Chapter 64 - Awakening

Gabriel looked down at Adalyn in his arms. She was out cold but the pain was still etched on her face. He hated seeing her like this, looking so vulnerable. This was not the fiery spirited girl that he knew. As he swept some of her hair out of her face, he spotted the claiming mark on her neck. His scowl quickly resurfaced.

"Gabriel?" Kai asked apprehensively. To Kai, it was almost as if Gabriel hadn't even noticed that he was still there.

Gabriel aimed his scowl back as Kai as he fully lifted Adalyn up in to his arms. "You just couldn't help yourself, could you? You fucking marked her? I told you to stay away from her. Now look at what's happened." His voice was almost a deathly whisper. He looked back down at Adalyn with concern.

"She's *my mate* Gabriel." He inadvertently emphasised the word 'my mate' seeing how intimately Gabriel was looking at her. "What's wrong with her?" Kai asked concerned.

Gabriel snorted at him. "You! You're the problem! Well time's up. We're leaving."

"We?" Kai said darkly. If Gabriel was suggesting that meant him and Adalyn, Kai wasn't about to allow that. "Leaving to go where? You're not taking *her* anywhere," Kai said assertively. Whilst he'd tried to sound threatening, he was actually a bit nervous. He already knew that his alpha tone wouldn't work on him and with the gift that he demonstrated at their last meeting, he knew that if he used it and bolted, then he might not be able to track her.

Kai mind linked Arrow, he'd need backup just incase that did happen. Thankfully Arrow wasn't too far and was already on his way. Now he just needed to stall for time.

Kai took a slow cautious step towards him. "Can you put her down so we can talk?" Kai could see Adalyn's chest rising and falling. She must have passed out.

"There's nothing to talk about, so back off!" Gabriel took a step back and pulled Adalyn closer in to his chest.

Kai started looking around. If he was in a hurry to go, he could have just taken off, but Gabriel seemed to be waiting for something, or someone.

"Gabriel, if either of you are in danger then let me help you. You're from the Northern territory, right? Are you from Sirran?"

Gabriel tutted. "Sirran? We've got nothing to do with that bastard King's land. Everything he has was stolen from us."

Kai narrowed his eyes as he listened to him. "Wait, you're from the former Eastern Territory?" Kai tried to keep his focus on Gabriel but his mind was quickly piecing everything together. If they were from Zeke's territory, then could his assumption about her be right? "Gabriel, is Adalyn Zeke's daughter? Is she Raeliana?"

Gabriel pupils dilated a fraction but said nothing. To Kai it all seemed to make sense. The Sirran soldier that they had captured in Eclipse Fang were looking for someone. Were they looking for her? Is that why they took Grayson, the Eclipse Fang alpha, to find out where they were?

If that was Rae, Kai wasn't about to lose her for the second time. "Gabriel don't run... If someone from Sirran is after you, or after her, then let me help you."

"Help us?! Her seal is breaking thanks to this mark you put on her neck. If her seal breaks, Colton will be able to sense where she is! He has people everywhere. I wouldn't be surprised if half of them are in the fucking palace and tipped him off."
"Colton?" Kai echoed back confused. "The Sirran King wants her?"

"She's not like the rest of us. Her gifts..."

"Gabriel that's enough!" Mya appeared from the other side of the forest. She seemed keen to shut down the conversation. Gabriel was already saying too much. She kept her eyes on Kai but walked over to Gabriel to check on Adalyn. She briefly spotted the mark on her neck and frowned before she turned her attention fully back to Kai. She seemed particularly weary of him.

"I'm sorry your highness, or should I say Kian?" she said sarcastically. She must have known it was Kai when he went to their house before. "If I had known that you two were fated mates I would have never allowed this to continue! I'm afraid we don't have time to exchange pleasantries." Mya motioned to Gabriel with her hand. "Let's go Gabriel!"

"No! Wait!" Kai's eyes turned black as he lunged at Gabriel. If he could get Adalyn off of him before he had a chance to activate his gift, he felt confident that he could outrun him. Just as he was about to reach for her, he was suddenly blocked off by an invisible barrier.

Gabriel looked startled as he realised how close Kai had got. *'How could he be that fast?'* he thought.

As Kai pushed against the barrier, he looked around and saw that Mya's eyes were black too. She was holding her hands up on the other side of the barrier. *'She's gifted too?!'* Kai thought. How could all three of them be? A minority of shifters from the former Eastern Territory were known to have gifts, but all three of them had gifts. Who were they?

