Chapter Forty-three

**OLIVER'S POV**
The weight of the pack’s fear hung heavy in the air. Every time I walked through the village, I could feel their eyes on me. Whispered conversations stopped when I approached. Mothers clutched their children close as if they feared I’d bring some kind of doom upon them. It was unsettling. No matter how hard I tried to shake the feeling, the truth was clear: they were afraid of me. Or worse, they were afraid of what was coming for me.
I felt the pressure of it all, their fear, their unrest. It pressed down on me like a weight I couldn’t escape. As the goddess’s priest, I was supposed to bring them peace, and protection, but instead, it felt like my presence was a beacon, drawing danger to our doorstep. Every dead body, every unexplained death. It all came back to me.
Gabriel had been trying to shoulder the burden alone, but I could see it in his eyes every time he looked at me. He was scared. Not just for the pack, but for me. His love was undeniable, and as much as I cherished it, I couldn’t help but feel guilty. I was supposed to protect him too, but the further I was pulled into the goddess’s world, the less control I had over everything. I could feel myself slipping, the connection between me and the goddess deepening with each passing day. Sometimes, I didn’t know where she ended and I began.
As the days passed, Gabriel and I grew closer. Our bond was deepening in ways I never thought possible. Every touch, every shared glance, was charged with an intensity that left me breathless. He was my anchor, the only thing keeping me tethered to this world when everything else felt like it was spiraling out of control. I would lie awake at night, listening to his steady breathing beside me, and wonder how much longer I could keep up the charade that everything was okay. That we were okay.
But we weren’t. Not really.
One evening, I found Gabriel standing by the window, staring out into the forest, his brow furrowed in thought. I approached him quietly, slipping my arms around his waist and resting my head against his back. His body relaxed into my touch, but the tension in his shoulders never fully went away.
“Talk to me,” I whispered, pressing a soft kiss between his shoulder blades.
Gabriel sighed, his hand reaching down to cover mine. “I’m just…worried.”
“I know,” I said. “You don’t have to carry this alone, you know.”
He turned in my arms, his brown eyes meeting mine. “I can’t lose you, Oliver. Every time something happens, every death, it feels like we’re one step closer to…to something I can’t stop.”
“You’re not going to lose me,” I promised, though the words felt hollow even as I said them. I wanted to believe it, but deep down, I knew something dark was coming. I could feel it, lurking just beyond the edge of my consciousness, waiting for the right moment to strike.
Gabriel’s gaze softened, and he cupped my face in his hands, brushing his thumb across my cheek. “I wish I could believe that.”
I leaned into his touch, closing my eyes for a moment, just soaking in the warmth of him. “We’ll figure this out,” I said, though I wasn’t sure how.
He pulled me into his arms, holding me tightly against him as if he could somehow keep the world at bay by sheer force of will. His body was warm and solid, and for a brief moment, I felt safe. But that feeling never lasted long.
I kept thinking about the note I had received from the leader of a neighboring pack. It had been cryptic, but the message was clear: they were coming for me, and they wouldn’t stop until they got what they wanted. I hadn’t told Gabriel about it, not wanting to add to his worries, but the truth was, I didn’t know how much longer we could hold out. The goddess wasn’t the only force at play here. There was something else, something darker, lurking in the shadows.
That night, as I lay beside Gabriel, my mind kept drifting back to the note. Who were they? Why were they so determined to get to me? And what did they want? My heart raced as my thoughts spiraled, the unanswered questions gnawing at me. I knew I needed to find answers, but every time I tried to delve deeper into the mysteries surrounding the deaths, I hit a wall. It was like trying to piece together a puzzle with half the pieces missing.
I tossed and turned, unable to shake the unease that had settled in my chest. Gabriel’s steady breathing beside me was the only thing that kept me grounded, but even his presence couldn’t chase away the creeping sense of dread. Eventually, exhaustion claimed me, and I slipped into a restless sleep.
The dream started like all the others. I was standing by the river, the moonlight casting a silvery glow on the water’s surface. The trees swayed gently in the breeze, their leaves whispering secrets I couldn’t quite make out. The air was thick with anticipation like something was waiting just out of sight. Like something was watching.
I turned toward the water, expecting to see the goddess rise from its depths, but instead, there was something else. A figure, cloaked in shadow, stood at the edge of the river, watching me. Its presence was overwhelming, a heavy, oppressive force that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
It wasn’t the goddess. I knew that much.
“Who are you?” I called out, my voice echoing through the still night air.
The figure didn’t move, didn’t speak. It just stood there, watching me with an intensity that sent a shiver down my spine. I took a step forward, my heart pounding in my chest. I could feel the pull of the river, the goddess’s power thrumming just beneath the surface, but it wasn’t enough to dispel the fear creeping up my spine.
“What do you want?” I asked, my voice trembling.
Still, the figure remained silent. But as I drew closer, I felt a sharp pain in my chest, as if something had pierced my heart. I gasped, clutching my chest as the pain intensified, spreading through my body like wildfire. I dropped to my knees, struggling to breathe, and the figure began to move toward me, slow and deliberate.
Panic surged through me as I tried to crawl backward, but the ground beneath me seemed to shift, trapping me in place. The figure loomed over me now, its face still hidden in shadow, but I could feel its eyes on me, cold and unforgiving.
“You can’t escape,” a voice whispered, low and menacing. “It’s only a matter of time.”
The pain in my chest grew unbearable, and I cried out, clutching at the earth beneath me, trying to find something to hold on to, something to ground me. But there was nothing. Only the figure, only the pain.
And then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the pain stopped.
I gasped for breath, my vision swimming as I struggled to regain my bearings. The figure had vanished, leaving me alone by the river, the oppressive weight of its presence lingering in the air. I staggered to my feet, my heart racing, and stumbled toward the water’s edge.
The river was calm now, its surface smooth and unbroken, but I could feel the power beneath it, thrumming like a heartbeat. The goddess’s voice whispered in my ear, but I couldn’t make out her words. They were too faint, too distant. I knelt by the water, staring at my reflection. But the face that stared back at me wasn’t my own.
It was hers.
I jolted awake, my heart hammering in my chest, my body drenched in sweat. The dream had felt so real, so vivid, and the figure at the river…it hadn’t been the goddess. I knew that much. But what was it? What did it want with me?
Gabriel stirred beside me, his arm draped over my waist as he shifted in his sleep. I lay there, staring up at the ceiling, my mind racing. The dream was a warning. I was sure of it. But a warning of what? The note, the deaths, the goddess, it all felt connected, but I couldn’t see how. I needed answers. But the more I searched, the more questions I found.
And the darkness was closing in.
Morning came too quickly, the sunlight filtering through the curtains, casting a soft glow on the room. Gabriel woke beside me, his golden brown eyes blinking sleepily as he stretched.
“You okay?” he murmured, his voice rough from sleep.
I nodded, but the weight of the dream still clung to me, a shadow I couldn’t shake.
“Yeah,” I lied. “I’m fine.”
Gabriel kissed my forehead, his hand resting on my chest, right over my heart. “You don’t have to carry this alone,” he said, echoing the words I had said to him the night before.
I closed my eyes, leaning into his touch, but deep down, I knew something was coming. Something dark, something dangerous. And I wasn’t sure either of us would survive it.