“I was thinking about throwing a small party, just friends and family.” Ava’s mom, Marie was speaking. “Adrian and Gabrielle have not officially announced their mating yet. It would be nice to have everything sorted out, right?”
Ava tightened her grip on her cutlery slicing into the steak even though her appetite had long fled.
Ava’s dad nodded thoughtfully in agreement.
“It would help to lighten up the atmosphere considerably. Especially after the attack and the curfew set. I can talk to Alpha Sean to drop–”
“No.” Gabrielle’s voice was soft but steady. Ava paused, lifting her head to look at her sister.
“No?” Their mom sounded surprised.
“I don’t want a party to announce anything.” Gabrielle said, eating a forkful of salad.
“Baby, is everything alright with Adrian?” Her father sounded concerned, protectiveness underlying his every word. One word from his daughter and future alpha or not, he would break Adrian’s legs. Among other things.
“Yes, Dad. We just decided to take things slow. There is so much going on now with his Alpha training and protecting the pack. We will announce it in due time.”
Gabrielle sounded honest and believable so why was Ava having a hard time believing her?
“Of course dear. I’m so proud of how mature you are becoming. However you want it, we are here for you.” Her mom took Gabrielle’s hand and they exchanged smiles.
“We should still invite just Adrian over for dinner with his Dad. He hasn’t formally stated his interest in Gabrielle yet.” Dad’s face still held a slightly worried look and despite Gabrielle’s many efforts and snide comments about how Adrian was practically living in their house now, he remained unfazed and insisted on the dinner.
****
Ava knocked on Gabrielle’s door feeling extremely weird. It had been so long since she had come inside her sister’s room to talk. It was always to borrow a hair product, call her for dinner if she didn’t want to use the pack link, that sort of thing. Once they had been inseparable but then they had grown up and life had happened.
“Gabby? It’s Ava.”
“Give me a second.” Gabrielle’s muffled voice sounded from behind the door.
After some minutes, the door opened with Gabrielle in a robe, a pair of flip-flops and a towel around her head. “You need something?”
“Erm no. I wanted to talk. Is this a bad time? I can come back again later.”
Please say it’s a bad time, please say it’s a bad time.
“No need for that. I just finished my shower. I’ll just pull on some clothes, why don’t you come in and wait?” Gabrielle left the door open and Ava walked in.
Gabrielle’s room looked the same. Pink everywhere tastefully combined with touches of white and lilac. Ava’s room looked utilitGabbyan in compGabbyson. Pictures of Gabrielle and Adrian were framed everywhere. They looked happy and good together. They looked at and smiled at each other like there was no one else in the room.
Ava fought the nausea building up at the back of her throat.
“We took that one after we went hiking and I twisted my foot. Werewolf healing and all took a few minutes after he reset my foot but he gave me a piggyback all day long.”
Gabrielle was now weGabbyng a loose baggy round neck t-shirt as she smiled at the picture wistfully. The shirt was Adrian’s. Ava would know that scent anywhere. Ava shook her mind free of Adrian. He seemed to consume even more of her thoughts with every passing day.
Gabrielle sat down on the bed next to Ava. “You wanted to talk?”
“Yeah. At dinner, you didn’t seem all too good especially when Mom started talking about the dinner. Are you good? Did Adrian do something?”
The last part of the statement came out quieter and unexpectedly from Ava’s lips.
Gabrielle sighed. Her brown eyes looked teary.
“I guess you would have noticed. You’ve always been so intuitive.” She sniffed.
“Hey, it’s okay.” Ava hugged her briefly before pulling away to look her sister in the eye. “You don’t have to tell me anything. It’s fine.”
“I actually want to. I can’t even tell Cynthia about it and it’s really weighing me down.”
“So… Adrian really did something?”
“No. I mean not completely.” Gabrielle inhaled deeply and then pushed forward. “Just before your 18th birthday, we had a fight. Adrian was dancing or according to Cynthia grinding against another girl during a Friday night party. I got so pissed. I wasn’t thinking right. I just wanted to hurt him as well. A few shots probably helped and I slept with someone else.”
Ava’s jaw dropped. So that rumour had actually been true?! Somehow she’d always imagined it would have been Adrian hurting her innocent sister and not the other way around.
“Looking back at it now, I was so so stupid. How could I have let something as petty as jealousy come between Adrian and me? Adrian caught us having sex. I’ve never seen him so livid, Ava. It’s like I could barely recognize him.”
Ava’s mind flashed back to how Adrian had pummeled Dylan when he had kissed her. She could only imagine how bad it had gotten since he actually liked Gabrielle.
“We broke up then. I never thought he’d take me back but at our birthday party, he surprised me. I didn’t deserve it but I felt this was my second chance. I would prove to Adrian that I could be a better person, mate, a good life partner.” A tear dropped to Gabrielle’s cheek.
“But Ava, he feels so distant. We could talk till forever before but now all our conversations feel forced and stilted. He doesn’t touch me like before. I know you find Adrian disgusting so this is probably weird for you to hear but Adrian is extremely hands-on. He loved to hold my hand and steal little kisses. That sort of thing. But now he barely touches me and when I initiate contact, he flinches away or excuses himself.” Gabrielle’s tears flowed more freely.
“Oh, Gabby.” Ava hugged her sister, guilt twisting in her chest. “Adrian loves you. He wouldn’t have gotten back together with you if he didn’t care and he hadn’t forgiven you. Maybe he is being distant because of everything going down with the pack…”
“No, it’s different Ava. I know it and it’s all my fault. I ruined the perfect thing between us and now…I don’t know how to get it back.” Gabrielle’s voice wobbled and broke as she sobbed against Ava’s chest.
Gabby, it wasn’t you. It was me. Ava thought.