Hey there, Readers. Well that was one emotional journey for Gabe. I wanted to really emphasize the complexity of Gabe's decision as it will play a part in Mila's-and not how you might think. Hopefully this gives you a deeper understanding of Gabe's character.
MILA“I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”And there goes the tears. Gabe immediately moved to Noah’s side as I tried to comfort him as best as I could. “Hey, Noah, it’s okay,” I said gently, keeping my voice calm and reassuring. “It was just an accident.”Noah shook his head. “Mommy’s going to be mad. I’ll be in big trouble.”“I promise you won’t be,” Gabe said. “Everyone knows things can get a bit messy when eating spaghetti. Sometimes you can’t control where the sauce goes, right?”Noah blinked, tears falling down his face as he looked between all of us with uncertainty. “Your dad’s right,” I said, picking up the spaghetti on my lap, making a playful face when I let it plop onto my plate, sauce going everywhere. “See? Sometimes you can’t control where the sauce goes. No harm done, ok?”Noah’s lips twitched into a small, nervous smile before burying his face in Gabe’s shoulder. Gabe lifted Noah in his arms before turning to look at my dress.“I’m sorry about the dress,” Gabe started. “Please, let
MILAA loud noise from behind us caught our attention, breaking the charged moment between us. I was thankful, as I watched the workers apologize and move on to cleaning up the mess.“So, what do you say?” Gabe asked.“I… I can handle it,” I said aloud, trying to ignore Rayne’s constant remarks and focused on getting out of here. “It’s just a bit of sauce.” My voice didn’t sound nearly as convincing as I hoped, and Gabe’s amused smirk told me he knew it.“Mila,” he said, his voice low, almost teasing as he kept his hand firmly on the door, preventing me from opening it. His gaze locked on mine, sending a ripple of something down my spine. “It’s really no trouble. I insist.”"Let him insist," Rayne hummed again, not letting up for even a second. "Come on, Mila. Have some fun before you tear things apart. Listen to how he says your name. Imagine him whispering it when we—"Imagine it? Oh, I had already dreamed of many different ways to make him say my name and a few included bondage. But
MILAGabe immediately stepped in front of me, his broad shoulders blocking Arianna’s view, but I could still feel the weight of her glare. Though, Gabe’s attempt to shield me only seemed to pissed Arianna off even more.“Arianna, it’s not what you think,” Gabe said, his voice calm but edged with urgency.Arianna’s laugh was bitter, cutting through the air like glass. “Not what I think?” she hissed. “Don’t you dare try to spin this. I felt it!” She pointed an accusing finger at me, her voice shaking with pain and fury. “This… homewrecker planned all of this, didn’t you?”“Arianna, enough,” Gabe said, his voice a bit firmer than before. “You can talk to me, not herRayne stirred inside my mind, practically purring at the authoritative edge in Gabe’s voice. “Mmm, I like this side of him. Tell him to keep going,” she teased, her desire bubbling beneath my skin. I mentally pushed her aside, but it didn’t help much—her feelings bled into mine, making it harder to focus.“I am talking to you,
MILAThe sound of the fire alarm blared through the chaos, sending models, workers, and cameramen scrambling in every direction. I stood frozen in the middle of the madness, trying to make sense of it. People were rushing for cover, yelling, pushing–chaos all around me. None of this was supposed to be happening.Two weeks. That’s all I’d had to pull together a new location and a fresh concept after Tyler tipped me off about what Mirabella knew concerning Arianna’s “plan” to embarrass me. The classic–stealing someone else’s idea and showcasing it first–was basic and so Arianna. I expected that level of sabotage and was prepared for it. But this? This went beyond petty. How the hell did she know about this? My mind raced as I watched the scene unfold–fabrics were soaked, displays ruined, models in full panic mode as the sprinkler system continued to drown everything I’d worked on. The entire “Bring Me to Life” theme was perfectly ruined. “Well, this is… interesting,” a voice beside me
TYLERShe really needed another place to work. The thought hit me as I stepped into the cramped, suffocating space and bumped into a file cabinet. The air was thick with papers, books, and the faint scent of her perfume–something floral with a hint of warmth. But that wasn’t all. Beneath it, there was something else. A sweet, intoxicating undertone of… arousal. Declan stirred immediately, perking up with interest.I fought to ignore it, but it was hard not to notice how it clung to the air, wrapping around me like a magnetic pull I couldn’t shake. “She smells good,” Declan growled in my mind. “Shut up,” I snapped, trying to focus on why I was here.Mila sat behind a rickety desk, her sharp eyes flicking up to meet mine with irritation. Along with that frustration, her scent washed over me again, sweet and lingering, making Declan growl low. “This is not the time,” I said more to myself than him.“Welcome to my office,” she said with sarcasm, cutting off my thoughts. “Take another st
