Let The Alpha Fall 79

Dinner was awkward. And quiet. Lori tried hard to make conversation but the words of Gabriel’s grandfather still hung
heavily in her heart.
She was so relieved when he left, hastily taking off her heels and disappearing into the room.
She took off her nice dress and wore some pajamas. She just wanted to crawl into bed and sleep. For the longest time.
This wasn’t the first time she had been told she wasn’t good enough for Gabriel. And something told her it wasn’t going
to be the last.
What if they were right? What if they were all right?
They couldn’t all be lying. She left the necklace on her, her fingers touched it slightly.
She liked the necklace. It was a pretty and thoughtful gift. She had to give Gabriel something in return. Since he
mentioned that it was customary.
Gabriel came back in moments later after seeing his grandfather off and saw Lori laying on the bed, her back to him. It
was late, but not late enough for her to go to bed.
“Lori?!”
“Are you okay?”
He asked as he kicked off his shoes.
Lori nodded as she buried her face in the sheets.
“Just tired. It’s been a long day I want to get some rest.”
She said and Gabriel nodded.
That wasn’t what was going on with her. It was something else. During dinner he could feel her. She felt dejected. She was
sad. His grandfather had said some pretty harsh things. He had partly listened to their conversation while he was on the
call.
The old man was a menace. A persistent menace but Gabriel wasn’t going to buy into his crap, or give him the
satisfaction of seeing Lori ever again.
Whatever his motives were he wasn’t aware yet, but Gabriel didn’t expect that he’d be so concerned about age old
customs and traditions. He was the alpha, not his grandfather. He could choose to make a non werewolf his Luna and
nobody in the pack would bat an eyelid.
His members certainly wouldn’t care. He provided for most of them, protected them, they were all under his guidance
and protection and he had always done his duty towards them. Many of them who worked with him on a daily basis and
had met Lori didn’t have one bad word to say about her.
Frankly they didn’t really care. Besides, it was his personal life. His pack wasn’t in any form of crisis so why did he need to marry for an alliance?!
He just didn’t understand why his grandfather was against them.
“It’s a bit early for you to be sleeping.”
He finally said as he crawled up in bed next to her, he tried to touch her.
Lori shifted away from his touch.
“I’m tired Gabriel.”
Gabriel sighed.
“If this is about my grandfather… he only said those things to rile you up… make you worry.”
“But what if he’s right?!”
She retorted.
“What if I’m not the right choice for you?!”
She finally turned and Gabriel saw that her eyes were swollen and red.
She had been crying… how did he not notice that.
Seeing her so sad… the sight made his head ache.
“But you are the right choice for me. You’re my mate.”
“But that’s not enough right?! You need someone stronger, richer…”
“Lori. Lori.”
He called out as he inched closer to her.
“I don’t need anyone else but you.”
He whispered as he held her face in his hands.
“And we’re grown ups. We’re allowed to make our own choices and decisions ourselves.”
“It doesn’t matter what my grandfather thinks. All that matters is what you and I think.”
“But the pack…”
She said and Gabriel shook his head.
“That doesn’t matter. I promise you it doesn’t…”
Gabriel gently wiped off her tears, his fingers slowly stroking her cheeks.
“And what if I don’t make a good Luna? I mean… I’m not a werewolf..”
“You’re not a werewolf but you’re something better. You can do things even I can’t do…”
Gabriel scoffed.
“I think you might even be stronger than me!”
He added and Lori shook her head.
“That’s impossible you’re an alpha.”
“Sure. I am… but you’re half angel blood with wings. Who knows the full extent of your power?!”
“You’re an even bigger asset that some pure bred wolf Luna. Trust me.”
Lori smiled.
“I feel so silly for crying now…”
She murmured and Gabriel shrugged.
“You don’t have to. You were worried… you cried… it’s perfectly understandable.”
She edged closer to him and he tucked her into his arms. Gabriel pulled the blanket over them.
They sat in silence for a while, with Gabriel listening to the sound of Lori’s breathing and Lori reminiscing on everything
that happened before and during the dinner.
She remembered mentioning she was in love with him.
“Gabriel?”
“Hnmm?”
“I meant what I said.”
Gabriel was quiet for a while.
“What did you say?”
“When I said I was in love with you.”
Gabriel grinned.
“I know.”
He whispered gently.
“You should have told me first though…”
“I was going to..”
“I actually thought I’d be the first to say it. It was always at the tip of my tongue.”
He said and Lori stared at him. He looked right back at her. He stroked her chin gently as he talked to her.
“I think I’ve always known… from the moment I met you… I just knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. I
didn’t admit it then… because I’m generally weary of people.”
“Besides… I didn’t think you’d like me that way. So I kept my distance and watched from afar…”
“I told myself I would reject you… because it was the sensible thing to do…”
“Why didn’t you?”
She asked softly.
Gabriel shook his head.
“I couldn’t bring myself to… The more I got to know you… the more I needed you.”
Lori smiled. It wasn’t the same for her, but it was better. Gabriel was the first man she felt genuinely safe and protected
around. She first man she wholly and completely gave herself to.
She wished she had met him when she was younger. He would have saved her… from all the horrible things she had been
through.
“I needed you too… I didn’t think love was in the works for me… I didn’t expect it…”
“I’ve had so much disappointment and sadness in my life that wishing for love seemed like a ridiculous thing. But you
changed all of that.”
“And you were so kind… so gentle to me.. in a way nobody has ever been. I had never felt so protected and safe before.”
“Around anybody.”
She blinked back tears. Gabriel hugged her even more closer.
“Hey… I’m glad we found each other.”
“Me too.”
He planted a kiss on her forehead.
“I love you Lori.”
Lori’s heart started beating rapidly.
“I love you too.”
She whispered as she wrapped her arms tight around him.
They stayed like that for a while. Arms wrapped around each other, heads buried in the crook of each other’s neck.
Slowly they broke away and Lori saw that there was a silly smirk on Gabriel’s face.
“What?!”
She chuckled and he shrugged.
“I remember mentioning other clever ways you can give me my own mating gift.”
Lori raised her eyebrow, a coy smile on her face.
“Oh! What do you have in mind?”
She asked as she leaned in closer.
Gabriel placed a hand on her bare thigh as he pulled her closer to him.
“I have a few ideas….”
********************
“How did you find me?!”
Lyle asked, slightly alarmed. He looked disheveled, paranoid. He was wearing dirty clothes and he had a gym bag that he
held with his two hands.
“I’m your brother.”
Elliot said as he sat down next to him.
“That’s not an explanation!”
Lyle said harshly as his eyes narrowed at Elliot.
Elliot shrugged.
“It wasn’t that hard to find out. You’ve brought me to this same bar twice and you know the bartender. I came to ask him
in the afternoon if he had seen you and he said he didn’t. I knew he was lying because I could hear his heartbeat. I stuck
around and waited for you to come.”
“What would you have done if I didn’t show up?!”
Elliot shrugged.
“I would have tried another lead.”
That was actually his only sensible lead. That and going back to ransack Lyle’s apartment to look for clues.
He had been largely convinced that his brother had left the state and it would be impossible to find him. He was glad he was wrong.
“And what are you doing here?!”
“You abandoned me. Ran away. Not that I expected anything else from you but you could have at least warned me.”
Lyle sighed.
“I didn’t mean to…”
“But you did! See if I didn’t run off in the nick of time… Gabriel’s men would have found me. I can’t believe you’d do
that to your own brother!”
Elliot exclaimed.
He had to make his anger seem real. He had to make his act very believable, or else his brother would smell foul play
Lyle’s features softened.
“I wasn’t planning on leaving you… I was just laying low for a while.”
“Laying low for a while?! Did you even care to know what happened to me?”
“Did you even try to look for me?!”
Elliot shook his head as he relaxed in his chair and folded his arms.
“I risked everything for you and you didn’t even care enough to see if I was safe…”
“Fuck. Elliot I’m sorry… I’m a shitty brother… but it was your fault though.”
“You ruined the plan by biting Lori!”
“I was only trying to help her.”
He retorted and Lyle shrugged.
“See where that got all of us?!”
The waiter came to their table and Elliot ordered a coke while his brother ordered a beer.
Coke for him because it was best he wasn’t drunk while dealing with his brother.
“I thought you’d have left the city by now…”
Elliot said and Lyle nodded.
“I should have. But I need more money and someone around here owes me money. I’m sticking around till I get paid and
running off right after.”
“Cool. Take me with you?”
Elliot said and his brother’s eyes widened.
“That’s impossible.”
He laughed. Elliot looked dead serious as he looked him in the eye.
“I can’t go back to Gabriel. Or DC. I’ll have to be on the run for the rest of my life like you so have to take me with you…”
Lyle sighed.
“That’s not going to happen.”
“The two of us together?! That would be too easy of a catch.”
“Sorry little brother. You’re going to have to find your own way.