🐺💣🔪 #MY_BLACK_KNIGHT 🔪💣🐺
🎴Happen 56
As Produced By Sheriff Squinty
Theme: For My Alpha – For My Mate
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Raziel and I returned to the car while Rebekah stayed behind in the decrepit house for a few moments longer. I wasn’t sure whether she was getting more information from Vivian or just saying her goodbyes, but I was too caught up in my own thoughts to care. We only had three days. Three days to formulate a plan and fly across the world. I wasn’t sure how we were even going to get into Israel; it wasn’t like I had a pas-sport. Hopefully Raziel had a few tricks up his sleeve.
I pressed my cheek against the cool window, re-leasing a drawn-out sigh. A few moments of silence pas-sed, Raziel remaining quiet in the front seat while I stared aimlessly at our dingy surroundings. When Rebekah returned, she had a grim expression and my stomach plummeted lower. I just didn’t see how we could come up with a brilliant plan with such limited time and resources.
“If you can find a way to get us to Israel, I think we can make this work,” Rebekah said quietly, surprising me. Raziel pondered for a moment before nodding.
“I think I know someone that can help,” the Angel responded. Seeing my expression, he continued, “I’ve been around for a long time, Skylar. I’ve made a lot of connections.”
“But even if we do get there, how are we supposed to take on an entire coven? I’m as-suming Cain will have a lot of vampires there to protect him and help with the Ritual,” The thought of taking on a multitude of vampires was not plea-sant.
Rebekah turned to face me, steely determination in her eyes. “That’s why you have a pack, Skylar. Are you telling me that nob©dy would be willing to help?”
I blinked, taken aback. “I’m sure they would but . . . wouldn’t that waste time? My pack is a days’ drive away.”
“Even so, we nee-d the help. You’re right; it would be foolish to rush in there with just the three of us.”
“The Denver airport isn’t terribly far away from your pack, only a few hours if you’re running at t©p speed. We can fly out of there,” Raziel cut in before I could argue more. “I will drive us back to my house, and then you all can take the other car back to your pack while I get everything organized. I’ll meet you in Denver and we can leave from there.”
It made s-en-se, but my insides were twisting with worry. “By the time we do all of that, a day and a half will have pas-sed.”
“It’s less than a days’ flight to Israel, Skylar. We’re of no use to Gabriel if we run in empty-handed. I know you’re desperate to go after him, but think logically here. Think like a Luna.” Rebekah’s tone was infused with calm and I took a de-ep, shaky breath, trying to see past my Wolf’s agitation and my own feverish desperation.
I couldn’t act solely on emotion, because it would lead to rash decisions. Cain was smart and manipulative and I knew we had to be cautious if we were to un-dermine his plan. Unbidden thoughts of former-Alpha Brett c@m£ to my mind. He had acted impulsively, following his emotions, and look where that had gotten him. I wanted to save Gabriel, but the logical side of me knew that Rebekah and Raziel were right. The three of us couldn’t take on a coven of bloodsu-ckers by ourselves.
The two were watching me intently, so I gave a curt nod. “Let’s go, then,” I urged, attempting to keep my voice from trembling. I had to put on a br@ve face and retain control over my emotions. Rebekah had indicated that she had some sort of plan and I nee-ded to put faith in Gabriel’s mother. She knew more about Cain than anyone else other than Vivian.
Without further ado, Raziel started up the car and pu-ll-ed away from the dil@pid@t£d house. As we began to retrace our route and head back to South Dakota, I folded my hands in my l@p and mentally tried to calm my Wolf. We had a long drive ahead of us and I didn’t nee-d her urgent whining resounding in the back of my head. Still, despite my calm exterior, the instincts to run after my Mate clashed with the logical side of my br@in.
I couldn’t help but thinking that every moment that pas-sed brou-ght Cain closer to his ultimate goal, and Gabriel closer to committing an act that could possibly end both of our lives.
Rebekah turned around, looking a bit perplexed. “You don’t mind if we drive to your pack, or at least as far as we can, do you?” Her gaze darkened. “My Wolf is still . . . distant. Shifting will require more energy than normal and I want to conserve it until absolutely necessary.”
The thought of her weakened Wolf was perturbing, something that made my Wolf stir uncomfortably within me. Although I wanted to hurry, I nodded. Once we arrived at the Black Mountains Pack village, Rebekah would have no choice but to Shift. I hoped she could make it.
