🐺💣🔪 #MY_BLACK_KNIGHT 🔪💣🐺
🎴Happen 27
💈💈 #phase 2
As Produced By Sheriff Squinty
Theme: Rain Of Secrets (3)
Sub Theme : Mate Challenges
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“When I c@m£ and told you about her death, I didn’t tell you the full story. I was waiting until now.” He sighed, and I could s-en-se the agitation rolling off of Gabriel in waves.
“The vampires didn’t kill her. They didn’t catch her by surprise. She knew they were coming after her; it was p@rt of the reason she left your pack.” I stood there, flabberg@sted, absorbing the words as they c@m£.
“They were dangerously close to capturing her and using her blood to walk in the sunlight. She was working with a human geneticist to try to figure out how she could alter her DNA so the vampires couldn’t use it.”
“Alter her DNA…?”
“She wanted to kill her Wolf.” Raziel’s eyes were grave as he spoke. I recoiled in absolute horror. My Wolf howled in agitation and I tried to keep her at bay. How could any werewolf do such a thing? Our Wolves were p@rt of our souls. To try to kill our Wolf would go against every fiber of our nature.
Trying to control my reaction I stared at Gabriel, who looked equally horrified.
“Why…” He began, but Raziel cut him off.
“She was half-Angel, Gabriel. She wasn’t as in-tune with her Wolf as you and Skylar are. Killing her Wolf would leave her with pure Angel blood, which the vampires couldn’t use. It was still a hvge sacrifice, but one she was willing to take to protect your race from Cain and his vampires. She was taking a medicine, bit by bit suppressing her Wolf. It was working. Then, one day she got caught by Cain’s right-hand man, Antonio. As a last-ditch effort to prevent herself from being used or tortured she injected herself directly with the formula. It effectively killed her Wolf.”
He looked down at her form, closing his eyes as pain coated his features. “What she didn’t realize was that her werewolf DNA was completely intertwined with her Angel DNA, and the medicine could not separate them. One cannot live without the other. The Angel p@rt of her was undamaged, and is still alive today, but it cannot go on living without that p@rt of her soul. Her Wolf. So she remains here in perpetual sleep, unable to fully live without her Wolf and unable to commit to death while Angel blood still runs throu-gh her veins.” He trailed off.
I stared at the figure in complete horror. So she had killed her Wolf, and now she was doomed to lie there in a mausoleum for the rest of eternity. It was a horrible Fate. Gabriel stood rigidly, absorbing the news. I couldn’t fathom how much this must be affecting him.
“Why didn’t you just kill her?” He finally said, voice thick. “Instead of just leaving her there to live in perpetual sleep?”
“I could never kill my own daughter,” Raziel said coldly. “And while some of her DNA, the Angel side, remains undamaged, there is still hope. Her Wolf cannot live with the amount of formula she injected, but there is the possibility that it cannot truly die, either, while the Angel in her lives. Her Wolf may just be in a comatose state. If I could find something to bring it back, if it isn’t truly dead, Rebekah would live again.”
It was the first time her name had been spoken. Rebekah. It was fitting, I thought, as it sounded like another Biblical name.
Gabriel was silent, lost in thought. “That seems like too many ‘ifs’,” he finally murmured, the words ba-rely discernible. “And leaving her out here, alone in this…. tomb, is just unnatural.”
“I come visit her every day. Sometimes numerous times a day. What was I supposed to do? She’s my daughter, Gabriel. Do you honestly think I haven’t spent every waking moment agonizing over what to do with her?”
“Funny. She didn’t agonize over what would happen to me and my father when she abandoned us.” I stared at him in shock at his heartless dismissal.
Raziel’s face ha-rd ened. “She only ever wanted to protect you, Gabriel. She left when she got wind of the vampires so they would never find out about your existence. Her only hope was they’d never learn you’d been born. You were angry that she left, but she did it to protect you. The least you can do is hope that she has a chance.” Gabriel growled, low in his che-st.
“You have no right to tell me what to do,” he said coldly. “Not everything she did was selfless.”
Raziel shook his head slowly. He looked angry, the first time I had seen him that way. “I will give you some privacy,” he said shortly, before abruptly turning and exiting the mausoleum.
Gabriel and I were left in thickening silence. I could s-en-se his vast array of intense emotions. He continued to stare at his mother’s form, jaw clenched, eyes fli-ckering in the torchlight.
I wasn’t sure what to do. My Wolf s-en-sed that Gabriel nee-ded me, but he hadn’t been too willing for me to t©uçh him the last time we were alone. I cautiously took a few steps forward until I was standing right next to him. I felt a prickle of electricity as our arms brushed.
