Page 93 of A Vampire's Pain
“I …”
“You know I am right,” he said.
I looked over at Gabriel again, who was begging me with his eyes not to go, but I knew he would let it all be up to me. I had to choose because if I didn’t, these two would just begin to fight again, and then I would lose one of them for good.
“Damon …”
“I’m your brother,” he said. “You know me, and you know I will always take care of you.”
“I …”
“You need to make a choice,” he said. “I will never accept him, so come home with me. You know that is where you belong.”
Was it? Should I go back? But then what about Gabriel?
Chapter 38
-Gabriel-
I could see it already. I knew her choice before she had even spoken the words. Even though I had only spent a little time with Valeri, I already knew her so well. I knew what she was thinking. I knew what she was feeling, and I knew she couldn’t resist the power Damon had over her. He was her brother, and she simply couldn’t say no to him. I didn’t blame her for that. He was her brother, and as a brother myself, I would have loved to know my sister would always choose to listen to me. I didn’t get to figure out if my sister would ever have chosen me over someone else though. It was why I hadn’t been able to hurt Damon either. Dominic was right. I understood how he felt. I understood why he was doing all of this, and, of course, I didn’t want to hurt Valeri. Damon meant so much to her, and I didn’t want to risk taking him from her.
“Okay, Damon. Let’s go home then,” she said.
I felt my heart break as I heard her speak, but she refused to even look at me, as Damon hugged her close, and then brought her over to the car. I watched as she got inside it, and then they drove off. I didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye.
“Gabriel!”
Lara came running into the rain, placing herself in front of me, Dominic right behind her.
“She will come back,” Lara said.
I shook my head.
“No, she won’t.”
“Let’s just get you cleaned up,” Dominic said.
I felt so numb, as the two of them brought me back into the house and had me placed in the living room. I didn’t even feel the sting as Lara cleaned my wounds, or when Dominic put my shoulder back into place. I felt nothing now that my mate had chosen to leave me. I knew Lara and Dominic tried speaking to me, but I heard nothing. I just sat there, slowly drinking my glass of Scotch, just feeling this old emptiness coming back to me. Valeri had kept it at bay, but now that she was gone, it was coming back, and it was filling my entire body, making time stand still and making me feel only half alive.
“I heard she left.”
I looked up and saw Ace standing on the other side of the coffee table. He slowly took a seat, while I looked around, not sure where Lara and Dominic had gone.
“They have gone to sleep,” he said.
I looked at the windows that were now covered with thick and long curtains.
“Have I been sitting here this whole time?” I asked.
He nodded.
“Yes, I only came down to get a little to drink, when I found you here,” he told me.
I sighed and placed my glass down.
“I thought you didn’t want to speak to me,” I said.
“You’re right,” he said. “I don’t.”
