I followed Kennedy's scent while feeling Gabriel's presence following closely behind me. He remained silent as we walked through the pack house and into the kitchen where everyone was sitting.
Dan, Eli and Kennedy were there along with another wolf and child. I noted immediately that she must have been Dan's mate by the way he held onto her, her stance so light and comfortable. The little girl looking identical to her.
"Hi, I'm Charlie." She instantly said, a friendly smile beamed across her face as she approached me. I returned the smile and greeted her.
"Lara," I replied, introducing myself as I searched around to find Kennedy sitting on the floor along with who I assumed was Dan and Charlie's daughter.
I could feel Gabriel standing behind me, my stature turning stiff and full of tension. My argument with Gabriel still on my mind and still very fresh.
"Would you like me to take them outside to play for a little while?" Charlie suggested, her eyes trained on mine for permission. Everyone noticing the awkward tension in the room from Gabriel and me. Even Dan and Eli were staring at us inquisitively.
I nodded, Gabriel and I had to speak, we couldn't put the conversation off forever. "If you don't mind."
"Yeah, no problem." She replied, her hands reaching down to grab the girl's as she walked out of the kitchen with Dan and Eli.
I turned around to see Gabriel leaning against the doorway, pushing himself off as he motions for me to go upstairs. "My office is upstairs; we should talk in there."
We walked up the stairs and down the hallway to his office, he gestured for me to sit on the couch as he took a seat in his chair behind the desk.
The couch was to the side of his desk, it felt more relaxed than if I was opposite him.
I scanned his facial features for a moment, he had changed so much in four years it seemed. It was a strange feeling to be in the same surroundings as him again, to be in each other's presence.
He turned his desk chair to face me, our body positions now face to face. "I know you don't want to talk about anything to do with us being mates. So, for now we won't discuss it."
I kept tight lipped as he began to speak, his words leaving me a little stunned and reminiscing on old unwanted memories.
"You mentioned this morning that you tried to call me, that you would leave me voice messages. I won't deny that I didn't hear them because I did. I just selfishly choose not to reply, not to call you back. I was immature and reckless; I never could have imagined that the reason you kept contacting me was because you were pregnant."
"The thought honestly never crossed my mind." He sighed deeply, he looked furious and upset with himself. His words sounding sincere as he continued speaking. "I'm devastated with myself for missing out on Kennedy's life, on your life."
I swallowed the lump in my throat, I had always wondered and dreamed about this moment, whether it would be full of anger or sorrow. "I thought about telling you over voicemail or text, but it didn't at the time seem like the correct thing to do."
"Honestly, I think you did the right thing by not telling me. I don't believe my younger self would have reacted in the correct or respectful way. I wasn't in sync with my wolf as I am now." I understood the meaning behind his words, he wouldn't have wanted to keep the baby.
"I want to express to you now, how different I am to the person I was when I was eighteen. I want to know my daughter; I've missed so much of her life and I don't want to be absent any more than I already have been."
I felt a shiver go down my spine, my face scrunching up a little from the overwhelming emotions that invaded my body at once. I never expected that this would have been his reaction. I had always anticipated the worst.
"I don't want to keep Kennedy away from you," I began, feeling my voice getting lower. "She has the right to know her dad just like you have the right to know your daughter. We will just have to figure out our schedules and go from there."
Gabriel grinned at me, and I bit my lip trying to ignore the butterflies that floated around my belly. I couldn't help but smile back at him, his reaction was everything I ever wanted but I knew deep down that it didn't change what happened that night.
"Where do you both reside now? I know you were born into the Blood Walkers pack, but your scent is different, and I can't cipher whose territory it is."
I thought for a moment, deciding whether I should be so open with him about my life, but he knew about Kennedy now, and I couldn't be secretive about that. Male wolves are fiercely protective of their pups and Gabriel being an Alpha wolf, made no exception.
"After Kennedy was born, I relocated to Austin, Texas. My auntie lives there and was born into the Nightshade Valley pack, they took us both in and I'm enrolled at college there."
Gabriel's eyebrows furrowed into a frown. "Hayden had requested a month ago that I take in a transfer for one of his wolves. Apparently, he had been behaving erratically. I refused and our conversation became heated, we're not on the best of terms."
I pursed my lips; Hayden was my Alpha. The Nightshade Valley Pack was a small pack with a modest amount of land. My brain acknowledged that he could have been talking about Nathan, the wolf I had been dating for two years but decided it would be best to keep that undisclosed.
I shrugged my shoulders and decided to move the conversation on. "I only have around two weeks left of college. Kennedy and I plan to move back to Blood Walkers territory once I have completed everything."
"You could both transfer here, I have plenty of space and it would allow me to get to know you both better." He suggested, his tone had a slight edge to it.
My wolf was bouncing in excitement at the idea, she desperately wanted to be close to her mate. She had already forgiven him, but I couldn't forgive as quickly.
"I don't think that's a good idea for me." I replied, my mind racing. "We can sort out a schedule for you to see Kennedy, the Blood Walkers territory is only an hour away. I'm just not ready to forgive you yet."
His eyes flickered, his wolf wanting to have his own say, defiant at my answer but Gabriel pushed him down and nodded. "Ok, we can work something out."
I replied with a smile and stood up. I didn't want to push the conversation too much today, there was a lot to discuss but I didn't want to stress or put too much pressure on the situation all at once. "We should find Kennedy."
He nodded, standing up from his chair before walking after me but not without stopping me as my hand reached the doorknob. His hand clasping mine, the little shocks tingling across my skin as I looked up.
His stature towered over me, his hands clutching mine. "You don't have to forgive me right now, but I'd like you to be open to forgiving me and potentially having the mate relationship that we were destined to have. I'd like to make it up to you."
I stared at him for a few moments, only able to concentrate on the sparks that ignited against my skin, it was difficult to resist the mate connection.
"I'm open to it," I whispered my eyes trained on his. "But you have a lot of making up to do, and I'm not going to forgive you that easily."
His smile grew wide, and I shook my head as I tried not to react with a grin of my own. I couldn't help the attraction that I felt especially when he was my mate, it was an indescribable desire.
"I can take that." Gabriel replied, his facial expression relieved after the silence I had given him.
After a minute of our continuous grinning, I finally broke the moment. "Let's find Kennedy."
"Yeah, Dan said they're in the play area." He replied and we began to walk out of the pack house with Gabriel leading the way.
The pack house wasn't the same house where Gabriel had his eighteen-birthday party, I assumed it was their main pack house before they renovated his old home four years ago.
Once outside, I took in the beauty of it. It was a beautiful white mansion, four large pillars with two grand, wooden double doors. Vines of beautiful flowers flowed down the side of the house.
My eyes caught the marble statues that stood beside the entrance, they were tall and mighty, and I couldn't seem to take my eyes away from the extraordinary details on them.
Gabriel laughed softly at me, amused at my astonished expression at the sheer size and beauty of his property. "Come on, Kennedy is just through those trees and into the clearing."
I nodded, following him as he walked close besides me, his arm occasionally brushing mine as we headed towards the trees.