Page 283 of My Unexpected Mate

“I am fine,” I lied.

“Are you?” Annie sighed. “You can talk to me, Gabriel.”

I looked at her. She was looking at me with sadness in her eyes. She had dried paint on her shirt. She has been painting a lot more lately. It was her escape from all the shit around us.

“What did you paint?” I asked, ignoring her earlier statement.

“A mountain this time,” she said.

She loved to paint nature. Forest especially. I guess that is because she was a wolf. Forest calmed her down. She also painted beaches, meadows, and mountains, apparently.

I hummed in response.

“You can’t get out of not answering me, Gabriel,” she sighed. “Talk to me, please.”

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. “There is nothing to talk about. I am fine.”

I could feel her burning gaze on the side of my face.

“You are afraid,” she said quietly. “It is okay to be afraid.”

I took a deep breath and looked at her. “I am not afraid.”

She sighed and looked down at her lap. “Well, I am.”

I narrowed my eyes on her. “Why?”

She fidgeted with her fingers, not looking up at me. “I am afraid we won’t be able to defeat him.”

I sighed and looked away. “We will win.”

I knew I didn’t sound very convincing. I guess that was because Aria was not here. I let my guard down when she was not around. I could never let her know how afraid I was.

I could feel Annie’s eyes back on my face. “I know you are afraid, Gabriel. It is okay to be afraid. We have a lot to lose.”

“I have everything to lose,” I mumbled, not looking at her.

“Nothing will happen to her,” she said quietly.

My heart clenched painfully. Just thinking about her getting hurt made me sick. I didn’t know what I would do if he took her again. I wouldn’t survive this time. The time away from her was painful, physically, mentally, and emotionally painful. I couldn’t go through that again. I can’t see her hurting again. I couldn’t let her die. It would kill me. I wouldn’t be able to move on without her.

I clenched my fists and stayed silent. I didn’t want to talk about this. I can’t talk about this. Not with Annie, not with anyone. I knew that Annie wanted to help. But I didn’t need her help. I needed her to leave me alone.

“Annie, please,” I said as calmly as I could. “I don’t want to talk about this. I need to be alone.”

From the corner of my eye, I saw Annie studying me carefully. She wanted to say something else. She wanted to make me talk. But she didn’t, and I was grateful.

She sighed and stood up. She walked over to me and hugged me from behind. I placed my arm on top of hers.

“I am always here if you want to talk,” she mumbled before letting me go.

I nodded. “Thank you.”

She didn’t respond. I heard her walking out of my room.

I continued thinking about Victor. I wished we knew more about his strategy. I wished we knew more about him. It would be easier to predict his attack.

I was startled when somebody knocked on my bedroom door. I turned around to see my sister smiling at me.

---