My Unexpected Mate: Chapter 34

Gabriel’s POV

I sat back down in my chair and let out a breath I had been holding.

I guess it went well.

She didn’t run. She didn’t scream or yell at me.

I was worried about her, though. I didn’t know how she would come to terms with all of this. She seemed calm at the end of the conversation. Maybe too calm. I needed to keep an eye on her.

I would be here for her no matter what. I would make sure she was okay and happy.

“Are you okay?” Nick’s voice interrupted my thoughts.

I looked at him and nodded.

“I am fine,” I said. “It went well, I guess. I am worried about her, though. She seemed too calm at the end. Or maybe I am imagining it.”

Nick shook his head. “No, you are not. I am getting these weird mixed feelings through the bond. Confusion, pain, sadness, denial but also, I think there is happiness because she has family, calmness because she feels safe with you. I am not sure she knows what she feels exactly. We need to keep an eye on her.”

“Definitely,” I nodded. “I don’t think she will run, but I don’t want her shutting herself away from us. She could do that.”

“Oh, no way in hell she is running,” Nick growled. “I am not getting that feeling from her, anyway. But, yes, I think you are right. She could shut down. We need to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

“We will,” I nodded. “She finally knows. I am not losing her.”

“You won’t,” Nick said. “We won’t lose her.”

I sighed and leaned back in my chair. We needed to change the subject. If not, I would run, wrap myself around her and not let go until I was sure she wouldn’t leave me.

“About this trip, we are taking,” I said, changing the subject. “I think we should leave as soon as possible.”

Nick grunted and ran his hand through his hair.

“I am not happy about taking her to her old village,” he said.

“Why not?” I asked him. “Are you worried about Victor finding her there? Or that fucker following us there? You know she is safe with us, right?”

“Oh, no. I am not worried about them,” he growled. “They are not touching her ever again. That fucker is definitely following her, and I can’t wait for him to show himself again. I am killing that bastard as soon as possible.”

“Then what?” I was confused.

He sighed and leaned back on the sofa, not answering my question.

And then it dawned on me. I narrowed my eyes at him and smirked slightly.

“Are you worried about that guy?” I asked him with slight amusement in my voice. “Jacob, or whatever his name is.”

“Maybe,” he said, not looking at me.

“Oh, come on man,” I said. “It has been four years. She has moved on. He probably has too. You have nothing to worry about. You are her mate. She loves you.”

“We don’t know that,” he said and looked at me. “Her whole world just crumbled to pieces. He and that girl are the only real family she has ever known, besides her grandma who she just found out is a murderer and a kidnapper.”

“What are you saying?” I frowned.

He sighed. “What if she decides to stay there? What if she refuses to come back with us? She grew up with them and she loves them. She doesn’t know us that well yet. And in her pain and confusion, she could decide to stay where she feels most at home. And that would be them. Not us.”

I frowned and ran my hand through my hair.

I couldn’t deny that everything he said made sense.

But there was no way in hell I was letting that happen. She was coming back here. This was her home.

“I will place her over my shoulder and bring her back here then,” I growled. “She is not staying there. You don’t need to worry.”

“She will hate you if you take her away against her will,” he said and narrowed his eyes at me. “She will hate us both. I am not letting that happen.”

“Fine,” I sighed. “I will make an offer to her then. Jake and Cassie can come to live here with us if they want.”

He growled. “That guy is not getting close to her again.”

His eyes kept flickering from brown to black. Nate was fighting for control.

“Control your jealousy,” I said sternly. “We promised we would take her there and we will. We don’t want her to stay there and if she wants to be with them, this could be the only way she agrees to come back. You and Nate need to calm down. She will be by your side. He won’t get a chance to get close to her.”

He clenched his jaw. “Fine. But if he tries something, I will kill him.”

“Who are you going to kill?” Annie’s voice interrupted our conversation.

She was standing in the doorway, her arms crossed over her chest.

I didn’t hear her come in.

“Jacob,” Nick said, turning to her. “When did you come in?”

“Just now,” she said and closed the door. “I knocked, but I guess you were too focused on planning Jacob’s death to hear it.”

She walked over and sat on the other sofa.

“Why are you killing that Jacob guy?” she asked.

“He is not,” I said. “He is planning to try something with Aria.”

“Oh,” she said and smiled. “That makes sense.”

“He won’t need to,” I said, looking at him. “She doesn’t love Jacob anymore.”

“Did you tell her?” Annie asked me, changing the subject before Nick could say anything more.

“Yes,” I nodded. “She is upstairs. She said she needed a little time.”

“Should I go talk to her? Is she okay?” Annie asked, worried.

“No,” Nick said. “Give her some space. She is fine, but she is confused. She will come back downstairs when she is ready.”

Annie nodded and looked back at me.

“Are you okay?” she asked, worried.

“I am fine,” I smiled. “It went better than I thought it would.”

“Okay,” she said and gave me a small smile.

I couldn’t help but notice how her smiles warmed me up inside. I loved to see her smile. I loved it, even more, when her smiles were for me.

