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moment, but his look remained inscrutable, so she picked it up.
    “Is it loaded?” she wanted to know.
    “It’s loaded with silver bullets,” he admitted then, making her glance at him again.
    “Silver?” she repeated, remembering how he’d claimed an allergy to that metal. “Why silver?”
    “Let’s just say that all made men, at least those members who descend from a mobster called Lupo the Wolf, have that allergy,” he said as he stared into her eyes.
    “Are you saying that—“
    “Yes, Betsy, when you’re made into the Los Angeles family or the Gambino family in particular, you receive Lupo’s bite.” he whispered.
    “Maybe I should have gone home,” she said as she shrank against the headboard. “I don’t want to be here tonight. I’m not even sure I want to be here at all, Gabriel. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me something like this.”
    “I hoped that if I made you love me first, that it would be easier to understand.” he admitted. “I am sorry.”
    “I need to think about all of this,” she sobbed. “I’m just not sure this is something I can deal with.”
    “I cannot send you home before daylight,” he apologized. “You are much safer to stay in here.”
    “If you thought I was safe in here, why would you show me that gun?” Betsy pointed out. She shook her head and hid her face in her hands.
    “ Ma bella , I am sorry I was so selfish.” he whispered, and restrained himself from attempting to take her into his arms by sheer force of will. “I should go soon, or you will have to watch the transformation. I do not wish to frighten you with it.”
    “Gee, thanks.” she commented wryly. Gabriel sighed deeply, and left her sitting stiffly in his bed, staring at her hands.
     
     
     
     
     
     

CHAPTER FIVE
     
     
    Several hours later, Betsy found herself curled up in Gabriel’s bed with the pistol under her pillow. She held it firmly, but the safety was on. Her thumb had memorized its exact position. As the night progressed, the howls she’d heard growing louder and closer, prompted her to put it near her.
    She had been avoiding sleep, and her heart was still pounding with terror as she lay there in the fetal position, thinking about Gabriel and what he now was to her. Over the months they’d shared, she had come to value their relationship like a prized possession, defying anyone who spoke out against it with a fierce bravado uncharacteristic to her usual, more soft-spoken demeanor.
    The relationship between herself and her mother had already been somewhat strained thanks to that woman’s dictatorial ways, but now the two women practically had nothing to say to one another. And that rift was due to Gabriel—the man she knew was wrong but who had always felt so right. Could she love him now, knowing he wasn’t a man at all?
    Tears welled up in Betsy’s eyes as she thought about the alternative. Gabriel had changed her life so much in such a little amount of time. Of course she’d never delude herself that a man like him would be likely to marry her and have kids, but now she didn’t even know if he could have them. And if he got her pregnant, would she be having a baby, or a litter of pups?
    Ironically, it was the litter of pups thought that broke her free of her melancholy mood. It sounded too much like something Gabriel would have commented. She could even hear it ringing in her ears, using his voice, accent and all – whispering into her ear as he prepared to insert said litter into her person in the most pleasurable way he could come up with.
    Pleasure, at least, was one thing he offered that she didn’t think she would find in anyone else’s arms. He was the sexiest man alive, and she didn’t know how she would be able to leave that behind if she decided not to stay. Her gut clenched, and she felt nauseated at the very notion that she’d contemplate such an action. Leave Gabriel? Could she bear to do that?
    Still, she had to face facts. This night was