28. "Even though it's dark and cold there is always a shade of light."
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I followed behind Gabriel as he led me deep into one of the many mining caves that bordered his territory. The pack were left to dispose of the aftermath, which unfortunately gave us privacy to talk. As we walked, I struggled to find the right thing to say, but nothing came. I was still stunned by it all, left in a perpetual state of shock and fear. I had become so accustomed to fear, that adrenaline no longer coursed through my veins.
Gabriel walked ahead of me. I followed him through the cobalt walls, away from the outside world and through claustrophobic darkness. It was so dark I couldn't see the floor. I struggled to see my hands stretched out in front of me.
I blindly followed his scent before my supernatural eyes acclimated to the darkness.
The path that Gabriel led me through was steep and packed with dirt and coal. I tried to tread carefully, but a small rock still managed to work its way into my shoe and stabbed the heel of my foot every time we walked.
I felt the hairs rise on the back of my neck as the cobalt walls stretched around us. It felt like the walls were closing in on us as we walked further away from the light.
Gabriel suddenly picked up his pace, striding ahead and then swung around to face me, forcing me to stop too.
"You shouldn't be here," Gabriel growled, suddenly in my face.
I stared at him blankly, still reeling from everything that had happened.
"I told you to stay with Manuel." His glare was vicious, and his hands clenched into fists, making the tendons and veins more prominent. "Why did you come?" Gabriel demanded.
"I don't know." I shook my head. After everything that had happened today, I couldn't even remember why I wanted to come here, but I regretted it. "The mate bond...it hurt too much to be apart from you."
Gabriel was silent. He stared at me bitterly as if I was his biggest regret.
I stared back, and an unbearable silence stretched out between us.
"You should learn how to bear it like I do." Gabriel swallowed thickly with a frown. "You'll get used to it after a while."
"So, does that mean you're sending me away again?"
Gabriel wordlessly nodded, pressing his lips into a straight line.
"But why?" I was annoyed. I felt like I was being passed back and forth, like a child with divorced parents, so much so that it gave me whiplash. "That man is dead, so why can't I stay here?"
"You think he's the only one?" Gabriel sniffed a dark laugh, his face twisting into something scornful. "I told you this before, The Seven want to kill me, and now that they know you're my only weakness, I can't have you around me."
I stared at Gabriel, watching a vein straining against his throat. Up close, I could see that every muscle quivered under his skin. "They won't get me there?" I said in an embarrassingly weak voice.
Gabriel cocked his head as his cold gaze wandered down my body and then back up to my eyes.
"Manuel will protect you; it will be harder for them to track your scent in human territory," he whispered, deceptively soft as he moved closer. I knew his proximity was deliberate, trying to intimidate me into complying with his demands.
He probably knew it was working by the frantic beating of my heart.
"Don't do anything stupid like running away again." He ordered.
"How long will I have to stay there?"
"Until I say so." His hematite eyes watched as I absorbed his words. I wonder what he saw on my face because he frowned before composing his features into the same cold expression.
I nodded, unable to think of a way to protest. In a way, I should be relieved and grateful that I was no longer forced to be in close proximity to this monster, but my wolf disagreed with my sentiment.
Soon a strange and awkward silence engulfed us whole. Outside, the rain came down hard, scattering over the trees in the distance. With the heavy rain came the darkness. The last light of day was fading away. My gaze found the feeble stream of light that came from the mouth of the cave, a beacon back to reality.
My gaze slowly returned to Gabriel staring back at me, his eyes pacing back and forth between mine before he broke the waiting silence.
"What I said to that man..." He breathed in a voice that was like the calm before a summer storm, "about not caring whether or not you died -"
"Gabriel -"
"No, listen, that was a lie." Gabriel interrupted, roughly. "I only said that to stop him from hurting you; I didn't mean what I said."
I stared up at him in blank astonishment. Eventually, I blinked, forcing the tears to pool over, blurring the image of that intense gaze set in his usual stoic expression.
A calloused fingertip brushed over the trail of tears, tracing the line down to my jaw.
"You told that man that I -" He choked on the words, squeezing his eyes shut as he drew a resetting breath. "That I killed your family; is this true?"
I stared back in silence, unable to respond.
My lashes flicked away the lingering vestiges of sorrow, but I still struggled to focus on his intense gaze. I was frozen in shock and stabbed through the heart by his sharp-edged words. The pain twisted and ripped open an open wound that never recovered.
