Chapter 13
I immediately stiffenedin my chair. It felt like she’d sucker-punched me, her words like a needle pricking my heart. That she could even ask such a question after everything Gabriel and I had been through downright pissed me off.
Gabriel was my mate. I trusted him with my life. That Aimee could insinuate that he was involved in something so vile meant she knew absolutely nothing about him. And in all fairness, she didn’t.
“Gabriel may be many things, but he’s not a monster,” I bit out. “He would never be involved in anything like this.”
“How do you know?” Aimee pressed. “From what I hear, you two have only known each other for a few months.”
I gripped the table, about to lash out when Aimee held up a hand.
“I can tell you’re angry,” she said. “But these are questions I need to ask.”
A low growl ripped past my lips. My wolf’s hackles were up, and she wanted nothing more than to shift and defend her mate. I didn’t even care that Aimee was an alpha, or that I’d just growled at her. Suggesting Gabriel could know about something like this and keep it a secret from me crossed a line. A bigline.
“Think about it, Maddie,” Aimee urged. “Gabriel is literally the Vampire King. It’s his job to know about everything that’s going on. If his father knew about Nash and that nightmarish warehouse, how can we not assume the same of Gabriel?”
“Because Gabriel isn’t like that!” I shouted. “He’s?—”
“A vampire, Maddie,” Aimee said, cutting me off. “At the end of the day, he’s a damned vampire. They live by their own rules and agenda, and they’re renowned for being secretive.”
“How judgmental of you,” I ground out. “People could say the same thing about werewolves, that we’re nothing more than animals. Not all vampires are like what you described.” I shot Lucy a glance. “Tell her! Anna is your best friend. She could never keep a secret like this. Nor would Vlad.”
“She’s right,” Lucy said, laying her hand on top of mine. “I understand where you’re coming from, Aimee, but Gabriel wouldn’t keep a secret like this. It’s more likely that Adrian learned about Nash’s little operation and kept that intel to himself. Gabriel and Adrian haven’t even spoken to each other for years. There’s a lot one can learn in that length of time. And if they aren’t speaking, why would Adrian share the info with his estranged son?”
The scowl on Aimee’s face told me she wasn’t convinced. Well, tough.
“You’re barking up the wrong tree,” I said. “Need I remind you that Adrian kept Gabriel in one of those damn cages?”
“So what?” Aimee argued. “Just because his father kept him prisoner in one doesn’t mean he didn’t know about them. He is literally their sovereign. So either he knows about the cages and said nothing, or he’s so incompetent a king that he doesn’t know anything. Which one is it?”
Another growl erupted from my throat. I was this close to unleashing my wolf on Aimee just to shut her up. “Gabriel has less power over the vamps here than you’d expect. Once the vamps went public about their existence, our government took over. They have to obey our laws and we have a system in place to police them.” A corrupt system, but I didn’t add that fact in.
“That may be, but that doesn’t clear him of suspicion,” Aimee snapped.
I shoved to my feet and started pacing the kitchen, looking for any way to burn off the incensed energy coursing through me. “Look, you’re new to all this. Which means you haven’t been involved in anything that’s happened in the last few months. Sure, you may have heard some things, but believe me, you don’t know anything. And you sure as hell don’t know Gabriel. If he knew anything about Nash or these cages, he would have mentioned it.”
“Again, I’ll point out that you don’t know him as well as you think. A few months doesn’t make you besties. And just because fate decides you’re mates doesn’t mean he isn’t keeping secrets. And why do you think he would mention any of this to us? You’re a werewolf. Why would he tell you that his people have designed a rather successful means of caging us?”
I completed another round in the kitchen and snarled. My inner wolf and I were ready to rip into Aimee’s throat for trash talking our mate, but thankfully, I managed to restrain myself for now.
“Look, I’m just saying it can’t hurt to ask him,” Aimee said, her voice taking on a more placating tone. One I immediately resented.
“No, you want to accuse him,” I said. “You want to string him up and hold him responsible for everything Nash has done to your people. And I get that, I do. But you’re wrong about him.” I stopped pacing and whirled around to face her. “And I refuse to let you place the blame on him.”
