CHAPTER FOUR

My chest tightened painfully, making it hard for air to fill my lungs properly.

He was….he was kissing another woman.

I knew it was his personal lifeband I should probably turn around and not interrupt but watching him like tgis with someone else…watching the woman touch him in ways I coud only do in my dream, set off a wave of rage inside me that made my heartbeat accelerate.

So I took a few steps forward, and cleared my throat loudly.

They both scattered like teenagers caught making out in their parent;s basement.

The blonde practically flew off Gabriel’s lap, smoothing down her skirt ad buttonong her shirt with shaky hands.

 Gabriel stood more slowly, his expression shifting from surprise to a neutral one that betrayed no emotion.

I wanted to yell at him but I needed to be professional.

Even if I felt like I was dying inside.

“Good morning, Alpha,” I said, my voice remarkably steady despite the fact that my heart was currently being shredded. “I came in early to get started on my first day of work. I didn’t expect to walk in on my boss with some whore straddling him, but I suppose I should have knocked first. My apologies for the interruption.”

The blonde’s eyes went wide, then narrowed to dangerous slits. Her perfectly glossed lips pressed into a thin line. “Excuse me? Who the hell are you calling a whore?”

I tilted my head, letting a slow smile spread across my face, “Oh, I’m sorry. Did I offend you?”

“You called me a whore!”

“Did I?” I tapped my chin thoughtfully, taking a step closer. “Let me clarify then. Forgive me if I sound rude—truly, that’s not my intention. But you see, I don’t know who you are. We haven’t been introduced.”

“That doesn’t give you the right…”

“And given the way you’re dressed,” I continued, letting my gaze rake slowly over her skintight outfit that left absolutely nothing to the imagination, “combined with the fact that you were quite literally riding my boss’s thigh at eight o’clock on a Monday morning, in his office, with the door wide open—well, I simply made the safest and most obvious assumption about your… profession.”

Her face flushed scarlet. “You little…”

“However,” I said smoothly, “if I’ve misread the situation, if you’re actually someone important—his accountant perhaps, or maybe a dignitary from another pack—then I sincerely apologize for the false accusation. Please, enlighten me. Who are you?”

The woman sputtered, opening and closing her mouth like a fish out of water.

“That’s enough.” Gabriel’s voice cut through the tension like a blade. “Victoria, you should leave.”

Victoria whipped around to face him, disbelief written across her perfectly made-up face. “Are you serious right now? You’re not going to reprimand hjer for disrespecting me this way?”  

“I said leave.” 

“Gabriel…”

“Now, Victoria.”

He snapped angrily and the command in his voice was unmistakable…rippling through the air with power making even up my wolf sit up with the urge to obey him.

Victoria’s jaw clenched, but she couldn’t disobey a direct order. Not when it was delivered in that tone.

She grabbed her designer purse from the chair, her movements jerky with suppressed rage. “This isn’t over,” she hissed at me as she stormed past, deliberately bumping my shoulder hard enough that I had to catch myself against the doorframe.

The door slammed behind her with enough force to rattle the glass walls.

For a moment, neither Gabriel nor I moved. His shoulder was tense and he was breathing hard…his black shirt was rumbled and his hair which was usually always well and carefully styled, and seeing him like this, knowing that another woman did this to him..only increased the fury burning in me.

How could he?

Gabriel said nothing for a while, then he turned to face me fully 

and I could see the anger simmering in his eyes. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“My job?” I straightened, squaring my shoulders. “I’m here to work. You hired me, remember?”

“I hired you to be my assistant, not to insult my guests.”

“Guest?” The word came out sharp, mocking. “Is that what we’re calling her? A guest? Because from where I was standing, it looked like you were seconds away from having sex with her on your desk.”

Hi seyes flashed, “What I do in my personal time, in my own office, is none of your business, Amara.”

