After thinking for a while, Gabriel stood and looked at Maria. She could see the fire in his eyes. It was a deep burning anger at all the events that happened before.

“We’ll have that ritual, I have to find my mate and concrete my position within the pack. I know a few wolves still look at me as if I’m still Declan’s second in command.” he said. “Gone, they’re both gone, so there’s nothing they can do about it. Hell, even if they were here there’s nothing they could do. I’m in charge, and that’s how it’s gonna stay.”

Maria looked at Gabriel’s muscles rippling under his shirt and could see he'd become bigger. It happened through all the training he'd been pushing the pack members through, and he’d become consumed. Declan might really have his hands full when he returned to claim the pack.

Maria stood and ran her hands over Gabriel’s shoulders before nuzzling her head against his back. “You know Gab, there’s no need for all the females to fight to the death. Your mate; your alpha, might be right under your nose.”

Maria murmured as her cheek started caressing Gabriel’s bulging shoulder muscles. As much as getting close to Gabriel was her duty, it was one task that wasn’t that hard to complete. Gabriel had turned into a werewolf megalomaniac, yet he was easy on the eye and had a magnetic quality about him.

“I’ll tell you something Maria, you can stand in that circle and prove yourself if that’s the way you feel,” Gabriel said as he spun to face Maria and wrapped his arms around her waist. “But for now, you can be mine, or you can be mine until someone claims the position of a lifetime.”

As much as Maria resisted the urge, she found it hard and let herself melt into Gabriel’s arms. Keep your friends close, and your enemies even closer. Gabriel tightened his grip on Maria's waist. He began picking her up and walked to the couch as his grin widened with every step.

“Who’s trying to stamp their authority then?” Maria asked as Gabriel dropped her onto the couch.

Gabriel smiled, and his eyes glowed with his inner wolf rising to the surface. Now, his t-shirt stood no chance as he grabbed the neckline with both hands and tore it straight down the middle.

“Oh, very manly, or wolfly,” she said, “yet it’s a waste of a good shirt.”

Gabriel grasped the buckle of his belt and fumbled. Maria knew this was her queue and leaned forward and began pulling her own t-shirt over her head. She popped the button on her jeans and pulled the zipper with her finger and her thumb. Her eyes were fixated on Gabriel’s bulging shorts. She knew what was in store and she was in no mood to wait any longer.

Maria lifted her ass from the couch. Slipping her jeans over the peachy skin, she said, “A little help here if you don’t mind.” Her words were said more than provocatively.

She rested her ass back on the couch, and began raising her legs as Gabriel took hold of her jeans and tugged. He dropped her jeans to the floor and reveled in watching Maria lift her feet as she placed them flat on the couch. His heightened senses could already smell the sweet aroma of her womanhood.

“I want to see you,” he said, “pull your panties off.” Maria obliged and slid her fingers inside the elastic of her now-moist panties. Her ass lifted again as she slid herself free. She grinned at Gabriel, and with one hand she tossed her panties in his direction.

Gabriel stepped free from his shorts and Maria gasped with anticipation as his shaft began twitching. He lowered himself to his knees in front of her. He knelt like a god and ran his tongue up and over the soft skin of Maria’s thighs. She sighed as he pushed his hands against her legs, now spreading them wider. Gabriel thrust his tongue between the petal-like folds of her womanhood and teased her clit. Maria acknowledged his moves and arched her back like a cat in response to him. She raised her hand and pushed Gabriel’s head closer to the junction of her thighs. He sensed, as always, that she was ready to take the beast that was inside of him.

Gabriel looked up as he licked his lips. “Are you ready for me?”

Maria was busy biting her bottom lip and fumbling with the clasp of her bra as she nodded. “Damn right, I’m ready!” she murmured.

Gabriel stood with his hard shaft firmly in his grasp. Maria marveled at the sight of his manhood. Damn, he is getting bigger, I’m sure of it. He stepped closer and inched the tip of his shaft inside of her. With gusto, he rubbed his head over her budded clit before plunging the length and filling her.

Maria sucked in a quick breath as he thrust his hardness into her own wet softness. He grabbed her legs and placed them onto his shoulders as he drove his blistering want harder and faster into her.

Gabriel buried himself deep inside as Maria dug her nails into Gabriel’s shoulders. He winced in pain as Maria pulled him closer to her with lust.

“Harder,” she murmured, “I’m almost there.”

Gabriel pushed harder and faster as Maria stared into his perfect, dominant eyes. She could see the animal rising in him. She knew he was close to finishing when his groans became louder. Maria panted as the walls of her womanhood clenched at Gabriel’s shaft. Sensations flooded through her body as it finally released her amidst a scream of ecstasy.

Gabriel thrust even harder, then his body seized, and he knew he was ready, so he pulled himself from her and shot his load over Maria's belly and her creamy breasts.

“Oh! Gabriel, I thought you were gonna finish inside me,” she stated, perplexed.

Gabriel stepped away from Maria with a satisfied look on his face. “You’re not my mate yet.”

* * *

“What do you mean you haven’t found them?” Sanders said to Edmund. “You dumped her in the forest, and it’s been months. If she was dead there would be remains, if she’d found her way out, there would’ve been a sighting of her.”

Edmund paced back and forth as he was interrogated. “I know, but there’s just no sign. And Declan, it’s as if he’s vanished off the face of the planet.”

“Edmund, you better pull your finger out, you know we don’t leave loose ends. And what about the others? How are they doing?” Sanders asked, now placing his glass of red wine back on the table.

