Mated to the Alpha Don

Chapter 8

Evelina's POV

“I found it inside the cave,” I muttered, shifting in the backseat as I answered Amaya’s question.

I didn’t know how to explain it. But something had called to me. This box…was mine. And something told me to keep it safe until I could get it to my tia Melanie. My hand ran over the circular symbol on it, feeling the sudden twinge of an electric current jolt from the box and straight to the palm of my hand. I jumped a little in surprise. There was something dark and sinister about this seemingly harmless wooden case. Is that why I wanted it?

“Can I see it?” Amaya queried. “Do you think it’s something to make a witch more powerful?”

I could hear the excitement in her voice. Wordlessly, I handed it over.

“I already tried to open it,” I explained with a shrug. “It’s locked.”

“There’s no key,” Amaya muttered, holding it up to examine it. “Hmmm.” She tried to pry it open and yelped. “It burned me!” she exclaimed, nursing her hand against her chest and letting the box fall into her lap.

Without even looking her way, Gabriel reached for the offending object and set it on the center console between himself and Amaya.

“Anything that has to do with these dark witches is bad news. You—” he levelled me with a glare from the rearview mirror. “—are a little thief.”

“I am not!” My eyes narrowed on him in anger. But I knew there was no way. I could explain to him that it belonged to me. I thought back to what the warlock from earlier had said. This box could only be accessed by a descendant of Sybl’s bloodline. Which meant this was mine by birthright.

Gabe raised an eyebrow at me as if to challenge my rebuttal.

“Better a thief than a murderer,” I said scathingly.

“Watch it,” he warned. “After what you just pulled. Don’t test your luck with me Muneca. I’m sorely tempted to teach you a lesson.”

I crossed my arms, glaring at his shoulders. Truth be told, I was yearning for a fight. To show him that it would be I that would be teaching him a lesson. But I had to be smart right now and keep quiet. The more subdued he thought I was, the less likely he’d expect me to finally escape.

Gabriel remained silent the entire drive back to wherever we planned to stay for the night.

He clenched his jaw, his nostrils flaring as he glared at me through the rearview mirror intermittently. I could see the veins pulsing in his neck. It was clear that he was still struggling to contain his anger towards me. My biological father had been emotionally abusive to my mother. Kyle, my stepfather, was nothing but a gentle and kind partner. I’d never seen any sort of physical abuse.

Gabriel…seemed like the type that wouldn’t think twice to wrap his hand around my throat in a fit of anger. Physically, he was stronger. But I was confident that if the need arose, I could take him.

It seemed like an eternity had gone by as we drove and drove, finally reaching what seemed like civilization. I briefly wondered if Gabriel was merely a fan of driving. He had a witch. Amaya could have just portalled us? Or maybe Amaya was saving up her powers for something else… most witches could only store a limited supply of magic within their bodies. I wasn’t most witches.

I knew how to portal, but I wasn’t about to tell Gabriel that he had a witch on his hands that could provide him with an endless supply of transportation across the globe. I cringed inwardly, just thinking about how this man would use my powers for his evil, malicious illegal activities. No. Gabe could never find out the truth about me.

“I’m not leaving her at the penthouse. She’s going to the club with us,” Gabe snarled, making me jump in surprise.

It was the first thing he’d said in hours.

Amaya chose not to respond, merely nodding in agreement.

With a sinking heart, I realized that Gabriel wasn’t going to let me out of his sight. Not after what happened earlier.

I’d been to many clubs with Kyle and my mother. They were upper-class elite country clubs where Kyle played golf and my mother often booked spa days for Mia, herself, and I. Robert loved attending the charity galas my parents arranged there.

So my eyes nearly bugged out when the ‘club’ we entered was actually a strip club. Not at all what I’d been expecting. My eyes went to a woman, her body wrapped around a pole with one leg extended.

She moved with a fluidity that was mesmerizing and sensual. Something a person like me could never hope to attain. Briefly, I recalled the one time I’d tried to do a strip-tease for Robert and he’d laughed at me. Yeah. I’d quickly covered up my embarrassment and laughed right along with him.