“Really?” I took a step toward him, emboldened by the anger coursing through my veins. “That’s interesting. Because you seem to be an expert at involving yourself in my business. Arranging my marriage without my consent, deciding my entire future, planning out my life like I’m some chess piece you can move around the board. Why shouldn’t I return the gesture?”

“That’s different—”

“How? How is it different?”

“Because I’m your Alpha!” His voice rose, echoing off the glass walls. “Because I’m responsible for this pack, for making decisions that benefit everyone, including you. Because you’re—”

“What?” I challenged. “Because I’m what, Gabriel? A child? Too young to know what I want? Too naive to make my own choices?”

He dragged a hand through his hair, frustration evident in every line of his body. “You’re here to work. I’m your boss. This—” he gestured between us, “—whatever this is, it’s inappropriate. You will show some me some respect, damnit!”

The words hit like a physical blow. My throat tightened, tears burning behind my eyes despite my best efforts to hold them back. I would not cry. Would not give him the satisfaction of seeing how deeply he could still hurt me.

But my body had other plans. The tears came anyway, spilling down my cheeks before I could stop them.

“Fuck.” Gabriel’s anger deflated instantly. He crossed the distance between us in two long strides, his hands coming up to frame my face with surprising gentleness. His thumbs brushed away the tears with a tenderness that made my chest ache. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have raised my voice at you like that. I didn’t mean…”

“It’s fine.” I tried to pull away, but his hands held me in place. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have spoken to your… to Victoria like that. I’m here to work. I’ll definitely remeber my place from now on.”

“Amara…”

“What do you need me to do?” I forced myself to meet his eyes, even though it hurt to look at him. “What are my responsibilities? You must have files for me to organize, meetings to schedule, calls to make…”

“Stop.” His voice was softer now. “Just… stop for a second.”

We stood there, barely a foot apart, his hands still cradling my face. I could feel the warmth of his skin, smell that intoxicating scent of cedar and rain that was uniquely his. My heart hammered against my ribs so hard I was sure he could hear it.

“I heard Marcus came to visit you yesterday,” he said finally, changing the subject perhaps in an attempt to cut down the tension. “Your father mentioned you weren’t available to talk to him.”

And just like that, the moment shattered.

I stepped back, forcing him to drop his hands. “I wasn’t in the mood for visitors.”

“He brought you flowers.”

“I don’t like sunflowers.”

“He didn’t know that.” Gabriel’s brow furrowed. “You barely gave him a chance, Amara. He’s a good guy. He really wants to get to know you.”

“I don’t want to get to know him.”

“Why not?” There was genuine confusion in his voice. Like he honestly couldn’t understand why I wasn’t jumping at the chance to marry his nephew. “Marcus is successful, kind, from a good family. He’d treat you well. What more could you want?”

“What more could I…” I laughed, “Are you serious right now?”

“I’m trying to help you…”

“Help me? You think forcing me into a marriage I don’t want is helping me?”

“It’s not forcing…”

“The contract is signed, Gabriel. You said so yourself. It’s final. There’s no going back. How is that not forcing?”

He sighed, running a hand over his face. “I was thinking maybe I could arrange a proper date for you two. Tomorrow night, maybe. Somewhere nice. Give you both a chance to actually talk, to see if there’s potential…”

“What the hell is your problem?”

I yelled and Gabriel’s head snapped up, surprise flickering across his features.

“My problem?” His eyes narrowed. “What’s your problem? Why can’t you just give Marcus a chance? Why are you being so stubborn about this?”

“Because I love you!”

Gabriel froze. His entire body went rigid, like someone had pressed pause on him. The color drained from his face.

“I love you,” I repeated, quieter this time but no less intense. My heart was breaking all over again, splintering into pieces I wasn’t sure could ever be put back together. “That’s why I can’t give Marcus a chance. That’s why I can’t marry him. Because I’m in love with you, Gabriel. I have been for years. And I can’t…I can’t bear the thought of being with another man. The one I love and want is you…Only you. It’s always been you.”

