🐺💣🔪 #MY_BLACK_KNIGHT 🔪💣🐺
🎴Happen 21
As Produced By Sheriff Squinty
Theme: Taking Chances
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The next several days were absolutely miserable.
Strangely enough, my misery wasn’t solely due to the violent images of Riley’s death as-saulting my mind every time I closed my eyes. While this was definitely an issue, the main cause of my agitation was Gabriel himself.
My stubborn, antisocial, over-protective Mate kept me locked in his house with no means of escape. He refused to let me leave for any reason, even during the day, and he kept two of his wolves constantly on guard at the front door with the Alpha Command not to let me leave. This was wors£ned by the fact that Gabriel was ha-rd ly at his own home during the day.
I was going stir-crazy, and my mood had steadily wors£ned as the days pas-sed by. The first few days after Riley’s funeral, I knew Gabriel and the others were trying to work out the logistics of defense against the vampires, as well as trying to get things settled, so I tried to be patient. I knew they had to organize patrols at all hours of the day. But after that, my patience began to wear thin.
I contacted my family a few times to talk with them (Shifting in the middle of my be-droom so it was easier to speak to them across the great distance, which I was sure looked comical), and I told them there’d been another attack on Gabriel’s pack, but I did not supply them with the details. They would go out of their minds with worry. I also conveniently did not tell them that I was basically a prisoner in Gabriel’s house.
I also re-ad a couple of books to pas-s the time, but eventually my thoughts would always wander to Gabriel and I’d get distracted.
The one bright light of the miserable experience of being kept inside was the woman who cooked for Gabriel, Evelyn. She showed up every evening to cook dinner for me (and leave the leftovers for Gabriel, as he didn’t get home until the middle of the night.) Gabriel had given her a few days off when I first c@m£ back to the pack with him, but clearly he realized that the amount of food was getting scarce, or perhaps he was worried I would start talking to the walls because I was so lonely, so every evening she showed up to cook dinner. She was wonderful at it. A tall woman in her mid-60s, Evelyn was one of the only wolves in the pack that treated me kindly. As the days pas-sed after the funeral, I got to know more about her and about the Black Mountains Pack.
The fifth day after Riley’s funeral, I tried to ask her more about Gabriel and his past. For the first time since I’d met her, she looked acutely uncomfortable at the questions and gave very evasive answers, so I didn’t press. I didn’t want to anger her and lose one of my only friends in the pack.
My determination and optimism about retrieving much-nee-ded answers from Gabriel was beginning to fade. He was very rarely alone in the house, and the few times he was, I got the s-en-se that he was avoiding me. We had very short conversations when we did speak. He knew I was determined to find out what secrets he kept and he was dead-set on hiding them from me as long as possible. My Wolf was almost as agitated as I; while our Mating bond was strengthening because of our proximity with Gabriel, it was not the natural order of things to resist the pu-ll for so long. Most wolves consummated the bond as soon as possible. Our behavior was unnatural.
Any patience I would normally have had was nearly gone. I could scarcely sleep at night because of the horrible recent memories and the lack of rest was beginning to take its toll. Gabriel had held several meetings downstairs, but I dared not intrude because it would risk a lot of negative attention from his pack. Besides, most of the meetings pertained to patrol strategies and the like. Clearly, most of Gabriel’s warriors alre-ady knew about the existence of vampires so were not surprised about the many precautions they were taking. I could not help but wonder why I had been kept in the dark in my pack for so long, especially considering my parents and Alpha Brett had seemed to know about the vampires, too.
I had overheard one thing when I was gr-abbing a granola bar from the kitchen while Gabriel was conducting a small meeting in the living room. While vampires could travel fast, Gabriel had said there was no way they could have made it from the nearest town in time to strike that soon after dark; this meant that either one or many of them had a hideout nearby in a cave or some other shelter. The thought was not plea-sant. So far, the searches had found nothing.
