Chapter 28: Chapter 27

Gabriel

I was excited to have my mate all to myself this morning and I knew I had to go all out with whatever I was planning. With a ton of help from Amanda and some of the staff, I set up an outdoor breakfast picnic at the same spot Griff took her to yesterday. As we walked through the woods, I was already prepared for her to be nervous in the thick of the trees thanks to Griff who had given me a heads up. Selfishly, I was okay with it because it had my mate snuggling up against my side and leaning on me to protect her.

“You okay, little mate?” I chuckled, kissing the top of her head as we walked through the woods.

“Why does it have to be so dark?” She whimpered and I tugged her even closer to my side.

“You know you’re safe here.” I promised and felt her nod against my chest.

“Are we almost there?” She asked just as we broke through the trees and stood in the bright light of the clearing.

“Does that answer your question?” I laughed as she let out an audible sigh of relief.

“Yes.” She gasped, throwing her head back and closing her eyes as she stood in the warm sun. I took a minute to admire my beautiful mate.

“This is beautiful, Gabriel.” She smiled when she noticed the picnic I had prepared.

A large, plaid blanket was laid out on the ground with a picnic table settled on top. There were two woven baskets set on top of the table along with two place settings.

“I’m glad you like it.” I grinned proudly, placing my hand on her back and guiding her towards the table.

We sat across from each other and I started to unload the baskets. Amanda and the kitchen staff had out done themselves with pancakes, waffles, homemade jams, toast, sausage, bacon, and eggs made about ten different ways. I laid everything out on the basket and started piling things up on Harlow’s plate. I was pleasantly surprised to see what an appetite our mate had. She was so tiny and yet she could keep up with most of the wolves at the dinner table.

“How are you feeling, little mate?” I asked after a few minutes of comfortable silence. She glanced up at me with her warm hazel eyes,

“What do you mean?” She asked.

“I mean, how are you feeling about this whole situation now? I know you were less than excited when we first met.” I chuckled and Harlow rolled her eyes at me,

“I was less than excited about being abducted.” She scoffed but there was a playful smile teasing her lips.

“Haven’t we moved past that?” I smirked and she shook her head.

“I’ll admit, I’m feeling a bit more comfortable.” She confesses with a light pink blush on her cheeks.

“I’m glad, Harlow, that’s all we want.” I grinned widely, “I wanted to give you something. Well, we all did, but it was my idea so I get to be the one to give it to you.”

Harlow laughed, her eyes sparkling and her entire face lighting up.

“You three are so competitive.” She shook her head.

“We’ve been competing our entire lives. But, we’re not competing over you, we know you’re meant for all of us.” I said in a lower, huskier tone as I reached across the table and stole her hand.

Her blush deepened and she tucked her hair behind her ear, almost hiding behind the gesture. I pulled something from my pocket and sat it between us on the table. She stared at it like it was a bomb about ready to explode.

“What is it?” She asked, cocking her head to the side. I chuckled,

“Open it and see.”

She looked at me skeptically before taking the velvet box with her free hand. She struggled to open it one handed but I refused to relinquish my hold on her left hand, greedily clinging to it. She finally got the box open and gasped.

Inside was a necklace. On a simple silver chain dangled three wolves, each in a different position, and a brilliant sapphire gemstone connected the three wolves together.

“The wolves stand for us, obviously, the sapphire is your birthstone. It symbolizes how you connect the three of us.” I explained sheepishly, fighting off a blush of my own and swallowing over the nervous lump in my throat.

“It’s beautiful.” She said breathlessly.

“You really like it?” My voice went up to an unusual octave.

“You thought of this?” She asked, looking up at me with glassy eyes.

I stumbled off the bench and took the necklace from her fingers, coming to stand behind her. I clasped the necklace around her neck and smiled as it nestled itself perfectly in the center of her chest. I knelt down and turned her on the bench to face me,

“I wanted you to have something of us, something that told the world that we’re lucky enough to have you. I know you’re not ready to wear our marks yet, so I thought this was the next best thing.” I had both her hands in my, squeezing them tightly on her lap.

“What does that mean?” She asked in a small voice, “The marking thing?”

“Oh, I guess we haven’t explained that to you. Are you sure you’re ready to know?” I was worried that it would only freak her out after we’ve made so much progress.

She sighed and nodded. Her heart rate increased and I knew she was nervous, but putting on a brave face.

