PRISCILLA "You didn’t have to tell him!" I snapped, pacing the length of Davina’s room like a storm on two legs. My hands clenched into fists at my sides. "I could’ve handled it. I was handling it." Davina stood by the window, arms crossed, eyes flaring with disbelief. "Oh yeah? Really looked like you were handling it, Pris. Saying nothing, doing nothing—just letting that bitch breathe all over you like she owned the air." I turned on her. "You don’t get it. She’s his pack member, Davina. What do you think he’s going to do? Scold her? Take my side and start punishing his own?" Davina’s expression twisted, wild-eyed, her voice coming out in a rush of fire. "Don’t you dare act like I’m the crazy one here! I’m not just going to sit there and let some little bitch walk all over you, pretending nothing’s wrong. Are you telling me I’m supposed to let you fight that battle alone while I twiddle my thumbs and wait for you to fall apart? Hell no, Priscilla!" I swallowed, but I could feel
GABRIEL I stared at her, my mind racing. The day after Priscilla disappeared from this place, he started renting the room. Keeping it. Guarding it. Like it mattered to him. Why? Was it some twisted trophy? A message? Or was there something still here—something he didn’t want anyone else to find? “What room is it?” I asked, voice low. Brenda hesitated. Her gaze flicked to the side like she was weighing something heavy behind her eyes. But the weight of two hundred-dollar bills already in her drawer, plus whatever heat she must’ve felt from my presence, finally tipped the scale. “Room 12,” she said. I nodded and turned without another word, pushing through the many closed doors and upstairs. I reached for the handle. It was cold. The room opened with a groan, hinges squealing slightly, and I stepped inside. The smell hit me first, faint, metallic. Blood. Not fresh, but not old enough to be forgotten either. The place was clean, for the most part, but the energy inside was w
GABRIEL I wasn’t sure how long I stood in front of that damn window, watching nothing. Just trees swaying gently in the breeze, morning light stretching across the yard like golden fingers. But my mind? Nowhere near calm. It was the second file Malric sent this morning—the one sitting on my phone like a loaded gun—that had my chest tightening with every breath. I didn’t know how to react to it. I didn’t even know if it was real. But if it was… So what? my wolf cut in, sharp and defensive. You’re thinking of severing the bond over that? I dragged a hand through my hair, pacing. I never said that. I couldn’t let her go if I tried. Then why are you panicking? Because if someone else finds out—if the Council starts sniffing around her past—this entire pack could be at risk. She could be at risk. So what are you really worried about? my wolf pressed. The Council? The pack? Or is it her? I hesitated, my throat tight. All of it, I finally admitted. But mostly her. My phone rang
PRISCILLA A sharp knock rattled the door, making both Mikah and me snap our heads toward it at the same time. Mikah cocked his head slightly, the ever-present smirk playing on his lips. “Looks like your friend is here.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “You think you’re so—” I didn’t bother finishing as I clumsily stumbled toward the door, still wrapped in my towel, hair dripping a little wet down my back, heart thudding for more than one reason now. I cracked it open, and sure enough, it was Davina. Her eyes widened instantly as she took me in—barely dressed, freshly showered, flushed like I’d been through five rounds of cardio. A smug grin tugged at her lips. “Bitch,” she hissed, slipping inside without invitation. “I need a full story. Start to finish. You look like you just came out of a war zone—with orgasms.” I rolled my eyes but couldn’t stop the heat from crawling up my neck. I glanced back toward Mikah, who now leaned casually against the wall near the window, arms folded li
