Page 37 of The Huntress (The Blood of Legends #1)

Chapter Thirty-Seven

RESTORATION

U sing George as bait was low, even for suckbloods. Gabe sat cross-legged opposite her little girl, drinking imaginary tea from tiny pink plastic cups. The sight of him shredded her resolve and the wall she’d built around her heart since yesterday. He was attentive, handsome, and charming.

All lies!

He raised agony-filled eyes, piercing through her anger. Her instant reaction was to ease his pain, to soothe him. Part of her ached to do so. The detective in her, however, marveled at his acting abilities.

He spoke to George—too low for Callie to hear the words despite her new skills—then flicked a finger and rose to his full height. Dimitri materialized and sat. He gathered a cup in his massive hand, throwing a carefree smile at George.

Gabe’s strides were strong, determined, and the need to flee gripped her. Her heart faltered as fear shivered through her. She didn’t want to hear his excuses and his husky voice or stand close enough to smell him. Tears pressed against her eyes, and she shook her head, denying them the right to fall. She couldn’t leave, no matter how much her instincts screamed at her to do so. George had to come with her.

He halted in front of Callie, forcing her to raise her gaze to maintain eye contact. Heat poured off him, and she shivered, curling her fingers into fists until her nails drew blood. Her fingertips had memorized the feel of his skin and yearned to relive the experience.

“We test all vamps, and passing it earns our respect.” His voice grated along her sensitive nerves like gravel on tarmac. “As your husband, they didn’t tell me until it was too late.” His hand trembled as he tucked her hair behind an ear. “I endured all your terror, Callie, your desperation and misery before you locked me out.” His breath escaped in a rush. e pinched his lips. “I don’t want you in such a situation again. Not helping you devastated me.”

Doubts furrowed her brow and pierced the blanket of sorrow enshrouding her. She knew nothing about this Adsumo bond, hadn’t thought to ask him, to read his mind. Was there something magical involved, because standing here and not touching him was driving her insane. The divided parts of her mind screamed demands, and she couldn’t decide which one to listen to.

“Who planned it?” She glanced at Dimitri, imagining ripping out his spine if he was behind this. “Dimitri? Leo? Syl?”

“Does it matter?” Gabe asked, his voice still coarse, but hope crawled across his features, crushing her chest in a vise.

She had suspected he hadn’t known or that she may have overreacted. Now the guilt, agony, and hope pouring off him had her, at last, admitting she’d blamed him without evidence, without granting him an opportunity to defend himself.

“Yes, it matters.” Because if this cost her Gabe, she needed a name, someone to kill. She rolled her shoulders as a power, potent and addictive, sang along her nerve endings.

“Rhys suggested we test you. He plans to combine his enforcement with ours to form a paranormal unit.”

Her head shot up with excitement of another kind gripping her. The smile spreading her cheeks clashed with the dark emotions roiling inside her.

“Suckbloods and beasts policing each other?” She bounced on her toes as the possibilities formed in her mind.

This would blow Metcalfe’s career sky-high. Callie chose to forget she’d decided she no longer wanted anything to do with Carter, Duhamel, or Stavros. She was a woman and had the right to change her mind.

“He didn’t believe you could handle his betas.” Gabe captured her wrist to slide his hand up to her elbow.

She shivered at his touch.

“How did you get Stavros to play along?” she asked, doubts once more creeping through her chaotic thoughts.

“That was Dimitri’s idea, to use you as bait in the hopes Stavros would fall for it.” He caught her other wrist, stroking his fingers to her elbow and gripping her there. His touch alone sent excitement tingling down her spine.

“Lucky me. Did you kill him?” she asked, traveling his features with a lustful appraisal. The swelling of her heart and her breathlessness had her realizing she would always love this man.

“Fuck Stavros!” Gabe burst forward, releasing her hands to grip her upper arms, pinning her to the length of him.

She shuddered under the sensory onslaught despite the volatile emotions pouring off him.

“I’m your husband, your Adsumo , your eternity, I love you. Please, Callie, I’m… dying here.”

His pain touched her despite the plug hindering their connection. It contorted his face, and he trembled against her, his breathing coming in great gasps. With a deep breath, she peeled open his mental door. Agony, abject misery, deep isolation flooded their connection, and his memories followed. He spoke the truth, if she could believe him.

What convinced her this was real was the cessation of the dark whisperings in her own mind, the seductive lures to kill, to destroy those who opposed her. He built a solid mental wall around them, encapsulating her until his love engulfed her, protecting her. His understanding and forgiveness drowned her regret.

She didn’t realize she was crying until he wiped her tears away with the pads of his thumbs. She whispered words she hadn’t thought to, mutterings and pleas for forgiveness, of her devotion. All unnecessary with their connection restored. The kiss he bestowed on her soared her soul above the stars.

“I love you,” she said across his parted lips.

“I never stopped loving you,” he said, and she believed him. “Now would you like some tea?” He laced his fingers through hers to tug her toward George. Dimitri handed her a cup. Callie accepted it and sat on the blanket beside him.

“Are you feeling better, Callie?” George asked, her small hand extended for Callie’s cup.

“I’ve missed you, sweetheart. Has Dimitri treated you well?” Hot tea filled her cup, and she grinned, accepting it from George with a smile.

“Dimitri says I’ll always be his princess,” George said with a giggle as if it was the finest thing.

Callie shot a warning glance at Dimitri, hoping to convey that she’d kill him if he ever hurt her daughter.

He loves her like a sister. You have nothing to worry about, mama bear. Gabe teased her through their link.

With a deep sigh, Callie admitted she’d missed this.