Gabriel’s POV
I was lying on my bed, going through my phone, when I heard someone knocking on the bedroom door next to mine. It was Jacob’s room.
The knocking was loud and impatient.
I stood up and walked over to the door. I opened the door and saw a very nervous Nick standing in front of Jacob’s room.
“What’s wrong?” I asked him.
“I can’t find Aria,” he growled and knocked on Jacob’s door again.
Before I could ask him anything, Jacob opened the door.
“Where is she?” Nick growled and pushed him out of the way to enter his room.
I followed behind him.
Jacob’s eyes widened. “Who?”
“Aria,” Nick growled.
“She didn’t come back?” Jacob asked, surprised. “I came into my room half an hour ago. She said she would grab a glass of water and come back up.”
“She is probably with Cassie,” I said and walked out of Jacob’s room.
Nick and Jacob followed me.
Nick banged on Cassie’s door. “Aria?!”
“Easy, man,” I said and grabbed his arm. “You are going to break the door down.”
He looked at me, and the fear in his eyes surprised the hell out of me. Why was he so afraid? She was here somewhere. She had to be.
Cassie opened the door with a frightened look on her face.
“Is Aria here?” Jacob asked her.
“No,” she shook her head. “Blake is not here either.”
Nick growled, and I felt the first signs of fear creep into my heart. Where was she? Where the hell was Blake? Were they together?
“She is probably still in the kitchen,” Jacob said.
“I already checked,” Nick growled and started walking downstairs.
We followed after him.
“Where is Blake?” I heard Jacob ask Cassie.
“I don’t know,” she said. “We came into the room together, but he was gone when I came out of the bathroom. I’m guessing he went downstairs to grab a drink. They are probably together.”
We walked into an empty living room.
“ARIA!” Nick screamed, startling all of us.
“Calm down, man,” I said, trying to sound calm. “She is here somewhere.”
“Let’s go find Blake,” Cassie said. “She is probably with him.”
We walked into the kitchen, and the first thing I saw was Blake. He was leaning on the backdoor, and the look on his face froze my blood.
“Blake?” Cassie called him quietly. “What are you doing here? Did you see Aria?”
Blake made a torturing sound and fell to his knees. He grabbed a fistful of his hair and started pulling it.
“I am so sorry,” he muttered.
Why is he sorry? Why the fuck is he sorry? Where is she?
My hands started sweating, and the only thing I could hear was my blood pumping through my veins.
“What are you sorry for?” Cassie asked him and knelt in front of him. “What happened, Blake?”
“He took her,” Blake mumbled quietly.
No.
No, no, no, no, no, NO!
Fuck!
Nick growled loudly and shifted. He launched himself at Blake, but Jacob stopped him.
“Stop!” Jacob yelled. “We need him to tell us what happened!”
Nate growled and bared his teeth at Blake. I couldn’t move. I was completely frozen. He took her. He had her.
Nate thrashed and tried to break through Jacob’s shield around Blake and his sister. Cassie was crying and patting Blake’s back.
I finally moved and grabbed Nate.
“I am so sorry, Nate,” I said quietly. “We will find her. We will bring her back. I need you to give control to Nick.”
Nate whined and fell down on his belly. I had no idea if wolves could cry, but he was crying. I stroked his big head, trying to calm myself. I wanted to rip Blake apart. He should have stopped him. He should have called us. How the hell did he take her? How the hell did he go through my shield?
A few moments later, I felt Nick shift back. He got on his knees and buried his head in his hands, rocking back and forth. Jacob left and came back with a pair of sweats for Nick.
“Put this on,” I said quietly. “We need to hear Blake out, and we need to go after her.”
He took the sweats from my hand and put them on.
Cassie grabbed Blake’s arm and pulled him up.
We sat down at the table, looking at Blake. My hands itched to kill him, but I tried to control myself. I needed him to tell us what had happened.
“When we got to our room, there was a note on the bed,” Blake started talking. “I looked at Cassie, but she didn’t seem to notice it. She went straight to the bathroom. I picked up the note, and it said to go to the edge of the forest if I didn’t want anybody to get hurt.”
“I didn’t see the note,” Cassie said quietly.
“I thought about that,” Blake sighed. “It was a spell. Only I could see it.”
Cassie nodded.
My blood started boiling. I could see where this was going.
“I walked outside through the front door because I knew Jacob and Aria were in the kitchen. When I got there, two men waited for me. The older one was Victor.”
Nick growled and started shaking. I could feel his anger in the air.
“He asked me to help him get Aria,” Blake continued. “I refused. But then he threatened to kill Cassie and I…”
Blake didn’t get to finish because a loud roar interrupted him.
“YOU WHAT?” Nick screamed. “YOU TRADED ARIA’S LIFE FOR HERS?!”
“No!” Blake said, his eyes widening. “I wanted to come and talk to you. I wanted to tell you so we can protect them both. But…”
“But what?” I said through my teeth.
The fucker gave my sister to Victor. If something happened to her, I would kill him. I would rip him apart piece by piece.
