Chapter Five

Before I knew it, the door swung open.

Of course, it was him.

Gabriel was standing in the doorway, arms crossed, eyes fixed on me. The tension between us was thick enough to cut with a knife.

“I don’t remember inviting you in,” I said, propped up against my desk.

He didn’t react. Typical. Instead, he entered, closing the door behind him. He took up space in the room, weighing down on me in ways I wouldn’t admit.

“You shouldn’t have returned,” he finally said.

I laughed, the sound bitter. “Trust me, this wasn’t my ideal vacation either.”

Gabriel’s jaw clenched. "Then why are you here?"

"Work." I crossed my arms like he did. "Your pack needs training. My pack agreed to help. End of story."

His golden eyes deepened, flickering for a moment with something I couldn’t name. “I didn’t request you specifically.

"Good," I said with a smirk. “Would’ve been hella awkward if you had.”

At first, he said nothing. Just stared, as if he were trying to read between the lines of my expression. Then, almost inaudibly, he muttered, “You shouldn’t be here.”

“Oh, right, you said that before. But here’s the thing, Gabriel,” I pushed off the desk, closing in on him slightly. “You don’t have to approve of me.

His eyes dipped to my lips for less than a moment, then snapped back up. "You’re reckless, Angel."

“You’re still cocky as of October 2023. Some things never change.”

He did not give her more than a flat-line of a mouth. He was fuming. Good. Let him be. I wasn’t there to make him comfortable.

“You have to be careful,” he finally said.

I scoffed. “I have done just fine without you caring, thank you.”

“That’s not what I —” He let out a sharp breath, raking a hand through his hair. “You don’t know what the dangers are out here.”

My patience snapped. “No, you don’t understand, Gabriel. I know what perils exist here exactly. That was my home before you ruined it. So don’t give me the protective act. You don’t get to fill that position anymore.”

A muscle in his jaw twitched. “I never wanted you to go.

“Ha ha,” I said, ironically. “Because I clearly remember you standing me up first.”

Silence.

Gabriel closed his eyes for a moment, as if gathering himself. When he opened them again the fire was done and something else took it in. Something closer to regret.

“You don’t know what that did to me,” he said.

I let out a dry laugh. "Oh, do tell. Well, what did rejecting me do for you? Because to me, you were doing just fine and it was I who was left picking up the pieces.”

“That’s not — ” He exhaled, shaking his head. "You wouldn’t understand."

I retreated, sensing the fury boil over into fatigue. "You’re right. I wouldn’t. And honestly? I don’t care anymore."

Lie. A big, fat lie. But I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of knowing that.

“That’s what you repeat to yourself?” His voice was quieter now, as if he didn’t believe me.

“Yes,” I answered, meeting his eyes. "And soon, it’ll be true."

For a moment, something flashed in his eyes — pain? Maybe. But then he masked it, returning to his stoic Alpha persona.

“We start training at seven,” he said, distant again.

"I know."

He hesitated. Then, with one last nod, he turned and walked out, closing the door behind him.

My breath squeaked out, shaky as I rubbed my hands across my face.

Damn him.

The Next Morning

I woke before dawn, the body conditioned towards early risings from years of devious training with Wolf Fang Pack. After a cold shower, I threw on my usual black training gear, put my hair up in a high ponytail and put on my combat boots.

The sun was just starting to peek above the horizon when I arrived at the training grounds.

Kayden was waiting at the studio, stretching.

“Morning, Angel,” he said, smiling. "Sleep well?"

“Oh, great,” I said dryly. “The best part is definitely Gabriel breaking into my room.”

Kayden straightened. "He what?"

"Relax. He just came to remind me that I shouldn’t be here,” I said, rolling my eyes.

Kayden’s expression darkened. "He’s testing my patience."

"Yeah, well, get in line."

The others came moments later. Simon, Aden and Lea all looked well-rested — painful when I had just spent half the night mentally replaying my conversation with Gabriel.

Michael arrived with several warriors in his wake, he looked every inch the Beta that he had been conditioned to be. They flickered up to meet mine before returning to Kayden.

“These are our warriors,” Michael said, waving a hand toward the group behind him. "Some are experienced. Some are new recruits. They will all be under your training for the coming weeks.”

I scanned the crowd. They were strong—physically. But their stances, their posture … they were undisciplined. They were sloppy.

Kayden must have seen it too because he sighed. “Okay, pay attention,” he said, his voice authoritative enough to silence the murmurs. "We’re here to fix you. That translates to no whining, no slacking and absolutely no excuses. If you don’t want to work your ass off, leave now.”

Silence. No one moved.

I stepped forward. "Good. Then let’s begin."

Hours Later

By noon we’d already driven them to their limit. Half of them were panting. Some appeared on the verge of passing out.

Lea was beside me, smirking. “You love torturing them, don’t you?”

I shrugged. "They need it. They’re weak."

A voice scoffed behind me.

“We are not all weak, Angel.”

I turned, already knowing who I would see.

Gabriel.

Of course.

The challenge in his golden eyes met mine. "Care to test that theory?"

I arched a brow. “Ha, and now you want to come at me?”

“Unless you’re afraid,” he taunted.

I smirked. "Oh, sweetheart. I live for a challenge."

The warriors have gathered and sensed the tension. Even Kayden didn’t step in, which was unusual.

Michael sighed. "This is a bad idea."

But neither of us listened.

Gabriel stepped onto the sparring mat and rolled his shoulders. “Let’s see if Wolf Fang trained you as well as you stress.”

I approached the mat, stretching my arms. “And let’s see if Moon Crescent softened you up.

As soon as the signal was released, he charged up.

I dodged. Fast. I ducked as his punch moved an inch from my face.

"Sloppy," I taunted.

He growled, attacking again. This time all I did was block, twisting his arm. He moved fast, pushing me back with all his strength.

I smirked. "Getting old?"

His eyes gleamed. "Hardly."

Now he was moving faster, matching my pace. I smiled, not half liking the fight.

We landed punches that neither of us pulled. It was exhilarating. Familiar. Like we had done this a hundred times already.

Then, in an instant of time, he caught me by surprise. He twisted, knocking my legs out from under me. I fell to the ground with a grunt.”

Before I could react, he was atop me, pinning my wrists like a vise above my head.

“You’re good,” he said between breaths. "But I’m better."

I smirked. "Funny. Just going to say the same thing."

Then, taking advantage of his distraction, I twisted my body, managed to reverse the hold and pinned him instead.

Gasps filled the air.

Gabriel blinked up at me. "You’ve gotten stronger."

I leaned down just enough to make it his turn to be breathless. "I had to. You made sure of that."

Neither of us moved for a moment.

Then Kayden coughed into his throat. “Are you two gonna kiss or can we get back to training?”

Laughter erupted around us.

Gabriel scowled. I grinned.

This was going to be fun.