Chapter Forty-two

**OLIVER'S POV**
I rushed out of our bedroom into the living room when I heard Gabriel come into the house. I watched as he threw chairs into the walls, and smashed tables down the middle. He screamed as he paced the floors of the room, his eyes glowing a bright shade of gold, showing the presence of his wolf. My eyes opened wide in shock as he began to pummel the wall with his fists.
“Gabriel!”
His head turned sharply to me, and he sighed. I rushed into the bathroom retrieved a wet napkin, and began to wipe his bloodied knuckles with it.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
He kept his head lowered, his shoulders slumped in a resigned and tired gesture. His breath came in short, hard pants. I held his head in my hands and raised his head, tears stinging behind my eyes when his gaze met mine.
“What’s wrong?” I asked again. “Did something happen?”
Gabriel nodded slowly, and not down on his lips. His eyes watered, and his hands balled into fists. “Another person is dead.”
I froze, the blood in my veins running cold. The tears gathered in my eyes and I let them fall. What was happening? Who was doing all this? Why did they want me so bad that they were ready to exterminate the entire west to get me?
I sank into the soda and held my hand over my mouth. “What…how…”
“That’s the thing?!” Gabriel asked, his eyes blazing, reflecting the pain and anger he felt in his soul. “How?! It doesn’t make sense!”
I flinched as he threw a vase against the wall, the sound of the glass breaking only serving to add to the tension of the situation. I massage my forehead with my fingers, swearing under my breath as I begin to feel the beginnings of a headache.
Gabriel was right. This didn’t make sense. Since the last death and the meeting at the central pack, security was beefed up. Outsiders weren’t allowed in, the perimeter of the pack was manned at all times with gates made of silver installed around the pack. How were they getting in?
As though hearing my thoughts, he stopped his pacing abruptly and turned sharply to me. “I know. There’s someone here…” he paused.
“Someone? Who?” I urged.
Gabriel shook his head. “It doesn’t make sense that dead bodies keep popping up unless this is an inside job!!”
My breath caught in my throat. That was the only reasonable explanation. “Oh my goodness…who do you think it is?” I asked.
Gabriel shook his head vehemently. “I don’t know. But it would have to be someone that’s been here for the longest, probably from my father’s pack…” Gabriel stopped and he squinted his eyes to slits. “Do you think my father sent a mole here?”
I scowled as the smug face of the bastard came to mind. “I wouldn’t put it past him.”
Gabriel nodded his head. “The last time we met, he promised that he would take everything away from me. He wants this pack, Oliver,” he said, worry evident in his gaze. “And I know he will do anything to get it!!”
“Gabriel, please sit…don’t get too worked up.”
My words fell on deaf ears. Gabriel was in a frenzy, his eyes wide with anger and fear, his fists clenching and unclenching.
“He knows that if they take you from me, I will become weak, and it would make it easier for him to defeat me…and e slave my people again.”
“Gabriel, you need to calm down.”
He marched over to me, sat on the sofa, and pulled me into his arms. “I won’t let them take you from me,” he said. “I would burn the world before I let anything happen to you.”
I opened my mouth to speak but he stole the words from my mouth with a kiss. His lips claimed mine with an urgency that left me gasping for breath. I leaned into the kiss and wrapped my hands around his neck as our tongues danced. His lips expressed a need that his heartfelt words couldn’t express.
He pulled away abruptly from the kiss, his eyes blazing with fresh anger. “I’m going to kill that man.”
My brows furrowed in confusion. “Who?” I asked.
“My father,” he replied and bolted to his feet, and power walked out the back door, barefoot, and headed for the forest.
“I’m coming with you,” I said and also sprung to my feet, grabbing the car keys that sat on the kitchen counter.
Gabriel shook his head. “No,” he said firmly. “You can’t come. It may not be safe.”
“That’s why I’m coming with you, Gabriel.”
“No…”
“I don’t remember asking, Gabriel. Put on some shoes.”
Gabriel sighed in resignation and did as I had asked. He re-emerged, his eyes still crazed with anger and we began the short journey to his father’s pack. The car barely pulled to a stop before Gabriel jumped out of the vehicle, and made his way into his father’s house. The way the guards watched on in resignation told me that this must be a regular sight. He barged into his father’s office, interrupting his meeting and startling his guests.