“Okay, everyone needs to take a breath,” Sam suggested. “Emotions are running a bit high. Maybe we should stop before someone says something they regret.” His gaze shifted to me, and I saw the silent warning there, not to push his sister any further. Being that she was an alpha werewolf, if I did, I might find myself challenging her authority. Which I did not want. I had no desire to fight her or take over her pack if I won that fight.
I bit back another growl and resumed pacing, if only to wear myself out. I had to expel this energy somehow, and since I couldn’t punch Aimee in the face, this would have to suffice.
“I appreciate your loyalty to your mate,” Aimee said, her voice hardening. “But Nash is targeting my people. And this is my territory. I will question him about his potential involvement, whether you approve of it or not.”
Fury rippled down my spine, and for a moment, I thought I might shift right here in Aimee’s kitchen. That she could even suggest such a thing made it hard for me to breathe through the anger clogging my veins.
I whirled on my heels, about to say something when Lucy leapt to her feet and slung an arm around my shoulder.
“Let’s go for a walk, shall we?”
I snapped my head to the side and stared at my sister. “What?”
“A walk. Some fresh air. Of the non-bayou variety. It’ll be good for you.”
Before I could argue, she grabbed my arm, her fingers pinching my flesh, and practically dragged me out of the kitchen.
Lucy guided me to the front door, then played sentinel while I slipped on a pair of shoes Jaden had brought me from Jackson. Once Lucy had her own shoes on, she practically booted me from the house, then followed in my wake. With a silent gesture, she pointed me down the street and told me in no uncertain terms to “get walking.”
I could smell her anger—it was as pungent as mine. But her anger seemed directed at me, which I didn’t understand. I wasn’t the one accusing someone we loved of betraying us all.
“Can you believe her?” I burst out, the words spilling from me like hot lava. “Accusing Gabriel of…” My voice cracked, and I fell silent, hoping to contain my ire before I did something stupid like cry or punch a stop sign.
Lucy remained silent, but that did nothing to stem the storming fury within me. Okay, so maybe I was overreacting a little bit. Aimee only said she wanted to question him, not torture him. But that she could even wonder such a thing pissed me off.
The memories of the last three days, trapped, scared, and fighting for our lives, flashed through my head. I remembered bashing myself against the bars, desperate to get out. I remember how alone I felt, how terrified. I had no one in there, not even Gabriel, because he’d been unconscious the whole time.
“We were in those cages, Lucy,” I said, my voice a fierce whisper. “Gabriel suffered in that hellhole, just like Avery. How could Aimee even think?—”
Lucy stopped walking and turned to face me, gripping my shoulders as she looked me square in the eyes. “I know, Maddie,” she said, her voice firm but gentle. “I know. But Aimee is just looking out for her pack. She’s scared of losing more people, and when people get scared, they look for answers, often in the wrong places.”
I wanted to reject her words, to rail against the injustice of it all, but a part of me understood. Fear could cloud judgment, make enemies out of allies. But that understanding did little to ease the ache in my heart.
“That doesn’t mean you can challenge her,” Lucy continued. “If any of my wolves had spoken to me the way you spoke to her in there, I would have put them in their place.”
“I’m not one of her wolves,” I argued. I wasn’t even really one of Lucy’s either.
“Irrelevant,” Lucy said. “So, we’re going to stay out here until you calm down. Once you have, we’ll return to the house, where you can apologize for losing your cool.”
“Apologize!” I shouted, my anger firing up all over again.
Lucy sighed. “Clearly, we still have some calming down to do. Now, get walking.”
* * *
I did the walking thing,like Lucy ordered. I breathed in the supposed fresh air, which really didn’t smell all too fresh to me, and I baked in the sunlight. Keyword, baked. It wasn’t summer yet, but late spring in the bayou was still fairly roasty toasty. I used that time, however, to ponder and come up with a plan. One that would have us out of this place as quickly as possible. After everything Aimee had said, I refused to keep Gabriel here any longer than necessary.
Thankfully, the walk did cool my temper, and after a few hours of aimless strolling, I was ready to return to the house. Lucy escorted me up the stairs, then paused at the front door and shot me a questioning glance, her eyebrows raised.
I rolled my eyes, then nodded, and waited for her to open the door. Cool air immediately blasted us. I sighed with relief, then stepped inside and closed the door behind me, so as not to cool the outdoors as people were so fond of saying.
Lucy and I found Sam in the kitchen. He leaned against the counter and wore his own questioning glance. Clearly, they’d learned it from each other.
