"I'm afraid so," Willie replied. Even her unruly curls seemed to bob up and down in agreement. "You see, once we extract your wolf's essence-- once we eliminate her soul-- there will be nothing you can do, to ever get her back again."

"Wait, wait, wait--" I gave a quick snort of laughter. "That's it?" I challenged, shaking my head in disbelief. "That's the price?"

Willie nodded. "You will be entirely human."

Well, that didn't sound so bad, I thought. Hell, I was more than ready.

"If you're sure that's all I have to worry about, sign me up!" I exclaimed.

Willie looked reluctant though, tossing a concerned glance my way.

"You do realize you won't be able to mark your mate. Feel his presence. Carry his pups?"

My mouth opened and shut again, somewhat resembling a fish as I floundered in thought. Freddy wasn't mine, so there had never been any reason to mark him. And children had just always been out of the question. But Gabriel--

"This is what I want," I decided. There was no doubt in my mind.

"Alright," Willie heaved slightly as she hesitantly agreed. "But I'm going to need some more raspberry root."

I rushed over to the cabin's entrance, wanting to get Willie those herbs before she suddenly changed her mind. Without so much as a second thought, my hand wrapped around the cool metal of the door handle, and a moment later I flung it open.

"Alexis? What's wrong, dear?" Willie asked, but I couldn't answer. With a startled gasp, I immediately froze, my heart beating at a rapid pace.

In a little under a week, His Majesty, had grown quite the impressive beard. He looked utterly savage as he stood there, muscles bulging, shirtless and barefoot in Willie's yard. I couldn't help but gulp as my eyes grazed over his mighty powress on display for the entire world to see.

As he caught a glimpse of me standing just outside the door, his nostrils flared and his eyes turned an animalistic black. If he had been unsure as to whether or not I was truly staying in this cottage, he wasn't anymore.

Taking a step back, I could feel the color drain from my face. "Nope. Not today." I shook my head, slamming the door shut.

"Goodness Child, whatever is going on?" Wille furrowed her eyebrows before placing a hand on her hip. A moment later, she got the answer she was looking for.

"Alexis!" His thunderous roar boomed from outside. "Open the door now!"

If not for Willie's purple potion, I might of listened. But without the traitorous emotions of that stupid creature clogging up my judgment, I thankfully still had my wits about me.

With a snicker, I leaned back against the door. "And what if I don't," I challenged. "What are you going to do? Huff and puff and blow the house down?"

"I just might."

I bit back a scream as I fell away from the door. His voice was so close, there was no way he was still standing out in the yard. Rushing forward, I flipped over the lock.

"Alexis, open the door!"

"No!" I yelled back. "Just, go away!" But I knew now, he would never leave me alone.

The frail wooden door, trembled as he beat against it with his fist. Each cry of my name grew more and more desperate. Would he really break it down?

"Wilhelmina Nettle, I demand you open this door at once--"

My eyes widened as I looked at her.

"--by order of the King!"

I yelled in protest, reaching out for her wrist-- but it was already too late.

With a nod of his head, Gabriel huffed as he bent slightly before entering the home. As he stalked forward, I suddenly felt like I was suffocating. His massive presence deflating the peacefulness of Willie's small cottage. I shuffled one foot back after another, but eventually I ran out of room, and Gabriel didn't stop coming.

"Can we just talk about this?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. "You know, like two, rational adults?"

"Sorry, Sweetheart." Gabriel took a final step towards me, flashing a malicious smile before capturing me in his grasp. "But all rationality went out the window-- the same time you did."

*
**
***

"If you put me down, I promise I won't run."

We had been walking now for a while through the dense forrest, heading back towards Castle Aethelwulf. So far, I had been quite unsuccessful in convincing him to let me down.
With my ass unceremoniously dangling in the air, the rest of me was tossed over his shoulder like an unruly sack of potatoes. Needless to say, my dignity had been lost a few miles back.

"Gabriel, please." I resorted to begging as my abdomen bounced harshly atop his broad shoulder.

"I'm starting to get lightheaded," I whined, but as he continued to trudge quietly along, I don't think he really cared anymore.

Since we'd left Willie's cabin, he hadn't even said but two words to me. Normally I wouldn't care, but I got the impression that if Gabriel was silent, things were probably less than golden. In fact, the more I wiggled around uncomfortably on his shoulder, the more I realized that this man was becoming quite infuriating.

"Knock it off!" Gabriel suddenly growled in warning.

There was a slight stinging sensation where his hand slapped my butt cheek.

"Knock what off?" I shot back.

Squirming around, I tried to get a look at his face, but this only rewarded me with another swift slap.

"I swear to God, woman, if you don't stop wiggling that ass--"

"What?" I challenged, my voice raising to an incredulous level. "You'll what?"

Suddenly, the wind was knocked out of me, rough tree bark dug into my skin. It was almost impossible to immediately register what had happened, but as the wolf King leaned forward I could practically feel his lips brush against mine.

"Why can't you just love me?" The softness of his voice barely audible, his tone broken. "Will you ever choose me over him?"

His eyes snapped open, the intense glow of bright blue causing me to gasp slightly. He was attempting to keep his own wolf at bay.

"I no longer hear your wolf."

With sadness, he searched my face for answers, but there was nothing I could say. Our lips hovered less than a centimeter away from eachother, but I knew he wouldn't kiss me. Not today, anyways.

