33. Gabriel
Chapter 33
Gabriel
G abriel grabbed Brinley just as her eyes rolled back and she began to fall. He easily scooped her up into his arms, cradling her to his chest. She had used too much magic. For him. To save him .
Watching her lose control like that terrified him. Not because he feared her power, but because he couldn’t stand the idea of her losing herself like that.
Around the square, his people mourned the fallen and cared for the injured. Paxton tied the remaining rogue up, but it didn’t seem necessary. The man’s legs had both been broken by the woman Gabriel now carried.
“Get him in a cell, along with any other survivors,” Gabriel said. “Find out who sent them and why they wanted Brinley. And find out how they even got into town.”
“Gabe.” Paxton stood, looking at the unconscious witch. “How did?—”
“Not here.” Gabriel knew his friends would have questions, and he would answer them, but not in this square. If the rogues got in, there was a chance they had a spy on the inside. He didn’t know who to trust outside of his inner circle.
Pax nodded and then helped Daciana and Joel haul their new prisoner up.
“I’m bringing her back to the house and will send Brighid out to help the injured,” Gabriel said. “We’ll talk later.”
He didn’t wait for a response; he just turned around and headed toward his home. A few times, he stopped to give condolences and promised to get answers for his people. At this point, they were used to death, but it never got easier.
Within a few minutes, Darren was letting them into the house, and they were walking to his rooms.
“Wait out here for me,” he told Dare as he entered his bedroom. Laying Brinley on the bed, he brushed the hair back from her brow and leaned down to kiss her forehead before going to find Brighid.
Darren stood in the study when he exited, and Gabriel motioned for him to come with him.
“There’s a lot of destruction down there,” he said as they headed to the solarium. “Could you?—”
“Of course.” Darren nodded. He knew what needed to happen next—building pyres, burning the bodies.
Gabriel pulled out a key to unlock the doors. “Wait for Brighid and Harris?”
The man agreed, and Gabriel pushed into his sister’s room. Silver flew at his face, and he barely managed to duck in time. The dagger hit the door frame hard.
“Fuck!” he shouted, straightening to glare at his sister.
Rosalyn’s hand was still raised, her eyes wide. “Are you insane? I could’ve killed you! Why wouldn’t you knock or something to tell us it was you?”
He shook his head, not wanting to deal with her sass at the moment. Or why she was the one defending the others from a possible intruder. Though, Harris stood at her side with his claws extending, crouched in a fighting stance. Instead, Gabriel told them what was going on, and Brighid and Harris took off right away to help. Once they left, Rosalyn approached.
“Your neck,” she whispered.
“I’m fine. It’s already healing.” He had started training her to protect herself at a young age. Most in their pack learned early that it was better to be prepared. They never knew what to expect between the witches wanting them dead and the rogues causing mayhem. When Rose started getting too weak to actively fight hand to hand or with a sword, he had Daci teach her how to throw a blade. It seemed that paid off. Only his quick reflexes saved him from being seriously injured.
“Gabe, what… what happened?”
He sighed, which only served to make her more nervous, it seemed. “Pax is fine,” he said, knowing what she needed.
She crossed her arms and looked down. He both loved and hated how close his sister and best friend were. He loved it because he knew that Pax would protect her and care for her just as much as he did. But he worried about Rose’s feelings and dreaded the day Paxton found someone who held his interest for more than a couple months. Pax had been with a few women over the years but never as anything serious that lasted.
“And Brinley?” Rose lifted her chin once more.
“She saved me.” Before he could think better of it, he said, “Come downstairs with me, and I’ll explain.”
His sister nodded, and he waited, offering an arm for her to hold on to as they walked down to his study. The trek was slow. Each step seemed to take more and more of her strength, and it tore at his heart. By the time they reached his rooms, she was leaning into him, and he had to help her to the settee.
She gasped when she saw Brinley on the bed in the connected room.