"Was this when I attacked Night Star?" He whispered; hopelessness clung to his words.
"No, this was three years ago when you attacked my aunt's pack." I finally managed to find my voice, but it was hoarse and weak.
"Three years ago?" He bit out with a scowl. "I don't -" he paused with a slow shake of his head. "What was the name of the pack?"
"Silver Heart" I felt my face crumple at the name. It had been so long since I last spoke of the pack, yet I stood talking about it to the man who had wiped it out.
"Silver Heart?" The planes of his face hardened subtly, but his eyes showed no recognition.
Could it be he was feigning ignorance?
"Yes, Silver Heart," I bit out roughly, angered by his lack of recognition or remorse. "My uncle was Alpha Absalom, whom you killed along with my aunt...my mom and my sister." I could barely get the words out. My body trembled and shook as it struggled to rain in the tsunami of emotions. "You're nothing but a monster." I managed to rasp out, looking him dead in the eyes.
I wanted to hurt him.
The pain in his face unnerved me, and one of his hands shot out to grip my chin. He held me that way for several seconds. "Then you should stay away from me," He breathed, his eyes pacing between mine like a caged animal.
Contrary to his warning, his hands moulded to the side of my head as he held me there, watching as broken sobs climbed up my chest and expelled through my hitching breaths.
I remained like that for a long time, my eyes locked on him. The skin on my cheek burned where his rough fingers rendered me motionless.
Finally, I did the one thing I thought I would never do before this man.
I begged him. "Please, let me go," I whispered brokenly, my nostrils flaring against the glaze of more tears threatening to spill free.
He released me with sudden abruptness, staggering back a step in shock. "I'm so sorry," he breathed, his swallow crinkling in his throat.
I mirrored his actions whilst my gaze darted over his expression.
"I'm leaving as you want me to." I no longer had the energy to engage with him. "I'll stay with Manuel."
Gabriel nodded curtly.
We stared at each other for another prolonged moment.
"Don't try to stop me."
Gabriel studied me for a moment, his eyes steady and intent.
"I won't."Gabriel's mouth crooked slightly at one corner.
I slowly walked backwards, despite my trembling legs. And then, ripping my gaze away from his hardened pitch-black eyes, I turned, heading towards the entrance of the mining cave, without ever making the conscious decision to move my feet. I was only vaguely aware that it was dark and quieter now.
In my haste to get away from Gabriel, I stumbled over the mine cart tracks, and, as that and the gravel crunching under my feet were the only sounds at first, I thought he wasn't following me. But when I glanced back, Gabriel silently walked beside me, barely a foot away.
I glared up at him, stopping dead in my tracks to try and calm my racing heart that threatened to beat out of my chest. "You need to make more noise when you walk."
"And you need to pay more attention." He sneered and then nodded at me to continue walking.
I backed away from him, glaring, but as I turned to walk ahead, Beta Michael stood a few feet away, blocking our way.
"Alpha," Beta Michael bared his neck in submission.
I stared up at him and then past him to where the pack stood in uniformed silence.
"What is it?" Gabriel asked in a flat voice.
"Alpha, I'm afraid it's The Seven." Beta Michael gave him a curt nod, still not daring to move. "They've managed to locate our territory and sent a few packs after us."
"Which packs?" Gabriel looked surprised, then amused.
"Armies from Iron Moon, Duskfall and Wintertail." Beta Michael said grimly. "It appears they want war."
Gabriel's eyes met Beta Michael's in silent communication.
"Then we give them war." A slow grin spread over Gabriel's face, his eyes alight.
Five sets of eyes snapped immediately to their Alpha.
"How long do we have?"
Frowning, Beta Michael said, "Not long, they've been able to track us down following the man's scent."
At the sudden situation, I felt a tickle of panic run down my spine.
"Took them longer than I expected." Gabriel lifted his lips in a wry sneer.
"Alpha, are you sure we have enough time to prepare?" Beta Michael asked with a grimace like he was trying to find the right words.
"Alpha, the Beta's right," Raphael suddenly raised his voice with desperation. "The Seven are expecting this response; if they've sent packs after us, then there's a reason it must be a trick -"
Gabriel growled, baring his teeth, which instantly put an end to Raphael's concerns.
"I'm so sorry to interrupt, but-" I squinted, trying to wrap my head around everything that was happening. It all happened so fast. "How did they find us all of a sudden?"
