🐺💣🔪 MY_BLACK_KNIGHT 🔪💣🐺
🎴Happen 13
As Produced By Sheriff Squinty
Theme: t©uçh Not The Alpha’s Mate
Sub Theme : Shredded
My Wolf wanted me to utilize werewolf speed and I cursed the fact that there were so many humans around, milling about in the streets, smelling of everything from cheap cologne, sweat, g@soline, to various types of food. I wrinkled my nose in distaste.
Will fell into step beside me as we walked towards downtown. I felt the small prickle of happiness that always made itself known when he was near me. Will wasn’t my true Mate but I had developed feelings for him the past couple of years. I had never told him, worried about rejection, and I wasn’t sure he had gotten over Skylar, as he’d had a crush on her a few years ago. He’d even been her first (and only, as far as I knew) k!ss. Skylar had moved on when she didn’t feel the sparks but I wasn’t sure where Will stood.
“You okay, Maria?” He asked, snapping me out of it. I tried to focus on the task ahead, shaking my thoughts out of my daydreaming.
“Not really,” I replied tiredly. “I can’t help but blame myself, you know?” I could tell that Gabriel was listening to our conversation from his rigid posture as he walked a few steps in front of us. I would have to be careful what I said.
“It’s not just your fault. None of us noticed she’d gone,” he said, bitterness in his tone.
“We should have gone out to eat instead. She’s not that into clubbing.” I sighed, dejected.
“You were just trying to cheer her up…” Will replied, trailing off. We both knew that the cause of her agitation was just a few feet from us. Gabriel’s posture had grown even more rigid, if that were possible.
“Still. She wandered off alone and we weren’t even paying attention.”
“She seemed okay the last time I saw her. She was sitting in a booth across from that random guy and there was a drink in front of her.” I tossed Will a warning glance after he said that, not wanting Gabriel to get the wrong idea. One of his hands had curled into a fist as he walked in front of us, causing the rigid muscles to stand out along his arm. It was a very threatening stance; I knew male wolves could get jealous very easily and he was an Alpha, no less.
“Yeah I saw that too but she wasn’t even paying attention to him,” I quic-kly added, fibbing a little for Gabriel’s benefit.
Will got the hint. “Yeah she’s never been interested in that sort of thing,” he mumbled. I thought I detected a trace of sadness in his voice but I sh0t him a grateful smile as Gabriel seemingly relaxed in front of us.
“Still, I think this one’s on me. I knew she’d get bored on the dance floor quic-kly. I should’ve gone to sit with her.”
“If anything, it’s on all of us. We all know Skylar has a tendency to wander off.” Will grinned as he spoke, and I knew he was talking about that time at the beginning of high school when Skylar got completely lost in the human mall. I missed those carefree days.
Conversation ceased at that point as we approached the first address on the sheet. I noticed Alexander holding a small GPS. He must’ve bought it in town. We did a cursory scan of the warehouse, taking a few minutes to meander around the buildings surrounding it, but Skylar’s father was shaking his head and I agreed. It didn’t look right.
We continued our expedition, growing increasingly frustrated as we searched. The next two addresses weren’t the right location, either. I tried to keep the picture in my head, memorizing every detail of the doors, streetlights, and even the brick on the side of the building. I threw a glance at Gabriel. He must be extremely frustrated as he didn’t even have a mental picture to go by.
I felt the tension quic-kly escalating as the minutes trickled by. We must’ve been searching for over an hour and still no luck.
“Dammit!” Will bur-st out as the next location was a bust, as well. “Time is running out. We don’t even know if it’s one of these addresses!”
“It has to be.” Alexander replied tautly. “We have to trust Skylar’s message. She has to be downtown somewhere.”
“Well what if her kidnappers f0rç£d her to s£nd that message to intentionally mislead us? She could be long gone!”
“I don’t think so. To me she sounded like she couldn’t s£nd a longer message because she didn’t have the energy. Something is blocking her mentally.” His green eyes focused on Gabriel. “You said you felt her pain. Did you get anything else?” Alexander’s expression was contorted. I knew he didn’t want to hear about his daughter’s pain.
“Not enough. The mating bond isn’t strong enough.” I felt the tension increase as Gabriel said that. “I only felt it because it was so strong. I think it c@m£ from her n£¢k. A vampire must’ve bitten her.” He tried to keep his voice controlled but I s-en-sed the strain.
Will turned to me, mouthing ‘vampires’ as a question. I shrugged, not knowing the answer. Alexander had uttered a swear word, ru-bbing his temples with his hands. Apparently everyone knew about vampires except us, and getting bitten by one was not a good thing judging by Skylar’s father’s reaction.
