Chapter Twenty Six: Preservation

The Wasteland that the earth had become was quite a sad sight to see. Gabriel remembered the lush green trees and grass that had since died, it was almost as if the earth itself was dying. The Vampires had sucked the life from so many, and had taken the essence of the earth itself. It was a horrible sight to see. Something he never wanted to see the Underworld endure. But he knew deep down, that things would never be the same even if it was saved. Gabriel's thought trailed back to Kara. Everything about his home echoed her within his head. He knew that she had moved on with Gwen, and then she died. She died, for Kara. But he had done the same, but his sacrifice seemed to somehow mean less. " She has always been confused. She use to love Jack, then she said she loved me, then she loved Gwen and then had feelings for me and then still kept feelings for Gwen" he didn't want to think the worse of Kara but her actions showed him that she was confused. " She was thrown into this entire world, and never really got to make her own choices. But at the end of the day, but if she loved me..she would have never gotten with Gwen. She wouldn't still love Gwen in the same way. Why couldn't she look my eyes and tell me the truth. Why couldn't she just say it to my face" Gabriel was feeling emotionally torn.

" She couldn't look me in the eyes because she couldn't face the truth. So I faced the truth for her. I did her a favor. Despite what she says, she is confused. And I'm not going to let her drag me her love triangle bull shit. She agreed to be my mate. She said she wanted that. She said she would do whatever it took to be with me. But inside, she knew she wasn't completely in love with me. And she still took the chance. Even if that meant I would end up alone, mateless. I'm not a damn blood sucker. I'm not a fucking Witch. I can't just go out and fuck every single person I see until I decide what is right for me" Gabriel grew angrier the more he thought about it. He would now be able to never have another mate. And despite everything, he couldn't even have Kara. " I could have kept it going, I could have believed in it, and said to myself that it was going to be okay. That things wouldn't change but they always do. They always have. I could have just been okay with things and then allowed things to progress until the day that she walked away. And I would be alone" Gabriel's thoughts were interupted by Cassie calling out to him. " We will be at the Vampires nest soon, Do we have a plan of attack? " She figured they wouldn't rush in head first but then again she had no idea what to expect from Gabriel at this point.

" We will demand an audience with whoever is leading the charge down here and see what they are willing to say. I don't want to fight if I don't have to" Gabriel answered. He knew someone would be organizing their attacks. Whilst they were deadly, they tended to frenzy and if they had no control here whatsoever, everyone would have already been dead. And they weren't. Which means on some level, they had someone leading them.

" Well I would suggest that we rest, we need to be careful about how we go about this. We have been running for hours and we don't need to be exhausted by the time we get there in case there is a chance that we get into an altercation" Cassie suggested which made Gabriel slow down. " Fine but we aren't going to rest long. I want this done and over with"

Gabriel sat down, with Cassie again, laying at his feet to watch over him, both watching each other's blind spots. Cassie seemed happy, despite knowing that they were walking into possible death. " Thank you, for coming with me Cassie. I do appreciate the help " Gabriel did feel eased to have someone with him who could watch his back even if he still was a little unsure of Cassie's motivations.

" I wanted to come. Like I said, I never really got to spend time with you so I guess this is making up for lost time. Even if, there is a huge possibility that we both die here" Cassie laughed nervously.

" Well, I have no intention of dying here" Gabriel answered. Cassie knew that Gabriel was still troubled and she wasn't sure of herself enough to make him feel better.

" Well, I'm guessing you are going to return to our home when we are done here. Just so you know...I have no intention of coming back.." Cassie said, keeping her eyes locked behind Gabriel and seeing that everything looked clear for the time being. " Well my friends are trying to bring our people back. So maybe there will be something to return to after all. If you ever do decide to come back, I will make sure you live comfortably " Gabriel assured her though her decision did not change.

" Our home, it has so much history, so many wonderful and beautiful things about it. But it is also filled with pain, lies and death. I lost my brother's. I..don't want to return. It's too painful for me. And Earth may be really screwed right now..but it's a chance for me to start over. It's a chance to make a new life for myself. One filled without pain. That's what I want more than anything if I'm being honest" Cassie's word stuck with Gabriel. He wanted the same thing too, but he knew when he returned home, his people would need him. He needed to be there to lead them. " I wish for the same but I have duties elsewhere but maybe...maybe someday" Gabriel answered. Cassie wanted Gabriel to find peace too, but she knew he would do what was best for his people even if it meant the sacrifice of his own happiness. She both admired and pitied his commitment to suffering. " Well - " Cassie's eyes began to change again as her body began trembling. Her pack that had been wrapped around her neck fell from her and Gabriel noticed her distress.

