Gabrielle drew her coat around herself as she left the pack house for Cynthia’s house. It was still in the wee hours of the morning but there was nothing to be done about it.
She recalled how she and Ava had watched a movie and how she had supplied the refreshments. It had been a great movie, she had picked it after all.
In the middle of the movie, Ava stood up on shaky legs to say she needed to go to her room. Gabrielle had said nothing watching her attempt to move and watching her fall over her face losing consciousness.
As a person, there was nothing more important than knowing yourself. Knowing your limits and your tolerances. There was something that Gabby had always known about herself since she was a child and she had laid in wait for a girl who had bullied her at school with a rock double the size of her fist in her hand.
She had known it while she had jumped her from behind and left her battered and bruised unable to identify her attacker.
She had known then that she did not suffer her enemies. They would pay one way or the other.
Always.
********
The day a person’s life changes doesn’t often start dramatically. As Adrian walked up to his room, every joint of his body whispering in pain, he thought only of a hot bath and Ava. He had no idea that his life was about to be upended.
He pushed open the door and his life changed again. Ava was on their bed asleep and naked. Wrapped around her was a male wolf from Adelaide’s pack. His erection pushed up against her back as they slept oblivious to his arrival.
Adrian died a thousand deaths at that moment. Ava made a sound in her sleep and the wolf’s arms tightened around her as though to comfort her even while they slept.
When he’d caught Gabrielle with that wolf he thought he had felt the most betrayed he could feel in his life. It had nothing, absolutely nothing on this.
Adrian growled, rage electrifying his veins. They woke up but he paid no attention to Ava’s shocked gasp. Instead, he dragged the sleepy-eyed wolf out of his bed and out to the hallway.
“Hey let me go. Ava, tell him to let me go.”
The wolf struggled against him but it was ineffectual. Adrian hit him. How dare he take Ava’s name? The wolf fell and tried to get back up. Adrian didn’t let him. He hit him and continued to hit him, his rage consuming him. He hit the wolf until he passed out and then continued hitting him.
“Adrian please stop.” Ava sobbed. Adrian ignored her, he couldn’t stop. Ava caught his arm and he freed his arm, pushing her to the floor then he continued to hit the wolf.
It took him some time to notice that the wolf’s body was no longer moving, his heartbeat silent. Adrian stood up, his hands bloody and the wolf’s body lifeless on the ground at his feet.
Ava sat on the floor where he’d pushed her to. Their bed sheet was wrapped around her body covering her up, her dark hair was mussed and hung in messy waves around her. Her eyes were teary as she slightly backed away from him.
“Adrian, what did you do?” Her voice was barely above a whisper and thick with unshed tears.
Adrian advanced on her, watching her back away from him like he was about to hurt her. Adrian lifted her up from the floor.
“Was this the reason you never wanted me to touch you?” Adrian laughed cruelly. He had been so stupid. All this time he thought that when they spent time together, she was feeling the same way he did, little did he know how far from the truth he was. “Did it make you laugh? Was watching me make a fool of myself entertaining?”
His hands tightened around her shoulders and Ava whimpered in pain.
“Adrian, you are hurting me. Please listen…”
“Good, you should be hurt because you have hurt me more than anyone ever has. I should have expected it seeing as you and Gabby are sisters. Slutiness must run in the family.”
He saw rage spark in her eyes. How dare she? She had taken his love and made it a joke. She had taken his heart and made him feel like a fool.
How dare she feel like she had the right to get angry at him?
She raised her hand to hit him but he caught it easily.
“Shawn!” A woman wailed. She looked around Adrian’s age with blond hair similar to the dead wolf’s. Her gaze was fixed on the dead body. She ignored Adrian and Ava, running to the dead body.
She screamed as she realized her brother was now dead.
Adrian let go of Ava’s hand and walked inside the room leaving her outside with the wailing woman and the curious pack members who were approaching to find out exactly what was going on.
Adrian took a shower feeling dead inside. Ray was silent but so pained that it affected Adrian. When he was done, he came out of the bath to see Ava wearing new clothes and sitting on the bed crying silently.
She smelt like the dead wolf and he nearly lost his temper again but he had more grave concerns. He opened the door of their room to see more Primo wolves had gathered, Adelaide among them. Most of them had just returned from the battlefield.
He was surprised that none of his pack members had come to investigate the noise before remembering that his people knew better than to involve themselves when a Primo was screaming after spending some days with them. It could be anything from an argument to a duel to death.
Adelaide was still bloody from the battle and had probably come back for some healing before returning to continue the building.
“Alpha Adrian. My pack member claims you killed her brother. Is there any truth to this?”
She was giving him a chance to back away from the accusation. His scent was all over the dead wolf, there was no way he wasn’t the one who killed him but he appreciated the effort.
“Yes. I killed him.” Adrian announced. Adelaide looked shocked and Adrian felt the aftershocks rock the pack.
He heard murmurs of ‘Justice’ and ‘Vow breaker’.
“Do you know what this means? You have killed that which you were supposed to protect…”
“I have done what I was supposed to. I caught him in bed with my mate and executed him as per the old ways.”
Adelaide’s eyes widened in surprise and the pack members began to murmur again.
“If there is anyone who is not satisfied with my ruling and wants to challenge me is allowed to.”
Everyone went quiet apart from the wailing sister, she looked like she was thinking about taking him up on the offer when Adelaide grabbed her arm and shook her head.
“Alpha Adrian.” Adelaide started. “You have helped our pack. Your men have fought for us, died for us and you have bled with us. For that you are forgiven of almost any crime you commit against us, however, my people have decided. We will no longer accept your help and will all be returning to our lands today.”
Adrian nodded. He hadn’t expected this but maybe he should have and as Adelaide passed by him, she lowered her voice.
“You didn’t punish your mate, Alpha, despite the fact that the problem arose because your mate cannot keep her legs shut?”
Adrian froze and looked at her, his eyes glinting with fury. Adelaide looked at him and he saw the pain in her eyes for losing yet another pack member, the pain of being unable to duel to death the person that attacked her person all for an issue that could have been avoided.
“Take care, Alpha.” She said in a normal tone of voice. Then she went down the stairs and the crowd dissipated, someone assisted Shawn’s sister in carrying the body and Ava was still inside the room. Adrian entered back inside the room.
“How dare you hide in here? You should have stayed and faced the family of your lover to explain to them why he will be returning home a corpse. You should have thought of the repercussions of your action before you betrayed me and the pack.”
Ava wasn’t listening to Adrian anymore. She didn’t hear him slam the door as he left her alone in the room. She was too lost in her own thoughts for that. She shivered uncontrollably. She remembered eating or attempting to eat. She remembered sitting in front of the TV watching a movie and feeling tired.
So tired that the world went dark the moment she put her feet on the ground. When she opened her eyes, her sister was gone and the world had gone to hell.
How exactly had she reached her room? And that man? Had they really done… she couldn’t think about it because her memories of the night were so fractured that it was like trying to fetch water with a sieve. It was grueling and yielded no results.
Could Gabby be behind this? No way. Gabby would never do something like this to her. She was her sister for Pete’s sake. She had forgiven Ava. She had made their parents accept her once again.
And Adrian.
Goddess, in her head she could still see him beating the man.
He punched him again and again like a possessed man like a demon and Ava couldn’t recognise him. Was he truly the same Adrian that almost always said sweet things that she had been looking forward to a honeymoon with?
She had seen the anger and betrayal that he felt and had quaked from it. She had tried to explain to him before Shawn’s sister came up and started to scream. Ava wanted to tell Adrian the truth that she couldn’t recall anything from the night before but he wasn’t ready to listen to her at least not now. Maybe the situation would change later but she didn’t hope on it.
Ava had to discover the truth of what had happened the night before to her and there was only one way she could think of finding out the truth.
She needed to talk to Gabrielle.