Page 8 of A Vampire's Pain
“Then why?!”
He tightened his grip on my arms, and I had to admit it hurt a little, but I knew he was just so worried, he didn’t realize what he was doing.
“Gabriel, let go of me first, and I will explain.”
His eyes seemed to soften, as he realized, he was holding me a little too tightly. Quickly, he released me, and then took a step back, as if he was scared of being close to me now.
“I’m okay,” I said, but I was unsure if I was telling him this because I wanted him to know Damon wasn’t hurting me or to tell him thathehadn’t hurt me. “He doesn’t hurt me.”
“Then why are you hiding?” he asked.
I took a deep breath, not sure how to explain this.
“He protects me,” I said.
Gabriel tilted his head to the side. I knew my brother didn’t like Gabriel much. He didn’t trust him, and if he saw me talking to him, he would definitely pull me away from him.
“Yet he doesn’t know you are here?” he asked.
I shook my head.
“Why?”
“My brother loves me,” I said. “But he can be … overprotective.”
That made Gabriel almost smile a little. He seemed to understand that, but then again, every supernatural male was created a little extra overprotective. They wanted what they believed was theirs, and no one was allowed to take it from them.
“I just wanted one night,” I said.
“To do what?”
“Meet the new queen,” I told him.
He seemed surprised by my answer.
“Lara?” he asked.
I nodded, even though we both knew who the queen was.
“Why?” he asked.
“She is … different,” I said. “I heard a lot about her, and I … I’m fascinated by her. I’m fascinated by what she and the king have achieved.”
That made him smile.
“They are quite something.”
I nodded and smiled too.
“I just wanted a chance to meet her,” I said. “But …”
“But Damon wouldn’t let you out?” he asked.
I shook my head.
“He doesn’t like me leaving the house. Especially not without protection. Not after …”
I trailed off, horrible memories trying to push their way forward, but I pushed them away again. I had gotten good at that over the years, pushing them away and making sure they no longer held the same power over me.