I smiled back at her and looked at Nick.

“Let’s talk about the trip,” I said.

Nick and Annie leaned toward me, and we started making a plan.

I hoped Aria came back down soon. I needed to see her. I needed to know that she was okay.

Aria’s POV

I was sitting on my bed, staring at the wall.

I had no idea what I was feeling. I was confused. I was sad. I was in pain.

There was still a small part of me that didn’t want to accept this. It couldn’t be true.

But I knew it was.

Gabriel was my brother. My twin brother.

My grandma murdered my parents and my grandfather. She kidnapped me from my bed and took me away from my real family.

She wanted me dead even before I was born. She wanted Gabriel dead.

My grandma was a monster.

I was raised by a monster.

She hated me from the start. I guess that explains why she hit me when I was a kid. I now know why she called me a mistake.

But why didn’t she kill me? She wanted me dead. She thought that the only way to save the world from Victor was to make sure he didn’t get our power. Why let me live then? Why not kill me when she took me away?

I grabbed the pillow from my bed and threw it against the wall. I placed my head in my hands and grunted.

I felt a new emotion rise up. Anger.

She was not here anymore. I couldn’t ask her. I will never know.

I laid down on my back and stared at the ceiling.

I was happy to know I had a brother. I was happy my brother was Gabriel. It explained the connection I felt with him. He made me feel safe and protected. I liked him.

But how the hell should I deal with what my grandma did to him?

She took away his parents. She hurt his grandma immensely.

How can he look at me and not hate me? I was raised by that woman. What if I turn out to be like her? What if I hurt him?

I felt tears escape my eyes and roll down the side of my face.

I am not like her. I am not related to her as it turns out. I would never hurt him.

But what if I do? What if she has affected me more than I know? What if I am like her?

Right now, I am ashamed of her actions. How the hell am I supposed to look at Gabriel? How the hell do I stay here with him?

He should hate me. Why doesn’t he hate me?

What if he started hating me? He will hate me once he figures all of this out. He will hate me once he remembers who raised me.

My chest started hurting and my heart was beating painfully in my chest.

I sat back up and grabbed the sheets. I couldn’t breathe.

My palms were sweaty, and my throat was closing up. Small black dots were clouding my vision.

I tried to take a deep breath, but it was cut short by a panicked sob escaping me.

What is going on? Why can’t I breathe?

I closed my eyes and wrapped my arms around myself.

I heard footsteps running toward my bedroom.

The door flung open. and somebody ran inside. I didn’t open my eyes to see who it was.

“Aria, love, breathe!” Nick’s panicked voice reached my ears.

He picked me up and put me in his lap, wrapping his arms around me.

“I am here, love,” he whispered. “Just breathe, okay? You will be fine.”

I felt a hand on my thigh, and I opened my eyes.

Gabriel was kneeling in front of me and Nick.

“Nick felt your panic attack,” he said quietly. “We are here, Aria. You will be okay.”

I kept looking at him, but I didn’t say anything. I didn’t even know what to say.

“Breathe, love,” Nick’s soothing voice reached my ears.

He kissed the top of my head and started rubbing my back.

Gabriel didn’t move. He rubbed my thigh and took my hand in his. My eyes didn’t leave him the entire time.

I started to relax in their arms. My heartbeat slowed down and I could finally take a deep breath.

“That’s it,” Gabriel said. “Breathe. You are okay.”

“What were you thinking about?” Nick asked me. “I felt strong fear coming off of you before your panic attack started. What happened, love?”

I looked up at him and gulped.

What should I say?

Nick was looking at me with love in his eyes.

Goddess, what did I do to deserve this man?

“Aria?” Gabriel’s voice pulled me back from my thoughts.

I looked back down at him.

“Why don’t you hate me?” I asked him quietly.

He was startled by my question. He looked at Nick, confused.

“Why would I hate you, Aria?” he asked and looked back at me.

“I was raised by a woman who killed your parents,” I said and sobbed. “She took away your family. What if I turn out to be like her? What if I hurt you?”

Gabriel stared at me, wide-eyed. He finally realized, didn’t he? He now realized that he should hate me.

“You are nothing like her,” he said, grabbing my shoulders. “Do you hear me? You are not her. The only way you could hurt me is by leaving me. You are my sister; my twin and I love you. I could never hate you. I will never hate you.”

I sobbed and looked down.

“I am sorry, Gabriel,” I said with a trembling voice. “I am sorry for what she did. I am embarrassed for her.”

Gabriel pulled me up from Nick’s lap and wrapped me in a tight hug.

“No, Aria,” he whispered in my ear. “You have nothing to be embarrassed about. You have nothing to be sorry about. You are not her. You will never be her. She did raise you, but you are not her. If anything, you are like our grandma. You are like our mom. You are loving, kind, compassionate, and understanding. You would never hurt anyone intentionally. That doesn’t sound like Grace to me.”

I wrapped my hands around him and sobbed into his chest.

Goddess, I hope he didn’t change his mind. I hope I won’t turn like her. I hope he was right about me because I didn’t know who I was anymore.