Chapter 3 - Gabriella
“Westley, you are the lowest kind of human being there is!” I screamed, pounding my fists into his pack. Rage burned in my belly. We were so close. Hazel and I were probably only a mile away from the pack line, and we would have been free.
I looked over at Hazel. “Hazel! We agreed! Tell him to put me down.”
She looked at me with a hurt expression. “We can’t outrun him. And what if he’s right? What if we don’t find anything better?”
I scoffed. “That doesn’t mean we agree!” I pushed my hands against his back, trying to wiggle myself free from his hold. His arms only tightened around my hips, securing me against his shoulder tightly.
“I hate you!” I yelled again.
“Stop yelling!” Westley snapped. “Do you want Asher to hear you?”
Why were they even out here? Were they out scouting again? Why did it matter if Asher heard us?
“Yes, I hope he does hear me!” I yelled even louder. “Asher! Westley has gone insane!”
I felt a slap land hard on my ass, and I yelped for another reason. I felt my face grow hot with embarrassment. I looked at Hazel, whose mouth hung open a little.
“Did you just slap my ass?”
“Yes, and I’ll do it again, but harder if you don’t stop.”
“Are you scared that Asher will be able to knock some sense into you?”
“No,” Westley’s voice dipped. “You should be scared because if he thinks for a second that you’re connected to the hybrids, he won’t wait to give that information to Brandon.
That’s the last thing you want. How do you think your Alpha and his wife will feel when they find out they opened their arms to you guys, only for you to try to run away?
Or if they started to wonder if you’re all part of what’s been going on. ”
I frowned, not wanting to imagine it. We weren’t leaving because we didn’t like them. Brandon and all of them had been nothing but nice to us.
“If you had just let us go, we wouldn’t need to worry about any of that!”
I pushed against his shoulder. “Put me down, Westley.”
I expected him to keep ignoring me, but this time he stopped. He slowly lowered me to the ground. Once my feet were on the ground, I glared at him.
“Let’s go.”
But I didn’t walk. I kept my feet firm. I watched him clench his jaw together, his nostrils flaring.
He ran his hands through his hair and turned to Hazel.
He then grabbed her hand and started to pull her.
Hazel looked confused and tried to break free, but Westley held firm.
“I know very well that you both will not leave each other. So, you either agree to keep walking or I’ll throw her over my shoulder and carry her the rest of the way. ”
“God, please don’t,” Hazel said, having a disgusted look on her face.
But he wasn’t looking at Hazel. He was looking at me, knowing fully well I was the bigger problem.
I ground my teeth together, hating him. Why did he care so much anyway?
If he had just let us keep going, it wouldn’t have changed his life.
He had made it very clear he didn’t want to be friends with me anymore, so why the sudden act as if he cared?
“Fine,” I snapped, walking past him and continuing to walk the way we came. I could hear them following me.
The rest of the walk was quiet. Not a single sound but our footsteps in the snow. We finally emerged from the trees back into the pack. My heart sank, knowing this had been our shot to get away. It would be hard to find a good one now that Westley knew we were a flight risk.
We were walking further when I heard someone yelling after us. We all turned as Asher emerged from the treeline. He walked toward us, and Westley swallowed. “Do not say anything.”
I rolled my eyes, thinking he was being a little dramatic about this. Did he honestly think the others were going to give a shit about this like he was?
“Did you find anything?” Westley asked.
Asher shook his head. “I found some tracks, but they disappeared. Otherwise, nothing.”
Wait, what?
Hazel looked at me, just as confused as I was. Had we missed something?
Just then, I watched as Brandon and a large group of others started to come out of the treeline. Hazel’s eyes widened, and she leaned closer to me. “What’s going on?”
I shrugged, not knowing.
“Did you find it?” Asher asked Brandon, and Kaleb got closer to us.
Brandon shook his head. “No. We found nothing. Not even tracks. It’s weird. It doesn’t make sense.”
Brandon’s eyes drifted over toward Hazel and me. “What are you two doing out here?”
I stammered, trying to find words, but couldn’t think of anything. “They were training.”
“And the bags?”
“Clothes to change into afterward.” Westley hooked his arm with mine. “I’m going to get them back into the pack safely.”
He stepped forward, and I nearly tumbled into him. I suddenly realized they were out searching because a hybrid was nearby.
“Why didn’t you just tell us that there was a hybrid out there? We could have just taken another route,” I whispered to him.
He didn’t look at me, which only made me more irritated. I groaned internally, looking for a route that would work.
“Asher, can I borrow you for a moment?”
My head snapped back as Asher looked at Westley, confused, but decided to follow us. “What the hell do you need Asher for?”
