Gabriel had driven us back to Black Moon territory, I had shortly expressed that I needed to speak to him about something private, he looked curiously at me but nodded.

It was also his twin sister's birthday party this weekend and Kennedy, and I had been invited.

By the time we arrived at the pack house, Kennedy was fast asleep. I was slightly thankful for that as I was tired myself, wanting to have a restful day. I was looking forward to relaxing on the couch.

After we said our goodbyes to Taylor, Eli and Jace we walked up the stairs towards Gabriel's floor. Kennedy clinging to Gabriel's neck as she closed her eyes, still sleepy.

I waited in the living room, turning the television on for a moment while Gabriel carried Kennedy to the bedroom.

I scanned through the channels before settling on one. Gabriel walked in, taking a seat near me. He smiled and I smiled back, he had purposely allowed his leg to touch mine wanting contact. "Kennedy missed you, and so did I."

I smiled at his admission; I couldn't deny that I missed him too. I was open to the idea of being his mate and trying to make a relationship work, but I wanted to take it slow. I had enjoyed speaking to him every night whilst I was away.

It had made us closer, I felt I knew him better and understanding him as a man now was important for progression.

Getting to know him on another level, he was different to what I remembered, the night we met we had spoken for hours, he was arrogant then but now he made me smile from ear to ear, laughing at memories he shared, at the small things and about his fears and loves.

I surprised him when I moved closer, my back now resting on his chest as I bent my legs up on the couch. He quickly moved his arm to rest over my shoulder, I could feel his chest rumble with content.

We couldn't just disregard our mate connection, the past few weeks getting to know him and being in his company had strengthened the bond between us. This was an opportunity to re-establish our relationship and try to make it work.

"How did you find it with Kennedy, it must have been a shock to suddenly be a father?" I questioned as we sat in comfortable silence for a moment after my bold move of cuddling up next to him.

"It was interesting, she's very stubborn and bubbly. I can't begin to tell you how many times she forced me to watch my little mermaid." He replied laughing.

I couldn't help but grin, laughing myself as I knew that feeling. She was obsessed with it; she couldn't get enough off it. "I bet you've memorised every song, word by word by now."

"Indeed, I have. My mom and dad met Kennedy the other day, my mom couldn't stop crying at how beautiful she is. They can't wait to meet you on Saturday."

"I'm nervous to meet your family." I admitted, I wondered whether they resented me for not telling Gabriel about his daughter.

Gabriel immediately knew what I was thinking, reassuring me that they didn't have any ill feelings towards me. They just wanted to get to know both Kennedy and me.

We stayed there for hours, my body eventually moving to lay more comfortably on Gabriel while we watched television, my head leaning on his chest.

Gabriel had questioned me on what I wanted to speak to him about, but I waved it off. Not wanting to ruin the moment we were sharing; it could wait until tomorrow.

~*~

I woke up the next morning to find Kennedy sprawled across the bed, her legs laying across mine with her arms spread above her head. I pulled her towards me, her arms moving to lay on my stomach as she continued to snore softly.

I stroked my hand through her hair, she had only woken up once last night while I had struggled to sleep, my wolf kept calling to her mate. Wanting to be besides him, she desperately wanted to be in his arms.

I laid there for an hour until Kennedy stirred, waking up and rubbing her hands over her eyes. She sat up and I followed suit, carrying her into the bathroom to get her ready, giving her a quick bath and dressing her in a cute floral dress.

She started to walk out of the bathroom, I could sense that Gabriel was out there, so I allowed her to leave on her own. I showered quickly before searching for them.

I found them both in the kitchen eating breakfast, Dan and Charlie were also there. "How was your trip back to your pack?" Charlie asked with a friendly smile on her face as I approached them.

"Yeah, it was ok. I sorted everything that I needed to and said goodbye to my auntie and my friends there. I'm happy to be back here though, to be closer to my family." I replied, helping myself to the pancakes Gabriel had made.

"Julian's your dad, isn't he? He's very intense when it comes to training. I was in the clearing doing my workout session and he joined me and boy, is he vigorous." Dan looked at me with a grin on his face.

"He's not biologically, he's my foster parent you could say. I lost my parents when I was sixteen." I shared, Charlie and Dan sending me apologetic smiles. "He can definitely be intense; you should have seen how he would train Dylan and I when we were younger."

"I think he was testing me, to see whether we were competent and skilled. He wanted to know whether we could protect you and Kennedy."

I grinned, that would have been Julian's intentions. He was profoundly protective of his family, and if he thought there was a possibility that Kennedy and I would stay in Black Moon territory, he wanted to ensure our safety.

The conversation soon turned to the discussion of the recent rogue attacks in the area. Gabriel had upped his patrols, scheduling more pack wolves to guard the territory.

Taylor and Dan took Kennedy with them when Gabriel requested that we speak about the private matter that I wanted to discuss with him in his office. I agreed and we walked down to the first-floor office since Eli was occupying his.

