Assassin's Honor

Chapter 24

Gabriel's father called him into the study. It was a classically masculine room, with dark paneling and shelves of antiquarian books that no one in living history had ever read. Gabriel sat in the chair across from the imposing desk and waited while his father seated himself, and steepled his hands in front of him. "Son, I know you've waited a long time to find this girl," he said carefully.

Gabriel could only nod in agreement, while watching his father warily.

"I'm happy for you. There is no greater joy than finding your mate. But Gabe... you have to know, this girl is not fit to be your Luna."

Gabriel stiffened, and his fingers tightened over the wooden arms of the chair. "What do you mean?"

"She is weak, in every way. physically, mentally, and emotionally... she is completely ignorant of our ways and our culture. She doesn't shift, she may not even have the inner wolf. How can such a broken girl be the caretaker of our pack?"

Gabriel suppressed the urge to growl. Had it been anyone else, other than his father to speak so negatively about Honorera, he would have immediately put them in their place. But out of respect for his father, he restrained himself. Barely. His aura was beginning to pulse dangerously.

"You must find a partner who can stand beside you as a leader, with strength and confidence. If you must keep this girl, keep her as a mistress. But marry someone who can be a real Luna to your people,” Alexander Shepherd continued, as though he were completely unaware of the impact his words were having.

"No!" Gabriel surged to his feet and slammed his fist on the desk. "I cannot believe I am hearing this from you, Dad. Would you have done that to Mom?"

"I didn't need to do that to your mom, because she was born to be a Luna." Alexander shrugged. "But if she hadn't been up to the task... my duty to our pack must come first."

Gabriel shook his head in utter disbelief and felt a stab of pity for his mother. “For the record, there is strength and power in Honorera. She didn't grow up in a pack, she didn't even grow up in a proper family. But she will catch up, and I will never accept another woman." He spoke between gritted teeth, as he struggled to rein in his temper.

"When you are alpha--"

"Dad-" Gabriel interrupted, "unless I have Honorera by my side, I will not take the yoke of the Alpha. You will have to pass it to Ryan."

"Gabe, you are the firstborn. Becoming the Alpha is your destiny." Alexander tried one last time to reason with his son.

"Honorera is my destiny" Gabriel towered over his father, and for the first time the elder Shepherd perceived how dark and dangerous his son really was. He swallowed down any further argument and looked away from those piercing silver eyes.

Gabriel exited the office and shut the door quietly behind him. His body was restrained, but his mind was boiling with outrage. How dare he? How dare his father insult his woman and then suggest he keep her as a mistress! Honorera would be his wife, and Honorera would be his Luna... or they would leave the pack.

He hurried back to his room, anxious to see her, half afraid that someone might have already frightened his mate away. If someone injected these fears and ideas into her mind now, the damage might be irreparable. She had so little self-confidence, she was so fearful already, so uncertain... if someone scared her with her role and responsibility as the future Luna; if they told her that she was not equal to the task, she would probably run.

And Gabriel couldn’t lose her now, not when he had finally found his reason for living.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he found her curled up on the bed. She had slipped into one of his cotton t-shirts. It was huge on her, falling to mid-thigh. She had no idea that she looked as sexy in his t-shirt as she had in the silky lingerie. He slipped into bed beside her, and buried his face in her hair, breathing deeply of her scent. Immediately her presence calmed and soothed him. The darkness that had risen at his father’s careless provocation quietly receded in the presence of her light. He gathered her close and held her securely.

**********

Honorera woke up in an unfamiliar room, tangled up in arms that were becoming very familiar. She should feel embarrassed or self-conscious, the way she had shamelessly wrapped herself around Gabriel’s large body, but she felt warm, comfortable, and protected.

When she thought of the mess she had made of meeting his family though, she cringed. While he had been kind and comforting last night, she was sure that she had disappointed him. He loved his family; it was obviously important to him that they accept her.

She eased out of bed without waking him and went to brush her teeth and get dressed.

You never get a second chance to make a first impression, but maybe I can do a little damage control, she thought. She pulled on a pair of jeans, and one of the lighter tops, since it was still quite warm at Gabriel's home. She brushed out her long hair and wound it up into a bun and looked at herself in the mirror. A simple, brown-eyed girl with a sun-browned face stared back at her.

She sighed and left the room as quietly as she could, padding barefoot down the hall, and finding her way back to the kitchen.