—
We drove relentlessly, Rebekah and I taking turns behind the wheel after we left Raziel’s house behind. It had been nearly a twelve hour drive to his residence, and now it would be another ten back to the Rocky Mountains. We st©pped only when absolutely necessary. My stomach grumbled and ached but I ignored it, adrenaline coursing throu-gh me as our time slowly ticked away.
Once we were closer to the mountains, I took over. The hidden dirt path that led to the pack village was difficult to find, and Rebekah hadn’t been there in a very long time. As I navigated the winding road, I hoped everything went smoothly and that we could as-semble some pack members to help us. It was a dangerous trip, after all, and I knew we were asking a lot. I could only hope that the pack’s fierce loyalty to Gabriel would win out over their fear of the vampires.
I had contacted my parents a day before, and told them to talk to Jack. I wanted Jack to as-semble the pack and take them to the location where we would be building the third pack village. I also instructed my parents to find a way to s£nd a mess£nger to Eli, so he could bring the Black Mountains Pack as well. Hopefully Eli, who knew mostly what was going on, would realize it was a very grave matter if I nee-ded the pack as-sembled.
It was a difficult conversation with my parents to say the least, as they didn’t un-derstand why I was asking them or what was going on, but after extensive conversing I convinced them. What really helped my case was when I revealed that I was now Luna, and Gabriel had gone missing. Their Wolves respected me in a different way than before. It was more than strange, having authority over my own parents, but I could not dwell on it now. I prayed that the combined pack would be waiting for us so we could address them all at once.
*
Hall Of Supernatural Stories
*
My relief was profound when we ran throu-gh the Black Mountains Pack and it was completely empty. So Eli had listened, then. At the edge of the village I turned to Rebekah, j£rking my head in the general direction that we nee-ded to run.
“The pack is likely as-sembled several hours from here. I think it would be easier to Shift.”
She nodded, and I turned away as she str!pped down and prepared to Shift. It took longer than was comfortable, but after one tense moment it was another relief to see that she could still attain Wolf form. Rebekah’s Wolf may be weak but it hadn’t abandoned her entirely. In Rebekah’s place stood a large, chocolate brown wolf with lovely silky fur. Seconds later, my own silver form had joined her and we took off at t©p speed, paws thun-dering over the ground as we dashed into the woods. There was no plea-sure from running this time, only a dire s-en-se of urgency and adrenaline pumping throu-gh our blood. It had been a full day since we left Vivian, and Gabriel’s clock was still ticking.
—
Night had fallen well before we arrived, and I hoped that such a large gathering of wolves would deter any lingering vampires.
I should’ve expected the reaction that Rebekah’s pres£nce got. The Black Mountains pack looked like they had seen a ghost, their eyes bulging from their heads as they took in their former Luna. My pack glanced from me to Rebekah, then back to me again, especially focusing on the Mark on my n£¢k. The giant clearing was left in a shocked silence as we stood in front of the as-sembled wolves, almost two hundred of them. Even Eli looked taken aback, ma-king no attempt to hide his stare. Jack stood nearby, observing my n£¢k with a keen interest. Rebekah, for her p@rt, stood tall and proud as ever. The regal air about her commanded attention and despite my position in the pack, I thought it best that she speak first.
“I know I have been gone a long time, and I know I am no longer Luna here. But Skylar brou-ght me here because we nee-d help. My son, your Alpha, is in grave danger. He went after Cain to take on the vampires, but he un-derestimated them. If we don’t go help him, he will die in two nights’ time.”
There was a ripple of whispers across the crowd, and the shocked looks morphed into expressions akin to horror. Rebekah continued, talking over the noise, “Skylar, your Luna, will die with him, because they are linked by blood. Your pack will be left without leadersh!pand vulnerable.”
I heard a few cries of outrage and my eyes found my mother, who had her had clasped to her mouth and her eyes ra-pidly filling with tears. Maria stood nearby, her face stricken.
“What do you want us to do?” Eli asked. His expression was deathly serious, but I could detect the worry in his eyes. Rebekah glanced at me, and I realized it was my turn to try to convince some of the gathered Wolves to accompany us. On our trip here, we had decided that we wouldn’t nee-d more than fifteen or so. I had been re-ady to bring the whole pack but p@rt of the plan required stealth, and taking too many werewolves would give us away. Rebekah and I had debated for a while, my Wolf and I intent on bringing more help, but when she detailed her plan to me I reluctantly acquiesced.
I cleared my throat, feeling a bit nervous with so many eyes fixated on me. I couldn’t let my worry show, though, not when I was Luna now. If I looked scared, they would be scared, too. I tilted my chin up and tried to emulate Rebekah’s stance.
