Gabriel’s POV
As soon as Aria fell into a deep sleep, Nick got up and started pacing the room.
“Are you okay?” Annie asked him.
“No,” he sighed. “I am worried out of my mind for her.”
“She will be okay, man,” I said and took her hand back into mine.
“Will she?” he asked angrily. “What if those memories are bad?”
When I did my exam on her, I saw that the intention behind the memory spell was to protect her. So, whatever had happened, couldn’t have been good. But I couldn’t tell that to Nick. He will freak out even more. But I knew that whatever it was, she should have the opportunity to deal with it. Being under a spell was not good for her.
“If those memories are bad, we will be there for her,” I said. “Just like we promised we would.”
He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. Annie got up and walked over to him. She took his hand in hers and smiled at him.
“I am a wolf, Nick,” she said. “And even though I still haven’t found my mate, I know the protective side of my wolf. So, I know a little bit about how you feel. But I know Aria. She is so strong. She will be okay, no matter what she remembers.”
He took a few deep breaths and smiled at Annie. “Thank you, Ann.”
“You are welcome,” she said and hugged him.
He hugged her back and patted her head. “I am glad you are my friend, short one.”
“Hey,” she whined. “Aria is even shorter. I am the tall woman in here.”
Nick and I laughed at her, but I suddenly stopped when I felt Aria’s hand warm up rapidly.
I touched her forehead and froze. She shouldn’t be this warm already.
Nick saw my worried face and came beside me instantly.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, taking her hand.
“She shouldn’t be this warm,” I said quietly.
Nick growled, but I ignored him.
“Annie, go downstairs and bring a bowl of cold water and a towel,” I said.
She rushed out of the room, and I started to remove Aria’s shirt. Nick growled loudly and stopped me.
“What the fuck are you doing?” he said, his eyes flickering from black to brown.
“Calm down, man,” I said slowly. “We need to cool her down. If her temperature rises too much, she can die. You know this.”
He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. He was probably having a conversation with Nate, telling him to calm down.
When he opened his eyes, they were back to brown. He let go of my hand and nodded.
“I am sorry, Gabe,” he said quietly. “Nate is on edge.”
“It’s fine,” I chuckled. “But I can’t believe you and Nate are so jealous that you consider me a threat. I am her brother.”
He laughed and shook his head. “I know that. But this silly wolf inside me doesn’t care. He said she is ours and he can’t believe I am letting another man touch her.”
I laughed and removed Aria’s shirt. She was wearing a sports bra underneath. I removed her socks but decided to leave her jeans on her. I didn’t want Nate to lose control completely.
Nate was going to have to learn to let me be around her. No wolf in the world was going to stop me from being around my sister. Not after I lost 20 years with her.
Annie came back with a big bowl of water. She threw ice cubes in there so the water would stay cold longer.
Annie dipped the towel in the bowl and handed it to Nick. He gently started to pat her forehead and her arms.
I got off the bed and sat on the chair. I decided to let Nick take care of the fever. Maybe that will calm Nate down a bit.
We took turns taking care of her. It had already been a couple of hours since she fell asleep. She should be awake by now. She was shaking constantly. Her fever was high and not coming down. Nick was worried out of his mind, and I started to panic slightly.
I was sitting beside her, cooling her down with a towel when Annie placed her hand on my shoulder.
“Gabe, I think you and Nick should go downstairs and eat something,” she said. “I will stay with her.”
“I am not leaving,” Nick growled before I even began to speak.
“Come on, Nick,” she argued. “You need to calm down a bit.”
“I am not hungry,” he said.
“Fine. Thanks for drinking something,” she responded angrily and took the towel away from me.
I didn’t want to leave either, but I knew she was right. We needed to leave this room for a bit before we tore it down.
“She is right, man,” I said and got up. “Let’s go grab a beer. Annie will take care of her.”
Nick sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “Fine.”
We went downstairs and I grabbed a couple of beers from the fridge.
Nick sat at the table and placed his head in his hands.
“She will be fine,” I said and sat opposite him. I don’t know if I was consoling him, or myself.
“I know,” he sighed. “I just can’t calm down when she is not okay.”
I took a sip of my beer and Nick started speaking when a blood-chilling scream interrupted him.
We jumped up and ran back to my room.
Annie was hugging Aria who was sobbing uncontrollably. She struggled to breathe, and she was holding on to Annie like she was her lifeline.
Nick started to walk toward her, wanting to hold her. She quickly looked up at the two of us and whimpered. She let go of Annie and crawled backward, away from us. Her back hit the headboard. She stopped, hugged her knees, and lowered her head. She looked so broken and afraid.
My heart broke. What the hell did she remember?
Nick’s POV
I looked at Gabriel and I could tell he was as broken and as afraid as I was.
