AGThanksgiving_JCSmith (7 page)

He wiped the tears from his
eyes and reached for her, wrapping his arms around her waist. He buried his
face against her stomach and breathed her in.

“I don’t know what to do,
Kiera. Not a day goes by that I don’t wish you were still with me.”

“It was my time to go,
Gabriel. At first, I was angry and sad because I didn’t want to leave you. But
then the angels showed me what my life would have been like if I had stayed, if
I had survived.”

He lifted his gaze. “Was it so
terrible that you would prefer death?”

“I would have died anyway,”
she said. “Had I lived, Autumn wouldn’t be the only royal heir left. The
outcast fairies would have come for our children and me. In the dead of night,
they would have killed us all, and then they would have found Autumn, who would
have been defenseless.”

“I don’t understand.”

She smiled. “Autumn is your
destiny, Gabriel. I loved you with all my heart, and we had a happy life
together. But I was never meant to stay on earth for long. It was my destiny to
show you that you had more love in your heart than any man has a right to. And
it was my destiny to make you aware of Halflings. Because of me, you recognized
Autumn’s scent.”

“I can’t believe that I was
destined to love you only to lose you. God wouldn’t be that cruel.”

Her fingers smoothed his hair
again in long, calming strokes. “God has a great plan for you, Gabriel. Autumn
and you. The two of you together will bring about great things.”

“What things?”

“You will have many children
together, if you ever fully open your heart to her. Your firstborn son will be
the next alpha, a man even greater than his father and a truly wonderful
leader. Your first daughter will become the queen of the fae, ruling with a
fair hand and beloved by her people for hundreds of years.”

“Why are you telling me this?
It should be
Radha
and you by my side. I’d have
preferred dying with you rather than living without you.”

She frowned at him. “That is
the most selfish thing I’ve ever heard you say. Would you truly leave Autumn
without a way to defend herself? Until you give her permission to love the way
she yearns to, her powers will stay locked away. Unlike me, she will have great
defensive powers, powers that will aid her against the outcasts. Without those
powers…”

“What happens if she doesn’t
have her powers?”

“She dies and the outcasts
will take over the fae realm. Even now, they have my grandfather in their
grasp. It’s only a matter of time before he dies. But if Autumn fights back and
wins, he will be freed and will rule until your daughter is ready to claim her
rightful place on the throne.”

Gabriel shook his head. “It’s
too much. Too unbelievable.”

“I can’t force you to listen
to me, Gabriel, but you should listen to your instincts. I know they’ve been
telling you to claim Autumn as your own. You’re a wonderful alpha. Don’t doubt
yourself now.”

“I want you back,” he said softly.

Kiera caressed his cheek.
“We’ll be together again one day, but not now. You have a job to do, a life to
live. It isn’t your time yet.”

He pressed his cheek into her
palm and closed his eyes. “I love you, Kiera. I’ll always love you.”

“I love you, too. And for the
record, you were right. I do like Autumn and she’s exactly who I would have
chosen for you. She needs you, but you need her just as much. Let go of your
grief, Gabriel, before it takes over your life. Love her the way you loved me,
with your whole heart.”

He opened his eyes. “That’s
truly what you want?”

“More than anything. You
deserve to be happy again. Stop thinking that you failed me and stop worrying
that you’ll fail her. Take things one day at a time, but remember what’s
coming. Protect her, Gabriel. She’s your future.”

Remiel pulled Kiera away.
“It’s time to go. I’ve allowed you more time than I should have.”

Gabriel stood and leaned
forward, pressing his lips to Kiera’s one last time. As she pulled away, he
felt something inside of him release, and a weight lift from his shoulders. He
watched as she disappeared, a smile on her face. At that moment, Gabriel felt
more peace than he had in months. Suddenly, everything felt like it was falling
into place. Kiera had given him a mission and he was going to see it through.

Chapter Eight

Autumn sat in the living room
working on her latest novel. Chloe and Michael had dropped her off at the house
nearly an hour ago and still there was no sign of Gabriel. She’d thought he was
coming home, but the house had been empty when she arrived. If Michael hadn’t
had a key, she’d have been locked out. She wasn’t upset, just worried. She
hoped her confession hadn’t done more harm than good. Maybe she should have
just kept her mouth shut. What good had it done to tell him she had feelings
for him? It was stupid.

She stared at the blank
screen, begging the words to come to her, but her mind couldn’t focus on the
story. She wondered where Gabriel was and when he would return. Or if he would
return. What if she’d finally pushed him over the edge and he’d decided to
leave Ashton Grove? She’d never know if he’d removed things from his room.
Guilt ate at her.

