Don’s Mate at the Gas Station

Chapter 6: disaster dinner

Ariel POV

You have got to be kidding me.

Mom didn’t want me to reject Vincenzo after I visited her in the hospital.

The same hospital where she had just given birth early to my twin baby brothers.

Tony and Tory.

The same mother who should have been on my side.

The same mother who always protected me.

And somehow, she wasn’t.

My three older brothers weren’t any better.

They had chosen to stand beside their mate instead of me.

Again.

I knew they loved me.

I knew they would protect me if I needed them.

But right now?

It didn’t feel that way.

It felt like everyone had already decided what my future should look like.

Everyone except me.

That only left Grandpa, Grandma, and Daddy.

The only people I felt might still listen.

Might still fight for me.

Dinner had already gone horribly wrong, and I needed a moment away from everyone before I said something I couldn’t take back.

Walking through the hallway, I tried to calm myself.

Tried being the important word.

Then I heard a voice.

A man’s voice.

Low.

Careless.

The kind of voice that belonged to someone who thought nobody was listening.

“Tell me you saw the damn pups the b***h just gave birth to.”

My steps froze.

For a second, I thought I had imagined it.

Then the voice continued.

I moved closer.

Slowly.

Carefully.

Werewolves could hear a lot.

But humans made mistakes.

And whoever this man was, he was making a big one.

A decorative mirror hung on the wall ahead.

Using the reflection, I caught sight of him.

I didn’t recognize him.

But I recognized the suit jacket.

The style.

The men Vincenzo had brought with him.

One of his people.

My stomach tightened.

The man had a phone pressed against his ear.

His voice dropped lower.

“We need to find the damn pups to give them as payment or we’re screwed. If we fail, we’ll be caught.”

My blood turned cold.

Pups.

Tony and Tory.

My baby brothers.

The brothers who had been born too early.

The brothers who couldn’t even defend themselves.

For a moment, I couldn’t breathe.

What payment?

Who wanted them?

Why?

A hundred questions slammed into me all at once.

Then, before I could hear another word, Mom linked me.

‘Where are you? Dinner is served.’

I nearly jumped.

My heart was beating so hard it hurt.

I forced myself to answer.

‘On my way.’

Then another thought hit me.

‘Mom… where are Tony and Tory? We can’t leave them alone.’

Her answer came immediately.

‘They’re safe. Come here now.’

Safe.

The word should have made me feel better.

It didn’t.

Because as I looked back toward the hallway, the man was already walking away.

And suddenly dinner didn’t matter anymore.

All I could think about was one terrifying question.

Why was one of Vincenzo’s men talking about my brothers?

Dinner ended.

I couldn’t tell you what anyone ate.

I couldn’t tell you what was discussed.

I couldn’t even tell you who spoke.

Because the entire time, all I could think about were Tony and Tory.

The man.

The phone call.

The payment.

Every time I looked toward the hallway, I half expected to see someone carrying my brothers away.

I knew Mom said they were safe.

I knew Dad would never allow anything to happen to them.

I knew my brothers would tear apart anyone who got too close.

Yet somehow, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

The more I tried to ignore it, the worse it became.

Across the room, Thominic kept watching me.

Dorian noticed too.

Kelso outright stared.

I immediately looked away.

Nope.

Absolutely not.

The second any of them cornered me, they would start asking questions.

Questions I didn’t want to answer.

Questions I wasn’t ready to answer.

Because if I told them what I heard, then everything would change.

And I wasn’t sure I wanted that yet.

Not until I knew more.

So every time one of them started moving toward me, I moved somewhere else.

A drink table.

The hallway.

The dessert table.

Anywhere.

At one point, Kelso actually changed directions when he saw me walking away.

I immediately turned around.

Nope.

Not happening.

A few guests laughed as I nearly walked into a wall trying to avoid him.

Worth it.

Then there was Vincenzo.

Unfortunately.

