"When we were young, we made mistakes," Casaio began, his voice turning soft with memory. "We were always afraid Mom would punish us if we ever raised our voices. Over time, silence just felt safer than provoking her."
Karmen quietly topped off Gabriel’s wine, then leaned back into her chair, choosing to stay silent and let the three brothers speak freely.
"I think Mom is planning something," Gabriel said, swirling the wine in his glass. "It’s too quiet... and her silence is what disturbs me. I’ll let go of everything that happened in the past, if you both help me tonight."
Casaio and Dominick exchanged a long look.
"You really think Mom doesn’t want you to marry Amelie?" Dominick asked, his brow rising in skepticism. "I think you’re reading too much into this. She supervised every detail of the wedding preparations from morning till evening."
Gabriel raised the glass to his lips, pausing just before drinking. "That’s exactly what worries me. What if it’s her way of pretending everything’s fine, masking her true intentions?"
Casaio frowned, clearly puzzled. "But why would she try to stop your marriage to Amelie? What reason would she even have?"
Gabriel didn’t answer. He turned quiet, lost in thought.
’Because she knows my past. That high priestess told her more than she’s ever said on my face. She’s hiding something from me... something I haven’t yet uncovered,’ he thought grimly.
Noticing his brother’s silence, Casaio finally sighed, resigned. "All right. What do you want us to do?"
Gabriel looked up at them. "Stay at the hotel tonight. I’ve already sent Denzel there, but I need someone stronger and powerful, just in case something happens. I would’ve gone myself, but with incoming rut, I’ve decided to remain at the estate."
"Fine. We’ll head to the hotel," Casaio said, finishing the last of the wine in his glass. Dominick downed the remaining of his drink as well, and the two brothers rose from their seats.
"If you can’t keep your rut in check, take a shot," Casaio advised. "You’ll need to stay in control during the wedding processions." Then, with a firmer tone, he instructed Karmen, "Make sure he gets the shot."
He exited first, Dominick following silently behind.
Karmen walked over and quietly shut the door. When she turned back, Gabriel was seated, rubbing his temples.
"I’ll bring the shot for you," she offered gently.
"No, that’s not necessary," Gabriel replied. "I’m fine. If I take a shot now, it can be worst for me since I am not like the other alphas," he stated.
Karmen nodded and sat quietly across from him.
"You think the Queen may stop you from marrying Amelie. I think you are overly doubtful of your own mother," Karmen said.
"You’ve no idea to what extent my mother can go to fulfill what she desires," Gabriel replied with his knitted brows.
~~~~~
Amelie woke in the middle of the night, feeling thirsty. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she reached for the glass of water by her bedside and took a few sips. She checked the clock and found it was just past one in the morning.
"There’s still time before dawn," she murmured to herself.
A sudden craving for something spicy stirred in her stomach. With a soft sigh, Amelie pushed the covers aside and got out of bed.
"These pregnancy cravings..." she muttered under her breath as she made her way to the spacious living room of the suite. She picked up the landline, ready to place an order, when the sound of footsteps made her freeze.
Amelie turned around, but didn’t find anyone around. "Am I hearing voices?" she murmured.
As she focused back on dialing the room service number, she again felt someone’s presence. Her eyes scanned her surroundings. There was a man in the mask right behind her with a handkerchief in his hand.
As Amelie slowly pivoted on her feet, the masked man with gloved hands appeared right before her eyes. In a fraction of a second, he held her by the neck. But before he could bring the handkerchief to her nose, a hand landed on his chest, shoving him a few meters away.
The next instant, the lights turned on!
Amelie found Casaio and Dominick standing in front of her, her heart thundering against her chest.
The masked man ran straight into the balcony. Casaio rushed after him, but before he could catch him, the man jumped off.
Casaio looked down the balustrade and saw the man had disappeared into the night. Returning to the room, he closed the balcony behind him and saw Amelie on the sofa chair.
"He ran away before I could catch him," Casaio stated.
"He accidentally dropped this," Dominick said, showing the handkerchief to his brother. "It has a strong scent of chloroform," he added.
"The security is tight. How could someone enter in?" Amelie murmured, her whole body was trembling in fear.
"Where’s your mother and sister? And Katelyn?" Casaio asked sharply.
"They’re sleeping in the room," Amelie answered. "Kate is in the room next to mine."
"Go check on them. We don’t have any female here who can do that," he said.
Amelie nodded and walked to the bedrooms. She peeked into her mother and sister’s room—Samyra and Flora were still asleep. She quietly shut the door and moved to Katelyn’s room, finding the princess peacefully sleeping as well.
She returned to the living room, where Casaio and Dominick awaited her.
"They all are in the rooms, sleeping," Amelie informed them. "But how did you two–"
"Gabriel asked us," Dominick replied.
"Luckily, we were on time. We sensed the presence of a male wolf, so we came in immediately. The door was open," Casaio explained her further with a serious tone.
"What?" Amelie exclaimed in shock, learning the door was open, but how? "Thank you," she murmured, lowering her eyes.
However, one thing she realized was there were more forces, who didn’t want her to be by Gabriel’s side. No one could enter the room, except for those who had the keycard.
"Someone from the hotel staff must be behind it," Amelie said.
"We will investigate later. You should go to bed," Casaio advised her. "We will stay here until the morning," he added.