I felt so out of place, like an intruder in this world of seduction and shadows. I couldn’t help but jump when Gabriel’s hand clamped over mine.

His grip tightened as he pulled me along and we made our way through the dimly lit club, the faint scent of perfume and alcohol filling the air. Music pounded in my chest, matching the erratic beat of my heart as I tried to make sense of our surroundings.

All hope was not lost for my escape. Gabriel was here to unwind, most likely. Once he was deep in his cups, I’d make my way out of here. So as he dragged me along, I made sure to remember the way. For when I’d need to make my getaway. My eyes spotted an emergency exit at the back of the club. To me, it seemed to be another plausible escape route. This pendejo had no idea that I would keep trying until I actually succeeded. I was the daughter of Nikita Sinclair. I was stubborn, just like my mama.

But in the next moment, I was completely taken aback when Gabriel opened a side door that led to a stairwell.

My feet stopped moving. Gabriel cursed and pulled me forward, not caring even a little bit that I didn’t want to walk any longer.

“I don’t have all night, Muneca. De prisa!(HURRY),” he snapped, giving another harsh pull.

My foot caught on the raised edge of the doorway as I tried to resist being forced forward, and I stumbled. In a split second, his powerful hands grasped my arms, steadying me against his warm body before I fell.

The heat of his touch seared through me, igniting a conflicting sensation of fear and something else I couldn’t quite place. His eyes bore into mine, dark and intense, as if daring me to defy him further. The pulsing beat of the music faded into the background, drowned out by the rush of blood in my ears.

“Cálmate, pequena, (calm down little one)” he growled, his voice low and dangerous against my ear. His hand hands firmly around my waist, holding me against his lean body.

It was as if he could tell that my mind still raced with thoughts of escape. Could he see into my brain that escape still lingered at the forefront of my mind? If I didn’t know better, I’d think the answer was a resounding ’yes’. Brokenly, I complied and began to walk up the stairs.

I swallowed hard, trying to push down the rising panic that my plans of getting away were being derailed. It didn’t help that Gabriel’s presence was suffocating, his energy swirling around me like a storm waiting to break loose.

I could feel the weight of his unspoken threat hanging between us as he pulled me along, up the stairs and into a dimly lit hallway. Amaya trailed behind us like a shadow in this chaos. I wondered briefly if I could trust her. She was, after all, ‘Gabriel’s witch’. But she seemed like a nice enough person if I were honest with myself. Mierda. What was wrong with me? Amaya had helped him poison my entire family when Gabriel had tried to kill me at my own Quince'. He'd been just as shocked as I when my arm bangle came lose and the words 'mate' had spilled from his mouth. If not for the fact that he recognized me as his mate, I'd probably be dead by now. Amaya had also probably helped him deal with the aftermath of Robert’s murder too. How could I think she was anything but exactly like Gabriel?

The distant sounds of laughter and music echoed off the concrete walls, creating a disorienting cacophony that only made my head pound.

Finally, we made it to a door that Gabriel finally stilled in front of. The faint sounds of a woman moaning could be heard.

“You might want to knock.” Amaya’s amused voice pointed out.

“f**k, I’m not knocking when I’m the f*****g owner,” Gabriel grit out, turning the knob and walking in.

Two things hurtled into realization within my mind. 1: Gabriel was not visiting this strip club. He was the owner. 2:Behind this door was Gabriel’s office, where a man with dark hair sat on a couch receiving a blow job from a scantily clad red-haired woman.

The red-haired woman’s eyes widened when Gabriel walked in, and I saw the way she tried to pull back whilst the man held her head firmly from behind, stilling her movement.

Gabriel let out an angry snarl.

“If she sees your d**k, I’m cutting it off, Vin,” Gabriel warned.

It took me a minute to realize I was the ‘she’.

“Keep going,” Vin cooed, coaxing the woman on her knees before him to take him deeper. “I’ll double your pay.”

The scene in front of me was surreal. Gabriel striding into his office, dragging me along by the forearm while a woman shamelessly continued to pleasure this strange man named Vin. I turned to look at Amaya. She was leisurely lounging in the doorframe. Was this something that happened often?

