Chapter 22

Gabriel

I sensed something was off when Ellie declined dessert. By the time we reached home, she had retreated into herself.

I was desperate to understand what was bothering her, but I knew that pushing her would only make her retreat further.

When she feigned sleep, my worry deepened, but I played along.

I could tell she was planning something. Generally, when someone is scared, they either fight or flee. She didn’t fight. She didn’t even question me. That was unlike her.

She was always so inquisitive.

Perhaps revealing what was going to happen had been too much. But it wouldn’t have been as bad as taking her to the ceremony without any prior knowledge. That would have been too traumatic.

So, I sat in the chair in the dark, starting to believe I was mistaken. She wasn’t going to run.

Then I heard it—the faint sound of the door opening. Smart girl, she didn’t close it. That would have tipped me off. Then the nearly silent sound of her bare feet padding across the floor.

Then I saw her. Still in her nightgown, barefoot. She hadn’t thought this through. She would freeze outside in just a thin nightgown.

She was almost at the front door when I spoke.

“Going somewhere, Ellie?”

She froze, as if rooted to the spot. Then she looked at me, terror etched on her face.

I felt a pang of disappointment. I thought she had started to trust me. She’d even shared some things about her past. Why was she suddenly so afraid of me?

I gently motioned for her to come to me.

I was taken aback when she stepped backwards. As if I was someone who intended to harm her.

She glanced at me, then at the front door. I could see her weighing the option of making a run for it.

If she had, it would have scared her even more because the front door was locked.

“Come here, Ellie,” I ordered, using my Alpha command.

She took another step back and shook her head.

That surprised me. In theory, no one should be able to resist my Alpha command. Not unless they had Alpha blood in them, and even then it would be a struggle.

I stood up, the corners of my mouth lifting in a hint of a smile.

“Well, there’s a surprise. You can resist an Alpha command,” I mumbled.

I watched as she was about to take another step back, not realizing she was only about an inch from the wall.

“P...please...I...I’m sorry,” she stammered.

I started to walk towards her, wanting to comfort her. Wanting to understand why she was suddenly feeling this way. We’d been making so much progress.

I stopped in my tracks. I watched her as she slid down the wall, her knees pulled into her chest. But that wasn’t the worst part. The way her small arms covered her head as she cowered and trembled.

She thought I was going to hurt her!

“I...I know I’ve been bad,” she stammered, “I...I won’t tell anyone...I...I promise,” she stuttered.

I walked over and crouched down.

“It’s ok, pickle,” I soothed, “no one’s going to hurt you, sweetheart.”

I gently wrapped my arms around her. She flinched, but I ignored it, as I picked her up.

Her tiny body was shaking, and she stiffened as a muffled cry escaped her lips.

I carried her over to the chair where I had been sitting before, and settled her on my lap. Her arms were still wrapped around her head.

I gently peeled them away.

Lifting her chin with my finger, I looked into her blue eyes. They were wide, like a deer caught in headlights.

They shimmered with unshed tears that could spill over at any moment, joining the trail of those on her cheeks that she had already shed.

“Why do you think you’ve been bad, Ellie?” I asked.

She closed her eyes, trying to hold back more tears. It didn’t work as they forced their way through her lashes.

She shook her head.

“He told you...No one was supposed to know...Now I’ll be punished,” she sobbed.

I suddenly understood what she was talking about. Who she was talking about.

I gently stroked her hair and held her close to me.

“It wasn’t your fault, Ellie. They shouldn’t have done that to you. Erik knows that, and I know it too. No one is going to punish you, sweetheart,” I soothed.

She shook her head, “He will, he said he would. He’ll find me and he’ll hurt me.”

I sighed and kissed the top of her head.

“He has no power over you now, Ellie. I wasn’t going to tell you this until you were older, but I think you need to know now. You’re protected. You’re not entirely human. You're half werewolf.

“One of your parents was a werewolf.”

She pulled away from me. Terror was written all over her face.

“It’s ok, Ellie. It means you're one of us. It means that you’re younger than you thought. When the time comes and your wolf emerges, it means that we can be here for you, help you adjust.”

She stared at me and shook her head.

“N...No, you can’t say that...I’m going to die now,” she screamed.

I gently rubbed her back.

“Of course you’re not going to die. I know that it’s a lot to take in, but it means you belong here. You belong with us, your own kind.”

She shook her head vigorously, all color drained from her face.

“N...No. You don’t understand. He told me. He told me if anyone finds out he would find me. He said he would find me and kill me.”