Every time I glanced up, he was looking at me.

Not casually.

Not normally.

Looking.

Watching.

Waiting.

It was annoying.

Extremely annoying.

Especially because I was doing my best to ignore him.

The man had already ruined enough of my life for one day.

Finding out he was my mate.

Arguing with Mom.

Arguing with my brothers.

Trying not to think about the fact that one of his men was talking about my baby brothers.

I didn’t need more problems.

Yet every time I moved, he followed me with his eyes.

Eventually, I made the mistake of looking directly at him.

His eyebrow lifted.

I immediately looked away.

Nope.

Still ignoring him.

A minute later, my phone vibrated.

Unknown Number.

I already knew who it was.

Opening it only made me regret it.

Unknown Number| Stop avoiding me.

I rolled my eyes.

Then locked the phone.

A second later it vibrated again.

Unknown Number| I can see you doing it.

I refused to answer.

The phone vibrated a third time.

Unknown Number| Ariel.

A fourth.

Unknown Number| Stop acting like a child.

A fifth.

Unknown Number: We need to talk.

I shoved the phone into my purse.

Absolutely not.

If Vincenzo wanted a conversation, he could wait.

Because right now, I had more important things to worry about than an arrogant mafia prince with control issues.

Like figuring out why one of his men was talking about my baby brothers.

‘Ariel, come to my office. Your mate is here and we all need to talk.’

The moment Daddy’s link reached me, my stomach dropped.

I already knew what this was about.

Vincenzo.

The dinner.

The argument.

And most importantly…

The man I had overheard talking about my baby brothers.

I knew I couldn’t stay quiet forever.

Sooner or later, I would have to tell someone what I heard.

Even if it caused problems.

Even if it started a fight.

Tony and Tory were worth it.

Taking a deep breath, I forced myself toward Daddy’s office.

With every step, my anxiety grew.

By the time I reached the door, I was already preparing myself for an argument.

Then I stepped inside.

And everything else stopped mattering.

Mom was sitting comfortably in a chair.

One twin in each arm.

My baby brothers slept peacefully against her chest, completely unaware of the chaos they had caused simply by existing.

The sight instantly eased something inside me.

The fear.

The panic.

The endless questions running through my head.

For a moment, all I could think was:

They’re safe.

I didn’t realize how tense I had been until my shoulders finally relaxed.

Mom looked tired.

Exhausted, actually.

But happy.

The kind of happy only a mother could be while holding her pups.

Without thinking, I moved closer to them.

Tony yawned in his sleep.

Tory shifted slightly against Mom’s shoulder.

And just like that, the conversation I knew was coming became a little easier to face.

Because no matter what happened next…

At least for now, my brothers were safe.

“Nice of you to join us. Take a seat, we all need to talk.”

Daddy said it firmly, though I could tell he was trying not to sound irritated.

The second he started to stand to pull out a chair for me, Vincenzo beat him to it.

The movement was smooth.

Effortless.

One hand pulled the chair back while the other rested behind it, waiting for me to sit.

For a moment, neither man said a word.

But the tension between them was impossible to miss.

Daddy slowly sat back down.

Vincenzo simply looked at me expectantly.

Waiting.

I rolled my eyes.

Of course he would choose now to act like a gentleman.

Not when he was insulting Mireddys.

Not when he was starting arguments.

Now.

Because apparently pulling out a chair erased every stupid thing that came out of his mouth.

Still, I sat down.

Mostly because I didn’t feel like standing there all night.

The second I did, Vincenzo pushed the chair in carefully before taking his own seat.

Mom watched the entire thing with an amused smile.

Grandma looked suspicious.

Grandpa looked entertained.

Daddy looked like he was deciding whether or not he liked my mate.

Honestly?

I was still deciding too.

Especially after everything that had happened today.

Especially after what I had overheard.

And judging by the look on Daddy’s face, this conversation wasn’t going to be easy for anyone.