🐺💣🔪 #MY_BLACK_KNIGHT 🔪💣🐺
🎴Happen 36
As Produced By Sheriff Squinty
Theme: Logistics
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The s-en-se of power radiating off of my Mate was astounding. I couldn’t help but notice the intense admiration and pride emanating from my Wolf, who was excited that Gabriel was going to be my new Alpha. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my packmates lowering their heads out of respect for their new leader; I even felt my own Wolf bowing to his pres£nce, which was strange, thinking about my Mate like that. However, since we hadn’t completed the bond, I supposed he was still my superior.
I copied the actions of my fellow pack members, lowering my head in respect. It felt incredibly strange. I could s-en-se Gabriel’s eyes boring holes into me as he observed my behavior, but what else was I supposed to do? My Wolf was confused, torn between admiration and submission. I had never heard of a she-wolf being in my position before.
I relaxed slightly as Gabriel turned away, focusing his attention on Eli. The two began to converse quietly and I realized just how much work my Mate had ahead of him. If the Black Mountains Pack was going to absorb us, how exactly would we go about it? The two territories were so spre-ad out that it would be difficult for Gabriel to go back and forth. I knew there would be a lot of logistics involved.
I ba-rely noticed what was happening as Gabriel strode over to my packmates, who looked frightened and intimid@t£d by him. With a barking order, Gabriel instructed them to take Alpha Brett’s b©dy back to our village.
“Brief your pack on what happened. I expect the rest of your village to be awaiting my arrival. I’ll be there to talk to them later tonight,” Gabriel said coolly. There was no nee-d to put the Command in his tone; his pres£nce was intimid@t!ngenough that my fellow pack members instantly obeyed. One of them Shifted while the others placed Brett’s drooping b©dy on the giant wolf’s back. I shifted position uncomfortably. Was I supposed to follow them? Was Gabriel going back with us? The thought made my heart flutter.
“Skylar, I nee-d to talk with you a moment,” the husky baritone interrupted my train of thought and my eyes shifted to Gabriel. He indicated the fringe of the forest with a j£rk of his head and strode off, me nervously following him.
It would be the first time we were alone together since I left him a few days ago. I scratched my arm abs£ntmindedly as I followed him into the shade. Back in human form, the irritation and burning heat lingering un-der the surface of my skin were returning. I fervently hoped I wasn’t getting sick. The diseases affecting werewolves were few, but very powerful.
Gabriel st©pped just inside the shelter of the trees, the patchy, late-afternoon sun dappling the forest floor with golden spe-cks of light. Darkness was a couple hours away at most.
I was all too aware of the fact that Gabriel was shi-tless, putting his sculptured muscles on open displ@yfor everyone to see. My Wolf was very appreciative of his form and I had to look away before I started blu-shing.
“Who hit you?” Gabriel finally said, breaking the silence. I realized the faint welt on my face from Alpha…or, formerly Alpha Brett was still visible.
“It’s not important,” I replied quietly, still keeping my gaze averted. Obviously my shoddy lie did nothing to deter his curiosity when he asked me earlier.
“It’s important to me,” was his snapping retort. It sounded like he was speaking throu-gh gritted teeth.
I finally turned to face him, keeping my eyes on Gabriel’s face instead of his expo-sed torso. I wasn’t sure I could restrain myself right now; I was exhausted, and re-sisting him was difficult.
“It’s over and done with. And I deserved it,” I added, mumbling.
His eyes narrowed. “You never deserve to be treated like that.”
“It’s my fault Anne died. I pissed Cain off because he couldn’t attack me and he took it out on Anne. Alpha…er, Brett….nee-ded a target for his grief.” Belatedly, I realized I probably shouldn’t have called Brett out like that.
A low growl vibr@ted in his che-st. “That’s a pathetic excuse for him to l@yhis hands on you. If I would have known-”
“That’s exactly why I didn’t tell you. Brett is just grieving. He’s suffered enough.”
Gabriel was silent for a long moment, his jaw clenched. As the seconds trickled by, my eyes inevitably settled on the bleeding g@sh stretching across the front of his shoulder, near his collarbone. The bleeding had slowed but it still looked painful. My Wolf whined.
“You’re injured,” I said softly, taking a step closer to him before I st©pped. I couldn’t trust myself in such close proximity, not in the state of mind I was in right now.
“It’s fine.” He kept his gaze averted. I wanted to reach out and t©uçh him, but kept myself at bay. We were still several feet away from each other, thankfully.
