Chapter 3
After hours of preparation, Kaiden and Gabriel had not only organised their weapons but had also packed enough supplies to last a month, all they needed was food. They had both packed for several hunting trips in the past and were ready long before they expected to be. The food however, was a different story, they were going to have to be careful, the hunting team were not due to leave for a day or two and they didn't want to reveal their plan until it was absolutely necessary.
While the brothers were sitting outside making more arrows than necessary, Ava casually walked over and stood in front of them. She silently waited a moment before Gabriel looked up and groaned.
“Is there something you need?” Gabriel asked, his voice harsher than he it should have been. She hadn't handled the death of her partner well and as time went by she looked to others to fill the gap he had left but Gabriel didn't want to encourage her. He would rather see her happily repaired with someone, just not him.
“My hut needs some maintenance and I was hoping you could help me” Ava answered, her voice low and sweet.
Glancing at Kaiden, Gabriel could see amusement in his eyes but some how Kaiden managed to keep a straight face. Both the brothers knew Ava well enough to know she usually had ulterior motives, especially when it came to Gabriel.
While Ava was older than Gabriel, she wasn't quite two years older and before she had been paired, she had taken interest in him. Most people in the village knew of her interest but most had brushed it off as just a little crush. While Gabriel had never discussed his dealings with her with anyone else, because he had either been too embarrassed or just didn't see it as anyone else's business, she was grateful for it but it didn't stop her from pursuing him.
“Fine” Gabriel groaned, knowing that he had been tasked to help his fellow villagers with the maintenance of their huts and Ava didn't have a partner to help. This left her with the task of maintaining her hut, something she didn't know how to do.
Gabriel slowly got to his feet and handed Kaiden the arrow he had been working on. He then followed Ava to her hut on the other side of the village. He had placed his own hut as far from hers as possible on purpose but he pitied her and because of that, he felt obligated to help her.
The moment they reached Ava’s hut, her demeanour changed, she no longer appeared to be the sweet innocent woman she portrayed. She started moving around like a wild cat on the prowl and her eyes were filled with lust but Gabriel was not surprised.
“What do you need fixed?” Gabriel asked, ignoring Ava’s seductive mannerisms.
“My roof leaked during the last rain” Ava told him, as she gestured for him to go inside.
With a deep annoyed groan, Gabriel went inside and started inspecting her roof. While she was right in the fact that it did need some maintenance, it wasn’t a difficult task and she could have asked anyone else to help her.
Ava relaxed by her bed as Gabriel started working, she loved watching the way his muscles moved with his fluid movements. He wasn’t the strongest or largest man but he was toned and although some girls didn’t like that about him, she didn't care what they thought, in her eyes he was perfect.
“Gabriel?” Ava whispered, as he reached into the roof area.
“What?” Gabriel groaned, not sure he wanted to know what she had to say.
“Have you ever been with a woman?” she asked, looking at him through her lashes.
“I’m not interested Ava” he told her, not taking his eyes off his task.
“You know, if you want to please a woman, you need to know a woman's body” she said, trying to get his attention but he still didn’t look at her. Although, he was getting an idea of where Iris’ idea to watch the men bathe came from.
“And let me guess, you’re willing to teach me” he sighed, not sure if it was worth resisting her anymore, especially since the seer hadn’t given him a name at the very least. He was starting to feel a sense of recklessness building in him as he questioned why he should care, he had no one and if his partner hadn't been born, then she was going to be paired with an old man. He was sure she wouldn't want him anyway, he wouldn't.
“Come on, it would be fun” she persisted, moving closer to where he stood. “Besides no one has to know.”
Suddenly Gabriel felt her hand slide under the back of his shirt and up toward his shoulder blades. He could feel his entire body react to her gentle touch and while she was beautiful, he wished the girl in the waves could be the one touching him instead of Ava but he had no idea if she even existed.
Grabbing her arms, Gabriel pulled her hands free from his shirt and turned around. She looked up at him, her eyes alight with lust and her body consumed with want.
“Screw it” Gabriel breathed and cupped both her cheeks in his strong hands before pressing his lips to hers. His day hadn’t gone the way he thought it would have thus far and he figured since he didn’t have a partner, it didn’t matter. He wanted to have some fun anyway, he was tired of trying to live up to his fathers expectations and if he was going to hate himself for it, he could do that later.
