Page 23 of Branded in Love
I glide my hand away from him, painful as it is to let him go. “So,” I add, finishing my shot’s dregs. “Let’s eat.”
He quietly nods, rising from the seat to serve our dishes. And thank goodness for that, because I’m starting to feel woozy. When he comes back, he slides the steaming plate before me.
“This looks delicious.” I grab my fork. All the while, I’m trying not to think too much about Gavriil’s shocking revelation. I try not to make my astonishment so damn obvious. If I can wrap my head around Trent being a vampire, I can sure as hell understand Gavriil is a shapeshifter.
I wish I could find a way to hold a casual conversation with him. But I can’t. So many questions whirl in my mind, it’s impossible not to speak them. Finally, I start with, “Can I ask you…?”
“You may ask anything,” he interrupts in an earnest tone.
I twist the fork in the pasta, careful not to meet his striking maroon eyes. My frail courage might vanish if I do. “How long have you been…?” the words drift into silence. I give up and look at him.
“A shapeshifter?” he says, his full attention narrowed on me. He could not care less there’s a fragrant meal set before him.
“Yeah…” Good grief, now I’m stealing hisyeahs.I look down at the table. When I look at him again, a stray lock of hair covers my face.
Gavriil leans closer. His firm hand takes the strands and carefully pushes them behind my ear. Shivers shoot through my limbs. “It’s been in my blood for generations,” he says with a quiet voice, still focused on me. “The beast manifests at sixteen… I was seventeen when I became the clan’s king.”
“That seems pretty young,” I blurt.
“So were you when you claimed your inheritance,” he counters, stating a fact.
I blush immediately. “Yes, but… that was different.” I set the fork down. “My grandfather left me an accountant, lawyers, and a trust…”
“My father took the same precautions,” he says. “He surrounded me with loyal advisors and a royal guard.”
I stare at him. It’s not what he says, but what he doesn’t speak that gets me. In silence, he’s saying to me:We’re not that different.And I guess that’s true—except for the magical part.
“A vampire killed him,” he adds in a bitter tone that makes me shudder. Gavriil picks up the knife and carves into his steak. I glimpse the pink meat as the slice drops on the plate… A bear shifter. No wonder he likes his meat raw.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper.
“It was a long time ago. That vampire’s dead now,” he assures me, pensive while he stares at his dish. “You should eat something before all that vodkareallykicks in.” A subtle smirk curls the corner of his lips.
He’s right. I pick up my fork and dig into the pasta.
“I’m going to take down the head vampire in the city,” he says offhandedly, carving another slice of meat. “Nobody will come close to you then.”
I stare at him with shuddering eyes. “Gavriil…” I whisper. He just spoke of his dead father and the fiend that killed him. I could all but touch the pain as it poured through his words, and he simply drops the subject like it’s nothing.
“I’ll hold a meeting with my Elite guard tomorrow,” he continues. “Sasha tells me they’ve come up with a plan.” He chews his meat and swallows.
A shiver scurries through me as I see him raise this fence of ice around him.
He sighs with weariness. “The sooner we deal with him, the quicker you can go back to your normal life.”
It hurts, this sudden change in him. I can’t understand it. A moment ago, he just bared his soul to me. And now this? God, I just told him I liked him, and now he wants me out of his life? “I’m not in a hurry,” I almost mutter, locking eyes with him. “Are you?”
Gavriil drops the fork and knife and pushes his dish away with his forearm. He sweeps a hand across his forehead. “It’s late,” he says, rising from the seat. “We should get some sleep.” He picks up the dish and leaves it in the sink.
Seriously? I want to grab him by the shoulders and shake some sense into him. But I’ve already put myself out there enough. I’m not going to beg. He wants to leave? Fine.
I grab my dish and do the same.
16
GAVRIIL
I’m standing on the library’s terrace, trying to fill my mind with anything other than Luciana’s hazel eyes. I even texted Sasha, but he’s not yet replied, and I don’t think he will for a while. Maybe I should follow my own rotten advice and go to bed. But what good would that do? I won’t sleep. I can’t stop thinking about her.
