❥ Sweet Silence

|Chapter 5|

Thanks for waiting and I know I suck for not updating for months...Enjoy 😙

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Gianna was shaken. She still could not believe what had happened barely minutes ago downstairs. Her brain refused to allow her to believe it. It was utter madness. And yet a part of her sighed with relief. A small, hopeful part of her that dared to believe that things were at last perking up for her. She might have a future. A place where she belonged to and people who could love her for who she was and how she was.

Could she dare to hope for the best? A cynical piece of her thoughts whispered no. It clawed her heart and her hopes to fragments of wishful dreams. Gideon Andrew was a creature who had leapt out of someone's nightmares. A hybrid with an uncontrollable temper and cold eyes that burnt her soul. Those eyes invoked alien feelings within her. She didn't know what but it made her stand her ground in front of him. For once in her life, she had not shrunk away and the result was this.

He had bound her fate to his. A mate to a hybrid.

I want her.Those three simple words spoken in front of her as if she didn't exist, making her a materialistic object rather than a person with feelings. How she had longed to scream a rejection at him, ironically. The thought had died as soon as it had even breathed. They would have laughed at her and dragged her out by the ear if she had made a whimper of a protest. She knew that Gideon Andrew had a temper fit to frighten demons back to hell. Being at the receiving end of it would make things worse if not the worst. With him she would not know what to expect.

The ten minutes she was given to gather her belongings might have been less for another Pack member but for her it was sufficient enough. The meagre number of clothing she owned was neatly folded and packed in a suitcase which Lyanna had let her borrow. Nothing of sentimental value was in her possession and this made her feel sadder than she had ever been before. Gia had begged the Pack Alpha to tell her something about her parents, at a rare one time she had found courage, only to be shot down with scorn.

You were an orphan dumped at our doorstep. No one wanted you and we got stuck with you. Now go away girl. No more of your stupid questions.

A sour smile rested on her lips, remembering that memory. She glanced around her bare room through a misty veil. The naked floorboards groaned under her weight at random steps she placed. The view from the window called to her.

In a way it never changed and in a way it always changed. It was a living creature. The mountain and pine trees were her body and the weather was the clothes she wore. At times light and fresh when it was spring time, at another a bride in white at winter and now, a dark and lush mistress protesting as the wind and rain tugged at her like a persistent lover. The beauty of it brought her solace. Much needed solace in a cruel life fate had chosen for her.

A sudden realisation came to her. She probably would never get to look through this window again. Tears sprang, stinging her eyes but she denied them release. Not now. She had to be strong. Through the misty curtain she tried to capture every single detail of her beloved view.

The towering pine trees caressed by the mist, the sharp pine needles drenched and tortured by the rain and the wind orchestrating the entire thing, a skilled master. She didn't notice him. Not until the door creaked and she whipped around.

He fit through the doorway with bare inches to spare. Those dark, sable eyes cornered her as though she was a lamb caught in a trap. Heat permeated her face, staining her skin with crimson embarrassment. His lips were set in a straight line, uninviting. For the first time she saw the details of his face. Crafted with endurance in mind rather than perfection, his jawline was sharp and arrogant, a faint shadow resting there. She wondered how it would feel under her fingertips and instantly coloured even more.

I want her. The words taunted her self-respect again. She fought the urge to look away and won.

Black melted into blue. His gaze never leaving her body, he started forward. Gia straightened her spine, to cover up for her missing inches and failed miserably.

Her head only managed to reach to his shoulders. His jaw angled down and hers was angled up to meet his. There was a considerable amount of space between them but Gia felt it was all useless. The heat rolling off of him still succeeded in enveloping her body in its warmth. It broke past her skin and embedded itself in her flesh. The pheromones of an Alpha marking what now was his.

There was an inkling of silver mixed with the black in his eyes. They burned with cold fury. Always.

"You were crying." He said and it wasn't a question. Her cheeks and eyes were evidence enough. She hurriedly blinked back the betraying tears, breaking his gaze.

His lips tugged at one corner, displaying his satisfaction of what he said being true. She didn't like the way in which he looked at her, as though she was an open book and he read her deviously.

He eyed the packed suitcase. "Is that all you have?"

Gia nodded in silence and saw a flash of annoyance burn in his eyes. Maybe he would change he mind now, she thought dejectedly. Had he forgotten that she couldn't speak? She wondered if he doubted himself now as he studied her brazenly. She felt herself burn again.

He raised his hand to study her neck better and she flinched. A reflex from one of the times Ned had mistreated her over a trivial matter. In an instant, she saw his face twist in fury, displeasure set in the line of his face. He must think she was a weakling.

To her surprise his hand dropped back and he asked her a question, "Did someone hit you before Gianna? Are you mistreated here?"

His tone had grown less harsh. If she told him the truth, what would he do? She didn't want the Pack members to suffer because of her. She wanted to leave on a happy note, not to leave behind an aftermath of Gideon Andrew's temper. It didn't matter if it favored her.

"If you're about to lie, I would suggest not to. I will not tolerate secrets from my mate even if you're mute." He spat.

Was she that predictable? Gia mused. She wasn't his mate, not yet anyway. She wanted to hurl that retort at him but how? Her lack of speech was an enormous barrier. So she told the truth in her own way. She could only nod in agreement, despite wanting to explain more.

Now more than anything in the world, she dearly wished that she could speak. To form words as flawlessly as other people did and took that gift for granted. To be able to express all her emotions through the wonderful power of speech. If only she had not been a mute.

"I will not tear them to bits, if that's what you're thinking. Although the thought did cross my mind."

She shook her head frantically in disagreement, amusing Gideon. He looked at her, undecidedly and brushed back stray strands of hair that had fallen over her eye. The tips of his knuckles grazing her cheek which was warm and soft. His touch singed and made her skin come alive, spilling a strange emotion. She closed her eyes to regain some composure before this stranger that would soon become her world.

When she opened them, Gideon was already at the doorway with the suitcase in his hand. The ten minutes were up.