Giving up on her story, she
closed the laptop and went to sit on the front porch. A large wooden crate sat
at the top of the steps and she wondered when it had been delivered. She hadn’t
heard a truck, but then she’d been lost in her thoughts. Autumn tugged on it,
but it was too heavy for her to budge. Stepping around it, she sat on the steps
and watched the cars pass by. One of the mechanics across the street waved to
her and she lifted her hand in response.

A rumble coming up the street
drew her gaze and she watched as Gabriel came into view on his motorcycle. He
pulled into the driveway, turned off the bike, and put down the kickstand. As
he approached her, he pulled off his sunglasses and hung them from the front of
his shirt.

His gaze strayed to the crate
behind her. “What’s in the box?”

“I don’t know. It wasn’t here
when I got home, but when I came out a few minutes ago I found it. I tried to
tug it into the house, but it was too heavy.”

He looked down at her again.
“I’m sorry for taking off the way I did. There were some things I needed to
sort out.”

“Do you feel better now?”

“I do.” He smiled. “I feel
better than I have in a long time.”

“I can still pack and move
back to the apartment, if you want.”

Gabriel shook his head.
“You’re right where you’re supposed to be. It just took me a while to reconcile
my head and my heart. They’ve been at war with one another since you showed up
on my doorstep, but I think I have it all figured out now.”

She frowned, feeling more than
a little confused.

Gabriel reached down and
tugged on her hand, lifting her to her feet. Even standing on the bottom step,
she still wasn’t as tall as him. She looked up into his eyes and her heart
nearly stopped at what she saw there, or what she thought she saw. It wasn’t
necessarily love, but there was definitely affection there. She didn’t know
what had happened while he was gone, but he seemed lighter, happier.

“There’s something I’ve wanted
to do all week,” he said, gripping her waist.

“What?”

He stepped closer. “This.”

Gabriel leaned down and
pressed his mouth against hers. It was just a soft brushing of their lips, but
Autumn felt the tingle all the way to her toes. Other than Perry, she’d only
ever been kissed one time, and this kiss far surpassed any that she’d ever had
before. It was like rainbows and stardust and…magic. Yes, it was pure magic.
When he pulled away, she found herself leaning toward him, not wanting the kiss
to end.

Her eyes opened and she looked
up at him in wonder. “What was that for?”

“I came to realize something
while I was gone this afternoon. It wasn’t just the scent of fae that I
recognized when you came to my house that day; it was the scent of a potential
mate for the pack. But over the past week, the more I thought about you being
with other guys, the more I realized I didn’t want to let you go.”

“So you want me to stay?”

“I want you to make this your
home, Autumn. I know that I’m no bargain, and I’m sure we still have a rough
road ahead of us, but I want you to think about something for me.”

“What?”

“I want you to consider being
my mate.” When she opened her mouth to respond, he held up a hand. “When Kiera
died, I thought that was it for me, that I’d had my shot at happiness. But
today, she told me that she wants me to move on, to be happy again.”

“Told you?”

He smiled. “That’s a long
story.”

“So you want me to be your
mate because Kiera told you to do it?”

“No. I want you to be my mate
because I enjoy our time together. Because I’ve wondered for the past week what
you would taste like when I kissed you. I want you to be mine because I can see
us growing old together and raising children together. But most of all, I want
you to be mine because of how much I care about you.
 
It may not be an all encompassing love, a
lightning strike that leaves you dazed, but there’s a warmth in my heart for
you, Autumn. It may not be the blazing passion you’ve dreamed of, but I do love
you.”

Autumn blinked back tears.

“Say something. Anything.” He
looked at her expectantly.

“When I told you how I felt
today, I thought I’d doomed our relationship, that you wouldn’t want anything
more to do with me. And now you’re telling me you want me to be your mate? It’s
all so sudden, so fast. I feel like my head is spinning.”

“We have time.”

She nodded and stepped up onto
the porch. “Why don’t you bring the box inside and we’ll see what’s in it?”

Gabriel smiled and climbed the
stairs, easily hefting the box in his arms and carrying it into the house. He
set it down in the front entry and pried an envelope off the lid.

Ornery
bastard made me work for it, but here are your blessed knives. There aren’t
enough for the pack so choose your guards wisely. Don’t make the same mistake
you made last time. Arm Autumn and make sure she knows how to use the blade.

Eric

Autumn read the note over his
shoulder. “I actually know how to fight with a knife.”

He looked at her in surprise.
“Where did you learn that?”

“It was the last thing my
father taught me. There were many times I wanted to use the skill to gut Perry,
but I always held back.”

“So you can protect yourself?”

“I’m not sure what good a
spelled blade will be against a fae’s magic, but in hand-to-hand combat I can
hold my own.”

