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Stretching as he returned to his human form, Gabriel smiled as he looked at the large deep pool created by a mountain stream. He took a few quick steps forward and dove perfectly into the clear water. With a single breath he was able to reach the middle of the pool. The water felt amazing rushing past him as his powerful arms and legs carried him forward. Coming up for air he took a deep breath and looked around. This was usually the only place that let him have a few minutes of peace. The water was freezing cold, but because of his wolf it felt amazing after the punishing workout he forced on himself this morning. Gabriel and his wolf, Conri, were beginning to feel more and more restless the longer they went without finding their mate. They had reached a point that they were rarely talking. They could still feel each other but Gabriel did miss conversing with Conri and always feeling him in his mind. 

At thirty years old, Gabriel was one of the oldest wolves that was still without a mate. As the Alpha King he especially needed his mate to help keep him grounded and to help calm his wolf. For the past twelve years, since he turned eighteen, Gabriel has met thousands of she wolves, visited countless packs, and still seemed no closer to finding his mate. 

Conri had been pushing him more and more each day that they needed to find their mate and luna until the past week or so. About a week ago, Conri started to shut himself off from Gabriel. Gabriel could still feel that he was desperate to find their mate and some emotions, but they hardly spoke anymore. Gabriel could still shift into his wolf form, but Conri stayed mostly shut off even in wolf form. Gabriel was starting to wonder if his time to find his mate was running out. Alphas that do not find their mate many times lose control of their wolves and have to be killed when they turn feral. 

Not that he has ever been known as a soft or friendly person, but Gabriel could tell that he was becoming more aggressive and simple things were causing him to overreact. He had heard the whispers among some of the elders. They were worried that his wolf would eventually take over completely. Gabriel knew that his beta and warriors would stand behind him, but he was starting to worry as well. Gabriel was starting to worry that Conri was shutting him out to keep him from feeling most of the effects of them starting to become feral. 

Gabriel was just starting to swim some relaxed laps as he heard Dolph, his beta Hunter’s wolf, running up. Quickly shifting into human form Hunter yelled out, “Gabe, your sister has been trying to reach you for hours! Why aren’t you answering,” Hunter said as he ran up to the edge of the pool.  

Instantly alert Gabriel replied, “Damnit. I put up a block this morning. I needed to try to clear my mind. I can feel that Conri has been getting more and more restless even though he is trying to block me. I guess when I blocked him, it caused a block for everyone. What has happened,” Gabriel asked as he began swimming quickly toward Hunter. 

Reaching down a hand as Gabriel reached the edge of the pool Hunter helped pull Gabriel up. “Your nephew, Sebastian, and some of the other boys were playing on the other side of the mountain. They were ambushed and Sebastian was taken by hunters.”

“Dammit, I have told him a thousand times to quit going outside of the valley and our lands to play. They know the hunters are trying to make a move to expose us. When did this happen,” Gabriel questioned as he began running toward town. He quickly shifted into his wolf and Hunter followed suit while never breaking stride. As wolves they are able to cover the distance much quicker. 

All wolves are large, but Gabriel’s wolf was almost twice the size of an average male wolf. His wolf is also solid white. Both of these show that not only is he a strong alpha, but the solid white of his coat reflects that he is the Alpha King. White wolves have always been viewed as special or holding power, and this is especially true with shifters. White wolves are more closely related to the Moon Goddess, Celeste. White wolves carry her blessing and a larger portion of her magic. Due to the size of his wolf Gabriel was able to quickly cover the distance between himself and town.

“We think that he was taken roughly four hours ago,” Hunter replied through mind link. 

Gabriel and Conri growled at the knowledge that their young nephew had been in the hands of hunters that long and that they had that large of a head start on them. “Surely it didn’t take four hours to find me. Why do they have that big of a head start on us,” Gabriel demanded through the mind link. 

“I’m sorry sir. We were unaware of the issue until the boys that escaped came back. Sebastian is the only one that already has his wolf so he was the only one that could have contacted us. The other boys said that he was hit with a dart and dropped immediately. I’m assuming since we haven’t heard from him that they have dosed him with wolfsbane.” 

Gabriel nodded that they had heard but did not respond through the link. He and Conri were livid and processing the information while thinking about what to do next. How dare those hunters attack Sebastian and his friends, and think that they can come near his pack lands. As soon as they got Sebastian back, Gabriel would be assigning more guards to border patrols and expanding their borders. He would also petition the council about removing the threat of the hunters. There is no reason to try to keep a peace that they repeatedly break. 