“She’s all right.” He headed toward the bathing chamber. He wet two cloths and returned to the witch. One was draped across her burning forehead while he used the other to clean the blood from beneath her nose. “She just… used too much magic. It knocked her unconscious, but she should wake soon and be fine. Though, her head will hurt.”
“You say this as if you’ve seen it before. I thought she couldn’t reach her magic?”
He brushed his thumb over Brinley’s cheek, watching her peaceful features. “It happened when she healed me all those weeks ago.”
It hadn’t been quite like this, but he didn’t want to worry Rose. Besides, he knew Brinley was fine. He would have felt it if she wasn’t. That invisible rope tying them together was still there; he could feel her life force, her soul tethered to his. Before those thoughts could distract him though, he returned to the study and leaned against the edge of his desk so he could see both women. He summed up what happened during the fight for his sister, leaving out just a couple details, and told her about Brinley reaching her magic in the courtyard.
“She really found her magic?”
“You were right,” he said with a nod. “It triggered her memories.”
Rose gave him a sad smile. “Technically, I said the lake house would do the trick because it held meaning to her.”
Gabriel looked down at his feet. “So does the courtyard.”
“I thought she only went there a couple times.”
“She did.” He couldn’t meet his sister’s eyes. “But the last time was six years ago…”
“Gabe—”
The door opened, and Pax walked in, looking exhausted, cutting off Rose’s questions. Gabriel silently thanked La Déesse. He didn’t want to talk to anyone else about that day or what it meant, at least not before he and Brinley had that conversation.
Paxton looked from Gabriel to Rose and then immediately went to drop onto the seat beside her. As he draped an arm around her shoulders, she rested her head against him and asked, “You’re all right?”
“Of course,” he said with a smirk before he seemed to realize just how worried she really was. He kissed her temple. “I’m fine, sweetheart.”
Gabriel’s brow furrowed. He thought about Brinley’s comment a few days ago of them being cute together. Had she meant more than their friendship? Clenching his fist, he glared at his best friend.
Joel and Darren joined them, and he knew he needed to focus on the current situation. Gabriel reminded himself to have a chat with his beta later. Surely, Paxton wouldn’t cross that line. He was way too old for Rose; she wouldn’t even turn eighteen for a few weeks yet. For now though, they had more important matters to discuss. Glancing at the clock, he realized it had been nearly an hour since the fight. “What did you find out?”
“Not much,” Dare said, taking one of the armchairs. “He claimed a witch hired them to bring her in, but he didn’t know who or why.”
Gabriel gritted his teeth. At least that meant it wasn’t the Shadow Pack. He paced toward the door and back, slowly walking the distance of the room over and over as he considered. “Do you think he’s lying?”
“No,” Paxton said. “We were fairly thorough in our interrogation, especially since he was already injured. I don’t think he’d hold back, but Daci is still there asking questions.”
Rose shivered at the subtle admission of torture.
Leaning against Darren’s chair, Joel said, “He wouldn’t tell us how they got through the gate, so it’s hard to say what he’s hiding. Daci mentioned bringing in Torin to help.”
Gabriel nodded in approval. He loathed the man for laying a hand on Brinley, but Gabriel knew that he’d be perfect for this job.
“Gabe… what happened out there with Brinley?” Joel asked in a gentle tone.
He continued his pacing. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, his body was tense, his mind whirling.
“She was out of control,” Dare said. “How did you get through her shield?”
It was a fair question. He was nervous to say it out loud though, especially with her in the next room. But at this point, if she really did remember, the only ones here who didn’t know were Darren and Rose. Both deserved the truth. Even if it meant his sister being mad at him for hiding it all this time.
“You told her you were all right,” Darren said in a hesitant voice. “What did you mean when you told her that she’d saved you so she could stop? Why did that work?”
Gabriel stilled, coming to a halt near the door to the hall. With his back to all of them, he took a deep breath. He didn’t know how to say it, to share what he had realized when he found her six years ago and brought her back here. What he’d felt since they were children, long before he understood what it meant.
But it didn’t matter.
Behind him, her beautiful voice said the words he needed.
“Because he’s my mate.”