The Elders.
Kato cursed in his head as he took in Thea’s frightened look, but when she locked eyes with Kato, he saw her loosen up slightly. Kato and Annie quickly trotted to where they all stood together, taking sides on each side of Britta, so that Annie was in front of Thea and her father, and Kato was in front of Thea and Michael. Kato felt slightly better that Michael was there, though when he took in all the Elders on the other side of the clearing, he felt a quick sliver of fear course through his heart.
Seeing Thea made him feel better, though. He had been nervous that she was gone, and that he would never see her again. As he sidled up next to her, pushing his nose into her hand, she wouldn’t look at him. All he wanted was to shift back to being a human and pull her to him, but he knew that now wasn’t the time.
“I’m gonna try and get Lukas to get here,” Annie told him, using the communication they shared as shifters in their heads. Kato sent her a slight nod as he also sent out a signal to Grant, hoping that he would inform others about what was going on. They needed all the help they could get.
“Well, isn’t this getting more fun by the second,” the Elder in the middle of the clearing said, laughing. Kato couldn’t seem to look away from his pale, scarred face. His white eyes danced with joy, making Kato bristle with anger. “The more the merrier, as I always say.”
“You can end this, Gabriel,” Michael interrupted him. Kato could swear he could hear a form of impatience in Michael’s voice, which was surprising in itself. He didn’t know if he’d ever heard Michael show any type of emotion in his voice. He didn’t know it was possible. “Nothing has to happen tonight. We can leave and talk about this later.”
“Oh, no,” Gabriel shook his head, laughing again. “This will all be resolved tonight, my brother. I will make sure of it.”
Kato hated the look in his eyes. And when Gabriel set his sights on Thea and grinned, Kato had to hold himself back from pouncing on the Elder.
“What exactly will you gain from this, Gabriel?” Michael asked him, holding out his hands in wonderment. “What exactly will happen after tonight? You will still live the same existence you had before. Nothing will be different, other than the blood you have on your hands from taking an innocent human life.”
“Oh, Michael. Always the dramatic one, I’m afraid.”
“I just want you to think, Gabriel. I just want you to think before you act. For once.”
Just then, before the Elders could continue to throw insults at each other, both Lukas and Grant raced through the forest, quickly joining their team and standing by Annie and Kato. Kato nodded at Grant, who sidled up to him. Kato could smell the fear coming off of him in waves, and he couldn’t help but notice the way that Grant looked at Britta to make sure that she was okay.
Gabriel laughed again, staring at the two new additions and seeming to almost roll his eyes, though Kato couldn’t be sure because they were all white. Fury and rage were slowly building up in Kato, and he just wanted this all to be over. He wanted to take Thea home, and tell her that everything was going to be okay. He wanted to tell her that he loved her, too. He wanted to tell her that as long as he lived, she would always be the one for him. She would always be his home.
And he wanted to make sure that she never tried to sacrifice herself again. It pained him to think that she was so close to leaving him. But he just found himself loving her more because of what she tried to do. She was willing to sacrifice her life, just to try and save him and everyone she loved.
If that wasn’t the epitome of strength and wisdom, Kato didn’t know what was.
“Well, I sure do love parties that end in death, friends,” Gabriel laughed at them, making all the shifters bristle with anger and fear.
Kato couldn’t wait to tear his throat out.
Chapter 33
Thea wasn’t sure what a panic attack felt like, as she had never had one. However, as she stood there, facing Gabriel, the Elder from her nightmares, she felt her throat constrict and almost block the breathing that kept her alive. Fear wasn’t an accurate enough word to explain how she was feeling.
Not only was the Elder from her nightmares scaring her–the whole situation was. It was like every nightmare she had been having was slowly unfolding in front of her eyes in real time. Everyone she loved was now surrounding her, and while it brought her some comfort at first, she now was realizing that her nightmare may come true. Everyone was ready to fight for her, but they were no match against the group of Elders in front of them.
Gabriel was right, Thea finally realized. This would end in death. And it was all because of her.
She couldn’t deal with it. Her plan had completely failed in the worst way possible, and now she was going to have to watch as everyone she loved would slowly fall and die from the Elders hands. She felt her body seem to freeze up in fear and panic as her nightmare slowly spread throughout her body, leaving her cold and unmoving.
When Kato pushed his nose into her hand, like he did when he first got to the scene, she didn’t move. She didn’t even blink. She knew that he was trying to comfort her, but him being there was making her have the panic attack. She didn’t know if she would be able to watch Kato die for her. She couldn’t believe that this could very well happen.
So, she decided that she could just try and make this whole situation better, in whatever way she could. Even if that meant sacrificing herself to the Elders. Even if that meant losing her own life in the process of saving others.
“Stop!” she shouted at Michael and Gabriel, who were still bickering and throwing threats at each other. Her hands were shaking, and when Michael glanced back at her, she could feel surprise radiating off of him. “I’ll go with you, if you promise not to hurt anyone.”
Gabriel smiled, opening up his arms as if she was going to run into them. “Of course, my child,” he smiled at her, sending chills up her spine. Goosebumps covered her whole body, and she wished them away as she took a step forward.
