A lot of good that had done for her. Gabe hadn’t been with her the morning she was driving to work and some dumb kid, still drunk from the night before, slammed into her car out of nowhere. He hadn’t been there when she breathed in the last sustaining breath of life, and let it out for the last time. And he certainly hadn’t been there when the doctors declared there was nothing more they could do, and left her lying cold on the gurney in the emergency room.
Nothing he had done that day had helped her. He had been in the office, working on his checkbook. He hadn’t kept his promise, and in return, he had lost his wife and would never have her back.
Gabe got out of his truck, unable to prevent his legs from shaking as he moved slowly forward through the parking lot and toward the huge, heavy oak doors. He didn’t have a hand to hold this time; a woman who thought the world of him smiling beside him as they prepared themselves to make their joyous announcement. No. All he had was regret.
“Gabriel Black, what are you doing here today?”
Gabe pursed his lips and swallowed hard, barely able to believe what he was about to say.
“I made a claim today.”
“You’re kidding!”
Leon had been one of the men that Molly went out of her way to help; she had been just as beloved in the Council as she had been everywhere else. Leon’s elderly father had needed care, and Molly had gone out of her way every day to check on him after she got off work. She would make him dinner and then come home to do the same for Gabe.
Nausea crept through Gabe’s stomach and he looked down at the ground, more ashamed of himself than he had ever been in his life.
“I wish I was kidding… but the wolf…”
“I understand,” Leon said, holding his hand up to silence Gabe. “Sometimes, these things happen without our own permission. That just means that it is somehow meant to be, whether we know the reason or not.”
Gabe had to bite his tongue to keep from snapping at Leon, but the fastest way to dishonor within the pack was to fight with an Elder when they were supporting you through the unpredictable twists and turns of life. There wasn’t much you could do to come back from something like that.
“Well, all right then,” Leon said, sighing heavily. His pen scratched across a sheet of paper and then he held his hand out for Gabe to shake. Gabe took it reluctantly, refusing to meet Leon’s eyes as his claim was officially registered with the council.
Gabe returned to his truck, unsure of how to feel. Just since he had woken up that morning, he had suddenly become saddled with a new responsibility he was going to have to deal with for the rest of his life. That was something he wasn’t going to be able to escape from. No matter what he did, no matter where he was, he was accountable for the human’s safety. What the hell had he been thinking?
6.
The next day, Val could hardly focus on her schoolwork. All morning long, she had been bracing herself for the eventual confrontation with Ren and his lackeys, but surprisingly enough, they avoided her as if she were plagued. It was strange, if she was going to be honest, and although she did get a lot of attention from male students, she always found them easier to ignore than Ren and his gang. In a way, it was a little bit lonely to be completely ignored by the group of boys that had been giving her a hard time from the first day she had entered SU. On the other hand, she had never been more relieved.
When the end of the day finally rolled around, Val’s stomach dropped. The class had run late again thanks to a horribly timed question by one of the most obnoxious students in the class, and so she ran with all her might out the door and down the steep staircase leading to the student parking lot.
She rounded the corner, knowing she was probably going to miss the bus. Still, she was determined to try her best anyway. But just as she made it past the corner and toward the bus shelter, Val’s heart sank. The bus was speeding past and heading out toward the road.
“Shit!” Val exclaimed, kicking at the air. That was it for her job at the record store. Now what the hell was she going to do?
“You need a ride?”
Val froze at the sound of Gabe’s voice. He didn’t look particularly happy, but he was parked just outside the bus shelter all the same, his handsome features dark, pensive, and serious.
“I…you don’t have to.”
Gabe sighed heavily and threw the truck door open. “We’re going to the same place, kid. Just get in.”
Val felt a twinge of nervousness; how did she know she could trust him? But when she looked at him again, her reservations melted. He wasn’t going to hurt her. She had been looking up the ancient shifter laws all night after he had claimed her, and she knew he was doing this out of a profound sense of duty. Gabe seemed to believe it was his job to take care of her from that moment on. And if she was going to be honest, it was kind of obnoxious.
“You don’t have to keep showing up to save me all the time, you know,” she said quietly, climbing into the truck. “It isn’t your job, even if your pack makes you feel like it is.”
“You know nothing about my pack or my job,” Gabe said, refusing to meet her eye. Val felt self-conscious suddenly and looked down at her hands.
“Sorry,” she said quietly. “I just don’t like the idea that you think you owe me something. You did something nice to help me out when I needed it, but it doesn’t have to be anything more than that.”
“Actually, kid, it does,” Gabe sighed. “I already stopped by the Council to let them know about what happened.”
“Why would you do that?” Val asked, panic curdling in her chest. “You don’t even care about me! And you’re talking to the Council like we’re married or something?”
“There were witnesses, Valerie,” Gabe said, his voice frighteningly even. “It would have gotten around to them one way or another. And telling the Council doesn’t change anything. It just means I have to do everything I can to honor my word. I’m not married anymore. I’m going to honor my word. That’s all a man has.”
