His Isolated Omega Luna

Chapter Thirty Four

Gabriel made the impulsive decision to go straight from LaVey’s office to search for Cassandra. He couldn’t possibly tell his sister that her omega status was no longer a secret and hoped he could get to her before it was too late. He cursed himself a hundred times over when he thought about how rash he had been in trying to get LaVey to protect Cassandra from Axel.

The more Gabriel thought about it, the more likely it seemed that would probably end up the other way around. The guilt was suffocating.

By the time he reached the small apartment building, Gabriel was frantically dredging his thoughts for an opener that wouldn’t sound too much like he had just unintentionally sold out his sister to someone dangerous who might harm her.

Gabriel ran up three flights of stairs without even pausing for breath and when he reached the fourth floor, something told him to try Lucas’ room first. If what he shared with him earlier was true, then it was pretty likely Axel and Cassandra were still together so he hesitantly tapped on the door and waited.

Lucas opened it after almost a minute, hazel eyes growing round with surprise when he looked down to see Gabriel standing in front of him. He looked much smaller than he remembered, and almost all of the cruel hostility once lining his face had seamlessly been erased.

“Hello, Lucas,” Gabriel stretched out one arm in greeting. Lucas was so stunned at the change in him, he shook his hand in silence and let him in.

As soon as he stepped into the apartment, Gabriel was met with a cold green glare.

He wasn’t so sure this was such a good idea after all.

Axel was surprisingly intimidating. In other circumstances, Gabriel wouldn't hesitate to back down, but this was about his baby sister and the desire to keep Cassandra’s virtue intact for now wasn't something he was prepared to let go so easily. He smiled at Cassandra, who was just watching him from a dark corner.

Lucas gestured for Gabriel to sit before he grabbed hold of Axel’s arm and dragged him through to the kitchen.

“He’s obviously got something to say so just stay in here, Axel. No more trouble, okay? I’m sorry for what I said, I didn’t mean it.”

Axel was still doubtful of exactly why Gabriel seemed so insistent on getting involved, but out of begrudging respect for Cassandra and her brother, he stayed in the kitchen, propping himself up defensively against the counter. Lucas fixed him fast with a warning glance when Cassandra appeared by his side. Lucas left him to make a drink and returned to the other room.

“What is it?” Lucas asked, after a tense pause. “What do you want?”

“I need you to tell me more about what you think is really going on here.” Gabriel said, taking the cup from Cassandra when she returned. He nodded at her in gratitude.

Cassandra perched herself unsteadily on the corner of the couch and waited. Lucas shoved some of the empty packaging and papers out the way and lifted up his laptop. He located Axel’s book underneath it, and tugged at the bookmark. He flicked it open before handing it to Gabriel.

“It’s all in here,” Lucas mumbled, shoulders dropping in defeat. There was no point in hiding it anymore. “Read it.”

Gabriel took it and quickly scanned a few of the relevant pages. A frown deepened over his normally blank expression. He seemed to be studying the text with keen eyes.

After a tense silent, he finally closed it and passed it back to Lucas with a sigh.

“Cassandra? Could you get me some more sugar please?” Gabriel said suddenly. Cassandra looked between the two men in surprise at being dismissed so blatantly. She was sure she already emptied at least four heaped spoonful into her brother’s coffee earlier and Cassandra didn’t believe for one minute it could possibly still be undrinkable.

Cassandra knew a subtle hint when she saw one, so she got up and made her way back to the cupboard. Axel followed her like a puppy she was training to heel. Cassandra then glanced at Gabriel over her shoulder just to make sure he wasn’t asking Lucas anything he didn’t want to answer, but Cassandra had fallen out of earshot within a few paces.

Gabriel lowered his voice and leaned in even more so he couldn’t be overheard. “What does this really mean, Lucas?” Gabriel asked, in a whisper. It was obvious Lucas knew much more than he made out, and Gabriel was looking at him so hopefully, he couldn’t help but give in.

“Honestly? I’m worried about them. They seem to be developing a dangerously high dependence on each other, Gabriel…” Lucas admitted, surprised at how freely that flowed from his mouth in front of a man he hardly knew, and didn’t trust as far as he could kick him.

Gabriel was unnaturally quiet while Lucas took a small sip from his coffee. He seemed to slump in his seat, before leaning forward again. Lucas thought at first Gabriel was going to spiral into a whirlwind of wrath and tell Cassandra she should never speak to Axel Harrison again, but what came out was something different entirely.

“Yes, well I might know a little bit more about that pair-bonding stuff than I let on,” Gabriel said slowly, watching Lucas’ eyes widen over the rim of his cup.

“Lucas!” Gabriel whispered urgently, clicking his fingers in front of his face to make sure he was listening. “I do know some of those ancient legends about true mates. When I found out about the effect your brother was having on Cassandra, I did some research of my own,” He admitted. “Part of me wondered why it all seemed to be happening so quickly and of course I knew a little about my sister being different. I just had to be sure. I wasn’t completely convinced, but now I can see there’s a lot more going on here than I thought,”

Gabriel looked down into the cup and picked at the froth with his finger.

“I had no idea Axel might be the one she's supposed to be with. If that’s true, then I owe you an apology,” He added quietly.

Gabriel’s words backed up everything Lucas had been thinking about when he saw how anxious Cassandra was when Axel left her alone. “That was partly why I wanted to take her home. If she never mates, she will always be at risk of being taken and violated by some merciless alpha and if Axel is her true mate…” Gabriel hesitated. “Lucas, if they're ever separated, Cassandra could get sick without him - maybe even die.”

“Come again?”

“They would be joined forever and that’s just one of the reasons why I never wanted anyone to claim her...” Gabriel continued sadly and sat back when he saw Cassandra approaching from the corner of his eye.

“s**t…” Lucas breathed out, processing this new information.

It was f****d up whichever way you chose to look at it. The only comfort he could take from it was if his brother and Cassandra did mate, Axel would surely never leave her side and at least Cassandra would have a fighting chance at staying safe. They could hardly bear to be parted from one another for more than a few minutes at a time and as far as Lucas knew, the closest they ever got to mating was a few stolen kisses in the dark.

Gabriel just had enough time before Cassandra returned to reach for Lucas’ arm. She stared him dead in the eye, trying to keep his whispered voice steady and consciously stop himself from admitting he may have put his sister at more risk than he ever intended.

He finally told Lucas exactly what it was he had been holding back. It made his heart ache to think about it.

“She’s damned either way.”