The King quickly tossed me back up over his shoulder. His stance no longer as straight as it had been. Gabriel's pride had taken a beating and if I had to wager, I'd say he was feeling just as hopeless as I was at the moment.

He went back to sulking as he carried me back to the castle. No one greeted us as we entered the lavish residence, not even Fergus. It was as if everyone knew to just stay out of his way.

I had assumed Gabriel would take me to his room like always, but as we began to climb an unfamiliar flight, my stomach began churning in knots. The stair well was steep, the corridor dark and covered in cob webs. This part of the castle certainly didn't resemble the rest. No mahogany wood work, no grand chandeliers and the corridor itself was cold and drafty.

I shivered as he set me down on my own two feet, the dusty wooden boards squeaking ever so slightly. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I noticed that the room was rounded with the vaulted ceiling concluding to a point. Glancing towards the lone barred window, I realized we we're in the highest part of the castle.

A tattered blanket rested a top a flattened, straw mat. Next to it laid a plate with a chunk of bread, that looked as though it had been sitting there for over a month, along with a tin cup of water. As I turned to look at the small black pot in the corner, I realized that this wasn't just any tower, this was the prison tower.

While I had been preoccupied with examining my surroundings, His Majesty had been slowly backing out of the room. My eyes widened before I rushed forward, but Gabriel already had taken hold of the door. As my tiny fists beat against the heavy metal, I cried out.

This wasn't happening, I thought. This couldn't be happening. Surely now, I would die before ever loving this man.

*
**
***
Gabriel-

Gabriel paced back and forth amongst the small confines of his office. His fingers brushing across the same desk, where he had almost marked Alexis over a week ago. Suddenly, his hand angrily tightened into a large fist. That same day, she had not only managed to drug his royal Beta, but she had nearly tricked everyone in the castle and had almost escaped his grasp.

Whether she choose to accept it or not, Alexis was a wolf. The beast, it's instincts, the animal nature, it all resided within her. Which would mean the pull of the mate bond, had to be existent too.

Even now, though she deserved it, Gabriel battled his own wolf, who absolutely opposed the idea of being locked away from his other half.

She's not Rapunzel, Gabriel's wolf had snarled at him more than once. And you certainly can't keep her locked up there forever.

He nodded his head, knowingly in defeat-- but Goddess help him, what else was he supposed to do?

So lost in his own thoughts, the King wasn't even aware that someone else had entered, until the familiar red head loudly cleared his throat.

"Perhaps ye should gang check oan th' wee she de'il yerself," Fergus suggested, raising one, bushy brow at the Alpha. "Three days is plenty lang enough fur a'body tae be stuck up in dat place.

Gabriel bristled slightly at the intrusion of privacy. Not to mention, he was already feeling miserable enough without Fergus' constant reminders.

"Ah think, th' lassie weel eventually warm up tae ye, bit locking her up ain't th' way tae do it. Ach! If she'd ah bin mae lassie, I'd o' bent her o'er mae knee--"

Cutting him off, Gabriel held up a hand, signaling for the Scotsman to stop. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, the Moon Goddess had decided to make Alexis his problem.

"Thank you, Fergus. I get the picture," Gabriel grumbled before slumping down at his desk. With a heavy sigh, he leaned his head against his fist as he propped his elbow on the table. Perhaps he had done something terrible in a former life.

Following suit, Fergus sat down across from the Alpha. He then slid the golden tray towards him and flipping over two short tumblers before helping himself to a glass of whiskey. With a cheeky grin, the large, red head pushed a second glass towards the King.

"And what will this solve?" Gabriel questioned as he eyed the man before picking up the glass.

"Nae a whole lot," he winked. "Bit trust me, a'm sure ye'll thank me efter."

With a shrug, Gabriel tossed the drink back and chuckled as Fergus helped himself to another glass.

"When you've finished, I expect you to warn the staff that I'm about to let the 'She-Devil' out," the King ordered. "Then I want you to increase patrols along the boarder and station two guards at every exit."

Getting up from his seat, Gabriel rounded the desk before giving Fergus' shoulder a tight grasp. "This time, we will make absolute sure, she doesn't get out."

Fergus stiffened underneath his touch, picking up on the hidden message. "Aye, Yer Majesty, I understand."

Without further hesitation, Gabriel headed up towards the tower. The last time he had laid eyes on Alexis, had been three days ago, and as he drew closer to that dense metal door at the top of the stairs, each step grew heavier with despair. Even the cold wind, howling around him seemed to laugh that she would never love him.

Removing the lock, Gabriel easily shoved open the great door. At the sight of her, the Alpha wolf cried out and Gabriel immediately agreeded something was wrong. Falling to his knees, the King dragged Alexis into his arms.

He held her tightly against himself, as her unresponsive body convulsed. A slight purple froth dribbled past her lips and down the front of her chin. As her pupils dialated to an unnatural proportion, Gabriel knew he had to act fast.

Without so much as a second thought, Gabriel bent down, burying his head into the crook of her neck. From deep within, a feral growl vibrated in his chest as his lips curled back and his canines descended. Filled with anguish, his glowing blue eyes gazed up at the roof before letting out a howl of distress.

Certainty, this was not how anyone should ever have to mark their mate.