Gabriel’s POV
I was smiling like an idiot, and I couldn’t remember the last time I was this happy.
I pulled up my driveway and Nick and I helped the girls with their bags. We went upstairs and I showed the girls to their rooms while Nick went to get dinner his mom had made for us.
“Which bags are yours?” I asked Aria.
“That one,” she said and pointed to a black duffle bag.
“You have only one?” I was confused.
“Yeah, well, I lost all of my stuff in the fire,” she said with sadness in her voice.
“Don’t worry,” I said and placed my hand on her shoulder. “We will replace everything.”
She looked at me confused, but I didn’t give her space to ask me anything.
“Unpack and then come downstairs,” I smiled and walked out the door.
I went towards Annie’s room and saw her getting her clothes from her bags and folding them in the closet. She was excited and it made me happy. I knocked on the open door.
She looked up at me and smiled. “Hey, Gabe.”
“Is the closet big enough?” I teased her.
“It will be,” she smiled back. “And if not, Aria said I could put my clothes and shoes in her closet.”
I was planning on filling Aria’s closet with everything she wanted so there won’t be any room for Annie’s stuff. But I didn’t want to spoil her mood by telling her that.
“Come downstairs when you finish unpacking,” I said and she nodded.
I went to the kitchen and Nick was already there.
“Something smells amazing,” I said.
“My mom made lasagna,” he smiled brightly.
It was his favorite food.
“Awesome,” I said. “I am so hungry.”
“Have the girls finished unpacking?” he asked and took the plates out of the kitchen cabinet.
“Aria probably is. Annie won’t be for a while,” I said and laughed.
“You got that right,” I heard Aria say behind me.
I turned around and smiled at her. She smiled back and walked up to Nick.
“Do you need any help?” she asked him.
“No,” he smiled brightly at her. “You just sit down and relax.”
I could see she was still careful around us. But she smiled. That was something, right?
She sat at the table and looked up at me. “We need to talk.”
I was tense. “About what?”
I walked to the table and sat opposite her. I looked at Nick and he shrugged.
“About the rent,” she said seriously.
I looked at her confused. Rent? What rent? I looked back at Nick, and he had a surprised and confused look on his face. He walked to us and sat beside her. She flinched slightly and moved away from him a bit. I could tell he was hurt by that.
“What are you talking about?” I finally asked.
“Rent,” she answered. “I can’t live here for free.”
She wanted to pay rent? In her own house. I had millions in my account and half of that was hers and she wanted to pay me to stay here? I felt anger rising, but I reminded myself that she didn’t know that this was hers. Not yet. I took a deep breath and smiled at her.
“There is no need for that,” I said calmly. “I just want to keep you safe until this is over.”
She looked at me confused and slightly irritated. She wanted to say something, but Annie came into the kitchen and interrupted her.
“Hello, my people,” she said happily. “Why such serious faces?”
“Aria wants to pay rent,” I said and turned to look at her.
She laughed. “I told you he isn’t going to take your money, A.”
“She is right,” I nodded and turned back to Aria. “I will not take your money. And please don’t fight with me about it.”
She frowned and crossed her arms over her chest.
“Can we eat?” Nick ended our discussion. “I am starving.”
“Oh, my Goddess. Yes,” Annie said. “It smells amazing.”
We sat at the table and ate our dinner. Nick, Annie, and I did most of the talking. Aria was frowning and was lost in her thoughts. I didn’t push her. I took Nick’s advice. I needed to take it slowly.
We finished eating and the girls insisted on cleaning up. Nick and I grabbed a beer and sat in the living room.
“Are you going to do it now?” I asked him quietly.
He nodded and sipped his beer. “I have never been more nervous in my life.”
“Are you going to tell her first or are you going to shift and let her feel the bond?”
“I have no idea,” he shrugged. “What would you do?”
I frowned. What would I do? Maybe tell her before shifting. She could get scared when she feels the bond and run. Not that she would get far, but still. It would hurt Nick.
“Maybe tell her first,” I said. “She doesn’t know what the bond feels like. If you just shift and don’t say anything, she could get scared and run.”
“Yeah. Makes sense,” he said and nodded.
We heard the girls coming from the kitchen and we went quiet. I could feel how nervous he was.
“So, what’s the plan, boys?” Annie asked and sat on the couch beside me. “Movie night?”
“Sounds good,” I said and we all agreed.
Annie and Aria started searching through Netflix for a movie to watch.
I looked at Nick and gave him a little nod. He put down his beer and took a deep breath.
“Aria?” he called her.
She looked at him and smiled slightly. “Yes?”
“Could we talk about something?” he stuttered. “In private.”
I saw that she was startled by his request, but she nodded and got up. “Okay, sure.”
He smiled and took her hand.
Annie looked at me with excitement in her eyes.
I just hope this goes well.
Aria’s POV
What the hell does he mean I needn’t pay rent? I would not be comfortable here if I didn’t contribute.
I spent the entire dinner thinking about ways to pay him. I will break into his room and find his account information and pay him like that. I didn’t want to be a burden to anybody.
I felt a little bit better after making that decision, so when Annie suggested we watch a movie I happily agreed.
Annie and I were searching for a movie that wasn’t a chick flick when Nick asked if he could talk to me in private.
I was confused. Why does he want to talk to me alone? And why is he so nervous?
I agreed and he took my hand and led me outside to the backyard.