TYLERMila let out a harsh, almost dismissive laugh, but her lips curled into a smirk. “I’m trying to fix the problem you put us in and all you can focus on is a fucking vibrator?”“Among other things,” I shot back before I could stop myself. Smooth idiot. But the Alpha in me wouldn’t let it stop there. I pressed on. “This is not just about my ambition, okay? You need someone like me–obviously. I mean, look at you.” I gestured around the tiny room, its four walls feeling more like a cage at this point. “You’ve holed yourself in this micro-closet for an entire day, with no plan to show for it, not talking to anyone when we have no more than a day to fix this mess. You’re radiating so much aggression, I’m shocked you haven’t… I don’t know… fingered yourself to death. Though by the looks of what you just put in your purse, you were halfway there.”We stared at each other, the tension thick in the air, her eyes narrowing on mine. For a second, I thought I’d pushed too far, that maybe this
MILAI watched as Tyler licked his lips as his gaze moved back down to my vagina. I deliberately sat down on my chair spreading my legs to give him a full view. Rayne was going completely nuts inside my head. She had been waiting on a release since yesterday. Her frustrations only added to my own to the point I thought I was going to burst. A quick fuck would have cured that but this was so much better. Tyler at my mercy. I could already see him trying to break from my restraints, too bad they were werewolf proof. I reached out to unzip his pants, and by the way he took in a breath you would’ve thought I already had my hand around his dick. Hell if it wasn’t attached I was sure it would’ve jumped out the moment I released it. Tyler mumbled something I couldn’t make out but from the desperation on his face and his furrowed brow I knew it wasn’t sweet or romantic. The look in his eyes was needy and Rayne ate that shit up, urging me to let her out. “Not this time,” I said, knowing just
MILAWith Camila feeling guilty about the showcase, it didn’t take long for us to come up with a plan to savage the showcase. All I needed now was Gabe’s approval. I debated on letting Camila go but I was pretty sure she was banned from the previous incident. Alex, on the other hand, practically slept at the packhouse hospital. Seriously, I haven’t seen the guy in two weeks. I was starting to forget how he felt under my fingers. Maybe I could pay him a visit?As I approached the MoonCrest pack border, the familiar sensation of being connected to the land washed over me. It wasn’t as overwhelming as being at the packhouse, but still the feeling made me feel alive. So much so, I got out of the car just to feel the ground beneath my feet, buzzing slightly with energy. I knew this feeling from Alpha Jack’s pack. When he invited me to become a pack member, during the ritual linking there was a bond a wolf felt with the land and the pack.“Stop right there!” a voice called out, firm and auth
GABEEarlier that dayI had finally caught up with Frederick, tracking his movement any time he got close to my pack. I needed to find him for Mila. Figure out why he thought she was dead and why he would run away.Hopefully, I could convince him to come back to the packhouse to clean up. Then I can arrange a meeting with Mila. Honestly, I just wanted to see her again. Anytime I had business at the Aliz building, which wasn’t a lot, I would catch glimpses of her and her scent would torment me. A torment I deserved no doubt. But maybe this could happen.I had just stepped inside a roadside diner not too far from the pack’s borderline, when I spotted them. Frederick was sitting in a booth, talking with my mother. In daylight he looked vastly different. His dark curly hair was littered with streaks of silver, his brown eyes–so much like Mila’s–were dull and distant. My mother stopped talking the moment she saw me and almost shot out of her seat.“Gabriel, what are you–what are you doing
MILAI leaned back in my chair, tapping a pen against my chin as I studied the sketches laid out before me. The designs were flawless, innovative–exactly what will impress Deveaux. Yet, none of it would matter if I didn’t have the right model to bring them to life. Good thing, I had the perfect person.“We have a problem.” Camila rushed into the room, tapping away on her tablet.“You say that like it’s something new.”Camila laid the tablet in front of me. The screen cycled through different news outlets of my past work with many models.“Why are you showing me pictures of my past work?”“Because of this, Amira backed out and now.”Camila tapped the screen and pictures of Amira and Arianna popped up everywhere. She was working with Arianna now.I dropped the pen onto my desk, looking at Camila. “What?”“The contract we sent failed through.” Camil crossed her arms, a mix of frustration and concern in her eyes. “Word got to her that you once chose Zuri over her a few years back. Amira
ARII could see everyone’s eyes on me. Once Tyler left, Emily moved us to the Alpha’s office. Troy sat in the chair with Emily standing behind him. Her lips were pressed into a thin line, her arms crossed tightly across her chest as she looked between us.I sat in one of the chairs as Gabe stood by the door, his jaw set tight, his eyes fixed on some distant point beyond the window. I knew this moment would come, I was hoping for it. Maybe his parents could talk some sense into him.“Gabriel,” Emily finally broke the silence, her voice carefully controlled but trembling at the edges, “surely this is something we can talk through? Divorce is… drastic. Unnecessary.”My heart pounded in my chest. “Yes,” I added quickly, stepping closer to Gabe. One look from him made me stop. “We can fix this. I can fix this. Gabe, please.”His expression was blank. He didn’t flinch or soften. “No, Arianna. This isn’t something to fix. It’s over. My decision is final.”Final.The word echoed in my mind,
