Chapter 27
Gabi’s POV
I was up and showered by 510. I was ready to go in another 10 minutes and take my stuff into the lobby on the first floor at 525. Heath was getting coffee and grinned over at me and said, “Just like me” and put the lid on his coffee cup. I see Alan and Hudson already there and Hudson comes over to give me a hug. Hudson has always been a lot nicer to me than Alan this whole time and I nodded over to Alan. We are not on hugging terms yet, but we are doing better every day. We have drills and practices that we have to do as a team three times a week, and I hate to say it, but I like when he nods in approval when I am successful in my training, as Alan runs a tight ship. Now that Alan knows that everything that he has been told about me was a lie, he is a lot better to be around. He is training me, like he should have the whole time, in Krav Maga and I have been absorbing it very well.
Luna Liz and Von come down with their suitcases and garment bags 10 minutes later and Hudson and Alan take the bags out to the SUV for them while they grab some coffee for themselves. I headed out to the SUV with Heath, and he could tell I was nervous and wanted to say something, but I didn’t want to say it in front of Alan and Hudson. They don’t know the whole reason why we are going to Crimson Shadow yet and I am sure they will learn today, or tomorrow, why we went.
“Can I speak to you for a minute, please?” I asked and walked back towards the front door.
“Sure, little one, give me just a minute to put my stuff in the back,” Heath said, and then came to me two minutes later on the steps of the packhouse.
“We don’t have to go to Crimson Shadow. I have decided that I just want to stay here. You and Von have done nothing but build me back up, and I don’t need to meet my birth parents. I have you two, and I decided last night that I don’t need to go. So, if we are going just for me to find my parents, I can save you a trip, because I have already found you”, I told him, and I heard a loud gasp and then heard feet running toward me as Von almost knocked me down the stairs hugging me. I see Luna Liz standing there at the top of the stairs where Von dropped her coffee to run to grab me and smiling the widest grin I have ever seen on her. Von has tears in her eyes and is hugging me so tight, I am struggling to breathe.
“Von, let her go, baby, you are killing her. She cannot breathe, you are going to have to ease up on her. Plus, I want to hug my baby girl too”, Heath said, and I could see tears in his eyes.
I can breathe better when Von releases me a little and I open up my arms to let Heath hug me as well, and we just stand there halfway up on the steps of the packhouse all hugging each other.
Luna Liz cleared her throat and said, “I may not live here but I happen to know for a fact that Heath needs to be on the road at 545, so you have 5 minutes to replace your coffee Von, come one”. Von climbs back up the stairs and is talking excitedly to Luna Liz about what they had just overheard me say.
“You have made Von so very happy saying that, and me too, little one. I know you didn’t intend on them hearing, but they stepped out when you started speaking and heard the whole thing. I know you were trying to get it out before you chicken out and were focused on that. But this is a teaching moment here. Even when you are doing something important, always keep an ear out for your surroundings, honey. It could save your life one day”, Heath tells me and hugs me across my shoulders, and leads me to his SUV. I notice that there is only our SUV there at the front of the packhouse and look around.
“I am driving there and back, Alan will be up front with me, and Hudson grabbed the third row to catch a nap as he is going to sleep all the way there, and you will sit in the middle with Von and Liz,” Heath tells me, and I nod and jump in to get in the middle of the row.
Alan turns to look at me and grins, and I know he heard what I said with his werewolf hearing, and I blush and look down at my hands. I heard the door open and they were still talking excitedly all the way to the SUV which Heath had already started up. Luna Von gets in behind her husband and Liz gets in behind Alan and we take off, and thankfully it is 544 when we leave the packgrounds, or we would have heard about it all the way there, as Heath likes to be on time.
Hudson snores softly from the back and is resting comfortably, and I am jealous as I realized that I should not have sat in the middle of the sisters, as I am blocking them from catching up. If we stop for a bathroom break, I will move so they can chat. I just checked my social media pages and saw Derek had sent me a request to join my page on Instagram, and I declined it. I cannot let him back in, after I tried so hard to shut him out. I can’t let him get a foot in the door with me, as it will only hurt me and Tala more. I glanced up front with a frown on my face and saw Heath watching me in the rear-view mirror. He glanced back at the road, and then in a low tone to not alert Von or Luna Liz he asked, “Are you OK? What's the problem?”. I cannot tell him there is not one as he knows me pretty well, and I didn’t know he was watching me and he already saw my face. So there is no point in lying about it, and I don’t lie to Heath and Von anyway, and I won’t start now.
“Derek sent me a request to allow him on my Instagram. I rejected the request”, I told him. I saw Alan shift in his seat to look back at me, I guess to see if I was OK, but I was.
“Yes, he was very upset that you accepted his rejection, and was very angry with me for allowing you on the pack lands for you to accept it. He said that he had changed his mind when he came to my office later to tell me that he had wanted to mark you and accept you as his mate. That he was going to leave the pack behind and not take over to keep from having to mate with Piper” Luna Liz told us.
“Too late, he thought that it was a great idea when he chose to reject me. If I remember correctly, I am a wolf-less, weak Omega. The pain he caused me by sleeping with Piper was horrible, as was the heat he knocked me into. He didn’t care about losing me, not really, he just didn’t want to lose his shot at having his mate still in his life to make him stronger”, I said in a low tone to Luna Liz and Von.
"I think he had actually changed his mind about that, but I had told him that it was too late when he mentioned it to me last weekend. He messed up, he took bad councel, and now he will have to live with that terrible girl. If it makes you feel any better, she will be the downfall of both packs, as she only really cares about herself. She is a spoilt, only child who has never had to do anything that she didn’t want to do. The only thing that Piper excels at is shopping and spending money. I will not be bailing the pack out when it gets to that point again. The only thing that I may give them funds for is training for the packs, as the rogues are still there and getting bolder. There are against Derek and Piper having the Luna ceremony, and I am sure that they will attack again. So, we may need your team, Heath. Because both Derek and I believe that they will be coming back and attacking us again, and soon”, Luna Liz told us and shook her head in frustration.
“Liz, if you need us, we will be there, but you know we need to deal with the first problem, Monty. I won't have Gabi in danger from him again. When we get him taken care of, it will be easier to get the training part done. Let us get through this weekend and then we will set our plan into play. You know I will come with my team and get things straight”, Heath told her, and then glanced at Gabi in the rear-view mirror.
Shit, I never thought about having to go back to Red River to train. Never, not the first time that it was a thought inside my head. I glanced at Heath who was thinking and was focused on looking at the road, and I sensed a motion and I looked at Alan. I saw him watching me and I knew that he had seen all of the emotions that crossed my face. I know he saw me scared at the thought of it. Alan just smiled at me and said, “You never have to worry. We have all got your back”. That actually brings me comfort. I sit back and up at the rear-view mirror and see Heath looking at me, and he smiles and nods at me as if confirming what Alan said. I can put my trust in Heath, and my fellow teammates. They will not let me down.