PRISCILLA I woke to sunlight slicing through the curtains, warm and golden against the sheets tangled around my legs. For a second, I didn't move. Couldn't. My body was too heavy, too sore, too—wrecked. Then I reached out, half-asleep, searching blindly with one hand for the warmth I expected beside me. Nothing. Just cool sheets. Empty space. I blinked, frowning, and turned my head slowly. He was gone. Of course, he was. I pushed myself up on my elbows, every muscle in my body screaming in protest. My thighs trembled, my arms weak, and dear God—between my legs? Fire. Actual fire. I winced, groaned, and dropped my head back onto the pillow with a muffled curse. “That man isn’t human,” I muttered into the mattress. “And yeah, he's not.” I tried again—slower this time—dragging myself upright, inch by aching inch. The sheet slipped down my body, and I caught a glimpse of the bruises blooming along my hips, the faint marks of his fingers along my waist and thighs. “Jesus Chr
PRISCILLA Gabriel turned and started walking, I followed, every step weighted with a thousand unspoken questions. The hallway stretched ahead, quiet and dim. I didn’t ask where we were going. I already knew. The moment he took the left turn towards the elevator instead of the right, my heart jumped. His room. No… our room, I corrected internally, though the thought still felt foreign in my mouth. The idea that this place was now partially mine too hadn’t fully settled. The silence between us wasn’t comfortable. It wasn’t gentle. It was stretched thin and taut like a cord about to snap. Each step echoed a little too loudly in my ears. I couldn’t help but think back to the car. The way he drove without a word. His eyes fixed on the road like it held every answer he refused to say out loud. The grip on the steering wheel. He opened the door to our room and stepped aside, letting me in first. I hesitated only a second before walking in, the air inside feeling heavier than it h
PRISCILLA The moment Davina tugged me deeper into the boutique, weaving between racks of tailored coats and shelves stacked with boots I’d probably never wear, I realized I hadn’t said a word to Gabriel in over twenty minutes. I wasn’t avoiding him. Not exactly. Okay, maybe I was. But it wasn’t just him—it was the look he gave me every time his eyes met mine. It was too much. Too intense. Like he was peeling me open layer by layer, trying to see past skin and bone to whatever truth was hiding underneath. I didn’t want to see that look. Not when I didn’t know how to explain what even I didn’t understand. And I definitely didn’t want to feel the pull that kept tightening in my chest. “Pris, did you hear what I said?” Davina’s voice broke through the fog in my head as she halted in front of a display. I blinked. “Sorry… what?” She rolled her eyes, then grinned as she held up a cropped leather jacket. “I said, I found a few things you’d actually love. Without waiting for my repl
GABRIEL By the time I reached the main entrance, my truck was already rumbling out front, thanks to Austin’s efficiency. The man didn’t need orders anymore—he just read my face and filled in the blanks. I leaned against the side of the truck, arms crossed over my chest. A moment later, Priscilla stepped through the doors. Behind her, Davina strolled out like she was walking a damn red carpet, hands on her hips and an arched brow aimed directly at me. “Well, look who remembered he owns a truck,” she drawled, striding straight toward the passenger side. “Let me guess—thinking about her only? Or did you just conveniently forget that I was also abducted without so much as a toothbrush?” I narrowed my eyes at her. Priscilla blinked beside her, trying—and failing—not to smile. Davina tugged the passenger door open like she owned it. “I’ll need clothes, shoes, maybe a decent shampoo, and—hell—some respect while we’re at it.” I rolled my eyes hard enough to see my brain. “Get in, Davi
GABRIEL I stalked down the hallway, barefoot and already regretting every goddamn step I was taking. I had come here for something. A question. A simple clarification, really. But now, standing just a breath away from the room I had left Priscilla, my hand hovering inches from the wood, I couldn’t for the life of me remember what it was. “Fuck,” I muttered under my breath, rubbing the back of my neck. This bond. This damn mate bond was worse than any leash I'd ever been on. It tugged at me constantly, drawing me back to her like a hook buried deep under skin. I could be halfway across the goddamn compound, and I’d feel her—like a whisper at the base of my skull, like gravity had rearranged itself and she was the centre of it. I exhaled sharply and took one step back, ready to turn around. But then I heard her voice. Low. Soft. The way she only spoke when she wasn’t trying to keep her walls up. “I know you don’t like him. I, too, don't trust him yet… but he seems like a good g