“Skylar, things are going to be really different now. There are a lot of issues to resolve. But I won’t….” He trailed off, shifting position almost uncomfortably. “I won’t be able to stay as far away from you. I have to go with you to your pack village today, it’s customary for the wolves to meet their new Alpha. And the ceremony completing the Purge is tomorrow.”
I glanced down at the leaf-strewn forest floor. “I know.” The thought was just occurring to me. It was as if I hadn’t really accepted the fact that Gabriel was going to be my new Alpha yet. I wasn’t sure how he would work everything out but once he did, I’d be around him a lot more. I would have to f0rç£fully keep my distance if I wanted to make my decision, and it would have to be soon.
You should’ve alre-ady decided, my Wolf snapped angrily and I almost winced at the reprimand. Throu-gh everything, she still desperately wanted Gabriel and his Wolf. And I couldn’t lie and say I didn’t have any feelings for him whatsoever. In fact, the longer I was around him, the more danger I was in of acting impulsively on my hor-mones.
Another silence stretched out. I felt the tension increasing again, and my Wolf began to claw at the surface. The sight of our shi-tless Mate was driving her crazy.
“My father is in a coma,” I blurt out before I could help myself. I wasn’t sure why I told Gabriel, except for I was hoping there was some chance he could help.
Gabriel’s head swiveled and his dark orbs fixated on me. “What?” If I wasn’t mistaken, I saw visible concern in his expression before he masked it as usual.
“Cain attacked Maria. My father healed her and was drained from doing so, and he got blindsided. They took some of his blood and injected him with silver. He hasn’t woken up,” I finished, realizing I was rambling. My voice had grown weaker and I felt extremely vulnerable. My lack of sleep was ra-pidly catching up to me, along with the strange physical symptoms I had been experiencing.
*
Hall Of Supernatural Stories
*
Gabriel almost looked as if he wanted to step forward, to comfort me, but he resisted. “I’ll have Eva come right away,” He said quietly. I tried not to grimace, as the redhead didn’t have a p@rticular fondness for me, but Gabriel noticed my expression.
“We’re in the same pack now. She’ll have no choice but to help.”
I nodded. I was sure she was a perfectly capable pack doctor. If she could help my father, I couldn’t complain about her rou-gh-around-the-edges demeanor. Meanwhile, Gabriel’s gaze grew distant and I had no doubt he was contacting her.
“The real reason I brou-ght you out here was to give you Raziel’s news,” he said after a moment.
I looked up expectantly. “Did he find what he was looking for?”
Gabriel nodded, once. “I’m asking Eva to bring one of the objects with her. It’ll help protect your….our pack. At least for a while.”
For once, I felt a rush of hope, along with piqued curiosity. “What is it?”
“Another blessed object. Different from your rosary, because instead of protecting one person, it protects everyone within a certain radius. It’s very old and very powerful. It should keep all of the vampires from coming within several miles of your pack village, until it runs out. It operates similar to the rosary in that regard.”
“How long will it last?”
“Hopefully a few weeks.”
I frowned. That wasn’t as much time as I was hoping. “But what if-” I began, but he cut me off.
“We will be working on plans as we integrate the packs. All we can hope is that it’ll buy us enough time.”
A few weeks was not near enough time, in my opinion, but it was better than nothing. If the object worked like Raziel and Gabriel said, nob©dy would have to hide in their homes for a while. I could only wish we would come up with a strategy by then.
I glanced around the scenery for a bit, something nagging at me. I hadn’t wanted to bring it up, but I had a guilty conscience. I wanted to let Gabriel know what I’d done, and some p@rt of me was worried he’d be angry, but at least I’d be telling the truth. I glanced up at my Mate. He seemed as lost in thought as I was.
“Gabriel…um…..Alpha….” I stuttered, feeling like a complete idiot. What did I call him? I felt stupid having to think about it, but I’d never been in a situation where I could address my Alpha informally, and since Gabriel and I weren’t bonded; my Wolf bowed to his, so did I call him Alpha like the rest?
“Don’t do that.” His voice was hoarse, urgent. I looked up to see his eyes boring into mine. Gabriel looked almost….hurt….which shocked me seeing the depth of emotion in his gaze, however briefly. “Don’t call me that.”
I gazed at him, completely taken aback. “I just…well…I’ve never dealt with anything like this before,” I managed to choke out.