Although I did not admit it out loud, Gabriel’s behavior hurt. The rare times when he was around the house, his eyes would find mine briefly before fli-ckering away with an unre-adable expression, he often brushed by me with only a short word or two in explanation of where he was going, and the few conversations we did have were short and awkward. I was always asleep before he c@m£ back at night and woke up after he left in the morning. He was working himself to death but not seeking my comfort or companionsh!pin any way, and intentionally avoiding any sort of confrontation with me. Every time it happened I felt myself getting closer and closer to a breakdown.
A week after Riley’s funeral, I had gotten up super early to catch him and finally confronted him about it while he was halfway out the door at 5 in the morning. I had told him that I was suffocating, and asked if he’d at least let me go outside to train. I must have looked completely insane, or some p@rt of Gabriel knew how poorly he was treating me, because he conceded.
After that, Gabriel instructed Eli or one of the other “babysitters” to accompany me to the training field in the afternoon. They let me train for a couple hours with the other wolves each day. I was not allowed to patrol, but at least I got to demonstrate my agility and fighting skills.
It was still immensely uncomfortable with the way the others treated me. And Gabriel did not once observe my training. Plus, although I was keeping up with his packmates, two hours a day was not nearly enough time for me to stretch my legs. If he wasn’t going to change his mind about keeping me locked up, I would take matters into my own hands.
So on the twelfth day after Riley’s funeral, I decided I’d had enough. I had to get out of the house no matter what it took. I had begrudgingly followed Gabriel’s orders so far but at this point I did not care about disobeying him. It had been a week and a half since the funeral, two since I first arrived, and we’d made no progress! He couldn’t treat me like an insignificant spe-ck of dirt and expect to get away with it. To my surprise, my Wolf actually agreed with me. She wanted to run free for a little while, work the agitation out of her lim-bs.
As soon as Gabriel left for another search, I put my plan in motion. I walked quietly down to the foyer, glancing outside to see that the two ‘guards’ were loitering about in front, looking irritable. They likely thought that guarding Gabriel’s Mate was a waste of time but they dare not disobey the Alpha. I couldn’t blame them; I, too disagreed with his decision to keep me cooped up like a prisoner. I knew he was trying to protect me in some way but it was ridiculous. I was not some pet to be caged up.
And despite the fact that he was trying to protect me, it was still childish of him to avoid me the very few hours he was around.
as-suring myself that they weren’t really paying attention, I hurried back upstairs. I slowly walked down the hallway to the second floor, opening doors as I went and peering out of the windows in the rooms. What I really nee-ded was a window near a large, sturdy tree. Shimmying down a tree wouldn’t be the world’s most graceful exit but I nee-ded some fresh air before I went crazy.
I finally got lucky when I opened the door to the bathroom nearest to my be-droom. There was a decent-sized window that I could likely fit throu-gh, and it was along the back side of the house so the guards would be less likely to hear me. I doubted they were alert enough to catch the subtle noise I would make when climbing down the tree.
Gripping the ledge of the bo-ttomhalf of the window, I quic-kly unlocked the latch and then heaved the window up in one fluid motion. It was a relief to see that there was a thick br@nch pretty close to the window. I clambered out and onto the br@nch; having climbe-d a lot during my childhood years, it wasn’t overly difficult. I had werewolf grace to thank for that.
Trying to be as quiet as possible, I slowly crawled along the br@nch, dropping to a lower br@nch once one was near enough. I repeated this action with two more br@nches, eyeing the ground below me with some caution. I wasn’t too far up now, and my landing shouldn’t make too much noise. I swung myself below the br@nch and then re-leased it, landing on my feet in the thick gras-s behind Gabriel’s house with a soft thud. I couldn’t waste time now. I quic-kly took off towards the nearest copse of trees, str!pping my clothes off and tying them around my ankle in record time.
I easily welcomed the contortion and burning s-en-sation that the Shift brou-ght. It had been too long since I had last Shifted; in fact, I hadn’t been in this form since I had started living with the Black Mountains pack. My Wolf yipped with excitement, stretching her long, powerful legs.
Where should we go? She asked me, tone lighter than I had heard it in days.
Let’s just run for an hour or so, not so far that we can’t easily make it back hours before sunset. I was hoping to talk to our pack. The thought of opening my mind and hearing others’ voices was a relief; I had been quite lonely the last few days.
