Albus silently left the room, ensuring that no other servants would disturb them. He knew they needed privacy to discuss everything that had transpired earlier.
Gabriel stood before Amelie, his piercing violet eyes fixed on her. "Are you still upset?" he asked. "You should get used to it. There will be many moments where you’ll see this side of me." His gaze briefly lowered to her belly before returning to her face. "But I’ll try not to let it happen in front of you."
Amelie remained silent, not uttering a single word.
Gabriel let out a sigh. "I’m not a mind reader, Amelie. Speak your mind," he urged, stepping closer to her. His hands remained in his pockets, but his presence was overwhelming as he towered over her, waiting for her response.
She finally looked up at him. "A part of me was relieved seeing Alex punished," she admitted. "But at the same time, I was worried about you. What if the Alpha King punishes you for protecting me? I’m just a runaway woman, rejected by my own pack, carrying a child with no place to call home. I’m already buried under the favors you’ve done for me... Please, don’t let yourself get harmed because of me."
She clasped her hands together tightly, struggling to contain the emotions swirling inside her. "As you wish, I will stay here. If it helps you find the answers you’re looking for, I’ll even work as your secretary."
Gabriel studied her for a long moment before speaking. "I don’t fear anyone, not even my father." Slowly, he withdrew his hand from his pocket and reached out, wrapping a few strands of her hair around his fingers.
His voice softened, but there was an undeniable strength behind his words. "Alex won’t dare reveal where you are. And no one will ever question your character in your hometown again. Though, I assume you have no desire to return there?"
Amelie lowered her head, her eyes welling with unshed tears. "No, I don’t. There’s no one waiting for me there. No one who wants me." Her voice trembled. "If only I had been born an Alpha instead of an Omega, maybe my fate wouldn’t have been so cruel."
Gabriel’s brows furrowed. "That’s impossible. Alpha blood doesn’t produce Omegas."
A bitter smile touched Amelie’s lips. "That’s why they call me cursed," she whispered. "The Moon Goddess must have been angry with me, so she gave me this fate." She finally met his gaze, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.
"When I turned eighteen and found my mate, I thought I had been given a chance to escape my toxic family. I believed he would love me, protect me." Her voice cracked, the weight of the rejection pressing down on her. "I was so foolish. I spent four years clinging to a fantasy, blind to the truth... He never wanted me. He wanted my sister."
Tears spilled down her cheeks before she could stop them. Embarrassed, Amelie turned away, quickly wiping them away with the back of her hand. "Sorry," she whispered, not wanting to appear weak before him.
Gabriel watched her, a strange, unfamiliar feeling tightening in his chest. It was as if something deep inside him ached at the sight of her suffering. Before he could stop himself, his arm wrapped around her, his strong hand resting protectively over her belly as he pulled her back against his chest.
Amelie froze, her breath hitching at the unexpected warmth of his embrace. She could feel his breath against her ear as he murmured, "If you were truly cursed, then you wouldn’t have met me, Amelie. You are under my protection—something no other woman has ever received from me."
Her heart pounded as she tilted her head slightly, her tear-streaked face now visible to him. His violet eyes held an intensity that made her forget how to breathe. She felt his fingers gently grasp her chin, lifting her face so that she had no choice but to meet his gaze.
"Let me give you a power," he murmured.
"A power?" she repeated, confused.
A smirk tugged at his lips. "Yes. If anyone dares to look down on you, tell them you are my mate."
Amelie’s eyes widened in shock. "We’re not mates. I can’t lie about something like that." She shook her head, remembering how he had claimed the same in front of his brother. "You shouldn’t have said it earlier, either."
Gabriel mused. "Who knows? Maybe we’ll turn out to be mates after all. Don’t let anyone bully you, Amelie. Crush them using me."
Before she could respond, he reached for the gold chain around his neck, slipping it off effortlessly. Dangling from it was a pendant with a deep violet stone, glimmered in the day light. He gently placed it around her neck, adjusting it so that the stone rested just above her heart.
"Whenever you need me, call my name," he said, holding the pendant between his thumb and forefinger. "No matter where you are, I’ll come to you. Though you’ll be staying close to me most of the time, this is for emergencies."
"You are giving me such an expensive..."
"Shh!" Gabriel pressed his finger over her lip. "I’m giving this to a woman who dared to ask me to sleep with her when we first met."
Amelie bit her bottom lip in embarrassment, almost drawing the blood from it.
’The scent of her blood...’ Gabriel thought and tasted it by claiming her lips in a gentle kiss. He withdrew after licking her lower lip, particularly the spot from where the blood oozed out.
"Don’t bite your lip," Gabriel whispered, his violet eyes slightly darkening. "Keep this pendant on you always. No one will dare to come close to you," he stated.
"Let’s go then to shop for the annual gala," he pronounced and extended his hand for Amelie. She hesitated at first, but then placed her hand on his palm before walking out with the Alpha Prince.