Gabriel’s POV
I was standing outside, watching Mike and Jack sparring.
Patricia came to stand next to me.
“They are good,” she said.
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“My friend will be here in a couple of hours,” Patricia said. “Petra will arrive by tomorrow afternoon.”
I nodded and continued watching Mike and Jack.
“Are you okay?” Patricia asked me.
I turned to look at her. “Yes. Why?”
“You seem tired,” she explained.
I looked away from her and sighed. “I am fine.”
I saw her nod from the corner of my eye. She stayed silent and we continued watching Mike and Jack.
“Gabe,” I heard a voice calling me.
I turned around and saw Aria walking toward me. I smiled at her and reached out to take her hand in mine.
“You ready?” I asked her.
She nodded and smiled at me. I pulled her away from Patricia and we began practicing. She was very good. It took her a bit longer to pull on her magic and focus it on one person, but that was just because she was still a bit hurt. When she recovered properly, she would be as strong as I was.
A proud smile spread across my face. My sister was amazing.
“What are you smiling at?” she asked me, breathing heavily.
She was exhausted. We are definitely done for today.
“I am proud of you,” I said and wrapped her up in a hug. “You are amazing.”
She wrapped her arms around me and relaxed in my arms. “I still have a long way to go.”
“You will be as strong as I am once you recover completely,” I said, not letting go of her. “You are still a little bit hurt.”
She nodded and looked up at me. “Can we continue?”
“No,” I said sternly. “You are tired, and we are done for today.”
She frowned, and I kissed her forehead. “Remember our deal.”
“Fine,” she sighed and let go of me. “But we are continuing tomorrow.”
I nodded and smiled at her. “Definitely.”
“Gabriel,” I heard someone calling me.
I turned around and saw Patricia waving me over. I took Aria’s hand in mine, and we walked back to Patricia. Nick was in his wolf form, practicing next to Annie.
Annie’s wolf was amazing. I can’t believe I haven’t seen her wolf before. Her name is Amy, and her fur is light brown. She was so much smaller than Nate, but she was a great fighter. I wouldn’t want to go against her.
“My friend is here,” Patricia said as soon as Aria and I reached her.
I nodded, and Aria and I started following Patricia back to the house.
A man was sitting at the dining room table. He was a few years older than me. He was tall and muscular. His hair was blonde and cut short. His blue eyes looked up at us, and I could tell he was shocked.
Why?
“Guys, this is…” Patricia wanted to introduce him, but Aria interrupted her.
“Zack,” she mumbled, and I could see her eyes filling up with tears.
Patricia and I looked at her in confusion. How the hell did she know this man?
“Aria?” he said in disbelief as he stood up.
She nodded and ran toward him. I wanted to grab her arm and pull her back, but she was faster.
She ran into his arms, and he picked her up. He held her tight, and she sobbed.
“Goddess, Minnie, what the hell are you doing here?!” he said, shocked. “I thought you were dead.”
I flinched at the word ‘dead’ and clenched my fists.
I heard someone enter the dining room. I could hear a loud growl and a gasp coming from behind me. I turned around and saw Nick and Jake standing at the door. Nick was sending daggers toward the new guy, and Jacob was staring at him in shock.
“Let go of my mate right the hell now,” Nick growled, his eyes darkening.
Zack looked at him, confused. “Mate?”
“Nick is my mate, Zack,” Aria said as she wiggled out of his arms.
He let her go and looked at Jake. His eyes widened.
What the fuck? How the hell do they all know each other?
“Jake?” Zack mumbled. “What the fuck is going on here?”
“How about you tell us how the hell you know Aria?” I said, pissed off.
“Zack was Jake’s best friend,” Aria explained. “We grew up together.”
“Until he disappeared,” Jake mumbled quietly, not looking away from Zack.
“I am sorry, man,” Zack sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “I had to leave to protect my family.”
“Cassie is going to beat the shit out of you,” Jake said and smirked.
Zack’s eyes widened. “She is here?”
Jake nodded. “Yes. And she won’t be happy with you. You left without a word. She has been worried, man. We’ve all been worried.”
“Is that fucker here as well?” Zack asked, his fists clenched tight.
Jake nodded again, and it only made Zack angrier. I was guessing they were talking about Blake.
“I can’t believe she is still with that man,” he mumbled angrily.
Aria chuckled and shook her head. Zack turned to look at her and rolled his eyes.
“Shut up, Minnie,” he mumbled. “It’s not like that.”
“Right,” Aria nodded and rolled her eyes back at him.
He turned back around to look at Jake. “Will someone explain to me what the hell is going on and why are you all here?”
“Let’s go sit down in the living room and we will talk,” I said and motioned for everyone to move.
As we were leaving the dining room, a loud gasp stopped us.
“Zack?!” I heard Cassie’s voice behind us.
I turned around and saw Cassie staring at him, tears rolling down her cheeks.
“Hello, sweetheart,” Zack smiled.
Blake walked in behind her, and his eyes darkened as soon as he saw Zack.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Blake said through his teeth.
“Hello, Miller,” Zack smirked. “Nice to see you again.”
Blake clenched his fists and pulled Cassie toward him. I could see Zack flinching when Blake touched Cassie.
Great. This was just what we needed. I rolled my eyes and turned away to walk to the living room.