Gabriel clenched his fists and looked down. “You shouldn’t be afraid to call me by my first name.” He looked angry, though to me it almost seemed like Gabriel’s anger was directed at himself. “You’re my Mate, for fv¢k’s sake.”
My Wolf purred at his acceptance of us and I felt my heart skip a beat as my cheeks reddened. I vainly tried to fight down my rising emotion. “Gabriel,” I said instead, enjoying the way his muscles visibly clenched as I spoke his name. “I’m sorry. It’s my fault Alpha Brett tried to kill you.”
Although Gabriel attem-pted to mask his expression, I could see vivid emotion lingering just behind the surface. “What did you tell him?” His voice had gotten completely monotone, intensity gone.
“I didn’t tell him about your ancestry. Just that Cain was coming after you for your blood because he couldn’t get to your mother in time.”
Now, I felt like Gabriel was angry with me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to tell him, but he must’ve gotten some sort of hint, because he used a Command on me so I had to tell him. I tried to hide as much as I could but-“ I felt like I was about to cry.
“He Commanded you?”
I nodded mutely, b!tt!g my l!pas I stared at him. I felt weak and pathetic, especially after everything that happened. Tears were about to threaten at the corners of my eyes. My emotions were going haywire. I wasn’t sure how much more I could take.
Gabriel sighed heavily. “It isn’t your fault. Just…don’t give me that look. I can ba-rely stand it.”
Not sure what he meant by that, I instantly apologized. “Sorry, I-“
“St©p apologizing!”
I shut my mouth. Gabriel ran a hand throu-gh his hair, his customary agitated habit. He didn’t say anything else, though, for I heard Eli calling him from a distance.
He tossed me a heavy look. “I have to discuss logistics. Eva should be here in a while, and we will leave for your pack village.”
I nodded mutely, sagging against a nearby tree. My b©dy wanted to crumple to the ground while my Wolf wanted to jump onto Gabriel’s muscled physique. It was a strenuous internal battle.
My Mate’s expression softened, ever-so-slightly. “Rest, Skylar. You look exhausted.”
And with my name falling so perfectly from hisl-ips, I sank down the side of the tree, putting my head in my hands. It was all just so much to take in.
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I wasn’t sure if Gabriel wanted me to follow him, but I figured that since he was almost within eyesight, I was safe to doze off here in the forest. I relaxed against the rou-gh bark of the tree, trying to ignore the h0t flush un-der my skin and the way my heart was pounding fas-ter than usual. This time, though, Gabriel had nothing to do with it; it was the strange sickness I was coming down with. I felt a pang of worry but pushed it aside. Almost of their own accord, my eyes drifted shut. My b©dy desperately tried to catch up with the sleep it had so so-rely missed out on over the past two days.
What felt like minutes later (but was likely at least an hour or so), I woke up to Gabriel’s voice urgently calling my name. I blinked, blearily, not feeling much better. That hour or so had served to give me a glimpse of the sleep I was missing out on, not rejuvenate me.
“I’m awake,” I muttered, groggily glancing up to see him standing over me. I struggled to my feet as he backed away to give me some space. My Wolf did not like that gesture.
“Eva’s here.” Gabriel’s brows furrowed slightly as he examined me, and I saw concern flash throu-gh his expression. Apparently he didn’t like what he saw. “Are you fit to return to your pack tonight?”
I waved him off, ignoring the mildly-feverish conditions I was feeling. “I’m fine.”
I could tell Gabriel did not believe me, but before he could pursue the issue a sleek, brownish-red wolf bur-st throu-gh the trees and approached us. The she-wolf was carrying a large bag in her powerful jaws. She set it down and, with a respectful di-p of her head to Gabriel, began to Shift back in human form. Seconds later the redhead Eva stood there, in all of her n-ked glory.
I had to turn my head to the side as I felt a wave of nearly-overwhelming anger overtake my Wolf. I clenched my jaw and tried not to let my fury show, but my Wolf was snarling that there was a n-ked female so close to our Mate. I knew it was stupid, as Eva was in his pack and it was common for pack members to Shift in front of each other, but I couldn’t help it. I was exhausted and my Wolf was on edge. I gritted my teeth, ba-rely fighting back the de-ep growl that threatened to escape. I scarcely believed the level of jealousy and possessiveness I was feeling.
*
As Produced By Sheriff Squinty
*
Calm down, he’s probably seen it all before, I attem-pted to placate my Wolf, but realized a second later I had just made things worse. She growled furiously and I bit down, ha-rd , to prevent the sound from sli-pping past myl-ips. My teeth cut into myl-ip, drawing blood, and I winced. I was really losing it.
