Stalked by the Alpha

Part 26: Backseat

Despite our warm reunion at the gas station, the car ride home between Gabe and I was tense and awkward. After about 10 minutes of silence, the driver of the car that Gabe and I were in the backseat of quietly rolled up the window that separated us, apparently not wanting to witness the awkwardness anymore. I didn't blame him at all, but once the partition had slid up, the silence was even more suffocating. 

Gabe kept his hand intertwined with mine the whole time, but refused to look at me. Occasionally his hand would tighten convulsively on mine and he would take a few calming breaths. It would have been funny if I wasn't so miserable. I felt guilty for leaving Gabe and the pack, but Floyd was real too, and much more scary, in addition to something I was headed toward. 

Finally I was able to work up the courage to cautiously squeak out, "How did you find me?" 

Gabe glanced over and his green eyes flashed gold for a moment, assuring me he was still upset with what I had done. He replied, "We Googled gas stations 5 hours away from the packhouse and worked from there. It only took about 2 minutes." 

"Oh, okay. How did we even talk to each other?" I was curious, but shrank backwards internally when Gabe heaved another peeved sigh. His eyes softened a little, as if noticing my internal reaction to his frustration.  

He gently reached over with his other hand and pulled the neckline on my sweatshirt down, exposing the swirling marks that covered my shoulder like a delicate lace sleeve. "This, is a link between you and I. Normally it goes into effect the moment that it is placed, but given the circumstances," here he paused with a slight cringe on his face, "it took longer to go into effect."

I nodded quietly, my curiosity satisfied for the moment. With nothing else to say, I turned to stare at the rich green and browns of the forests that were rushing past us, and Gabe did the same, each of us lost in our own thoughts and feelings. The next half hour was silent, with only the rushing wind past the car keeping up company. My heart felt like it was being weighed down with each passing minute, making it hard to breathe normally.

"I was terrified when I found out you left. Do you understand that?" His voice wasn't much above a whisper, but it sounded like a shout in my head, bouncing around and causing way too much pain. I squeezed my eyes shut against a sudden onslaught of tears. Gabe tended to trigger those, I noticed. 

This time I was the one who squeezed his hand tightly and tried to speak over the lump in my throat. "I'm sorry. I was just so scared." I knew it was a flimsy excuse, but it was the truth. My instinct was to run, and that was what I did. 

Gabe abruptly unclasped our hands and grabbed my face in between his two enormous hands. "Don't you understand Evan? You don't have to be scared when I'm around. I'm going to take care of you. I will always be there, no matter what." I was captivated by the amount of emotion that his emerald eyes held. They looked brighter than they usually were, and to my intense surprise, I realized his eyes were also filled with tears. With his thumbs, Gabe gently dried the two trails of tears that had made their way down my face, igniting the sparking feeling under my skin with even more fervor than before. I inhaled quickly and then leaned forward and pressed my lips to his, wanting to magnify the tingling sensation, and if possible, have it never stop.

Without hesitation, Gabe returned my kiss with what was possibly more fervor than I had. The urge to have as much contact against his skin was overwhelming and I absentmindedly unfastened my seatbelt and climbed over the divider to sit straddling Gabe's lap, all without removing my lips from his. Gabe groaned, a deep guttural sound that vibrated both his and my chest deliciously. He pulled away and halfheartedly whispered, "We really shouldn't be doing this. It's dangerous and I feel like you probably don't want our first time to be in a-" He abruptly cut off when I moved my lips down his neck and pressed kisses at the base, even gently tugging on the skin with my teeth. 

Another groan escaped Gabe, quickly, before he grabbed my chin with his thumb and pointer finger and pulled my mouth back up to meet his with an urgency that was, if possible, even greater than before. I gasped a little at the sudden action and he took the opportunity to stick his tongue into my mouth, making me jerk even closer to his muscular chest. I was breathless and overwhelmed, and I needed more. Gabe's hand slid up with east under my huge sweatshirt and came to rest right underneath my ratty sports bra, gripping tightly and leaving a burning trail in the wake of the movements. I slipped my hands under his dress shirt, around his shoulders, reveling in the feeling of the muscles under my fingertips. I could feel how excited Gabe was about our situation prominently underneath me, and my core heated up almost instantly. 

Suddenly the car made a sharp turn and I toppled ungracefully off of Gabe's lap towards the floor, clunking my head on window as I did so. 

"Ow fuck." I grabbed my forehead and straightened up as much was possible for the floor of a car. I slid over to my side of the car and back into my seat, still rubbing my head ruefully. I glanced over and snorted when I saw Gabe, still a bit dazed, trying to rearrange his package in his pants. He glared playfully at me and said, "This is your fault, aren't you going to help me out with this?"

Feeling uncharacteristically bold, I winked and said, "Maybe later if you're a good boy." Gabe's jaw dropped open and I internally celebrated. Instead, I just smirked and buckled in, starting to recognize the familiar sights of the town that surrounded the university. Gabe grabbed my hand again for the last few minutes of the ride, and we fell into silence again, but this was much more comfortable and when I glanced over at Gabe, he had a slight smile on his lips that made me much more happy than I had been for a long time. 

We pulled into the driveway and I gulped at the sight of Paige standing there with her arms crossed. Gabe snorted quietly and said, "Sucks to be you right now." I childishly stuck my tongue out at him in response and slid cautiously out of the car, where I received several hard slaps on the arm from an irate Paige. Immediately afterward I received an enormous hug from her, which I was not able to get out of until Gabe forcibly pulled me out with a disgruntled look. I walked into the pack house and was hit with a feeling that I had not experienced in a very long time. It felt like I belonged here.

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kath