Chapter Thirty-nine

GABRIEL POV

I sat still as Oliver navigated the roads to the central pack. The place where all meetings of importance involving the packs in the western region were held. My pack wasn’t the only one welcoming dead bodies, all the packs in the west had recorded the same. Death in the same manner, in the same way, and too close to each other to be considered a coincidence.
Oliver reached his right hand and buried it in my hair, his fingers tangling themselves in my hair and massaging my scalp. A memo had been sent around all the packs, my father’s included, and even the moon goddess knew I wasn’t looking forward to seeing the old gizzard.
“It’s going to be okay,” Oliver said in encouragement, although his tone suggested that even he was worried, and nursed a budding thought that it might not be okay.
Oliver pulled to a stop in front of the town hall, the cars at the entrance telling us that we were the last to arrive. I sighed as we alighted the vehicle, and held Oliver’s hand as we marched into the hall.
All eyes fell on us as we made our entrance, and my eyes found those of my father’s. He still had scars not properly healed from our last encounter and I smiled to myself. At least, for the next few weeks, he had a constant reminder of what not to attempt.
I and Oliver sank into the seats reserved for us. “My apologies, I hadn’t realized that we were late.”
Alpha Joshua, leader of the largest pack in the west and head of the committee waved his hand dismissively. “You’re here. We shall begin.”
All the alphas had one thing in common. Fear. Dark circles surrounded their eyes, uncertainty clear in their gazes. I turned to Oliver and saw that he shared my sentiment. Something was wrong.
Alpha John cleared his throat. “We might have an idea of why we’re here today,” he sighed and continued. “Every one of us here has recorded strange deaths around our packs.”
My ears perked and I sat up in my chair. Across the table, I could feel my father’s eyes on me, and I could see the sly smirk on his face from the corner of my eye.
“What sort of deaths?” I asked.
Alpha John slid a file across the table to me. I opened the file, and my eyes opened in shock. Claw marks, mangled body. Same as the deaths I had seen. I slid the file to Oliver and he gasped audibly.
“Do you know who’s doing this?”
Everyone around the table either shook their head or shrugged. All except one – my father. I turned to him, rage beginning to simmer beneath my skin.
“I’m guessing you know something?” I asked him.
He leaned back in his chair and smiled even wider, his eyes twinkling in amusement. “How would I know? I’m facing the same situation.”
“What about when this happened?” Oliver asked.
“All happened within the last two weeks,” Alpha Kyle replied. “It would seem our species are being targeted.”
“But it’s just us here in the west,” Alpha James butted in.
“Maybe they plan to conquer us first and then claim other regions,” Alpha Kyle replied.
“Do you think we should alert the other regions?” Alpha Dan asked.
I sat still, my gaze shifting from one alpha to the next. Something seemed off, as though they were withholding relevant information.
“Can we cut the bullshit?” I asked, and silence swept across the hall.
“We don’t know what you mean,” Alpha Dan said, with a nervous tone of voice.
“You know something,” I said, sitting up in my chair. “You know something about what is happening. And you’re not telling.”
“No, we…”
“We do,” my father replied. All eyes turned to him, and silence swept through the table. “You should just tell him…rip the bandaid off. He’s going to find out anyway.”
“Find out what?” Oliver asked.
“That you’re the reason for these deaths, you rat,” my father replied.
“Watch your mouth,” I said, pointing at my father.
My father scoffed and turned to Alpha John who looked like he would prefer to be anywhere else then.
“Well…I’m not saying your mate is the cause of this debacle, but…”
“But he is, you see,” my father said, smiling sinisterly at me.
“How is that even possible?” I asked. “What do you mean?”
Alpha Kyle cleared his throat. “The deaths aren’t the only thing we have in common, Gabriel,” he said. “On the bodies of our dead, in all packs, a both was left on the body asking for Oliver.”
“What?!” I exclaimed.
“Dead or alive,” Alpha Dan chimed in.
I felt frustration build up in my core and I could feel Oliver’s apprehension beside me. I took a deep breath and thought to the safety of Oliver. The faces of the alphas told me that surrendering Oliver was an option that was being considered. One thing I knew for certain, the world would burn before I let them hurt Oliver.
“So, what is it you want to do?” I asked, my tone carrying in it a hint of a threat. A subtle note that whoever wanted Oliver would have to go through me.
Alpha John raised his hands in mock submission. “Relax. No one has said anything about giving your mate up, Gabriel.”
“Oh, cut it out, John,” my father said, sitting up in his chair. “You know it’s inevitable. He’s going to be to die.”
I slammed my hands on the table. “For the last time, watch. Your. Mouth.”
My father scoffed simply and leaned back in his chair, a little too calm for my liking. “Please. You know these deaths won’t stop. They’ll continue. They’ve made their demand,” he said and looked over at Oliver. “A very simple demand. What’s one life compared to that of all members of our packs?”
Murmurs of agreement and acquiescence rang through the hall accompanied by small nods.
“And who the fuck is making these demands?!” I asked.
Silence, once again, swept through the room and the men began to look from one to the next. “We can’t say…”
“What the fuck does that mean?!”
“It means that we don’t want to make things worse for ourselves,” my father replied.
My head snapped to him and balled my hands into fists, fighting the urge to wrap them around his throat, and this time make good on my threat of killing him.
“So, you want me to just surrender my mate to you…without knowing who the fuck is demanding his head and why?!”
The alphas shifted their gazes as I looked at them, shifting uncomfortably in their chair. Beside me, Oliver was deathly still, his breath coming in short, hard pants. I took his hand in mine and rose to my feet, deciding that we had had enough of this meeting, and we would have to find a solution to this problem on our own.
“You’re leaving?” Alpha John asked. “We haven’t concluded…”
“No, you have,” I said, gripping Oliver’s hand tighter in mine. “You have concluded that I should simply surrender my mate to you dogs.”
“Watch your mouth, pup,” Alpha John said sternly.
I scoffed. “That won’t be happening. Not in this lifetime or the next. Whoever wants him would have to pry him from my dying hands.”
I felt Oliver’s hand tighten around mine, the first show of emotion since this meeting began. We turned to leave, ignoring the pleas and murmurs of the other alphas.
“Do you think they’ll try to surrender me with force?” Oliver asked, as we stood next to our car, worry evident in his blue gaze.
I took Oliver’s face in my hands and planted a hard kiss on his lips. “I love you, Oliver,” I said, my heart breaking as tears pooled in his eyes. “I love you in ways that feel otherworldly to do so. I would die before I let anything…anybody harm you.”
Oliver smiled, reassurance seeping into his gaze. “I love you too.”
I kissed him again, this time softer, and lingering, full of hope and reassurance. “Let’s go,” I said. “I’ll drive.”
Oliver nodded, and as I slid into the driver’s seat, right before Oliver slid into the passenger seat, Kyle slipped a note into Oliver’s hand. My brows furrowed in confusion at the secret exchange but I shook it off. For now, I have bigger fish to fry.