TYLERI played with the egg yolks on my plates, the fork scraping softly against the porcelain. My appetite had long since disappeared, replaced by a gnawing ache in my chest that had nothing to do with hunger. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get Mila out of my head. The heat of her skin against mine, the way she compelled me to bid her every command, the way her touch trembled with a desperation neither of us could name–a fire that burned between us but never seemed to satisfy her. I knew it was because of her bond with Gabe. It was always him.Even with me, she was still tethered to him. But if she kept coming to me instead of him, didn’t that mean something? I clung to that shred of hope like a fool, convincing myself that maybe–just maybe–she was waiting for me to prove I was the better choice.Then her words came back, slicing through my fantasy.“If I ever become someone’s Luna… it will be with someone who doesn’t cover up other people’s messes.”My jaw tightened. The mem
MILAThe sweet scent of sweat and sex hung heavy in the air, mixing with the faint, lingering traces of pine and earth drifting through the open window. The warm breeze did nothing to cool the fire raging beneath my skin. If anything, it only stoked it.A muffled sound pulled me back to the moment. I glanced down to see Tyler shifting beneath me, his wrists tugging against the bindings securing him to the chair and the gag in his mouth. Right. I had come here, needing a release. How long have we’ve been at this? I wondered. I straddled him, my skin slick with perspiration, but the fire in my veins refused to die down. My heat clawed at my insides, demanding more. “It won’t stop until he accepts our rejection,” Rayne voiced inside my head, edged with frustration. “You know this.”I bit back a growl. I knew. Goddess, I knew. Fucking Gabe. Even thinking his name made my chest tighten with something that was equal parts anger and longing. My body burned for his touch, for his scent, for
MILAA sharp beep woke me up in the middle of the night. One of the many computers I’ve been watching lit up. The motion detector feed from the cemetery flickered to life. I watched the screen until a scrappy figure moved towards the tombstone. The shape was unmistakable.Him.“Got you.”I geared up before leaving, making sure I had everything to keep my presence concealed. Couldn’t have Zeke or Tom or any of the patrols knowing I was there. Then there was Gabe. I hadn’t seen him since that day. I shook my head. No time to think of him.Moments later, I found myself at the cemetery, moving towards my faux grave. Just as I hope there he was, blending with the shadows before settling on the two graves.Frederick.The man who cradled me as a child. Who once carried me on his shoulders, feeding me cotton candy. The man who mourned a fake daughter as I did a fake father. The necklace around his neck glowed as he placed more flowers on the grave.Flowers for his mate.Flowers for me.The ac
GABEI leaned back in my chair, eyes fixed on the laptop screen. The shit that happened a few weeks ago burned into my memory as I watched Arianna beat Mirabella senselessly, and Gregory standing there with a cruel smile. My jaw tightened. I had the evidence–proof of their true nature. But what now? Exposing them would definitely bring a fallout, but the thought of protecting Mila outweighed the risks. With a deep breath, I clicked send, forwarding the video to Mila. The ball was in her court now. A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts. He expected more paperwork, another demand that Gregory had over the transition of the company. With the recent investigation over Alpha Frank’s dealings the board made an unanimous vote to make me the face of the company. Though I knew Gregory needed a safety net to place all his holdings with me and keep the council from seizing it. The door opened and Laura walked in. Her eyes scanned the room before settling on me with a knowing look.“Laura,
TYLERI swear I could feel the coldness from Arianna’s stare from the other side of the room. She leaned into Randall, whispering something before casting another glance my way. A knot in my stomach. Were they plotting something against Mila? I needed to stop them before they had a chance.“Right, Tyler?”Mila’s voice pulled me back to reality. I blinked, realizing I had completely turned out of the conversation. Desperate to cover my distraction, I said the first thing that came to mind.“Of course, anything you say.”Laughter rippled through the press around us, an inside joke I wasn’t in on. I turned to Mila, silently asking for an explanation.“I told them you’d say exactly that if you weren’t listening and that’s how I get my way,” she said with a knowing smile.I chuckled, rubbing the back of my neck. “Caught me. I’ve got a lot on my mind.”“I bet,” one of the press members said. “I hear you’re in for some serious competition now that your brother is taking over the Mora company
ARI“Arianna!” I blinked, noticing my stepmother looking at me with confusion. “Snap out of it. People are always watching us, and I can’t have both you and your sister looking like asylum escapees.”I looked around, briefly remembering where I was–another charity event for a cause she neither knew nor cared about.“That would be an upgrade,” Gregory scoffed, his glass of whiskey swirling with a slow, measured agitation. The man was just never happy. Even after I’ve done everything he asked me to, somehow he was still disappointed. I glanced over at Amber, who was sitting, staring blankly into the distance. She hadn’t been the same since Frank’s sudden departure. Even her husband, Harry, called it quits. Apparently someone leaked the photos of her affair and he had divorce papers wired to her the next day. Francesca had all but drugged Amber into compliance, upping her meds until she was little more than a shadow of herself. I watched as her fingers toyed with the edge of her napkin