Gabriel’s POV
I was not sure I liked this.
I didn’t like how close they were. I didn’t like how familiar they were.
It bugged the hell out of me.
I had to admit, I didn’t really think it would be like this. I thought four years apart would have left a strain on their relationship, but it didn’t happen. She was so much more comfortable with them than she ever was with us.
And I was jealous.
Nick and I were walking behind Jacob. He was leading us toward the guest room.
Jacob opened the door and we walked inside.
The room was simple. There was a big bed in the middle and a closet on the left. A small couch was on the right next to the door to, what I was assuming was, the bathroom.
“The bed is big enough for two,” Jacob said. “The couch can be pulled out and two more people can sleep on it. But if you want, the two of you can sleep downstairs.”
“No,” Nick said sternly. “We will all sleep in here.”
Jacob nodded. “Bathroom is through there.”
He pointed at the door to our right.
“Do you need anything else?” he asked coldly.
“No,” I said. “Thank you.”
Jacob nodded and left the room, closing the door behind him.
Nick sighed and ran his hand through his hair.
“I hate him,” he growled.
“I can’t say that I hate him, but I definitely don’t like him,” I said and sat down on the bed.
“He wants her back,” Nick said through his teeth, pacing around the room.
I nodded and stayed silent.
“Weren’t you the one who said it has been four years and he moved on?” he growled and pointed at me. “Well, he hasn’t moved an inch and he wants what’s mine.”
“She doesn’t want him, Nick,” I said calmly.
“How can you be sure?” he shouted. “Did you see how comfortable she is with him? Did she ever hug you like that? Or me? No, she didn’t.”
“Nick, calm down please,” I said. “You are just going to make it worse if you freak out.”
“He is not taking her from me,” he growled, his chest rising and falling rapidly.
I opened my mouth to speak, but I was interrupted when the door opened.
Aria walked inside, glancing from Nick to me.
Nick turned around and ran to her. He pulled her to him and closed the door. He wrapped his hands around her and nuzzled his nose into her neck, breathing deeply. He relaxed instantly.
Aria rubbed her hand up and down his back.
“What happened, Nick?” she asked. “Why are you so worried?”
“He wants you,” he said through his teeth.
Aria looked at me over his shoulder. She knows.
She stepped away from Nick and gave him a small smile.
“He is not getting me,” she said. “Please don’t worry. And give him a chance. He is important to me. They all are. And I am really happy to have them back in my life. I don’t want you to hate them, okay. Nothing is going to happen between Jake and me.”
Nick sighed and ran his hand through his hair.
“It is hard, Aria,” he said. “My wolf is going crazy inside. I have Alpha blood in me. That means I am even more possessive and protective than other wolves.”
“You have Alpha blood?” Aria asked, her eyebrows raising.
Nick’s grandfather was an Alpha. He told me that his mother decided to leave the pack when she found her mate. Her father didn’t approve of Nick’s dad because he wasn’t a werewolf. His grandfather didn’t like hybrids that much, so his mother left the pack knowing her baby would be a hybrid. Nowadays, packs are a rare thing. Most werewolves lived outside of packs together with other supernaturals or they blended in with humans. There were a few packs scattered around the country, but they were very closed off and secretive.
“Is that all you heard?” Nick asked and sighed.
“No, sorry,” Aria responded. “What can I do to make it easier, Nick?”
“Don’t let him touch you,” Nick said. “No more hugs and no more holding hands.”
“Okay,” she nodded. “No more touching.”
“Thank you, love,” he said and pulled her to him.
He wrapped his hands around her and kissed the top of her head.
“Can you please try to get to know him, Nick?” she asked and looked at me. “You as well, Gabe. He really is a great guy.”
“I will try,” I said and smiled.
“Nick?” she asked and looked up at him.
He cupped her face and smiled. “Anything for you.”
“Thank you,” she smiled back and stepped away from Nick. “Dinner will be ready soon. Come downstairs.”
Both of us nodded and she walked out, closing the door behind her.
“You know, you could be a little less handsy with my sister when I’m watching,” I said with a frown on my face.
“Get used to it or don’t look,” he said bluntly.
I rolled my eyes and stood up. “Let’s go get the bags from the car.”
Nick nodded and we went downstairs. We grabbed the bags from my car and brought them back to our room before we went to the dining room.
The girls had made steaks with mashed potatoes and green beans. Aria was just putting plates down at the table when we walked in.
“Hey,” She smiled at us.
Jacob and Blake were already sitting down. Jacob’s eyes were on Aria, of course. Nick stiffened but smiled back at her.
Dinner was tense. The conversation was staggering. The girls, I could tell, were getting along great. Us guys, not so much. Nick and I made sure Aria was sitting between us. Jacob didn’t like that very much. He kept frowning and giving Nick and me dirty looks.
This was going to be interesting.
Aria’s POV
I was laying in the bed staring at the ceiling.
I couldn’t sleep.
Too much had happened, and my brain wouldn’t shut off.
I looked to my left and saw that Annie was sleeping peacefully next to me. At least someone can sleep.
