She would not be accompanying him anyways. He had thought long and hard about it and decided that it was very risky for him to bring her along. Especially since there would be certain conversations that he wouldn't be able to talk about in front of her.He would ask her to stay in the hotel, then see Mrs Chrissy Garcia, taking her granddaughter with him. He had decided on an escort last minute, feeling weird that he had travelled without Draco by his side. Gabriel couldn't remember the last time he had traveled without Draco.His escort would be arriving with a car in the next few hours and he only had little time to get there. Sabine had not told him much but from what she described Suzie wasn't in good terms with her mother. But her mot
"What?!"Gabriel asked and Mrs Garcia nodded."It's actually perfectly normal for pups in our pack. We just don't experience growth spurts. It's weird that Emilia is experiencing that. What about you? Did you experience growth spurts?!""I did."Gabriel said, now totally confused, and slightly angry that he might have come all the way to Canada for nothing.Nothing at all. "Although it wasn't as early. My parents said I had one when I was six months old."Mrs Garcia nodded."I'll admit it is strange she is having one so early."Gabriel sighed."Is there anything else about Suzie's medical history that I should know?"He asked and the woman shrugged."Not that many. We are prone to difficult births in our families. If Suzie had given birth in the traditional family way, she might still be alive. But that's besides that. I assume you will have to deal with the asthma...""She'll grow out of it after her first shift."Mrs Garcia said and Gabriel shook his head."No. Emilia doesn't have
"I'm in the hot tub!!!"Lori called out quickly, embarrassed as she swiftly jumped out of the tub and wrapped the first towel she could see around herself. Luckily, her clothes were still with her so she put them back on, despite the fact that she was still wet. She quickly tried to dry as much water off her skin as she could. She ran out of the bathroom, Gabriel and Emilia were back."How was it?"She asked as he sat down on the sofa, he set the baby carrier next to him while he pulled off his shoes. Lori couldn’t help but notice that he looked like wasn’t in a good mood. "Good. Emilia slept all through, then she woke up when we got to the hotel."He said and Lori went to peep at the baby in the baby carrier. Emilia was sucking on a pacifier.“Is everything okay?"She asked as she saw that he looked a bit off, he was reclined on the sofa while he ran his hand through his hair and sighed. Gabriel nodded."Yes. Just not what I was expecting..."He answered. He looked up at her and
Gabriel was in a mood the rest of the night. He stayed up on his laptop working on the couch till one am. And when he finally went to bed, he slept on the sofa. Lori wondered if his current mood was because of the visit. Nevertheless his mood bothered her, greatly.She didn’t like tiptoeing around people’s moods, because she was always too fixated on what she would say or do that could eventually annoy them. The next morning, he was better, helping her with baby and making jokes about how they would go club hopping when they landed. He was better but she still couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong with him. They had breakfast in silence and a man named Luco arrived to drive them to the airport. Lori changed into a pair of pants, white shirt and paired with a green sweater she had bought recently while shopping for a coat. Lori held the baby while Luco and a frontman helped with their luggage. Finally, they were leaving, she thought as they all walked inside the elev
It was just as if they had never left. Everything was exactly the same. Gabriel went back to work immediately they got out of the plane, leaving Tony to take her and the baby home. Back home, Grace wasn’t back yet, but Elliot was in and he was sitting in the living room when she came downstairs to make a bottle.He was wearing the usual beach shorts he seemed to have a lot of and he was also wearing a grey sweatshirt. “Hey!”He called out cheerfully as he waved at her.“Hey.”Lori said shyly. She wasn’t totally comfortable around him yet. She was still a bit weary of him, especially with what Gabriel said about him.She couldn’t avoid him though, they lived under the same roof, technically not in the same house. “I heard you went on a trip. Canada.”Lori nodded.“Have you been?”He shook his head.“No. I haven’t. But I hear it’s cold this time of the year.”“It is.”“So what were you guys doing there?”He persisted and Lori raised her eyebrow.“Why are you so curious?”She asked an
His Grandfather was back home. And calling him incessantly. Gabriel could only assume that meant trouble. The man was like ninety years old, he was also retired and he had promised to stay out of his business. Seemed like that was a lie.Gabriel wasn’t about to be bothered about all that, it was one thing he refused to add to his plate. That could wait. Besides, he knew his grandfather would go to DC first to see Elliot's mother. They had a weird relationship. They were unnecessary close and far too invested in the lives of the people around them Anyways he was tired. Exhausted. Canada had been a complete waste of time. He just wanted to get back home and have a nice dinner with Lori and kiss his daughter goodnight. He needed sleep, rest and a little bit of distraction.It also didn’t help that he had mounting sexual frustration. Ever since Emilia had been conceived Gabriel had been more careful with women. He knew what happened with Emilia was an accident but he decided to be more i
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