Looking down at her this close, I could see that she wasn’t truly dead. Rebekah wasn’t as sallow as a normal corpse. I held my breath and attuned my ears, to see if I could detect any signs of life. After a few seconds I heard it: a heartbeat. Very slow, agonizingly slow, but there nonetheless. There was the faintest rise of her che-st and a near-silent whisper of breath as she breathed. Her breaths were few and far between, and it was unnerving standing so close to her in such a state. It was as if she was in some sort of de-ep coma, I supposed, where she didn’t nee-d food or water to go on living. The Angelic bloodline was incredible indeed. All of this was nearly beyond my comprehension.
“…..I’m so sorry, Gabriel,” I finally said, keeping my voice soft. I tried to put every ounce of emotion I could into my tone.
He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. A few more seconds of silence pas-sed before he spoke, voice heavy.
“It’s because of her that we can’t be together, you know.”
I twisted to face him, blinking in surprise at his bluntness. I had thought he would continue avoiding this subject.
“It was outside of her control, but if my blood is anything like hers….” Gabriel trailed off, still not looking at me.
“What do you mean? What happened?” I asked softly, almost scared to push him.
He indicated Rebekah with a j£rk of his head. “Look at her, Skylar, really look at her. Do you notice anything out of the ordinary?”
I frowned but did as he asked, roving my eyes over her figure. “Aside from her…um…current state?” I asked, confused.
“Look at her as a werewolf. As my mother,” was his short reply.
I examined her again, almost painfully slowly, raking my eyes over every inch of her. Her skin was smooth, unblemished, still youthful. She was garbe-d in a sequined go-wn, dressed up in a similar manner as human corpses. My eyes trailed across her prominent collarbones, her smooth n£¢k….I frowned. There was something missing on her n£¢k, something every Mated werewolf female had.
“Wait…she was your father’s Mate, right?” I asked, tentatively. Awareness was pricking at the back of my mind. Gabriel nodded curtly and I continued. “So….where’s her Mating mark?” The scar caused by the mark of her Mate’s canines was noticeably abs£nt. It never faded and never truly healed, so her unblemished n£¢k looked strangely out of place.
“It’s gone,” He said. Gabriel had tensed again, and for some reason I felt my Wolf’s agitation suddenly skyrocket.
“What do you mean it’s-” I started but he cut me off.
“It faded. As soon as my father marked her and she grew pregnant with me, her mark disappeared.” I could only stare at him blankly, not wanting to make the connection. Slowly, Gabriel turned to face me. I felt my stomach plummet as I saw the look in his eyes; they were burning with agitation and contained a de-ep sadness, intermingled with resignation.
“Angels don’t have Mates, Skylar. Mates are for werewolves, not any other species. The central reason that werewolves have Mates is to reproduce, to find the best suitable match to continue the bloodline. It’s purely instinctive, and everything else—love, pas-sion, trust—comes with the more….human side of us, for lack of better word. Angel blood rejects the bond as soon as it’s made. While my mother’s Wolf initially recognized the bond with my father, it was never as strong of a pu-ll as my father felt. As soon as she grew pregnant and completed the central purpose of ‘Mating’, the connection…..faded.”
I stared at him with wi-de eyes, disbelief overcoming everything else. I couldn’t even form words.
“My father’s feelings for her, however, did not fade. He had to suffer throu-gh the agonizing emotional turmoil as, day by day, she faded away from his consciousness. She fell out of love with him as her mark and the connection faded, but his mark remained intact. My mother’s Angel side completely took over her mental and emotional state. No matter how much she loved my father before, it was outside of her control as her bloodline rejected everything about the Mating. To my father, it was as if his Mate was slowly dying. As an Alpha, every emotion was multi-plied for him, and it all went against werewolf nature. The emotional agony drove him mad and turned him into a shell of his former self.” His voice had grown cold, monotonous, but I could still see the pain palpably visible in his expression.
I felt cold, almost numb, as I finally managed to form a question. “You said it’s…Angel blood that rejects the Mate as soon as the Mating is completed. So….will the same thing happen to us as happened to your parents?” I stood there, practically trembling, dre-ading the answer but unable to tear my eyes off of him.
Gabriel’s face contorted and he looked down at the ground. Every line of his b©dy seemed as if he was in intense pain. “….there’s a really strong chance that it will,” he finally said.
I clasped my hands to my mouth as a whimper of pain escaped. My Wolf was howling in the back of my mind, drowning out any coherent thoughts that I’d had. I could feel unwilling tears welling up in my eyes, blurring my vision.
