Page 177 of My Unexpected Mate

“She has been talking to a human,” I said angrily. “He could have hurt her. He could be working for Victor. You should have told us, Annie.”

“He is not working for Victor,” Aria sighed.

“You don’t know that,” I said, looking at her through the rearview mirror.

“It doesn’t matter anymore, does it?” she said, looking at me. “You pushed him out of my life. He is not a threat anymore.”

“Aria…,” I started speaking, but she interrupted me.

“I don’t want to hear it, Gabriel,” she said, turning to look through the car window. “I understand why you did what you did, but I think you could have at least let me explain to him. He’s been a good friend. I didn’t want it to end like that.”

Nick growled and clenched his fists.

“What did he do?” Annie asked Aria.

“He blocked him from my phone and refused to let me call him and explain,” Aria answered.

Annie chuckled quietly and shook her head.

“Wow, Gabe,” she said. “You could have at least let her call him.”

“No,” Nick growled. “She is not talking to other men. I am barely holding on now that there will be two males living with us who want her. I do not need a third.”

I saw Aria rolling her eyes, and I had to bite back my laugh.

“Are we close?” Annie asked, leaning in between our seats.

“About half an hour, I think,” Nick responded.

The rest of the drive was quiet. I focused on the road, and the others were just looking out the window at the forest that surrounded us.

About 20 minutes later, we arrived at Mike’s cabin.

The place was huge. It was a three-story house with a tall fence surrounding it. Out front, there was a huge lawn. On the side of the house, there were two garages. This was not a cabin. It was a mansion.

As soon as we got out of the car, Annie gasped in admiration.

“Wow, Mike. This is awesome,” she said excitedly, her eyes roaming around this huge place.

“There is a pool in the backyard,” Mike said with a smile on his face.

“No way!” Cassie exclaimed. “That is so cool.”

“Yeah,” Mike chuckled. “Come on, let’s get you inside.”

We grabbed our bags from the car and followed Mike inside the house.

The first floor had a large open living room, kitchen, and dining room. At the back, there were glass doors leading outside. I could see the pool from over here.

“There are enough bedrooms for all of us,” Mike said and pulled my attention away from the house. “But I know some of you will want to sleep together. You can go upstairs and choose a room you like.”

Nick grabbed Aria’s hand and pulled her behind him. She sighed but followed him without saying a word. I guess she knew she would not win an argument with him.

Nick chose a room at the end of the hall. I chose the one across from them. I wanted to be close to Aria in case something happens.

The rooms were cozy. There was a big bed in the middle of the room. On my left, there was a door that led to a small bathroom. Next to the door, there was a closet. There was a window on my right that overlooked the backyard.

I quickly unpacked and folded my clothes in the closet. I wanted to talk to Aria about starting to practice her magic.

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