Westley didn’t answer me, just pulled me along beside him toward the training ground ahead of us. I looked at Hazel, who looked at me, just as confused.
“Westley, what are you planning?”
Westley didn’t talk. His hold on my hand was firm, and his steps were even without pause. Ahead of us, I spotted Wyan, the town’s chaplain, and my stomach dipped down. I looked at Westley. “What are you planning?”
“Wyan, can I borrow you for a moment? You need two people as witnesses for a wedding, right?”
I yanked on his arm, my mind seeming to catch up. “Answer my question, Westley! What are you planning?”
“You said you needed protection. This is protection.”
“Are you proposing I marry you for it?”
“Yes,” he said simply, like he wasn’t acting crazy.
Asher looked between us, shocked. “Wait, are you serious?”
“No,” I snapped, yanking my hand free. “I’m not marrying you. Are you fucking insane?”
“Would you rather I marry your sister instead?” he asked with a hint of sarcasm.
I shoved at him, my fist hitting hard into his chest. I felt my lips pull up in a sneer. “I’ll kill you in your sleep,” I seethed.
He smirked, proud of himself. “Then I think you have your answer.”
Hazel moved closer. “Maybe this isn’t a bad idea… I mean, just for now?”
I looked at Hazel like she’d just grown a second head. She couldn’t be seriously telling me to agree to this. But as I looked at her, I could see just how tired she was.
“I’m offering you safety,” Westley stated. “You need that.”
I didn’t agree because I wanted to. I didn’t entirely say yes either.
So, here I was standing next to Westley in the goddamn courthouse with Wyan in the middle of us.
Hazel was sitting in a chair, looking as uncomfortable as I was.
Asher sat in a chair next to her, not knowing whether to laugh or cringe at us.
Wyan cleared his throat. “Repeat…”
“Nothing sappy, Wyan. Just go through it,” Westley said, cutting him off.
I frowned. “Wow, you just make this even more romantic.”
Westley frowned. “I’m sorry, do you want all the vows? Do you also want to gaze into my eyes lovingly while you’re at it?”
I ground my teeth together and looked at Wyan. “Just skip it.”
Wyan looked uncomfortable but nodded. “Do you take Gabriella as your wife?”
“I do.” He gave a nod, his eyes not leaving mine now, and for a moment, it would have been sweet if I weren’t so pissed.
“Do you take Westley to be your husband?”
I paused, staring at him. No, of course I didn’t. But it wasn’t like I had a choice about this. Because he had a point. Hazel and I were stuck here, and we needed protection—at least, until we could figure something else out.
“Yes.”
Ten minutes later, Hazel and I were riding with Westley to his house. I felt so pissed and angry. Hazel and I were so close to being free.
Hazel seemed to be calmer now, almost eager. “You say loft… so does that mean you have no extra bedrooms? Like, is the floorplan weird in your house?”
Westley smirked. “I have three bedrooms, so you each will have your own.”
Westley pulled up to a house, and I felt my eyebrows raise.
It was a one-level house that didn’t look huge.
It reminded me of a 1970s house with a low-angled roof and large windows.
We all got out and headed up to the front door.
As he opened the door, my eyes widened. You wouldn’t think the space was so big from the outside.
The door opened up to a wide area to drop your shoes, and you stepped down three steps to a large living room. There was a fireplace dividing the room, and on the other side of it was a dining table that seated six.
“Damn!” Hazel said, her words echoing. “This is nice.”
I looked up, taking in the high, vaulted ceilings and the large windows that ran from ceiling to floor, flooding the space with light. It was warm as you walked in, something I had missed so much from our previous life.
Hazel kicked off her shoes and started down the stairs. He headed into the dining room. “Damn! Your kitchen.”
I slipped my shoes off and followed after her. Westley’s kitchen was spacious. He had three walls of counter space and cabinets. A fancy stove and a huge fridge that had a water spigot.
“Oh, are those one of the calendar fridges?” Hazel asked as she walked over, poking at the screen. It lit up, and she squealed. “It is! Dang, maybe I should have married you.”
I glared at Hazel, but she didn’t even look at me. I ground my teeth together, looking around the space. The kitchen was a deep blue color with a brick backsplash. It was the type of kitchen people dreamed about.
“The bedrooms are that way.” Westley pointed back toward the front, but instead of taking a right, you took a left. “The first two doors are bedrooms, and there is a bathroom across from one of them. My bedroom is the last door.”
Hazel smiled. “I could get used to this.”
I ground my teeth together. I hated everything about this. He didn’t get to forget about me, avoid me, and suddenly come swoop in and act like he was saving us. Hazel and I had a plan, and he fucked it all up.