Page 194 of My Unexpected Mate

I turned to look at him and smiled.

“You changed me, you know,” he said, looking up at the ceiling. “Not just me. Gabriel as well.”

“How?” I asked him, confused.

“We were hollow before you,” he said. “Gabriel was filled with rage and guilt over losing his grandma. I was lost and drunk most of the time. We spent our days drinking at the club or at home and fucking random girls.”

My heart clenched painfully at his words. I could feel jealousy building up. I knew he had girls before me. I told him I wouldn’t judge him for his past, and I won’t. But I couldn’t help this feeling.

He turned to look at me and smiled. “Don’t be jealous, beautiful. You are all I need now.”

I looked at him confused. How did he know I was jealous?

“I can feel your emotions, remember?” he smiled and cupped my cheek. “You can feel mine too. You just need to focus.”

“Oh,” I smiled. “I guess I forgot.”

He smiled at me and rubbed my cheek with his thumb.

“What did I do?” I asked him.

This time he looked confused.

“How did I change you and Gabriel?” I explained my earlier question.

“You gave us a purpose,” he smiled. “You gave us something to care about. Gabriel thought he was alone in this world. He thought he was to blame for losing the only family he had. And then he found you. And it gave him a purpose. He wants and needs to protect you. I guess that’s why he is too much at times.”

I could understand that. He blamed himself for Claudia’s death. I was his second chance at a family, and he couldn’t lose me too, just like I couldn’t lose him.

“What about you?” I asked him.

“You gave me something to love,” he smiled. “I have never loved a woman before. I’ve never loved anyone except my parents and Gabriel. But I love you. And I couldn’t be happier with you in my life. I am not sure what I did to deserve you, but I am not losing you.”

I smiled and turned my hand to kiss his palm.

“Gabriel and I weren’t the nicest people before you,” he continued. “We were ruthless. We enjoyed making people suffer. But you changed that. You made us better people. And nothing and no one will take you away from us.”

He leaned in and kissed me, making my whole world spin.

CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO – Birthday

Gabriel’s POV

“Come on, Aria, focus,” I said as I grabbed her hands in mine. “You can do it.”

She sighed and closed her eyes. I could see her reaching for the source of her power. We had been practicing for the last three days and she was getting better. She could now project emotions, but she still had trouble with focusing them on a single person. She brought us all down yesterday when she projected pain.

“Can you feel my aura?” I asked her. “Can you feel my warmth?”

“Yes,” she mumbled with her eyes still closed.

“Good,” I said. “We all have our auras. We all have different levels of warmth. You need to differentiate it. Separate us from one another and focus only on one of us. Try focusing on me. Feel me.”

Her eyebrows scrunched together, and her hands squeezed mine.

“Try focusing on what you feel for me,” I told her. “Don’t create an emotion. Project your own feelings. That should be easier to do.”

She took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. A few minutes passed, but I felt no emotion coming from her. I wanted to say something and help her, but I was afraid I would distract her.

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