Gabriel’s POV
I watched Aria and Cassie walk away. I could tell that Cassie needed to get away from Zack for a second.
I turned back and looked at Zack. He was looking after the girls as well. Blake was glaring at Zack.
“How the fuck did he even get her?” Zack asked after a few moments of silence. “How did he manage to take her away while she was with all of you?”
All of our eyes snapped to Blake. Zack followed our gaze, and his eyes narrowed.
“Did he have something to do with that?” Zack asked through his teeth.
I was hesitating. Should we tell him? Blake was really sorry, and Aria made us promise not to blame him.
“Yes,” Nick said bluntly.
I guess he didn’t care.
Zack’s eyes widened, and he clenched his fists. “Why the fuck is he still alive?”
“Zack, calm down,” Jake said and walked over to him. “Blake made a mistake, but he apologized.”
Zack’s eyes snapped toward me and Nick. “So, your mate and your twin sister almost died because of that fucker, and you let him live?!”
I looked at Nick. He should have kept his mouth shut.
“I was trying to save Cassie!” Blake shouted angrily.
Zack looked at him, shocked. “Cassie?”
“He told me if I didn’t give him Aria, he would take Cassie away,” Blake said, gritting his teeth.
Zack gulped and stayed silent. He looked down at his lap and sighed.
“I saved the girl you love,” Blake said mockingly. “You should thank me.”
Zack’s gaze snapped up at Blake. “Fuck you, Miller!”
Blake smirked, and it only made Zack angrier.
“Okay, enough,” I snapped. “Blake fucked up, yes. He made the wrong decision. He should have told us, not Aria. But he made up for it, and Aria told us not to blame him.”
“What do you mean he told Aria and not you?” Zack looked at me, confused.
I looked over at Blake, who just frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. He wasn’t going to explain anything to Zack. I sighed and turned back to Zack.
“Victor left him a note, telling him to come to the forest edge,” I started talking. “He told him he would hurt Cassie if he didn’t give him Aria. When Blake came back to the house, he wanted to find us and tell us, but he ran into Aria. She saw he was distraught and convinced him to tell her what was wrong. She then went to Victor herself.”
Zack stared at me wide-eyed. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair.
“Of course, she did,” he mumbled. “She always puts everybody first.”
“Unfortunately,” Nick mumbled.
Zack looked at him and chuckled. “So, you are her mate.”
“Yes,” Nick said proudly.
Zack looked over at Jake, and I could see the sadness in his eyes. Jake looked up at him and shook his head sadly. Zack sighed and looked back at Nick.
Nick didn’t miss their silent exchange. He was glaring at Jake, and his jaw kept twitching.
“Please don’t hurt her,” Zack told Nick. “She is like my little sister. I will beat your ass if you hurt her.”
Nick narrowed his eyes at him. “I would never hurt her.”
Zack just nodded and leaned back on the couch. For a few minutes, the room was silent. Mike, Jack, and Annie looked at Zack and Blake nervously. Patricia was staring down at her lap. Nick was glaring daggers at Jake, and Blake was staring at Zack as he clenched his fists.
“So, what kind of powers does Aria have?” Zack broke the silence as he looked up at us.
“She can project emotions,” I said.
Zack looked at me. “Really?”
“Yes,” I nodded.
“Wow,” Zack smiled. “My baby sister is really special.”
My blood boiled. I narrowed my eyes at him, and I clenched my fists. I will beat the shit out of him.
“She is my sister,” I growled at him.
Jealousy burned through my body. How dare he call her his sister?!
Zack chuckled and shook his head. “You are a jealous bunch, aren’t you?”
“I am not jealous,” I said through my teeth.
Zack raised his eyebrows and chuckled. “Look, man. I didn’t mean anything bad, okay? We grew up together, and I have always protected her. I really do see her as my sister. I will always look at her like that. Shouldn’t you be happy that she has so many people who love her and want her to be safe?”
I narrowed my eyes on him. What he said made sense, but I didn’t like it.
I should be happy. All of these people love my sister. They all want to protect her. Why was I jealous? Why did I have a problem with Zack calling her his sister? Why did it make my blood boil?
Maybe because I am jealous that they had so much more time with her? Maybe because I was jealous that they knew her better than I did? Maybe because I missed so much of her life? I should have been there for her sooner. I should have protected her.
I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. “Look, I am sorry, Zack. This is a sensitive subject for me. I feel terrible because I missed so much of her life. And I guess I am jealous that you were there for her when I wasn’t.”
Nick placed a hand on my shoulder. “You didn’t know, man.”
Zack nodded, “Nick is right. You didn’t know. If you knew, you would have been there for her.”
I nodded and looked down at my lap. They were right. I didn’t know. But I think I should have felt something. How did I not feel a part of me missing? I should have known that I have a sister. I should have known.
“I should thank you,” I said quietly as I looked back up at Zack and Jake. “You took care of her when I couldn’t. Thank you.”
“We will always take care of her,” Jake said.
I smiled at him and nodded.