Aria’s POV
We entered the living room, and I pulled Cassie to sit down next to me. I could tell she needed my support. She never looked away from Zack.
I knew she loved him. She loved Blake as well, but Zack was her first love. He loved her too, but he was always too stubborn to admit that. When she started dating Blake, Zack was furious. Jake and I tried to talk to him. We told him to tell her the truth, but he kept denying he had feelings for her. He was always jealous of Blake, and they hated each other. I just hope they will be able to work together now. We needed them both, and it wouldn’t end well for us if the two of them were constantly fighting.
Mike, Jack and Annie came in a few minutes later. We introduced them to Zack, and they sat down.
“Okay, Patricia, talk,” Gabriel said sternly. “How do you know this man?”
“Well, Zack and his parents moved to my village a year ago,” she explained, turning to look at Zack. “His mom is an amazing healer, and she has been helping me. Zack wanted to be a healer as well, so he started learning from us. It turns out, he is great. He is an amazing warlock as well.”
“Where are your parents?” Jake asked Zack.
“Hiding,” Zack said.
Jake nodded and looked away from Zack. He was hurt. Zack disappeared without a word. Jake and Cassie thought he and his parents were caught and killed.
“I am sorry, Jake,” Zack sighed. “I had to leave. I had to protect my parents.”
“You could have told me,” Jake said angrily. “I thought you were dead! Cassie thought you were dead! Do you know how hard it has been for us?! You know how we felt after Aria disappeared, and then you go and do the same!”
Annie, Mike, and Jack had a shocked expression on their faces. They didn’t know that we knew Zack.
Gabriel, Nick, and Blake were angry.
Patricia was sad.
Cassie had tears streaming down her cheeks. I held her hand in a tight grip.
“I am so sorry,” Zack mumbled and looked at Cassie. “I am so sorry, sweetheart.”
“Don’t call her that!” Blake yelled; his fists clenched.
Zack didn’t even look at him. “I know I hurt you, Cass. Please forgive me. I did it for my parents. I know I should have told you that we were leaving, but I was afraid. I thought you would be safer if you didn’t know anything. I am so sorry.”
Cassie looked down at our joined hands and took a deep breath. She looked back up at him and gave him a small smile.
“I forgive you,” she said quietly. “I am really glad you are okay.”
Jake huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. It won’t be that easy with him.
Zack smiled brightly at Cassie. “You are the best, Cassandra.”
I chuckled, and Cassie smirked. She hates it when people call her that.
“I told you not to call me that,” she said angrily.
“And you know how I love to annoy you, Cassandra,” Zack said with a huge grin on his face.
She rolled her eyes at him and leaned on me. I threw my arm around her shoulders and laughed.
“I didn’t even know your name was Cassandra,” Annie said.
“Well, now you do,” Cassie sighed. “But never call me that.”
Annie chuckled and nodded.
I felt Zack’s eyes on me. “What happened to you, Minnie?”
I looked at him and sighed. “That is a really long story. I would rather show you what happened.”
Gabriel grabbed my arm. “I am not okay with you using that much magic in one day. You will exhaust yourself.”
“It’s okay,” I smiled at him. “I am not tired, and memory magic isn’t that hard. If I feel like I can’t continue, I will tell you and you can tell him the rest of the story.”
Gabriel eyed me suspiciously, but eventually nodded. “Fine. Stop immediately if you get tired.”
I nodded and looked at Zack. He was looking between me and Gabriel in confusion.
“Ready?” I asked him with a small smile on my face.
He nodded and I closed my eyes. The first memory I showed him was the night that Calvin attacked me. I could feel Cassie and Gabriel tense up. I could hear Nick growl. I could hear Zack’s shocked gasps. I tuned them all out and focused on my memories. I showed Zack everything he needed to know.
When my memories ended, the room was quiet. I opened my eyes and saw Zack staring at the spot where my memory orb was floating just a moment ago. He was angry, sad, and confused.
Zack looked at me and stood up. He walked over to me and pulled me into a tight hug. I heard Nick growl.
“I am so sorry, Ari,” he mumbled into my hair. “And I am so glad you are okay. He will never touch you again, I promise.”
“Thank you, Zack,” I said as I looked up at him.
He smiled at me and let me go. He walked back to his seat and sat back down with a huff.
“So, you are telling me that the fucker who killed Patricia’s child is the same one who kidnapped Aria?” Zack said and ran his hand through his hair.
“Yes,” Gabriel said.
Zack looked up at him and shook his head. His eyes snapped at Jake.
“Where the fuck is Calvin?” he asked angrily. “I will kill him.”
“He is already dead,” Jake said. “Do you think I would let him live after he touched my sister and Aria?”
Zack nodded. “I am glad. I am sorry I didn’t participate in that, though. I would like to show him what happens when you touch something that’s mine.”
Cassie squeezed my hand tightly.
I looked over at Blake, who was fuming.
I need to get Cassie away from here for a second.
I stood up and pulled Cassie with me. Everybody looked at us.
“I need to talk to Cass for a second,” I said with a small smile. “The rest of you can get to know Zack a little bit better. We will be right back.”
I turned around before they could say anything. I pulled Cassie outside to the backyard, and as soon as I closed the door behind us, Cassie burst into tears.