We walked in comfortable silence with me following closely behind him. I was lost in my own thoughts, contemplating how to bring the conversation up and how much to share, whether this conversation would cause an argument between us.

We hadn't spoken for four years; we must have both explored other relationships.

Gabriel walked in first, opening the door wide open. I looked up to find a bleach blonde haired girl, she laid suggestively on top of Gabriel's desk. She was of slim build, her prominent chest on show, pushing tightly to the thin lacy lingerie she was wearing.

I couldn't help but let out a territorial growl, my eyes diverting from her to the side, not wanting to view her any further. She gasped, her hands immediately tumbling for her coat which laid on the desk chair. Wrapping her body within it at my unexpected appearance. She was obviously expecting to see Gabriel.

"Olivia, what are you doing here?" Gabriel gritted out, his anger showing as he stared at her disgustedly.

My blood was boiling with animosity, the thought of Olivia touching my mate had my wolf begging to come out, to rip her apart.

"I came to see you obviously." She replied heatedly. Her own fury was showing as she looked between Gabriel and me. I think the clocks began to tick in her mind, she scrunched up her face, rage burning behind her eyes.

"Get out Olivia, we ended over two years ago. I haven't been with you since; you're clearly trying to make a scene." Gabriel growled while using his Alpha voice to command her to leave.

She stood up, her eyes still pointing daggers at us both as she left. Dragging herself out the office as Gabriel sighed deeply.

I immediately stopped my glaring, my eyes moving back to Gabriel's as I moved to sit down.

Gabriel closed the door and moved towards his desk, leaning against it. "I don't know what to say about that, I'm sorry. I haven't been with Olivia for a long time and I haven't been with anyone since. The news of my mates arrival has been travelling around the pack, she must have heard you were here."

Relief flowed through me, knowing that Gabriel hadn't been with her in a long time, or anyone else. I decided to overlook that unexpected situation, he had been with other people just as I had, and I couldn't be mad at that.

I knew he hadn't been with anyone sexually for a long time, his scent told me so.

"It's fine Gabriel. I actually wanted to talk to you about something similar, it's to do with my ex back in Texas."

He frowned deeply, low growls emitting from his throat. "I must admit, I never thought or even considered that you could have been in another relationship. It's never crossed my mind."

I sensed that he wasn't angry at me, his wolf was as surprised as him and wasn't impressed. He was jealous and his possessiveness was showing through his human side. "I was with Nate for three years, we had meet when I moved to Texas."

Gabriel stayed quiet, listening intently to each word I said. "I was trying to move on with my life after everything that had happened. I met Nate through mutual friends and we just clicked. He was there for me; I only ended our relationship six weeks ago."

"You're definitely over, there's no lingering feelings towards him?" Gabriel quired, he was breathing heavier, his tone on edge.

"No Gabriel," I reassured. "When I saw you again, those feelings were gone."

He nodded at my reply, moving towards me as he sat beside me. "I can't be mad that you moved on, I rejected you and you had all the right in the world to find happiness. Just to make it clear and to be outright honest, I've slept with five other she wolves since you. One being Olivia, but I haven't slept with anyone for two years."

It was my turn to sigh, taking a deep intake of breath, it wasn't as high as I suspected it was, but it still felt like a dagger to the heart.

"I wanted to speak to you about Nate and me, about the reason we broke up. About two months ago I had noticed a change in Nate, and in our relationship. He had been acting strangely, more protective of me, and beyond possessive. A week before I was due to visit my family, Nate and I went to a restaurant in town. Nate had gone into the bathroom and while he was there, a human guy approached me wanting directions. As I was explaining, Nate walked out the restroom and punched the poor guy straight in the face."

Gabriel held my hand, feeling my shift in emotions. "He was yelling at the guy, screaming at him to stay away from me, the guy was terrified and so was I. I had never seen that side to Nate before."

"It was only the next day, when we were walking through the mall that I realised what was causing his outbursts. Nate had found his mate; she was pleading for him to accept her. He rejected her so coldly and in such a callus way. I would never stand in the way of a mate relationship; I knew how it felt. We ended up going home, and we argued, and he tried to force me to stay in his room."

"His behaviour became worse and later that day, his mate turned up at the pack house. She requested permission from our Alpha. I was outside with Nate at the time when she came to see him. He strangled her in front of me, demanding that she stay away from us. That I was his mate." Gabriel pulled me towards him, his arms securing me tightly to his side.

"I knew then that he had developed issues that I couldn't deal with. I broke up with him and ran home with Kennedy and hadn't spoken to him since." I exhaled loudly, my eyes finding Gabriel's.

"Well, sort of. Nate had been rummaging through my belonging when Jace had been walking me back to my room after college. He was adamant that he had broken up with her for us, he grinned at me when I told him there was nothing between us anymore."

"I'm concerned that he could be a danger for us and our daughter." I finished, my heart hammering in my chest, there was something uneasy about the situation.

And I couldn't have been more right.