"What has made you so suddenly quiet?" Gabriel asked as he looked at Sage.
"Kate doesn’t want . And honestly, that makes furious right now," Sage replied.
"What do you an?" Gabriel stopped in the act of lowering himself onto a garden chair, his brow furrowed. Sage settled across from him on the other chair. "She seems to have developed genuine feelings for you. I thought you two were connecting."
"What? No!" Sage let out a short laugh, shaking his head dismissively. "I just overheard how she’s judging for my past. Was it wrong to date freely and casually to be with anyone I found attractive and agreeable? I was honest about that, Gabriel. I didn’t feel any deep, emotional connection with anyone. It was purely physical, about shared pleasure. Can’t Kate look past that and see the man I am now?"
Gabriel sighed, choosing his words carefully. "Sage, you have to understand her context. Kate has been single, and she’s incredibly guarded when it cos to relationships. To her, the way you moved from one woman to the next, no matter how honest you were, could easily make you seem like a commitnt risk or, to be blunt, less than a ’good man’ in her highly selective view."
He paused, gathering a final thought. "Perhaps she fears your past lifestyle will ’haunt’ the future you might build together that your nature is fundantally incompatible with her desire for stability. Honestly, even I don’t fully grasp what Kate desires. She’s so indecisive and cautious about making major choices for her own happiness."
"We are mates, Gabriel, yet she can’t seem to look past a few past indiscretions to see the genuine feelings I have developed for her now! To make matters worse, she brought up my family, essentially asking: ’If I can’t even stand up to them, how will I ever stand up for ?’" Sage’s voice rose with genuine pain. "I feel utterly disappointed, even betrayed. Why would the Moon Goddess choose her for ? If she doesn’t refuse this marriage, I will!"
Gabriel t his friend’s gaze steadily, his own expression grim. "She’s not wrong, Sage."
Sage recoiled as if struck by lightning. "You should be on my side! I’m your friend!" He started, before the reality of the situation cooled his anger. He slumped slightly, murmuring, "Of course. Kate is your sister."
"This isn’t about loyalty; it’s about giving you an unbiased, necessary truth," Gabriel insisted, leaning forward. "When was the last ti you truly stood against your father? Or that stepmother? They have systematically made your life miserable, and they will absolutely use Kate to try and gain favor with the Alpha King. You know this."
Gabriel’s voice dropped to a serious tone. "You need to ask yourself a hard question: If a situation arises where Kate’s safety and your future together is on the line, how are you honestly going to protect her? Or even protect yourself? No matter how annoying or difficult Kate can be, she is my sister. I won’t stand by and watch her suffer because you lack the strength to fight for the life you claim you want. You need to internalize that before you talk about refusing a mate bond."
Sage knitted his brows together. "I’m not refusing a mate bond. But Kate is. I’ve been tolerating her for a while. But what she said to Alie so easily shows that she still judges , which aches my heart. All I wanted Kate’s understanding, but she refused to give it."
Gabriel didn’t say anything. "Do what you feel is right. But let tell you one thing: If you love Kate, then learn to hold her like a gentleman."
~~~~
Dominick stopped outside the barred cell and gazed at Juniper. She was lying on the narrow, tiled cot, her face starkly pale, her lips chapped and dry. In just a single night under arrest, she looked frail like a sick, defeated woman.
Evan, his Beta, drew up beside him, his expression serious.
"Prince Gabriel was right, Alpha." Evan’s tone was low. "Miss Juniper had absolutely no knowledge of the money being transferred to that beta hunters group. I dug deep, and the truth is far worse."
Evan extended a navy blue file toward Dominick.
"The account was created by one of her older brothers when Juniper was less than eighteen years old. He ticulously set it up in her na. What’s crucial to know is that the financial card she was supposedly given was blocked and rendered useless the mont she was thrown out of the Vittileo family ho."
Evan paused for a brief mont before continuing, "I even tracked down the records of the orphanage where she lived for six years before being adopted as the daughter of the Vittileo family. Her connection to this family has been nothing but a source of pain and manipulation."
This continuation solidifies Dominick’s internal conflict—his lingering affection and guilt mixed with his deep-seated resentnt over her perceived deception and ambition.
"But why did she hide it from ?" Dominick muttered, his voice laced with confusion and betrayal, his gaze still fixed on Juniper’s frail form. "Everyone in that house hid the truth so well. She was once my mate, my other half, yet she never once trusted with her truth."
He snapped out of his contemplation and issued orders. "Arrest her brothers imdiately. All of them involved in this sche. Also, release Juniper. Have her transported to the sa house where Prince Gabriel was keeping her."
Evan simply nodded, understanding the nature of the command.
Dominick tore his eyes away from the cell, clutching the navy blue file tightly as he walked out. He climbed into his car and leaned back heavily against the leather seat. He hesitated a mont before forcing himself to open the file.
As he scanned the details of Juniper’s life. The report stated that Juniper had been rejected by fifty different families just before her adoption could be finalized.
’Was this the reason you craved power so fiercely?’ Dominick thought. ’You were shunned by the world and the family you eventually got didn’t treat you any better.’
A muscle twitched in his jaw. ’But you should have trusted . You should have told the truth! You shouldn’t have let your ambition and greed blind you. Today, you haven’t just ruined yourself, you’ve ruined as well.’
Reviews
All reviews (0)