🐺💣🔪 #MY_BLACK_KNIGHT 🔪💣🐺
🎴Happen 54
🐙🐙🐙 #Phase 1
As Produced By Sheriff Squinty
Theme: Un-hidden Secrets
Rebekah’s beautiful eyes blinked once, then twice as she slowly focused on her surroundings while Raziel and I stared in complete bewilderment.
“Rebekah,” Raziel breathed, and my eyes were drawn to his face. His expression contained relief and tenderness so profound that I almost felt like an intruder. I knew Raziel cared for Gabriel, but I had never seen this intensity on his face before. Slowly, the Angel stepped toward his daughter, almost as if he was scared she would fall back into a coma with any sudden movements.
“F-father?” Rebekah stammered, her melodic voice rusty with disuse. I turned back to stare at her, still caught in my state of disbelief. As Rebekah’s brown eyes found her father’s approaching figure, she began to try to sit up. Her movements were awkward and stiff and she looked as if she were about to [email protected] back into the coffin, but in a nanosecond Raziel was there, his arm around Rebekah’s shoulders as he lifted her into a sitting position. “Where am I? What happened? I . . .” The woman trailed off, blinking yet again as she gazed around the room and her brow furrowed in confusion.
I couldn’t imagine what she must’ve be feeling, waking up in the middle of a mausoleum. Her searching gaze st©pped before she saw me huddled in the shadows as Raziel got her attention.
“We’re near my house,” Raziel spoke softly, soothingly. “What’s the last thing you remember?”
“I don’t . . .” Rebekah shook her head, soft curls tumbling forward and hiding most of her expression from my view.
“It’s fine. We can get you inside, talk then. I’m just…I’m so glad you’re awake.” Raziel’s love for his daughter laced his tone with warmth. His head turned then, bright blue eyes connecting with mine. There were pools of hope and gratefulness, and I knew he was thanking me wordlessly. I smiled back, still feeling out of breath and not quite trusting my voice yet.
[email protected] myself, I stood up from the wall, catching my balance as the world tilted slightly on its axis. Rebekah must have heard my movement because her head wh!pped around an in an instant, her pene-trating gaze was on me.
“Who are you?” She croaked out, and I detected a hint of authority in her tone. She’d been a Luna, after all. I opened my mouth to reply but Raziel spoke for me.
“She’s a friend. I’ll tell you more back inside. I’m going to lift you out now.”
The woman nodded, and Raziel had her in his arms seconds later. It was something I’d never expected to see. Rebekah had a strange expression on her face, and I got the impression she did not like being carried around but she didn’t have much choice.
“Skylar, lead the way,” Raziel ordered, and I shakily walked towards the exit of the mausoleum. Some of my fatigue had thankfully abated, but I knew I nee-ded to sit down as soon as possible. “Can you walk?” Raziel asked, and both of their eyes were on me.
“Yeah, I think so,” I breathed out heavily.
“Did you heal me?” Rebekah asked suddenly, eyeing me keenly. Her voice was a bit stronger.
“She’s a Pack Doctor, more or less,” Raziel said, once again answering for me.
“I thought I heard a voice in my mind . . .” was her quiet reply. She was gazing at me with renewed interest. There was a vivid intelligence in her eyes that I found quite [email protected]!ng. Or, it could’ve just been the fact that she was my Mate’s mother.
We began the trek up to Raziel’s house, me keeping my breathing even while my Wolf whispered encouraging words in the back of my mind. To my surprise, when we were almost there Rebekah demanded to be put down. Raziel protested, but his daughter would not take no for an answer, and soon she was stumbling along with her father’s arm supporting her. I couldn’t help a small smile from gracing myl-ips; she was as stubborn as her son, and had a lot of spirit.
Minutes later I plopped down on an armchair with a relieved sigh while Raziel helped Rebekah onto the couch. She [email protected], and I could see a thin sheen of sweat on her forehead. Despite her stubborn insistence on walking, it had tired her out. She’d been in a coma for years, after all, and I was surprised she’d even managed to stay upright.
I could feel her intense stare on me as Raziel fetched some water and food. I knew I was Luna now and was supposed to hold my head high with authority but I couldn’t help but feel [email protected]£d. It was likely because she had Angel blood, and held herself regally, like a queen. Even in this state she looked noble and proud.
Raziel returned, placing a water bottle in front of me and then going to tend to his daughter. The way she gulped down multi-ple glas-ses of water and ate an entire plate of crackers gave away just how weak she was despite her demeanor. I watched with avid interest at the way Raziel had treated her. I’d never pictured him as a doting parent, but after his daughter had been close to death for so many years, could I blame him?
“Okay, okay, I’m fine,” Gabriel’s mother eventually said, hoisting herself into a sitting position despite her father’s disapproval. “I have to know…the way you’re treating me, I must have been asleep for a long time.” I thought I saw a glimmer of trepidation in her eyes before she continued. “Tell me…how many years have pas-sed since I last saw you?”
Raziel closed his eyes, dre-ading her reaction, I as-sumed. “Almost ten years.”
A [email protected] escaped Rebekah’sl-ips and her eyes wi-de-ned in horror. “Ten . . . ten years? But I-“ She shook her head furiously. “No. It can’t be true.” Her head snapped up as she fixated on Raziel. “I’m remembering everything now. The vampires . . . Cain . . . plea-se tell me he isn’t still out there. He isn’t still hunting for my son.”