“It’s why I tried to keep you at arm’s length,” Gabriel said, so softly I could ba-rely hear. “I’m fighting my Wolf every second of every day, but I knew that if I gave in and we Mated…..” he trailed off, but I caught the implication.
“But if….but if you knew this from day one, why didn’t you just reject me? Why did you make me come live with you?” My voice c@m£ out pathetically weak and scratchy but I didn’t care at this point. My inner pain was so great I was ba-rely remaining in a standing position. It felt like the world was crumbling down around me and I wanted to curse Fate for doing this to me.
Gabriel’s eyes abruptly met mine, and there was a bright fierceness in them. “I never thought I’d find you, Skylar. When I did, you were the most precious thing I’d ever la-id eyes on. You were a gift. I couldn’t think straight, I wanted you so badly. When I left you that night, it was the ha-rd est thing I’d ever done, but when I got back to my pack I decided I would do the selfless thing and reject you. I knew it’d practically kill my Wolf in the process but I didn’t care. And then….” His voice broke and he ru-bbe-d a hand throu-gh his hair in abrupt agitation. “Then I felt your pain when the vampires attacked. My Wolf tried to take control and I nearly lost it. I couldn’t just sit by why you were in danger. I found you and saved you, and from then on I had an overwhelming urge to protect you no matter the cost. I don’t trust anyone else to keep you safe while the vampires were around. My Wolf won’t have it any other way.”
He had begun to pace back and forth while he spoke, while I was still standing there in mute horror. My Wolf had subsided into painful, short whimpers.
“I knew from day one that I would have to tell you all of this. I decided to stay distant from you until you found out. My Wolf had alre-ady grown attached to you, my miracle Mate, and I wasn’t going to spit in Fate’s face by rejecting you. Once I told you everything, I planned on letting you decide for yourself if you wanted to reject me. And now we’re here.” He looked up at me again. “I was selfish bringing you to my pack.” His eyes glimmered with self-loathing. “If I could go back and change it, I would. And I have the oldest vampire in existence after me. Even if we could be together, you’d constantly be in harm’s way.”
I remembered his hurtful words from a couple nights ago. Now they made much more s-en-se.
“I won’t blame you for rejecting me. I just….I can’t bring myself to do that to you. I’m not strong enough to break our bond.”
Never had I heard Gabriel speak of himself as not being strong enough. It astounded me, seeing the pure vulnerability in his eyes. My mind was a complete mess. I was hurt, and conflicted about him not telling me this at the beginning, but would I have done anything differently in his place? Could I have brou-ght myself to reject a Mate I had never dared dream of? Emotions whirled throu-gh my b©dy, and it felt like my heart was being squee-zed in a vice.
“I nee-d some air,” I choked out, willing the tears not to fall. I turned around and shoved the door open in my haste to get out, blinking in the bright sunlight. I heard Gabriel following me but I didn’t dare look at him. My Wolf was completely subdued now, not even trying to speak to me. The thought of our likely fate if we stayed with our Mate had completely silenced her.
To my surprise, Raziel was standing very close to the mausoleum. One look at my expression and a knowing look entered his eyes, along with a de-ep-rooted sadness. I shifted my gaze to the ground, unable to withstand the pity I’d seen in his icy orbs.
“B-but….” I began, not even sure what I was trying to say, still staring at the forest floor beneath me. “When we first met…your eyes….” I was referring to the silver sheen that had appeared in Gabriel’s expression the night of the Meeting, which indicated that his entire being was recognizing the missing piece of his soul, his Mate. The silver discoloration only lasted mere moments as the bond was initially recognized, but I had seen it there nonetheless.
“I recognized you as my Mate,” Gabriel said quietly, affirming my suspicions, “And I felt the pu-ll more strongly than I could’ve ever imagined.”
“Then how do you know the bond will break after we Mate? You said your mother ba-rely felt the pu-ll when she met your father,” I whispered, pain laced in my tone. Slowly, I turned to face him, and I could ba-rely stand the raw emotion lingering in his dark eyes.
It was Raziel that answered. “Angel blood is dominant, Skylar. The most powerful blood in the world. Gabriel is just as in-tune with his Wolf as you are, but he still has my bloodline. ” He looked at Gabriel, his eyes contemplative. “I didn’t know you had physically recognized the bond. That could help your chances a bit.” He looked hesitant to say it, but I felt the tiniest flutter of hope.
“What are our chances?” I asked softly. The Angel turned to me.
“If Gabriel wasn’t an Alpha, I’d say very slim. However, because he does have a powerful Wolf and he did recognize the physical manifestation of the bond….I’d say fifty-fifty, at best.”
