The Claiming by Cooper Book 6
The Gamma Tournament by Cooper (Ezekiel & Gianna)
Chapter 9 Gianna
On our last morning, we get a call from Desmond asking if we would be willing to meet him for breakfast. Rather than meet him somewhere, we invite him to join us for breakfast in our suite.
When he arrives, Ezekiel has already ordered food, pretty much some of everything and I’ve already fed Zeke and put him back to bed so we can talk.
“Desmond, welcome. Thank you again for helping with Daniel last night,” I say to him when he enters our suite.
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“You’re very welcome,” he says to me.
“How is D*ickwad?” Ezekiel asks making me roll my eyes at his nickname for my ex.
“Ah, well, I have some good news and some bad news about that,” Desmond says.
Ezekiel’s attention zeros in on Desmond. I know my mate well enough to know that he is sensing something that I am not.
“What am I missing?” I ask, watching Ezekiel.
He drags his eyes away from Desmond and opens his arm for me to come to him. I walk into his grasp, and he steers me to the table, pulling me into his lap. While it still embarrasses me, I’m becoming more accustomed to it.
“Have a seat, Desmond and tell us why there are dark circles under your eyes that weren’t there last night,” Ezekiel says to him.
I focus on Desmond and see that Ezekiel is right. Desmond looks exhausted this morning, when he didn’t last night. “Which would you like first? The good news or the bad news?” he asks as he sits.
“Eat. We can talk and eat at the same time,” Ezekiel says to him, and he pulls two plates in front of us. “What would you like to eat, love?” he asks me.
“Mmmm,” I say, looking around the table and then I see what my mate did for me. He ordered more elephant ears for breakfast.
I smile broadly and turn to him. “Have I told you how much I love you?” I ask, not caring if Desmond sees or hears me.
“Not nearly enough,” he says, and I lean in and k*iss him. Last night, when we had gotten back to our suite, it had been just as magical and perfect as our time on the ferris wheel had been.
When I pull back, I begin putting food on both of our plates. Desmond is busy keep his eyes averted while he piles food on his plate as well.
“Sorry. My mate is pretty incredible,” I say to him.
“I understand that’s how it is with mates,” he says.
“Whatever you’ve heard doesn’t even come close to the truth. Believe me,” Ezekiel tell him.
“I do,” he says, looking sad.
“How about you start with the good news,” I say as I begin eating.
“You ex has been charged with your kidnapping and it looks like he’s going to go to jail for it,” he says, surprising me.
“But he didn’t do it,” I say, looking at Ezekiel who has also stopped eating. “You know the rogues kidnapped me.”
Ezekiel stiffens behind me, and I turn, trusting my mate’s instincts above my own. “What’s the bad news?” he asks.
Desmond wipes his m*outh and sits back.
“Who wanted the divorce, Gianna?” he asks me.
“He did,” I tell him.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. He told me that he couldn’t be with a woman that couldn’t have his children,” I tell him.
“Well, I’m not sure why you couldn’t have his children when you’re obviously more than capable of becoming pregnant, but your ex- husband had become obsessed with you,” he says.
Ezekiel growls, his arms coming around me protectively. I lean back against him, letting him comfort me.
“What do you mean? Do you think he had something to do with me being kidnapped?” I ask.
“No. I didn’t find any connection to him and shifters at all. But I wouldn’t be surprised if he hadn’t tried to kidnap you if you hadn’t run into those shifters first,” he says, making me frown.
“What did you find?” Ezekiel asks him, his eyes laser focused on Desmond.
He takes a deep breath, then looks at me. “He’s been following you for a long time. His entire apartment was covered in pictures of you. Only you. You at work, you at home, you walking in the forest alone, you sitting at the fair alone. I’m talking thousands of pictures, Gianna,” he says, making me gasp. “So, while he didn’t kidnap her, his actions could prove that he did?” Ezekiel asks.