“Okay, enough of this,” Annie said and clapped her hands. “We should talk about Victor and how the hell are we going to stick our claws up his ass.”
The rest of us laughed, and we continued talking about our plans.
Aria’s POV
I held my friend while she cried.
“It’s okay, Cass,” I mumbled as I ran my fingers through her hair.
She calmed down a bit after a few minutes. She raised her head to look at me. Her eyes were red, puffy, and filled with tears. Her cheeks were red, and her nose was running.
“Talk to me, Cassie,” I said quietly. “Don’t keep it all inside.”
She sobbed and wiped her face with her sleeve. “I feel terrible, Ari.”
“Why, Cass?” I asked. “Zack is alive. He is okay.”
“I know,” she nodded. “And I am really glad that he is okay.”
“Why do you feel terrible then?” I asked, confused.
She buried her face in her hands and another sob escaped her.
“Because I love him,” she mumbled quietly.
Oh.
I think everybody knew that. Zack loved her as well. They were both too stubborn to admit that. But Cassie loved Blake too. And she didn’t want to hurt him.
“I know that, Cass,” I said, rubbing small circles on her back.
She looked up at me wide-eyed. “You do?”
“Of course,” I said with a small smile. “You are my best friend. I know you. I always knew you had feelings for him. And I always knew you were too stubborn to admit that.”
“I am an idiot,” she mumbled as she looked down at her lap.
She was fidgeting with her fingers and sniffing quietly.
“You are not an idiot, Cassie,” I said sternly and grabbed her hand in mine.
She looked up at me and shook her head sadly. “I am Ari. I shouldn’t love him. He doesn’t see me like that, and I have a boyfriend. I love Blake.”
Should I tell her that she was wrong? Should I tell her that Zack was crazy about her? If I tell her, it would only be harder for her. Also, Zack should have the opportunity to do that himself. He should tell her he loves her. I shouldn’t be the one to do that. Although, I had no idea how she didn’t know that he had feelings for her. It was obvious as hell.
I sighed and tightened my grip on her hand. “I can’t tell you what to do, Cass. I wish I could. But no matter what you decide, I will always support you and be there for you.”
She gave me a sad smile and pulled me into a hug. “You are the best friend a girl could ask for. I love you, Aria.”
“I love you too, Cassandra,” I said and smirked.
She pushed back and slapped my arm playfully. “Don’t call me that.”
I laughed and stuck my tongue at her.
She sighed and looked back down at her lap. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure,” I said with a small smile.
“What did you feel when you saw Jake again after four years?” she asked quietly, not looking up at me.
I took a sharp breath. What did I feel? I felt a thousand butterflies. I wanted to be in his arms and never leave. I wanted to go back in time and do everything I could to stop my grandma from taking me away from him. And then I felt a wave of pain and guilt. I can’t deny I still had feelings for Jake. But Nick was already creeping into my heart at that point, and just thinking about hurting him, hurt me deeply.
Cassie looked up at me when I didn’t respond. She raised her eyebrows and waited for me to answer her question.
“I still loved him,” I said quietly. “I still wanted him. But I also felt guilty because I was starting to love Nick as well.”
“If Nick isn’t your mate, would you be with Jake now?” she asked me, tilting her head in curiosity.
I just stared at her. How the hell do I answer? I don’t know the answer to that.
“Maybe,” I mumbled quietly.
“I think you would,” she said as she smiled sadly. “Your feelings for Jake would come rushing back and all of the feelings you had for Nick, by that point, would disappear. There would be no mate bond to tie you to Nick any further. Jake was your first love. And those feelings don’t just go away. They are strong and they will always pull you back in.”
By the time she finished, she was sobbing again. I didn’t think she was talking about me and Jake at the end. I removed the hair from her face and pulled her into a hug.
“You are right,” I said quietly. “Nothing beats your first love.”
The mate bond did. But I was not going to tell her that. I loved Jake. I will always love Jake. But what I had with Nick was something out of this world. I couldn’t even begin to explain how I feel about Nick. He was mine and I was his. I will always be his.
The back door opened, and Jake walked out. I looked up at him. He was looking at Cassie with a pained expression on his face. He kneeled and started rubbing small circles on her back. She tensed in my arms. I guess she didn’t hear him come outside.
“It’s okay, Cass,” I whispered. “It’s Jake.”
She turned around to look at him, and he reached out for her. She threw herself into his arms and he pulled her onto his lap. He kissed the top of her head and wrapped her in a hug.
“It’s okay, Cassie,” he said quietly. “Let it all out. I am here.”
She buried her head in his chest and sobbed. He kept kissing the top of her head and whispering soothing words to her.
I watched them with a small smile. Jake was an amazing brother. He always was.
Jake turned to look at me. “Gabriel wants to talk to you.”
“Okay,” I said as I stood up. “Will you be okay here?”
“Sure,” he gave me a small smile. “Don’t worry.”
I bent down and kissed the top of Cassie’s head. “I will be inside if you need me, Cass.”
She nodded, and Jake caressed my cheek. I smiled at him and walked back inside the house.
