Page 125 of My Unexpected Mate

“It wasn’t,” she said and smiled at me. “I am really glad you finally know. I know it is hard for you to accept all of this, but you found your brother. That is amazing.”

I gave her a small smile and looked down at the glass in my hands.

“Do you still want to go see Cassie and Jake?” she asked me.

I nodded. “Yes. I need to find them. I don’t really know who I am anymore, and I’ve known them the longest. I consider them family. They were my support system when my grandma was horrible to me. I need them now as well.”

“The guys are freaking out about you going back to your old village,” Annie said with a small smile on her face.

“Why?” I frowned.

“They are afraid you won’t come back here,” she explained. “They think you will want to stay there with them.”

I sighed. It’s not like that idea hasn’t crossed my mind. But I thought I wouldn’t be able to leave Nick. This bond thing really messed with my head. I needed him now. And I wouldn’t be able to leave Gabriel. Or Annie.

But how amazing was it that they were willing to take me there despite their fear?

“But they still want to take me there,” I voiced out my thoughts.

“That’s how much they love you,” Annie said with a big smile on her face.

“I wouldn’t leave them,” I said. “I couldn’t leave them. Or you.”

“I am really glad to hear that, A,” Annie said and took my hand in hers.

Annie and I continued talking, which made me feel a little bit better. But honestly, I still felt lost. Like I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. Like my body was in shock and I couldn’t feel the pain yet.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX – Questions

Gabriel’s POV

I swear to Goddess, if Nick didn’t stop bouncing his leg up and down, I was going to strangle him.

“Stop it,” I growled and placed my hand on his leg, stopping him from moving.

“This place is a dump, man,” he sighed. “I can’t believe you used to come here every night.”

“It wasn’t every night,” I said with a frown.

But he was right. The place looked awful. The whole City looked awful. I had been so wrapped up in everything that was happening with Aria that pushed everything that was happening here to the back of my mind.

The streets were completely empty. Everybody was too afraid to come outside. While we were driving here, we saw only a few people walking down the street. I bet they were hunters. The city was constantly clouded by smoke coming from the main square and there was a constant smell of burning bodies lingering in the air. It was even more potent than it was a few days ago. You could hear screams coming from the main square.

I had a feeling this would be last time we would be coming to the city. It was extremely dangerous. The city was crowded when the inquisition started, and we could easily blend in the crowd. Afterwards there were fewer and fewer people in the city, but you could still blend in if you were careful. Now not so much. There was no more blending in. We were not coming back here anytime soon.

Louis’s bar was empty. Nick and I were sitting at the bar. There was one man sleeping in one of the booths. He was drunk. I could smell the stench of alcohol coming off of him.

The floor was dirty. It looked like Louis didn’t have time to clean in here. The walls were covered in blood. I guess there was a fight here. Or something worse. Most of the lamps on the ceiling were broken. There was only one above the bar and it was weak. There was a faint yellow light coming off of it and it just gave this place an even more sinister look than usual. It was never the nicest bar to visit, but it was never this bad.

I could hear Louis in the back room, but he still didn’t come outside. I guess he didn’t hear us come in.

“Do you think they will be okay?” Nick asked me and started bouncing his leg up and down again.

I rolled my eyes and sighed. “Yes. They will be fine.”

“If something happens to her…” he said quietly.

Before I could answer, Louis came from the back room.

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