At first Ava was surprised by Gabriel's reaction but once she realised that she was finally giving her what she wanted, she started working on getting as much from him as she could. The only thing she didn’t want from him was a child and although it had been something she had wanted from her partner, she knew she would not get the support from Gabriel or the other villagers if she fell pregnant.
Ava was quick to remove his shirt, exposing his smooth chest, his olive skin glistened in the filtered sun light. She moaned with pleasure at the sight of him but as she reached for his pants, he grabbed her hands slowly bring them up and draped them around his neck.
Thinking he wasn’t going to take things any further, Ava let a disappointed sigh but was quickly surprised when he lifted her up and wrapped her legs around his waist. He then carried her over to the bed and carefully laid her down.
As Gabriel looked down into her blue eyes, he slowly removed her dress, leaving her completely exposed to him. The look in him suddenly changed from the innocent she thought he had been, to one of pure desire. He then calmed her body in a way she didn’t think possible, leaving her in a complete state of euphoria and wanting more.
She was still laying on the bed when he turned his attention back to the roof. He didn’t want to give her another excuse to find him, even if he was planning on leaving as soon as he was ready.
While Gabriel was quick to finish his work, he didn’t do it for her, she wasn’t going to move for awhile but he did want to get back to his hut and finish packing. Now more than ever, he wanted to leave, he wanted to leave the seer and Ava behind him. He didn’t want to think about relationships or his future, he just wanted to loose himself in his trek south.
“I hope you’re pleased” Gabriel said sarcastically, as he walked to the door. He then stopped at the door and glanced at her, she was still laying on the bed recovering but just as she was about to speak, he stepped outside and quickly made his way back to his hut.
Newly formed arrows sat in a pile next to Kaiden, he hadn’t stopped making them and was glad to see Gabriel return. Gabriel had been gone longer than he thought he would have but there really wasn’t much else to do, except stock up on some basic foods.
“We should leave tomorrow morning” Gabriel said, as he bent down and picked up the arrows. “And I’m done with family crap.”
“Was she that good?” Kaiden laughed, with a cheeky grin.
“She’s not as good as she thinks she is” Gabriel told Kaiden before disappearing into his hut.
As Gabriel packed the arrows, he searched his soul for any feelings he might have for what he had just done with Ava but he felt nothing. He still didn’t feel anything for her, he didn’t even feel guilty for what he had done, in fact he didn’t feel like he had just betrayed his future partner and that surprised him.
"If we are leaving in the morning, we should go and see if we c
an get some food” Kaiden suggested, as he packed the tools he had been using to make the arrows.
“I guess we should tell mum too” Gabriel sighed. “She’s going to be pissed.”
“I know” Kaiden breathed, worried about their mothers reaction to their lack of partners. “She’s probably going to attack the seer.”
“Well I’d hate to be in the seer’s shoes” Gabriel said, heading for the door. “And Kaiden, I swear if you try and run away when we tell mum, I’m going to make you pay.”
“Neither of us asked for this but I swear I'm not going to run” Kaiden reassured Gabriel, as he followed his brother outside.
“Damn right, I didn't ask for this” Gabriel growled, as they made their way to the food hut. “And now I'm even more pissed because everyone pushed me to see her, especially mum.”
"I'm sorry Gabriel but no one knew this would happen, it hasn't happened in generations” Kaiden said, trying to calm Gabriel down before he got to worked up.
“I know and I’m sorry I snapped like that but I just need some time to get over all of this” Gabriel sighed, as they walked into the food hut. “I know you’re going to need some time as well, so don’t be afraid to vent when you need to.”
“Thanks” Kaiden whispered, as they approached their mother.
Their mother was sitting at a table chopping vegetables but stopped the moment she saw her son’s approach. She smiled warmly at them, knowing that Kaiden would have visited the seer and she desperately wanted to know what he had been told.
“So Kaiden tell me who my new daughter will be” their mother beamed and watched Kaiden sigh.
“Mum” Kaiden breathed, sitting on the bench across from his mother. “I need you to promise you will just listen.”
“This doesn’t sound good” their mother said, looking concerned.
“Mum we have a couple of things we need to tell you” Gabriel interjected, as he sat down beside Kaiden. “We both visited the seer this morning and...”