Gabriel sat me down so that my back was now to Vin, and then he took a seat behind his desk where he picked up an important-looking document.

“Have you found a new replacement for the capo I killed?” Gabriel asked lightly, as if he was asking about the weather.

“Ahh…yes I did. He should be here soon to meet….meet with you.” Vin’s breathing was becoming more laboured.

“This is actually quite educational,” Amaya’s amused voice spoke with unconcealed glee. “If I ever want to suck d**k again, I’ll know what to do.”

Gabriel let out a snort of derision.

The throaty sounds behind me suddenly increased in tempo, becoming louder as each second ticked by.

“Oh wow, she’s deep throating you now Vin,” Amaya commented in admiration. “Evelina!” Amaya called teasingly. Almost reflexively, I turned, but Gabriel’s voice stopped me.

I couldn’t help but still when he spoke. Like my body was willingly eager to please him.

“Keep your eyes on me,” Gabriel growled, his voice a low rumble. “I’ll decide when you can look away.”

The ominous tone lacing his words told me I better agree.

“Amaya, stop testing my patience. I don’t want to have to kill my beta,” Gabriel added.

I swallowed, believing every word he spoke. He’d killed the man I wanted to marry. He’d ripped a man’s hand off for grabbing my wrist and then had nearly decapitated my assailant. I really didn’t want to see any more blood.

A guttural moan escaped Vin’s lips when he reached his climax and released himself into the woman’s mouth. I could hear her throat working hard to swallow everything, her coughs and gasps filling the air as she struggled to catch her breath after completing the deed.

This was disgusting. Where had I found myself?

With a deep breath, I tried to regain my composure, reminding myself that it wasn’t my place to judge, but this was all so very disconcerting.

“Now, tell me more about this replacement you’ve decided on,” Gabriel muttered, leaning back in his chair.

He spoke to Vin, but his dark eyes remained on me.

I heard the discernible sound of Vin zipping himself up.

“Come on honey, let’s have some fun.” Amaya’s throaty voice took me by surprise.

This time when I turned, Gabriel did not say anything. I watched Amaya pull the woman towards her, cupping her cheek.

“I’m not as bad as Vin,” Amaya said invitingly.

The red-haired woman got a sultry expression on her face, eagerly following Amaya out.

As the door closed behind them, I couldn’t help but feel like I had stumbled into a bizarrely twisted reality. The scent of s*x and alcohol hung heavy in the air, and I felt completely disoriented. I had grown up in a home of love, affection, and laughter. This was the total opposite of what I’d ever been exposed to! I glanced at Gabriel, whose eyes never left mine, even as he continued to speak to Vin.

Gabriel’s piercing gaze remained on me, almost as if he could see straight into my soul and see what I was thinking. I couldn’t help the way it warmed my blood. For just a moment, I was tempted to push his buttons. To see what he’d do if I tried to run out of here. My eyes warily flitted to the couch. Would I be next? Forced to put on a display while he discussed business with his men, them watching me as I submitted helplessly to his demands? The thought nearly made me vomit in revulsion.

An imperceptible growl of displeasure registered in the recesses of my mind. I turned to see Gabriel staring at me, his eyes flickering with anger. His face was red.

“See that he’s ushered into my VIP booth. I will meet with him there,” Gabriel ticked out, a muscle flexing in his jaw.

I looked to Vin, who cast an anxious glance my way before giving his assent.

“You want me to give Evelina a tour of the club?” Vin offered amicably.

Hope flared in my chest. I could take Vin out the minute we reached the bottom of the stairwell. Then I’d run for the emergency exit and—

“No. She stays here, where she can’t get away.” With those final words, Gabriel dismissively turned his attention to the papers strewn over his desk. “And next time I catch you fooling around in my office, I will make sure it is the last time you are ever physically capable of such an act.”

He didn’t even blink or look up from the piece of paper, his eyes devouring the contents as if he hadn’t just promised a bloody death to one of his most trusted men.

A/N: Gabriel's world is very VERY twisted.