[ Gabriel ]

Gabriel stared back at Aila. Every time he looked at her, he thought of Amelia. The apple fell exceptionally far away from the tree. He found it hard not to look at her, but with her mate next to her glaring at him and looking like he wanted to rip his soul from his body, he kept his glances to a minimum. But he couldn't help it; he was drawn to her.

At least when he was in the compound, he could watch her without her noticing. No, he wasn't some weirdo. It was more out of fascination. He hadn't seen Amelia in nearly four hundred-ish years, and it seemed fate was throwing Aila into the cell next to him, just to dangle her in front of him. Someone to look at but not touch.

Instantly, he saw the differences between Amelia and Aila. Aila was full of life and a kind person with strong morals; even though the worst possible thing to happen to her just did, she was determined and motivated to escape the compound. There was a light in her eyes, something he never saw in Amelia's. Her ancestor only looked out for herself, and it became apparent how mad she was getting all in the name of power.

That was why, in the end, he turned his back on her. Not only had she been with Cassius, his brother, who he trusted the most in the world, but she then found her mate, Matthias. For some reason, he was hurt even more by this. Was it because the Alpha King was a werewolf? They were not outright fighting the werewolves; though there were still reports of issues between the vampires and werewolves, it wasn't enough to make him hate the Alpha.

No, it was because out of everything. His creator said Amelia was his, but she wasn't. If she was, then she would never have had an affair with his brother or ended up as somebody else's mate.

"Matthias.." He trailed off, lost in thought. Gabriel stared at nothing in particular as he recalled the time Amelia begged him to spare her life and look after her.

The year was 1579, and Gabriel was called to the throne room of his castle. He sat down and nodded at Cassius, who in turn gestured for the guards to let through the one woman, Gabriel both loved and hated. Amelia. She walked through the cold, dark throne room; her footsteps echoed across the grand space.

Gabriel sat on his throne, looking at her with cold eyes that seemed to pierce through people's souls. The moonlight shone through the floor-to-ceiling window behind him, casting an eery and ominous feeling to the atmosphere.

Amelia bowed, gulping as she did so. When she looked up and saw the look of disdain on Gabriel's features, she lowered herself on the ground, spread her arms out before her and let her head rest on the narrow red carpet going across the cold stone floor from the entrance to the throne.

"Gabriel," She whispered, keeping her forehead to the ground. He tilted his head to the side slowly, then rose from his seat, taking his time to descend the few steps before him until he stood directly in front of the love and living hell of his life.

"Why are you here, Amelia?" His chilling voice made a few of the guards glance at each other nervously. Their king was not in a good mood. Whoever the woman was, she was not leaving alive.

She began to sob and looked up at him, who stared back at her like she was nothing. How pitiful. "Gabriel, please, I.. I made a mistake." She sat on the back of her heels and looked through her lashes. He thought his heart stilled for a moment as he stared back at her tear-stricken face. But on the surface of his chiselled features, he knew he wore a cold mask of indifference to her.

He raised his hand out and cupped her small delicate face in the palm of his hand. They stared at each other as he caressed her face until his hand slid down to her chin, and he gripped both cheeks. "Do you think these crocodile tears will work on me, Amelia?" He asked quietly.

Amelia smiled before giggling. "You must admit, your highness.. You fell for it for a moment there.." She purred. Gabriel released her face so harshly she nearly fell backwards.

He spun on his heel, his hands behind his back, clasping each elbow in his hands. His white hair was in a half-up hairstyle needed for his long locks that fell just below his shoulders, shining brightly against his black coat. His hair was not as long as Cassius', but people still could not differentiate between the pair.

"What do you want?" He drawled, his back still to her.

Amelia dabbed at her eyes. "I need sanctuary."

Gabriel burst into a peal of laughter. The guards looked at him in shock. For once, it was not forced, nor dark. It was like he genuinely meant it. He turned on his heel, his features scrunched up from laughing, making him look that much more handsome.

"Did your little antics upset the wrong person?" He continued to chuckle and slumped down on his throne, crossing his leg over his ankle while leaning his elbow gracefully on the armrest so he could rest his head in his hand.

Amelia pouted and stood up, brushing down her light blue gown. Gabriel watched the motion briefly. Taking in her appearance while keeping his face neutral to everything about her. She was dressed up to look her best, using her beauty to try and get back into good graces with him. But it wouldn't work.

By this point, it was not just because she cheated on him with his brother or left both of them after destroying their relationship for Matthias and him for some unknown shapeshifter. Amelia seemed to have gone mad on this little experimentation of creating the most superior being. She caused chaos not only to the humans but the world of creatures too. He wanted to learn more about her reasoning, but her thoughts were only about how she sought sanctuary from Matthias.

Ah, she didn't know he would find out about her infidelity. Poor bloke. Gabriel found out through a werewolf he needed to torture about how mates and mate bonds work. It was for this reason he never chased after Amelia. If she was meant to be for someone else, if her soul was meant to merge with another, then he would not interfere with that. But it seemed he knew more about werewolves than his 'beloved' here.

He smirked. Amelia didn't realise that as soon as she kisses another man, let alone take another man to bed, her mate would know. It was said that an intense fire would burn in the mate's chest, almost like their heart was physically being ripped in two the moment anything more than a kiss happened. Matthias coming after her seemed to sit quite well with Gabriel; it was something she deserved, not just for her infidelity but how many sinful acts she had done all in the name of power.