" Are you okay? " Gabriel asked as he watched Cassie roll around on the ground, groaning in discomfort, shifting back into her human form. " In my bag, there are some bottles. I need them" She pleaded. Gabriel shifted back into his own human form. He reached down into her bag, looking for the bottles. Once he had found them, he moved to her side and held her head in his hands, trying to keep her still. " Open your mouth" Gabriel demands, which she does and he begins pouring the serum into her mouth. Her eyes, however only grew wider, as she stared up into his eyes. " What is wrong with you? " Gabriel asked not being sure if she would need healing or not. If she did, he couldn't heal her. And they would have to return so she can receive proper help.

Though, before he knew it, she had reached up and locked her lips onto his, forcing him down to the ground. She was in a lust fueled fury and Gabriel tried his best to shove her off of him. " Stop Cassie.." he demanded, though she could not hear him any longer. She needed him, she needed his touch, his body, she needed everything he could offer her. " You know you want this too. You can't ignore it forever. Take me Gabriel" Cassie moaned as she continue kissing him. It was true, ignoring her was very difficult to do. The scent was overpowering and he was slowly giving way to his instincts, but still he tried to resist. " Cassie! Stop! We don't have time for this" Gabriel dug his nails into her, getting a tight grip she he cloud fling her off of him. In the process, he had ripped her shirt, exposing her breast as she landed on dirt behind them. " You need to control yourself dammit. I know what you want but there are things that are more important right now" Gabriel could feel the heat coming off of her. She was not in control of herself and only had one thing on her mind. Cassie, who crawled back up, her hands clenching the dirt, her head facing up at him, teeth exposed, breathing heavily.

" Why ignore this? Why ignore what you want? Why not take the pleasure that I offer you?" Cassie growls, her voice growing deeper and deeper as her wolf instincts took over.

" Because I don't want to be with you! I can't mate with you, I already have a mate!" Gabriel reasoned.

" You disowned her! Which means you are free from that bond. You can have me. Right here. Right now. Nothing is stopping you except yourself. Will you really ignore everything you are for someone who cares nothing for you? " Cassie growled, occasionally flinching from the pain she was feeling.

" Its not that simple and you know that. We mate for life, even if our mate is gone from us" Gabriel explains. He knew that Cassie was not thinking clearly but he wasn't sure how to calm her down.

" Because you love her. Because you want her. You want the Witch. Even though a strong Lycan stands before you with hungry eyes, you still deny me over the Witch? " Cassie was trying her best to control herself but she was quickly losing the battle.

" I will always love her. Even if she loves someone else. And regardless of how it happened, we are still mates and I will not take another. And you don't want me either. You are just not in the right mindset right now. You just want to breed " Gabriel stands his ground, though he was ready for him to lunge at him.

" WE ARE LAST TWO OF OUR KIND! WE HAVE TO! TO PERSERVE OUR PEOPLE. WE HAVE TO DO THIS WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT! " Cassie howled. She didn't love Gabriel, but with their people being gone now, she knew they could continue the Lycan line. This was a battle not just for simple pleasure. This was a battle for wether the Lycans could live on or not in her mind.

" I already told you! My friends are going to bring our people back! And you could go back and find someone" Gabriel offered.

" I CANT WAIT THAT LONG GABRIEL..I CAN'T WAIT FOR SOMETHING THAT MAY NEVER HAPPEN" Cassie didn't believe it was possible to bring their people back. And even if it was, she was losing control of herself and she needed him now. She could not wait any longer.

" If you come at me Cassie..I will strike you down.." Gabriel warned, as Cassie collapsed to the ground. The serum was finally kicking in if only ever so slightly. She had been holding out as long as she could but now she was exhausted. She had to use all of her strength and energy to hold back. " Cassie? " Gabriel checked on Cassie who was trying trying stand back to her feet but her limbs were shaking from exhaustion.

" Just ignore this ever happened" Cassie growled as she finally made it back to her feet. Gabriel tried to offer to help her by placing his hand on her shoulder but she smacked his hand away. " DONT TOUCH ME! " she screamed at him as she walked past him and picked up her pack. " I'm sorry...I just..it's hard to control" Cassie apologized for her tone. " Its okay. We need to keep moving" he answered. " Yeah " Cassie shifted back in her wolf form, ready to carry on, not looking at Gabriel anymore.