“Wow.” Adrian exclaimed.
“I kind of hoped you would say that.”
Gabrielle stepped out of her dress and walked up to Adrian. She moulded her body to his, sliding her fingers across his shoulders. “Seeing you sweaty from a workout has to be the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.” Then she pulled his head down to kiss him.
Adrian let her kiss him, he even responded bbby kissing her back. This was his girlfriend. He loved her. His grip on her hair tightened as their tongues slid across each other. Adrian didn’t care that her hair wasn’t dark and she wasn’t smart mouthing him constantly.
He pushed her down to the bed, his weight pressing her into the bed.
“It has been so long.” Her voice was high-pitched and breathy. He opened his eyes, her eyes were a warm brown instead of the ocean blue he was expecting and he couldn’t get it up. Nothing.
He remained flaccid despite the fact that he was on top of a beautiful naked woman. Adrian was fucked. Or rather not fucked.
He pulled away from Gabrielle and buried his head in his hands.
“Adrian, what happened?” Gabrielle asked, concerned moving close to him.
“Nothing… I just…” Adrian stood up and wrapped his duvet around Gabrielle. “I’m tired. Rain check?”
He stood up and went back to start his workout.
“Adrian.” Gabrielle’s voice trembled and Adrian looked up at her. “You won’t ever forgive me, will you?”
“Gabrielle…I…” Adrian trailed off unsure of what exactly to say. He couldn’t tell her the reason he had stopped was because apparently, he couldn’t get hard for anyone apart from Ava now. He couldn’t tell her he had forgiven her because truth be told, he had tried to do it but each time he saw her, he couldn’t help but remember how she looked on top of another wolf.
“I am really sorry, Adrian. I was wrong and I know there is no good justification for what I did. We were good together. I want to get back to where we were but I don’t know how to. Adrian, please I can not live without you.”
Gabrielle had tears in her eyes now as she sobbed, her shoulders heaving under Adrian’s duvet. She looked so small and pitiful at that moment. Adrian went to sit next to her. Gabrielle flung her hands around him and buried her face in his chest crying silently. Adrian hesitated, his hand hanging mid way then he finally rubbed her back.
“I don’t know how we can go back, Gabby. I wish we could. I desperately want to go back. I miss what we had.”
Gabrielle pulled back to look at him, her large brown eyes filled with tears. She swallowed then raised her gaze to his. “What if we started over again? Start dating afresh. We could do this over again. I want you to be my mate, the father of my children and I don’t mind if we started all over again. If you will still have me?”
Adrian looked at Gabrielle. His first love, his confidante, his old friend, the woman who would mother his children. “Of course, I will have you, Gabby.” He loved Gabrielle. He would give her as many chances as she needed. He would give them another chance.
*********
Ava wanted to stab her ears shut. If she had to listen to one more ‘Adrian, stop’ followed by incessant giggling, she would throw both Adrian and Gabrielle off the balcony. She didn’t understand why she was getting so worked up. This was far from the last or only time Gabrielle and Adrian would be having their lovey-dovey moments. It had never irritated her -at least not to this extent- before so she wondered what had changed.
Gabrielle told her that she and Adrian had resolved all their problems and now he wanted them to focus on strengthening their relationship and the security of the pack. Ava had been happy. Mostly. Her sweet older sister was getting all her issues with her boyfriend resolved. It was a cause for celebration but deep within her, she wondered.
She wondered if Adrian was still having dreams about her because she still was. Gabrielle laughed again and Ava put on her headset and turned up the music. Ava wondered if this was what jealousy felt like and then slammed herself. She wasn’t jealous. She didn’t even like Adrian.
Ava stood up and went to the kitchen to get a snack. As she reached the kitchen, she saw Gabrielle and Adrian there, both of them covered in what looked like flour. Gabrielle was smiling up at Adrian like he hung the moon or something. Adrian smiled at her too and Ava felt a twinge in her chest. She turned away from the kitchen and went upstairs without saying a word.
Sleep was difficult coming that night.
**********
In the morning, Ava ran. The air was crisp and cold, just how she liked it and she was finally beginning to get out of her own head. There was no Ava, no Adrian. Just peaceful quiet and nature.
She ran in human form today because she and Liana had been at loggerheads for some time now about Adrian. Liana had told her that she was being a hypocrite. For someone who wanted nothing with Adrian, why was she constantly thinking about him?
Ava didn’t have an answer for her yet. Liana was ignoring her presently. It hurt Ava that Adrian had also come between her and her wolf. All the while he just remained unaware and blissfully oblivious, he was too busy with the woman of his dreams to realise how much of the fallout she was taking.
Maybe it was because she was thinking about Adrian and not so much about her surroundings that it happened. After all, she passed this route every day so she had been lulled into a state of complacency. While running, she tripped on a trip wire. Before she could blink a rope latched around her ankles and pulled her up to dangle several feet in the air upside down.