Page 123 of Claim Me
Seventy-four.
Seventy-six.
My vision narrows slightly at the edges, not dangerously, but still. My breathing is rough now, more like panting, all control long gone, but I keep moving because stopping for too long feels worse than continuing.
"Gabriel."
"I’m fine!" I wheeze out.
"That wasn’t what I was going to say."
I take another step, then another.
"We’re going to make it," Blue finishes, his tone so different…
"And we still have time."
There’s something close to joy in his voice now, and it makes something in my chest expand.
Seventy-nine. Eighty.
The final stretch feels unreal, like my body has decided to ignore its own limits just to not stop this close to the end. The burn is still there, the strain is still there, but it doesn’t matter the same way anymore.
Eighty-one.
I take the last few steps more slowly, just because there’s no point risking it now.
Then I see it.
A number on the wall: 82.
I stop on the landing, breathing hard, my chest rising and falling as I hold him in place for one more second before carefully lowering him back to the ground.
For a moment, I don’t move, maybe swaying just slightly.
Then I straighten, wiping sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand, forcing my breathing to slow down just a tad.
"We’re here," I say, my voice rough with emotion.
And despite everything, I didn’t drop him once.
His eyes meet mine for the first time since the ground floor.
"You’re a true alpha, Gabriel. Never think less of yourself. You didn’tgive up. I saw those moments when it was especially hard for you, but you pushed through them. That’s a powerful trait. People like you always reach their goals," he says calmly, and there it is. What I wanted so much. A deep warmth in his tone, maybe even admiration.
Wow.
And that’s when I say it, because with my heart pounding and sweat still running down my face, I don’t have the same control I usually do.
"I have one goal, Blue… I’ve chosen it, and I’m going to pursue it. I won’t give up."
He goes quiet. I get the sense he wants to say something, but I cut in before he can, not wanting the moment to stretch any further into a dangerous ‘never cross this line again’ zone.
"We have exactly sixteen minutes before the meeting. If you’re okay with it, let’s stop by the penthouse so I can take a quick shower. It’ll take three minutes."
"Of course, Gabriel. Let’s go."
Blue covers the last two floors to the penthouse on his own, and I follow, realizing that even though about one hundred and thirty pounds doesn’t sound like much, moving without that weight feels a lot easier.
