Sabrina was standing on the field gaping with her mouth wide open at the sight in front of her. "So, this is what you guys meant," she astonished to the girls around her. Hailey had warned Sabrina that this night would get a bit messy, and by the scene in front of her, she understood what that meant now.

"Yup," Hailey chuckled.

"I had the same expression when I saw this too," Ashley shared with a chirpy laugh. "It's kind of hard to get used to."

"Are they going to be okay?" asked Sabrina.

Viola nodded. "No one ever gets hurt," she said, but then, she froze, "other than that one time. But we don't talk about that." Only Hailey knew what Viola spoke of so grimly, which definitely didn't reassure Sabrina.

Sabrina watched as two beastly wolves battled on the middle of the field, which entertained the Centauri pack who gladly watched. She could tell that neither of the wolves deliberately used their claws or fangs to attack, so this tussle was just for play. But it still looked aggressive and frankly dangerous from the way the wolves slammed into each other and bared their fangs at one another.

On the field, Azura was battling the twins River and Ryder, but it was clear that she was beating them even though she was alone; it looked hard but also very fun. Suddenly, Vincent shifted into his wolf and aided Azura, but he mostly targeted Ryder who was caught off guard by his sudden intrusion. The wolves rolled on the ground and finally Azura and Vincent beat the twins. They all transformed into their human forms and laughed at each other's battered state.

Sabrina was bummed that she arrived so late to the carnival she waited all day to come to. But work held her back, so she couldn't make it here faster. Although, when she had arrived, she wasn't expecting to see other packs here too. She recognized everyone almost immediately upon her arrival because the same faces were at Ashley's wedding. Sabrina was well acquainted with Isaiah and his brothers through Ashley. Sabrina had met Zachariah, his lovely wife Evangeline and their adorable son Dimitri at the wedding too.

"I need to try that," said Zeiden. He was jumping in his spot clearly eager to get in the rumble himself. "How come we never tried this with our pack?"

Isaiah, Zeiden's older brother and alpha, shook his head. "I don't understand how this pack even begins to think that this is okay," Isaiah commented.

Lazarus was just as confused. "What an odd pack," he added. "How are they known as the most ferocious pack? They look like a bunch of pups to me."

Ronin chuckled. "But you have to admit that it looks fun."

"It does," said Adrik surprising the entire group. Finally, something impressed this stoic wolf. Ashley and Sabrina chuckled at them.

"Who's next?" asked Ryder who stood in jeans alone and covered in a sheen of sweat from the fight.

"Did I not beat you up enough?" asked Vincent sarcastically.

Ryder nudged Vincent and they were about to start again, but then, their bickering stopped when their extremely intimidating beta waltzed onto the field. Sabrina understood clearly why Gabriel chose Hunter as his beta. The man was clearly a walking, talking threat from every angle. He stripped off his shirt and tossed it aside. Vincent and Ryder looked at each other and walked off the field without even sparing Hunter a glance.

The two wolves that were standing next to Gabriel, Sabrina had no clue who they were, until Ashley kindly gave the scoop about the infamous Waldorf pack. Sabrina heard about the late Lucas Waldorf who was a notorious alpha, even rogue wolves knew about him and the way he led a toxic pack. Sabrina wasn't into politics concerning the wolves, but she knew that pack wars existed and that a lot of alphas lead their packs with fear as their weapon.

"What are you scared about, Vincent?" challenged Hunter.

"We're not scared," said Vincent. "Just wanted to give others a chance, isn't that right, Ryder?"

"Of course," added Ryder. "How about it Victor, Vadik. Want to give it a shot?"

Sabrina wondered who would go up for the challenge, since Hunter didn't look like an easy opponent. She didn't feel it earlier during Azura's fight, but the air grew tense when Vadik walked up on field with Hunter. This man was the beta for his brother Alec, this guy looked dangerous to the point where she kind of doubted that this fight would stay just fun and games. Sabrina looked to Gabriel who was with Alec, but they looked relaxed maybe even amused. Both men morphed into their beastly forms and attacked baring both their claws and fangs. Sabrina was caught off guard by the brute strength that clashed brutishly, she was sure that they would both come out bruised at the end.

"These boys don't joke about this," said Ashley.

Sabrina nodded. "This side of them is hard getting used to."

Ashley's big blue eyes shifted from Sabrina and she looked at her pack, especially Isaiah. "They only grew up knowing how to fight and control their wolves," she said. "Fights like this are completely normal for wolves like them."

Sabrina smiled at her friend. She knew Ashley from her bachelor days, and from then she was well aware that Ashley was an easygoing girl. Sabrina was mind-blown that her friend was able to find her mate and accept his pack without hesitation. However, if anyone could do it, then it would Ashley, because all this woman had was love and kindness inside her heart. Sabrina was just thankful that the Iron Blood pack was able to respect that quality about their alpha-female, and that they cherished Ashley above anything else.