“I don’t know why you got yourself into this,” Val grumbled. “You’re just going to end up resenting me because you think you have to take care of me or something when you don’t want to.”
It was just what her parents had been like with her before they’d given her up to the foster care system. The idea made her sick.
“Well, maybe I needed someone to take care of,” Gabe said with half a shrug. “I don’t have anything else going for me right now, that’s for damn sure. Who knows why the wolf did what he did. It’s not like we have to do anything together. I’ll just hang around and keep you out of trouble.”
Val grew quiet and considered this. It was a relief to know she wasn’t sexually obligated to him, even if she couldn’t take her eyes off the guy. And it was true, she was attracted to him. Almost enough that it scared her when she was near him. But he was like twice her age. He probably just always wanted to have a daughter, and now that they were stuck together, he had a reason to feel like he was some kind of amazing father doing things like taking her to work and picking her up from school.
It was sweet, in a way, but it would be sweeter if there weren’t all kinds of ancient laws obligating them to each other. That was a lot of pressure for such a new relationship. And just what kind of relationship were they supposed to have, anyway? Was he like her husband now? Or were they able to simply act the way they were acting now, with him being paternal and caring and protective, with no questions asked; no weirdness or sexual tension whatsoever. Either way, it made her uncomfortable. She had never had a father before and she certainly didn’t need one now.
But when she caught Gabe’s eye from across the truck, the anguish roiling behind his brown eyes was enough to make her second-guess whether or not she was going to have to sidestep that unfortunate sexual tension. He was a ridiculously handsome man, and that meant there were things about him she was just going to have to try to ignore if things were going to be able to remain even semi normal between them
.
Thankfully, they reached the record store before her mind could consider anything more about it, and Gabe parked right outside.
“Let me know if you need anything,” he said, finally holding her gaze. “I mean it.”
Val was lost in his gaze and nodded despite herself. There was an unspoken bond between them now, something she had to honor, whether she liked it or not. It was up to him to care for her, and it was up to her to tell him when she needed care. Whether she liked it or not, Valerie had been claimed.
7.
Gabe frowned. How had his numbers dropped so drastically over the past three years? He hadn’t been doing anything differently, and frankly, business had been great. He had a lot of regular clients who loved to come and go. None of them were stingy either; when they walked in, they rarely spent less than a hundred dollars on health foods and equipment for their home gyms.
So why was it that every year seemed to be harder than the last? He should be to the point where he could begin franchising his store; at least in Stonybrooke. But, somehow, it seemed impossible to get ahead. What the hell was going on?
“Hey, what are you up to?”
Gabe was startled out of his thoughts by the sound of Valerie’s voice, and he frowned deeply.
“What are you doing here? Is something wrong? Do you need anything?”
Val pursed her lips at him, her entire demeanor deflated by the question. He almost regretted asking it…almost.
“I don’t need anything. I just wanted to come by and thank you for everything you’ve done for me. I could have lost two jobs if it weren’t for you. And if you want me to go to the Council with you and tell them we made a mistake, I will. Really…”
Gabe looked up at the girl, studying her briefly despite himself. She was certainly pretty; a small wisp of a thing, with her emerald eyes wide and innocent as she stared at him. For some reason, he was agitated by the reaction to her he always seemed to have. The wolf had claimed her, partly due to that reaction, and it was something he resented having so little control over.
“Actually, kid, it doesn’t work like that,” Gabe grumbled, looking back down at the books sprawled out in front of him. “We can’t just tell them we changed our minds. We’re committed. That’s for life.”
“But it’s stupid!” Val exclaimed.
Gabe raised his brow at her, shocked that a human would have the gall to shit on centuries of ancient shifter tradition, and when she seemed to realize just how big of an error it was, her face grew pale and she backed away from him, raising her hands in front of her face protectively.
“I’m so sorry,” she said quietly. “I just mean, you shouldn’t have to throw your life away for someone like me. I’m not worth it.”
Now, Gabe was pissed.
“What makes you think you’re not worth it?” Gabe asked, glaring hard at her. “You don’t think someone should be looking out for you? Why is it you don’t already have someone hanging around you? A boyfriend or something?”
Val blinked hard, apparently confused by the turn the conversation had taken.
“A boyfriend?” she asked, furrowing her brow as she considered the question. “I don’t need anything like that. I want to take care of myself.”
Gabe laughed, a short, exasperated sound, and Valerie glared at him.
“What? Just because you’ve helped me out a few times doesn’t make you my frickin’ savior! I don’t owe you anything, you know.”
“All right, guess you’ve proven me wrong. You can do everything on your own. No questions asked,” Gabe growled, raising his brow at her. “That’s why I had to come out there and get those assholes to stop pestering you.”
“I could have handled it myself,” Valerie said, her voice low and angry now. “I’ve done it long enough without you butting in and ruining both of our lives!”