Although it was early, Elena Shepherd was perched on a stool at the counter, looking sleepy as she sipped a cup of strong coffee, and flipped through the daily newspaper. She looked up in surprise as Honorera slipped in quietly. "Well good morning, dear, you are an early riser. Are you hungry? I was just about to start breakfast."

Honorera twisted her hands in front her of nervously. "Good morning Mrs. Shepherd. I'm so sorry about yesterday... I... I just got a little overwhelmed."

"Oh don't worry about that," Elena waved it away, "Gabriel tried to warn us not to swarm you, but we forgot ourselves. Anyway, please don't call me 'Mrs. Shepherd.' You can just call me Elena, or Mum." She gave Honorera a friendly, dimpled smile that immediately put the younger woman at ease.

"Okay... I thought perhaps I could help you with breakfast? I like to cook."

"You cook? Oh, thank the Moon Goddess Mother! Of course, you can help!" Elena began bustling around the kitchen, and Honorera followed her, feeling at least now she was on familiar ground. She assembled the ingredients for blueberry pancakes while Elena arranged bacon on a cookie sheet to crisp in the oven. "I have to warn you," she chit-chatted in an easy, friendly way, "these men are always, always hungry. It's a full-time job just trying to feed them! Oh, Young will be here this morning with his wife. Angie is a gem, you'll like her, I'm sure."

Honorera listened quietly as she poured the batter onto the hot griddle. Elena had pulled two dozen eggs out of the fridge and was mixing them up to make scrambled eggs. Honorera deftly flipped the pancakes.

"I see you do know your way around the kitchen. That's wonderful! You can come help out any time you like! Not that you have to, of course, you are still our guest here, and I don't want to conscript you into to working!"

"No, please. I like it. It's... comfortable." Honorera said awkwardly as she slid the finished pancakes into an insulated dish and started the next set. "It feels good to do something useful for a change." Elena smiled and patted her shoulder in an understanding way, and then started the eggs.

By the time the last set of fluffy pancakes was sizzling on the griddle, other members of the family started to appear. Gabriel came first, giving his mother a kiss on the cheek, then leaning against the counter. "Honor... you are sneaky. I nearly panicked when I woke up alone this morning."

Honorera ducked her head and blushed. She felt embarrassed to be talking about sleeping together in one room in front of his mother. "Sorry." she mumbled, "I didn't want to wake you."

"But you don't have to cook, you know."

"I know. I wanted to." She flipped the pancakes without looking at him.

"Stop pestering her. She's fantastic. Now get out of my kitchen or you'll be washing the dishes!" Elena said, shooing him out with a dish towel.

Ryan popped his head in, "Ohhh, pancakes? Fantastic, I'm starving."

"You're always starving," Elena chided, "Why don't you boys set the table so we can eat faster?"

"Yes, mum."

Alexander Shepherd came through next, giving his wife a kiss on the top of her head as he went for the coffee pot. He frowned at Honorera but said nothing as he poured himself a cup. Honorera felt his dislike keenly. She suppose she had earned his disapproval by acting crazy last night. She put the last of the pancakes in the warming dish. "All done," she said softly.

"Great! We just set everything on the side table, and they serve themselves," Elena directed. She pulled out butter and real maple syrup, and a gallon of orange juice, and went out into the dining room.

A Korean man was there in the dining room, talking to Gabriel. "Honorera, this is our beta, Young Lim. And that beautiful thing there, is his wife, Angie." Angie waved shyly. Just as Elena set out the plates, Chrissy made her way in, still in her pajamas and yawning widely.

"Hey sleepy head!" Gabriel greeted her. "Nice of you to join us."

"Shut up,” she replied grumpily, "I need caffeine."

"Chrissy is not a morning person," Gabriel whispered loudly to Honorera. "She'll be better after she's had some coffee and food."

"I heard that."

The family filled their plates with fluffy pancakes, crisp bacon, and scrambled eggs Honorera slipped into the empty chair next to Gabriel and watched the feasting with wide eyes. Gabriel gave her an encouraging smile and poured her a glass of orange juice.

For a while, the table was quiet, as the family put away the food. When plates began to empty, the conversation began to swirl around her again. Honorera tried to follow the different threads of conversation, but it was impossible to follow the four or five conversations that were crossing the table at once. Young Lim was talking about training scouts, Ryan was talking about hunting, and Chrissy seemed to be planning a wedding with Elena. Gabriel and his father were debating something about investments. Only Angie and Honorera sat quietly.