“Is she…is it going to kill her?” Will asked, voice shaking slightly.
“A vampire bite won’t kill.” Gabriel said shortly. I wondered how he knew.
“They could’ve killed her after they bit her,” Will said darkly. I gave him a look, wanting him to shut up. I didn’t like to think about Skylar being…I couldn’t think about it.
Alexander was shaking his head, but Gabriel spoke first. “She isn’t. I would know if she’d died.”
Will eyed him suspiciously. “You haven’t Mated. You can’t be sure.” It must have been the exhaustion and worry that was ma-king him speak to an Alpha like that. Will wasn’t normally so forward, and I knew he found Gabriel intimid@t!ng.
“Don’t question me, pup,” Gabriel replied coldly, a ha-rd edge of anger in his voice as his eyes flashed. Will looked away, gritting his teeth in fury at the condescending tone, but he had the intelligence to shut up. He was no match for the Alpha and he knew it.
*
Hall Of Supernatural Stories
*
“We’re here,” Alexander cut it to prevent further confrontation. From his facial expression I could tell the conversation had gotten to him. He quic-kly turned onto a small, narrow street between two tall buildings. We followed, Gabriel stri-ding ahead of Will and I.
We followed the narrow street for a block or two before ma-king an abrupt right. The streets here were only one-way and the tall buildings looming next to us created an ominous atmosphere. We pas-sed few people as we continued our convoluted trail throu-gh the city streets, taking several more turns before Alexander c@m£ to an abrupt halt. Gabriel st©pped beside him, nostrils flaring.
I felt a fli-cker of recognition as my eyes fell upon the clvster of small warehouses stretched out in front of us. There were a few small streetlights above, the doors were the same color and style of those in Skylar’s message, and the brick was the same mottled, faded pattern.
With renewed urgency we approached the first warehouse. Alexander indicated for us to be completely silent, not that we weren’t anyway. He put his ear against the metal garage door, then shook his head as he took a whiff of the air. The buildings were small and we pas-sed two more before we heard a loud roar coming from the warehouse across from us. The roar was quic-kly followed by a yelp of pain that all of us recognized at once.
“Skylar,” I breathed.
My quiet exclamation was drowned out as Gabriel lunged towards the door, a furious sound ripping from his throat no doubt caused by Skylar’s pain. The sound drowned out any noise coming from inside as Gabriel gr@bb£d the bo-ttomof the door, yanking it upwards r0ûghly. I winced as the metal grating fell upon my s-en-sitive ears but there was no time to waste as the four of us gathered at the entrance.
Time seemed to stand still for a few seconds as we took in the room’s contents.
The first person I saw was Skylar. She was hunched over in a chair in the center of the room, blinking into the bright light. I could tell her hands were bound behind her by her awkward posture. I g@sped sharply as I took in her bruised and battered face, the way she winced as she moved. An instant later my eyes slid to the other two creatures in the room, who were huddling back against the far wall of the room, trying to get away from the sunlight.
Vampires. They could be nothing else with their pale faces and protruding fangs. They looked like living corpses with black, soulless eyes.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Gabriel’s eyes fixate on Skylar’s for a split second before his face contorted with rage. He let out a furious snarl and leapt into the room. I wanted to do the same and tear those vampires ap@rt for hurting my best friend but Alexander gr@bb£d my arm in a ti-ght grip. “Contact the other search p@rty, quic-k! Tell them to bring the car outside 1800 6th street. They should be nearby, they were searching the other half of town.” He hissed in my ear, pas-sing me what looked like a Go-Phone. He must’ve purchased it knowing we couldn’t Shift to wolf form in the middle of the city to mind-link the other searchers. I took it numbly, trying to resist my impulse to rip the vampires limb from limb.
Alexander then hurried over to Skylar, kneeling in front of her, while Will glanced at me then leapt towards the vampires.
I hoped the other search p@rty in the human city was not too far away. I could have mind linked them in wolf form, but obviously I could not do that here. I quic-kly dialed the number and put the device to my ear, standing there transfixed with the phone clutched in my hand as the scene unfolded. The room seemed to explode with sounds of hisses and screeches. A battle erupted between the two werewolves and the two vampires; there was ba-rely enough space to accommod@t£ all of them.