“I want to know everything.” She said bravely. I couldn’t help but swell with pride at my strong mate. I couldn’t believe that I ever thought she’d be a weak Luna.

“You’ll wear our mark here,” I traced a circle on the marking spot on her neck, just below her left ear, “Here,” I moved to the right side, “And then the third will be above one of those.”

She shivered as my fingers lightly trailed along her sensitive skin and her eyes fluttered closed. I relished in the intimate reaction I was getting from my mate’s body.

“Each of my brothers and I will bite you to leave our marks on you.” I said and her eyes snapped open. I leaned forward across her lap and cupped her face in my hands,

“You have nothing to be worried about. It’s a sensual experience, not a painful one. It’ll make you feel very tired afterwards, but, with each mark, you’ll be more connected to us.” I assured her.

“Why does it happen?” Her voice shook a little with nerves.

“Many reasons. First and foremost, it’s the final step to fully connect us through the matebond. After marking, there’s nowhere that you could go that we wouldn’t be able to find you. That means, if you’re in danger, we’ll also be able to save you. We’ll sense your emotions, if you’re in pain or scared, we’ll know immediately,

“As a human, right now you don’t feel the bond as strongly as we do, but, once you wear our marks, you will. You’ll be connected with us in the same way any werewolf would be connected to their mate. You’ll be able to sense us and our emotions just as strongly as we’ll be able to sense yours,

“You’ll also be able to mindlink with us. Once you become the official Luna of the pack and are fully marked, you’ll be able to mindlink with the entire pack. Marking makes all of us stronger, it unleashes our full potential and our full connection.”

“It sounds intense and scary.” She replied timidly.

“It is intense, but it’s not scary. Let me prove it to you.” I said, my eyes flashed black as I leaned in closer to her.

“Don’t.” She started to panic and wiggle away. I held her down and locked my gaze with hers,

“I won’t mark you until you ask for it, little mate.” I promised her.

She slowly stilled in my arms and I felt her body relax. I moved painfully slowly towards her neck and nuzzled my face into it, rubbing my nose along the soft skin under her ear. She gasped and I grinned, feeling satisfied. I pressed a hot kiss on her marking spot and she jumped, her body trembling and a little moan escaping her throat. I growled low, nuzzling myself deeper into her neck and breathing in her scent. I could smell her arousal and had to use her chocolatey scent to calm Lewy and myself.

I reluctantly pulled away and pressed my forehead against hers. We were both breathing deeply and I knew my eyes were swirling between green and black.

“What was that?” She gasped.

“That was the matebond. It’ll be even more powerful when I actually mark you.” I said, my voice coming out as half a growl.

“Gabriel,” She purred my name and I nearly lost all control. I had to stuff my face back into her neck to calm my wolf, “This is all so much.” She said with a little whimper.

“You’re overthinking it, baby.” I mumbled into her neck.

“I can’t help it!” She cried out and I pulled away, tugging her into my arms.

“Tell me, are you afraid of us anymore?” I asked as I folded her into my chest. I felt her shake her head,

“No.”

“I know when you made the deal with my mother you were still planning on trying to run away, no matter what you said,” I pulled her from my chest and locked eyes with her, daring her to argue. She was wearing a guilty expression but said nothing, “Do you still want to run away?”

Again, she shook her head.

“No.”

“Do you feel safe?” I cradled her face between my hands and she nodded,

“Yes.”

“When I do this, do you want me to stop?” I leaned in towards her again so our faces were only inches from each other. I heard her gulp and she was still shaking, but, again, she shook her head,

“No.” It came out as a whisper.

“Can I kiss you?” I finally asked. After a painfully long minute she nodded timidly.

I crashed my lips to hers and Lewy started purring in my head. She froze for a second before her body melted against mine. She wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me towards her. I wrapped one of my arms around her waist while my other hand tangled itself into her hair and tugged her as close to me as she could get.

I ran my tongue along her bottom lip and she gasped, opening her mouth so I could slip my tongue inside. She moaned into me and I growled. I lifted her up without breaking our kiss, and sat on the bench of the picnic table with her on my lap. Her hands fisted my shirt and she settled perfectly into my body. I could tell she was struggling for air, so I released her mouth and moved back to her neck. I sucked on her marking spot, determined to at least leave a temporary mark on her neck. She wiggled and squirmed against me, giggling as I hit a ticklish spot.

“I love you so much, Harlow.” I groaned into her neck.