26. Brinley
Chapter 26
Brinley
P ink leaves floated on the wind around her. She tilted her head back and raised her hands to the skies above. She twirled in a circle, smiling. It was so beautiful here. She didn’t understand why it was such a secret.
The scene changed in the blink of an eye. She looked out across the meadow to the wolves standing in the shadows. There was no fear though, just a longing to join them.
A short bark caught her attention, and she whirled to face the approaching wolf cub. He was much smaller than the others, with a shiny black coat. She lowered to her knees as he neared and wrapped him in a hug the moment he sat in front of her. Closing her eyes, she held on to her friend. She’d missed him so much.
He shifted to return the hug, and she leaned into the embrace. She opened her eyes, not wanting to lose a second of this time with him. They were back under the pink tree. His piercing blue gaze bore into hers as he raised a hand to her cheek. It had been years since she last saw him, but she never forgot.
“Brinley?”
She opened her mouth, but the words wouldn’t come out.
“Brinley!”
The scene changed again before she could grasp on to him. Screams ripped through the night. Chaos and bloodshed surrounded her. The people she’d stopped to celebrate with were being slaughtered, torn to shreds right before her. And it was her fault. She’d led the monsters here.
She backed away and fell over a still body on the ground.
André’s lifeless gaze greeted her. She scrambled away before covering her mouth with a hand only to find it covered in blood. Tears blurred her vision, and she fought not to be sick. She tore her eyes from her friend and saw a wolf creeping toward her.
Fire had spread. The village burned, and still the DeLoup walked toward her, teeth bared.
“Brinley.”
She couldn’t look away, couldn’t follow that comforting voice away from the tall gray beast. The moment she did, she knew he would lunge. As if reading her thoughts, he growled and jumped at her.
“Bijou, wake up,” the deep voice commanded, dragging her from the nightmare.
Brinley bolted upright. She gasped for air, searching around the darkened room to find the threat.
“It’s me.” Gabriel put a hand on her shoulder to still her frantic movements. “It’s just me. You’re safe. Take a deep breath.”
She turned toward the man standing beside the bed.
“Breathe,” he repeated.
She inhaled deeply.
“Good girl. Again.” His thumb brushed over her shoulder as his other hand swept her sweaty hair from her face and neck. “It’s all right now. You’re safe.”
Swallowing, she stared up at him. He was supposed to be her enemy. She hated him and his kind. But that didn’t stop her from leaning over to wrap her arms around his middle or from burying her face against his chest.
Only a heartbeat passed before he hugged her close. She could’ve sworn he kissed the top of her head as he whispered, “I’ve got you.”
Something about that broke her resolve. A sob escaped her lips before she could stop it. Gabriel tightened his hold on her. He guided her over in the bed to sit with her, his back to the headboard. He pulled her against his chest once more and just… held her as she cried. Every once in a while, he whispered something calming, but they otherwise stayed quiet. He rubbed her back as she mourned, as the guilt ate away at her.
He didn’t leave her.
Like everyone else.
“I’ve got you,” he repeated in a hushed tone.
Eventually, her tears subsided, and still, neither of them moved.
She needed to say something. Tell him what happened, or at least thank him for being there. Instead, what she said was, “I thought you said no cuddling.”
To her surprise, his chest vibrated with quiet laughter. “I’ll make the exception to the rule this once.”
Brinley rolled her eyes and shifted so she was sitting a bit higher. She rested her head on his shoulder, curling into his side and placing a hand over his heart. It felt so natural that she wanted to pull away. Except, that was also why she couldn’t. His arm tightened around her back, and she wondered if he felt it too.
“Besides, we’ve already broken the one-time-only and no-kissing rules,” he said. “What’s one more?”
“Two.”
“Hmm?”
She tilted her chin up to see him. “Technically, you said we wouldn’t share a bed either.”
Gabriel shook his head. “No, I said no sharing a bed for or after sex. We didn’t have sex today.”
“Shame.” The word slipped out before she could even register it, and her eyes widened. She tucked her head back down as her cheeks heated, and he chuckled.
All week, he’d taken her to that place to train… which had led to them fooling around in at least four of the different rooms now. She blamed it on the pressure of needing to figure out her magic. A few really good orgasms helped her relax and open up her mind. Or rather, that was what she told herself. Regardless, today, she’d sat with Rose instead while he took care of other business throughout the village. She hadn’t seen him since breakfast.
Not that she cared. She absolutely did not miss him.
Clearing her throat, she asked, “What were you doing in here?”
Thankfully, he let it go. “I wanted a book from my study and heard you in here crying. You also let out a little scream, so I came in to find out what was wrong.”
Her heart raced in her chest. “You came in to check on me?”
“Only because I worried someone had made it in here and was…” He trailed off, but she didn’t need to hear more. No matter how he ended that statement, it would be horrific. When she tensed, he said, “Not that anyone is going to make it inside. There are sentries standing guard at all the entrances, but in the middle of the night, that’s where my mind went.”
Brinley’s brow furrowed. She pulled away to see him. “The guards outside are to make sure no one gets in ?”
“Of course. What do you—” He sighed. “How many times must I tell you that you are not a prisoner, Brinley?”
Déesse save her, she loved when he used her actual name like that. “Once more, apparently.”
She bit her lower lip and glanced down, focusing on the tattoos twining along his arm that she could see from the low lantern he must have lit upon entering. There were so many questions she still had. So much she didn’t understand. He’d told her all about her father, or at least what he could. He’d told her about the rogues. And as much as she tried, it was getting harder and harder to pretend like she didn’t even want to try to believe it all.
