Gabriel’s POV
It’d been a week since Aria came home.
She had been recovering well. Her bruises and scrapes were gone. Her ribs were almost healed. She made a potion from a Rue plant and a red clover that was supposed to help heal broken bones. I guess it worked because her ribs looked great.
Victor hasn’t made a move to take her back yet, but it was only a matter of time before he did.
We had been preparing for him. We will be ready when he comes. It was time we ended this once and for all.
Nick, Annie, and Patricia had been practicing combat in wolf form. Mike and Jack focused on increasing their stamina, which was pretty good even when they started. The rest of us focused on our magic and perfecting our spells.
Aria hadn’t been practicing. We had her on bed rest. She had been complaining for the past few days, that she wanted to practice with us, but I said no. I didn’t want to put her at risk. She could hurt herself.
We were sitting at the dining room table, eating breakfast. Nick, Jake, and I were talking about something important that had happened yesterday, and we wanted to share it with the others today. I glanced over at Nick who was playing with his food. He was nervous.
Our plan wasn’t exactly sane.
“Gabe?” I heard Aria calling me.
“Yeah?” I turned to look at her.
“Can I practice today?” she asked me nervously. “I won’t push myself too hard, I promise.”
I sighed and wanted to refuse, but Patricia interrupted me.
“Gabriel, she will be okay,” she said. “Let her practice.”
“Yeah, I will be okay, Gabe,” Aria added. “We can do it together. If you tell me to stop, I will. I promise.”
I eyed her up and down and sighed. I looked over at Nick, who just shrugged his shoulders. I knew he would let her practice because he had a hard time refusing her. I had to be the bad guy.
But I also know that she needed this. She needs to be ready.
“Fine,” I said, looking back at Aria. “We are doing it together. And I decide when we are done.”
“Thank you,” she said, and a huge smile spread across her face.
I nodded and looked down at my plate. I hoped I made the right decision. If she got hurt, I would freak out.
Jake cleared his throat, and I looked up at him. He gave me a small nod. It was time.
“Guys,” Jake said. “We have something to discuss with you.”
Everybody raised their heads and looked at Jake.
“Gabe, Nick, and I talked yesterday, and we have a suggestion,” Jake said.
“What kind of suggestion?” Mike asked, glancing between the three of us.
There was a moment of silence before Nick spoke.
“We want to call Victor,” Nick said slowly.
I immediately looked at Aria. Her eyes widened, and she was staring at Nick.
“What?” Annie asked, shocked. “Why?”
“Well…” I started talking. “We want to lure him in. We want to finish this.”
“And how do you plan to do that?” Mike smirked as he crossed his arms over his chest.
“Well, we are hoping that the phone call will piss him off and he will come,” I explained.
“What about his army?” Jack sighed. “We don’t know how many people he has. There are ten of us here. That’s hardly an army.”
“If we wait for him to make the first move, he will have an even bigger army than he has right now,” Nick said. “We need to surprise him.”
“What makes you think he will even come?” Annie asked.
Our eyes darted to Aria. She was staring at her hands.
The others followed our gaze, and the girls gasped.
“I am bait, aren’t I?” Aria mumbled quietly.
“NO!” the rest of us shouted at the same time.
She flinched and looked up at us.
“You are not a bait,” I said, trying to stay calm. “But he does want you. He won’t miss an opportunity to get you.”
“If she gets hurt because of your stupid idea, I will stick my claws up your asses,” Annie threatened us.
“I believe you, Annie,” Jake said seriously.
I believed her too. I was sure she would beat the shit out of us if we hurt Aria.
“You better,” she said, glaring at Jake, Nick, and me.
“I would never put my mate in danger, Ann,” Nick said calmly.
“When are we calling him?” Jack asked.
“Tomorrow,” I said. “We need to figure out what to tell him.”
“We can do that today after practice,” Nick added.
The others just nodded, and I looked at Patricia.
“You are quiet,” I said.
She looked up at me and gave me a small smile. “Well, it’s not every day you find out you will soon get a chance for revenge.”
“Do you agree with our plan?” I asked her.
“I think it will work,” she nodded. “Victor is a smart man. But his greatest weakness is his greed. He won’t resist this opportunity. He will come.”
I smiled back at her and wanted to speak, but she raised her hand, stopping me.
“I don’t think we should call him tomorrow,” she added. “I need to call someone to come and help us. They should be here in a day or two. We can call him then.”
“Whom are you calling?” Nick asked her.
“Petra and a friend of mine from my old village,” she explained, turning to look at Nick. “He is an amazing warlock.”
“Call them immediately,” I said. “Tell them to get here as soon as possible. We will call him when they arrive.”
Patricia nodded and stood up to call her friends.
“We should continue practicing,” Mike said and stood up.
“Are you ready, Aria?” I asked my sister as I stood up to take my plate to the dishwasher.
“I need to talk to her for a second before you start,” Nick said.
I nodded. “I will be outside. Find me when you are done.”
Aria nodded and followed Nick to their bedroom.
