Chapter 813

Pippa looks up at me with a great deal of sadness in her eyes, her hands falling from my dress as she finishes the last button. I turn towards her, concerned and sad for her sake.

"I'm really sorry," she whispers, shaking your head. "That you didn't get to meet that Gabriel. That you have this one instead. I think..." she bites her lip and shrugs. "I think you would have liked him."

I frown, desperate to know more and concerned. "What happened?" I ask, stepping close, intuiting that it's some sort of secret. "What...changed him?"

Pippa glances towards the door, anxious, clearly weighing the consequences. "Look, Ariel," she whispers, "no one knows this, so please don't tell, but if you're to be his Luna you should know, and...you're going to figure it out sooner or later."

I nod eagerly, my wolf standing up straight, her whole body still as she waits.

"Gabriel...about five years ago he pledged himself to the God of Darkness," Pippa whispers, looking into my eyes, her own shining. "In exchange for the power to protect this palace, and all the people in it, from the weapons and the magic of Moon Valley."

My mouth falls open a little, my eyes going wide. "What does that mean?"

"He mentioned it today," Pippa says, lifting a cupped hand and making a little side to side motion with it over her other hand, like she's forming a snowball. "It's like...a dome? A magical dome of protection? When Gabriel is here in the palace, none of your Goddess magic can work inside the dome. And none of your country's weapons - any country's weapons - can penetrate it. No matter how powerful. No one can get in and no one can get out without Gabriel opening the barrier for them."

I gape at her, shocked. But suddenly it makes so much sense - why the Atalaxians famously gather all of their nobles together in one place. Why Moon Valley has never just...exploded the entire thing. I mean, beyond the ethical concern of murdering thousands of innocent people - women and children included - it...would end the war.

Still, I shudder at the idea, knowing that my father would never do it. That even if I'm angry now, I wouldn't want him to.

"Wait, so," I say, frowning and turning my attention back to the woman who is supposed to become my sister-in-law in a week. "And that dedication to Darkness...it made Gabriel different? Changed his personality?"

Pippa glances again at the door, anxious. "It corrupted him," she whispers, leaning close to me. "He; told us once, early on he sobbed and cried and said that he could feel his wolf being enclosed in the darkness, that he was losing himself to it"

Horror fills me as I remember, suddenly, the glimpse of his wolf that my wolf saw. Of the horrible wolf in his soul, with glowing eyes, and panting breath, his legs sunk low in darkness like oil, like tar. I gape at Pippa, who nods to me.

"Did you see it?" she asks, her hand reaching out to clasp my arm. "Did you...did you see his wolf? I know that sometimes mates can..."

Slowly I nod. "Pippa," I breathe. "It was...horrible."

Tears fill her eyes - tears for a friend she's lost, one she can't help. A man who has...disappeared from

her life, replaced by a terrible stranger.

A knock comes at the door, making us both jump.

"Oh no," Pippa whispers, straightening up, wiping hastily at her cheeks. "Am I okay?"

I smile softly at this poor girl who doesn't want anyone to see her cry. "You're stunning," I murmur, reaching up and wiping a stray tear that she missed from beneath her eye. Pippa laughs a little and gives me a lovely smile before she turns for the door, dashing towards it.

I watch her go, scowling a little because...damn it. I really like her. As determined as I am to not like ornoveldrama

trust any of these Atalaxians... Pippa seems to somehow be immune.

She pulls open the door a little, peeking out, and then pulls it open all the way. "Oh, hello!" she says, half excited, half wary. I peer beyond her and instantly see the reason why.