“Hunter, I am leaving you in charge while I am gone. I will only take a small group with me because we need to move fast. Tell my sister and Marcus to be ready. We will travel as wolves since we can move a lot quicker. I am assuming that the hunters are traveling by car and that will slow them down in the mountains. Tell Axel and Megan to take one of the SUVs, load a complete first aid kit, extra clothing, and start toward Lord Rotterford’s land. I am willing to bet that is where they are taking him. They can be backup if needed and the car will be close by incase we need it for transport or clothing.”

“Yes sir,” Hunter replied as they came upon the town. The town looked almost more like a small city when you looked at everything that they had. They had most of the stores that you would ever need or want. There was a general store for groceries and other items, a salon, clothing shops, a coffee shop, a bakery, restaurants, movie theater, a hospital, and many others. Most of the people in the town and around the castle were wolves, but there were a few humans, other shifters, magical creatures, and witches. Some were mates, some were the descendants of those that had been here and worked with the wolves for many generations, and some just wanted to live a simple life away from others. 

Main Street was mostly clear as they continued thundering toward the castle. Thankfully most tended to walk and traffic was not a huge issue. Being werewolves and other super naturals, it was usually much quicker to not drive, plus you get to enjoy being outside. Vehicles were mainly used if there was bad weather, if someone needed to move or carry a large amount of stuff, or if traveling long distances. The castle was huge, after being added on and updated for centuries. The castle itself and the immediate grounds around it housed over five thousand wolves and their families. Many of these are wolves from other packs that are sent here for training, and the elite are offered a chance to stay as a part of the king’s army. 

As they ran up the castle stairs Gabriel could see his sister Sarah pacing the front door waiting for him. He could see that she was upset and that she had been crying, but she also looked like she was trying to hold herself together. Gabriel knew that she desperately wanted the strength and comfort of her mate, Michael, right now but was unable to contact him since he was away on a mission. 

As soon as Sarah saw him she lit into him, “Damnit Gabriel! Why didn’t you answer me? My poor baby has been in the hands of those —.”

Quickly shifting back to human form Gabriel pulled his sister into a hug. “I’m sorry. Conri and I were having issues this morning, and I closed down communication with him. I didn’t realize that it would shut out the whole pack. We are leaving as soon as Michael gets here. We will get him back. I promise,” he said while mindlinking Michale to hurry up. 

Nodding Sarah stepped back wiping her eyes. “I'm ready. Hunter told us a few minutes ago.” Wrinkling her nose Sarah looked Gabriel in the eye, “Please put some clothes on or change back to Conri. I know all of the women here think you look amazing or something, but you are my brother. You standing there like that is just eww,” Sarah said as she turned away and waved her hand gesturing toward her brother. Gabriel chuckled as he changed back to Conri. He felt a little better since his sister could chastise him about his lack of clothing. He needed her to be able to focus since he did not know what might have happened to his nephew. Sarah was a strong female and Gabriel respected her. 

Maybe it is because Conri is controlling more of his thoughts or maybe just because he spends so much time going between both forms, Gabriel really doesn’t think about clothing. This has been a point of contention between him and his advisor, Marcus, for years. Marcus has finally realized that Gabriel is not going to change. If he wants Gabriel to wear something particular then he makes sure to have it ready and with him. 

Typically nudity among wolves is not an issue. Depending on your position some wolves are constantly having to shift between human and wolf forms. There are many stashes of clothing in the woods in case someone needed something to change into after shifting since most remove their clothes before shifting. Gabriel never understood how wolves in movies and stores somehow magically kept their clothing or that the clothes just shredded out of the way. Yes, if you shifted while dressed and you are a large enough wolf your clothing might shred away from you, but you are more likely to get caught up in the fabric and have to tear the material with your teeth and claws wasting precious time. 

Looking up Gabriel saw that Sarah had already changed into her wolf Lupe and that Phelan, Marcus’s wolf, was coming up the castle’s steps. 

“Are you ready,” Gabriel asked through the link as Conri started toward the caves that would let them cut through the mountain and save time. 

Sarah and Marcus responded that they were as they fell in behind him. 

Gabriel sent orders to his delta Jason and lead warriors and guards to update them on what had happened, who was going out, and through which avenue. He also requested an increase in the number of guards and warriors on patrol in case this was a distraction for an attack. They responded back that his orders would be followed. Jason responded that they would have a group ready in case Gabriel, Marcus, and Sarah needed additional backup. 

Feeling confident that everything was under control, Gabriel shifted his focus back to getting Sebastian back and ending the hunters.