“You fucking dog!!” Gabriel yelled, his deep baritone bouncing off the walls of the office and causing his guests to flinch.
His father sighed and nodded to the men seated across the table from him. He sat still in his chair, his face expressing a strange calm, and waited until they had left.
“And to what do I owe this friendly visit?” He asked, his voice heavy with amusement.
Gabriel seethed, he marched toward his father and threw the table out of the way, the large table hitting the wall and taking portraits that stood on the wall. For the first time since we stepped into his office, I saw fear reflected in his eyes. He had only been able to maintain the façade for so long.
“Why are you doing this?!” Gabriel seethed, his hands balled into fists. “Do you want it that bad?!”
His father furrowed his brows and rolled his eyes. “Get to the point, Gabriel.”
Gabriel grabbed his father by the neck and threw him across the room, I ducked and moved out of the way as he flew past me and hit the door.
He groaned as his body hit the floor, and forced himself to his feet. His eyes strayed to me, and he growled. “What is this about?”
“Four people, you dog,” Gabriel said. “Four people have died!! When will you stop?!”
My eyes opened in surprise as his father threw back his head and laughed. “Is that what this is about?” He asked and laughed again. “Oh, dear. I didn’t kill anyone.”
“But you know who did,” I stated.
The upward tilt of his lip and the mischievous glint in his eyes told me that he did. I felt disgust settle deep in my soul. In the terrible father wars, this man might just win.
“You know all this could end immediately, right?” He asked. “It could end if you just did what they wanted…”
The words were barely out of his mouth before Gabriel descended on him. My eyes and mouth opened wide as for the first time, I saw the strength of Gabriel in real time. Gabriel crossed the room before I could blink and I heard a sickening crack as his fist connected with his torso. I stood to the side and watched as Gabriel dealt blow after blow after blow.
Gabriel’s fist connected with his father’s chest again, and a sickening crack echoed through the room. His father gasped, struggling to stay upright, but Gabriel wasn’t done. His punches were relentless, filled with all the anger and frustration that had been building for days. Another hit and his father stumbled backward, slamming into the wall with a grunt.
I stood to the side, watching in shock as Gabriel continued to rain down blows. He was a force of nature, driven by the rage of losing four of his pack members, and the fear that his father was behind it all. The man who had once held power over Gabriel now looked small, and weak. Nothing like the untouchable figure that I had met trying to bully a child.

His father dropped to his knees, coughing and spitting blood, his chest heaving from the beating. Despite the blood dripping from his face, his eyes were still sharp, still defiant.
“You think this changes anything?” his father spat, a dark smirk forming on his bloodied lips. “You might have beaten me today, Gabriel, but this isn’t over. You’ll never truly win.”
Gabriel’s chest was heaving, his wolf dangerously close to the surface. He grabbed his father by the collar, lifting him so their faces were inches apart.
“Why are you doing this? Why go this far? You could have everything you ever wanted, but instead, you keep trying to destroy everything.”
His father chuckled, the sound twisted with pain. “Because I can. Because I want to see you fall. And trust me, I will. One way or another, I’ll take this pack, and I’ll take Oliver from you.”
At those words, a cold shiver ran down my spine. Gabriel’s eyes flashed gold again, and I could see his wolf was barely being held back.
“You’ll never touch him,” Gabriel growled, his voice low and dangerous.
His father’s smile grew, despite the bruises swelling his face. “You can’t protect him forever. One day, you’ll slip. And when you do, I’ll be there.”
Gabriel’s grip tightened, but I could see the conflict in his eyes. He wanted to finish this, to end the threat once and for all, but something was holding him back. Maybe it was the pack watching, maybe it was me. But he didn’t land the final blow. Instead, he let go, shoving his father to the floor.
“This is over,” Gabriel said, his voice low and menacing. “Stay away from us. Stay away from Oliver, or I swear I will kill you.”
His father lay on the floor, wheezing, but his smile never faltered. “We’ll see, son. We’ll see.”
Without another word, Gabriel turned and walked out of the room, his body still tense, his wolf barely contained. I followed him in silence, my heart pounding in my chest. As we left the house, I could feel the weight of his father’s words hanging over us. This wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.