Annie turned to look at us and I saw tears falling down her cheeks.
What the hell happened to her? I will kill whoever hurt her.
I just wanted to hold her. I needed to hold her. Nate was whimpering and clawing to get out.
Stop it. I told him.
I want our mate. She is in pain. We need to hold her. He responded.
I ignored him and looked back at Gabriel. He was running his hand through his hair, a nervous habit he picked up from me.
“Aria?” he called her quietly.
A panicked sob escaped her mouth, and my rational thinking was gone. I reacted on instinct and ran toward her. My hands touched her, and she gasped. A powerful blow threw me off her and I landed on the other side of the room.
My first thought was that Gabriel hit me with magic to get me away from her. Fucker. He was not going to deny me my mate. I started growling and looked up at him, but his shocked expression told me he didn’t do it. It was Aria.
I looked at her and she was looking at me wide-eyed, tears running down her cheeks.
“I am so sorry, Nick,” she whispered.
“It is okay. I am fine,” I said and stood up. “I am sorry. My instinct was to protect you. When you started crying, Nate took over. I didn’t want to scare you.”
She didn’t respond. She looked back down and squeezed her knees tighter, making herself even smaller.
Gabriel was looking at me and mouthed ‘are you ok?’ I nodded and smiled slightly. She didn’t hurt me. Although, that was some powerful blow.
Annie took a deep breath and slowly placed her hand on Aria’s shoulder. I tensed, expecting Aria to react. But she didn’t. She flinched slightly, but she didn’t blast her with magic.
She was afraid of men. A man had hurt her. At that moment I saw red. I was going to kill that motherfucker. I looked over at Gabriel and could tell that he too was thinking the same thing. He looked at me and clenched his fists.
“Aria, sweetie,” Annie started talking. “Can you tell us what happened? What do you remember?”
Aria sobbed again and shook her head. She was not telling us anything. Fuck.
“Aria,” Gabriel said quietly. “Do you remember we promised to be by your side no matter what you remembered? Let us do that. Let us help you.”
She shook her head and said five words that almost broke me. “I want to go home.”
Annie, Gabriel and I looked at each other. We were all visibly panicking. What does she mean by that? She can’t leave us.
“What do you mean, A?” Annie asked quietly. “This is your home.”
“No,” she shook her head and cried. “I want to go back to my village. To my family.”
I froze. What family? The only family she had was Gabriel. Wasn’t she his sister? Wasn’t she the same Aria his grandma was talking about? But it couldn’t be. They looked alike. They had the same eyes. It had to be her.
I looked at him, he was frozen. Probably thinking the same thing as me.
Annie was the only one composed enough to talk to her. Gabriel and I were too panicked to speak.
“What family, A?” Annie asked slowly.
“Cassie and Jake,” she responded and looked up at Annie.
Who the fuck are Cassie and Jake?
“Who are they?” Annie voiced the question inside my head.
“Are they really related to you?” Gabriel jumped in before she could answer.
She flinched at the sound of his voice and shook her head. I could see him relax.
“No,” she started explaining. “They are my friends. But we grew up together and I think of them as my family.”
So, she was the real Aria. I didn’t even know why I questioned it. I got all confused and nervous when she said family. And I got sad for Gabriel. He would be devastated to find out she wasn’t his sister. I could see how much he loved and cared for her.
“Where is your home, A?” Annie asked her.
“It is a small village about six hours away,” she said, wiping her tears away. “It is called Winterfort. I grew up there with my grandma.”
I never heard about that village.
“You can’t go, Aria,” Gabriel said. “What if something has happened to them? What if they are not there anymore?”
She looked angrily at him. “That is exactly why I have to go. They are the only ones that cared about me.”
What does she mean by that? What about Grace?
“What about your grandma?” I asked.
She looked down and I saw a hint of pain and sadness before she pulled herself together. Did she know about Grace?
“She cared,” she said quietly. “But she is not here anymore.”
“No,” Gabriel said and sat on the bed. “But we are.”
“I know,” she said and looked up at him. “Thank you for being here. But I have to go home.”
My heart clenched painfully. I was not losing her. She was not leaving.
I wanted to say something, but Gabriel interrupted me. “You can’t go. It is not safe for you to go. And what about Nick? He is your mate. You can’t be apart.”
He was right. It will hurt us both if we separate. Mostly me because I feel the bond more than she does. But she would be hurt too. Not to mention the possibility of somebody else hurting her. Or inquisitors finding her. Or Victor and Cora. There was no way she was leaving me. It was too dangerous.
“You don’t understand!” she yelled and startled the three of us. “It is not safe for me to stay here! He found me! He said he will, and he did. I can’t stay here!”
We stared at her confused.
“Who found you, A?” Annie asked, hugging her.
She broke down crying.
