Breakfast waited on the table—eggs congealing, coffee growing cold. Gabriel sat rigid in his chair, staring at nothing. Nate pushed food around his plate. I forced myself to eat, each bite like sawdust.
The silence pressed against us, heavy with everything we couldn't say.
Through the mate bond, Gabriel's anguish crashed into me in waves. Not just worry—bone-deep terror that he'd fail his pack, fail me, fail everyone who depended on him. Elsie whined, desperate to comfort her mate. My chest ached with the weight of his pain mixing with my own guilt.
"The council meets in ten minutes," Gabriel said finally, his voice hollow. "We need options."
"I'll gather the warriors," Nate replied, already standing.
"Katherine—" Gabriel started.
"I'll be fine," I said softly. "Do what you need to do."
They left me alone with the cold breakfast and colder reality.
Three hours later, Nate emerged first from the council chambers. His face told me everything—jaw clenched, shoulders tight with barely controlled rage. The pack had no good options. Fight and die. Submit and die slowly. Run and scatter like cowards.
"We need to talk," I said quietly as he passed. "Alone."
His eyes met mine briefly, understanding flashing between us.
I found Gabriel still in the council room, alone now, head in his hands. Maps covered every surface—territory lines, defensive positions, escape routes.
All of them are inadequate.
"You're done for today," I said from the doorway.
He looked up, eyes red-rimmed with exhaustion. "Katherine, I can't—"
"Yes, you can." I crossed to him, taking his hands. "You need rest. The pack needs their Alpha strong, not broken."
"I'm going to lose everything." His voice cracked. "The pack, you—"
"You're not losing me." I pulled him to his feet. "Come on. Rest. We'll face tomorrow when it comes."
In his room, the moment the door closed, Gabriel pulled me against him with desperate strength. The mate bond flared between us, electric and demanding, trying to soothe the terror with connection.
"Katherine," he breathed against my neck. "I need—"
"I know." I turned in his arms, cupping his face. "I need it too."
His mouth crashed into mine like a hurricane—no softness, no hesitation. His tongue plunged into my mouth, claiming me with a ferocity that made my knees buckle.
Elsie surged forward, her claws raking at the edge of my consciousness, howling for him, for the bond screaming between us.
His hands tangled in my hair, gripping so tight it hurt in the best fucking way, tilting my head back as his lips devoured mine.
“Mine,” he growled into my mouth, his voice deep and guttural.
I whimpered in response, my hips grinding against the hard ridge of his cock straining against his jeans.
“Yours,” I gasped, my nails digging into his shoulders as he tore at my shirt, buttons scattering across the floor.
His hands were everywhere—my breasts, my hips, my thighs—rough and desperate, like he couldn’t get enough of me fast enough. I fumbled with his belt, my fingers trembling as I freed him, my breath catching at the sight of his lenghth—thick, pulsing, dripping with need.
He lifted me like I weighed nothing, his muscles flexing beneath his skin as he carried me to the bed and laid me down. His eyes raking over my naked body like I was a feast.
“You’re so goddamn beautiful,” he murmured, his voice reverent as his hands traced every curve, every scar, every inch of me.
I pulled him down to me, my legs wrapping around his waist as he positioned himself at my dripping entrance.
“Gabriel,” I whispered, my breath hitching as he pushed inside, inch by torturous inch, stretching me wide, filling me completely.
“Fuck,” he groaned, his forehead pressing against mine as he bottomed out, his cock throbbing inside me. He paused, trembling with restraint, his eyes locked on mine. “Are you sure?”
I answered by driving my hips up, forcing him deeper, and he let out a guttural growl that sent my wolf into a frenzy. His control snapped, his hips slamming into mine with a force that had me crying out in pleasure, my nails raking down his back.
Every thrust was a fucking claim—hard, deep, relentless—driving me closer to the edge with each snap of his hips. His mouth latched onto my neck.
“Mine,” he growled against my pulse point.
I screamed his name as my orgasm tore through me, my body convulsing around him, milking every drop from him as he came with a roar, his hips stuttering against mine. We collapsed together, spent and trembling, he still buried deep inside me, his breath hot against my skin.
“Katherine,” he whispered, his voice raw, “I love you.”
I kissed him, tasting the sweat and need on his lips, and whispered back, “Always.”
And for that moment, nothing else mattered.
After, we lay tangled together, skin cooling, hearts still racing. Gabriel traced lazy patterns on my bare shoulder, his other arm keeping me pressed against his chest like I might disappear.
"We'll find a way through this," he murmured into my hair. "Barrett won't win. I won't let him take you from me."
I pressed my face into his chest, breathing in his scent, memorizing this moment. Outside, the sun was setting.
I let Gabriel hold me, let the mate bond hum with satisfaction, let myself pretend that love could be this simple—just two bodies finding solace in each other while the world burned down around them.
"Sleep," I whispered, feeling his breathing already evening out. "I'll be here when you wake."