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Of course,” he said without any sign of hesitation.
Brinley took another deep breath. She sat upright more and pulled one of the pillows onto her lap to focus on it instead of his toned arms that felt too good around her. “Why were you in that village if you really weren’t part of the attack.”
“That’s… complicated.”
She raised her gaze to his in the flickering light. “More complicated than you trying to break two curses with a witch who can’t figure out her own magic?”
“Yes.” He reached for her hand and held it in his lap. “But go on; ask your questions.”
Understanding, she leaned into his side again. “You were there because of the curse?”
His thumb tapped hers. “I had prayed to the moon goddess, asking her to help me find?—”
He choked, and she knew what he was trying to say.
“A way to break the curse?”
Tap. “I felt this… tug toward the village,” he said, weaving his fingers through hers atop the pillow. His other hand had remained on her back, slowly caressing in soothing circles. “Then, I heard the screams.”
A shiver ran down her spine at the reminder of her nightmare. “That’s what I was dreaming about. I keep seeing that night over and over.”
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, sounding sincere. This time, when he kissed her temple, there wasn’t any doubt about it. “When I got close to the village, I felt that tug stronger and knew I needed to do something. So, I followed it, and it…”
“Led you to me,” she finished.
“Yes.” He nodded. “I hadn’t seen you in six years, but I recognized you immediately. You’re still you .”
Six years… That was exactly how long she lived in her last village. She’d been moved there after her previous home was attacked. When she told Gabriel as much, he sighed.
“That’s not what happened.”
Somehow, she knew he was going to say that before the words were even out. That was when she remembered more of her dream. The pleasant parts before it turned into a nightmare. She’d been standing beneath the tree in Rose’s painting with… She looked up at Gabriel, holding his gaze. His blue gaze. Something tugged low in her gut, and as much as she wanted to blame it on instinctual attraction and lust, she didn’t think that was it. Especially when he’d described what led him to her in the same way.
“You really knew my father,” she said, following that trail of thought. When he nodded again, she went on. “We met before my birthday? We knew each other?”
“Yes.”
“The meadow…”
He stiffened, and she had her answer.
Tears sprang to her eyes once more. “When I was a child, there was a meadow my mother brought me to by?—”
“Lake Vréncia.”
Her breath ceased in her lungs.
“The lake house there, with its wraparound porch and flower gardens, belonged to my mother.” Clear pain laced his soft words.
She was so young when she and her mother made trips there. Most had taken place when she was only a toddler and small child, and those memories were nonexistent for the most part. But the dream reminded her. “You were there.”
“I always begged my father or yours to bring me along.”
It felt as if her heart was being crushed inside her chest. How was this possible? “I had a dream about a small black wolf in the meadow with me.”
“Tonight?”
“Yes, before it switched to…” You holding me under the pink tree. “The nightmare.”
Gabriel idly ran a hand up and down her arm. “We used to play a lot. I was usually in charge of keeping you occupied while the adults talked. Your father wanted you to live here with us all the time, not just when your mother could sneak out of the castle with you. He loved you so much.”
The back of her throat burned. “Gabriel, why… why didn’t my mother want to stay?”
He paused in his soothing strokes. After a moment, he continued and said, “She did. After years of sneaking around, she finally agreed it wasn’t enough. She’d been worried about her mother’s reaction because she didn’t approve of their relationship. The two of you moved in a couple months before your third birthday.”
“My father died just after that birthday,” she whispered, her stomach twisting. Dread filled her as she suspected where this story was going.
“Yes, he did.” His sorrow mirrored her own, and she remembered he’d said her father had been his godfather. Her father was a big part of Gabriel’s life, like an uncle. “It was one of the worst days in my life.” The way he said it made her think that list was longer than it should have been for someone his age. “It was like losing a parent, which I can say because I’ve lost all of mine.”
“All?”
The clock chimed in the corner, signaling it was midnight. Gabriel shifted, lowering in the bed and guiding her to move along with him. She returned the pillow to behind her head, but that didn’t matter. Not when he pulled her close. She curled up against him, lying flush against his side.
“My birth father died before I was born,” he explained. “The alpha, Donovan, was my stepfather, though I didn’t know it most of my life. He raised me, loved me as his own.” He cleared his throat. “My mother died giving birth to Rosalyn, and my father was killed six years ago.”
“Everything comes back to six years ago.” She tried to think through everything she’d been told, all she knew prior to coming here over a month ago. But she was exhausted.
Over a month. Yet, no one had come to search for her. She was now the queen—something she kept forgetting about—but none of the royal guards had shown up. Because they assumed she was dead too? Or because they didn’t know where to look?
Gabriel reached for the blanket with his free hand and tugged it up over them. “Yes, it does.”
“Was that when the curse was set?”
He tapped her hand.
“Which one?”
“Brinley.” He sounded just as tired.
She rolled over more, resting her chin on top of her hands. “Fine. Was Rose’s curse set six years ago?” Nothing. “The one on the village?” Tap. “Was hers set before?” Tap. “Long before?” Tap.
Her stomach churned again, threatening to return her dinner. “About eighteen years ago?”
This time, he didn’t just tap her hand. He laced their fingers together.
Her throat tightened, but she managed to whisper, “Am I connected to the curses?”
He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her palm.
Turning her head, Brinley lay against his chest. “Gabriel?”
“Hmm?”
She closed her eyes just as more tears began to well in them. “I promise, I’ll figure this out.”
“I know, bijou.” Releasing her hand, he wrapped both arms around her. “I know you will.”