“We want to bring some of you with us. Rebekah has a plan, but she and I cannot do it alone. There is an entire coven of vampires with Cain. We are stronger than them, but there’s only so much we can do when there are so many.”
“How many do you nee-d?” Jack cut in.
“We don’t want to leave our villages unprotected in case some of Cain’s vampires stayed behind. And we can’t have too many or the plan won’t work. But if fifteen of you could accompany us . . .” I trailed off. Many wolves were avoiding my gaze, while some others looked contemplative. I felt a rush of frustration and continued before anyone could speak. “Look, some of you may not like him,” I glanced at my pack in p@rticular, “But Gabriel is our Alpha and he would do anything for us. He would do this for any of you and you know it. Even if you won’t do it for him, do it for the pack! For werewolves everywhere! Because if Cain gets away with this, he’ll just go after other werewolves. He’ll try to exterminate our kind-”
“I’ll go,” a voice broke into my train of thought. I spun to Eli, who had come to stand closer to us. “I know I’m Beta, and that I have duties here, but I owe Gabriel a lot. We all do. If I can help him, I’m going to.” He turned to face the beefy blonde, Vincent, and some un-derstanding pas-sed between them before Vincent nodded. I as-sumed Vincent was to take over Eli’s duties when the Beta c@m£ with us.
“Obviously I’ll go where Skylar goes,” a female voice piped up. Maria looked pale but determined, and she gave me a shaky smile. I felt a rush of gratitude towards my best friend, because I knew she was doing it for me, more than Gabriel. Next to Maria, Kale huffed incredulously. “I’m not so sure about the Alpha, since I just got here and all, but if my Mate is going, I guess I will too. I’ve gotta keep her safe.” he grumbled, and Maria gave him a sunny—albeit nervous—smile.
“I’ll go with you Skylar. You’d do it for me,” Will said, pushing his way to the front of the crowd. My heart swelled yet again at my friends’ loyalty. “I won’t let you or your Mate die,” he finished.
Inevitably, my eyes found Eva’s shimmering blue ones. She was giving me an inscrutable look, the cogs whirring in her br@in. Her hand was clasped with Will’s, but to my surprise, before she could speak, Will cut her off. “I don’t want you going, Eva. I know you’re a doctor and all but it’s dangerous-“
Fire flashed in the redhead’s eyes. “Of course I’m going,” she snapped irritably. “You’ll nee-d a doctor and I’m not going to let you go and get yourself killed.” The two began to argue amongst themselves, and I wasn’t sure about Eva’s true reasons for going but I didn’t want to look into it right now. The bickering Mates were drowned out as several others spoke up.
“I’ll go.”
“Me, too.”
“Those stupid bloodsu-ckers have it coming!”
They were all from the Black Mountains pack, which was unsurprising considering how much respect they had for Gabriel, and I smiled at them gratefully. “Okay, those that are coming with us, stand up here,” I instructed, once again feeling very strange as I gave orders to the pack. The seven wolves that had volunteered so far emerged from the crowd and c@m£ to stand near Eli.
“Count me in,” a brunette stated, and I felt a small shock as I recognized Bree, the wolf I’d been with during my tour of the land and Riley’s death.
My eyes found my parents, and I felt a mixture of gratitude and dre-ad as I saw them emerging from the crowd. “Mother, Father, you don’t-“
“We want to come, Skylar,” my father said firmly, green eyes holding my gaze. “You’re our only daughter. I know you’re Luna now, but that doesn’t make us any less protective of you. What kind of parents would we be if we let you go alone?”
“But I-”
“Luna or not, nothing you say will convince me otherwise,” he interrupted as my mother wra-pped me in a warm embr@ce.
I saw Maria and her father arguing vehemently nearby, and I was sure Will’s parents were upset too, but I was quic-kly distracted by the chorus of voices. It seemed that everyone was feeling encouraged to step up now that we had more wolves by our side. It only took moments longer for us to have all the help we nee-ded. Of all the remaining volunteers, I chose those I knew to be the best warriors, because we’d nee-d great fighters by our side since we’d be outnumbered.
Moments later, Eli was ra-pid-firing instructions to Jack and Vincent while Rebekah and I were preparing to leave. Over a dozen others encircled us. We’d spent enough time here and we had to travel to Denver. We didn’t have time for anyone to pack their belongings, and I hoped Raziel had everything prepared. Hunting could be done along the way.
