Gabriel’s POV
We were sitting in the kitchen, chatting with Annie while she made dinner.
Nick was frowning.
“What’s wrong?” I asked and took a sip of my beer.
“I don’t know,” he sighed. “My feelings are a mess.”
“It is probably because of everything that is happening with Victor,” Annie said and turned to look at him.
“I guess,” Nick said as he ran his hand through his hair.
“Do you need help?” I asked Annie.
“No,” she smiled and turned back to continue making dinner.
Suddenly, Nick bolted out of his chair and his eyes went black.
“Nick?” I called him quietly.
“Aria,” he growled and started running upstairs.
I ran after him and followed him to Cassie’s room. He opened the door and growled loudly.
Aria was sitting in Jacob’s lap, his arms wrapped tightly around her. She was crying.
“What the hell is going on?” I said angrily.
“Get your fucking hands off of my mate,” Nick growled.
Why the hell was she crying? And why was she sitting on his lap? Nick was going to kill him. He was seconds away from shifting.
Jacob narrowed his eyes at us and placed Aria’s head back on his chest.
“No,” he said sternly. “I’ve had enough of you two. Like it or not, I was in Aria’s life long before you. I love her. She is my family. I am done being pushed around by you two. She needs me and I will not let her go.”
My eyes widened and I looked at Nick. To say that he was pissed off was an understatement. But I could see he was also scared because she was crying.
“Now, either calm the hell down, or leave the room,” Jacob continued. “You are scaring her, and she doesn’t need that right now.”
Nick’s eyes snapped at me, and I could see how scared and in pain he was. I closed the door and walked closer to Aria.
Jake rubbed small circles on her back, and she sobbed.
My heart broke.
“What happened, love?” Nick asked, his voice trembling.
I pulled up two chairs and we sat down.
Aria remained quiet, but I could see her small body shaking.
“Cassie?” I called her. “Did she tell you what’s wrong?”
Cassie nodded.
“Can I tell them, honey?” she asked Aria and leaned in to look at her.
Aria nodded slightly.
Jacob placed her hand on her chest and started rubbing small circles with his thumb.
Nick growled. “What the hell are you doing?”
He was completely distraught. He was shaking and his eyes were continuously flickering from brown to black. I couldn’t even imagine what he was feeling right now.
“She used to do this when she was sad,” Jake explained. “She rubbed her chest to soothe herself. Usually when her grandma did or said something.”
Jacob looked down at Aria and continued rubbing her chest.
My heart clenched painfully. I could hear a small whimper coming from Nick.
“Cassie,” I looked at her. “Tell us.”
Cassie sighed and looked up at me. Her eyes were filled with unshed tears.
“She is just overwhelmed by everything,” Cassie explained. “She thinks that it is dangerous for us to be near her. She blames herself for what happened to me when Calvin threatened me.”
Nick whined loudly. “Love, no. You are not a danger to us. It wasn’t your fault.”
I reached out and placed my hand on her knee. She tensed up.
“And you two being overly possessive isn’t helping,” Jacob sighed and removed my hand from her knee.
I saw red. I wanted to kill him. He can’t stop me from touching her. She was my sister. I took a deep breath and started getting up.
This time, Nick stopped me from ripping his head off. He placed a firm hand on my shoulder and forced me to sit back down.
“Is that why you didn’t come to us, love?” Nick asked as calmly as he could.
“She came to us because we are her family,” Cassie said.
“I know this is hard for you to hear, but she feels safe with us,” Jake added. “Maybe even more than she does with you.”
Nick growled and I clenched my fists.
“This will sound weird considering that she was my girlfriend, but while we were growing up, she was like a little sister to me,” Jake continued. “Her grandma was horrible, and Aria spent more time with us than she did at home. We grew up together. She is scared and overwhelmed now. And when she was little, she came to us when she felt scared. She came to us now because she is familiar with us. She feels safe around us.”
My heart clenched painfully. I wanted to take her from Jake’s arms and hold her. I hated that she was hurt and afraid. I hated that she didn’t feel as safe with me as she did with them.
“That doesn’t mean she doesn’t feel safe with you as well,” Cassie said, looking between Nick and me. “But you can be a little bit controlling. And that can be scary. Especially to her. She didn’t have control over anything that happened. And when you two keep taking away that little remaining control that she has left, she doesn’t feel safe.”
Cassie’s words were like knives to my heart. Guilt washed over me.
She was right. We kept making decisions for her. We never stopped and asked her how she felt. We just did what we thought would be best.
“Goddess, love, I am so sorry,” Nick said with a broken voice.
“I love you, Aria,” I said quietly. “And I am so sorry.”
Cassie leaned in and removed Aria’s hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear. Her cheeks were red from crying. Her eyelashes were wet with tears and she was biting her bottom lip.
She looked so small, vulnerable and scared. My heart was breaking.
I slowly stood up and walked over to Aria and Jacob. I knelt in front of them and placed my hand on Aria’s chest. I gently started rubbing small circles on her skin.
