Ruthless Heir: Chapter 37

By now, I’m used to waking up in strange places.

I’m used to opening my eyes and not having any idea where I am or what awaits me.

That’s why it’s so damn shocking when I open my eyes and instantly recognize the bed I’m lying in.

Sure, it takes me a second. My vision needs time to refocus as I slowly return from the twisted landscape of my unconscious. But even before I can see, I recognize the soft scent that surrounds me.

Vanilla, with the slightest hint of lavender.

The nostalgic fragrance washes over me like a calming wave. A hot towel for my aching body.

I’m home.

The first thing I can see clearly is my overloaded bookshelf. Half open textbooks are still spread out across my messy desk. Small mounds of unfolded clothes litter the floor by my shuttered closet doors.

This is my childhood bedroom.

It doesn’t look like it’s been touched since I was ripped from its comforting walls. The same comforting walls I once thought were so suffocating.

My head starts to pound as I’m suddenly bombarded by a flurry of painful memories.

Gabriel.

The vanilla-scented tranquility evaporates as I remember how his tight embrace went limp as we bled out together on that dark tunnel floor, hovering on the edge of a gaping hole.

He kissed me.

The electricity in his lips shocked me awake just long enough to look under his arm. To see Rian running towards us. To feel some small sliver of hope before I joined my dark king in the blackness.

Please be alright.

My sore heart flails behind my aching chest as I try to climb out of bed and find answers. But I’m immediately caught by a spiderweb of chords, tubes and IV bag-stands.

They twist around my frail body as I cry out with a helpless frustration.

In response, my bedroom door bursts open.

“Bianca, honey. You’re up!”

Mama?

My burning heart cools a little as she helps me navigate the tangled mess. When I’m free, I immediately fall into her arms.

“Mama!” I rasp. The relief of her embrace calms me right back down. But only for a moment. “Where is he? Please tell me he’s alright.”

My heart catches in my throat as I wait for a response.

I don’t dare breathe.

“Gabriel is fine,” Mama quickly assures me. “At least, he is now. That boy survived some nasty injuries. Hell, when I saw him I wasn’t sure… oh well, never mind that. We put him into surgery. Auntie Elisa and her team gave him the best care anyone could ever ask for. And he’s been up and about for two days now. In fact, since the moment he got out of surgery, he’s been sitting by your bed side. It was only about an hour ago that Dad and Rian managed to finally pull him out of here.”

Tears well up in my eyes.

“Can I see him?” I choke.

“Yes. Yes. I’ll go fetch him,” Mama says. “But don’t you want to see your cousin and your dad too?”

“Yes, of course,” I nod, wiping away the tears. “I’d like to see everyone.”

It’s been such a long time.

But the truth is, Gabriel is who I want to see the most. And it’s not just because I’m so relieved he survived.

No. It’s because right now, I’m too sore and tired to pretend. And Gabriel is the only person in this world who truly knows who I am.

My parents won’t understand. And when they find out what I’ve become, they’ll demand an explanation. So will Rian.

But I don’t have to explain shit to Gabriel.

My dark wolf was there for my entire transformation. He was right by my side for the whole thing.

He was helping me. Teaching me.

Loving me.

“Sit back down, honey. Please,” Mama begs. “I’ll go get everyone. They’re all in Dad’s office.”

“Dad’s office?” I ask, raising a heavy brow. “Does… does that mean they’re all getting along?”

Mama shrugs. “Well, they’re trying—some harder than others. At the very least, they’ve started working together.”

“On what?” I gulp, remembering Krol’s words. This isn’t over. Drago is still out there.

Mama just sighs. “I’ll let the boys explain it. I’ve been too pre-occupied with looking after you to get too involved with that side of things.”

“Alright,” I nod.

“I love you sweetie,” Mama says. Tilting her head to the side, she gives me a long deep look. A smile fills her face. “I’m so happy you’re feeling better.”

“So am I,” I smile back, weakly. “I love you too, Mama.”

“Now, you take it easy while I go herd everyone.”

Mama makes sure I’m back in bed before she turns to open the door.

But she’s hardly even stepped foot in the hall before a new presence suddenly appears in the doorway.

My heart stops at the sight of him.

“Gabriel!”

“Bianca?”

I’ve never heard my big bad wolf sound so shocked. He can only stare at me as I jump up from my bed, desperate to feel him again.

But my body is not ready for such rapid movements.

A dizzy spell quickly wraps around my skull. My knees go weak.

Gabriel springs forward, effortlessly catching me before I fall.

“You’re alright,” I whisper, looking up at him.

Those stunning hazel-green eyes slowly come back into focus. They’re just as sharp as ever.

