25. Havoc #2
She gives a broken little laugh that isn't laughter at all.
“I became angry. Really angry. And I—I shifted for the first time since I’d gotten pregnant.”
Her heart is racing. The matebond floods with fear.
I turn my attention entirely back to her.
“And that time, when I did...” Her amber eyes lift to mine. “I became something else.”
“Something else? What? How?”
“I don't know how to explain it.”
“Try.”
“Rowan—”
“Honey Girl.”
I cup her cheek.
“You could grow three heads and breathe purple fucking lightning, and I wouldn’t give a shit. You're mine. You’re safe right here in this chair with me. And whatever you’re about to say doesn’t change that.”
A wet laugh slips out of her.
Good.
“I mean it.”
“I know.”
“No, I don't think you do.”
I brush away the first tear that escapes.
“Whatever you shift into doesn't change shit between us.”
“You don't know that, Rowan.”
“Sure I fucking do. You are mine. My mate. My Omega.”
The matebond pulses.
She feels my certainty. I know she does because her eyes close for a second.
Then she whispers, “Ethan was frightened of me.”
That gets my attention.
“He was afraid of you?”
“Yes.”
Interesting.
“He had me beaten and chained.”
Everything inside me stops.
“What?”
“He said I was a freak.”
Monster lunges so violently inside me that my teeth ache.
“He said he was going to cure me.”
My arm tightens around her.
“He locked you up?”
She nods.
“And then he said my child was a bastard. An abomination.”
Matteo.
My fucking pup.
“He said whatever was wrong with me might be inside the baby too.”
The growl tearing out of me doesn't sound human anymore.
Gabby turns toward me.
“Rowan—”
“What did he do?”
“He said Matteo needed to be purged at birth.”
No.
The word doesn't leave my mouth. It comes from somewhere deeper.
Monster.
Me.
Alpha.
Mate.
All the same fucking thing now.
Gabby's tears spill freely.
“So, the second I could, I ran.”
I pull her fully against me.
“To save Matteo,” she whispers against my chest.
My hand cups the back of her head.
“To save myself.”
Her shoulders shake.
“I ran. My brother, Nando, helped. I send him money once a month to keep my secrets. And really, I guess I’ve been running ever since.”
After that, she breaks. Sobs rack her body, and I hold her.
That's all.
I just hold her through it.
No promises yet.
No demands.
No fucking questions.
I let her cry against my chest while I stare into the darkness over her head and feel something inside me changing. Because now I understand. Now, it finally makes sense.
The shitty car.
The two jobs.
The way she watches exits.
Why Matteo carries his favorite things with him when they leave the house.
Why she keeps secrets.
Why she was afraid to put him in school.
Why my Honey Girl has been living every fucking day like somebody might come rip her world away from her.
She's been running.
Alone.
Protecting her pup.
Surviving.
And she thinks I'm going to hear all of this and see something shameful. But all I see is the strongest fucking woman I've ever known.
I press my mouth to her hair.
“You survived. You saved him.”
She cries harder.
“You hear me?”
My voice cracks, and I don't give a fuck. I tip her face toward mine.
“You saved your son. You saved yourself. You got both of you out.”
“I should've left sooner.”
“No.”
“I should've fought—”
“No.”
My dominance slips into the word. Not to control her.
Never that.
To stop the poison before she can swallow any more of it. Her amber eyes widen.
“You survived until you could run. Then you made the decision to save your baby and got the fuck out.”
I wipe the tears from her cheeks.
“That's what happened. And I am so fucking proud of you, Honey Girl.”
Her lower lip trembles.
“But he's still looking for us.”
There it is.
The threat.
Monster rises.
This time, I don't push him down. I let just enough of the Wolf come forward for my eyes to burn, my canines to lengthen.
Gabby watches me.
She doesn't recoil. Doesn't look afraid.
If anything, the matebond warms.
She trusts the monster.
Fuck.
I lower my forehead to hers.
“Then he can keep looking.”
“Rowan—”
“Because if Ethan finds you now, Honey Girl, he finds me.”
My thumb brushes across her cheek.
“And Wreck.”
Another tear slips free.
“And Justin.”
“Rowan.”
“If he finds you, he finds whatever the fuck this thing is we’re building right here on this mountain.”
My voice drops.
“But, Gabby, most of all? If that motherfucker finds you, then he finds me. He finds Monster. And finding you will be the last thing he does. I swear it.”
Monster presses against my skin.
Not wild.
Certain.
Mate.
Pup.
Protect.
I kiss her forehead.
“You're not running anymore. And you are not alone.”
Her eyes squeeze shut. And when she folds into me, I hold her as tightly as I fucking dare.
The urge to bite her burns through me.
To sink my teeth into the place where her neck meets her shoulder and finish what Fate started.
Claim her fully.
Give her my mark.
Make the matebond undeniable.
Fuck yes, I want that. I want to make sure every supernatural bastard who gets within scenting distance knows Gabriella Santos belongs with a Wolf who will tear the fucking world apart before he lets anyone put chains on her again.
But right now she's crying. She's giving me pieces of herself that I don’t know if I deserve. Pieces of her past that cost her tears and pain and more to hand over.
One thing I know is that my mate deserves a choice.
She's had enough males deciding what happens to her body.
So I hold her. I listen. And I wait for the rest.
And when I finally put my bite on my Honey Girl?
It won't be because Monster demands it.
It won't even be because the Fates decided she's my Omega.
It'll be because Gabriella looks me in the eyes, knowing exactly what it means, and chooses me right fucking back.