“No,” Hann said, putting an arm out and pulling her back by his side, Kato pushing against her legs at the same time so that she had to take a step back. “You’re not doing that, Thea. You’re not going anywhere.”
“Hann,” she started, facing him but stopping when she saw his worried and angry face. She’d never seen Hann have any sort of strong emotions evident on his face other than the laid-back happiness he always wore. Seeing him like this made her stop and listen.
“Everything will be okay,” he told her, nodding to Michael slightly. “You just have to hang in there and trust me. I promise, you won’t go with them, and no one will get hurt.”
“Just let her go, alpha,” Gabriel sneered from where he stood. Hann looked back at Gabriel, and Thea was surprised to see the look of utter disdain cross Hann’s face.
Hann, in fact, didn’t look scared of Gabriel or the situation at all. He looked more like Gabriel was just an annoying nuisance that needed to be put in his place. Thea wished she could have the confidence that Hann clearly had. Instead, panic spread through her bones and she still felt like she was living her nightmare.
Hann stared straight into Gabriel’s eyes, not an ounce of fear radiating off of him. He looked annoyed. He looked pissed. He looked like he would single-handedly destroy Gabriel with the flick of his wrist, even though he was obviously weaker than the strong Elder.
“Over my dead body,” Hann finally responded to Gabriel after starting at him for a second.
Thea wished he didn’t say that, because now she had a visual of Hann lying in a pool of blood with Gabriel standing over him, laughing that slithery laugh. Thea shook her head, trying to get the image from her mind.
“Just hang in there a little bit longer, my child,” Michael whispered to her, and by looking around, she could see that no one else heard what he said. She turned her head to look into Michael’s dark hood, again seeing those white eyes that she somehow found friendly,
even though they looked exactly like Gabriel’s.
She would try to hang on a little bit longer, though she truly didn’t know how long she had left with the way that Gabriel was staring at her, anger now evident on his face. She shivered from the cold and from the fear that she was somewhat growing accustomed to. She prayed that Michael had something up his sleeve, because she didn’t know how they were going to get out of this alive.
Chapter 34
Kato took a step towards Thea, his protective instincts kicking into overdrive. His wolf wanted to howl and rip up Gabriel and all the opposing Elders completely, but he knew he couldn’t. He would more than likely lose his life, and there was always the possibility that Thea would, too. He had to be smart about this. He had to try and be patient. Even though it was killing him.
Kato again tried to comfort Thea by putting his nose in her hand, though she ignored him again. He glanced up at her, realizing that she was frozen to the core. She was definitely panicking, and no matter how hard Kato tried to reassure her, it wasn’t helping. And the way that Gabriel was talking and staring at her made matters so much worse.
Gabriel seemed to snarl, and his laughter and smiling were gone now as he stared at the unified front around Thea. Even Kato knew that his Elders could take them all in a matter of seconds. The Elders were brutal and incredibly strong, even compared to shifters. Kato could try and hold his own, but he knew this could very well end in death for everyone involved.
It killed him knowing that he had failed Thea. An image of her bloodied and dead in his arms kept on reappearing in his vision, making his sadness and rage flare up in the worst ways. He needed to keep his cool in this moment. He needed to show that he could be an alpha, even in the worst situation of his life.
Before anyone could say or do anything else, a sudden calm overtook the whole group. It was like a cold, calm breeze blew across them, ruffling the wolves’ fur and blowing Thea’s blonde hair around. Kato admired the way she looked in that moment, fearing that it would be the last thing he would see.
Gabriel’s eyes widened slightly, his jaw going slack as he looked all around Kato, Thea, and the group. A bit confused, Kato looked behind him, Thea and everyone else doing the same. Michael didn’t move an inch. He already knew what was behind him.
Kato almost couldn’t believe what he saw. His pack was all there, every single one of them, in their wolf form and forming a unified front behind the main group. Their eyes were all trained on Gabriel and the Elders, signaling that they were the evil in this situation. They were the enemies.
Kato felt pride swarm through his veins as he took in their defiant expression, and he could feel the love and support they sent him and Hann in waves. He almost fell to the ground from the emotions and support they were giving him, letting him know that they would protect him at all costs. Kato wanted to howl, show them how much this meant to him, but he settled with sending them gratitude back.
And then Kato took another look, realizing why Gabriel looked so shocked and even a bit scared. Because right behind the wolves from Kato’s pack stood more Elders. The Elders were in their wolf forms, and their pure white fur stood out amongst the many shades of Hann’s pack. The wolves were also a little bigger and taller than the regular shifters, making them stand out. There were more Elders now behind Kato’s pack then there was behind Gabriel, and when Kato turned around again, he saw that Gabriel’s Elders had begun to shift around more noticeably now.
Kato wanted to howl. This could end differently. Everything had changed now. They actually had a chance. They looked like they could very well be the winning team now.
Kato looked up at Thea to see her panic lessening slowly as she took in every single shifter and Elder that had shown up to fight for her. For Kato. For them. She looked down at Kato, and Kato felt his heart lift when she gave him a small smile, her eyes wide with wonderment now. There was still fear there, but not as much as there was a few seconds ago.