Sabrina enjoyed the salty and sweet caramel popcorn, that Ashley and Hailey were both munching on, as their mates got ready for another fight. Isaiah joined Lazarus to fight Victor and Zachariah. Evangeline joined the girls as she held Dimitri back from joining his dad and uncle on the field. To help Evangeline, Sabrina grabbed a fistful of popcorn and displayed her open palm in front of Dimitri, because she knew that this pup had a sweet tooth. The boy's blue eyes looked at her and then down at her palm, he resisted but quickly got over it and enjoyed the treat. Sabrina ruffled his soft black hair and pinched his chubby cheek.

"What do we say, Dimitri?" asked Evangeline in her mom voice.

Dimitri's cheeks full of popcorn. "More-" his mom gaped at the boy, but Sabrina just laughed at him. "What?" he asked his mom.

"You have to thank her for giving you a treat," his mom scolded him.

Dimitri's blue eyes reflected his mischief. "Okay," he said. "I'll say it after she gives it to me again."

Sabrina grabbed a napkin and poured more popcorn on it for him. "Here," she said.

Dimitri gave her a smile, that reminded Sabrina of his father. "Thank you-" he didn't grab the napkin, instead he let her hold it as he enjoyed the treat one more time.

"He's a lot like his father," Sabrina shared to Evangeline.

Evangeline smoothed down Dimitri's tousled hair. "I know and it scares me," she chuckled as she kissed her son's small head. "Zach's notorious and now my baby's turning into him."

Sabrina laughed at Evangeline's dramatic voice. "Your son's going to fine, Evangeline."

Sabrina looked to the wolves that had finished their fight on the field. She understood Evangeline's concern that Dimitri would be like his father, because Zachariah looked deviously handsome, and with his looks who wouldn't fall for him. And now, Dimitri looked and talked like his father. The rakish charm was so clear in the young boy that everyone knew he'd mirror his dad as he grew older.

A few more fights went on and Sabrina knew that the mood brightened when Adrik, Zeiden, Ronin fought with Vadik and Victor. Vincent, Ryder joined in later and even Viola fought amongst the group. Beaten and bruised, one by one the wolves sat down and called it a truce. Only Adrik was standing perfectly fine at the end with Victor too; those two looked like they were cut from the same cloth. However, the only wolves that hadn't joined the fight was Gabriel and Alec. Sabrina wondered if they would fight, but it seemed a little childish for those alphas.

"It's been a while since I've done a fight like that one," said Zachariah when he joined his wife's side.

"Damn it, I can't believe I lost," growled Zeiden as they stepped off the field and returned to their table.

"Hunter, Adrik and Victor are too tough," said Ronin after he chugged a bottle of water.

Zachariah chuckled at them. "You guys had no chance against Victor," he said.

Zeiden raked his tousled dark hair. "I may not have had a chance, but Lazarus would have plummeted Victor to the ground."

Sabrina looked at Lazarus's startled expression, he was clearly stunned that Zeiden would do that to him.

"Er- shut your mouth, Zeiden," said Lazarus. "I have no intention of fighting that man."

"Why not?" asked Ronin. "You need to avenge us."

"Yeah, no thanks," said Lazarus and he left to be by his brother.

"Wow," scoffed Ronin.

"No loyalty," remarked Zeiden.

Ashley patted Zeiden supportively. "Can't you tell, Lazarus is scared," she jested. "Victor's a frightening wolf for our beta to handle." Ronin and Zeiden snickered with Ashley.

Through the group gathered around Sabrina, she spotted Vincent and Ryder talking to Gabriel and Alec. "Don't tell me they're going to fight," said Sabrina astounded.

"Who, who, who?" asked Zeiden. Ronin, Ashley, Zachariah, Victor and Evangeline were curious of who Sabrina spoke of.

The entire pack hollered when Alec stepped into the impromptu battle arena. Sabrina felt her mouth drop to the ground when Gabriel accepted the challenge and joined Alec. The entire gang had gathered in one spot to watch this fight.

Sabrina noticed that Klaus, Hunter, Vincent, the twins, Azura, Hailey, Viola had all quieted as Gabriel stepped forth for the challenge. She wondered why the mood had turned thick with intensity around everyone. Even Isaiah, Zeiden, Ronin, Lazarus and Adrik had grown quiet to watch this fight.

"What can be more intense than this," remarked Zachariah. "A Centauri versus a Waldorf."

Then it clicked to Sabrina. Before Alec had become alpha of the Waldorf pack, Gabriel was always in a feud with Lucas Waldorf. After a long time, a Centauri alpha was going against a Waldorf alpha in a fight. So, it made sense that everyone had grown a little serious. Sabrina doubted that these two would hurt each other, but why did they both look like they were ready to kill.

"Shouldn't we stop them?" asked Sabrina. "It looks kind of serious."

River was sitting next to her when he said; "And miss this great chance to see Gabriel fight, no thanks."

Ryder grinned. "Our alpha isn't one to lose," he said.

"Of course, he isn't," said Azura proudly and Viola snickered.