Gabriel smiled. “Good. As for
the magic part, there’s a way around that.”

“What would that be?”

He hooked an arm around her
waist and tugged her closer. “You just have to allow yourself to fall in love
with your destined mate.”

“I’m scared to love you,
Gabriel. What if you wake up in the morning and change your mind?”

“I won’t,” he assured her.

“Give me some time to think it
over.”

“Take all the time you need,
Autumn. I’m not going anywhere.”

***

Gabriel had lain awake for an
hour after heading to bed that night, wondering if Autumn would put her faith
in him. He knew he had some baggage, but so did she. Since hearing of her
abusive past, he’d made sure he didn’t make any quick movements around her, not
wanting to scare her. He touched the scars running down his cheek. She said she
had feelings for him so obviously his appearance wasn’t off-putting. Which
meant it was Kiera and his love for her that stood in the way. Maybe telling
her that his dead wife had given him permission to move on hadn’t been the best
of ideas. The last thing he’d wanted her to believe was that he hadn’t desired
her before then. She’d been a temptation since she stepped foot into his house,
even if he’d been too blind to realize it at first.

He closed his eyes and took a
deep breath.
 

“Gabriel?”

Autumn’s soft voice pierced
the darkness and he leaned up on an elbow and looked toward the door.

“Everything okay?” he asked,
worried that something had scared her. He’d armed her with one of the blessed
blades, but that didn’t mean she was safe against the outcasts.

“Can we talk?”

He scooted over and sat up,
patting the empty space beside him. “Come on.”

Autumn slowly walked across
the room and used the little stool beside the bed to climb up. He’d bought it
for Kiera during her first pregnancy and hadn’t removed it. Now he was glad it
was there, even if he had stubbed his toe on it nearly every morning since it
had first graced his bedroom.

“Were you sleeping?” she
asked.

“No, I was just lying here.”

“I tried to sleep, but I couldn’t.
I kept seeing the look on your face when I told you I had feelings for you. You
ran from me as fast as you could, but then you reappear and suddenly you want
me as your mate.”

“I had some things to work
through. You have to understand. Kiera was my world. When she died, I told
myself I would never love again, never let anyone get that close to me. Then I
opened my door and there you were. My stubborn heart refused to recognize that
you were my mate, but I think my wolf knew. I’d thought all along that I was
protective of you because you were related to Kiera, but I think really I was
being that way because you’re mine. Even if you deny me and refuse to take me
as a mate, you’ll always be mine and I will always watch over you.”

She took his hand. “The
thought of being mated again scares me. I’ve only ever been intimate with Perry
and it was only a few times. I’ve never…” She blushed.

“You’ve never what?”

“I’ve never enjoyed being with
a man in bed. It was painful and messy. I always felt used afterward.”

“Autumn, it would never be
like that between us.”

“I know.” She looked at their
clasped hands. “After that kiss tonight, I know that I want more with you, but
the thought of forever scares me.”

“What are you asking for,
Autumn?”

She lifted her gaze to his.
“Would we have to mate right away? Or could we have a little more time?”

“Honey, we’re mates whether we
go through a ceremony or not. Nothing is going to change that. Is it the title
that scares you? Because I’m already bound to you in my heart. You couldn’t get
rid of me if you tried.”

“I guess everyone will know
we’re mates?”

“I’m going to announce it
soon. I don’t want those single males sniffing around you, trying to claim you
for themselves.”

“Could we…could we hold off on
the ceremony? Just for a little while? At least until the fairy situation is
taken care of. I know the sorcerer said if I was mated and pregnant the fairies
would back off, but I want them gone permanently. I don’t want them to return
as soon as our children are old enough to take over the throne.”

Gabriel caressed her hand with
his thumb. “We can hold off on the ceremony. But I’d really like it if you’d
start sleeping in here at night. If for no other reason than so I can watch
over you. We’re stronger together if the outcasts should attack.”

She nodded. “I feel like I
should make you work harder for this. For me.”

“You make me work as hard as
you want to.” He smiled. “Having you by my side will be worth the effort.”

She reached out and gently
traced the line of his jaw. “Are you sure you want me to stay in here tonight?”

“Tonight and every night.”

Gabriel realized in that
moment that he truly meant the words. Now that he wasn’t fighting his
attraction to her, he found that he looked forward to spending the rest of his
life with her. If what Kiera said was true, after the threat of the outcasts
passed, they would have a long and happy future together. He’d been given a
second chance and it would be foolish for him to waste it. Besides, Autumn
needed him, just as he needed her. He only hoped the fates weren’t cruel enough
to take her from him before they could start their future together.