“She saw me when I came back,” he continued, his voice trembling. “She made me tell her what happened, and she went to him.”
My heart broke into a million tiny pieces. He had her. He really had her. My whole body was in pain. I needed her back. I have to get her back.
Nick’s POV
My heart was beating painfully, and I was burning inside. She was gone. My mate was gone. I couldn’t see her. I couldn’t smell her. I couldn’t feel her.
I have never been more afraid in my life. I had absolutely no idea how the hell I was going to live without her. She had to be okay. I have to get her back. I need her.
I wanted to kill Blake. My whole body was vibrating with the need for his blood. Nate was completely unhinged. I had no idea how the hell I was keeping him inside.
I wanted to scream, whine and tear the whole fucking world apart until I find her. She is mine. She belongs to me. She should be here right now. We should be in bed together. I should be inside her right now, feeling her around me and tasting her soft lips.
I shouldn’t be sitting here, listening to how her friend betrayed her and let her go. This wasn’t right. I should kill Blake and go after her.
Gabriel grabbed my arm. It was as if he could hear my thoughts.
I looked at him and saw the same need for Blake’s blood in his eyes. He wanted to do the same thing. He wanted to kill him.
But he knew we couldn’t. Aria would never forgive us. And we need him to tell us everything. He was trying to control himself and me at the same time.
“Tell us everything, Blake,” Jacob said, his voice cold. “What did you tell her, and what did she do?”
“I came back inside the house,” Blake said. “I thought you were gone already. I wanted to find Nick and Gabriel and tell them what had happened so we could make a plan. I was sure the kitchen was empty. But Aria was here.”
My heart clenched when he said her name. My Aria. My love. I want her here. I need her here.
“She asked me what was wrong,” Blake continued. “She could feel how sad and distraught I was. I refused to tell her, but she was persistent.”
“Of course, she was,” Gabriel muttered and closed his eyes.
“When she heard what Victor told me, she immediately started walking outside,” Blake said, his voice trembling. “I stopped her and told her we need to tell the others. I told her she can’t go to him.”
Blake stopped talking and took a deep breath. Cassie was crying silently. Jacob’s face was stone cold, but I could see his jaw twitching.
“She said she couldn’t live with herself if he hurt any one of us,” Blake said quietly. “She said that nothing he would do to her would compare to the pain of being responsible for the harm that he would inflict on us.”
“OF COURSE, SHE FUCKING SAID THAT!” Gabriel yelled, startling all of us. “SHE ALWAYS PUTS EVERYBODY FIRST! YOU FUCKING KNOW THAT! YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE SAID ANYTHING TO HER!”
Gabriel put his head in his hands and let out a torturing sound.
I couldn’t talk. I couldn’t do anything. I felt like if I moved a muscle, it would send me flying into Blake and killing him.
“Gabriel is right,” Jacob said through his teeth. “You shouldn’t have said anything. You should have come straight to us.”
“I know,” Blake said, his voice breaking. “I was scared he would hurt Cassie. Aria was so brave and adamant I was sure she would be okay.”
“What happened next?” Cassie asked him, wiping the tears from her face.
“I tried talking her out of it,” Blake sighed. “I tried telling her we would protect her and Cassie. I tried telling her she would be in grave danger if she went to him. But she didn’t want to listen. She said she would be okay. She said she would hold on until we found her. And if she didn’t…”
Blake stopped talking and took a deep breath. There was a huge lump in my throat, and I felt like I won’t ever be able to swallow again.
“If she didn’t, she told me to tell you she loves you,” Blake said quietly. “She told me to tell you not to be angry with her. She said that the best thing she could do with her life was to protect the people she loved. She said that she never felt more loved and wanted than right here with all of us. She said to thank you for giving her the love she always wanted.”
I couldn’t hold it anymore. Tears fell from my eyes, and a whimper escaped my lips. She was saying goodbye in case she never saw us again. Nate was whining and howling inside. I could feel how broken he was, and it only added to my pain.
Cassie sobbed loudly and wrapped her arms around herself.
“I told her not to do this,” Blake continued, and I could tell he was crying as well. “I begged her to stay here. She hugged me and told me it wasn’t my fault. She told me not to blame myself. She said it was her decision. I watched her as she walked over to him. The other guy that was with Victor grabbed her and placed a cloth over her mouth. She fainted, and Victor threw her over his shoulder. They left, and I stayed outside staring at the forest until I heard Nick scream her name.”
I can’t describe what I was feeling. The most important piece of my body and soul was gone. Ripped away from me. How the hell was I supposed to live now? How the hell was I supposed to stop myself from killing the man sitting in front of me? It was his fault. He should have stopped her. He should have told me.
“I am going to get her back,” Gabriel said, his voice low and cold. “If she dies, I will kill you, Blake. I don’t fucking care how convincing she was. She is so small, and there is no fucking way you couldn’t have grabbed her and dragged her back inside the house. If she dies, her blood will be on your hands. And I will make sure your blood will be on mine.”
Gabriel stood up and ran to the backdoor. He opened it so forcefully that he broke the hinges. I followed behind him, and I could hear Jacob running after me.