I realized that the two were speaking and I tried to tune into the conversation. I fervently hoped Gabriel hadn’t felt an echo of my s£ntiments. My cheeks were red enough as it was and I didn’t want to humiliate myself further.
“Were you discreet about getting it?” Gabriel was saying. Eva nodded, completely ignoring my pres£nce, her bright blue eyes fixated on Gabriel.
“Don’t tell anyone else about this,” he continued speaking to Eva, a Command in his tone, before he lifted the bag off of the ground. Reaching in, Gabriel pu-ll-ed out something that was the complete opposite of what I was expecting.
It was a stone. A large, relatively flat, completely boring stone. I stared at it blankly.
“He called this the Stone of Jacob,” Gabriel muttered, gazing at it contemplatively. He tested its weight. “It definitely radiates power.” He gestured that I t©uçh it, and I walked forward, tentatively placing my hand on the rock’s smooth surface.
I quic-kly jumped backwards as an electric s-en-sation sizzled up my arm from the rock, the power spre-ading like wildfire throu-gh my veins. It disappeared as quic-kly as it c@m£ but I stared at the rock with renewed wonder. It felt like my rosary, only many times stronger. Gabriel gauged my reaction before he carefully returned the stone to the sack.
“We’ll keep it somewhere safe,” he murmured, almost to himself, before he turned to the redhead. “You’re coming with us to the Silver Woods pack village. They’re p@rt of our pack now, and Skylar’s father, their only pack doctor, is in a coma. I will nee-d you to heal him as best as you can.”
I tried not to scowl. Of course it had to be Eva that was going to help me out. By the look on her delicate features, she was not taken with the idea, but she managed to keep her thoughts to herself. Eva nodded stiffly, still avoiding my gaze altogether. My Wolf recoiled at the thought of her still-n-ked (and admittedly near-perfect) form so close to my Mate. I felt another wave of jealousy and I berated myself.
“We can’t waste any more time. Are you two re-ady?” Gabriel gazed at me specifically as he said that and I got the impression he was feeling my emotions more than he let on. I just nodded curtly. I knew it was pathetic, but being so close to the gorgeous redhead made me feel insecure all over again. I sighed, preparing to Shift.
It was going to be a long trek home.
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My presumption was correct. We took off for home, Gabriel, Eva, me, and two of Gabriel’s pack members. Eli returned to the Black Mountains Pack to take care of things for the next couple of days. They had their own blessed object from Raziel so, for now, they were safe. My packmates had gone ahead to deliver the news and get Alpha Brett to the infirmary. I hoped he and his Mate were going to be all right; I couldn’t imagine the pain that our Luna had gone throu-gh during the fight. Hopefully she had pas-sed out so she could avoid most of the agony her Mate was going throu-gh.
For me, the trek was painfully quiet. Because the Purge hadn’t been completed, according to Gabriel, I could not yet communicate telepathically with the others. I was sure they were having an internal conversation several times and I was unfortunately left out. To t©p it all off, there was the distance between Gabriel and I. I knew I was the cause of most of it but I couldn’t help but feel the stab of jealousy every time Gabriel’s fur brushed Eva’s.
Get ahold of yourself, I snapped, more to myself than my Wolf. I’m acting like a pathetic, jealous high-schooler. What is wrong with me?
We haven’t sle-pt enough, my Wolf replied, her exhaustion tangible. And being so close to our Mate again is only intensifying the bond whether you want that to happen or not. Jealousy, possessiveness, lvst….all of that is heightened for both of us.
I’m not re-ady for that. I have scarcely had time to think, was my response. It was true. Everything had been chaotic since I returned home. I just wanted one opportunity to be alone and really think. And the run home was depleting the rest of my alre-ady-scarce energy reserves. I hoped I could make it.
It was well past dark when we finally neared the village, and I was glad to know my home hadn’t been ravaged by the vampires now. Hopefully with the Stone of Jacob, which Gabriel was carrying, we could live without fear for a couple of weeks.
We Shifted back to human form outside the fringe of trees, the moon shining bright above us and illuminating the scene below. As I stared intently, I realized there was a large multitude of bodies clvstered in the large space in the center of the village. They must have gotten the news and were waiting on us to arrive. I felt a trickle of nervousness as I eyed the gathered pack.
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#Tobecontinued…..