When the meal was finished, Honorera went to clear the plates, but Elena swatted her hand away. "No, no dear. We cooked. They clean." Sure enough, the others started cleaning up the table. With a bit of grumbling, Ryan rolled up his sleeves and started washing dishes, while Chrissy wrapped up the leftovers and put them in the fridge. Angie was wiping down the table, and Gabriel grabbed a towel to dry. Only the Alpha and his second excused themselves, thanking Silvia for the meal.

"Sometimes," Gabriel explained, "We hire omegas to do the domestic work in the house. But since it's just the family here now, we share the work between us." When the dishes were dried and put away and the floor was swept, Gabriel came and smiled down at her. "Would you like to take a walk?"

*********

"Oh yes!" Honorera answered eagerly. Gabriel could easily sense she was dying to get out of the house. He waited patiently while she slipped on some shoes, and let him lead her out of the back door.

He was proud of her, the way she'd taken the initiative to integrate herself into the family routine. It bolstered his hope that in time, she could fit in and feel comfortable with his family and his home.

"I want to show you something, my favorite place as a kid."

He took her hand and led her down a well-worn path to the west of the property. It curved lazily around a well-maintained fruit orchard and then down the hill. The area was shrubby. It had once been an open field that had been allowed to grow over. The soil became flinty, and then the path dropped sharply down a steep ravine. They had to climb down carefully, looking for footholds in the sides, and using the trunks of scrub trees to keep from sliding. But the reward was at the bottom. A small waterfall cascaded over the rocks and opened into a large pool before it narrowed again and continued as a bubbling brook.

Honorera looked around with wide eyes, "It's beautiful! Like a painting!"

Gabriel chuckled. "Well, it's peaceful right now, but if you come here in the summer when it's hot, it's crowded with kids. It's a favorite swimming hole of the pack, even though the water is always cold as ice."

She slipped off her shoes and waded in up to her ankles. The water was indeed numbingly cold, especially in the chill of autumn, but she closed her eyes and seemed to draw in something from the water. Gabriel could feel it, just like he felt it that day on the rock, a thrum of energy radiating from her, as though she had become an electrical conduit. She closed her eyes blissfully and crouched to run her fingers through the water.

"This is a special place," she murmured. She opened her eyes, "Can you feel it?"

He'd never felt anything there before, except the thrill of nature's beauty and the fun of an icy cold swim on a hot day. But he could somehow feel it through her. He shook his head, but inside he was thinking, it was not the place that was special, but the woman. There was something deeply mysterious about her.

Honorera climbed up on a boulder that was half submerged a few feet out into the pool. She sat and tipped her face up to the sun, her eyes closed, her face peaceful and calm. She was so radiant, and so absorbed in the moment that she didn't even notice when Gabriel took out his phone and snapped a photo of her. The sun warmed her icy feet, as Gabriel tried to skip stones across the pool.

After a long time, she waded back to the bank and pulled her shoes back on. They climbed out of the ravine and wandered around the pack grounds. Gabriel showed her the training area. Her brow furrowed. "What are you training for?"

Gabriel scratched his head, trying to think how to best explain to an outsider the function of the pack hunters. "We sort of have our own internal police force or a sort of militia. Because we are... different, it's best if we handle our own affairs, rather than depending on human law enforcement." There was a track, an obstacle course, an archery range, a sparring ring, and in a bigger building there was a gym, with all the typical equipment, and a boxing ring.

"I'd like to train you, Honorera."

"Train me to do what?" She asked innocently.

"To fight. To defend yourself. I think you'll be a natural. I saw what you did to Aaron Mortem."

She blushed, embarrassed at the memory. He took her hand and stroked her knuckles as he gazed intensely into her eyes. "I don't want anyone to hurt you, ever again. I will protect you, always. But if I'm not near, You must be able to protect yourself. Will you train with me?"

She looked at him owlishly. It was so strange how he talked like they were going to be together forever. For her, the future had always been shaky and uncertain. But she nodded, and in fact felt a little thrill of excitement. It would be good to feel strong, to be able to fight back, not to take it like a punching bag anymore. He beamed down at her. "Good. We'll start tomorrow morning."