After a fierce debate about sleeping arrangements, it was decided that the guys will share a couch and Annie and I will take the bed. Nick, of course, wanted to sleep with me. But Gabriel was dead against it. He said he didn’t want to listen to Nick’s purrs all night long. Not that Nick purred when he slept next to me, but I get why Gabriel didn’t want us sleeping together. Nick could get handsy and it was a little bit weird when your brother was watching.
I sighed and sat up. I decided to go get myself a glass of water.
I got out of bed as quietly as I could and walked out of the room on my toes. I carefully closed the door and walked downstairs.
Thankfully, nobody woke up.
I was surprised to see a light coming from the kitchen. I guess I was not the only one who couldn’t sleep.
I walked inside and Jake was sitting there with a glass of, what looked like, whisky in front of him.
“Jake?” I said quietly.
He raised his head to look at me and I saw his eyes were filled with tears.
“What happened?” I said as I ran to him. “What’s wrong, Jake?”
He grabbed my hand and pulled me to him. He wrapped his hands around me and sobbed.
“Jake?” I said and hugged him back. “Talk to me. What’s wrong?”
“I am so sorry, Aria,” he said quietly.
“Why are you sorry?” I asked and pushed back slightly to look at him.
“I should have walked you home,” he said quietly. “It is my fault this happened to you. If I walked you home, he wouldn’t have attacked you. Your grandma wouldn’t have taken you away and you would be here. With me.”
My heart clenched painfully. He sounded broken.
“No, Jake,” I said and cupped his cheek. “It is not your fault. He would have got another chance. You couldn’t have stopped that. Nobody could.”
“I love you, Minnie,” he said quietly.
“I love you too, Jake,” I said and smiled at him. “I missed you so much.”
“I missed you too,” he said. “You have no idea how much.”
I smiled and tried to step away from him, but his grip around me tightened.
“Is he really your mate?” he asked me quietly, his eyes darkening.
“Yes, Jake,” I answered, looking into his eyes.
“And you love him?” he asked me, his jaw clenching.
He caught me off guard. How do I respond to his question? Did I love Nick? I did have feelings for him. I felt safe around him. I needed him. I wanted him to be happy. But do I love him? I didn’t even know him that well yet. But I guess I was starting to love him.
“Aria?” Jake’s voice interrupted my thoughts.
“I am starting to love him,” I said and sighed. “It is complicated. There is a bond between us, but we didn’t really get a chance to get to know each other.”
“Good,” he said as he leaned his forehead on mine.
He closed his eyes and a small smile spread across his face.
My eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
As if he could feel it, he lifted his head and looked at me.
“That means I still have a fighting chance,” he said, and his eyes darted to my lips.
Shit. I couldn’t let him kiss me. I promised to Nick I wouldn’t even let him touch me and I had already broken that promise. But, in my defense, he was in pain. I needed to help my friend.
I pulled away from him and smiled. I grabbed his glass from the table.
“I think you had enough of that,” I said and poured the rest of the whisky in the sink.
“Fuck, Minnie,” he whined. “Why did you do that?”
I chuckled and grabbed two glasses from the cupboard. I poured water into them and handed one to Jake.
“It’s water time,” I said with a smirk.
He rolled his eyes and took the glass from my hand.
“What the fuck is going on here?” an angry voice interrupted us.
My eyes darted to the door. A fuming Nick stood there. His eyes were black, his fists clenched. Fuck.
His eyes roamed up and down my body and I realized I was not really wearing much. I was in my shorts and a tank top. My arms and legs were bare.
“I couldn’t sleep,” I said. “I came downstairs for a glass of water and Jake was already here.”
Nick’s eyes darted to Jake, and he growled.
“Nick, no,” I said and put the glass down. “We were just talking, okay?”
“Come here,” he said through his teeth, his arm reaching out to me.
I sighed and started walking toward him, when Jake placed his arm in front of me, stopping me.
“You don’t get to boss her around,” Jake said, his voice filled with anger.
Nick’s eyes flew to Jake’s arm. His skin was touching mine and Nick started shaking.
“Get. Your. Hand. Off. My. Mate.” he said, his voice deeper than usual.
Nate. Shit.
“Is she even your mate?” Jake said and purposely moved his hand so he would touch more of me. “Or did you do some voodoo shit to her to make her believe that you are?”
Nick’s canines elongated and a loud growl erupted from his chest.
I was sure the whole house was awake now.
“Stop it!” I shouted and pushed Jake’s hand away.
I stepped between them and placed my hand on Nick’s bare chest.
“I am not an item you can fight over,” I said, my eyes going from Jake to Nick. “Both of you are important to me and you are going to have to accept that.”
Nick and Jake were glaring at each other. Nick’s canines retreaded with my touch.
“Jake, Nick really is my mate,” I said, turning to Jake. “He didn’t do anything to me, okay? He is my mate, and he is in my life. You are going to have to find a way to be okay with that.”
Jake looked at me but stayed silent.
I turned to Nick.
“Jake is my friend. My family.” I said slowly. “He was there for me when nobody else was. He gave me a family when I didn’t have one. I have him back in my life now and he is not going anywhere.”
I gave both of them a stern look before walking toward the door.
Before leaving I turned to them.
“One more thing,” I said. “According to everyone, I am a pretty powerful witch. If you fight each other, I will kick both your asses.”
I walked out of the kitchen, and I could feel their eyes on me.
