Twisting Her Fate
Chapter 66

Leilani keeps Gabriel in her sights at all times, so knows the moment he takes a single step forward, Connor is also keeping a wary eye on the man. He had no real desire to fight Gabriel over Maggie, but if the man makes a single move toward Leilani, Connor will not hesitate. He will go into a fight to the death, anything to keep his girl safe.

Gabriel walks up and stands beside Maggie, but he doesn't touch Maggie, he doesn't want to be associated with the woman anymore than he already is. He can pull back the relationship to a failing friendship or a friends with benefits deal, but the moment he touches her he will be declaring that she is his.

At this point, denial is the only way to minimize the fall out, trying to defer the blame back to the Amber pack and away from the half moon pack and himself.

But Gabriel's focus is not on the seething woman beside him, focused purely on the knockout in the silver dress that is held so tightly to Connor that it looks like they are actually joined.

Connor's hackles are raised, his posture looks nearly relaxed, but only Leilani can feel the coiled tension that is threatening to burst forth.

Leilani looks straight at the man that she has not had the displeasure of being face to face with in a lot of years, another whole lifetime would have been nice. But this time is different from the last time. Last time she had nothing and now she has everything. The warmth of Connor's body seeps into her skin, filling her with endless confidence.

Lani looks at Gabriel with an indifferent gaze as she continues to rub calming circles on Connor's chest. Why does the mate scent not smell as pleasant to her as Connor's? Isn't that slightly illogical?

As soon as Gabriel catches those stormy blue eyes in his gaze, he knows without a shadow of a doubt that the girl in front of him is Leilani, that she is his fated mate. There is no way he can pretend any longer. There is no way he can cover up his truth. The truth that he hoped to bury all those years ago is staring straight at him with big beautiful eyes.

"Mine"

The word sounds like it burns him to say it, like it creates a level of disgust that cannot usually even be reached. It is said through gritted teeth, seeming against his own will. The toxic word, spit out like poison, running through his teeth.

Maggie barely catches it as her ears are ringing with pure anger as she stares at Connor like he wants to tear him apart. Like she wants to ruin the adulterous couple, missing the point that she has no claim over him, that they are not mates so therefore, he's free to do as he likes.

But Gabriel's one word brings her back to reality. Shock runs through her system. Disbelief, denial, flicking right back to anger.

Maggie opens her mouth to scream in frustration, but before she even gets a chance, a beautiful carefree laugh fills the air.

Leilani's posture does not change at all. She is neither aggressive nor defensive. A beautiful smile makes the gorgeous face radiate, a twinkle lights up her stormy blue eyes like Gabriel has just said the funniest joke in the world.

Maybe it is because he would have to be joking, wouldn't he?

Connor looks dotingly down at the girl beside him, his highly tensioned body slowly loosening as he relaxes significantly.

"Wow Gabriel, I didn't realize after all these years you would have turned into a comedian, because you would have to be joking to dare say that word to me"

"Well, the truth of the matter still stands that you are, whether I like it or not"

"Please, any claim that you think that you had over me died the moment you sent me away from the pack knowing full well what you were sending me to and not even caring for a single moment" "How did you?... You know....."

"How did I? What survive? What does it matter now? As far as I'm concerned, it has nothing to do with you whatsoever"

"You are still fated to me"

"Fated to you? That means nothing to me, I would rather be fated to a pile of horse sh*t. I would probably have more chance of accepting a pile of horse sh*t and I would have of accepting you"

Gabriel growls. It is not that he wants her. It is not that he's interested. He is not. It is not that he even cares, but the fact that she is acting like he is not good enough for her. She is just some orphan peasant. Does she think that just because she's grown up to have a nice body and a pretty face that she's something special? Try as she might, she can't take poor out of herself. It's ingrained in her bones. What good is being pretty? She is still weak and submissive.

Gabriel's growl finally sets off Maggie. She has been shaking, she is so angry. Looking at her own fated mate, looking at the girl like she is everything in the world, having to get compared to that girl, now to have the man that she is meant to marry, look at the girl. Even though Gabriel is saying harsh words, he's still watching her intently. The man she is only meant to marry if he doesn't replace his fated mate.

Where does this leave her now? She has only just got back in Gabriel's good graces and is still working on that. Suddenly, everything has just imploded before her eyes anyway, all because of this girl in front of her.

Gabriel's growl works as a starting gun for Maggie launching at the woman, ready to take apart the competition like she has done so many times before.

Gabriel moves to stop her but then decides against it. Connor moves to stop Maggie but Leilani stops his movements. Leilani saw it coming from a mile away. Maggie, who was never nice and always resorted to violence, has a short fuse, not overly intelligent and incredibly egotistical, has had blow after blow delivered to her.

The girl that thought she sat in heaven has crashed down to earth in a matter of weeks. It would be enough to make any normal person unhinged, let alone a borderline psychopath like Maggie.

Apart from all that, Leilani is incredibly well trained, whereas Maggie is not. Maggie is as slow as a slug and Leilani could walk to the bar and make herself a cocktail in the time it takes for Maggie to finally snap and launch at her.

It only takes Maggie a split second to know that this was an incredibly stupid course of action, but by then it's too late. She's too close. Her starting point was way too close. That split second is all she needed to nearly be on Leilani.

And all that Leilani needed. She needed Maggie to get aggressive. She needed that opening because once that first move is made. That is when it becomes purely self-defense. No matter what Leilani does now. She is just defending herself. She is not the aggressor so she doesn't bring any disgrace to Connor.

Maggie feels like she is moving in slow motion as she watches the sly smile creep on to the beautiful girl's face. For some reason, the girl looks so much more familiar. She didn't pay much attention to what Gabriel was saying before, as she was lost in her own fury. The very next moment, Maggie is knocked out on the ground and Leilani looks up at Connor and smiles. It all happened so quickly that no one except Connor and Gabriel, who were close enough, saw it. When Maggie was close, Leilani moved behind her, kicking her in the back, causing her to fall toward the ground, but Lani wasn't satisfied with that, her knee digging into Maggie's spine, speeding up Maggie's descent to the floor, grabbing Maggie's hair and pulling it back and slamming her forehead down on the ground with a large force.

Hitting Maggie the exact same way that she used to receive back then, the amount of times Maggie split open Lani's forehead, anytime one was healed the next one would come and Lani always healed fast. Gabriel looks on in shock but Connor just extends a hand to Leilani and pulls her up and into his embrace.

Connor looks at Gabriel.

"Well, Alpha Hutchins, this has been nice but I have something very important to do"

The way Connor said do was incredibly suggestive and could not be taken any other way. Connor starts to walk off but stops and turns back.

"You better drink up that serum because things are set to get wild"

Leilani laughs as Connor sweeps her into his arms, her legs wrap around his waist as he walks straight out with the only prize he wanted to win tonight and he feels like he did.

He was worried about what would happen when Leilani met Gabriel face to face, but she was perfect. She didn't give Gabriel anything. Showing her loyalty to Connor at all times. "Babe, you are amazing"

Leilani smiles down at him as he skips the car just walking down the road.

"So are you Connor"

"You know that this isn't over"

"Not by a long shot, Gabriel is still in shock, but this was perfect. They are embarrassed we are not"

"Far from it, I got to walk out with the ninja girl in my arms. I am the luckiest alpha to live"

"Exaggerations"

Leilani crashes her lips into his.