He was seated in the shower room. He had placed a chair there earlier so she would be able to wash his hair while he was seated. Gabriel tried as much as possible to clear his mind so he could enjoy the experience. He didn’t want to think of anything else other than Lori’s hands in his hair. He wanted at least a few moments of peace, love and ultimate quiet. Lori brought out the shampoo and conditioner from the bathroom cabinet. She had changed into shorts and a tank top to minimize water getting on her clothes and she had tied her hair in a braid to get it out of the way. In the shower room, she set the water temperature to warm and placed the shower head over his hair. The blood washed away and Lori watched as the blood and the water disappeared down the drain. She let the water wet every strand of his hair before dropping the shower head and lathering his hair with the shampoo. She worked her way through this hair slowly, her fingers slowly massaging his scalp. Gabriel’s eyes w
He was not prepared. No, not for this kind of punishment. When Asher had been snatched off the streets by some freakishly strong men he knew nothing about, he assumed it was some drug lord whom he owed money. Wrong. He was totally wrong. He didn’t know how long he had been in the dark stuffy room he was in but he had not seen anyone for what he assumed would be days. They didn’t even take him outside to relieve himself. When he wanted to he had no choice but to relive himself on his body. The smell had clung to his skin like a parasite and his jeans remained damp. What did they want from him?! He had no idea. They didn’t say a word to him. They had tied him up and left, opening the door only to slip him food. Even when they brought in his food it was a struggle for him to eat with his hands and legs tied. He had to crawl all the way to the plate of food and water just to eat and managed to make a mess every time. The floor had droppings of rotten food. And he was only fed thre
They were 1,396-foot above the ground. At least that was what she was told. The sophisticated penthouse they moved in was breathtakingly luxurious and so ridiculously pretty even in a way that put the mansion to shame. It was only temporary, Gabriel has assured her. Just for a while. He mentioned, till he found a better and more secure location. For now the penthouse was the best option, with the tight security and the fact that they were on the top floor with at least five levels of security to get through, it would be the hardest challenge for an intruder to get into. The penthouse was beautiful, it had a modern charm to it, one that was quite different from the mansion. A luxurious exterior gallery which boasted of a large living room alongside a library and a burning fire place. The corner dining-room provided multiple exposures and ran seamlessly into the residence's windowed open kitchen space. The kitchen itself was breathtaking, not as large as the one before but equally imp
"I'm home."Gabriel said as he walked into the living room.The feeling in the penthouse was different. Without the staff, it felt more homey, more relaxing. Lori was in the kitchen washing some bottles. She was in an oversized T-shirt and some leggings. At some point, Gabriel had agreed that was all she had in her closet. "Hey!"She called out as she waved towards him. "How are you?"She asked as she started washing her hands.Gabriel walked up to her and hugged her from behind, burying his face in the crook of her neck, generously sniffing her in. She smelled like baby powder. "Good. You?"He asked, still holding on to her and Lori nodded. She was practically beaming. "Me too."She said as she blushed furiously.He broke away slowly to turn her around to face him. Her hair was in a ponytail and part of her face had baby powder on it."You have baby powder on your face."He said as he gently wiped them away with his fingers.Lori rolled her eyes."Yea... I just changed Emilia an
If Elliot could describe the club his brother had recommended in one word it wouldbe: hot.Not just because of the warm sweaty atmosphere, but the kind of people in it. As soon as they got checked into the club, the smell of smoke filled his lungs. This club was different. More intense than any he’d ever been. It was also hazy in there, the smoke was in different colors because of the flashing led lights. The main colors were the hazy blue and purple color, making the entire club feel like an aphrodisiac.There was a bar, bartenders shaking and mixing drinks up for people while flirting with them at the bar.There was also a dance floor, filled with sweat clad bodies moving against each other. There were tables and women dressed in flapper costumes, sparklingly bras and little skirts with bright makeup dancing on the tables.But Elliot didn't care for all that. He had taken great caution to sneak out, just to make sure Draco didn't suspect him. As far as he could tell Draco didn't,
Ordinary. Kate had called her ordinary and the word had stuck to Lori all through the lunch date. She was right, Lori was pretty ordinary. Not a penny to her name, she was broke, no notable family except for her miscreant adopted brother and no education except for a high school diploma.She didn't deserve Gabriel. Why would she? She wasn't even really angry at Kate, the woman was right. She had just stated the facts. But Kate had continued her taunting and the lunch had gone downhill from there. Even the sushi left a bad taste in her mouth. She just wanted to go back home and climb into the sheets and not be reminded of how inadequate she was. Kate had gone on to state other things, many of which Lori had no idea about. The woman would just not stop talking and Lori was grateful when Emilia was the one who provided her an exit. She had given Emilia a bottle and Emilia had burped all over her romper, she didn't usually do that, which was how Lori knew even the baby was trying t
"I decided to catch you before you left... I hope I didn't interrupt anything..."Draco asked as he walked in. He didn’t, they were just talking about mundane stuff before Gabriel went back to work, nothing more.After Gabriel had dropped the bomb about him having Asher, the three of them had stayed in bed for a little while, just resting till Emilia had demanded for food and they got out of bed. “Hi Lori.”Draco said as he waved.“Hey Draco.”She waved back. Now that she knew who Gabriel was and what he meant to Gabriel, she felt much more comfortable having him around, more safe. “I know this place is a downgrade compared to the mansion, but I hope you’re adjusting well..”He said and Lori scoffed. Downgrade?! No way he just said that.“Downgrade?! This is my first time living in a penthouse.”“Besides… I prefer this place. It has a great view.”She said and Draco raised his eyebrow.“Really? How are you finding the lack of help around here?”He asked and she shrugged.“Grace com
Gabriel barged into Elliot’s apartment, breaking the door in the process. Elliot jumped up from the sofa he was sitting.Startled and surprised. He looked at Gabriel and his now broken door.“What’s going on?!”He asked. Did they have another intruder? Was someone trying to get them? “Elliot…”Gabriel’s voice was surprisingly calm. But he was raging underneath his cool exterior. “Yes?”“I’m going to ask you some questions. And I need you to answer them completely honestly. Or else… we will have problems.”He said.During that moment, Draco ran into the room too, he had tried to catch up with Gabriel as fast as he could. Just so Gabriel wouldn’t cause a scene. He met the door broken and managed to close it a little, to give them some privacy. Gabriel and Elliot were having a stare down. The tension in the room was thick enough to suffocate. Elliot looked nervous, his eyes darting around, his hand slightly shaky. “Elliot… is Lyle alive?”He asked and Elliot visibly paled. For Ga
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