Chapter 146: Chapter 145

Katie “Go, Braden,” Gabriela said. “I better not see your face again.”

He shot me one last sad smile, and then he was gone.

| didn’t even have time to be sad before Gabriela was advancing on me.

“Did you forget that it was your choice to do the spell?” she asked. “Your mother and | didn’t force this on you.”

“Not physically, you didn’t,” | argued. “But you made it seem like | didn’t have another choice!”

It didn’t help that Xander and Zane were refusing to acknowledge me as their true mate at the time. It made me feel hopeless, like | had nothing to lose. How wrong was |?

“You didn’t have another choice,” Gabriela said through gritted teeth.

“You could’ve convinced your son to accept me and protect me,” | spat. “You could’ve protected me, too!

But instead you shipped me off to rogue territory, pregnant and alone.”

“You were supposed to move on and start a new life, Gabriela said. “You were supposed to be happy.”

My heart squeezed. | was happy in Stillwood, at least for a while. At least until Mason had to go and get tangled up with Xander.

“Once | showed up at Constantine, you could’ve told me,” | said. “How was keeping this secret any safer than the truth?”

Because of her lies, everything was even more f ucked up than before. | had a kid, everyone assumed | was dead or missing, and | was sleeping with my mate’s brother.

“| suppose it wasn’t any safer in the end,” Gabriela admitted through shaking lips. “But | did this because |

care. Not just about my son, but about you, too.”

| shook my head. I’d always trusted Gabriela, even when | didn’t understand her methods. She was confident, she was bada ss, and she put her family first. But now | was starting to doubt her.

“Were Xander and Zane under the same spell | was?” | asked.

“Asimilar one,” Gabriela said. She looked ashamed, as she should. “But I’m not sure they will be once they wake up. Their spell was only to make them forget you, not everything.”

She scrubbed a hand down her face.

“G ods, | tried so hard to prevent this spell from coming undone...”

And then it hit me. “You're the one who f ucked with Rhiannon’s supplies!” | cried. “You'd really go that far to sabotage me?”

“If your memories came back and the truth came out about you still being mated to Xander and Zane, then we'd all be in danger,”

she said. “The Alpha and the Beta mated to a hybrid... the Council would never stand for it. It was protection, not sabotage.”

| tried to imagine what | would do if | were put in Gabriela’s position, needing to protect Stella. Probably any dam n thing | needed to do to keep her safe. But it didn’t change the fact that I'd trusted Gabriela, and this felt like a betrayal.

| suddenly thought back to the time not long ago when Mason and | went to the cafe in town. We'd run into my mother, | now realized. And Gabriela had forced me away from her.

Alump formed in my throat.

“I need to see my family immediately,” | choked out.

Gabriela nodded enthusiastically, probably grateful for the subject change.

“| think that’s a good idea,” she said. “With the Elders sniffing around the mansion and your vampire side exposed again, it’s better for you to spend some time away until things go back to normal.”

Normal? What did that even mean anymore? Back to the world where the Council lied to us about our history and where she-wolves were treated like disposable sex dolls? No, thank you.

“In the meantime, you should see family only and stay hidden otherwise. If people see a supposedly dead she-wolf walking around Constantine, they’ll start asking questions none of us want to answer.”

“| understand,” | said coldly. The only reason | had to hide was because of this stu pid spell Gabriela fought so hard not to break.

“Im assuming you'll want to find a way to live at the mansion again, though,” Gabriela said. “I can’t imagine you want to be apart from your mates forever.”

My y pulse quickened. Did any part of me want to live with Xander and Zane again after what happened with Alice?

Gabriela studied me. “Unless you really have fallen in love with Mason?” she asked curiously.

“| don’t know’ | said. “I need time to think. | haven’t even told him about my memories yet.”

Dread settled in the pit of my stomach. How the hell would he take this news?

Gabriela nodded, “Of course. You should go see him.”

And then | left without another word.

But when | went by my room and the room next door where Stella was sound asleep, he was nowhere to be found | walked quietly through the living room into the kitchen, dark now that the sun had set.

As | approached, | saw a figure with his back to me.

Before | could call out to him, he spun around. But it wasn’t Mason, it was Xander.

| moved toward him like | was dreaming, pulled closer by some invisible string | couldn't loosen.

Seconds later, | was standing only inches apart from him.

The last time I’d seen him before the spell, I’d thought | was in love with him. Did | still? Would | ever again?

He brushed a stray hair away from my face.

“I've missed you so much,” he said.

And then he was kissing me.

Something inside me broke or erupted. Was this pleasure or pain?

But a voice tore through my thoughts before | could decide.

“What the f uck are you doing? Mason roared.