My heart flutters.

“I am now,” Gabriel smiles, his dimples deepening.

All of my aches and pains dissolve.

“So am I.”

Behind us, I hear Mama gently shut the door, leaving us alone—if even just for a moment.

“I hear you’re finally getting along with my family,” I whisper, tears welling up in my eyes again.

“I’m trying to.”

“How brave of you.”

“Anything for my queen.”

Queen.

I know Gabriel is just trying to be cute, but the word serves as a stark reminder of just how much I’ve changed since the two of us first disappeared together.

No one in my family knows the kind of person I’ve become; the violence I’ve delivered; the lives I’ve taken.

They will have to learn. I’m not the fragile little princess they used to shelter.

“And what do they think about that?” I mutter. “You know, about me being a queen… and your wife.”

Taking my hand, Gabriel traces his fingers over my thorny ring.

“They try to ignore it,” he admits. “At the very least, I think they’d like us to have a more traditional wedding.”

“Would you do that?”

“I don’t need any kind of ceremony to know that you’re mine,” Gabriel grumbles. “But maybe you deserve to be spoiled a little, after all I’ve put you through.”

“I’ve been spoiled enough in my life,” I sigh, pursing my lips.

“Then what do you want to do instead of a big wedding?” Gabriel smirks.

“I want to conquer. I want to rule. I want to kill. And I want to fuck you.”

“I can arrange that.”

I can’t help but giggle as Gabriel slips his hand down to the small of my back and dips me.

“I love you, Bianca,” he says, those hazel-green eyes reaching deep into my heart.

“I love you, Gabriel.”

When we kiss, the electricity of his lips jumpstarts my heart one more time. Just like that, I’m ready to do anything. I want to do everything.

Still, when our lips fall apart, I can’t help but stare up into those hazel-green eyes for just a little bit longer.

“Have we figured out our last name yet?” I find myself asking.

Lifting my hand to Gabriel’s impossibly gorgeous face, I softly trace a finger over his fading bruises, before landing on the B I tattooed beneath his eye.

To my surprise, a troubling look flashes across his face, before he erases it by kissing me again.

“Let’s not worry about that right now,” he whispers into my mouth. “Let’s just worry about getting you back on your feet.”

“I’d rather you sweep me off of them,” I whisper back, biting my lower lip.

The heat of Gabriel’s hard body has already seeped beneath my skin. A familiar pressure is growing in my core.

“How naughty,” Gabriel growls. “You want me right here? In your childhood bedroom? Under your parents noses?”

“Feels like we’re back in high school again, huh?” I giggle.

“No,” Gabriel says, suddenly serious. “This is nothing like that, myszko. This is real life. This is real love. Fuck the past, Bianca. I say we burn it. All that matters is the future. What do you say?”

“I say yes.”

“That’s my girl.”

Without any regard for my still fragile body, Gabriel picks me up and tackles me onto the bed.

Before I can scream with excitement or pain, he wraps his hand around my mouth.

Then, he spreads his other hand out across my stomach.

The implication is clear.

For a moment, we just stop and stare down at my belly. It represents a reality that neither of us have had the time to properly process yet—at least, not together.

I’m pregnant.

The reminder steals my breath away.

There is no greater responsibility than being a parent. Not even ruling an empire can compare.

But I’m not scared.

Because it’s not just me against the world anymore.

No. I’ve got Gabriel backing me up now.

Well, actually, I’ve got more than just Gabriel backing me up.

Despite their initial—and understandable—disapproval, I know my family will always have my back too.

Hell, it already sounds like everybody’s working hard to get along with each other. Sure, that might take some time, but I have hope. So much fucking hope.

And that’s not even all I have.

As Gabriel peppers my neck with soft kisses, I’m filled with an overwhelming sense of happiness.

It’s the same kind of happiness I found back at that hidden cabin in the woods. The one where I started to finally believe in myself.

But as my toes curl and my nipples harden, I realize something I hadn’t back then.

This happiness is not as fragile as I first thought it was. Because I didn’t actually find it in that cabin.

I didn’t find it in the seclusion of the woods, or in the freedom of finally being free of my overbearing family. I didn’t find it in the barrel of my gun or in the guts of that drug dealer.

I found it in Gabriel.

He was right there by my side the whole time.

And that’s all I needed.

It’s all I’ll ever need.

Hell, from now on, it won’t matter where I am, or even what I do. As long as we’re together, I know I’ll be happy.

I know I’ll be supported. I know I’ll be protected.

I know I’ll be loved.

And with all that on my side, who’s to say I can’t take over the fucking world?