"Alie! Gabriel!"
Karn instantly stood up from the armchair as he saw them entering the room. He saw that both of their faces held deeply troubled, exhausted expressions.
"Is Noah asleep?" Alie asked imdiately, concern for her son overriding her own pain. "I hope he didn’t trouble you, Karn. Thank you a lot for taking care of him."
"Noah was missing you both terribly. He wept a lot of tis while you were gone," Karn stated honestly. "But I managed to put him to sleep sohow, a little while ago," he asserted. His gaze moved to Gabriel, who didn’t look like himself at all. Karn could feel a profound, heavy weight radiating from Gabriel. The visible marks of fresh tears on his cheeks worried Karn deeply. However, he felt instinctively that it wasn’t the right ti to press for answers.
"You two should both take so rest now. I’ll see you both tomorrow in the morning." With that, Karn quietly left the room, closing the door softly behind him.
Alie checked on Noah, and gently placed her warm hand on his head before turning to Gabriel.
"What are you thinking?" she asked, already knowing the answer but needing to hear it.
"I will make her pay," Gabriel stated with resolution. "Let’s go to sleep." He moved to the cradle and saw Noah was soundly asleep, the sight of their son offering a small asure of peace.
Alie leaned her head softly on Gabriel’s arm and continued, "You suffered so much in my absence in that past life. I’m so sorry for leaving you like that. I promised you that I would always be by your side, but I couldn’t keep it up."
"You did keep it, my love. You kept your promise until the very end," Gabriel muttered, gently pulling her closer. "But that evil witch didn’t let us live in peace then. She won’t win this ti," he vowed, his jaw clenching with renewed determination.
Then, turning to her fully, his hands firmly held her arms. "Alie, we are together in this life and that’s what matters. And this ti, no one can separates us." He pulled her into his embrace, her head resting against his chest, getting the much-needed comfort and warmth.
~~~~
Carlos gazed softly at his grandmother, Ravenna, who was finally able to fall asleep. Her strength had diminished significantly after maintaining the delicate ti-link for so long.
Taking a deep, steadying breath, he carefully stepped out of his grandmother’s room and made his way to the garden to take so fresh, cool air. Looking up at the dark sky filled with countless stars, he simply rembered the good, peaceful mories, silently praying for his grandmother’s swift relief.
His eyes shifted as he tilted his head and noticed Gabriel standing nearby.
"Why aren’t you asleep, Gabriel?" Carlos asked gently, approaching the Alpha. "What about Alie?"
"She is asleep," Gabriel replied, his eyes fixed on the distant stars. "How’s grandmother? I know she’s gotten too weak." He then looked at Carlos.
"At the mont, she’s sleeping," Carlos replied, confirming Alie’s condition. "You suffered a lot, Gabriel. I saw it, the mories were agonizing."
"I suffered hell," Gabriel corrected in a heavy voice. "Ophelia’s daughter tried to kill Alie with a silver dagger. All I did was eliminate the threat to my mate, but her mad mother ruined our lives. She ford the eternal curse using our respective blood. I have to go to Aurevalis now; I believe the remaining answers and the ans to defeat Ophelia are there."
As Gabriel explained the terrifying past and his imdiate plan, Carlos listened quietly, understanding the profound weight of the revelation.
"It’s strange how fate plays out, isn’t it?" Carlos remarked, gazing into the distance, contemplating the interweaving of their lives across ti.
"Yeah," Gabriel agreed, nodding. "Carlos, thanks to you and especially your grandmother, this realization was even possible. If you both weren’t here, we wouldn’t have been able to find the answers we need to fight this curse."
Carlos smiled genuinely, feeling the strength of their shared purpose. "The fate brought right to you and Alie."
"Yes. You should go and rest. You’re tired too," Gabriel suggested, recognizing the exhaustion beneath Carlos’s calm deanor.
"I’m unable to fall asleep right now," Carlos stated honestly, still concerned for his grandmother. He looked at the mansion. "Alie may get worried if she doesn’t find you in the room when she wakes up." He gently patted Gabriel’s shoulder. "Good night, Gabriel." He then walked in the other direction, heading to check on his grandmother one last ti.
Gabriel took out the phone from his pocket as he walked back toward the mansion and quickly typed a concise ssage on it to soone. There were many unread ssages already reflecting on the device, from his brothers and parents, but he chose to ignore them all for the mont.
Heading back to the room, he quietly slid into the blanket beside Alie. His eyes remained fixed on her peaceful face, thinking nurous things in his mind.
Shutting his eyes, Gabriel slowly drifted off to sleep, finally finding a brief abyss of peace after the long, emotional night.
He jolted awake soti later, feeling soft, tiny hands patting his face, and opened his eyes.
"Pa!"
Noah’s soft voice imdiately drew his full attention. The toddler was patting his tiny hands enthusiastically on Gabriel’s face.
"My boy!" Gabriel smiled, sitting up instantly and lifting Noah into his arms, inhaling the comforting scent of soap and baby powder. "Did you already have a bath, boy?" Gabriel didn’t find Alie around, realizing she must be in the washroom.
Noah wriggled his legs excitedly, his hands flailing happily in the air as Gabriel raised him a little high over his head, causing the boy to giggle in pure joy.
Gabriel brought the boy close and kissed on his forehead. "Noah, I’m glad you ca into our lives. If it weren’t you, I would have never t Alie. Papa loves you a lot. A lot."
Noah smiled joyfully, bringing a comfort to Gabriel’s restless heart.
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