All characters that are from the TWILIGHT saga by Stephanie Meyer belong to Stephanie Meyer. All others belong to me. I do not receive profit for these stories except for the joyous enjoyment of reviews.

This story follows right after When I'm Gone: Third Installment to GONE Saga, so if you haven't read that one or the two before, please do.

The timeline of the story will coincide with Gabriel Michael Laskaris' growing up years, starting at Seth and Rosa's wedding day, April 12th and will progress from there.

AN: Thank you all so much for your support! I've had some crazy couple of months. Updates -I have a new computer. It's second hand but a good one, especially since it was a gift. Second, I switched jobs again so I'm back to working twelve hour shifts -its higher pay and less stress, so my creativity is starting to wake up again. After nine months of struggling to get my writing on track, looks like I will be able to start that up once again.

Thank you to all for your opinions on whether to split this story or not -I've decided not to. It might end up being one long story but if y'all continue reading, enjoying and reviewing, I for sure don't mind.

I've been wandering my creative garden of wildflowers and occasionally handing y'all a daisy because I wasn't ready to share the wilder beauty that's part of my creative garden but know that it's time to start sharing the terrible, the beautiful, the disturbing and the awesome.

Enjoy as you read and please, leave a review for inspiration.

Chapter Seventy-Seven (16 yrs old)

She wouldn't stop apologizing and it was really starting to get on his nerves.

"Will you stop," Gabe looked over at her as he put the car he'd borrowed from his Dad on park, having pulled up to her driveway in reverse, "It's no big deal."

Vivi's face flushed a bright pink, eyes sparkling with tears as she rubbed a finger against her swollen lips, "I didn't mean to –"

"I know," Gabe opened his car door and stepped out, shutting it before running around the front of the car and opening the passenger door, taking her hand as she stepped out, "Vivi –it really is no big deal."

"But I…" Vivi swallowed, gold-brown eyes dropping to the strong column of his throat, sucking in air at the proof of what she'd done, "I bit you."

Closing the door, he pushed her up against it, crowding her space as he slid his hands up her arms to cup her face, twinkling blue eyes staring deeply into gold-brown ones, "It doesn't matter…I kinda liked it, anyway."

"It's not funny, Gabriel," Vivi tried to pull her face out of his hands but he wouldn't let her, a tear finally breaking free, "I've spent all my life trying not to…do that…and now –"

"And now I'm part of you in more ways than one," Gabe kissed her lips, gently tugging at her bottom lip before giving her an earnest look, "Vivi, I'm willing to die for you…so what's a little blood?"

Sniffling, she wrapped her long fingers around his wrists, closing her eyes as he kissed her, the tip of his tongue brushing over her moving lips, "What if I were venomous –like Marc?"

"You're not," Gabe tilted his head the opposite side, intending to deepen the kiss but Vivi pushed him back, glaring at him, "We didn't know that at the time."

"We do now."

Vivi turned her face away when he tried kissing her again, eyes bright with unshed tears, "What if I…if it happens…every time I…"

"Every time you come," Gabe gently grasped her chin between his thumb and forefinger, forcing her to look at him as he smiled, "Then I'll know I'm doing something right –like tonight."

"I don't understand why you don't find this…disturbing. This just proves that I'm…I'm a –," Vivi blinked quickly in an attempt to keep the tears at bay without success, Gabe's thumb wiping them away.

"You're Vivi," Gabe stopped her words, pressing his lips to hers, framing her face with his large hands, "The girl I grew up with –the one I'm crazy about…the girl I'll do anything for, even if it's giving up blood to satisfy you."

"Gabriel," Vivi's attempt to negate what he'd just said wasn't successful as he finally managed to shut her up with a kiss, wrapping his arms around her and holding her tight against his body. It didn't take long for her thoughts to scatter, her slim body melting into his as she wrapped her own arms around his waist.

A few minutes passed before Gabriel broke off the kiss, briefly touching the tip of his nose to hers before giving her a smile, deciding to give her something else to think about, "I have a surprise for you."

Vivi let out a low breath, heart fluttering hard against her ribs as she looked into his beautiful light blue eyes, "Like the one that got me into the back seat of your car tonight?"

Gabe chuckled as he rubbed the tip of his nose against hers, glad she was no longer focusing on the biting, "It's in your room –on your desk. Uncle Seth helped me sneak it in."

"What is it?"

Gabe laughed as he gave her another kiss, this one short and sweet, "If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise. Just know, Nika helped me out with it."

"Now I'm even more intrigued," Vivi smiled up at him, knowing it couldn't have been easy for him to ask Nika for help –her best friend didn't like him and he knew it, "Can I go see what it is?"

"Not until I get my goodnight kiss."

Vivi giggled as she leaned into him, brushing her lips against his before pulling back, laughing when he gave her a pointed look, "Come on. You can do better than that."

Laughing, she draped her arms over his broad shoulders, running her fingers through his dark hair before pulling his head down, pressing her mouth against his in slow motion, Gabe's arms tightening around her in response to the shy touch of her tongue against his bottom lip.

