CHAPTER SIXTEEN
When Gabby woke up, it was to the feeling of having slept soundly for the first time in days—weeks, even. It was also to the knowledge that she was now at vampire headquarters in New York, where they transported her when she was unconscious and settled her with chains around her wrists for good measure.
Jake was gone.
She asked where he was, and the first answer she got from the vampire guarding her prison-slash-bedroom was that the shifter had certain matters to attend. That had Gabby torn between relief and disappointment—relief that he was let go and wouldn’t have to face the consequences of what she’d done, and disappointment that she was probably never going to see him again.
It was for the best, she knew, especially when her heart rebelled and told her what she didn’t want to know: that her wolf and fox had chosen him as her mate, whether she liked it or not. She couldn’t have him as her mate, not when this was her life, and he would be stuck with it if he stuck with her.
He was better off away and free.
Heart feeling hollow and hurting more than she cared to admit, she tried to put it off her mind. But it was difficult, especially when she was alone like this with her thoughts all to herself. She missed him, and that was insane because she didn’t even really know him.
Aside from the fact that he protected her despite knowing she was hiding something, and continued to do so at the risk of his life.
And that he would, without a doubt, do the same thing over and over.
God. He was ridiculously stubborn in that aspect, and she liked that about him. A lot.
She liked too many things about him, and now it was a matter of trying to forget every single one of them for her own self-preservation…and for his. The scariest thing was, she was on the verge of that thing called falling in love—and that was even more ridiculous because no one could fall in love with a stranger in that short amount time.
Could they?
For a prison, the bedroom she was provided was more luxurious than most, which meant she wasn’t completely ostracized for her revelation. Yet. But Gabby waited it out, and soon the vampire guarding her took her chains carefully from the bed and transferred them all around her body before she was escorted outside. She tried to walk with as much dignity as she could muster with the chains and her wrinkled new dress, ignoring the chill of the place in general and the hushed silence as she passed by vampires who made her neck prickle.
Too many of them.
She was taken into a hall—one that was bigger than Raz’s meeting room, and infinitely more elegant and understated in taste. It was circular in shape, and she was taken to the middle to face the jury composed of the same three vampires who questioned her before, the dragon shifter, and a few new faces: ultimate shifter leader Dylan Masters, his mate Isabella…and Gabby’s mother.
Gabby’s eyes widened at the sight of Henrietta Montgomery, looking as elegant and classy as always. Her heart mourned at the realization that her mother, the one person she hid all this from the very start, already knew and would probably never forgive her for the betrayal. Henrietta didn’t even meet her eyes, merely looking straight ahead as if she didn’t exist.
Carefully, Gabby kept her expression neutral and waited.
It was Lucinda who spoke first.
“Dylan has been informed of everything, and we don’t want to make this long for you. We have already decided on a course of action that doesn’t involve your imminent death.”
Gabby’s head snapped up at the words, suddenly confused.
“So you’re not going to kill me?”
“No,” Lucinda responded calmly.
Gabby looked at her incredulously, then turned her eyes to the others. Only Raz met her stare head-on, and he looked bothered enough that she suddenly grew bothered, too. Heck, he didn’t even try to hide it.
“But…don’t you kill my kind so as not to spread…?” Her question trailed off.
Dylan finally cleared his throat and spoke. “We usually do. But you’re an important part of society, and you’ve managed to shift back to your regular shifter and human form and blend in. We have to take that into consideration.”
Something in the wolf shifter’s tone indicated that this wasn’t necessarily good news, and Gabby had a feeling that there was no reason to celebrate yet. Impatient at the formalities, she swallowed any noble talk on her end and got to the point.
“Then what will happen to me?”
Dylan nodded as if expecting the query. “You will be put to a test. Lucinda will be the one to handle this part, as per our agreement. Lucinda?”
The vampire spoke up without a hitch, and the smoothness of the transition had Gabby thinking that they’d done this kind of meeting too many times to count. Alliance indeed.
“We will postpone the test until you feel yourself transforming again. For now, we will keep you here at vampire headquarters as a guest, but please understand the need for us to lock you up as a safety precaution. We understand whatever is inside you is out of your control, so this is for your own good.”
“Understood,” Gabby replied, keeping her voice calm.
“You will be given the best accommodations possible, of course.”
Of course. Gabby bit back any bitter response to that, knowing they were doing their best. Still, frustration boiled inside her. “What is the test?”
“You will find out soon enough. Call us when you’re ready.”
It wasn’t a request.
With an inward sigh, Gabby could only nod once more.
*****
She lasted two days before she felt the darkness inside her lurking again, poking at her and demanding to be let out. Normally, Gabby let it brew inside her for a few more minutes or hours, depending on her will and resistance. But having been cooped up too long in a cold, impersonal room with no one to talk to, she was just impatient to let off some steam now, and she knew there was no better way to do so than to let out the monster.
They took her to a closed, arena-like space that almost looked like a training room, with all the equipment removed. Raz came in through a side door, his face tighter than usual as he announced that a camera was watching and listening to her from all sides and that her test would start soon. He encouraged her to fight her monster once it was out, to try to wrestle control over it as best as she possibly could.
Gabby stared at him. “I tried that each and every time. Last time I did, I killed my bodyguard by accident.”
Raz met her stare directly. “Then you have to try harder. We will place something in this locked area with you to help you. An obstacle, if you may.”
The vampire left, and now frustration hit her harder as she realized that was exactly the test they were trying to do. If she managed to fight her monster and win, then they would probably deem her safe to be let out in society and would no longer have any reason to contain her.
If she lost, then she would be put down like a rabid dog.
It was so simple and effective. But what they didn’t know was that whenever the monster was inside her, the human and shifter Gabby in her took a complete backseat without any recollection of what her monster had done until it was too late. A test she was sure to fail.
The side door opened again, and Gabby wondered what that something was. The darkness in her screamed to be let out, but she fought it for a few more seconds to see what obstacle they wanted her to face.
A man slipped inside, and Gabby felt her blood freeze over, and fear hit her like a hammer.
It was Jake.
Jake was the obstacle.