Gabriel’s POV
I gripped Aria’s hand tighter and turned to Nick.
“Do you have the phone here?” I asked.
Nick reached into his pocket and pulled out Calvin’s phone. He placed it down on the table and looked up at me. My friends sat down at the table and nervously glanced at the phone.
I looked at my sister. “Are you ready?”
She took a deep breath and nodded slowly.
I wish we didn’t have to do this. I wish there was another way. I was against her being here and listening to this. Others thought she had a right to know. Looking at her right now, I regret not fighting against them harder.
“We are here for you, okay?” Jake said, reaching over the table for Aria’s hand.
She let go of me and took his hand in hers. “Thank you, Jake.”
I pulled her hand from Jake and put it back in mine. Jake glared at me, and I gave him a ‘don’t fuck with me right now’ look.
Nick reached for the phone, but Patricia stopped him. “Hold on a second.”
We looked at her with confused expressions on our faces.
“He is going to say something to upset you,” she said, looking between all of us. “He will do it on purpose. Don’t react. Don’t give him what he wants. Stay calm.”
We nodded stiffly, and Patricia motioned toward the phone. “Call him.”
Nick took the phone in his hand and called Victor.
The atmosphere in the room was tense. I could feel how nervous everyone was. I could feel fear coming off of Aria. I pressed myself closer to her and she leaned on me.
Just when I thought Victor wouldn’t be picking up, he answered the call. For a few moments, all we could hear was breathing on the other end. But then he spoke.
“Hello there, my little witch,” he said in a cold, deep voice.
Aria stiffened, and everyone in the room looked at her. She was looking at the phone, and I could see tears in her eyes.
I snapped out of my daze and looked at Nick. He was pissed. I kicked his foot under the table. We decided he would speak with him.
“Hello, Victor,” Nick spat out after a few moments.
Victor chuckled on the other end. “Little witch, don’t tell me you don’t want to speak to me? I missed you. You didn’t miss me?”
I saw every fist in the room clench. Nick’s eyes changed to black. Aria closed her eyes and tears fell on her cheeks. I pulled her closer.
“Aria isn’t here,” Nick said as calmly as he could. “I am the one who is calling you. You will be speaking to me.”
Victor laughed. “Let’s not start this with lies. I know she is there. I know she is listening. I know all of you are listening. But I want to speak to my little witch.”
“She is not yours,” Nick growled as his claws slipped out.
Aria reached out to him and grabbed his hand. His claws retreated instantly.
“Oh, she is,” Victor laughed. “I will come back for her.”
“You can try.” Nick said menacingly.
“I will try, my little witch,” Victor said. “And I will get you back. There is so much more I want to do to you. There is so much more I need from you.”
Aria was shaking at this point. Nick’s eyes kept changing from brown to black. Zack and Jake were fuming. I could feel their magic slipping out of control. Cassie and Annie had tears in their eyes. Mike, Jack, and Blake were clenching their jaws. Petra looked calm, but I could see the rage in her eyes. Patricia looked like she was in pain. Her face was pale, and she was staring through the window.
I grabbed Aria and pulled her onto my lap. She buried her face in my chest and a quiet sob escaped her.
“I won’t let him hurt you again, love,” I whispered to her.
I wrapped her in a tight hug and focused back on the conversation between Nick and Victor.
“You will try, but you will fail,” Nick growled. “I won’t let you touch her again.”
Victor laughed. “Are you angry because Calvin touched her before any one of us could?”
Oh, fuck.
I immediately covered Aria’s ears. There was no fucking way she was listening to this!
She started shaking even more and pressed herself closer to me. I was holding on to her like my life depended on it, which did.
Nick was losing it. His claws and canines were out. Growls were coming out of him constantly. The rest of our friends didn’t look any better. The magic was slipping out of all of them.
I saw Patricia standing up and walking over to Nick. She whispered something to him, and he took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.
Nick opened his mouth to speak, but Victor’s voice coming off of the phone interrupted him.
“I will come for her,” he said coldly. “I will get her back. You won’t be able to stop me. She is mine. Her magic is mine.”
“We will be waiting, you pathetic piece of shit,” Nick growled. “Come and get her, I dare you. I will rip you to pieces, just like I did with Calvin.”
Nick ended the call immediately after saying that. That was our plan. We saw how much Calvin meant to Victor, and we knew this would piss him off.
As soon as the call ended, the shouting began. Chairs were scraping on the floor, and fists were being thrown against the wall. Nick was on the verge of shifting. His fur coated his arms, and his eyes were completely black.
I ignored them all and focused on my sister. She was pressed up against my chest with my hands covering her ears. She wasn’t crying, but she was shaking. I need to take her away from all this anger.