Opening his mouth over hers to take over, he used his tongue to coax hers to move with it as he slipped his hands down to squeeze her bottom, neither one paying attention to anything but each other.

Vivi let out a surprised yelp, managing to keep herself from falling flat on her face as Gabe was yanked out of her arms, wide eyes watching as Marc's fist connected with Gabe's jaw hard enough to lay him flat on the front lawn of their house.

Looking up at her brother, she sucked in a breath at the look on her face, the reprimand she was about to give him sticking in her throat as he leaned into her space, inches separating them as he hissed at her, "I guess it takes a certain kind of animal to get your appetite going, doesn't it?'

Vivi gasped, hand flying to her throat as her eyes filled up with tears, "How dare –"

"Tell me, sister," he sneered at her as he tilted his head in mock curiosity, "What's it like…playing with your food?"

She would have slapped him had Gabriel not tackled him, sending them both across the sidewalk and over the hood of Tio Seth's Mustang, leaving behind a visible dent as they both landed on the street, Gabriel easily gaining the upper hand.

Marc let out a grunt of pain as Gabe's fist connected with his nose, the crunching sound followed by blood gushing down into his mouth let him know it was broken. Twisting, he shoved his knee hard into Gabe's side before shoving him off and stumbling up onto his feet.

Rising to his feet, Gabe watched as Marc wiped blood off his chin, his side hurting enough to make him wonder briefly if he had a cracked rib but the thought didn't linger long as Marc came at him, Gabe's anger pushing aside any consideration to the fact this was his girl's brother.

They came at each other with all the rage of what they were, brains shutting off and instinct taking over, fists landing in soft spots, blood breaking free from split skin.

Shouts for them to stop went unheard as they twisted and punched, shoved and kicked, both intent on causing the maximum amount of damage to the other.

Vivi nearly choked on a scream as Marc punched Gabriel in the face with enough force to send him sliding across the asphalt a few feet.

Breathing hard, Marc stayed where he was, warily watching as Gabriel slowly rolled onto his hands and knees, his entire body vibrating in the strangest ways before it began to blur.

The air thickened with an odd sort of energy, almost suffocating in its intensity as it settled over them.

It was hard to breathe, his muscles tensing then locking in place, fire racing across every inch of skin he possessed while the pressure inside his bones increased to the point of pain.

Then it happened...

Everything froze for one long second, the she watched as the boy she loved disappear in an explosion of fur and claws and snarling teeth.

She couldn't keep the horrified scream from escaping, heart beating frantically as the huge wolf focused its large blue eyes on her for one brief narrowing moment. Everything came to a stop for that one second before he turned his attention to her brother, muzzle pulled back to reveal long and sharp looking canines, a rumbling growl ripping through the heavy silence.

Marc knew this was it –one or the other was going to walk away from this fight but only a miracle would have them both survive.

Bracing his feet into a defensive stance, he watched as the beast slowly stalked towards him, preparing himself for the launch but it didn't help –two hundred pounds of muscle and fur hit him hard, sending him flying as he shoved a hand below his chin to keep his jaws from closing around his throat.

She watched in horrified silence as they struggled with each other, unable to differentiate between their grunts and growls while the scent of blood had her stomach cramping and her mouth drying, tears running down her face as her whole world imploded before her eyes.

"Get inside! Now!"

Seth ran past her, caring about nothing but getting to his nephews before it was too late for one of them.

She couldn't move, her entire body frozen in horror, watching as Marc went airborne just as Tio Seth exploded in mid-air. Marc landed hard on his left shoulder, letting out a pain filled scream as Seth neatly inserted himself between them, the breeze ruffling his sandy colored fur, his growl clearly a back off message to Gabriel.

Marc groaned as he rolled onto his back, pain spreading from his shoulder down to his arm, back and chest. Keeping his arm immobile with his right hand, he slowly sat up, fighting back the nausea as black spots swam before his eyes.

Don't move.

He blinked several times, the scene before him finally focusing as he realized his thoughts had somehow automatically linked up to Seth's. Swallowing back bile, he watched as the wolf that was Gabriel shifted to the side before raising its head, blue eyes locking onto brown-green ones.

Although Marc didn't hear it, he knew a challenge had been issued and it was going to take all of Seth's mental strength to not buckle because if he did, Marc was a goner.

Don't give in. Don't give in.

The nausea worsened as the pain of his dislocated shoulder increased, his mental connection with Seth not helping due to the struggle going on between the two wolves.

The first sign that Marc's attempt to mentally bolster Seth's mental struggle wasn't working showed after several long minutes…the sandy colored wolf that was his uncle bowed its large head, tail lowering between shaking legs.

Marc knew it would all be over the moment Seth hit the ground and rolled onto his back to expose his underbelly in a sign of submission.


It rippled across his subconscious before touching the inner consciousness of the wolf in him, causing more ripples to spread outward to those still active within the pack.

Ending the phone conversation he was having with his wife without explanation, he hit the back door running, phasing in mid-air before hitting the ground in motion, letting out a howling call for the rest of his pack to phase.


Tilting his head back, he looked at the half moon high up in the dark sky, a cool breeze ruffling his sandy brown fur and bringing with it the scents of blood, aggression and compliance.