Kai started banging on the barrier wall. It rippled but held firm. It reminded him of the bubble that he saw in Adalyn's mind. "Mya don't do this! If Colton has people looking for her, you're not going to be able to protect her by yourselves!"

"Hiding has worked just fine for us so far!" Mya snapped "I promised her mother that I'd keep her safe and I intend to keep that promise. Just let us go"

"You know I can't do that! We're fated mates Mya! You know that I'll find her!"

Kai's attention was suddenly drawn back to Adalyn. She was starting to stir in Gabriel's arms hearing all the commotion.

Adalyn slowly opened her eyes to see Gabriel staring down at her. "Gabriel?" she said softly as she tried to work out her surroundings.

"Adalyn!" Kai shouted as he continued banging on the barrier.

Adalyn turned to look at Kai. She still couldn't work out what was happening but knew that something was wrong. "Kai?"

Mya looked back over her shoulder at Gabriel as she struggled to keep the barrier up. "Gabriel! Go!" Gabriel nodded and started running with Adalyn in his arms.

"Gabriel! Stop! What's happening?" She asked as he pressed her in to his chest and continued to run.

Kai could see them both starting to get further and further in to the distance. Realising that he wasn't get anywhere and that he was running out of time before he'd lose sight of them, Kai invoked Pax and his eyes turned red. He started punching furiously at the barrier again. Mya struggled desperately to keep it up as a few hairline cracks started to appear. He was breaking down the barrier faster than she could repair it.

Kai could feel a well of energy opening up within him and the power surged through him as he started hammering at the barrier. "LET HER GO!" Kai roared. The sound sent a shockwave pulsing through the forest.

Mya paled as she felt the tremendous energy coming off of him.

The dead leaves on the ground slowly started to lift up off the forest floor around him as cracks started to appear in the barrier. "Impossible! She can't have affected you so quickly," she mouthed. With one last punch the barrier splintered and shattered sending Mya flying backwards into a tree.

Mya coughed as the air was forced out of her lungs on impact. Before she could even react a huge flash of black fur whizzed past her in pursuit of Gabriel and Adalyn.

----

Meanwhile up ahead Adalyn was still desperately trying to push out of Gabriel's arms as he ran with her. "Gabriel, stop! Put me down! "

"Ady please! I can't!" As Gabriel ran through the trees, his eyes widened in shock as Mya spoke to him through the mind link to warn him that Kai was catching up to him. Whilst he was momentarily distracted, Adalyn kicked herself free out of his arms. "Ady!" Gabriel called out to her. She landed on her feet but was still slightly disorientated from her headache. As Gabriel tried to scoop her up again, Pax whipped past him and blocked him.

"Kai?" Adalyn called out.

*'Adalyn get back behind me!'* Kai said to her through their mate mind link
He had his back paws against her and was nudging her backwards to create some more space between himself and Gabriel. Pax stomped the ground and puffed out his chest as he growled at him. Even Gabriel stood and looked in awe at the giant black wolf snarling at him.

"Kai! No don't! Don't fight him!" Adalyn tried to round past him but Kai kept nudging her back with his hind legs.

*'I won't let them take you!'* Kai mind linked her back.

Adalyn was still feeling unsteady on her feet and she swayed again. "Please don't... please don't fight..." She could feel her eyes getting heavy as the headache returned. She swayed again for a moment before her eyes rolled to the back of her head as she collapsed in to Mya's arms.

Pax whipped round to see Mya suddenly behind him. He couldn't work out how she had passed him without him noticing.

"Gabriel now!" Mya shouted. Gabriel's eyes turned black and suddenly Pax's vision was shrouded in darkness. He was using the same gift that he had used before and had shut off Kai vision and sense of smell.

Pax howled as he dug his nose in the ground to try and sense what was going on around him, but he couldn't pick up anything other than the feint tremors in the ground. He stilled to focus in on the vibrations travelling up his paws through the ground. It must have been Gabriel and Mya running.

Pax turned to face the way he felt the vibrations were heading in. As he tried to lift his paw, it felt like a dead weight. His whole body felt heavy. The energy that he exerted earlier was catching up with him and he could feel his body going limp. 'No, no no!' Kai shouted from within. Pax shook his head to try and fight it off but it felt like he was running on empty. With one last pained howl Pax dropped to the ground as the desire to sleep overcame him.