Chapter 24 #2
Selene swallowed. What she was about to say would rip her apart inside.
“I love Fenris, Allie. I love him so much, it hurts. But I can’t let him do this to Natalie.
It’s wrong. He doesn’t understand why because he won’t let go of the past. He’s still in pain because of what those bounty hunters did to his mate.
He’s a good man, very good, but he’s making a bad choice.
And I have to stop it, even though I’ll lose him, and . . . it hurts so much I can’t breathe.”
It was strange to confess her feelings to Allie when she hadn’t been willing to voice them to Fenris, but Allie would be making a sacrifice of her own if she agreed to their plan.
She deserved to know how much Selene was hurting too.
And, honestly, it was a relief to speak the words aloud, despite knowing the person who owned her heart might not ever know it.
“You’re going to leave him anyway.” Allie choked on a sob. “Because you love Natalie.”
“Yes.” Selene’s voice cracked. “I have to.”
But she would reverse course if it was too much for Allie.
Yes, Allison was young, and Selene knew her relationship with Josh was in its fledgling stages, but she would neither underestimate nor dismiss Allie’s feelings.
If she pushed Allie into a choice she didn’t truly want or understand, it could have terrible costs .
. . like Allie running back to Avondale, back to Josh, and hating Selene for taking her away from him.
Selene would risk almost anything to save Natalie, but not her relationship with Allison.
“You’re my family, Allie.” Selene took the tissue Tim offered and dabbed at her eyes. “If you want to stay in Avondale, we will. You’re the most important person in my life.”
Allie threw her arms around Selene, weeping. “P-please let me h-help. I love N-N-Natalie too. I d-don’t, don’t, w-w-want to leave Josh, but I, I w-will.”
“Are you sure, sweetheart?” Selene asked. “It’s a lot to ask. I know how much you care about Josh, and this is all happening so fast.”
Allie sat up, pulling herself together with a long sniffle. “I want to go with you. I want to save Natalie.”
“Okay.” Selene moved to sit beside her niece. “Thank you, Allie.”
“I have to say it again,” Tim blurted, still teary-eyed, looking from Allie to Selene. “Shakespearean tragedies: everyone dies. If this goes badly, there’s no coming back from it.”
“I know, and I’m scared, Tim, I really am. For all of us.” Selene took another tissue from Tim and swiped at her eyes again. “But the other option is Natalie dies while we do nothing. I can’t live with that.”
Allie tucked herself against Selene’s shoulder. “Neither can I.”
“Neither can we.” Marley groaned and took Tim’s other hand. “But you already know that. You knew it before you asked us to help.”
Selene wanted to shout for joy and break down sobbing. “You guys are amazing. I love you.”
“Oh, honey.” Tears leaked from Tim’s eyes as he smiled at her. “We know.”
Buds sprouted on the vines that had crept across the floor and burst into bloom.
Natalie was stretched out on her bed, lying on her side and gazing into the fire, when she heard a soft rapping on her door.
She frowned. It was an odd sort of knock. As if the person on the other side of the door hadn’t fully committed to the act.
It was also the middle of the night.
Who would come knocking when presumably she’d be sound asleep? Anyone with manners would let a dead witch walking rest in peace.
A grim laugh slipped from her throat. Her gallows humor was getting better the closer she danced with death.
She sat up, swung her legs over the side of the bed, and went to answer the door.
Whoever it was would be a welcome distraction.
She could only practice levitation so many times, and she could barely get off the ground thanks to the iron bracelets.
Maybe Fenris would lend her a tarot deck if she asked.
That would pass the time. And it would be an interesting exercise to consult the cards when her fate was sealed. What could they possibly reveal?
Natalie opened the door. Nothing could have prepared her for who was waiting on the other side.
Her heart jumped with such force, her hand flew to her sternum, as if to prevent the rampant organ beneath from shattering her breastbone.
“Gabriel.”
His broad silhouette took up most of the doorway.
He was here. She hadn’t allowed herself to . . . hadn’t dared . . .
“Natalie.” He stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. “I—”
“Don’t.” She couldn’t entertain emotions. Not now. Not when her sanity depended on perfect equanimity.
Standing before her was the one person who threatened to ruin that balance.
“Do you want me to leave?” His golden, hawklike gaze hunted hers.
And there was no hiding.
She shook her head, grabbed a handful of his shirt, and backed up, towing him toward the bed, the blood in her veins already molten. “But no talking. I can’t . . . no talking. Please.”
When he nodded, the air trapped in her lungs rushed out. But her next breath was stolen when Gabriel scooped her up and carried her the last few steps, gently lowering her to the bed.
He leaned over her, and she dragged his shirt up until he shrugged it over his head and cast it aside.
Her palms flattened against his chest, savoring the warmth of his skin, before her fingers began to map the swells, dips, and ridges of his torso.
She explored at her leisure, drinking him in, and his flesh trembled beneath her touch, but he didn’t move until she caught the waistband of his jeans and pulled him down.
And then his weight, all that hard muscle, pressed her into the bed, his hips settling between her thighs. The pure sensation of it. Of him. Goddess above.
Natalie gasped, arching into him. “Gabriel, I—”
“No talking,” he said gruffly and silenced her with his kiss.