Gabriella - Alpha Marked, Book II Read Online Free

them wanted to be a mate like him . Or lead their Pack like him . The ephemeral ghost
still lingered and blocked their future after all these years.
    “Jack…” Berke glanced at the crowd they’d
attracted with their confrontation. Alpha Pairs and Marked alike
had formed a circle around them. The wolves’ eyes held a glowing
blood lust while the females looked on with hints of fear and
worry. He sighed and slumped forward, letting his hands rest on his
knees while he dropped his head. “It’s time, Jack. Now. Today. This
second.”
    The other wolf shook his head, his terror
assaulting Berke with every beat of his heart. It pummeled him with
its intensity. “I won’t do it. Ever. Find some other woman—”
    “Don’t worry, it’s a nonissue now.” The voice
struck Berke’s heart, sinking into his soul like every other word
Gabriella had ever spoken. He found her amongst the crowd,
bracketed by her livid sisters with the Ruling Alphas standing just
behind the three women. “The last thing I want to do is tie myself
to two men who don’t want me.”
    With that, Gabriella spun and pushed past her
family, shoving aside even the Ruling Alphas in her haste to leave
them behind. Her eyes glistened in the light of the hallway, and he
fought to deny that they were gathering tears. Pain unlike he’d
ever known beat at his heart, threatening to crush him in its
intensity. She’d walked away, run, due to Jack’s absolute terror of
turning into his father.
    Berke felt Jack’s regret push into him,
overtaking the lingering remnants of the man’s rage and fear. He
swung his attention back to his friend. “Damn it, Jack.”
    The wolf opened his mouth, but words never
came forth.
    “You two, with us.” Garron, the larger of the
Ruling Alphas, broke through the growing tension.
    “Now.” Keller was smaller yet no less fierce
than his partner, and his order brooked no argument.
    Straightening, Berke took a step toward the
retreating wolves, his training overcoming his dread at what was to
come. They’d crushed Gabriella and deserved whatever justice Keller
and Garron decreed.
    Striding past Jack, he paused at his friend’s
words. “I’m sorry, Berke. I really am. I never meant—”
    He sighed and stared into eyes he knew better
than his own. “I know, but apologies and ‘never meants’ aren’t
going to do anything to help us when we claim Gabriella.” Berke
glared at Jack when he opened his mouth to speak. “And we are claiming her. Whether she likes it or not.” Moving past
his best friend, he called to him over his shoulder. “Jack, I
suggest you learn how to grovel. I know I will be.”

Chapter Two
     
    Gabby wasn’t going to stop until she got to
her sister’s penthouse suite. Well, Scarlet was sharing it with her
mates and Gabby and Whitney, but she still felt like it wasn’t her
place. Especially when the Ruling trio got busy, and those moans
could be heard in nearly every room. She knew (conceptually, not
actually) that sex could be fun-times, but she didn’t want to hear her sister getting it on.
    Ick.
    Gabby embraced the silence of the elevator as
it ascended, but anger and indignation still thumped through her.
She didn’t imagine she’d be left alone for long, and her
insecurities and humiliation poked and prodded her through the
interminable rise.
    God, not only did they not want her, the
Lieutenant seemed disgusted by the idea of mating her. Oh, he’d
growled and done the wolf-y “mine” thing at the table, but the
moment his human half regained control he’d run.
    A low ping announced her arrival, and
Gabby slipped through the doors the moment they opened enough for
her to pass. She stomped into the suite, ignoring the regular
guards stationed throughout the penthouse as she traveled deeper
into the space. With every step, she took a breath and released it
slowly, fighting to regain her composure before she blew her
top.
    She hadn’t asked to be Marked when she was
born. She