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Tracey stares at me for a long moment before letting out a huff and pushing up from the sofa. With her expression as soft as she’s physically able to manage, she slowly shakes her head.
“No.” Her gravelly voice is heavy and full of sadness. “Something needs to be done.”
With that, she turns and stomps from the room, leaving me curled up on the armchair, wondering what the hell just happened.
Back in my room, I sit and stare at the walls when a knock on the door startles me. I wait a moment, listening to see if I can work out who is there without having to get up. The lack of huffing and creaking floors tells me that it’s not Tracey, and I don’t know who else would come visit me in my room. A guard perhaps?
A second knock makes me sigh. Whoever they are, they are not going anywhere until I open the door. Standing, I walk over, pull open the door, and come face-to-face with Gabriel.
I really need to start checking who’s there before opening my door.
He practically fills the whole doorway, his magnificent wings tucked in behind him as he stares down at me. Something in his expression changes as he looks me over, something that looks like anger and sorrow.
“Can I come in?”
What do I do? I should stay far away from him. My thoughts on what happened between us have always been mixed. A part of me believes him, and the other part whispers everything the others told me about him. He’s bad news. Even if he is innocent, I can’t risk doing anything that gives Dorine any excuse to extend my sentence.
However, I’m damaged and feeling fragile. I should push him away, but that just makes me want him all the more. Besides, I’ve missed him, our flight together often frequenting my dreams.
I don’t say anything, but I step aside and gesture for him to enter. He passes me, and I shut the door behind him, pretending that his scent isn’t making my knees weak. Taking a deep breath, I turn to face him. There’s barely enough space for the two of us in here, his wings brushing against my minimal furnishings as he moves farther into the room. It’s not just his physical size that fills the room though, but his alpha vibes. There’s just something about him that screams dominance.
My heart is jumping in my chest. I want him here, desperately needing to press myself against him and feel his touch, yet at the same time, I’m still hurting from everything that happened between us.
I wait for him to speak, watching as he looks around the room, his gaze quickly moving to me. He frowns as he looks me over again.
“You’ve lost weight.” His voice is gruff, his words a statement rather than a question.
Not knowing how to reply, I simply let my lips twitch into a ghost of a smile and shrug my shoulders.
This only seems to upset him more, his frown deepening as he takes a small step towards me. “I spoke with your friend, Tracey.” He shakes his head, a wry smile on his face. “That was the scariest moment of my life. Do you know how violent ogres get when they are protecting their loved ones?”
A flicker of genuine humour travels through me, and a small smile appears on my lips. His eyes track it, taking note of every move I make. I can imagine Tracey storming into his room and demanding he do something to fix the mess between us. The smile slowly slips from my face.
“She sent you here to talk to me?”
I’m unable to hide my disappointment, my heart sinking. I hoped he was here to have a genuine conversation with me, but it turns out his hand was forced. Any apology or conversation he wants to have with me should be because he wants to apologise and be here with me, not because he had the crap scared out of him by an ogre.
He laughs and shakes his head. “No, she actually came to beat the shit out of me for ‘doing this’ to her friend.”
Oh, Tracey, you beautiful ogre. Who needs men when you have an ogre for a friend?
The bond thumps in my chest, reminding me exactly how I feel without my mates. While I’m a strong, independent female, and I know I could survive if I could never see my mates again, I’m literally missing a part of myself without them. I would never feel complete again.
As I stare into his intense golden eyes, my heart feels like it bleeds in my chest, and I have to drop my gaze. “You didn’t come,” I mutter aloud. It’s the first time that I’ve admitted how much his absence upset me. “It’s been two weeks.”
I shouldn’t have wanted to see him, and I did attempt to stay away, but he didn’t make any effort to see me. Even now, although he’s here of his own volition, it was triggered by Tracey trying to kill him. It hurt that he didn’t track me down and make me hear him out. If he truly cared, that’s what he would do, right?
His shadows flicker behind him at the dejection in my voice, but his expression doesn’t change. This is the first time I’ve seen them in a while. His control is usually so good, he must be struggling if they are making an appearance. They simply flicker and dance across the floor, reminding me of the danger this male could be to me if he truly wanted to hurt me.
“I was trying to give you space, little one,” he explains, the sincerity in his voice ringing clearly. “I didn’t think you wanted to see me, especially with your new ogre friend. However, I’ve never been far away. I can’t seem to stay away from you, Emily.”
I have seen him a couple of times in the last two weeks, watching from afar, but I always thought it was a coincidence that he’d come across me. The facility is small, so it was only a matter of time before we bumped into each other.
Reaching out and touching my chin, he gently guides my head up until our eyes meet. “Yes, the idea of having you here all to myself was a seductive one, but I would never do anything to jeopardise your release, and I need you to understand that.” Each word is clear, leaving no room for misunderstanding. Huffing out a breath, he shakes his head as he continues. “I am sorry that my actions got you in trouble though, and I’m going to fix it.”
A chill goes down my spine, my instincts telling me that whatever he’s planning isn’t a good idea. “What do you mean?”
He drops his hands and stands to his full height, his lips pursing for a moment. “I’m going to tell them that I forced you to come with me for the flight. That way, they have no reason to continue punishing you.”
