Gabriel’s POV
I watched Jacob pull Aria outside.
My breathing was shallow, and I clenched my fists. What the fuck is she thinking?
I stormed out of the kitchen and saw Nick pacing in the living room.
He raised his head as soon as he heard me.
“Where is she?” he growled.
“Outside with Jacob,” I said and leaned on the doorframe.
He growled and continued pacing around.
“What the fuck is wrong with her?” he growled.
“She is done, Nick,” I said. “No more talking to him.”
“How can you be sure?” he shouted and raised his hands. “She has been talking to him for Goddess knows how long, and we never knew.”
“I will block him from her phone,” I shrugged. “I will watch her. I don’t care if she gets mad. I will do what I have to.”
I heard the back door open. Aria and Jacob walked back inside and continued preparing dinner.
“She will be the death of me,” Nick sighed and ran his hand through his hair.
“Calm down a bit,” I said. “Vampires will be here soon.”
He growled and sat down on the couch. I turned around and walked back to the kitchen.
Aria heard me come in and turned her head slightly.
“Give me your phone,” I said sternly.
She turned around to look at me. “Why?”
“I am blocking him,” I said and reached out for her to give me the phone.
“You don’t have to do that,” she shook her head. “I will call him and explain.”
“No,” I said through my teeth. “You are done talking to him. Give me your phone.”
She stared at me without moving. I could see tears forming in her eyes. Seeing her tears hurt, but I was not changing my mind. I will do what I must to make sure she stays alive.
Jacob nudged her with his elbow, and she looked up at him.
“Do what he says, Minnie,” he said softly. “We can’t trust him.”
She stared at him pleadingly. “Please, Jake.”
He sighed and cupped her face.
“Do you trust me?” he asked her and leaned in.
She nodded and placed her hands over his.
“Then please trust me on this,” he said. “Right now, he is a threat. You can’t talk to him. Please give Gabriel your phone.”
She looked at me and gulped.
“Please, Minnie,” Jake said and caressed her cheeks. “I am your family and I want what’s best for you.”
My blood started boiling. I am her family. My jaw clenched but I kept quiet. If this little speech of his is helping, I will let him talk.
She nodded and pulled out her phone, and handed it to me.
“Thank you,” Jacob said and pressed his forehead on hers.
I was glad Nick wasn’t here to see this. He would have ripped Jacob apart.
I took the phone from Aria’s hand and unlocked it. I found Ian in her contacts, blocked him and deleted his number from her phone.
I gave the phone back to her. She didn’t even look at me. She turned around and went back to cooking dinner.
I wanted to talk to her, but I was interrupted by the doorbell. I walked out of the kitchen toward the front door, but Nick was already there. He opened the door and I saw two men standing in front.
“Mike,” Annie’s voice came from behind me.
She walked toward them with a big smile on her face.
“Hey, Ann,” Mike said and wrapped her in a hug. “I missed you.”
“I missed you, too,” she said and took a step back before hugging the other guy. “Hi, Jack. I am so glad to see you again.”
Nick growled at the man, and I hit him with my elbow.
“Hi,” I smiled at them. “My name is Gabriel. Come on inside.”
They gave me a small smile before walking past me and Nick.
I motioned toward the living room and walked behind them.
The guys and Annie sat down on the couch, chatting excitedly. I guess they really were good friends.
“Do you want anything to drink?” I asked them.
“Beer would be nice,” Jack said and looked up at me.
I nodded and walked to the kitchen.
Blake and Cassie were sitting down at the table, chatting with Jacob and Aria.
“Mike and Jack are here,” I said as I walked to the fridge to grab beers.
“We are done here,” Jacob said. “We will be there soon.”
I nodded and walked back to the living room. The guys and Annie were still chatting, and Nick was glaring at them with a frown on his face. I sighed and walked up to them, handing them the beer.
I sat down on the other sofa and took a sip of my beer.
“So, Annie says you are willing to help us,” I said, wanting to get this over with.
“Yes,” Mike nodded and smiled. “Annie said you need a safe place, and I can help.”
“Why would you help us?” I asked and leaned forward. “What do you get out of it?”
“Nothing,” Jack said. “We want to help because Annie is our friend, and you are important to her.”
I looked at Nick who still had his eyes on Jack.
Before I could say anything, we got interrupted. Blake, Jacob, Cassie and Aria walked in. Jack’s eyes found Aria and a big smile spread across his face.
“Hi, Aria,” Jack said.
“Hi, Jack,” she smiled back at him.
Nick growled and grabbed her, placing her on his lap. His eyes narrowed as he glared at Jack.
“You must be the mate,” Jack said.
Nick nodded and tightened his grip on her.
Cassie sat on the couch next to Annie and Blake grabbed two chairs for him and Jacob.
“Would you like to have dinner with us?” Aria broke the uncomfortable silence.
“We already ate,” Jack smiled at her. “Thank you, Aria.”
She smiled back and nodded.
“Okay, do we agree to go to Mike’s cabin?” Annie asked with a smile on her face.
“Not so fast,” Nick growled. “How can we be sure they are not working for the inquisition?”
Mike and Jack furrowed their eyebrows and looked at him.
“Why would we be working for them?” Mike asked, surprised. “They are humans.”
“Not all of them,” I said and their eyes snapped to me.
“What?” Jack asked as his eyes widened.
“Gabriel,” Nick said with a warning tone.
“They have a right to know if they are going to help us,” I said, looking at Nick. “If we go there, they will be in danger as well.”
Mike and Jack nervously looked at each other before their eyes went back to me.
I looked at Annie and she nodded and smiled.
“You can trust them, Gabriel,” she said.
I looked back at Mike and Jack and started explaining.