Aria’s POV
I couldn’t stop thinking about Victor.
I will see him soon.
He will come for me.
What if he took me again?
No.
I couldn’t go through that again. I wouldn’t let him take me. I couldn’t let him get me and my powers. I would do what is necessary to stop him. I would take my own life if I had to.
I didn’t even notice that Nick and I were in our bedroom.
He closed the door behind us and pulled me to his chest. He cupped my face and started kissing me. I kissed him back, and he groaned. He picked me up and wrapped my legs around his waist. He never broke the kiss.
He pressed me against the wall and his hands started caressing my body gently. I moaned and felt tingles in my belly. He was amazing. The way he kissed was amazing. The way he knew my body was amazing. Everything about him was amazing.
I reached under his shirt and touched his chiseled muscles. He groaned and kissed me harder. He broke the kiss, but his lips never left my skin. He kissed my jaw and continued down my neck. He sucked on my marking spot, making me moan. I pressed myself closer to him and he growled.
“Fuck, baby,” he said, breathing heavily.
He continued kissing my neck gently, and I pulled his hair, bringing his lips back to mine. Our tongues touched, and I felt an electric sparkle fly through my body.
I pulled away from him and looked at his lust-filled eyes. “I thought you wanted to talk.”
“I do,” he said and pecked my lips. “I just couldn’t resist you.”
I chuckled and caressed his cheek. “What did you want to talk about?”
He grabbed me tighter and walked over to the bed. He sat down with me on his lap. He leaned on the headboard, and I straddled him.
“I have an idea, love,” he said, and tucked my hair behind my ear. “Well, not an idea. A wish.”
“Tell me,” I said and smiled at him.
“I want to mark you,” he said, looking me in the eyes.
My breath got caught in my throat.
What?
He narrowed his eyes when he saw my face. “What’s wrong?”
I couldn’t respond. What the hell do I tell him?
I wanted him to mark me. Oh, Goddess, I can’t wait for him to mark me.
But I couldn’t let him do that yet. Not now when my life was in danger. If he marked me and I died, it would be so much harder on him than it would be if I was not marked. He could die. I can’t let him die.
My breathing picked up and Nick’s eyes widened. He cupped my face and looked at me worriedly.
“What’s wrong, baby?” he asked. “You don’t want me to mark you? You don’t want to be with me?”
My eyes widened. “No, Nick. Goddess, no. I love you. I want to be with you. I want you to mark me.”
“But?” he asked.
I looked away from him. How the hell do I tell him? I know he won’t agree with me.
“Aria?” he called my name, and I looked back at him. “Talk to me, baby. What’s wrong?”
Goddess, he was perfect. What the hell did I do to deserve this man? I can’t hurt him. I can’t let anything happen to him.
“I think we should wait just a little bit longer,” I said quietly.
His grip on me tightened and his eyes darkened. “Why? Does this have anything to do with Jacob?”
“No,” I said quickly. “I don’t want Jacob. I want you.”
“Then what?” he asked, his eyes still dark.
I sighed and looked down at his chest. I had to tell him the truth. I couldn’t let him think that this had to do with another man. I loved Jake, but I loved him as my friend and as my brother. Nick was the one I wanted. He was my future. If I even had one.
“I am not sure if I will survive this, Nick,” I said quietly, not looking back up at him. “If you mark me and I die, it will be so much harder for you to move on. You could die as well. I can’t let that happen. I can’t let you die.”
I waited for him to shout or growl, but he didn’t make a sound. I glanced up at him, and he was looking at me with a mixture of anger, sadness, and love.
We spent a few moments in silence. I looked back down because I couldn’t stand to see him angry at me.
He finally moved. He placed a finger under my chin and raised my head.
“First of all, you are not dying. I will kill anyone who tries to touch you or hurt you,” he said sternly. “Second of all, I don’t need to mark you to beg for death if something happens to you. I almost did when he took you. I thought I would die every second you were away from me. I would welcome death because it would be less painful than living without you. I love you. I will always love you and I want others to know. I want them to know that you are mine. I want us to be connected forever.”
When he finished his speech, I started crying. Tears were streaming down my cheeks, and I couldn’t stop them. He wiped them all away with his thumb.
“I love that you are trying to protect me, baby,” he continued. “But with or without my mark on your beautiful body, I don’t plan on living without you. When you leave, I leave.”
I sobbed and wrapped my hands around his neck. He pulled me closer and held me tight.
“I love you, baby,” he whispered into my hair.
“I love you too,” I said, my voice trembling.
We sat like that until my crying stopped. I pulled away from him and wiped my cheeks.
“You are cute when you are puffy,” Nick grinned at me.
I slapped his arm. “Shut up.”
“Never, baby,” he smiled mischievously.
I shook my head and smiled back at him.
“So, now that we’ve established that you won’t be dying anytime soon, can I please mark you?” Nick asked me, tracing his fingers up and down my marking spot.
I shivered and gave him a small smile. “I would love to.”
A huge smile spread across his face. “Tonight?”
“Tonight,” I nodded and smiled.