“That’s not…” He took a step back, shaking his head. “That can’t be true.”

“Why not?”

“Because you’re—” He stumbled over the words. “You’re confused. It’s just some childish—”

I grabbed his collar before he could finish, yanking him down to eye level with more force than necessary. “Don’t you dare finish that sentence.”

He stared at me, shock written across every feature.

“You already used that excuse seven years ago,” I said, my voice shaking with the force of my emotions. “When I was eighteen and poured my heart out to you, you called it childish infatuation. You told me I’d grow past it. Well, guess what? Seven years have passed. I’m twenty-five years old. I’ve graduated college, dated other men, tried everything I could to move on. And I still love you. So you don’t get to use that excuse again. You don’t get to hide behind it and belittle what I feel.”

“Amara, you don’t understand…”

“I’m a woman, Gabriel.” My grip tightened on his collar, pulling him even closer. “Not a child. Not a teenager with a crush. A woman who knows exactly what she wants. And I love you. Like a woman loves a man. Do you understand?”

His jaw clenched. “That doesn’t change…”

“I’ve spent every single day dreaming about you.” The words poured out of me now, unstoppable. “Every night, every morning. Wondering what it would be like to be with you. Not as your best friend’s daughter. Not as some kid you watched grow up. But as your equal. Your partner. I’ve imagined a future where you’re my husband. Where we wake up together, build a life together. Where you’re the father of my children. Where we grow old side by side.”

“Stop—”

“I’ve fantasized about you, Gabriel. About what your hands would feel like on my skin. About how your mouth would taste. About sleeping beside you, waking up to watch the sunrise on your face. I know exactly what I feel. It’s not confusion. It’s not some childhood crush. It’s love. I love you so much, just like a woman loves a man. I love you, Gabriel.”

He stood frozen, his breathing harsh and uneven. 

Then he took a deep, shuddering breath and grabbed my wrists, pushing me away with more force than necessary. The loss of contact felt like being plunged into ice water.

His face had gone hard, closed off completely. “Your feelings are not meaningful.”

I gasped as his words plunged in to my like a knife.

“They’re not real,” he continued, “You’re like a daughter to me, Amara. That’s all you’ve ever been. That’s all you’ll ever be. So don’t ever bring this up again.”

My chest tightened painfully and once again I could feel my heart breaking into a million pieces.

But this time—this time I wouldn’t just accept defeat. Wouldn’t let him walk away thinking he’d won. Wouldn’t let him pretend he felt nothing.

Before he could process what I was doing, before he could step back or stop me, I grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him down, crashing my lips against his.

His entire body went rigid with shock. For one agonizing heartbeat, he stood completely still, unresponsive, and I thought I’d made a terrible mistake.

Then I licked the seam of his lips—a slow, deliberate sweep of my tongue—and he moaned.

The sound was desperate, almost pained, like something breaking inside him.

His hands came up to grip my waist, fingers digging into my skin through the thin fabric of my blouse, and he pulled me flush against him. Then he was kissing me back with a hunger that stole my breath, his mouth moving against mine with barely restrained need.

It wasn’t gentle. It wasn’t sweet.

It was consuming.

His tongue swept into my mouth, claiming, demanding. One hand slid up my back to tangle in my hair, tilting my head to deepen the kiss. I could feel every hard plane of his body pressed against mine, could feel the evidence of his arousal pressing against my hip.

He wanted this. Wanted me.

I pulled back first, breathless and dizzy, my lips swollen and tingling. Gabriel stood there, chest heaving, his eyes wild and darker than I’d ever seen them. His pupils were blown wide, that amber glow of his wolf flickering beneath the surface.

For a moment, neither of us moved. Neither of us spoke.

Then I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, and took a step back.

“While you’re busy lying to yourself about this,” I said, my voice surprisingly steady despite my racing heart, “you should always remember that kiss. Remember how you responded. Remember that you kissed me back like you were starving for it. And never forget what you’re missing out on because of your denial.”