"When we were young, we made mistakes," Casaio began, his voice turning soft with mory. "We were always afraid Mom would punish us if we ever raised our voices. Over ti, silence just felt safer than provoking her."
Karn quietly topped off Gabriel’s wine, then leaned back into her chair, choosing to stay silent and let the three brothers speak freely.
"I think Mom is planning sothing," Gabriel said, swirling the wine in his glass. "It’s too quiet... and her silence is what disturbs . I’ll let go of everything that happened in the past, if you both help tonight."
Casaio and Dominick exchanged a long look.
"You really think Mom doesn’t want you to marry Alie?" Dominick asked, his brow rising in skepticism. "I think you’re reading too much into this. She supervised every detail of the wedding preparations from morning till evening."
Gabriel raised the glass to his lips, pausing just before drinking. "That’s exactly what worries . What if it’s her way of pretending everything’s fine, masking her true intentions?"
Casaio frowned, clearly puzzled. "But why would she try to stop your marriage to Alie? What reason would she even have?"
Gabriel didn’t answer. He turned quiet, lost in thought.
’Because she knows my past. That high priestess told her more than she’s ever said on my face. She’s hiding sothing from ... sothing I haven’t yet uncovered,’ he thought grimly.
Noticing his brother’s silence, Casaio finally sighed, resigned. "All right. What do you want us to do?"
Gabriel looked up at them. "Stay at the hotel tonight. I’ve already sent Denzel there, but I need soone stronger and powerful, just in case sothing happens. I would’ve gone myself, but with incoming rut, I’ve decided to remain at the estate."
"Fine. We’ll head to the hotel," Casaio said, finishing the last of the wine in his glass. Dominick downed the remaining of his drink as well, and the two brothers rose from their seats.
"If you can’t keep your rut in check, take a shot," Casaio advised. "You’ll need to stay in control during the wedding processions." Then, with a firr tone, he instructed Karn, "Make sure he gets the shot."
He exited first, Dominick following silently behind.
Karn walked over and quietly shut the door. When she turned back, Gabriel was seated, rubbing his temples.
"I’ll bring the shot for you," she offered gently.
"No, that’s not necessary," Gabriel replied. "I’m fine. If I take a shot now, it can be worst for since I am not like the other alphas," he stated.
Karn nodded and sat quietly across from him.
"You think the Queen may stop you from marrying Alie. I think you are overly doubtful of your own mother," Karn said.
"You’ve no idea to what extent my mother can go to fulfill what she desires," Gabriel replied with his knitted brows.
~~~~~
Alie woke in the middle of the night, feeling thirsty. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she reached for the glass of water by her bedside and took a few sips. She checked the clock and found it was just past one in the morning.
"There’s still ti before dawn," she murmured to herself.
A sudden craving for sothing spicy stirred in her stomach. With a soft sigh, Alie pushed the covers aside and got out of bed.
"These pregnancy cravings..." she muttered under her breath as she made her way to the spacious living room of the suite. She picked up the landline, ready to place an order, when the sound of footsteps made her freeze.
Alie turned around, but didn’t find anyone around. "Am I hearing voices?" she murmured.
As she focused back on dialing the room service number, she again felt soone’s presence. Her eyes scanned her surroundings. There was a man in the mask right behind her with a handkerchief in his hand.
As Alie slowly pivoted on her feet, the masked man with gloved hands appeared right before her eyes. In a fraction of a second, he held her by the neck. But before he could bring the handkerchief to her nose, a hand landed on his chest, shoving him a few ters away.
The next instant, the lights turned on!
Alie found Casaio and Dominick standing in front of her, her heart thundering against her chest.
The masked man ran straight into the balcony. Casaio rushed after him, but before he could catch him, the man jumped off.
Casaio looked down the balustrade and saw the man had disappeared into the night. Returning to the room, he closed the balcony behind him and saw Alie on the sofa chair.
"He ran away before I could catch him," Casaio stated.
"He accidentally dropped this," Dominick said, showing the handkerchief to his brother. "It has a strong scent of chloroform," he added.
"The security is tight. How could soone enter in?" Alie murmured, her whole body was trembling in fear.
"Where’s your mother and sister? And Katelyn?" Casaio asked sharply.
"They’re sleeping in the room," Alie answered. "Kate is in the room next to mine."
"Go check on them. We don’t have any female here who can do that," he said.
Alie nodded and walked to the bedrooms. She peeked into her mother and sister’s room—Samyra and Flora were still asleep. She quietly shut the door and moved to Katelyn’s room, finding the princess peacefully sleeping as well.
She returned to the living room, where Casaio and Dominick awaited her.
"They all are in the rooms, sleeping," Alie inford them. "But how did you two–"
"Gabriel asked us," Dominick replied.
"Luckily, we were on ti. We sensed the presence of a male wolf, so we ca in imdiately. The door was open," Casaio explained her further with a serious tone.
"What?" Alie exclaid in shock, learning the door was open, but how? "Thank you," she murmured, lowering her eyes.
However, one thing she realized was there were more forces, who didn’t want her to be by Gabriel’s side. No one could enter the room, except for those who had the keycard.
"Soone from the hotel staff must be behind it," Alie said.
"We will investigate later. You should go to bed," Casaio advised her. "We will stay here until the morning," he added.
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