Aria’s POV
I sat in Nick’s lap while Gabriel told Mike and Jack about Victor. He left out the parts about Calvin attacking me. I was thankful he did that. I didn’t need more people who would look at me with pity in their eyes.
I could feel how tense and angry Nick was. I tried getting off of his lap, but his hold on me only grew tighter.
When Gabriel finished telling the story, Mike and Jack were shocked. Their eyes glanced between Gabriel and me.
“So, you’re telling me that a warlock is behind all of this?” Jack said. “And you two can stop him?”
Gabriel nodded.
“But why?” Mike shook his head. “Why is he killing other supernaturals?”
“It is a perfect distraction,” Nick said. “Humans always hated us, so he is using them to capture us. He is hoping to find the twins amongst those captured.”
“Although Calvin did tell us he gave up on finding twins,” Gabriel added. “He wants Aria.”
“Fuck,” Mike sighed and ran his hand through his hair.
“We want to help,” Jack said and leaned forward. “We want to fight against the bastard.”
“Definitely,” Mike nodded. “The cabin is big enough for all of us. It will be our base.”
“When can we leave?” Gabriel asked.
“Tomorrow,” Mike said. “Get some sleep and we leave early.”
“Great!” Gabriel said, excitedly. “Thank you.”
“No need to thank us,” Mike smiled. “We would do anything for Annie.”
“And Aria,” Jack added with a smile on his face.
Nick growled and clenched his fists.
“Calm down, mate,” Jack said, raising his hands in surrender. “She is all yours.”
“It would do you well to remember that,” Nick growled.
Jack chuckled and shook his head.
“Maybe we should go,” Mike said. “We will see you tomorrow.”
Gabriel and Annie stood up and walked them to the front door. I wanted to follow them to say goodbye, but Nick stopped me.
“I will go check on dinner,” Jake said and walked out of the living room.
“I hope it will be done soon,” Cassie said. “I am starving.”
“What did you make?” Nick asked me as he moved my hair from my shoulder.
“Pizza,” I said, not looking down at him.
I couldn’t deal with his anger. I had enough. Gabriel already humiliated me enough today.
Gabriel and Annie walked back into the living room. Gabriel’s gaze landed on me, but I quickly averted my eyes.
“Can we really trust them?” Nick growled.
“Yes, we can,” Annie sighed. “They are good guys, Nick.”
“We have no other choice right now, man,” Gabriel said. “And I trust them.”
Nick growled, but before he could argue, Jake walked in to tell us that the dinner was ready. We got up slowly and walked to the kitchen.
During the dinner, the guys mostly talked about going to Mike’s cabin. As far as I could tell, Nick wasn’t pleased, but Gabriel, Blake and Jake thought it was a good idea. Annie and Cassie chatted about packing and clothes. They tried to include me, but I didn’t have the energy to talk about these things. After a few attempts, they gave up and left me alone.
I didn’t have much appetite. Everything that happened today came rushing back and my brain didn’t want to shut off.
After a while, I just gave up. I wanted to take another shower and go to bed.
I stood up and placed my plate in the dishwasher.
“Where are you going?” Nick asked me.
“Shower and bed,” I said and started walking out of the kitchen.
“You barely ate anything,” Gabriel said.
“I am not hungry,” I said and left before they could say anything else.
I walked into my room and stripped off my clothes. I grabbed my pajamas before entering the bathroom. I unlocked the door and turned the shower on. While I waited for the water to heat, I brushed my teeth. I stepped under the hot water stream and closed my eyes. Hot water soothed my muscles and I felt myself slightly relax. I stayed in the shower until the hot water ran out. Stepping outside I grabbed the towel and dried myself. I put on my pajamas and tied my wet hair into a messy bun. I unlocked the bathroom door and peeked outside. Nick wasn’t in the room. I was relieved. I didn’t want to argue with him. I just wanted to sleep. I turned the lights off and walked over to my bed. I got under the covers and turned on my side, facing away from the door.
I was half asleep when the door to my room opened. Nick’s scent filled the room.
I could hear him getting rid of his clothes before walking to the bed. He lifted the covers and laid down next to me.
He pulled me closer and inhaled my scent.
“I know you are not sleeping, love,” he murmured.
“I am trying to,” I said and tried to wiggle out of his arms.
“Why are you talking to other men?” he asked as he ran his nose up and down my jaw.
Sparks and tingles rushed all over my body. I could feel my lower abdomen heating up.
“I am not in the mood to talk about that now, Nick,” I said, my voice trembling.
He turned me on my back and hovered above me.
“You are mine, Aria,” he said, looking in my eyes.
“Ian is a friend,” I said. “And he was helping me. Nothing else.”
He growled and leaned in. I could feel his breath on my lips, and it made my toes curl.
“Say that you are mine,” he whispered, his lips brushing mine slightly.
My breathing picked up and I could feel my heart starting to beat faster. I wanted to kiss him. I wanted to feel his lips on mine.
“Aria,” he growled. “Say that you are mine.”
My gaze went from his lips to his eyes.
“I am yours,” I whispered.
He growled and grunted before he pressed his lips on mine. I moaned and opened my mouth. His tongue gently brushed over mine and I lost myself. All I felt was him. All I wanted was him.
His hands gently roamed all over my body and I never wanted him to stop. I gripped his hair and pulled him closer to me. I wanted to feel every part of him.
Suddenly, he pulled back and grunted. He leaned his forehead against mine and I opened my eyes.
“We have to stop,” he muttered, his eyes closed. “I am so close to making you mine and I know you are not ready.”
I nodded, my breathing slowly calming down.
He opened his eyes and smiled at me. He pecked my lips and laid down next to me. He pulled me to him, and I laid my head down on his chest.
“Sleep, love,” he said and kissed the top of my head.