I took off without further ado, My Wolf and I enjoying the breeze whispering throu-gh our fur and the thick gras-s of the forest un-der our paws. The trees provided shelter from the sun for a few moments before the woods ended, giving way to rockier, hilly ground that the Black Mountains Pack was known for. I slowed my pace, tre-ading cautiously around the sharper rocks that would hurt my feet. I began to climb onto large rocks and leap from boulder to boulder, relishing the feel of my Wolf’s powerful muscles in this form. My human b©dy was just so frail in comparison.
We ran like that for just over an hour, having no issue traversing the rou-gher territory, although some p@rt of me missed the dense forests from closer to home. After a while I instructed my Wolf to slow down and she did so, although regretfully. I waited until we found a large stretch of relatively flat ground overgrown with thick gras-s before st©pping completely. We would probably be here for a while.
I turned in a circle, stretching my large form out in the warm sunlight. Holding my breath in anticipation, I lowered my mental barriers and stretched tendrils of thought out to my mother and father, leaving the others for later.
Skylar! Why haven’t we heard from you in days?
As expected, my father was angry. It had been three or four days since I’d last spoken with them.
Skylar! So glad to hear your voice, sweetie! My mother, after greeting me, attem-pted to calm him. Typical responses from both of them.
Sorry, Dad, I tried to make my tone as apologetic as possible. Before he could lecture me I gave a brief explanation of my training during the past couple of days, and how I was holding my own. I didn’t include the way Gabriel was treating me; that would only serve to infuriate my father. Once more, I didn’t mention the fact that I was cooped up pretty much all day.
At this point, I had contacted Alpha Brett to join our mental discussion. I had a question for him, as there was something still bothering me.
I’ve been wanting to know. Why did nob©dy tell me about the vampires before all of this? I always thought they were a myth!
There was silence for a few seconds before my father spoke.
I’ve only met one once when I was very young. They are rare creatures, rarer than werewolves. I’d hoped you’d never come into contact with one, never have to know they exist.
I advised them not to tell you, Alpha Brett continued where my father had left off. Same with many of the other families. That’s why none of the younger generation knows.
I remained quiet for a moment, not sure how I felt about them ma-king this decision for me. Maybe if I’d had some idea of what waited out there….
Now, of course, I realize that it would have been easier for you had you known, Alpha Brett admitted, after several seconds of silence.
Skylar, honey, don’t blame your father or the Alpha. We argued over it and I thought it best we stay silent. Of course, now I wish we would have said something. There was a piercing sadness in her tone and I decided to drop it.
After half an hour of catching up, I requested to speak to Maria or Will. I knew that it was likely that neither one of them was in Wolf form at the moment, but I hoped they were missing me enough to want to Shift for a few minutes. I politely asked Alpha Brett to convey the message then said goodbye to my parents. Talking to too many wolves at once could be near impossible, especially when I was at this distance.
A few minutes later, I felt both of my friends’ pres£nces in my mind. My Wolf gave a small yip of elation as I realized just how much I had missed them. I had only been able to talk to them once since I left home, and it was over a week ago.
Skylar! Maria said excitedly, and I could s-en-se her excitement even at this distance. Will began to greet me but his calm voice was drowned out as Maria started grilling me with questions. How are you? Has anything new happened? How is that Mate of yours? Have you guys…um… she stuttered off into awkwardness and Will seemed tense for some reason.
Calm down, calm down. I’m fine. I’ve started training with the wolves here. He’s….frustrating. And no. I gave the last answer shortly. I knew that in human form I would have been beet red.
The conversation continued from there, although Maria gave considerably more input than Will. It was odd, how it felt like I hadn’t seen them in months when it had only been a couple of weeks. It was definitely difficult to be away from the pack you were born into. Maybe it would’ve been easier if Gabriel wasn’t so impossible.
After an hour of conversation, my mental barriers were slowly beginning to rise again. I had expended a lot of energy talking to all of them for an extended period of time from this distance. Glancing up, I realized it was afternoon and I nee-ded to return to the pack soon. Hopefully Gabriel wasn’t back yet; he’d likely be infuriated that I had pas-sed his guards.
