[GABE]
"May I ask, Father, who is the mate you found for me?" Gabe asked, like the sentence itself was poison on his lips.
"Galya, the beta's daughter, and Danny's sister," Alpha Ashton said proudly, and Gabe felt his heart sink in his stomach this time.
At the mention of the beta's daughter, Tamiko let out a knowing smirk like this was now his actual home ground. He knew that shit was never going to be the same for the both of them and boy did he love it.
Gabe looked at his father, like he didn't hear the man well. He was still not sure that the Galya his father was talking about, was the same Galya that had been giving him the stink eye every time that he had hurt Tamiko.
Maybe that was a different woman, it had to be, right?
"Galya Belova, please step forward," Alpha Ashton said and the pack cheered on. Everyone who knew Galya knew she was a warrior on her own level. She may not have always been on the front lines, but she was always there when people went to war.
She was always there when the warriors trained. She was always the girl who defied all odds to make the warrior team. Galya Belova was the only woman on the warriors' team of Grealor and the warriors adored her so much.
So when she was named the new pack Luna, everyone was happy for her. She and Gabe were the perfect pair in front of everyone. They were the strongest duo and would always be the best.
Everyone was happy about it, so they cheered on, even as Gabe looked at his world which was slowly turning darker and darker by the second. He knew that this was good for the pack but in no way was this good for him.
This woman was dangerous.
This woman wore the face of death, and more than anything, this woman was also Tamiko's dear friend, and that in itself made it a death sentence for Gabe. But maybe, just maybe, Galya wouldn't defy the rules for Tamiko again, right?
Perhaps the power was something that Galya had wanted, and that was why she had agreed real quick.
Gabe tried to reason out in every way, but each instance brought him to the harsh reality that he was going to be with the woman who hated his guts, a woman who couldn't stand what he had been doing.
This was a woman who had always defended Tamiko, when they were alone, and a woman who was stronger than her brother, who was the next pack beta. Gabriel was fucked and he didn't even need to look at Tamiko to know that this time.
The smile on Galya's face told it all.
"Galya Belova, reporting for duty, alpha," she said, the excitement on her face and voice making everyone believe that she had always wanted this, but was that all there was? However, it was also obvious that this was nothing more than a responsibility to her.
She didn't have the time to get emotional with Gabe, because that wasn't what their assignment was. She had agreed to be the substitute and in every way, that would have worried her if she had a mate, but Galya didn't have a mate, for she was just twenty-three years old.
She still had two years before she knew who was her mate and who wasn't, and she was sure that Gabriel Grealor was never going to be her mate. Maybe that was also why she had agreed to take the job.
Here and now, they are about to give her a year with the next alpha of the pack. A year to be the most powerful woman in the pack and a year to do whatever she wanted with the power she was given.
This was without a doubt going to be an interesting year for both of them and she was counting on it.
"Father—"
"Your new mate is here, Gabe. I expect the both of you to run the pack well. I don't care whether you romance or not, just RUN the pack, alright? Everyone, dismissed. Let's leave the kids to get to know each other and familiarize themselves with their jobs," Alpha Ashton said, not giving him a chance.
"Great, no one listens to me anymore,'' Gabe whined when his parents left and the pack members began leaving. He was frustrated by how everything had turned out. He had imagined a different girl, anyone but Galya Belova, but then here he was, with the woman.
"Relax, Grealor. It's just a job, nothing else," Galya said as she sat beside Gabe who was staring at her like she was in a different world. He was trying to see for himself if Tamiko told her that they were mates, but then given Tamiko himself had left, it didn't make sense.
"I'm relaxed. It's not daily that I am forced to bond with a warrior. Do you even understand the magnitude of what you just agreed to?" Gabe said and Galya let out a scoffing like she couldn't believe the man beside her.
Gabe had nothing against Galya. He knew the woman was strong and fit for an alpha but then he wanted Tamiko. He needed Tamiko. He wanted to be with Tamiko and not the beta's daughter who despised him.
He didn't think that all of this was a good idea and for a moment there, he wondered whether Tamiko was okay with all of this. No mate liked it when someone else was bonded to their mate because that was just unacceptable.
The alpha knew that too, and perhaps that could explain the choice, but it didn't explain the anger Gabriel was feeling right now.
"Alpha, do you still need me to do the cleaning in your room?" Tamiko said out of nowhere, snapping Gabe back to reality.
He hadn't even realized that the outcast was here and it took every ounce of self-control in him not to go on his news before Tamiko and beg the man to save him from this. The wolf was frustrated and Tamiko had to have known that too.
"What?" Gabe asked, as he looked around, hoping that Tamiko was just in his head again, but this time, he was standing before the two, smiling which was even worse for Gabe's heart. What was he supposed to do to make all of this any better?
"Oh dear, you're not even here at the moment," Galya said softly to Gabe before turning to Tamiko, "You can take the day off, I got you this time, brother."
"But Luna—"
"It's alright Tamiko. Besides, we still have work to do. The alpha and I will be busy in our room today, so no worries," Galya said and Tamiko saw Gabe tense.
'Don't hurt her, Gabriel. Do not in any way, hurt Galya, or I will hurt you on her behalf. For every tear she sheds because of you, you shall shed a river. For every scratch on her, you shall have a wound that would need a true mate to heal, and I won't heal you.
'For every ounce of worry, you send her way, I shall destroy all hope of you ever knowing who you are, and what the mate bond truly is. And if you ever break her heart, I shall reject you, and watch you die of loneliness,' Tamiko warned, ignoring the fact that he could see how tense his mate had gotten.