Alex didn't open her eyes. She didn't need to, to know precisely where she was. She could feel the soft bed beneath her, could smell the roses in the room through by, the geranium soap in the en-suite bathroom and Gabriel. He was close by, the sound of his pacing tickling her sensitive ears. It wasn't only scents, all of her senses were sharper now...that she was a werewolf.

"What happened to him?" She asked, feeling numb as her mind turned to Peter. She had wounded him badly and for that she had no regrets, but she had no idea how she would feel if she had killed him...

The bed dipped under Gabriel's weight, his fingers on her temples felt cool and comforting. He didn't speak as he stroked her face, so she opened her eyes. There was concern in the blue gaze above her and regret in the turn of his lips. Mate, her wolf called out, but she closed her eyes against the desire to touch him. Her heart squeezed painfully as she remembered Marianne's words, the baby in her belly...

"I'm sorry, Alex." She could hear the sincerity in his voice, but what was he sorry for? For betraying her? For toying with her? She wouldn't ask. She didn't want to hear it. It was too much. Everything was too much. She had to get away.

She looked at him once more. "Is he dead?" Her voice deadpan. She could only process one thing at a time right now. First she wanted to know what happened to Peter. Then she would think about the fact that she no longer a Human and that there were voices in her head and a wolf inside her. Then maybe, after dealing with all that, Alex would try to heal her broken heart.

"Peter and Katya will be dealt with by Ivan. He will not be allowed to live. She may escape death, but the alternatives are bad enough that some would find death preferable."

Alex shivered. How could he talk about his lover so coldly. Was that how he would treat her when he decided to go back to Marianne? A tear rolled down her cheek at the thought. Damn it, she had to pull it together.

"Alex," his voice was full of sorrow. "I don't know how to make any of this up to you. I have failed you."

Yes, he had failed her. He had made her love him and now he was going to leave her. She turned her head away from his touch even as the wolf inside her whimpered: Mate. Mate. Mate.

"Could you leave? I want to rest, Gabriel."

"Alex, please," he pulled her half out of the covers as he embraced her from behind and it was only then, that she realised she was naked. "I'm sorry, Alex. I wasn't careful enough. I let you suffer. I have no excuses. You can punish me for everything. Punish me, however you want I wont protest, but please, don't push me away."

She hated that his words tugged at her heart, hated even more that she was excited by the simple pressure of his arm under her breast. Punishing him meant staying beside him, being close to him. She couldn't do that, she had to get away. "I...I don't want to punish you," she managed after a long moment.

"If you wont punish me, then love me, Alex." He whispered the request before he brought her lips to his. The moment he kissed her, Alex knew that she would not be able to stop him. No, she didn't want to stop him. Somewhere inside, she needed the comfort his touch leant her, she needed to feel safe, she needed to forget. With each touch, Gabriel pushed the memory of the forest, of the pain, further into the past.

His slow movements soon grew hurried and it wasn't long before he was inside her, growling her name: "Alex!" She could feel him pushing against her mind, searching for her thoughts, but she kept him at bay. She couldn't let him see the mess that was inside her head or her intention to leave.

He dipped his head to take her breasts into his hot mouth. Her fingers dug into the mattress as Gabriel tortured her with pleasure and a new sensation began to build. A sensation she couldn't understand. It was beyond pleasure. Something sharper. Suddenly, Alex felt her canines begin to tingle and the need to bite him burst out of her like a whip.

"Wait!" Her voice was tinged with fear at the intensity of the need. It was her wolf, she could feel it pushing at her to take what was hers, to mark Gabriel forever. Mate!

Gabriel looked up from her breasts, then a strange understanding lit his eyes and he moved so that she was suddenly on his lap. "Do whatever you want, Alex. Don't hold back." Alex closed her eyes against the madness of her feelings as he pulled her onto his length at an ever quickening pace. "Wait! Wait!" she gasped but Gabriel was beyond listening and she couldn't hold back anymore.

Her canines grew just as she opened her mouth over the bottom of Gabriel's neck. The scent of him filled her head and the salty taste of his blood touched her tongue. Before she could make sense of anything, a sharp pain pierced her shoulder where Gabriel had returned the favour. The taste of him in her mouth, the intoxicating sensation of his tongue lapping at her shoulder and the hard length of him moving deep inside her pushed Alex over the edge. She came apart, her back arching away from him as she gasped for air. A moment later, Gabriel groaned and held her to him as he too found his release.

When the pulsing inside her abated, Gabriel pulled her against his chest and held her tight. "You're marked now, Alex. Mine, forever."

Alex knew he was right, a part of her would forever belong to Gabriel Moncrief. Even though he had played with her affections, even though he was starting a family with another woman, she would never be able to forget him.

But somehow, with enough distance and time, Alex would grow stronger.

She would mend her heart and start over.