*
As Produced By Sheriff Squinty
*
As the rest of the instructions were given and we set off in Wolf form in the opposite direction as the Black Mountains Pack village, I tilted my muzzle to the sky and tried, once again, to contact Gabriel. His mind was as sealed as ever. Still, even knowing he may not hear my words, I projected a mental message to my wayward Mate.
Don’t worry, Gabriel. We’re on our way.
—
“Are you sure we’re going the right way?” Eli asked Rebekah, lowering his voice so only she and I could hear. Our large group was back in human form, but we were stretched out in smaller clvsters so as not to draw too much attention. Denver was a busy city, even this late at night (or early in the morning, however you viewed it) and we couldn’t take chances, even in the outSk-irts. “We seem to be headed to the far east side of town.”
“That’s where the airport is, and he told us to meet him a couple miles south. He has a cargo plane re-ady,” Rebekah responded.
I hoped Raziel had everything organized. I knew airport security was ti-ght, and being apprehended by humans was the last thing we nee-ded. Then again, if we were meeting him south of the airport, would we even be using the airport runways? Fortunately it was dark out, and as we escaped the busier p@rts of the city, we could count on darkness to obscure us.
Rebekah gestured at the map she was holding. “These are the streets he wanted us to use. Less detection, and he seemed sure that we’d reach the plane without interference.”
We returned to silence, broken only by our insistent footfalls on the pavement. Every now and again Rebekah would indicate that we take a side street, and the other clvsters of wolves behind us would follow. It seemed to be a very convoluted route but, as the amount of people and vehicles around us significantly less£ned and our surroundings transitioned from city outSk-irts to flatter farmland, I realized Raziel really had everything planned perfectly. I was surprised at how far the airport was from the main p@rt of the city but it worked in our favor. Soon enough, the runway lights win-ked in the far distance, but we made no move to get closer; instead, Rebekah took a sharp right.
Minutes later, the hulking form of a cargo plane crouched in front of us. We sped up our pace, and I squinted in the darkness to more thor0ûghly examine the dark figures ahead. As we neared them, Raziel stepped forward, scanning our group and looking profoundly relieved. The Angel had a large pack on his back and I wondered what was inside. Rebekah and I had not explained Raziel’s identity to the others, feeling that it would only bring up more questions, but they knew he was a friend and I could only hope that was enough. The more keen wolves would pick up on Raziel’s non-human aura but I did not have time to deal with that now.
“Good, you’re here. This is Cid, the pilot,” The Angel said, indicating the weathered blonde man on his right. Cid gave us a cursory examination before he nodded.
“Oughta be enough room,” he grumbled, j£rking his head towards the back of the plane. “It’s open. Better hurry and get yer as-ses in there. I’m on a ti-ght schedule.”
Rebekah moved forward to have some hurried words with Raziel while I tentatively led the others towards the back p@rt of the plane. It wasn’t hvge, and I hoped it could make the long flight. I felt Maria’s pres£nce at my side and she whispered, “Where are we taking off from?”
I glanced around at the flat land around us, “Not sure, but it seems like Cid’s been at this a while. We’ve just got to trust him.”
On the right side of the plane, near the back, was an opening. Cargo was clearly meant to be led up the ramp and sto-red in the b©dy of the plane, and I felt very out of place as we strode up the ramp and inside the humming vehicle. I had never flown before and I tried to quell the nervousness. Wolves weren’t meant to be in the air but for Gabriel, I’d do it.
It wasn’t exactly luxurious but everyone fit, and we wandered about while Cid and some un-seen co-pilot prepared the plane. To my surprise, there were several seats along the insides of the plane with a wi-de open sp©t in the middle intended for cargo. After a few minutes of shuffling and whispered curses, everyone had crammed into a seat and buckled up upon Raziel’s instruction. A tiny bit of my nervousness abated as my parents sat on either side of me, putting on br@ve faces. Several of the others looked just as nervous as I was and it warmed me to see what lengths they’d go to for their Alpha. As I felt the vehicle lurch forward and the plane rumbled beneath me, I took a de-ep breath. What we were doing was dangerous, not to mention illegal by human standards, but I glanced at Raziel’s calm face and knew he had everything worked out.
The plane’s movement increa-sed and I clutched at the seatbelt stra-ps, closing my eyes and pretending I was not going to Israel; that I was not on a plane. That instead, I was curled up in Gabriel’s warm be-d with him lying by my side. Hopefully that image would soon be a reality.
As the plane took off, I realized that I would be spending my 20th birthday, which was technically today, thousands of feet in the air and Mate-less.
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#TB