Alpha’s Betted Bride (Gabriella)

Chapter 44

CHAPTER 44. now. -Aiden’s POV- I made sure to keep my distance from Gabby, She was reacquainting herself with people and I could tell from her entire demeanor that she would rather be anywhere else right “Hi, Luna,” She stiffened and her head shot up. It was one of the girls that had been with Gabby and me at the fair a few months ago. “Hi,” she said and nodded her head. Her brows hunched together and she looked past the girl. My head turned and I searched for Ca*sy who was standing by the wall, her eyes were on Gabby. She too was watching from a distance and so were Gabby’s brothers. hand. None of us wanted her to feel watched or suffocated but still be close enough in case she’d need us. “Honey, why don’t you go play.” The girl’s mother came up and her daughter ran to her friends. She looked at Gabby and grabbed her “I heard about what Aiden and the others had done. And I don’t know what else happened while you were away but just know, you’re home now and nobody will let anything else happen to you.” She said and gazed into Gabby’s eyes, She bowed her head and walked away. Gabby was looking around the room frantically and I put down my glass. Hui Gabby!” “Luna!” A bunch of people started coming towards her. Gabriella stepped back and shook her head slowly. She looked toward the door. “I’m sorry, I just… I need some air,” She went for the door and left the house. I followed after her. I stood there on the stairs and looked around for where she could be but I didn’t see any sign of her.

“Where is she?” Edmund asked me. He was completely healed now except for a little bruising around his eye. “I don’t know,” I sniffed her out and followed her around the house. She was sitting in the back where 1 and Edmund had fought earlier. She was sitting sitting on a bench and just staring into the abyss, “Hey, there,” I said. She turned her head and looked down at the ground. She drew in a deep breath before looking out over the forest line. 1 sat down on the bench next to her. 1/4 CHAPTER 44. “Alpha!” Bob came running out of the house and toward us. I was about to stand when I felt a shoulder on my hand pushing me down. “We’ll take care of it.” Nick said and he and his brothers walked back. Cas*y nodded her head and walked after them. “Why can’t I feel anything, Aiden?” She asked me. I looked down at her hand and decided to give it a try. I gently stroked my fingers over the back of her hand. “Do you feel this?” I asked softly and moved my fingers over her knuckles and up her arm. “Or this?” Her eyes were falling on my movements. The hairs on her arms stood. “Or this…” I stroked up her arm and gently across the side of her neck. “This is feeling. This electric pulse you feel running through your body. Your skin heating up under my touch. This is you feeling. It may not be the feelings you are used to because this one is brand new to both of us. But nevertheless, it is a feeling, your senses telling you that you are alive. After everything that you have been put through and endured, you, Gabriella Santos, are alive,” sheContentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

looked up at me, her eyes brimming with unshed tears. “I’m scared,” she whispered. “I’m scared he’ll come back,” I looked into her eyes and saw the fear that swam in there. It was so deep and it broke my I didn’t know were possible. But I wouldn’t lie to her, I would never lie to her. I “He will,” I said and gently cupped her cheek. Her bottom lip started trembling. heart in ways “And when does, I will kill him and all of his followers and the only thing you will ever have to see in your dreams is his head being severed from his body. Unable to ever touch you again,” my anger was stirring up but I controlled it. I didn’t want her to fear me as well. “Maybe one day ay I’ll dr dream of something better,” she said quietly and turned her head and looked toward the forest. I knew what she was fearing. She was seeing my brother walking out of the woods with the people who helped torture her. But the day they would come here would be their last. “You’re back,” Ca*sy said quietly as she smiled at Gabby. She nodded her head. “I’m trying,” She whispered and Ca*sy grabbed her hand. “That’s all you’ll ever have to do. And one day, it’ll feel natural. Until then, and every day after, I’ll be right by your side.” She said and gently wrapped her arms around Gabby, I saw the hesitation in her movements. In both of them. It wasn’t organic like it had used to be but soon. The day continued and Gabby was present through all of it. She talked to people and even cracked a smile here and there. Whether or not it was genuine I had no idea but at least she was there and not in her bed, This whole day had given me some hope and calmed my wolf. Now, all we had to do, was give it time and take baby steps. Who knew what the next day would bring? -Gabby’s POV-

I woke up and contemplated staying in bed but this time I didn’t want to. My body wanted to get up even though my brain did not. 2/4 CHAPTER 44. One step tep after the other I took it slow and made it out of the room for the second day in a row. Yesterday felt like a blur. There was a smile on my face that I forced to stay up. I was thinking that maybe if I faked it long enough eventually it would stick and feel natural. Good morning,” I said a little confused as I walked into the dining room. There was only one person present. Where was everyone else? “Hello, sweetheart, Please, have a seat,” Marie said and smiled lovingly. “Where is everyone?” I asked and looked around. *I asked to have breakfast with you alone.” She narrowed her eyes, lifted her brows, and tilted her head down. “You can relax your face now, sweetie,” the smile fell and my head hung low. We sat in silence for a few minutes. The food was served in front of me and she bowed her head to the Omega who walked out and the doors were closed. “You were dealt a bad hand from the day you were born. You were neglected, beaten, controlled, and given away. Only to be betrayed, heartbroken, abused, and tortured” my eyes were widening and my breathing picked up speed. Why was she saying all the things that I already knew? Why was she vocalizing my nightmares? “I’ve known people, Gabriella, who have been dealt the same hand that you have. Most times even less. None of them are here today. Some left the pack or other packs and lived as rogues until the day they were killed. Some took their wn lives and others continued living as a shell, watching everyone they loved bend over backward to save them from demons they couldn’t see. But none of them, not a single one, stood back up

after they had fallen.” “What is your point?” I bit out. She tilted her head to the side and searched my face. “You’ve gone through more than anyone I’ve known and you’re still here. You might feel broken and beat, lifeless even, but you’re here. You got up and you got out of the room. But I don’t want you to ever fake your smile because if you do, it might never turn real. It better for you to frown, cry, or just stare than to fake a smile. Seeing your smile should be a gift.” I was staring down at my plate with my hands resting on my lap. “I don’t know how to move on,” I said and felt the crease on my forehead as 1 furrowed my brows. “Who says you have to move on?” I looked up at Marie with a quizzical expression. “Huh?” “All you have to do is not give up and eventually, in time, breathing gets easier. Living gets a little more fun and memories will be replaced. You will notice how the happy moments replace the bad ones and all that has happened will still be bad, but you will feel your lust for life returning. Moving on doesn’t mean forgetting, it means you don’t let those things define you. It means you take back your power over your life.” yes, 3/4 Alpha’s Betted Bride