I picked her up and walked out of the kitchen. Nobody was paying attention to us. I took her to my room. I sat down on the chair next to the window. I had her on my lap, and I was holding her tight.
Aria’s POV
Just hearing his voice made me sick.
I remembered every word, every punch, every touch.
I was so afraid.
I was so ashamed.
I couldn’t let him do this. How can we defeat him if I get like this just from hearing his voice? How will I face him?
My head was buried in my brother’s chest, and he was whispering soothing words to me.
“I love you,” he said. “I won’t let him hurt you. You are safe.”
I raised my head to look at him. He looked tired. His eyes were filled with sadness. He was looking at me with love.
“I love you too,” I said quietly.
“I know,” he smiled at me. “Are you okay?”
Am I okay?
No.
I was not okay. But did I want to tell him that? I didn’t want to worry him. He had been worrying about me enough.
But when I looked up at him, I saw that he already knew the truth. I could try to lie to him, but he would know.
So, I told the truth.
“No,” I said, shaking my head.
He gave me a small smile and wiped the tears from my cheeks. “I won’t force you, but I would like it if you could talk to me about it. It would help.”
I sighed and looked down at my lap. “I am ashamed.”
“Ashamed to talk about it?” he asked me, rubbing small circles on my back.
“No,” I said. “Ashamed of my reaction.”
I looked up at him. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He stayed silent, waiting for me to explain.
“I am ashamed of how I reacted right now,” I said quietly, looking back down at my lap. “How will I face him, if I can’t even hear his voice without being scared out of my mind?”
“Aria, no,” he said softly, raising my head to look at him. “You have nothing to be ashamed of. You went through hell with that man. I know you are afraid. And when people are afraid, they react just like you did earlier. That is not something you should be ashamed of.”
I looked up at him and saw his eyes filled with nothing but love for me. It made me feel safe. It made me feel like it was okay to be afraid. It made me feel like it was okay to react like I did because I know he will always be here for me.
I really do have the best brother in the world.
I wrapped my arms around his neck. “Thank you. You made it easier.”
He wrapped me in a tight hug. “That’s why I am here.”
We stayed like that for a while. I didn’t want to let go. I could hear our friends yelling downstairs, and I didn’t want to go back downstairs. I wanted to stay here with Gabriel.
“Thank you for covering my ears,” I said after a few minutes.
He chuckled. “You are welcome. I didn’t want you to hear any of that, but the others argued you had a right to know.”
I nodded and let go of him. “I do have a right to know and I am not sorry I was listening. But I am glad you saved me from having to hear about Calvin.”
“I will always be here to protect you,” he said, pulling me back to his chest.
“And I will always be here to protect you,” I said, wrapping my arms around him.
He chuckled and kissed the top of my head. “Deal.”
We heard footsteps running upstairs.
“Aria?!” Nick’s panicked voice reached us.
“My room,” Gabriel yelled.
I raised my head from his chest and looked at the door. A few moments later, the door burst open, and a pissed off Nick ran inside.
“Why did you take her away?” he asked Gabriel, glaring at him angrily.
“Because she needed to get away from there,” Gabriel said, trying to stay calm. “All of you were screaming, and she was already upset enough.”
I could tell Gabriel was pissed off at Nick, but he was holding back.
Nick’s gaze fell on me, and his eyes softened.
“Come here, baby,” he said softly. “I am so sorry.”
Gabriel unwrapped his arms around me, and I stood up. I walked over to Nick, who pulled me to his chest.
“I am so sorry, baby,” he repeated. “I love you. I won’t let him hurt you.”
I nodded and took a deep breath. His scent filled my lungs, relaxing me immediately.
“Are you tired?” Nick asked me. “Do you want to go back to sleep?”
I shook my head. “I won’t be able to sleep now. I want to practice.”
I looked at Gabriel over my shoulder. He gave me a small nod. I knew he understood why I wanted to practice right now.
I needed to practice as much as I could. I need to be prepared when I see him. I needed to be the best, because I knew I would be afraid. I knew I would want to run to the safety of my brother or my mate’s arms. But I won’t be able to. I will have to fight. I will only have my magic to count on, so I need it to be the best.
“Are you sure you are up for it?” Nick asked me, and I could hear the worry in his voice. “Maybe you should rest first.”
I looked back up at him. “I am sure. I will be okay. I don’t need to rest.”
Nick looked unsure. He looked at Gabriel and nodded reluctantly. “Okay. But you need to eat something first.”
“Nick is right,” Gabriel said. “You are eating something first.”
I nodded, even though I wasn’t hungry. I knew better than to fight with them. Nick took my hand in his and led me back downstairs.