So there was just as much of a chance that I’d eventually go crazy from loss after we Mated as the chance that our Mating would be successful, I thought grimly. My Wolf whined softly, not liking the odds. It would be quite a risk to take. The thought of Gabriel fading away from me, our mental link being slowly severed….I couldn’t fathom it. Many wolves nearly went crazy from loss when their Mates died. I couldn’t imagine how I would be able to live without a Mate once I had the mark.
“After your mother’s mark began to fade…what happened to her?” I dared to ask. Anything to distract myself from my train of thought.
“She grew quiet and withdrawn, full of guilt. She wanted to love my father again and rekindle the bond but nothing would work. His mark would not stay on her skin. As my father grew increasingly disturbe-d and violent, she eventually left. I realize now she was leading the vampires away, but that wasn’t the whole reason. She wanted to get away from us.”
“Gabriel-” Raziel began, but my Mate turned and glared at him. “You weren’t there!” Gabriel snapped. “You didn’t see…it was like her Wolf wasn’t there anymore, like she ba-rely cared about the pack! My father went after her to retrieve her, but he couldn’t. When he c@m£ back, he said she’d shacked up with some
human!” He spit out the last word in disgust.
“The human geneticist was helping her-”
“No,” Gabriel snarled. “She could’ve stayed. She could’ve at least explained to me what was going on. I was left with that….that bastard of an Alpha. He took all of his pain and fury out on me!” My Mate was shaking with anger, and Raziel looked moderately alarmed.
“If I were in her position, I would’ve tried ha-rder to be with my Mate.” Gabriel turned to face me, his gaze tinged with desperation. “I would never leave you, I don’t care how distant I felt. I’d never abandon you.” He spoke vehemently, and I wanted to believe him, wanted to think it would all be okay even if my mark may never permanently reside on his n£¢k. It literally was all or nothing: I could be perfectly happy with Gabriel, or I could slowly go insane as his b©dy rejected the bond against his will.
But right now, it was all too much to take in. Angels, bloodlines, living corpses, the severing of the Mating bond…..I just couldn’t handle it. I was shaking with suppressed emotion and I couldn’t take anymore. All of these emotions were going to bur-st out of me and re-lease the floodgates, and I didn’t want them to be there when I finally broke down and lost it. I’d always thought of myself as strong and reliable, the emotionally stable one, but right now I just wanted to be alone. My Wolf was more emotionally distraught than I’d ever felt her. What I nee-ded was time, time to think everything throu-gh and figure out what the hell I was supposed to do. I couldn’t think coherently right now. I didn’t want to do anything rash.
Gabriel was still staring at me, visible longing hovering in his eyes. Another time I would have been relieved to see this emotion from him, to hear him outwardly state how he felt attached to me. But now, it just hurt even more, knowing that his bond with me may fade if we ever tried to reproduce or fully complete the Mating ritual.
Trying to be with Gabriel could literally result in my soul becoming fractured. It was a terrifying concept.
“…I want to go home. I just nee-d….to think,” I said. My voice held thinly veiled exhaustion. I did not try to hide my pained expression from him. Thankfully I had kept the tears at bay, but I knew they would fall soon enough. Which home did I want to go to? de-ep in my bones, I ached for the company of my family and pack. I nee-ded comfort.
Gabriel’s jaw clenched and his eyes were pained but he nodded, slowly. “We’ll leave now then.” His eyes fli-cked to Raziel, who looked resigned.
“I nee-d to give you a few things when we get back to the house, but it’s probably time for you to head back anyways. You have a long drive ahead of you,” he said, glancing at me with something akin to pity in his blue eyes. I nodded, subdued.
Without another word we began to head back into the woods towards Raziel’s magnificent house. I had all of my answers now, and Gabriel’s strange behavior was thrown into perfect clarity, but the truth was completely unexpected and painted a grim outlook for my future with my Mate.
For the umpteenth time, I mentally cursed Fate. I would never un-derstand why I had been chos£n for all of this. I wouldn’t wish this on anyb©dy else, but that still didn’t prevent me from wishing it hadn’t happened to me. Gabriel himself was everything I could have dreamed of, and I now knew there was a depth to him I had never perceived. But his bloodline….of all people, I had been matched with someone I could likely never be with.
I felt a hollow echo of pain, and I couldn’t be sure if it was Gabriel’s or my Wolf’s at this point. I lowered my head, my dark tresses falling forward to obscure my expression from the others. For once, I let the horrible gravity of the situation simply wash over me. There was no denying it, I just knew…..
I had a really difficult journey ahead of me.
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#Tobecontinued…..