The weekend went by slower than a single day would when I was in school. It was torture knowing that I would be able to see him again but that I had to wait. On Monday morning, I was up and out of bed before the sun came up. It was like my internal alarm clock understood how important it was for me to be ready in case he came over early. So, instead of sleeping in until a normal hour, I sat on the couch, fully dressed, with a cup of over-creamed coffee in my hand, waiting. I needed to know whether he chose her or if he was willing to treat me as an equal in all future decisions involving us and chose me. The internal debate of waiting here for him to come to me or for me to show up at his house and yell at him was flipping back and forth in my mind. I settled on waiting until Elena woke so she could text Athena to see if their guests had left. I knew there was no point in me messaging or calling Gabriel. The last time I tried, it was clear that he ha

"So, let's talk about it." The strength it took to refrain from snapping at him was indescribable. He had hurt me, and it had only been a few days that we had been together. You would think that I would have figured out what to say over the past several days that he had been MIA, but I was so consumed by the hurt and anger. Everything I had planned to say disappeared from my mind. "Liv," he started, and I pulled back at the sound of my name leaving his lips. My fork dropped to my plate, and I sat back in my chair with my hands in my lap. "I know I hurt you, and I am so sorry. It was for your safety that we had to proceed with this plan." I waited for him to explain further, but he sat there quietly as if he expected that to solve all of our problems. "Okay." I kept my gaze down as I reached forward to grab another piece of bacon. He didn't need to have me say it to hear in my tone that I was still outraged. His warm hand brushed against my arm, and I

As I finished my plate, I thought about Gabriel working in one of the pack's shops. Him standing there in jeans that hugged his thighs and butt, steel toe boots, and a tight t-shirt, damp with sweat. The image of him with grease on his rough and calloused hands as the back of one ran across his forehead made me start to feel hot. My tongue ran out over my lips, wetting them as I pressed my thighs together. Gabriel's hand tightened on my hip, fingers pressing down onto and sending sparks across my skin. The sound of his fork dropping to his plate made me look up. His eyes were black, and the predatory gaze he sent my way sent a rush of pleasure straight to my core. "Mate," he growled out seductively. "You seem to have something on your mind." He pressed his nose to the sensitive flesh of my neck, running it up the skin until he reached my lips. "You have no idea what you do to me." His kiss left me breathless, and I immediately spun around to straddle him. Our tongues fought for domi

My parents tried to fish information out of me at dinner that night. It was the first time I had a friend, let alone a boyfriend. Most of the time, when Elena would go out with Stacy or any of her other friends, she had me tag along because she didn't want me to feel left out. While it was thoughtful of her, it was even more uncomfortable hanging out with people that didn't particularly care for me. Now that I had a life of my own, I don't think my parents knew what to do. My mom asked me how it went with Gabriel, and I tried to keep it to one-word answers. "How was lunch with Gabriel?" – "Good." "Did you guys go anywhere nice?" – "Yes." "How was the rest of your day?" – "Fun." Over the years, I had learned to keep things to myself. The less I gave them, the less they had to work with to convince themselves that I was crazy. My mom shot my dad an irritated look of 'say something' when she realized that I wasn't going to give anything away. Unfortunately for her, his eyes seemed t

Gabriel had snuck out before I woke up the next morning, leaving me nothing more than a text to inform me that he doubled my security and that I had nothing to worry about. Oh, and that he loved me. I would never grow tired of hearing or reading those words from him. What he didn't understand was that my concern wasn't for myself. It was for my family. It was for him. It was for his people. It felt like a bad omen. As if there was something about to happen that I needed to prepare for. I just didn't know what it was. Elena was sitting on the couch when I stumbled down the stairs in a groggy haze. While I slept, it was not a quality slumber. Throughout the night, or rather, early morning, I continuously woke up with the need to reassure myself that Gabriel was still there. He was like my comfort blanket. A very big and heavy comfort blanket. Whether it was his way of cuddling or if he just preferred to lay on his stomach and my small bed didn't leave him enough room, I found myself s