“As I said before, Gabriel,” Michael told him, and Kato could swear he sounded almost smug. “Drop this and we can go on as before–with some new changes to the way we govern and rule, of course.”
“This is just like you, Michael,” Gabriel spat. “Getting beings over to your side, regardless of whether they want to be there or not.”
“Oh, I assure you, Gabriel–these beings want to be here. They want to fight for something that they believe in. And they want to destroy a stigma and evil message that has been spread for far too long. You see, these Elders behind me want change. They welcome change. And they desire that change so much that they will fight people who ignore it or fight against it. And they will win.”
Gabriel just stared at Michael, putting a mask over his disfigured face so that Kato couldn’t read his emotions. Kato knew that his whole plan had just changed, and he knew that Gabriel realized that he wouldn’t be able to win this battle, even though he had all the odds for him for the longest time. It seems he mistook the value of change.
“I give you all the chance to realize your mistake,” Michael said, stepping forward into the clearing more, his arms outstretched like he was waiting for a hug. It took Kato a second before he realized that Michael was talking to the Elders on Gabriel’s side. “You may all leave, and we will forget this happened. You will atone for your judgement, but that will be all. A war does not need to happen, my friends. All will be forgiven.”
Kato watched as, one by one, the Elders began to gracefully fall back into the dense forests, leaving as Michael gave them the opportunity. Only about four Elders remained behind Gabriel. Gabriel himself was fuming as he felt the Elders leave him from fright, though he never turned around to watch them go. He could feel their betrayal against his back like a knife was carving his already disfigured skin.
“We cannot change our ways,” Gabriel bellowed, his eyes wide with rage, his clenched fists at his sides shaking. Anger radiated off of him in waves, hitting everyone full-force. Kato glanced up at Thea to see her wince against the pure anger. He stepped closer to her, letting her know that he was there. That he would always be there. “If we change our ways, destruction and chaos will follow. You long for a lawless way of living, Michael. You will soon realize that nothing good will come of this.”
“You can either leave or join us, Gabriel,” Michael told him. “Either or. But make no mistake, if you choose the former, I will personally hunt you down and make you pay for the disruption and uprising you have caused.”
Gabriel laughed then, making even Kato shiver from his pure insanity. Gabriel motioned to the remaining four Elders behind him.
“This isn’t just me that is upset with how you are leading, brother,” Gabriel bitterly told Michael. “This is a movement. This is more than me, and this is more than you. This will be an issue that will forever surround us, and we will rise up again. And the next time, we will be successful–you just watch and see. I will not leave what is right. And you will soon realize that you, my dear Michael, have chosen the losing side yet again.”
“Then leave, Gabriel,” Michael told him, seeming to shake his head, giving up on the lost cause that was Gabriel. “Because Thea will not be harmed today. Thea will not be harmed ever. And neither will this pack, who you have been out to get for a long time. Let it be known that they are protected.”
Gabriel shook his head in anger, though a slight smirk landed on his face. He took one step forward and looked straight at Hann, making every single shifter bristle at the attention their alpha was facing from the Elder that came to Maine for murder.
“I should’ve killed you when I had the chance,” Gabriel cursed at him. “I should’ve taken care of you and your daughter when you first started causing issues. I blame myself for that. You Bellovas, you and your pack are nothing but an abomination. And one day, I’ll get my revenge. Just like Kaiser should’ve.”
Gabriel turned around, putting his hood back over his head as he left, his El
ders following him. Kato couldn’t believe Gabriel had just brought up Kaiser, the deranged shifter that had come to town a few weeks ago to try to kill the whole pack and Hann. He had been able to somewhat successfully create a pack full of rogues that were fighting against the society that had banned them. Although, in the end, he was taken down by Lukas, the pack, and the Elders–Michael included–who had come to help.
Hann sent a silent communication to the whole pack, telling them all to leave and he’d meet with them later after he made sure that everyone was okay. The pack immediately obeyed, Britta and Grant included, and ran off together, some howling, others yipping from happiness that they avoided a bad situation. Michael seemed to do the same, as all the other Elders left at the same time as the shifters did.
Kato looked over to Thea, and he immediately grew concerned when he saw her slowly stumble as she attempted to walk. Before he could cry out for someone to grab her or do anything else, he watched as the love of his life crumpled to the ground.
Chapter 35
When Thea opened her eyes, she found concerned, brown eyes looking back at her. Kato. She would know those eyes anywhere. She looked around, rubbing her head in the process, to find that she was on her bed in her room, silence all around her. Everything that had happened in the last few hours came rushing back to her, making her wince with pain and fear. Everything had happened so fast, and it felt like she was only now able to analyze and understand it.
“Is everyone…,” Thea started, having to lay back down because of the throbbing, intense pain in her head.
“Everyone’s okay,” Kato finished for her, pushing her lightly back down on the bed so that she could rest, his hand gently resting on her stomach.
Dangerous Love (Moon Light Wolves Book 2) Page 11