"The Seven must have somehow found out where our territory lies through the man we killed and his pack, who have an alliance with The Seven." Beta Michael frowned. "It was only a matter of time before the other aligned packs hunt us down."
I stared at him blankly. The Seven were the most powerful rulers of the werewolf world, enforcing the laws of the wolves, equivalent to the human's United Nations. They acted as guardians, keeping the secret society of werewolves hidden from the human world. It felt strange to think that the governing leaders of the werewolves were so hellbent on coming after me all because of Gabriel.
I felt conflicted about what to do with the pack and the current situation. On the one hand, I had a strong desire to report the pack's wrongdoings to The Seven to prove my innocence. However, on the other hand, I was worried that they might not believe me.
I shook my head. "They can't - they couldn't - " I swallowed.
I didn't move as everything sank in. I was frozen in place. It felt as though weights were attached to my feet.
"Get rid of them," Gabriel pointedly ignored me and turned his gaze back to his Beta. "I need to take her to Manuel first; that's who they're after."
"Don't worry, Alpha, we can manage," Raphael assured him, quickly his voice hard.
I frowned. Exhaustion was making it difficult to keep up. Weeks of hiding, fleeing and escaping from both Gabriel and The Seven had driven me past the point of exhaustion and had taken its toll on my body.
"How long do you think it will take them to track down her scent?" Gabriel's gaze bore into the man's eyes with heat as his voice again grew.
"We'll need to move fast; they will reach our northern borders soon." Beta Michael's calm monotone contrasted with his anxious words.
"Nathaniel, hide Dariel." Gabriel's brow furrowed. "I'll take Harper to Manuel's, the rest of you should be enough to deal with them."
"They are no match for us, Alpha." Nathaniel's tone was full of confidence.
I clenched my teeth in frustration as I watched the pack rally together, and Nathaniel puffed out his chest with pride. It seemed like they were disregarding their safety and taking unnecessary risks.
"Don't you think that's too risky?" I hissed, trying to keep my head above water. "We should all escape."
They stared at me, stunned. A heavy silence descended before the pack burst into chuckles and laughter. Not a single reaction flickered over Gabriel's face.
I felt a sickening lurch in my stomach as laughter surrounded me when death was fast approaching.
"Harper, they're not getting through to us." Nathaniel was extremely confident.
"Kill them all; I want their heads sent back to their packs." Gabriel growled low, his eyes flashing.
Gabriel's command was immediately met with a twisting chorus of howls.
"Let's go." With a wicked snarl, Gabriel spun around and stalked away from me. There was something impatient about his movements - something sharp and prowling, like a predator on the hunt.
For a second, I just blinked at him. With a shake of my head, I followed behind, watching everything happen in a rush through minutes of eerie silence. The pack dispersed, with deliberate and sedate speed, all in a sober procession that seemed menacing as they prepared for war. I had to hold my ground to keep myself from shaking at the sheer intensity of it all.
The light finally faded outside and gave itself up to the darkness. The forest spread out, reaching a line of distant mountains, which blended in against the black horizon.
The moon hid behind the clouds; the dark sky was sprinkled with a handful of stars, dulled by a veil of clouds.
We looked up at the night sky, side by side. Gabriel was silent as he cast a watchful gaze across the horizon. Around us, the pack rallied for the fight.
"We're leaving now." It was an expression that was completely unrecognisable that it was instantly disturbing.
I nodded curtly, dropping my gaze and squeezing my eyes tight to try and steady my breath and my stuttering heart. Nodding, again, more to myself to prepare myself for what lies ahead, I straightened.
"Stay close to me," Gabriel's voice was both a whisper and a warning.
As I reflected, I remembered that Gabriel's pack only targets packs with an alliance with The Seven. Night Star was getting ready for such an alliance, which made me wonder if Silver Heart also had an alliance with them. Could that be why my aunt, mother, and little sister were all ruthlessly killed?
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Hey guys, sorry for the late update, I was kidnapped by a Mafia Boss who was obsessed with me and wanted me to be his bride, and then we were on the run for a while, and I ended up getting shot trying to save him and his his drug empire.
Remember kids, men are not worth getting shot for.
Anyways enough about my boring life, here's another chapter; I hope you enjoy it.
If you don't, I know where you live.
Up your ass,
Morbid Bacon
PS. If you don't comment and vote I will turn Gabriel into Oli London and Harper into James Charles. Yes, this will be a Oli London x James Charles fan fiction if you guys don't comment and vote.