I could not tear my eyes away from the scene as one of the other werewolves searching for Skylar across town answered the phone, and I quic-kly gave him the address before hanging up. Judging by Skylar’s state she would not be able to walk, and the car was necessary to avoid attra-cting the attention of the humans while dragging an unconscious girl around town.An instant before Gabriel leapt on a dark-haired vampire I knew what was coming. The vampire tried to swing at him but the Alpha was far too fast, gr-abbing the vampire and r0ûghly throwing him against the wall. The f0rç£ of the collision almost seemed to shake the building. I dimly registered Will’s struggle with the other vampire but could not look away from the beat-down that was occurring. Gabriel had pinned the vampire in a blur of motion and was punching the monster repeatedly in the face. Each b!ow caused the vampire to howl in pain and I swore I heard something crack. The Alpha was merciless, murder in his expression, and I was surprised he hadn’t lost control and Shifted into his wolf form despite the danger; perhaps he wanted to witness the vampire’s suffering as a human, or perhaps he was just remarkably good at keeping his wits about him. I couldn’t help but feel somewhat satisfied that these monsters that had abused Skylar were getting what they deserved.
The vampire’s face was completely bloodied now. Gabriel picked the creature up by his n£¢k, a snarl on his face. “Don’t kill the other yet!” He ordered Will, who had managed to pin the other vampire against the wall near the corner of the building, although the blonde vampire he had pinned was putting up quite a struggle. Will nodded, sweat beading on his brow. Alexander was still crouched in front of his daughter, shielding her from most of the battle and speaking softly to her.
Gabriel was crushing the vampire’s throat. He kicked and struggled weakly, clawing at the Alpha’s hand, but to no avail. With a swift j£rk Gabriel slammed the vampire’s head into the wall, once, twice, three times. Then he re-leased the vampire and it slid to the ground, not moving. There was a dark stain on the wall and I gulped.
Gabriel’s dark eyes focused on Skylar hesitantly as he crouched over the vampire, as if to make sure she wasn’t watching him. Her father was currently saying something quietly to her and tugging at whatever bound her to the chair. Gabriel looked relieved that she wasn’t looking and a second later I figured out why as with one large twist and a disgusting crack, Gabriel broke the vampire’s n£¢k. “Move!” He commanded, looking at me, and I just had time to dodge out of the way before the vampire’s b©dy c@m£ hurtling past. It crumpled onto the ground in a heap and the skin began to sizzle where the sunlight t©uçhed. The scent of burning flesh permeated the air and I tried not to gag; it was revolting.
It took mere seconds for the b©dy to catch on fire, then a few seconds more before it disintegrated into ashes completely, leaving a pile of clothes. The sight was disturbing and disconcerting, something I would not soon forget, but I also felt a strong s-en-se of satisfaction that the creature got what it deserved. Nor would I forget the vicious and ferocious way that Gabriel had torn that vampire ap@rt in defense of my best friend.
As Gabriel made his way over to where Will was trying to keep the other vampire pinned, I realized that my father and the Alpha nee-ded a status upd@t£. They were a couple hours away, so it would require a bit of concentration, and I quic-kly turned away from the scene before me, summoning the strength and focusing intently on my father before s£nding a very quic-k mental message to him; I was too tired to s£nd anything elaborate. Then, taking a de-ep breath, I entered the storage room.
Skylar looked half-asleep in her chair, her head drooping. Her father was trying to keep her relaxed and was visually examining her binds, although he was not tou-ching them; upon closer inspection I saw that they were silver chains and she had burn marks on her wrists. I growled furiously, knowing that silver caused a werewolf considerable pain, prevented them from Shifting, and drained them entirely.
“There’s a padlock,” Her father said, voice tense. “Maria will you look for the key? Search the clothes outside, too.” I nodded and did as asked, rummaging throu-gh the sack of items on the table while keeping an eye on Gabriel and Will.
“Who s£nt you?” Gabriel was snarling. He was now pinning the vampire while Will stood nearby. The vampire had no chance to struggle against Gabriel’s imposing strength.
*
As Produced By Sheriff Squinty
*
The vampire attem-pted to sneer. “Like I’m going to tell you,” he hissed. Gabriel swiftly punched him in the gut and the creature howled in pain.
“Don’t make me ask again,” The Alpha growled warningly.
“You might as well kill me, I’ll die either way, and your stupid little Mate will too if you don’t give the Master what he wants,” the vampire responded.
A furious sound emanated from Gabriel’s che-st and he bashed the vampire’s head back against the wall. “You don’t deserve my mercy, not for tou-ching what’s mine,” he snapped, repeating the action. I glanced at Skylar as I finished my search and walked outside to examine the pile of clothes. So he was possessive of her, then. That was a good sign. Of course, the fact that he’d come all the way out here for her was obviously a good sign too, and I felt myself dislike him a little bit less.
