The Fugitive - Chapter 147

Esme stared up at her mate and held her breath from the furious look on his features. Gabriel knew Einar, and from how he was acting, they did not end on good terms. She reached her hand up and caressed his jaw; Gabriel clasped his hand over hers, then held it and kissed her knuckles before intertwining their fingers and resting their hands on her stomach. He sighed and raked his free hand in his hair, and glared at Marcus.

“Don’t glare at him,” Esme scolded, “It was my choice. I couldn’t leave Brody anywhere else, and Einar..” She gulped, looking at Gabriel worriedly, but he just raised a brow, waiting expectantly for her to continue. “He seemed like someone who’d know what to do with a rogue who might turn into a type 1 any second.”

Gabriel nodded like he expected as such. “I cannot believe you made a deal with that devil. Esme, do not ever make deals with him. Einar is very unpredictable, and he may come off as carefree, but if you get on his bad side, you will know. He once destroyed a whole village because of one person. I don’t know the details, but it took him only a matter of seconds to kill everyone.”

“By the Goddess,” Marcus muttered and flopped down on the armchair.

Esme was speechless; she shouldn’t have been; Einar had that carefree persona that she was unsure of. But even as Gabriel warned her, she still couldn’t budge past the feeling that Einar would never hurt her.

“Gabriel-”

“Esme, why do you think that?” Gabriel whispered. “I’ve known him for years; he is a friend and foe and was even my aide once. He asks for favours and makes deals that only serve his purposes. Sometimes it works out well for the person he made a deal with, and other times it doesn’t, and that’s exactly how he wants it.”

Gabriel and Einar.. are friends? No, he said friend and foe. What does that mean?

“Are you saying Einar is your friend, but you don’t trust him?” She asked as her brows drew together at this new revelation.

“That is exactly what I mean. You should never be too comfortable with a mighty being like him.” Gabriel sighed and spoke the rest in her mind. “You know I don’t trust anyone. That is why I have stayed so long on the throne, besides being the strongest of all vampires.”

“Do you not trust Luther?” She whispered back in his mind as she searched his striking blue eyes.

Gabriel took a moment to reply, but his lips tugged into a small smile. “It is hard to trust someone after my own flesh betrayed me. But… Luther.. is also like a brother to me, and one I trust.”

“I know Einar is almighty and everything. But did something happen for you to speak so ill about your so-called friend?” Marcus asked, interrupting what may have looked like a soppy moment between lovers to others. He wasn’t aware of the mini conversation being held between Gabriel and Esme.

Gabriel looked up at Esme’s friend and sighed. “I am just brutally honest with how I feel about Einar. But if you must know.. I asked for a favour, and in return, I had to give up… something precious to me.”

Esme furrowed her brows and moved to sit up, looking at her mate in concern, even though her head was still throbbing. “What was it?” She asked. What would Einar want that made Gabriel look so sad.

“Bellesea Palace,” Gabriel sighed sadly.

Esme paused, waiting for Gabriel to explain further because surely she did not worry over Gabriel, who was sad about a palace. “You gave him a palace..” She trailed off unimpressed.

“It wasn’t just any palace.. It was my favourite, overlooking the sea..” Gabriel moved his hand across them as though he was showing the scenery to her. He sighed again.

“Rich kids,” Esme muttered and flopped back down into his lap, shaking her head. “You made Einar sound really bad; I thought you were going to say something like he asked for your soul..” She tutted as she thought more about the warlock hybrid.

“Ha, I wouldn’t put it past him. But I don’t think he needs souls..” Gabriel trailed off and looked down at Esme again. “Look, I didn’t make any deals with him after that. I knew from the years I’ve known him of how he works, and even though Bellesea palace was my baby, it was..” He sucked in his breath. “He could have asked something else of me.”

“You are seriously acting dramatic right now,” Esme muttered and glanced at Marcus, who was covering his mouth while his shoulders shook.

