I stared at him for alongtime.
“You’re not serious,” I saidquietly.
He didn’t break eye contact with me. “I’m dead serious, Dante. Do I look like I’mjoking?”
He didn’t. Not at all. And that scared the hell outofme.
“Can we talk about this in the morning when you’re rested?” I suggested. “I know you just started learning clear magic and you’re excited to useit,but- “
“No, don’t shut me down like that!” Gabe cried with more force than I expected. I winced athistone.
“Gabe,” I said slowly, “if I’m being totally honest, I don’t want you to go back there. You and I both know it’snotsafe.”
He shook his head. “We can make it safe. With magic. We have the power to do somethingaboutit.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. I didn't like the direction this conversation was heading in. Why couldn’t Gabriel see why I didn’t want him to go back to that hellhole? I had barely saved him the first time - what if I couldn’t do it asecondtime?
“Can we plan this after the baby’s born, at least?” I asked. If he agreed, that would give him time to cool down and think aboutthismore.
“No,” he said firmly. “Ryu already told us that my magic’s stronger because of the pregnancy. If we do this, it has to be doneduringmypregnancy.”
I stood up tall and growled, “Thenabsolutelynot.”
“What?” he said,offended.
I lost it. “You are not going to Stoneheart or anywhere else where there’s people trying to kill youwhile pregnant. What the hell are youthinking,Gabe?”
“I’m thinking that there are people that need our help!” hesnapped.
“I don’t care aboutpeople, I care aboutyou. And our baby, for gods’ sake,” I growled. “I’m not letting you get hurt to save a bunch of people who almost let you get killed without a secondthought.”
Anger flashed across his face. “I care, even if you don’t. And you don’t control me, or own me, Dante Drakinus. I can do whatever the hellIwant.”
Fear rose up in my chest like a sickly infection. My mind raced with horrible thoughts of Gabriel going off on his own, getting hurt or killed, or losing the baby,orboth.
“What about the pack elders?” I asked, getting desperate for a foothold on his determination, anything to lower him from the edge ofinsanity.
“What about them?” hecountered.
“Won’t they care that you’re trapping them in with another barrier?” My tongue slipped in panic as I added, “Do they even wantyouback?”
He winced, and I instantly felt horrible about it. “I don’t know. But it doesn’t matter, anyway. We don't need their permission to create a barrier from the outside. What they do with the wall is up to themafterthat.”
“From the outside?” I growled, horrible images flashing in my mind again. “You mean where the human raiders are? Are you even listening toyourself?”
Gabriel frowned deeply, his eyes narrowing into angry slits. I had never seen him so upset before - and with a pang of guilt, I knew that I had brought this upon him. But I couldn’t control the words coming out of my mouth. I was desperate - I’d do anything to keep him from going through with thisinsaneplan.
“You know,” Gabriel said slowly, “for my mate who’s supposed to care about me, you sure are acting as controlling as the alphas from the pack Iescapedfrom.”
I stared at him in utter disbelief. The word fell from my lips, almost a whisper from how stunned Iwas. “What?”
But Gabriel was too angry to speak any more. He turned his back on me and began to walk away. My dragon roared. Fear coursed through my veins. I reachedforhim.
“Gabriel,wait!”
“I don’t want to do this right now, Dante,” he said, holding up a hand. “Just… leave me alone for awhile,okay?”
My dragon thrashed within me, crying out into the hollow of my chest. We were both on the brink of a meltdown. The thought of losing Gabriel - to our argument, or to the hands of raiders I’d already saved him from once before - was inconceivable. I couldn’t let himdothis.
