Lori paused. She turned her head swiftly, waiting for the ball to drop.
Vara finally mustered the strength to stand up. Her knees trembled visibly.“Sabine may be my alpha… but in the grand scheme of things… I’m nothing to her.”“What do you mean?”Lori asked as she narrowed her eyes at her.Vara sighed. She had been locked in the cell for days and even though she had barely said a noteworthy tangible word or anything that could help them, she had heard everything. Everything that was happening all around her.Draco wanted Gabriel to give the order to kill her, Gabriel didn’t. They had tried reaching Sabine, all to no avail. No exchange would be made, but Gabriel somehow held on to the hope that he could exchange Vara for Lori’s son.Vara knew enough of Sabine to know that she would never give up Lori’s boy for her.“There’s only one thing I can help you with… and it’s this piece of information I’m about to give you.”Lori listened carefully,There were only two people Gabriel really and truly cared about. Lori and Emilia. And he had tried to keep them as safe as he could. Away from his world, away from the nastiness and conflicts. But now, all that was about to change with Lori. Since she was going to be his Luna, it was only logical she attended the Alpha's summit and while he didn't dispute the fact that she ought to attend, he had the unnerving feeling that Sabine was planning something.Talking to the Alphas must have been stage one, but what the hell was stage two of her plan? No one would be gullible enough to believe Sabine without evidence, so he knew that was the next phase of her plan.Gathering evidence, getting them to believe her. Any way possible she could get it.He hoped she would attend, she was bold enough to actually attend. She would believe that he wouldn't be able to touch or hurt her in front of so many other alphas but that was where she would be wrong. If she managed to com
The Alpha Summit She had chosen correctly after all. A black satin dress, a low neckline covered with light mesh and rhinestone beading, it had a corseted bodice with a silver bone belt and the entire chest was covered in intricate tiny rhinestones beading that caught the light. The satin and the mesh fabric worked perfectly together, the mesh making up the sleeves and parts of the skirt, while the satin holding the bodice. The sleeves were long and light, almost like a cape, they were light and featherless, made of the soft black mesh material. The back of the dress was opened, just like Myra had advised, it was low enough to accommodate her wings and the skirt of the dress was full and heavy. Lori liked the way the dress made her feel. Ethereal, unreal and magical. The dress looked better in the day but it shone best when worn at night. At night, it reminded her of the night sky, glittering and starry. Even though she was nervous, something about the dress had
She had never imagined that in her wildest dreams she would be attending such an extravagant and high end party. The thought had never even crossed her mind before. From the limo ride to the time it took them to get out of the limo and into the daunting mansion, she was utterely fascinated by it all. She had made the full switch to her nephilim form right before they walked into the Summit, the two guards that were placed in front of the large paint glass door had gaped when her wings appeared. Gabriel looked at her with adoration as he watched her transform. Trasnformations were easier now and relatively painless for her so she found herself being more and more comfortable with them. The heightened senses, the feel of power coursing through her veins and then the wings. They were the best part of it. She had been so uncomfortable with them at first. They had felt heavy, but now when she flexed them it felt like she was flexing a part of her, it felt like it was a muscle.
She heaved a sigh of relief when Axel loosened his grip and let her go. Lori walked to Gabriel's side. He must have snuck up to them. That would explain how they didn't notice him.There was an unreadable expression on Gabriel's face, while Axel seemed to be smiling. "Relax. We were just having a chat.""Really? Didn't sound like one."Axel raised his eyebrow. "Oh you were listening in? Interesting.""I was just curious about your beautiful mate here. I've never met an actual nephilim before...""She told you to let her go and you didn't. I'd advise you to steer clear of her next time."Axel chuckled."Or what?! Are you threatening me?""Interpret it however you like. But if you lay one finger on her again I'll have your entire hand dislocated from your body.”Lori placed a hand on Gabriel's shoulder, silently pleading for him to let it go, people were starting to look. Axel looked around and started laughing loudly.
The Summit has started. Everyone, alpha, Luna or their betas who had come with them moved to the large conference hall. Several alphas walked in twos and threes to their respective round tables, many of which had been arranged from rank to territory and location. Sabine watched the two main entrance eagerly and was relieved when she didn't see Lori. Even Gabriel was missing. Probably looking for his beloved mate. He wouldn't be able to do anything. She had seen the dark magic do it's work and if Astra's destruction was worse, she was pretty sure what Lori would do would be way worse. After all Lori seemed to be the fully blooded nephilim. All she had to do was sit and wait, then the commotion would commence.Ivor was the first to approach her in the conference hall. She had found her designated seat and was eagerly waiting when she saw the burly man walking towards her. She had almost groaned as she saw Ivor approaching her. "I didn't think you would make it..."
And for a long time Gabriel didn't even know if she could see what he was dreaming about. If she could see the glimpses of what he imagined of their future. Until he felt her breaking away from his tight embrace. Slowly till she was untangled from him. He opened his eyes slowly and saw that her wings were retracting, her features slowly went back to normal and her eyes went from the fearful glowing white to their familiar hazel color. He reached out and caressed her face gently, his finger catching the single tear that dropped on her cheek. "You dream of marrying me?"Lori whispered.Gabriel smiled. So she had seen it then. "I dream of the day you're truly and fully mine. As my mate, Luna and of course, my wife."Lori covered her mouth to stop the sob that threatened to escape her lips. She had seen everything. The glimpse into his head where he had imagined a quiet life for them. Not even a life as an alpha or a Luna. But a simple life real
"Leaving so soon?"Axel snickered as he snuck up to Sabine. She jumped nervously. Surprised that he had even followed her. Even in the middle of the ongoing summit. "You startled me."She murmured as she kept her distance, one eye out for her driver to bring the car around and another cautiously watching Axel. She didn't like him and for good reason too. Volatile, unpredictable, wild, they just didn't mix. She never thought they would too.She had intentionally kept him out of all her plans, she didn't need to be acquainted with him, but there he was, right in front of her.Chasing the drama presumably. He must have heard the rumors. And perhaps he was present to either confirm them for himself or he had another agenda. Whatever it was, Sabine desperately wished there was a way to wiggle out of the conversation.The night air was chilly and she was starting to feel the chilly hair on her skin. She didn't bring a coat, she had practically rushed to the Summit
"How was it?!"Draco asked as they walked into the living room. The ride home had been long and exhausting and Lori had dozed off a few times. Eventually she was grateful when they finally got home. She wanted nothing more than to soak in a long hot bath and then go to bed. She barely sat down before she started tugging at her heels. Gabriel knelt to help her remove them. "It was awful."Lori answered honestly. Draco glanced at the both of them. He looked like he didn't believe them. "What happened?!"The two of them exchanged glances. "Truly horrible." She added. Gabriel stood up and sighed."Sabine came."Just those two words were enough to make Draco freeze."No way."He muttered. Lori nodded."Oh she did.""And you let her go?!"Gabriel nodded. "I had no choice but to. She's allied with Kate's father, there was at least a hundred people there... we couldn't find a proper way to corner her.""You
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