After a bit of rummaging my hand enclosed on a small bras-s object and I pu-ll-ed it out of the p@n-ts pocket with relief. I hurried back inside the room and handed it to Skylar’s father.
“Bring me a piece of the clothing, too,” Skylar’s father instructed. “The padlock is silver and I don’t want to t©uçh it with my ba-re hands if I can avoid it.” I did as he asked.
I did not watch as Gabriel hit the vampire a few more times before swiftly breaking its n£¢k like he did the other’s, but again I felt a twisted s-en-se of satisfaction when I heard the deafening crack. Skylar was no longer conscious and I wondered how much of Gabriel’s violent actions she had seen. His treatment of the vampires may have been disturbing, but they totally deserved it, and any Wolf would have acted the same in the defense of their Mate. Hell, I wished I could have gotten a few punches in, although I knew I couldn’t have caused the creature half as much pain as Gabriel did. My strength paled in comparison.
Gabriel threw the other b©dy outside to burn in the sun before stri-ding over to us. I watched him carefully, wanting to see how he behaved as he examined my best friend, and saw a look of worry and concern flit across his face, which starkly contrasted with his usual dark expression. Skylar’s father, using one of the vampire’s shi-ts to avoid tou-ching the padlock directly, twisted the key and then yanked the padlock off of the chains and let them slide to the floor without tou-ching them. Alexander then stood up and pu-ll-ed his daughter into his arms. Despite the fact that she was unconscious, I saw her wince and heard her quiet whimper of pain as her b©dy was moved and noticed Gabriel stiffen considerably.
“I’m going to have to work on her when we get back to the pack. I used some of my Affinity to dull her pain and make her drowsy; she has a broken rib. I healed it somewhat so we can move her. I can heal it completely once we’re back home. Hopefully she’ll sleep the whole way there. We can take the cars and l@yher in the back seat.” Her father said quietly. He looked drained from the energy he had expended.
“Yes they’re on their way,” I replied.
Gabriel was standing there, clearly agitated. Staring at Skylar’s prone b©dy he slowly held out his arms, then raised his gaze to meet her father’s. “I nee-d to hold her. My Wolf….” He began, keeping his eyes on Alexander. I noticed Skylar’s father’s reluctance as he hesitated. No doubt he didn’t want the enemy Alpha holding his precious daughter, and p@rt of me agreed with him, but I also knew that p@rtially because of Gabriel’s help, she was alive right now.
And in a time like this, Gabriel’s Wolf wouldn’t want anyone else tou-ching her, and Skylar nee-ded the t©uçh of her Mate, even if they hadn’t bonded. Alexander knew this better than anyone.
It was completely silent for several seconds; Will and I shared a significant look. Gabriel’s jaw had clenched and his eyes had darkened. I knew it was nearly killing him to have to ask Skylar’s father for permission to hold her.
And it was painful for Alexander to let go of her.
After a few more tension-filled seconds, Alexander hesitantly nodded and pas-sed her into Gabriel’s arms. He had to know it was the best thing for her right now, and it was better to avoid angering Gabriel’s Wolf. The second they t©uçhed Gabriel’s eyes darkened even further and a surprisingly tender expression crossed his face. It was so strangely personal that I felt that I was intruding in their moment, and I was f0rç£d to look away, wanting it to be as pri-vate as possible despite the pres£nce of the rest of us here. Skylar instinctively curled her b©dy to be closer to his, although she was asleep at this point. I thought I saw a jealous glint in Will’s eyes before he, too looked away.
Then the four (well, five, if you included the unconscious Skylar) of us made our way to the main street, Gabriel glancing down at Skylar every few seconds, almost as if he couldn’t believe she was there.
—
Soon enough the others had brou-ght the two cars and Gabriel was sliding into the backseat with Skylar, ignoring the looks of the others. Some of us would have to run back to the pack house but I refused, sliding into the pas-s£nger seat. I had to make sure she was okay.
Alexander got in the driver’s seat and looked back at Gabriel. Half of Skylar’s b©dy was on the seat and Gabriel was supporting the rest on his l@p; Skylar was still curled into him, sound asleep. The Alpha was staring down at her as if they were the only two in the car. Once again I was f0rç£d to look away, feeling like an intruder in their pri-vate moment, even though she was asleep.
“So you’re coming back with us, then? Until she’s better?” Alexander asked cautiously.
“I’m not leaving her again,” was the curt reply.
“You…” Alexander began but Gabriel cut him off.
“I won’t leave her. As soon as she’s better, she’s going to come live with me.”
—————–
Tbc