Page 25

The knife slipped from Annabelle’s nerveless fingers. A tremor, starting at her bloody hand, worked its way through her body and all the way down to her toes. Her poor shoulder throbbed worse than ever.

Her mom rushed over and enfolded her in a hug. “Annabelle. Thank the Lord you’re okay.”

Her stepdad followed, then Isobella, Annabelle’s shoulder protesting.

“If it wasn’t for that wolf shifter of yours,” said her mother, “we might never have found you.”

Her wolf shifter? Annabelle pulled away from her family. “Gabriel?”

“Yes.”

Her mom pointed at the big black wolf standing over the body of Scarface. Red stained the wolf’s muzzle, and Scarface’s throat was bloody and torn.

Annabelle took a step towards the wolf. Gabriel? He was even bigger than Stefanie. His furry head turned her way, his dark eyes boring into her. A strong musky scent, tinged with something familiar, hung heavy in the air. She could almost taste it. Taste him.

The wolf’s fur rippled, bones popped, and fur receded. His big body contorted as paws turned to hands and feet, and his snout shrunk into a human nose. Then he was upright and standing before her.

“Gabriel. Dutton told me… I thought you were…” A sob tore from her throat, and she stumbled toward him. She halted as she got a clear look at him. “Oh, my God. Look at you.”

Dark purple bruises covered his body from his left shoulder, across his chest and down past his hip. From the crash? Tears filled her eyes and her hand hovered over one of the larger ones.

He took hold of her hand. “I’m okay, bebe. I’m healing.” Then he enfolded her in his arms. “I told you I wasn’t going to leave you, and I meant it.”

She pulled away and stared up at him. “How? I mean… There’s no way you could have walked away from that crash.” Her fingers traced one of his bruises.

Gabriel caught the bottle of water Stefanie tossed him, and he washed the blood from his face. “I didn’t. They took me away in an ambulance and I spent two days in hospital.”

“Two days… But I…” She glanced over her shoulder at the cabin. “I’ve not been here a day yet. Have I?”

“I used the spell. From the grimoire.”

“You…you found the grimoire?”

He grinned. “I stole it from Rarity. I broke your ward.”

Annabelle winced.

“ Oui. It didn’t tickle.” He tossed the water bottle aside and cupped her face in his big hands. “But I would do it all again in a heartbeat. For you, Annabelle.”

He dropped his lips to hers, and with a sigh, Annabelle melted into him. He swiped his tongue along the seam of her lips and she opened for him. He was alive. He was here. He’d broken her ward and pushed his bruised and battered body through time to get to her.

“Mmm-hmm.”

Annabelle surfaced, and Gabriel glared at their intruder, Stefanie, once again in human form and fully clothed.

Stef tossed Gabriel his shirt, jacket and jeans. “I’m sure Annabelle loves your crown jewels, but the rest of us could do without seeing them. Or your naked ass.”

Annabelle clapped her hands to her mouth. “Oh, my God. I didn’t even think. You must be freezing.”

Gabriel stepped into his jeans. “Wolf shifter, bebe, remember? Our temperatures run hotter.”

Annabelle took in his taut, naked ass before he covered it up with denim. That they did.

Aunt Marjory strode over, no more hindered by her heels on the gravel than if she were walking on Italian palazzo tiles. “This reeks of Cordelia.”

“Oh, she was involved all right.” Annabelle hugged her arms around her body, holding herself together, her eyes straying to Gabriel as he dressed.

She still couldn’t believe he was alive, and had risked everything to save her.

“Cordelia had Dutton take my blood. They had plans to turn me into a puppet bride for Dutton using Cordelia’s magic.

” She nodded at the cabin. “Those were her wards on the basement. When I couldn’t break through them, I started searching for some other way to escape.

How long the Kings have owned this place is anyone’s guess, but they either didn’t know about the broken chimney, or they didn’t think I’d find it.

” Annabelle sighed. “To be honest, I wasn’t expecting anyone to find me.

I thought…” She turned to Gabriel. “I thought you were dead. How could anyone, even a shifter, survive a hit like that?”

He pulled her close, and she rested her head on his chest. “It would take more than that to keep me from you, mon amour. ”

Aunt Marjory crossed her arms, tapping her sleeve with a manicured fingernail. “Would this have something to do with what makes you different from the local shifters, Gabriel?”

“It does, but…”

Annabelle looked up at him. Was he still going to keep her out? After all that had happened?

He brushed a strand of hair off her face. “There are things I’m only permitted to share with Annabelle. Anything else must come from Maxime d’Louncrais, our alpha. Some secrets are best kept that way.”

Aunt Marjory nodded. “I trust Annabelle to consider the coven’s interest in this and do what is best for all of us.”

Roger joined them. “Good to see you’re okay, kiddo. We’ve taken the three survivors into custody. Dutton will survive. He’s getting medical care now. Not that he deserves it, mind you. We’ve buried the other one. Not sure what three Frenchmen have to do with all this…”

“I’ll fill Annabelle in on that, too,” said Gabriel.

Aunt Marjory nodded. “Very well. Roger, call a meeting of the coven. We’ll deal with these men in-house. And Cordelia. Send a team to collect her and bring her before the coven.”

Roger’s grin was wicked. “With pleasure.”

“Annabelle, get your mom to do a healing spell on that shoulder of yours. Then take Isobella and your parents and search the house for those vials of blood. Destroy them.”

The High Priestess turned to Gabriel. “If I heard correctly, you used that spell to find Annabelle. You had best get going back to the future. We really do not know what will happen if you run into yourself. Let’s not ruin a good outcome by pushing the limits and finding out the ramifications are disastrous. ”

“ Oui.” He turned to her. “When you’re done here, mon amour, go with Stef back to the Ritz-Carlton. I’ll meet you there.” He looked over her shoulder. “And bring Isobella with you. There are some things she needs to hear, too.”

Annabelle scrunched up her face. Isobella? Why?

Stef smirked and patted her on the arm. “Don’t worry, Annabelle. After we’ve had a talk, Isobella and I will disappear. Apparently, Lenni’s does amazing pizzas. Isobella and I have plans to watch the movie you Americans call Die Hard and continue our debate over whether it’s a Christmas movie.”

Her aunt, Stef and her family moved away to go about their respective tasks.

Isobella jerked her head to the cabin. “I’ll, um, see you inside.”

Then she was alone with Gabriel.

“I’m sorry we—”

“I should never have left you in—”

Annabelle stared at her shoe as she scuffed at the dirt with her toe. “You first.”

“I promise I will explain everything, Annabelle. Why I left you in Paris, everything. I promise.”

She nodded. “Okay. You’d better. I’ll be waiting.”

Annabelle stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the lips, then turned and walked toward the house.

Lying in that basement, believing him to be dead, she’d have given everything to go back to before the crash.

To tell him she loved him. Had always loved him.

But he’d left her in Paris, and she needed to know why.

She needed answers to a lot of questions.

Then, and only then, would she tell him she’d already forgiven him.