Page 44 of The Wolf and his Witch

She pulled away and stared up at him. “How? I mean… There’s no way you could have walked away from that crash.” Her fingers traced one of his bruises.

Gabriel caught the bottle of water Stefanie tossed him, and he washed the blood from his face. “I didn’t. They took me away in an ambulance and I spent two days in hospital.”

“Two days… But I…” She glanced over her shoulder at the cabin. “I’ve not been here a day yet. Have I?”

“I used the spell. From the grimoire.”

“You…you found the grimoire?”

He grinned. “I stole it from Rarity. I broke your ward.”

Annabelle winced.

“Oui.It didn’t tickle.” He tossed the water bottle aside and cupped her face in his big hands. “But I would do it all again in a heartbeat. For you, Annabelle.”

He dropped his lips to hers, and with a sigh, Annabelle melted into him. He swiped his tongue along the seam of her lips and she opened for him. He was alive. He was here. He’d broken her ward and pushed his bruised and battered body through time to get to her.

“Mmm-hmm.”

Annabelle surfaced, and Gabriel glared at their intruder, Stefanie, once again in human form and fully clothed.

Stef tossed Gabriel his shirt, jacket and jeans. “I’m sure Annabelle loves your crown jewels, but the rest of us could do without seeing them. Or your naked ass.”

Annabelle clapped her hands to her mouth. “Oh, my God. I didn’t even think. You must be freezing.”

Gabriel stepped into his jeans. “Wolf shifter,bebe,remember? Our temperatures run hotter.”

Annabelle took in his taut, naked ass before he covered it up with denim.That they did.

Aunt Marjory strode over, no more hindered by her heels on the gravel than if she were walking on Italian palazzo tiles. “This reeks of Cordelia.”

“Oh, she was involved all right.” Annabelle hugged her arms around her body, holding herself together, her eyes straying to Gabriel as he dressed. She still couldn’t believe he was alive, and had risked everything to save her. “Cordelia had Dutton take my blood. They had plans to turn me into a puppet bride for Dutton using Cordelia’s magic.” She nodded at the cabin. “Those were her wards on the basement. When I couldn’t break through them, I started searching for some other way to escape. How long the Kings have owned this place is anyone’s guess, but they either didn’t know about the broken chimney, or they didn’t think I’d find it.” Annabelle sighed. “To be honest, I wasn’t expecting anyone to find me. I thought…” She turned to Gabriel. “I thought you were dead. How could anyone, even a shifter, survive a hit like that?”

He pulled her close, and she rested her head on his chest. “It would take more than that to keep me from you,mon amour.”

Aunt Marjory crossed her arms, tapping her sleeve with a manicured fingernail. “Would this have something to do with what makes you different from the local shifters, Gabriel?”

“It does, but…”

Annabelle looked up at him. Was he still going to keep her out? After all that had happened?

He brushed a strand of hair off her face. “There are things I’m only permitted to share with Annabelle. Anything else must come from Maxime d’Louncrais, our alpha. Some secrets are best kept that way.”

Aunt Marjory nodded. “I trust Annabelle to consider the coven’s interest in this and do what is best for all of us.”

Roger joined them. “Good to see you’re okay, kiddo. We’ve taken the three survivors into custody. Dutton will survive. He’s getting medical care now. Not that he deserves it, mind you. We’ve buried the other one. Not sure what three Frenchmen have to do with all this…”

“I’ll fill Annabelle in on that, too,” said Gabriel.

Aunt Marjory nodded. “Very well. Roger, call a meeting of the coven. We’ll deal with these men in-house. And Cordelia. Send a team to collect her and bring her before the coven.”

Roger’s grin was wicked. “With pleasure.”

“Annabelle, get your mom to do a healing spell on that shoulder of yours. Then take Isobella and your parents and search the house for those vials of blood. Destroy them.”

The High Priestess turned to Gabriel. “If I heard correctly, you used that spell to find Annabelle. You had best get going back to the future. We really do not know what will happen if you run into yourself. Let’s not ruin a good outcome by pushing the limits and finding out the ramifications are disastrous.”

“Oui.”He turned to her. “When you’re done here,mon amour,go with Stef back to the Ritz-Carlton. I’ll meet you there.” He looked over her shoulder. “And bring Isobella with you. There are some things she needs to hear, too.”

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