Chapter 5: Stick to the Plan

Emily’s perspective:

Left palm flat against the seal of the door, right tightly gripping the knob, I push so hard my calves nearly cramp. It’s like I’m desperately attempting to prevent a dangerous villain from bursting through the door to take my life. Calm down, girl. Calm down. You can do this. Stick to the plan. I close my eyes and exercise my breathing techniques. In—1, 2, 3, 4. Hold—1, 2, 3, 4. Out—1, 2, 3, 4. Hold—1, 2, 3, 4. I repeat this a few times, then turn to speak with Gabby.

“Well, that was awkward,” I giggle, eyes still on the door, trying to pretend there is nothing between me and Grant. Behind me, I can already hear Gabby stuffing her face. I turn around and see that she is tearing into a ribeye. “Utensils. Damn. You’re not a wolf right now. Fork. Knife. Napkin.” She doesn’t heed my admonition. Instead, she waves a gristle covered hand, calling me to her side.

“Eat. It's delicious,” Gabby mumbles with a mouthful of meat.

More delicately than my sister, I begin to devour the feast Grant has provided us. It has been a long time since I was able to eat a proper meal. And I can’t recall ever eating anything this flavorful. Maybe I shouldn’t leave this place after all.

Doing my best to keep the conversation light, “Shit! Jay Gatsby’s got nothing on this guy.”

“I know, right?” says Gabby plopping back into the gold-trimmed couch that is no less gaudy than the rest of the room. “This place is f*ckin’ b**chin’.”

“Watch your mouth, young lady.”

“Shut up. Don’t tell me he didn’t put us in here to flex.” Gabby puts her feet up on an ivory coffee table and reclines.

“God. You sound like Vin.”

“Shut up, before I make you.”

“Yes, Vin. I’m so sorry. Forgive me, my Lord and Alpha,” I tease her, mockingly. “Little sister, I will kick your a** in this f*ckin’ b**chin’ place.”

“Give it your best shot. I’m not a pup anymore.”

“I don’t want to scar that pretty face. We might need those good looks before this is all over.”

“B*tch,” she mumbles, snatching the bottle of wine from its ice bucket. “Who sounds like Vin now?”

Gabby pops the cork, pours a hefty glass, and gulps it down. “Woah!” she exclaims and fills a glass for me. “This place keeps getting better and better.”

“Slow down. The last thing I need is you drunk in this place.”

“Shut up.”

“Control yourself.”

“F*ck off,” she takes another drink.

Fighting the urge to slap Gabby, I lift my glass daintily and sip the wine, then repeat my previous admonishment. “I’m serious. We can’t stay. You know we can’t. Vin will find us here. You know he and I have a connec…”

With a hint of excitement in her voice, Gabby begins to confess. “I know. I know. But there’s something I’ve gotta tell you.”

“Don’t,” I shake my head. “Don’t say it.”

“You know?”

“I’m pretty sure I know what you’re going to say.”

“It’s more than you think.”

“It’s not,” I sigh.

“He’s not like those other boys. I know I always got a new boy toy. But this guy’s different. What I feel with him’s different. It’s-it’s-it’s…”

“Fate. I know. You’re fated to Austin. I wish you weren’t.”

She jumps to her feet. “Why? Why would you say that?”

As calmly as possible, I answer, repeating the words I spoke to Grant just minutes ago: “It can’t be.”

“What? No. It has to. We have to be together. It’s fate. It’s not like there’s a f*ckin’ choice.”

“He can’t come.”

“I don’t give a sh*t what you say. He can come with us. He will come with us. I know he will.”

“No. We have to disappear. We have to make a new life on our own. That boy won’t leave his Alpha.”

“How do you know?”

“Trust me, sis. He won’t. Even for love. Even for fate.”

Gabby fills her glass and chugs it down like a warm beer. “F*ck this! F*ck you! F*ck Vin! I hate this sh*t. Why did I have to be born into this twisted, fu*kin’ family. I hate it.”

With these words, I lose control and jump to my feet. Finger in Gabby’s face, I warn her, “You can hate me. You can hate Vin. But don’t you ever say anything bad about Mom and Dad.”

“I didn’t. Don’t put words in my mouth.”

“Who do you think brought you into this family?”

“Fine, then. It’s their fault.”

“How?”

“They died and let Vin take over. They shouldn’t have died.”

“Don’t be so stupid. Mom and Dad gave us a good life. Vin ruined it. Vin is why we ran away. Vin is why we…you have to fight fate. Vin betrothed you to Robert. And because of Vin, even if Austin did come with us, Robert and Vin will kill him if they catch us. It’s all Vin.”

“F*ck!” Gabby throws her half-empty glass against the taupe wall, in the middle of one the rectangular frames, and marches off into her bedroom. “You can’t fight fate!” The slamming door echoes about the room.

“Stick to the plan! We have to stick to the plan!” I yell from beside the coffee table.

“Shut the f*ck up!”

I grip the neck of the wine bottle and swallow a mouthful of the best wine I've ever tasted. “Whatever.”

Bottle still in hand, I head to my own bedroom. Without even bothering to switch on a light, I walk over to the nightstand and take another drink before putting the bottle down. “Can’t fight fate,” I whisper to myself. I throw the covers back and slip into the bed. “Then fate shouldn’t have put me in this position.”

The wine starts to do its dizzying work. With words that are more Gabby’s style than mine, I breathe out a buzzed, “Fu…” as my head drifts down to the pillow. By the time I feel the cool, soft pillow brush against my cheek, a vision overtakes me.