Something in my che-st ti-ght£ñed as she mentioned Gabriel and I looked away, trying to hide my expression.
Raziel’s jaw had clenched, his eyes hooded. “I wish I could tell you that, Rebekah, but I can’t. I tried everything to wake you up, but nothing worked, until Skylar used her Affinity. If I could’ve woken you sooner-“
“Where is Gabriel?” She cut him off, stone-faced.
“Gone.” To my surprise, the words escaped myl-ips before Raziel could speak. My voice was weak and pathetic, but for once I didn’t care. Having to think about Gabriel was excruciating. “He went after Cain, to protect the Pack.”
Rebekah gazed at me incredulously, but she must have seen something in my expression, for her eyes wandered down to the vivid Mark on my n£¢k. “You . . . are you Gabriel’s Mate?” She breathed out after a moment.
*
Hall Of Supernatural Stories
*
I bit my l!pand nodded, not trusting my voice. The shock in the room was palpable. “How long ago did you Mate?” She asked me. I wondered if she was really asking if Gabriel’s Mark had faded.
“Recently,” was my whispered reply. “He left the morning after. He went after Cain, thinking it’s the only option.”
Her eyes closed and she breathed out heavily. Worry was etched on her features and it only served to increase my own fear for Gabriel’s safety.
“I’m not sure how I woke you up, but I was desperate. Raziel said you’re the only one who knows about the Ritual. I can’t let Gabriel risk his life like that. You’re our only hope.” Rebekah’s eyes snapped open as I spoke. The words were rushed, pleading, and I stared at her, hoping she’d perceive the intensity of my feelings.
“You all had better catch me up on the last ten years, then,” she said after a moment of tense silence. “We don’t have any time to waste.”
—
Half an hour later, the three of us were seated at the kitchen table, eating some chicken Raziel had hastily heated up for us. The situation may have seemed normal, but for thirty minutes Raziel and I had been explaining everything that had happened since Gabriel and I met. I left nothing out about my kidnapping, Anne’s death, Cain’s haunting messages for me or the way Gabriel had blocked me out after he left. Raziel covered everything else including what we knew about the vampires and the Ritual.
Rebekah was silent for a long time, absorbing all of our words. Her regal features were grim as she realized that the vampires had found her pack and her son, and I could see worry lingering in the depths of her eyes.
“Therefore, because Cain’s life f0rç£ depends on Gabriel’s, Gabriel will kill him as soon as he completes the Ritual and is incapacitated,” Raziel finished outlining Gabriel’s plan. I glanced at Rebekah, wondering what she would think of Gabriel’s rash decision-ma-king.
To my shock, her countenance had morphed into one of absolute horror.
“He’s going to kill Cain AFTER the Ritual?” She demanded breathlessly.
Raziel nodded. “The book said-“
“No,” she snapped icily. The two of us froze in confusion. “He can’t. If Gabriel kills Cain, Gabriel will die, too.”
“What?” I [email protected]
“The book you re-ad may say otherwise, but I looked into all of this and studied everything I could about the Ritual for eight years. Cain isn’t going to have a vulnerability like that. He has a few tricks up his sleeve, a few secrets not in the book. He is tweaking the Ritual to his liking . . . and one of his tricks is to tie Gabriel’s life f0rç£ to his.”
Horror struck me as the realization dawned, and I suddenly felt sick. Raziel’s face had paled considerably.
“I thought Rituals can’t be altered-”
“The oldest vampire in the world has the power to do so,” Rebekah replied. “Gabriel can’t kill Cain after the Ritual. They will both die.” Her eyes met mine, and I saw something flash in their depths. “It isn’t just that. Skylar, you Mating with my son actually worked in Cain’s favor. You see, the Ritual links Cain to his coven. Who do you think it will link Gabriel with?”
I sat there, frozen, my Wolf whining in the back of my mind as she [email protected]£ to the same conclusion I did. “Me. If Gabriel kills Cain, Gabriel and I will both die.”
Raziel stood up abruptly, shoving his chair back. The harsh screeching made me wince and I balled my hands into fists.
“No, it isn’t possible. “
“Trust me. I had a very reliable source.” Rebekah’s eyes glinted and I wondered who she was referring to.
“This is my fault. I encouraged him with this plan, I told him it was the only way! And now you are telling me that for Cain to die, Gabriel and Skylar have to die, too?” I’d never seen him this distraught. His electric blue eyes were snapping with guilt. I could only sit there, feeling a rush of misery as I realized just how fragile my life was, how I hung in the balance.
“It isn’t your fault. You couldn’t have known; it’s practically a miracle that I know. Cain is counting on the fact that we don’t know. He’s twisted, Father. He always has a back up plan.” She sighed heavily, resignation forming on her beautiful face. “That isn’t the extent of what I learned that you don’t alre-ady know. Cain will be vulnerable during the Ritual, that’s true. Even if he is willingly given Gabriel’s blood, he will be in some pain.” Her mouth twisted in a grimace. “But Gabriel will, too. That’s how the Ritual works. BOTH of them will be in pain until the Ritual is complete. So you see, there’s no way for Gabriel to kill Cain when he’s at his weakest.”
.
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#Tbc