“Better?” he asked.
“Sure,” I replied, my tone dry.
He handed me a glass of water, one I downed in a few gulps. I would need another shower to wash the sweat off me, but I could do that later.
“Glad to hear it,” Sam said. Pushing off the counter, he strode toward his wife and planted a kiss on her lips. “The kids are fine. I just spoke with Cole.”
Relief flashed across Lucy’s face, and she nodded. “Good.”
“And Aimee is in the living room, should anyone wish to say anything to her,” Sam finished. With an annoying wink in my direction, he left the kitchen.
I closed my eyes and stretched out my neck. Lucy thought I should apologize, and it looked like Sam did too. I didn’t want to—because no one ever wanted to apologize—but I knew they were right. I’d have to do the werewolf thing and accede to the pack alpha. She wasn’t my alpha, but we were in her territory and staying in her house.
Lucy nudged me, then jerked her chin toward the living room. I scowled at her and gestured wildly with my hands. To which she jabbed a finger against my chest, then pointed behind me, once again to the living room. I curled a lip and flashed my teeth. She responded by cuffing me upside the back of the head and pointing a little harder.
“Remind me why I wanted siblings again?” I grumbled while rubbing my abused skull.
Lucy merely rolled her eyes, then stomped out of the room.
Sighing like a petulant child, I dragged my feet into the living room, where I found Aimee sitting in a recliner next to a massive bay window. She held a book in her hand, one that she lowered into her lap the second I entered.
From the look in her eyes, she, too, expected an apology. Ugh. There were days I hated that I wasn’t a pack alpha. But alas, I’d chosen the lone wolf lifestyle, content with my friends and family over pack.
Time to get this over and done with.
“Aimee,” I began, hoping my voice sounded at least a little contrite. “I should apologize for earlier. I let my emotions get the best of me. I know you’re just looking out for your pack, and I respect that. It’s just that Gabriel means the world to me. And the thought that he might be involved in this, however improbable that may be…”
I bit back my words before I started arguing with her again. This was meant to be an apology, not another fight, no matter how badly my wolf wanted to go a round of fisticuffs with Aimee.
“What I mean to say is I understand where you’re coming from, truly. We’ve all been through so much, your pack included. And it’s easy to let fear and suspicion take hold. I…reacted poorly, and for that, I apologize.”
Aimee sat up in the chair and placed her book on the living room table. “I think I should apologize as well. I made some unflattering and rude comments. You’re right. I don’t know your mate. And I don’t know your relationship, but I shouldn’t presume that you two don’t know each other simply because it’s only been a few months. That was unkind of me.”
My eyes widened. I’d actually never heard a pack alpha apologize before. Again, not that I knew many. But still. Most alphas seemed to be the belligerent sort who always believed they were right and everyone else wrong.
“If you don’t mind, I’d still like to speak with Gabriel when he wakes. Perhaps you’re right, and he doesn’t know anything about these cages. Or if he does, maybe there’s a perfectly logical reason he kept the knowledge from us. But I would like to have that conversation, regardless.”
My mouth slipped to the side. I wasn’t the most insightful individual, but there was something in her face. Something…displeased. I chuckled at the sight of it. Clearly, neither of us were happy with the situation here. And while I was out walking with Lucy, I had a feeling big brother Sam had words with Aimee.
“Something funny about my request?” she asked.
“No, just this whole situation,” I said, still chuckling. “We’re both feeling a little protective, aren’t we? You of your pack, me of my mate. And I suspect”—I quickly turned and spotted Sam and Lucy, the two of them peeking around the corner into the living room—“we’re both being parented by our siblings.”
Lucy’s eyes widened, and she and Sam darted out of sight.
Mm-hmm, just as I thought.
I turned back and found Aimee shaking her head, an utterly exhausted expression on her face. “It appears so.” Then she met my gaze once more. “I do have one request.”
I braced myself, immediately suspecting I wouldn’t like it.
“When Gabriel wakes for the evening, I would ask that you give him no warning as to what I intend to ask him tonight. I need his honest reaction. That’s all I ask.”
I was right. I didn’t like the request. I hated the thought of ambushing Gabriel. But in the spirit of fairness, I agreed with a sharp nod. At least this way, she would see for herself that Gabriel had nothing to do with this.