I said goodbye to my best friends, my tone tinged with regret. I could only hope I would see them again soon.
Take care of yourself, Skylar, Will said softly. I smiled mentally, glad to see that someb©dy cared. Closing off the conversation for good, I stood up and shook my thick silver fur out. It was time to head back to the pack and see what kind of trouble I was in. With any luck, Gabriel would not be home (it was the norm, after all) and I’d be able to sneak back in.
—-
I really didn’t think this throu-gh, I berated myself as I exited the trees behind Gabriel’s house in human form again. I could hear Gabriel from this distance, shouting at the guards for letting me sl!pby. He must have just gotten back. I couldn’t help but feel a surge of irritation directed at him. If he had paid attention to me in the first place I wouldn’t have resorted to such extreme measures to make myself feel better. Besides, it wasn’t exactly like I was trying to make a grand escape for good.
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Gabriel’s de-ep yelling abruptly cut off; he must’ve caught my scent. I hurried around the side of the house, eyes falling upon the exact scene I had constructed in my mind: Gabriel yelling at two downcast guards. One of them flashed me a murderous stare as I walked up.
Gabriel was facing me, standing stiffly with his arms crossed in front of his che-st and his eyes cold. I felt a spike of pain de-ep within my che-st. He was looking at me as he would any other disobe-dient member of his pack, whereas I couldn’t help feel admiration every time I saw him. I wished for the umpteenth time that he could see me the way a Mate was supposed to.
“You weren’t supposed to leave the house,” he said icily, anger resounding in his tone.
“I didn’t come here to be a prisoner,” I replied shortly, not liking his tone. While p@rt of me was intimid@t£d by his Alpha posture, all of my patience had worn thin and I was ba-rely keeping my agitation at bay.
“I can’t constantly keep an eye on you when I’m dealing with everything else.”
I gritted my teeth. “I don’t un-derstand why you think you nee-d to babysit me!” I noticed Eli walking up from the corner of my eye and I blu-shed with embarras-sment. Did Gabriel really have to confront me in front of three others?
“Haven’t you noticed what happens every time you wander off?” His arms were by his sides now, and he was clenching and unclenching one of his fists in agitation. Corded veins stood up along his arms, and he was tensed up as if in preparation for an attack.
“I-” I started to defend myself but he cut me off.
“You don’t do as you’re told.”
My eyes narrowed. “Maybe because I-”
“You always get into some sort of trouble. You’re reckless and impulsive.”
Again, calling me reckless. I flu-shed, this time with anger. I felt emotion rising in my che-st. I could not believe he was calling me out like this in front of others. Talking down to me.
“I didn’t leave just now to try to go get into trouble, I just nee-ded to run after being locked in your house for so long!” I made no attempt to mask my growing frustration.
“Why is it so ha-rd for you to un-derstand that you attra-ct danger?” Gabriel ground out throu-gh gritted teeth.
“If I’m such a hazard, maybe you shouldn’t have brou-ght me here!” I snapped, fury evident in my tone.
Gabriel looked away, his jaw clenching, staring off into the distance. Then he spoke so quietly, I ba-rely heard it.
“I wish I didn’t.”
I g@sped despite myself, eyes wi-dening. It felt like he’d driven something sharp directly into my che-st. For a moment I couldn’t breathe. How could he just say something like that? I felt burning at the corners of my eyes and I knew I was dangerously close to crying. I couldn’t cry here, I couldn’t break down now. I turned away from him. I had to make it back inside the house, quic-kly, before emotion took over and I was further humiliated.
I began to walk away without another word, trying to fight the rising pain. I felt, rather than saw, Gabriel make a move towards me. I turned my head slightly to see him reaching out to try to st©p me. I spun around fully then, my Wolf snarling in the back of my mind. For once, she was angry with her Mate. My angry eyes fixated on his, fury taking over. How dare he make a move to t©uçh me after what he had just said?
“Don’t you fv¢king come near me,” I hissed, putting as much venom as I could into every word. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, they always said. Well, after being scorned for days and then basically rejected in public, I now knew that to be true. Gabriel recoiled from me, and I thought I saw visible pain flash in his dark eyes before he turned away.
#Tobecontinued….