Shaking his large body, he veered off the course he had been taking, heading towards the forest line at the edge of town where the Clearwater property was situated, the forest ground still wet under his paws from last night's rainstorm.

A series of howls broke the night's silence, echoing in the woods. Picking up speed, he knew if he didn't get there in time, blood would be spilled and lives unnecessarily torn apart.


Marc's stomach bottomed out as soon as Seth's hit the asphalt, knowing with his busted shoulder, there was no way he was going to be able to fight off Gabriel now that Seth had been forced to step down.

Deciding he wasn't going to go down without a fight, however weak it might be, he prepared himself as Gabriel focused on him once again, ice blue eyes never wavering as he began stalking his way across the street.

Quickly looking over his shoulder, he saw Vivi still standing by Uncle Rick's car, about ten feet away from where he was, turning his attention back to Gabriel as he yelled at her to get inside the house, not wanting her to witness what was sure to happen or to unintentionally get caught in the middle.

Vivi snapped out of the trance she had been in as a howl ripped through the tension, several other howls following right behind, Gabr –the wolf's attention turning away from Marc as it turned its back to them, the thick pelt of fur along his back standing on end as a rumbling growl escaped him, causing goosebumps to break out across her arms.

She watched as a large black wolf stepped out of the shadows, its canines gleaming as it growled in response, two more wolves –one a dark gray and the other a deep brown –stepping out behind the first, Tio Seth staying where he was.

She knew what they were, had always known, and although she had that knowledge, it was still shocking to see them all up close and personal, especially to be seeing Gabr –the wolf that had been Gabriel…despite knowing he 'went wolf,' as he had labeled his shifting on full moon nights, she couldn't tamp down the horror at seeing him like this, a small unconscious part of her certain the wolf was dangerous to her wellbeing.

Marc watched as Gabriel and the black wolf, which he was certain was Sam, began to slowly circle each other, their low drawn out growls some form of communication only they understood.

Grateful he was not on the other side of the street, he slowly scooted up the driveway, biting his bottom lip to keep back any vocalization of the pain he was feeling. The back of his left shoulder hit the bumper of Uncle Rick's car, fresh blood filling his mouth as he bit down hard enough to almost detach his bottom lip.

Breathing through the nausea and pain, he turned and used the car as leverage to pull himself up on his feet with his one good arm, the other hanging uselessly at his side.

Grabbing his sister's arm, he pulled her along with him as the growls increased, the tension in the air thickening to the point of being felt. Dragging her up the porch steps, he shoved her inside the house as soon as the door was opened, finding their aunt by the living room window.

"Marc –"

"I'm fine," he interrupted her, pushing Vivi towards the staircase as he gave his aunt a reassuring smile, which he was sure was more of a grimace.

"What's going on out there?"

He stopped halfway up the stairs, taking in a deep breath to fight back the dizziness he was feeling before he turned to look down into his aunt's hazel eyes, seeing the worry she was feeling, "I'm not sure…but I think Gabriel's challenging Sam for the Alpha position."


Sam didn't want to admit it but it was getting harder and harder to keep his trembling body from caving under the challenge being thrown his way.

He once again tried, without success, to forge a mental connection with the russet brown wolf in front of him, wanting to find a way to talk Gabriel down from this brewing fight, not wanting to hurt Leah with the outcome.

Although his feelings for Leah had long ago morphed into the feelings a brother had for a sister, he knew causing any harm to her son would cut her deep –not to mention, destroy the friendship between himself and Rick, a friendship that had taken years to cultivate.

Letting out a snarl of frustration at Gabriel's refusal to back down, he gave a small lunge forward to warn the pup of the danger but the large wolf, just a few inches shorter than himself, didn't even flinch, ice blue eyes never wavering as he continued his slow circling.

Sam mirrored the slow steps Gabriel was taking, fighting his inner wolf's urge to lower its body in a sign of submission.

He was Alpha, dammit, and there was no way he was going to –

"Step down, Sam. Before you get hurt."

Sam's mental attention turned to the sandy brown wolf stepping out of the forest line bordering the street perpendicular to the one Seth's house was situated in, once again marveling at how similar the Laskaris Alpha and his own Beta looked in wolf form considering they were complete opposites in looks when in human form.

"Tell him to step down, Rick," Sam watched as Gabriel stopped moving, not once breaking eye contact. Something in the air let him know the only reason Gabriel was not attacking was because of Rick, yet the challenge for his position as Quileute's pack leader was still hanging between them, "I don't want to hurt him but I am Alpha and I will fight for what's mine."

"You've already lost your Beta," Rick pointed out, moving further out into the open despite the scent of human habitation causing his fur to stand on end, "I know you're struggling with the weight of the challenge –if you decide to act on it, you won't win. Save everyone the pain and step down."

Sam bristled at Rick's words, his hackles going up as he let out a long drawn out snarl, one that seemed to be taken as an offense by Gabriel. He turned his attention to the russet brown wolf, watching as he prepared to finally launch his attack.

"Sam, you won't win. It's time for you to step down –you knew this day would come so why fight it?"

Why indeed?