It was beautiful out there. A big deck with outdoor furniture, a barbecue place and a big hot tub. There was a path that led straight to the forest behind Gabriel’s house. I loved it here.
Nick coughed quietly to bring my attention back to him. I turned around and he smiled at me.
“I am sorry,” I said. “It is beautiful out here.”
“It is,” he said and looked at me intensely.
Did he mean something else by that? I am just imagining it probably.
I smile back at him. “What did you want to talk about?”
His nervousness returned as soon as I asked him that. He looked down and ran his fingers through his hair. I noticed that he did that whenever he was nervous.
“Nick?” I asked when he didn’t answer me.
“Give me a second,” he said and looked back up at me. “I am trying to figure out how to tell you this.”
I immediately tensed. What does he need to tell me?
He took a deep breath and smiled. “Do you know that werewolves have mates?”
“Yes,” I said slowly.
“Then you know what it feels like for a wolf to find his mate?”
“I do,” I said. “I mean, I’ve heard stories. Us witches and warlocks don’t have mates, so we don’t know what it feels like.”
Why are we talking about mates? I know he is a wolf, but he is more of a warlock.
“Yes, but if you happen to be a wolf’s mate you would feel that bond,” he said slowly.
I looked at him confused. Why is he telling me this? “Why are we talking about this, Nick?”
He took a deep breath and took my hands in his. “Because you are my mate, Aria.”
I am what? No freaking way! I started breathing heavily. I can’t be his mate. He is wrong. I need to go; I need to leave.
I turned away from him and ran towards the forest.
“Aria!” I heard him yelling behind me, but I didn’t stop.
I ran as fast as I could, branches leaving scratch marks on my face. I started breathing heavily. I was panicking and afraid and I was not even sure why. I just knew I couldn’t do this.
I didn’t get very far before he caught me. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me back. His touch left tingles all over my body.
“Stop running and talk to me!” he growled in my ear.
I could feel how angry he was.
He let go of my waist and I slowly turned to face him. His anger disappeared and it was replaced by sadness when he saw my face.
“You hurt yourself,” he said sadly and wiped the blood from my face with his thumb.
Before I could answer him, I heard Gabriel’s worried scream coming from the house.
“Nick?!”
“I’ve got her, Gabe!” he yelled back.
He continued to stroke my face with his thumb, and it sent pleasant shivers down my spine.
“Why did you run?” he asked me, and I could see how much that hurt him.
I decided to be honest. I couldn’t run again. He would catch me.
“I am afraid,” I said quietly.
“Of what?” he asked me, confused.
“I don’t know,” I said and looked down at the ground.
“Are you afraid of me?” he asked me.
I quickly looked back up at him and shook my head. “No. I am not afraid of you.”
“Then what?”
What was I afraid of? I had no idea. Nick was handsome and kind. I did feel this bond. Not strongly, but I did. What was stopping me then?
I guess I took too long to answer because Nick sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.
“Look, I don’t want to force you to do anything, Aria,” he said and grabbed my hand. “We are going to take this as slowly as you want. But I do have a request.”
“What request?” I asked quietly.
“No more Jack,” he said. “Or any other male. I went crazy yesterday. It was so painful, and the bond isn’t even complete yet.”
I furrowed my brows. “It isn’t complete? Because you haven’t marked me?”
“Well, yes. But not only that,” he sighed. “My warlock side is much more dominant and that is the reason we don’t feel the bond to the fullest. I have to shift when I’m close to you for us to feel that bond completely.”
“But how can you be sure I’m your mate then?” I asked, confused. “Maybe I’m not. And it is just some weird attraction.”
He smiled at me lovingly. “You are my mate. I am completely sure of that. I feel the tingles. Your smell is amazing. I can feel some of your emotions. When I shift, I will be able to feel all of that even more. And so will you.”
I can’t really tell what I feel right now. I was confused, but mostly scared. And I couldn’t explain this fear.
“What does your wolf say?” I ask him.
“Nate adores you,” he smiled brightly. “He thinks you are the most amazing, beautiful woman he has ever seen. And he can’t wait to meet you. When we first saw you, I had to use all of my strength to keep him from coming forward. And he has been stronger ever since I met you. My wolf side is stronger.”
I was out of words. A part of me was glad he was my mate. I felt wonderful around him. But another part was scary as hell.
“Look, Aria, we don’t have to decide anything right now,” he said. “I am not even going to shift yet. I don’t want to force you because I can feel how scared you are. But no other males. And I will have to shift soon because Nate is going to kill me if I don’t. He is annoying as is.”
I smiled and hugged him. At first, he was surprised, but then he wrapped his arms around me and hugged me tightly.
“Thank you, Nick,” I said while holding onto him. “It means so much to me that you are willing to go slow. I won’t lie to you. I do feel this bond. But I am afraid. And I do need a little bit of time.”
He kissed the top of my head and breathed in my scent. “Whatever you need.”
I let go of him and smiled. “And no more Jack, I promise.”
“Or any other man,” he growled.
I laughed and nodded. “And I would like to meet Nate soon.”
“Oh, Nate can’t wait. I am barely holding him back right now,” he replied with a huge grin. “Do you want to go back inside?”
“Yeah. It is getting cold,” I said and smiled slightly.
He took my hand and led me back to the house. I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself. But the fear wouldn’t go away.
