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"She's resting," Mariam said when she met Gabe at the front door. "She ate and took a bath. I think she's feeling better, but she didn't want to talk about it. I think she's, you know... a little embarrassed about the whole thing."
Gabe scowled. "She doesn't have anything to be embarrassed over. The beta had everyone, even his own alpha, believing that he wasn't a horrible person. There's no way she could have known he would try to force a mating bond with her."
"I know that, and you know that, but Ella has always been really hard on herself. Add that to the fact that she’s still drawn to that prick, and you have the perfect storm for her to feel like shit.”
“You always did have a way with words, mate.” Mariam and Gabe glanced into the foyer where Trace was waiting for us. “Are you going to invite him inside, or are we keeping our guests on the front porch these days?”
Mariam stuck out her tongue at the alpha’s teasing, earning her a raised eyebrow. Trace’s reaction was enough to settle her feistiness. As bold as Mariam was, there was never a question of who was in charge.
Maybe someday that will be Ella and me, Gabe thought.
His wolf perked up. He had been pouting over being denied his run, but the idea of dominating Ella was compelling enough to draw his interest.
Easy, Gabe warned him.We have to get her to accept our bond first. And before that can happen, we have to remove the claim that Neil left.
Gabe followed Mariam up the stairs to the room Ella had stayed in for her mating ceremony. He froze, realizing how recent that was.
“Did all of this interrupt your vacation, Mariam? I know you planned on getting away with Trace after the ceremony.”
She waved away his concern. “We cut it short. I’d ratherbe here for you and my sister right now, anyway. We can go on vacation another time.”
“You’re a good friend, Mare. And an even better sister.”
Mariam wrapped her arms around Gabe, giving him a tight hug. “You were there for me when no one else was. You let me stay in your apartment, for fuck’s sake. And Ella practically raised me, and that wasnotan easy undertaking.”
“Somehow, I believe that,” he joked. “Teenage Mariam must have been hell on wheels.”
She released Gabe quickly with a growl that turned into a guilty smile.
“Can Ella stay here with you?” he asked. “I would love to bring her back to my apartment, but until I know what we need to do to break Neil’s claim, I’m afraid to…well, you know….”
His whole face heated as he tried to stammer through his concern over being intimate with Ella too soon.
“Of course,” Mariam said gently. “But you should probably be the one to explain that to her. The Ella I know would rather gouge her eyes out over talking to me about her sex life. Even if it is a hypothetical sex life at this point.”
She gave Gabe’s arm one more squeeze and left him in the hallway at the same door that had held the mysterious scent on the day he first met Ella. At least this time, Gabe could figure out how to use the handle instead of breaking the whole thing down.
“Ella? Are you awake?” The room was dark, but Gabe could make out her human form under the covers on the bed.
She stirred and turned toward him. “Come to bed, Gabe. I’m tired.”
His mouth went dry at her invitation. “Ella,” he croaked. “I’m going back to my apartment until this thing with Neil is sorted out. It’s for the best.”
He didn’t wait for a response. He needed to get out of that room. If she invited him into the bed with her again, there was a really good chance he wouldn’t be able to say no.
Chapter 15
I stayed in the darkness for a long time, fully awake and feeling the sting of Gabe's abrupt departure. I wasn’t trying to seduce him. I’d just wanted to have him in the room, even if we needed a mountain of pillows as a barrier again. Somehow having another person around helped a lot, especially someone with his soothing presence, but he couldn’t stand to be with me even for that.
And was it my imagination, or was there a bitterness in his voice when he choked out his hasty goodbye? The way he implied all this was my problem to resolve made it pretty clear that he was getting fed up with my compulsive infatuation with Neil. And who could blame him? It had to be a new and fresh hell to be reminded that your true mate wanted sex with another male over and over again.
If only I had stayed in Tumblewild and given Gabe a chance after the mating ceremony, none of this would have happened. Sure, maybe we would’ve discovered that we were ultimately a bad fit, or maybe I would’ve just grown up and accepted that we could have a good relationship without him being dominant or having a werewolf-level build. Instead, I had chosen to take my chances with Neil. Igroaned into the pillow, feeling like a total idiot.
Deep down, I knew his actions weren’t my fault, but I was the one who had ignored everyone’s warnings about him. I shuddered, imagining Justine having to fight him off, too. If only I had been as strong as she was, I wouldn’t have his bite on my neck.
Nope. Stop that thinking. I wasn’t going to victim-blame myself anymore. I couldn’t change what happened, but it wasn’t my fault and I’d find some way to make the future better for myself.
Broken down and tired, I curled up into a tight ball and tried to will away the tears when they spilled from my eyes. Eventually, they must have stopped falling, but only after I was sleeping too deeply to notice.
