Warring Twin Wolves

Chapter Sixteen

Gabby’s POV:

          We were all seated when Cooper finally came to the meeting.  I felt like the Hatfields and the McCoys sitting across from the Ravenwoods like we are.  When Cooper came in and saw us, he stopped for a second, and immediately put his poker face on.  He was going into his Alpha mode.  My dad does the same thing, but I guess after a while, the poker face becomes his resting face.  His facial expressions come back only when he interacts with my mother.  I guess Coop will be that way with Jaycie.  

          I glanced over at Danny.  What is going on inside his head?  He’s apparently been taught how to keep his face expressionless as well, or all Alphas have the same resting b***h face.  Good thing that I am also Alpha as well, because I have kept my face deadpan.  I remember trying to get Cooper to laugh whenever he would practice.  I would look over at him and his face would be devoid of any emotion, so I would start to make funny faces, or fake walking into the door or some other kind of humiliating act just to try to get a smile or a chuckle.  I would even mindlink him and say, ‘Look at me’, or I would joke around and point out funny observations of people we know or just whoever was in our vicinity.  

          I used to practice my poker face and how to keep it.  Coop gave me pointers on how I could improve, or encourage me.  That example right there kind of proves who matured faster.  He never felt like doing impish things just to break an emotionless face; he would try to help me be just like him.  I’m not sure if he wanted me to be the same as him, but he still helped me even if it meant that I could best him by the end of it.

          I kept going over what I was planning in my head so I will not freeze or be deterred.  My father started things off by asking Alpha Maxwell if he had any questions.  He answered that no, he just wanted to know what transpired.  My father started to say something but I ended up cutting him off in the middle of his sentence because I couldn’t keep it to myself anymore.  I stood abruptly, “I, Gabrielle Stone, accept you-”.   Danny jumped to his feet and ran over to me with his hands out in front of him to signal me to stop.  He panicked and covered my mouth with his hand owing to the absence of any other idea.  

          Danny didn’t know what to do next.  I could see it on his face.  An idea popped into my head and I jumped on it while he was distracted.  He wouldn’t withdraw his hand, so I sank my teeth as hard as I could into the offending appendage.  Danny cried out in agony and he yanked his hand back.  He cradled it in his arms,  and looked at me beseechingly, “Please, Gabrielle,  please don’t say it.  I know that I didn’t give you the chance to talk it through, but please, can we please talk about this first?  Please?”.  He looked so desperate.  There was no more of the  elusive Alpha face.  I could read most of what he felt now.  

          He was experiencing the same kind of pain I had right before he rejected me.  He has no idea the suffering that I have had to endure.  I didn’t want to refuse to listen to him, but I also didn’t want to cave and look weak.  So I asked myself, ‘How would Alpha Gabrielle handle this?’.  I sat up straight and held my head high, sounding professional, “Okay, what information can you give me that you think will affect my decision”.  I guess Danny caught the tone I was using, and seemed depressed.  Should I worry about him?

          I was starting to really feel concerned when he looked so hopeless, but then he launched into the whole story, starting with Cindy inviting herself into their car at the last second.  He then went on to explain how he noticed me from across the room.  He started to tell us all about the part with Cindy.  He told us all the awful things she had said to him about me that she insisted must be true.  Danny admitted that he didn’t realize until later when he had time to think about it, that she had the sudden urge to speak ill of me when she noticed Danny was looking at me.  

          This was news to me.  I knew the gist of what she said, though.  All that stuff that he was yelling at me about had to come from her.  My father cleared his voice for Danny’s attention, “What information did she tell you?”.  Danny started to look really uncomfortable.  He explained  how Cindy is known for gossiping, but that she is usually spot on, according to his sister.  He then dove right into the rumors that Cindy apparently started right then, “Cindy told me that Gabrielle was known among the guys from all the packs.  That she slept around and had guys in each pack that she had slept with”.  My mother looked furious, and I could hear my twin growling.  I looked across at Alpha Maxwell, Luna Darla and Danny.  His parents looked so uncomfortable.  I don’t think they thought their son would reject his mate.  It doesn’t happen very often.

          I stole a glance over at Danny, and I could see the remorse standing out on his face.  It was so intense, he had tears just streaming down his face.  That surprised me because I hadn’t d heard any other noise, like sniffles or sobs, to give away the fact that he was crying.  Now the sniffling commenced, as he was getting to the part where he rejected me.  He told us how when he came to talk to me then, he was having trouble controlling his wolf, who wanted to claim me immediately.  His brain was foggy because of my scent, which I could relate seeing as how my brain got foggy and hazy just from his scent and proximity.  But when I had tried to bring him to another room so we could have more air, he thought that what Cindy was saying must be true if I knew the layout of different packhouses.  Didn’t he ever accompany his dad to any meetings or conferences?  

          I took a deep breath in and sighed.  My mother finally found her voice and asked if it ever occurred to him that the rumors weren’t true; that the information he was given had been false.  Danny answered truthfully that no, with all the emotions, the brain fogginess, his wolf, and my beauty, his judgement was impaired.  I was wondering if my beauty would seriously mesmerize anyone to the point of distraction.  Maybe he was being insincere.

          He kept admitting his mistakes and misconceptions and how he should have taken time out to clear his mind before he made such a huge decision.  I remember wondering why he was making such a rash decision.  It was mind boggling to me.  He explained that when we were finally able to talk, I wouldn’t answer his questions, or rather, I wasn’t responding in the way he wanted.  His wolf tried to come out again, because he felt challenged, but Danny was only barely able to keep him back.  He knew he needed to leave, and with all the chaos in the moment, he had said the rejection before he realized that he said it.  

          He went on to say that he continued to make stupid choices.  He ran away because of  making a rush to judgment, and then shifted when he felt the immense pain I was experiencing.  He thought it would hurt me less if he put more distance between us.  After he had reached home and his mind had cleared, the gravity of his decisions haunted him, and as much as he wanted to apologize and ask for forgiveness, he figured it was too little, too late.  

           It turns out, he didn’t even find out about the relationship between his and his sister’s mates until he finally had a sit down with Jaycie a few days after everything.  He then heard about me blacking out and not waking up yet, and he wanted to kill himself.  That hit me really hard.  My heart clenched, and my stomach turned.  Do not tell me that I am falling for it?  I need to stay strong, dang it!  

          I was deep in thought when I heard my brother ask him why he didn’t tell Jaycie, and have her try to tell us what happened.  Danny countered that he figured he’d be banned, and that getting another chance seemed hopeless.  They went back and forth for a few more minutes, and then my father asked Danny what he wanted the final outcome to be.  He said he wanted me to give him a second chance.  He then got down on his knees to beg, “Please, Gabby, all I want is you.  I have been selfish.  Please give me one date”.

          My brain felt making a decision right then was not possible.  While I was still trying to wrap my mind through everything, I heard his dad and him talking.  I couldn’t focus enough to even recognize my own language coming out of their mouths.  The decision was not black and white to me anymore.  I had only considered him as the villain.  Would I close the door on us so willingly?  He gave some more information that seemed to weigh heavily with me.

          I became aware that the room had gotten so silent.  They were all looking at me expectantly.  Danny had hope written all over his face.  I felt under so much pressure.  I came up with my answer, and mentally psyched myself up to give me a boost of confidence.  I sat up and stuck my chin out to steady myself, and nodding said, “I will go on one date, and then we can go from there”.  I hope I made the right decision.