Gabriel glared at the pair of them, but it made Esme and Marcus burst into a fit of laughter. Even her wolf was howling in laughter by how much of a baby Gabriel was acting. Esme wiped the tears from her eyes and reached her hand out to caress Gabriel’s face, but he moved his head away slightly and even appeared to be moody. “I’m sorry.. I’m sorry. Gabriel.. I understand what you are saying about Einar.. And I am sorry he took.. something so precious from you. Were you at least happy with what he did for you?”

Gabriel looked back at her and grabbed her hand that was still raised, looking at the black ring on her finger, stroking it with his thumb. “At the time, I asked him to find a rare gem that I lost almost eight hundred years ago. As you know, I have a little collection, historical artefacts and the like in my room. The gem didn’t mean much to me.. But I wanted it; it was almost like it had a spell on it calling to me. I even went a little mad from not having it, although I couldn’t understand why..”

His eyes flicked back at Esme warmly. “So, taking the palace from me in Einar’s mind was probably some sort of victory. But.. Now, I have someone to give that gem to.” He kissed her knuckles and smiled against her skin.

Esme sat back up again, perplexed by his words. “You just said you went mad without it. Are you sure it’s not got some sort of a curse on it?” She asked.

Now that she knew witches and warlocks were an actual thing, she was starting to talk about curses. What else was next?

“What do you expect? You can change into a wolf and speak to the moon, who is a Moon Goddess,” Isana popped up in her thoughts with her sarcastic comment.

Gabriel shook his head. “No, I don’t know how to explain it. But it makes more sense for you to have it, like it belongs to you, Mea factum est tibi. (My love, it is made for you.)” Esme felt the pull towards her mate, unknowingly leaning forwards, captivated by his alluring eyes.

“Okay, guys, I think I’m gonna head back to the apartment..” Marcus hopped up from the armchair, interrupting their little moment.

Esme blinked and whipped her head back to look at her friend, who was already walking around them. She felt bad for him and really hoped his mate would show up soon, she loved him dearly, but unlike when they lived together before, it wasn’t just the two of them anymore. And this was exactly why she made sure to put an end to them getting in a relationship those years ago.

“Imagine the heartbreak if you fell for each other,” Isana added sadly.

“I need to give you my fob; hold on,” Esme pulled away from Gabriel and stood up. “It’s in the penthouse.”

“Looks like we are all going then; I still want to see your wolf form,” Gabriel winked and walked past Marcus, who was at the door. “This way.”

The waterfall feature started to move again, revealing the hidden corridor that led to the golden lift. Esme followed the men, her footsteps much slower as she mentally prepared herself for the lift. But before she even made it halfway down the hall to the lift, Gabriel wrapped his arms around her, kissing the top of her head. Esme was suddenly in the lift, and like usual, her heart pounded in fear. But instead of closing her eyes, she kept them open as she listened to her mate’s heart, it was like a soothing melody, and his sweet smell comforted her more.

She could feel Marcus’ questioning gaze on her, so she answered his unspoken question. “Ethan used to lock me up in a cage, sometimes for hours, sometimes days,” She muttered bitterly. “This lift is like a luxurious version of it, although it is much bigger.”

“Nyx.. Why haven’t you hunted him down and killed him? That fucker doesn’t deserve to live,” Marcus growled as he slid the door open again at the penthouse.

Esme smiled sadly as Gabriel’s arms reluctantly let her go, and she dashed out of the lift and inhaled deeply. “Because I can’t, unfortunately. The bond wouldn’t let me.” She walked ahead as her heart began to calm down from all of the open space. She leaned down at the coffee table before the bar and picked up the fob handing it to her friend. “Anyway, we should get another one of these for you.” She shook her hand and tossed the fob at her friend.

Marcus caught it, but he still looked displeased as he turned around.. “If you have any plans to kill that dick soon, I’m in,” He growled as he passed Gabriel and strolled towards the clear doors.