“Yes. Which will keep the focus off of the packs and the rogues, and my partner will make sure it sticks to he can close this case and look really good to his bosses.”
I look at Ezekiel.
“I know he isn’t the one that kidnapped you, but Desmond is right. This is good for multiple reasons. If he had followed us to the packs and tried to come for you there, I would have killed him. I wouldn’t have cared what repercussions I brought to the packs. He tried to take you and our daughter from me. I would have hunted him down and made him suffer while I killed him slowly. This way, you are safe and so are the packs,” he says.
I look at him a moment. “Okay, baby. If you think this is a good thing, then I trust you.”
He strokes my cheek. “I do, for a lot of reasons. But now I don’t have to constantly watch your back waiting for him to find you,” he says.
I raise an eyebrow. “You won’t constantly be watching my back now?”
He gives me a sheepish smile. “I didn’t say that.”
I burst out laughing and turn back to Desmond. He’s watching us and his eyes are full of yearning for the relationship that we have.
“Desmond, did you decide if you want to come visit the packs? Come meet others like yourself?” I ask him.
“Yes, actually. I put in for leave and it was granted after bringing Daniel in. My partner will work to close the case and then he can take all the credit. Fine by me. If everything works out, I won’t be coming back.”
“You sound like a man who desperately wants to join the packs. Why don’t you tell us how you ended up as a lone wolf,” Ezekiel says to him.
“I don’t know all of it. But I know that my mother ran from her pack. I have to assume that she was in a bad relationship and from what I understand, she didn’t know she was pregnant with me at the time. She escaped to another city where she had me. Then, from what I understand, her mate or someone else in the pack found her and killed her. When they did, I was sent to live with my aunt. She isn’t a shifter, but she knew what I was, and she raised me as if I was her own. She died a couple years ago and since then, I’ve been alone, trying to find my way. I’m hoping that if I go to the packs, back to the place where I was meant to be, that I’ll feel like I fit in, like I’ve found my home,” he says.
“Well, we talked to our Alpha, and she is willing to have you come to our pack. She asked if we trusted you, and we told her yes. So, if you want to go, we’re leaving today,” Ezekiel tells him.
Desmond’s eyes light up. “I want to go. What do I need to bring?”
“Clothes and if you don’t plan on coming back, maybe make arrangements for your things,” Ezekiel says to him.
“My aunt left her house to me, so everything I own is there. I can close it up and come with you.”
“Do you have a car?” Ezekiel asks him.
“No, is that a problem? I can get one,” he says.
“No, actually, it makes things easier for us. If you’re willing to help me load up Gianna’s belongings from storage, you can drive the car we brought with us, and you can follow us in the truck.”
“That sounds great. I need to go home and pack a bag, then I can meet you anywhere you need me to,” he says.
“Take my car,” I tell him. “Pack up anything you can’t live without. Then meet us here,” I say, giving him the address of the storage facility.
“Perfect. What time will you be there?” he asks.
“Roughly two hours,” Ezekiel says.
Desmond stands. “I’ll meet you there. And thank you both. I just feel, deep in my soul, that this is what I should be doing,” he says.
“Well, let’s hope you feel that way after you’ ve been there a day or two,” I say to him. “Doesn’t look like you’re going anywhere,” he says smiling.
“No, after searching my entire life, I’ve finally found my home,” I say, leaning against Ezekiel.
“That’s all that I want as well,” he says.
Two hours later, we meet Desmond at the storage facility. He helps Ezekiel load my things which makes the packing go much faster and by early afternoon, we’re on the road, heading back to Jordan’s pack lands.
As we drive out of the city, I turn looking at the place where I used to live.
“We can come back any time, baby,” Ezekiel says, taking my h*and.
I shake my head. “I don’t need to come back. I’m just saying goodbye to my past, before I look toward my future with you and our family,” I say.
Then, I let go of the life that I used to have, and I turn, facing forward, excited for the future with my mate and our children.