Gabriel had her body pinned against a wide Oak. The rough bark piercing into her bare skin, scratching down her arms. His body was pressing hard against hers. Her breasts squished between them, nearly popping out of her corset. She kept her eyes fixed on his and raised her hands up, laying them flat against his chest. She couldn’t resist the urge to touch him, to feel the weirdly familiar sparks that danced across her skin whenever they made physical contact.

She breathed him in deeply, his scent having an oddly calming effect that made her brain go fuzzy and warm. She pushed her eyes closed for a moment, gathering herself, remembering what she was saying.

“You can’t just force yourself on me every time we have a disagreement.” Amelia spoke softly. For some reason her breath was coming in short, sounding winded. “Otherwise we’ll never get anywhere.”

Gabriel growled deep in his throat, leaning his head down, resting his forehead against hers. His eyes fell closed, roses and honey filled his lungs, instantly calming his wolf. What was he gonna do with this woman?

“You’re gonna be a problem for me, aren’t you?” Gabriel asked.

Amelia chuckled. “Probably.”

“I barely know you and already you’re driving me and my wolf mad.”

“I’ve been known to have that effect on people.”

Gabriel pulled back, looking deep into her eyes. They were a deep-sea green color with light blue flecks near the pupil. Goddess she was stunning. Her full, pouty lips were begging to be kissed, her long slender neck would look even more perfect wearing his mark. He wanted to mark her so bad, his wolf was begging him to do it, but he hesitated. She cocked her head to the side, almost as if she was waiting to see what he’d do. He took a step back away from her.

Amelia was instantly confused, a violent chill crept along her skin from loss of contact. She could have sworn he wanted to mark her, or at least kiss her, but instead he backed away. She was impressed. She wanted to step forward, to steal a kiss in this isolated part of the woods when she heard a familiar voice in her head.

Amelia! Where the hell did you disappear to now?

What?! She growled, not realizing she’d also spoken aloud. Gabriel looked at her curiously.

Get the hell out of the woods, off your mate and over here. It’s time for cake.

Amelia blocked her brother, refusing to answer him before turning her attention back to her mate. “Cake.” She said, with a shrug of her shoulders.

Gabriel nodded his head, gesturing for her to go ahead of him. Amelia set off, back in the direction of the pack house, the voices and music getting louder as they got closer.

“I didn’t know today was your birthday. All we knew was there was going to be an Alpha ceremony.” Gabriel said, walking alongside her.

“Yea, dad didn’t want to wait to pass the Alpha rank along. Damon is very mature for his age and dad deserves a break. He’s been playing Alpha and Luna for over a decade, he could use the time off.” Amelia told him.

“What happened to your mother? If you don’t mind me asking.”

Amelia took in a deep breath, softly shrugging her shoulders. “We’re not really sure. She was outside in the garden, she loved working out there, when we heard her screams. Dad, Damon and I ran outside and found her. She had been torn apart, shredded to pieces. There wasn’t even enough of her to bury.” That day still haunted her nightmares, still left her shaking, sweating in fear. “We never found who did it. We couldn’t track him, there was no scent, no trace, nothing.”

Gabriel could see her pained expression, his heart weighing heavy for her. “How old were you?”

Amelia took her eyes off the ground, raising them to the sky as she remembered. “Damon and I were six.” She told him. “She was pregnant, too. I was gonna have a sister.”

He reached down, lacing his fingers in hers, giving her a gentle squeeze. She looked up at him, surprised by the gesture and found herself smiling. Suddenly she didn’t feel like things would be so bad, just maybe this could work.