“Oh my goodness, Gabriel I can’t believe it” she gushed before Gabriel could finish. “I’m so glad you finally saw her.”
“Mum please, just let us say what we have to say” Gabriel growled, frowning at her.
“I’m sorry, I’m all ears” she said and gestured for them to continue.
“I don’t think we should start with the news from the seer” Gabriel said, knowing she wasn’t going to give him the chance to tell her about their trek. “Kaiden and I have decided to trek south to see if it’s safe for everyone to settle during the winter.”
“Gabriel there’s no need for that, I’m sure we will be fine this winter” she told him, not ready to see both Kaiden and Gabriel off for an extended period of time, especially since Kaiden had just returned from his solo hunt. “And if it really is that necessary, someone else can go.”
“Mum we all know we barely made it through last winter and we don’t have the time to replenish our supplies if we have a short summer” Kaiden said, glancing at Gabriel. “Besides we both want to do this, no we need to do this.”
“We will discuss this further later” their mother growled, frowning at both of her son’s. “Now please tell me what the seer said.”
“Neither of us were given a name” Gabriel said quickly and braced himself for his mother’s reaction.
“What?” she gasped. “Both of you?”
“Yes, both of us” Kaiden answered.
“That can’t be” she whined, looking around the hut for anything to suggest they were joking with her but everyone was working on their usual tasks. “I don’t believe you.”
“Mum you’re welcome to ask her yourself” Gabriel groaned, annoyed that their conversation was dragging out longer than he had wanted.
“Then let's go” their mother hissed, as she pushed herself up.
Both men groaned before getting up and reluctantly followed their mother outside. She looked like a woman on a mission, as she stormed through the village with a look on her face that warned others to stay away.
Their mother didn’t even knock once they reached the seer's hut. Instead she stormed in and both men were relieved to see that the seer was alone and not with someone.
"Why didn't you give my son's a partner?” their mother yelled, as she looked at the seer with rage in her eyes. “I want you to check again.”
“Mum this really isn’t necessary” Gabriel growled, hating the fact that he was now looking at the seer for the second time that day, something he hadn’t wanted to do for quite some time.
“It’s okay Gabriel” the seer reassured him. “Give me your hand.”
Groaning, Gabriel placed his hand in her out stretched hand. She then closed her eyes and dropped her head, just like she had the last time he saw her. He knew the seer's words were not going to change and although he didn’t want to hear them again, he told himself that he was there for his mother and not himself.
“I’m sorry Gabriel, I still don’t have a name for you” the seer told him, once she opened her eyes. She then did the same for Kaiden, with the same results.
Even more enraged, their mother glared at the seer. She wasn’t ready to except what she was hearing but there was nothing she could do about it.
“Am I going to lose my son’s?” their mother asked, as the though crossed her mind that they might die in the near future.
“I don’t know, it’s difficult to see anything at all” the seer answered, with both kindness and pity in her voice.
“Let’s go” their mother growled, as she grabbed both of her son’s arms and pulled them outside. She then started making her way back to the food hut but stopped just outside.
“Mum there’s nothing we can do to change this” Kaiden said softly, trying to calm his mother down even though he felt angry himself.
“Don’t go south” she said, ignoring Kaiden. “Gabriel you can pair with Ava, you know she likes you and it would solve both your problems.”
“Mum no, I’m not interested and who know’s she might get paired with someone else” Gabriel sighed, hoping that truly was the case.
“And Kaiden I’m sure we can find someone nice for you” she said, desperation clear in her voice. “You don’t have to go south because of this.”
“Mum, we both need to go” Kaiden told her. “Besides we will be back.”
“Now can we please get some food supplies” Gabriel groaned, wanting nothing more than to run and hide from everything that had happened that day. “We’re leaving in the morning and I would like to get some rest.”
"Take what you need" she said sadly, as she gestured to the food hut. “You’ve both already made up your minds, so there is obviously nothing can do to stop you.”
“Thanks mum” Gabriel said, as he wrapped his arms around her. “I love you.”
Once Gabriel let their mother go, Kaiden hugged her and told her he loved her as well. They both then disappeared into the food hut, leaving their mother to process the information she had been given. They knew she wasn’t going to take it well but there was nothing either of them could do about it, they would both change it if they could.