Bloodbond

Chapter 8

I barely had enough time to finish my thought before Gabriel grabbed Jacob by the back of the neck and threw him against the wall . He strode over, took Jacob by his shirt, and pulled him forward so that they stood nose to nose. Things looked like they were about to get very violent, very quickly. A terrifying growl escaped Gabriel's lips, finally shaking me out of my reverie.

"Gabriel, stop!" I yelled.

He just ignored me. "How dare you interfere. You're just a powerless pup. What gives you the right to think you can barge in here and speak to my mate without my permission?" Huh?

"You will pay for this." His tone wasn't just threatening; you knew his words were true and that was what really made them so scary. I looked over at Andrew, but saw that he was frozen in shock. Not that he would have been much use against Gabriel anway, but still. I felt a little bad for the both of them. Gabriel's anger wasn't even directed at me and even I was frightened.

It was obvious that Jacob was completely terrified; he was practically shaking in his boots.

Well, I guess it was up to me then, since there didn't appear to be any other way around it. Oh, joy. I rushed over and yanked as hard as I could on Gabriel's arm. He was a very strong man. One little tug wasn't about to get his attention.

"Gabriel, let him go," I demanded. This time, I'd managed to get his attention. He turned his head and looked at me straight in the eye. It took every ounce of courage I had not to back off right then and there, but I couldn't let him intimidate me. He needed to know that he couldn't just push me around like he did with everyone else. I wouldn't let that happen.

Gabriel still held tight to Jacob, so I stiffened my spine and returned his gaze.

"I said, Let. Him. Go...Now." I put every bit of anger, frustration, sadness, hurt, and fear that I'd been feeling the past hour into those words. Gabriel glared at me for a minute, but he could tell that I wasn't about to back down. he probably sensed the emotion behind my words. Not that his face softened or anything like that. Don't get your hopes up.

Without breaking eye contact with me, Gabriel released Jacob and stepped back.

"Leave. Now. I will deal with you both later." His tone was final. He left no room for debate and you knew that he would most certainly be back to finish with them both in the future.

I decided to keep my eyes on Gabriel as the two of them scurried out of the room, their tails between their legs. If I didn't already know how formidable Gabriel actually was, I would have thought those two were complete wimps by the way they flew out of there.

Once Jacob shut the door behind them, the room was thrown into complete silence. Neither one of us was choosing to speak up first. To be honest, I was afraid. I knew that, without a doubt, Gabriel was seriously pissed at me for getting in the middle of him and Jacob, but what choice did I have? I've never been one for violence and, besides, it did sort of involve me. There was no way I was going to be the little princess who stood off to the side while the big, strong men fought my battles for me. I was a big girl and, while I didn't like violence, I knew how to take care of myself if it was deemed necessary, thank you very much.

The minutes ticked by and still, neither one of us had said a word. On the outside, I returned Gabriel's stare fearlessly, showing him that I had no problem standing up for myself. On the inside, though, I had to fight to keep eye contact and my instinct kept screaming, "run away!" I wasn't sure how much longer I could keep this up.

After what seemed like a lifetime of us just staring at each other, Gabriel finally spoke up. "What were you thinking? How dare you undermine my authority in front of those two half wits!" Yeah, you could tell that he was holding on to his control by a single thread. Uh oh.