Nightmares at Everglade Falls

22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Gabriel

Then

I spot Isabella as soon as she walks into the school. She looks lost, vulnerable. My heart clenches. I need to talk to her.

“Isabella, we need to talk,” I say, walking up to her. Her eyes are red, puffy from crying.

“Can we talk in your room?” she asks, her voice shaky. I shake my head, leading her into a deserted classroom. The walk is silent, tense.

As soon as we get inside, she breaks down, tears streaming down her face. I can’t help but feel a pang of tenderness. Despite everything, she was once someone I cared deeply about.

“What happened?” I ask, my voice gentle.

Isabella’s sobs wrack her body as she struggles to compose herself, her teardrops staining the floor beneath her. She takes a deep, shuddering breath before speaking, her voice thick with emotion.

“My family... they found out about our breakup,” she begins, her words barely audible through her tears. “And they... they’re trying to arrange for me to be someone else’s luna.”

The weight of her words hangs heavy in the air, and I can feel my chest tighten with anger and disbelief. Isabella continues, her voice trembling with fear and uncertainty.

“They... they want to marry me off to an older, ruthless man,” she chokes out, her words faltering as she struggles to hold back her tears. “His name is Victor Thornwood. He’s known for mistreating women, for... for using them like pawns in his twisted game. His last wife died of mysterious causes but there are speculations that he killed her. He fucking killed her.”

The image of Isabella, trapped in a loveless marriage with a man who sees her as nothing more than a possession, fills me with a deep sense of dread. I reach out to her, my heart breaking for the pain she’s enduring.

“I’m so sorry, Isabella,” I say softly, my voice filled with remorse. “No one deserves to be treated like that.”

Isabella looks up at me, her eyes swimming with tears. “I don’t know what to do, Gabriel,” she whispers, her voice barely above a whisper. “I’m scared... I’m so scared.”

I wrap my arms around her, holding her close as she sobs into my chest.

So she was not the one who snitched on me after all.

I feel a surge of anger and disbelief. “I know. I am so sorry. How could they do that? You’re not some object to be traded.”

Isabella’s eyes flash with anger as she pushes me away. “Because you left me, Gabriel! Now I’m being sold off like a cow. Your parents are the only ones who paused the agreement because they said you would break up with Ophelia. Clearly, you lied, so now I’m screwed.”

“I was trying to keep my position in the family, Isabella. I didn’t know about any of this.”

The tension in the room is palpable, our wolf instincts heightening every emotion. She steps closer, her anger palpable. “You put me in this mess.”

I pull her into a hug as she cries, my heart breaking for her. “I’m sorry Izzy. What can I do? Tell me please. I’ll do anything to help.”

She pulls back slightly, looking up at me with tear-filled eyes. “I can’t be mistreated and possibly tortured because you fell out of love with me. Do you know what it’s like? To feel like your life is over?”

My chest tightens. “Tell me what I can do.”

She takes a deep breath. “You’ve been fucking and breeding me for years. No other alpha wants me because I’m contaminated. No one wants some slut.”

“You are not a slut.”

“I know that. You know that. The rest of the wolves don’t. All they know is that I have been spending time in your bed, catering to all your whims for years and years. No one is going to want to take me as their Luna. Plus, they know…they know that I still love you. Alphas are possessive. They will never agree to share me…”

“Isabella…” My heart is clenching painfully as I take in the unfairness of this whole situation. I, as the alpha, am not being vilified, yet sex was consensual and between two people.

I hate this. I hate all of it.

But, I also know that there is truth in what she is saying. I can’t imagine having a Luna ruling my pack with me, knowing full well that her heart belonged to another. This is my mess, and I have to find a way to fix it.

“I can talk to them.”

“Who?”

“Our parents.”

“Since when did that work? They are old school. All they care about is the family’s reputation, and they can’t have an unmarked beta under their care. People will begin to question if there is something wrong with the Lacroix line. You’ve met my younger sisters, Gabe.”

I had. The twins were barely six.

“If I am marked unbreedable, what will happen to them?”

“Fuck! How did this get so fucking screwed.”

“You have to fix this.”

“How?”

“There is one way. Gabriel, you have to mark me. That will keep our parents satisfied and off my back for a little bit.”

I freeze. “I can’t, Isabella. I love Ophelia.”

She cries harder, her body shaking. “It doesn’t have to be real. After school, I can run away or figure something out. I can look for another alpha who knows nothing about me, about us. I can get a fresh start then. When I come back attached to another alpha, my parents will not care. Our reputation will remain intact.”

“Izzy…”

“I just need help now. You cared about me right? You loved me once? Just because you dumped me for her, does that mean that all went away? I love you, Gabriel. I am begging you. Please. I can’t be Mrs. Victor Thornwood. I just…please.”

I sigh, conflicted. “I hate myself for putting you in this situation.”

“Please,” she whispers, her voice desperate. “I don’t have any other options.”

Reluctantly, I brush her hair off her neck. The sight of her vulnerability tears me apart.

“I love you,” she whispers. “All I ever did was love you, alpha.” She slides her hands over my biceps, then downwards, brushing against my crotch. I take her hand and bring it to my mouth.

“Isabella…”

“Just once, for old times sake.”

“Izzy…”

“ Fuck me.”

“We can never go there, Isabella,” I say firmly. “I’ll mark you to keep you safe, but that’s it.”

She nods, tears sliding down her cheeks. “Okay,” she whispers.

I let my canines come out. Gently, I graze her skin, trying to ignore the goosebumps that form there.

“Ready?” I growl.

“Yes.”

I sink my teeth into her neck, and she moans, the sound sending shivers down my spine.

Her hands grasp for me as her whole body shakes.

I wrap my arms around her, holding her up. Her legs wrap around my waist, and I feel intoxicated by the taste of her blood.

This is a beta. Fuck! I hate myself.

Fuck! She tastes so good.

My wolf hums, urging me to mate, but I push the urge down, focusing on the task at hand.

Just then, the door opens, and I see Ophelia standing there, her face pale with shock. Blood drips from Isabella’s neck as I pull back, my heart sinking.

“Ophelia, it’s not what it looks like,” I start, but she turns and runs, tears streaming down her face.

I feel like I’ve been punched in the gut. I try to follow her, but Isabella clings to me, her body trembling.

“Let me go,” I say, my voice harsh. “I need to explain to her.”

Isabella’s grip loosens, and I push past Isabella, my mind racing with panic. I need to find Ophelia, to explain what just happened, to make her understand. The hallway feels like it’s stretching forever, but I finally catch up to her near the entrance.