Theo had barely pulled the car into the entrance of the woods when Gabriel jumped out and began running. Alex had been keeping him out of her mind, but he could feel her, she was close. So close.

He heard car doors slamming behind him as he dove into the dark forest, using his wolf's senses to see his way through the trees. Suddenly, a howl pierced the quiet of the woods, sending a chill through everyone who heard it. Fury. Hatred. Anguish.

The sound drove his wolf into a frenzy. Mate! Mate! Mate! Gabriel didn't hesitate. He jumped high, turning in midair before landing on all fours. Alex. He could smell her clearly now, the scent of her wolf was stronger than her human form. He veered left and saw Katya running his way.

! He sent the command to the men that were coming up behind him; he had no time to deal with the Korovic sister now, her punishment would wait until he Alex was safe.

Jumping over fallen logs and iced puddles, he broke out of the undergrowth and into the moonlight where he came to a halt.

There, beside the pond, a wolf lay bleeding, while a pure white she-wolf stood over it. For a moment Gabriel felt himself get drawn in by her overwhelming power, then he pulled his mind together and watched in awe while all his anxiety drained away. Alex. She was safe and she was beautiful, so very beautiful. In all his years, he had never seen a pure-white wolf before and her power? Her power had even enthralled him; there was no doubt in his mind that she was equal to most alphas.

His Alex. His Luna.

She turned her head towards him then, as if coming out of a trans. For a long moment, her eyes stared into his and he could see her nostrils flare as she took in his scent. Gabriel didn't move, letting her get used to his wolf form before he reached out for her thoughts. This time, Alex gave him access, or perhaps she was too exhausted to resist. Within moments the memory of what happened in the woods hit him like a punch the gut.

Peter Korovic was the murderer of her parents? The very wolf who bit Alex and almost killed her ten years ago? Fury rushed through his veins like a drug. His wolf growled, ready to rip the bastard apart where he lay. As murderous thoughts rushed through his mind, his connection with Alex's mind was suddenly severed.

Damn it! Before he could move, Alex collapsed onto the frozen ground and turned back into her human form. Gabriel turned back into his own human form and rushed to her side, checking her body for injuries.

"Alex! Alex, wake up!" He smoothed back her bloodied hair, grateful that the dried liquid was not her own; Peter hadn't stood a chance against her. Hurried footsteps gathered behind him, but he didn't look up as he checked Alex's legs for injuries.

Ivan approached Peter, his face grim as he called back to two Lupus guards: "Take him back to my car."

The werewolves looked to Gabriel for approval, then seeing his nod, moved to do Ivan's bidding.

The leader of the Korovic pack now came to stand over him, his grey eyes wide as he looked down at Alex.

"Luna?" Ivan whispered in awe.

Gabriel swallowed hard as gasps rose behind them. He wanted to say it was a lie, but he could feel the truth of it: Alex was connected to the Korovic pack as well as the Moncrief. No one could have guessed this would happen; no one had ever been turned by two different royals before. And that bastard Peter was not only a royal, he, like Gabriel, was alpha-born.

Being Turned by two alphas had made Alex something that shouldn't be possible: a once-Human whose power equalled that of the strongest royals.

"What happened here?" Ivan was now looking to him. It was obvious from his calm demeanour that he, like Gabriel, was convinced of Peter's guilt.

"Peter and Katya tried to kill my Mate."

A heavy silence fell over the gathering. There was no one who doubted his words, but many did wonder why the Korovic siblings were still alive when by all rights, Gabriel could have killed them both. Only Ivan understood that Gabriel was holding back out of respect; it should be up the Korovic Alpha to carry out the punishment for his own family members.

Without looking back, Gabriel held up his hand: "A covering." His own nakedness did not disturb him, but his mate still possesses her Human sensibilities.

Theo, who had been watching the scene in shocked silence like the rest of the werewolves beside him, took off his coat and brought it forward quickly.

Gabriel covered Alex's body and lifted her in his arms.

"Alpha- " Ivan began but Gabriel was not in the mood to hear what he knew was coming.

"She is my mate, Korovic. She belongs with me."

"She has no mate since she isn't marked! She belongs with us!" It was Mitya Korovic who stepped forward now. The boy and his girlfriend both looked towards Alex's sleeping form with something akin to desperation. Gabriel knew they had felt her pull, just as he had, but as lower rank wolves who had no Luna, to them she now felt like their leader, equal to but different from Ivan. If Ivan was their father figure, she was their mother.

No, it didn't matter what they felt, Gabriel would not allow them to entertain such thoughts. Alex was his mate, his Luna; she would be mother to his pack members only.

"You dare to lay claim to our Luna?" Theo stepped forward menacingly.

"Stop!" Gabriel commanded. He could tell from the look in his cousin's eye that Theo was now ready to die, not only for Gabriel but for Alex too. And while it gratified him that his pack members had accepted her so readily, he would not allow the fight. If anyone was foolish enough to try to take Alex from him, Gabriel would use the opportunity to vent his barely suppressed fury.

"Mitya. Sophia. Step back." Ivan spoke up now. "We have other things to deal with first."

"Indeed," Gabriel agreed, holding Alex closer as he turned back to Theo, "Where is Katya Korovic?"

"Unconscious and in the trunk of one of the Lupus Corps vehicles. Two of our people are keeping watch," His cousin replied quickly.

Gabriel looked to Ivan. "See to your siblings, Alpha. We will speak later."

Ivan's jaw was rigid, but he nodded his agreement.

With relief and fury warring in his heart and Alex in his arms, Gabriel moved out of the moonlight and into the dark forest.