Edmund did have a little bit of better news for that question. That had been an easy resolution. He explained that Noelle’s parents had gone back to their old life and had no idea that they even had a daughter.

“And Megan has no idea that we lied about her parents being killed by wolves, she has reverted and gone back to her boring life. The only difference is, the impression in her mind. She had parents who were killed rather than ones who abandoned her,” Edmund replied proudly.

“So, all the family are out of the picture?” Sanders asked, as he adjusted his crushed, red, velvet, smoking jacket.

“That’s the way it looks,” Edmund said approaching the table.

Sanders slammed a clenched arthritic fist on the table, and his glass of wine toppled. A dark crimson wine stain spread across the tabletop as if someone had plunged a knife into a body.

“Edmund, you prick, I don’t want to hear ‘that’s the way it looks,’ I want definite answers.”

Edmund’s tight lips tried to force a smile as he looked at the stain on the tablecloth. That stain won’t come out, that’s definite. “Okay, all her family are definitely out of the picture, and I’d be surprised if you ever heard from any of them again,” Edmund answered resolutely to the old man, who glared at him with intent.

Sanders picked up his empty glass and grabbed ahold of the bottle. He slowly poured himself another drink and nodded his head to offer Edmund a glass. Edmund declined. He never was one for drinking, yet give him a microscope and some blood samples, and he would take your arm off.

Sanders looked up at Edmund after placing the bottle on the table. “Is there any news on the council and their pack of hunters?”

Edmund slid himself onto the chair and rested one elbow on the table as he fumbled with a silver knife. “Nothing for a few months, not since they wiped out that camp on the far side of the forest.”

Sanders poked his fork into the slice of meat he’d just cut. Blood oozed from the rare steak which sat on his plate. He pushed it into his mouth and began chewing with his yellowed teeth. Edmund watched as juices ran down Sanders' chin.

Sanders' lips smacked as he chewed, and his words were mumbled. “What about the pack in the Towers?” Edmund spun a knife end to end on the table. Sanders glared at Edmund as if he was a kid that was picking his nose. “Will you stop fucking doing that, you’re gonna mark the damn table. Now tell me about the pack.”

Edmund dropped the knife on top of a napkin and looked up at Sanders with his face flushed. “I heard they have a ritual coming. Their new alpha has to choose a mate...” he said.

Sanders looked back at Edmund waiting for the remainder of the sentence. He urged Edmund to continue with an upturned hand. “Please, finish what you were saying.”

Edmund scratched the back of his head and leaned both his elbows on the table. “I have a plan. In this ritual, they’ll have drinks. I can lace their drinks with the elixir, and they won’t have a clue. And before morning, they’ll all be human again.” He felt proud of himself for being so cunning.

“And you won’t get caught? You don’t want to find yourself tied to a chair again,” Sanders said grinning at Edmund.

“Hmm, how did you hear about that?” Edmund asked. He did wonder how Sanders had heard. In his mind, he was sure that there were only Noelle’s parents and Noelle who knew of it. Two of which had no memory, and the other had gone missing and was presumed dead, or worse.

“The pack’s in total disarray, they have no idea if they’re coming or going. Gabriel’s losing the plot, and they’re all gearing up for this ritual to find his mate.”

Sanders sliced another piece of blood-drenched meat as he sighed before looking at Edmund. “And none of them are in a position to stand up to us?” he asked as he skewered the steak and held it in mid-air. Edmund watched as the juices began running down the handle of the fork that went to Sanders’ fingers.

“Nah, they’re all followers. The pack’s as weak as it’s ever been, no matter how much training they do. If the council struck them, they’d crumble in minutes,” Edmund replied, now watching Sanders lick the juices from the tips of his fingers. God damn. You might be family, but you’re so damned repulsive. After all this time, you could’ve learned a few manners.

“Edmund, you do know all this is for the greater good, and that these wolves need a chance to have a normal life,” Sanders said, leaning back and running his hands over his full stomach.

He screwed up the side of his mouth and burped. Edmund stared in disbelief. Any more and I disown you. I wish you’d perished all those years ago. Edmund straightened his back after his thought because he knew there was little point sitting at the table any longer. He started to stand, and as he did, he rested his hands on the table.

“Yeah, I’ve never lost sight of the bigger picture, we just have to spread the elixir as quickly as we can, and before any more packs get wiped out.”

Sanders raised his hand and hit the silver bell that sat beside him. He waited for the maid to come and clear the table. His crooked yellow fingers reached into his pocket and he pulled out a large cigar. He proceeded to light it. He puffed until the end glowed a bright, sun-burnt orange.

He leaned his head back against the green leather of his chair. “Before you say anything Edmund, these things won’t kill me. They haven’t so far, anyway,” Sanders said, with a smug grin on his face. He took a large puff and pointed at Edmund as ash fell toward the table. “Never forget the bigger picture, we can be rid of these wolves once and for all.”

Edmund nodded in response and stood. He bid his farewell to Sanders as the door opened and in scuttled the maid. “I'll keep you updated, a couple of days or so,” Edmund replied, walking to the door at the end of the dining room.

“Just watch your back with the pack,” he heard Sanders say over his shoulder. He twisted the doorknob to leave.

He paused for a moment and turned, holding the door half-open. “Without Declan and Noelle, there’s no one to stop us.” He opened the door further and inched his way into the hallway.

He heard another burp coming from the table before Sanders shouted. He said, “I hope to God you’re right.”

“That’s not gonna come out easy.”