They stared at each other, angry sparks flying between them. Gabe hadn’t asked for something like this to happen. It was all thanks to the damn wolf inside of him, telling him she was apparently desirable; that she needed him somehow. That was a laugh. And that had nothing to do with the way he had been planning to spend the rest of his life. What the hell were they going to do now that they were stuck with each other for the long haul?
“If you maybe took your head out of your ass for a second, kiddo, you would see that you’re the one with the better end of the deal here. You’re new to Stonybrooke. I can tell. I know you just started over there at the record store and you also work at the gas station. You go to school. You’re fucking swamped and you’re a human, alone, in a town full of shifters. You’re going to need an ally sooner or later, and if you’re so quick to dismiss our claims and customs, then you’re not going to have what you need when you need it. Do you get me?”
Valerie glared at him, her green eyes flashing as the storm behind them grew. “I told you, I’m not going to be beholden to anyone, and especially not a man like you who thinks he has everything figured out about everybody. Just leave me alone.”
Gabe scoffed and looked back down at his books, and Valerie turned on her heel, heading toward the doorway. She left the store with a slam of the door and Gabe sighed heavily to himself. All she had done was come into the store to thank him. To tell him she was willing to let him off the hook for putting himself in such a stupid situation. So why was it he had reacted so adversely to the idea? Why had he defended his right to protect her? He must be a bigger idiot than he originally thought.
Gabe couldn’t help but follow Val with his eyes as she stormed across the street and back into the record store, where she proceeded to have an animated conversation with Randall, who laughed and shook his head as she apparently told him everything that had happened between them.
But Randall was a shifter. He knew exactly how these things worked, and maybe he would be able to talk some sense into her.
And that was all well and good, but Molly was gone. Without his wife around, Gabe didn’t know who was supposed to talk sense into him.
8.
The next week went by without any interference from Gabe, and Val couldn’t be happier about it. After their last confrontation, she couldn’t imagine facing him again. Not only had she insulted his heritage, but she had completely lost her cool. That was abnormal. She had to be more careful; living in a shifter community meant there were different rules for them to follow.
She had to take care of herself, not make enemies. Val didn’t have anybody to help her and she didn’t need anybody to feel like it was their job to do things for her. Burning bridges seemed like a bad idea, but that was also what she had to do to maintain her independence. If she didn’t manage that much at the very least, then she would let her guard down and her entire system would crumble.
She wouldn’t let that happen, not for any man, for any reason. Even if it was an insult to his heritage. There was always a way, and Val would continue to remain ambitious and independent without letting someone like Gabe talk her into thinking she needed help of any kind.
In fact, all that had happened since she arrived in Stonybrooke was that she had been practically killing herself to pay for school and make rent and pay the bills. She couldn’t even afford her car payments anymore, so she had been stuck using public transportation ever since she’d arrived. She was getting sick and tired of being affected by the ancient shifter customs that had inserted Gabe into her life. In fact, she was going to give him a piece of her mind.
She had the day off at school and at the record store, so Val braced herself to confront Gabe and caught the bus to Wayne Avenue, where the record store and Shifter Fit were located across from each other on the small strip, often full of foot traffic. The bus ride was long right from her apartment, so she had time to prepare herself. As hard as she had been working to make ends meet, it was futile. She had to bend over backwards for every hard won credit, and now that Gabe had gotten himself involved in her life, she couldn’t take two steps without worrying he was going to show up
and make her feel like she was helpless.
What she was going to do was simple. She would drop out of school, give up on the pressures of trying to receive her degree in a place where she clearly didn’t belong. Then she would leave Stonybrooke and let Gabe move on with his life without feeling like he owed her something. It was a simple, practical solution. The kind that had always helped her land on her feet when everything around her seemed to be falling apart.
When the bus finally turned down Wayne Avenue, Val’s stomach knotted. The idea of facing Gabe again made her nervous beyond belief. Nothing seemed to go right when they were together. Still, she was relieved to have a solution she could live with, whether the confrontation was going to be hard on her or not.
“Gabriel,” Val said, her voice ringing through the storefront.
There was a woman standing in the front aisle, looking at protein powders, who gave Val a dirty look, but she ignored the woman and continued through the store in search of Gabe.
She found him in the back, restocking the fresh fruit with a pensive, serious look on his handsome face. Val almost had second thoughts about leaving Stonybrooke when she saw him hard at work, his mysterious eyes narrowed as he did what had to be done to make his business thrive. There was no doubt he was a hard worker. He had probably been working like this since she had been born.
And yet, she couldn’t live knowing she was a burden on anybody. She worked hard to carry her own weight and make her way in the world, and if anybody thought she couldn’t do it alone, that insulted her to the depths of her core.
“Gabe, we need to talk,” Val said, taking a deep breath and stepping forward.
She wasn’t sure he had even noticed she was there, but he continued along his way as if he wasn’t surprised in the least.
“What else is there to talk about?” Gabe said gruffly, standing up straight and heading toward her, carrying a box full of apples in one arm and an empty bag in his other hand. “I’m pretty sure we covered everything the last time, right?”
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