For the first time since we walked inside, she lifted her head to look at me. I gave her a small smile and prayed to the Goddess that she doesn’t push me away.
Nick’s POV
My heart was beating painfully in my chest. My hands were itching to touch her.
If she wasn’t in his arms, Jacob would be a dead man.
But I can’t kill him, can I? He obviously meant so much to her. If I hurt him, I would be hurting her, and I could never hurt her.
I love her.
The bedroom door slowly opened. Annie was standing in the doorway.
“Is she okay?” Annie asked me quietly.
I shook my head and turned back to look at Aria.
Gabriel was still rubbing her chest. She was not looking at him anymore, but she didn’t push him away.
Jacob kissed the top of her head, and it felt like a knife to my chest. I needed to take her from him.
“Dinner will be ready in an hour,” Annie said. “She should sleep until then.”
I nodded. Annie was right. She needed to rest and eat. She will be better after that. She has to.
I slowly stood up, even though I wanted to rip her from him and run away with her as fast as I could.
“Annie is right, love,” I said quietly. “You need to rest a bit. Can I take you to our room?”
There was a moment of silence, and I couldn’t even breathe. What if she wants to stay here? What if she doesn’t want me to be with her? What if she wants Jacob?
A wave of jealousy and pain hit me so hard I almost fell down on my knees.
She looked up at me with those beautiful green eyes and nodded.
I almost cried in relief. She wanted me.
Gabriel stood up and took a step back.
Jacob kissed the top of her head again, and Cassie squeezed her hand.
I walked closer to her and placed one hand behind her knees and the other on her back. I pulled her from Jacob and finally took her in my arms.
Tingles and sparks flew all over my skin. I felt immense relief. She was in my arms. Not his.
I held her close to me and she placed her head on my shoulder. I turned my head to kiss her cheek.
Gabriel opened the bedroom door and I walked out.
“Do you want me to stay?” Gabriel asked me when we walked into our room.
“No,” I said. “We will come downstairs when Annie finishes cooking dinner.”
Gabriel nodded and left the room, closing the door behind him.
I sat down on the bed and leaned against the headboard. I never let go of her.
“I love you, Aria,” I said quietly and nuzzled my nose into her hair.
I didn’t expect her to say it back. I didn’t need her to say it back. I just needed her to know I loved her.
Her scent calmed me down instantly. I felt my muscles relax and I was able to breathe normally for the first time since I saw her in Jacob’s arms.
We stayed like that for a while. I planted small kisses on every part of her body I could reach. I kept telling her I loved her and that everything would be okay.
She eventually stopped crying, but she remained silent. And her silence terrified me. She hadn’t spoken a word since Gabriel and I came to Cassie’s room.
“Please say something, love,” I said quietly as I kissed the top of her head.
I couldn’t take it anymore. I needed to hear her voice.
“I am sorry, Nick,” she said so quietly that I almost didn’t hear her.
I sighed in relief and tightened my grip around her. I placed my finger under her chin and raised her head.
“Thank, Goddess,” I said. “I missed your voice.”
Her eyes were puffy from crying, and her bottom lip was swollen because she kept biting it.
I leaned in slowly and placed my lips on hers. Addicting sparks spread from my mouth to the rest of my body.
The kiss was short and sweet.
“Why are you sorry, love?” I asked as I leaned my forehead against hers.
“Because I hurt you,” she said quietly.
I raised my head to look at her. Hurt me? When did she hurt me? I was the one who hurt her, not the other way around. Gabriel and I kept telling her what to do, and we never stopped to ask her about her feelings.
“When you saw me with Jake,” she said quietly after I didn’t respond.
Oh. That’s what she meant.
“I won’t lie to you,” I said as I cupped her cheek. “It did hurt. But I understand why you feel safe with him. I understand why you told them and not us. You thought we wouldn’t listen.”
She nodded and another tear fell from her eyes. I wiped it away with my thumb.
“The only thing Gabriel and I want is for you to be safe,” I said. “But we made the mistake of not talking to you. From the moment we met, we decided a lot of things for you. And it wasn’t right. But you know we never meant to hurt you, right?”
“I know,” she said.
“I am sorry, love,” I said and kissed her again.
She wrapped her arms around my neck and deepened the kiss. I was completely lost in her. All I could feel was her warm skin under my fingers. All I could taste was her. All I could smell was her sweet scent. She was a drug, and I was completely addicted to her.
She broke the kiss and leaned her forehead against mine.
“Maybe you could hang out with Jacob more often if you are going to kiss me like that after,” I said teasingly.
She chuckled and lifted her head to look at me.
“Really?” she asked and raised her eyebrows.
“No,” I grinned.
She shook her head and chuckled.
“Let’s go eat,” I said as I lifted her from my lap.
I stood up and took her hand in mine, pulling her up.
“I am not hungry,” she said.
“You need to eat,” I said. “And you need to talk to your brother. He is freaking out.”
She sighed and nodded, letting me pull her out of the room.
