Page 72 of Wolf.e

I fold my arms over my chest and do my best to appear as frustrated as I feel. The moment his eyes meet mine, I struggle because he melts me with that gaze.

“You can go,” I tell him. “And I guess I need to change my code.”

“No.” He shakes his head. “Go pack some things; you’re coming with me for a while until I can make sure you’re safe. I thought I could keep you safer if I stayed away from you. I was wrong.”

I put my hands on my hips. I still really don’t like being told what to do. Someone has been doing that my whole life.

“The only way to show that Foxx guy I’m not of any interest to him is for you to leave and not come back. I told him you were just a one-night stand. I’m pretty sure he believed me,” I lie.

Gabriel moves faster than I have time to prepare for and both his arms cage me in against the counter as he towers over me.

“Pack your shit or don’t pack your shit, either way you’re coming with me. This isn’t a discussion,” he says, looking down at me. His body is so close to mine that it instantly ignites my own muscle memory, like he’s a phantom limb I’ve been missing. I look away from his eyes and fight with everything in me not to feel the pull that tethers us together. Gabriel’s hand comes up and tilts my face with a finger under my chin.

I push his hand away and watch as his jaw sets.

“You left a week ago and I haven’t heard one word from you. I don’t see you out at your other conquests’ houses making sure they’re safe, why me?”

Gabriel’s hand is instantly at my throat. “This isn’t a fucking game,” he seethes.

I reach up and pull at his hand around my throat, he’s never held it so tight, and I can’t breathe at all. The fury I see in his eyes tells me I pushed him too far. I scratch, I fight with both my hands but he doesn’t even flinch.

His lips come down to mine and hover as I silently beg for air.

“I didn’t leave. I’ve been here every single night, hummingbird, watching you sleep. I’ve been with you everywhere you’ve gone—every time, every day since I left this house. But it wasn’t enough. They know I was here and they got to you.”

Gabriel releases my throat and I inhale in a gasp, reaching for my throbbing throat, choking back my breath. The realization that he’s been watching me, been in my house when I was sleeping, has pulled the air from my lungs just as completely as his hand to my throat.

But fuck me, it also made me feel comforted. I sigh.

“Now, I won’t tell you again, understand? Get. Your. Shit.” Gabriel practically whispers but it’s a warning. If I don’t do what he says, something tells me I’ll be leaving anyway with just the clothes on my back.

“Gabriel!” I croak out, still dizzy. “Please… where are you taking me? I don’t want to live at the clubhouse,” I spit the words out desperately.

He can’t just pick me up and put me down whenever he wants. I have to have more dignity than that. I will not be his groupie, living in the club waiting for my nightly fucks.

He smirks at me, like he knows something I don’t as his lips unexpectedly come down, almost enough to meet mine. I suck in a desperate breath with how close he is. Gabriel doesn’t kiss me, though; he just holds his mouth over mine, nothing more than a whisper of air between us, sending my senses into overdrive. I pant against his lips, fighting the urge to kiss him. He pulls my bottom lip between his teeth and into his mouth, sucking so hard I can feel the blood rush to the spot he’s claimed. I swear I feel the inner battle holding him back from kissing me and I realize I’ll never understand what goes through his tormented mind. He releases my lip. It throbs as he pulls back and admires the mark I’m sure he’s left there.

“Please. This is my home,” I say, looking into his eyes.

Gabriel shakes his head slowly and reaches down, grabbing hold of my hand. He brings it up to his chest and slides it under his cut, placing it above his heart. As we stand here staring at each other, momentarily transfixed, I can feel the slow, steady beat of his heart through his thin t-shirt. His breath is deep and even as he pulls my palm out and brings it up to his lips, kissing it just once.

“No, little bird. I am your home.”

He lets my hand fall to my side as I stand here just dumbfounded by his words before he adds, “And I’m not taking you to the clubhouse.”

I’m not making the same mistake twice. I thought I could just walk away and watch Brinley from a distance, get this obsession out of my head. I never go back on a decision but there’s a first time for everything and fuck it, there’s no stopping this now.

Aiden Foxx is definitely the lesser of two evils when it comes to the Foxx family, but the thought of him anywhere near Brinley makes me want to reach into his chest and rip his fucking heart out with my bare hands, then stuff it down his fucking throat. I saw those photos in my chapel, and it took me less than a second to know I was wrong in leaving her. I will burn the DOS clubhouse and everyone in it to the motherfucking ground. Then, and only then, will she be safe.

The July sun is sinking over the horizon, serving as a background in the Georgia countryside as we fill the open road with the sound of my bike. Brinley’s arms tighten around my waist and my eyes move between the road ahead and the road behind. I take the backroads part of the way, just to make sure no one is following us. I haven’t kept this place hidden since I bought it two years ago just to slip up now.

I make my way onto the unmarked side road and pull down the drive, pressing the button in the inside pocket of my cut to open the electronic gate. The laurel oaks offer shade as I slowly steer my bike down the long, winding drive stopping in front of the house. I pop the kick down and take in Brinley’s expression as she removes her helmet.

My house is my fortress. There are only two people who have ever been here—Jake and Ax—and now it’ll be her home. A deer flees into the bush beside us, causing Brinley to jump.

“What is this place?” she asks, taking in her surroundings.

“Home,” I tell her, unhooking her bag from the back of my bike. “Let’s go.” I sling it over my shoulder. Fucking thing is heavy like it’s packed with books.

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