Sabrina shifted her gaze back to the alphas on the field. They both morphed into their wolf forms. This was the first time she had seen Gabriel in his wolf form and it was a sight to behold. A massive black beast emerged with sharp fangs, claws and predatory eyes that screamed danger. Sabrina noticed that on the chest of Gabriel's wolf was a crescent-shaped patch of gold fur. Alec's wolf was so black that it appeared a dark midnight blue. Even if they stood to their enormous height and muscular built, Gabriel still managed to outsize Alec's wolf. Gabriel's fangs bared and they were pale as the moon itself.

A chill crawled over Sabrina's body. She felt the sudden heat engulf her body when she faced Gabriel's wolf from the wide distance between them. The air carried the dark pheromones, she clearly recognized the pine, cedar wood scent to be Gabriel's. Only his signature fiery scent marked the air so strongly. Sabrina froze. Those dangerous golden eyes moved from across the field and landed on her. Her breath stopped in her throat, but as tense as she got, she didn't drop her eyes from the wolf.

With full force, the two wolves collided and Alec landed on top of Gabriel. The crowd grew wild and Sabrina simply watched in awe. These two alphas had tremendous sheer strength and the control they had over their wolves was impressive. They're able to perform using intuition and difficult combat moves without any effort at all. Gabriel and Alec duked it out for a solid ten minutes, only when Gabriel threw Alec to the ground, that the wolves stood for a moment catching their breaths. Sabrina could tell that Gabriel wasn't trying hard but he was thinking of the next move. She paid close attention his golden eyes, not purposely, but because she couldn't look anywhere else.

It was sudden when Gabriel's wolf launched his next attack. The whole pack gaped at the raw speed of their alpha, who had pinned Alec down to the ground and his jaw was locked around the wolf's thick neck. The entire Centauri pack hollered at their alpha's win. Even Sabrina found herself clapping in excitement, but she calmed herself down.

Gabriel and Alec returned to their human forms. Sabrina was surprised since this was the first time tonight, she had seen Alec smiling openly. He accepted Gabriel's hand to help him off the floor. Sabrina realized that Gabriel and Alec weren't part of any feud anymore. This wasn't Centauri versus Waldorf, this was simply two friends who built a deep bond with their wolves.

That was the last fight of the night, before the Centauri pack started to return to their homes after the long day. Sabrina didn't even realize that it was hitting close to ten o'clock at night. She pulled out her cellphone and saw a few texts from Helen, but she didn't open them.

"We're about to head inside," Viola told Sabrina. "Grab a few drinks with us before heading home."

"Just one drink, then I have to get going," said Sabrina slipping her phone back in her purse. She joined them inside their house.

They all settled in the living room when Gabriel returned with fresh clothes on and even Alec freshened up. The living room was quite spacious, but with all the wolves gathered, it seemed like there was less room to hold the crowd. But some of them didn't mind resting on the ground near the sofas.

"We got you a prize, Alec," announced Vincent who entered later. Alec looked up confused. Vincent revealed a clear bucket. "This is all for you, buddy."

Sabrina chuckled. "Cotton-candy," she muttered in disbelief that the hardcore alpha loved that sugary delight. But who didn't love that pink and blue cloud of goodness.

Sabrina moved around Viola and went to use the restroom. Sabrina returned in a few moments, but something in the air changed around the men in the living-room. She spotted River whispering something to Gabriel, but her vision was blocked by Hailey.

"Your phone's been going off a lot," Hailey told Sabrina.

Sabrina frowned. "My phone?"

"Yeah, you should probably check it," said Hailey.

Sabrina quickly pulled out her cellphone because her gut told her that Helen's texted about something important. Standing in the foyer, she opened her messages and something in her stomach sank when she read the messages. "Oh god," she mumbled under a breath. She looked up to find Gabriel's piercing eyes directly on her.

Hunter moved past his mate and turned on the television in the room. The news channel filled the quiet room with the news anchor's female voice.

"Business tycoon, Richard Brady has been found dead in his own house. The police are not releasing any statement right now on how he was killed. But we've come to know that Richard Brady was most likely murdered."

Sabrina's gut sank. Everyone in the room had grown quiet by the news. Sabrina noticed that Gabriel had grown more quiet than usual. She could sense that he was geared to assess this situation the way he did for everything.

"Murdered," remarked Vincent. "Why would anyone want to kill Richard? He's not even a prominent figure or involved in anything to get him killed."

"Isn't he in real estate?" asked Zachariah.

"Yeah. He owns hotels, casinos and oil-mines," said Hunter. "Made a lot of money doing it."

"So, he was murdered for money?" asked Isaiah.

River shook his head. "That doesn't feel right to me-"

"Hold on-" said Klaus. "There's more." All their attention was drawn back to the anchor on the news channel.

"We've just gotten some news of the cause of death," she said. But suddenly, the woman on the screen grew quiet and her skin paled. "Er- it seems that Richard Brady was dismembered and his-" the woman's voice fell- "that his entire body was badly beaten to death. We also received intel that his hands are missing from his body. They are nowhere to be found around the crime scene. It is likely that the killer has taken them."

Sabrina zoned out the voice of the news anchor. