Half-Blood Curse

19 - Revealed

Gabriel knows, he knows!! Lucas stood frozen. The woods were dead silent around them. The night cast everything in darkness, but even though his eyes let him see perfectly, he refused to look directly at his mate. He didn't want to see the look on Gabriel's face.

He took shaky, uneven breaths. His head was spinning. His skin prickled and his stomach was churning. I'm having a panic attack, I think, Lucas thought numbly. He looked down at his hands. They trembled like leaves in a storm.

"Gabriel-"

"Micheal is hurt really bad."

Lucas snapped his head up. "What?"

Gabriel was looking to the west, his expression pained. "He's calling me through the blood link. It's bad. The mons- uh, your brother must have injured him before coming here."

"H-half brother," Lucas whispered, pained. "Go to Micheal, he needs you."

Gabriel reached out a hand and waited. His golden eyes were steady and intense. Lucas coughed weakly, overcome with emotions and on the edge of sobbing.

"I'm not fast enough," Lucas shook his head. "Go on, I'll wait here. I promise."

"You're telling the truth." Gabriel didn't lower his hand. "But you're still coming with me. Am I telling the truth?"

Yes. Lucas could tell. He was going with Gabriel, one way or the other. He cautiously took Gabriel's extended hand and a small, frightened sound escaped him against his will.

His mate flinched. "I'd never hurt you."

"I know that, I know. I'm just... processing a lot."

"Yeah, you and me both." Gabriel started pulling him through the woods at a brisk pace, practically running through the dense growth of the forest. But with their night vision, they could see the dangerous roots and thorns and pitfalls, and managed to move without too much issue.

Or at least, Gabriel moved without too much issue. Lucas was definitely having issues, but he managed.

It gave him something to focus on, other than the fact that his father knew about him, after all this time. His secret was blown open, and he was found out, and his brothers were cannibals that ate people, and Oskar was still being held somewhere, and Midas KNEW about Lucas and Gabriel KNEW-

"You're hyperventilating," Gabriel squeezed Lucas's hand.

Lucas choked down some air, and tried to shake the spots out of his vision. He felt disembodied and cold. Terror slid down his spine and up his neck, and only Gabriel's insistent pulling kept him moving.

Before long he was panting with exertion, weak from the battle and the outpouring of power he used to try and kill his brothers. If only Midas hadn't taken them back, he would have won. He knew it. He was stronger than both of his brothers. Whatever magic they had, it was weak. They were more shifter than wizard, and it made their spells unstable. It made them vulnerable to Lucas's strength.

But they weren't without protection. Midas had them tethered, somehow. It felt like a spell rooted in blood. Like...

"A blood link," Lucas wheezed, trying to keep up as Gabriel started pulling faster.

"What?"

"I think- that Midas-" Lucas panted between heaving breaths. "-I think he's found a way- to magically imitate- a blood link with his sons. Like a pack, with their alpha."

"Midas?" Gabriel asked sharply. "As in Midas Leventhal?"

"Uh- yeah that's- my father."

"Shit."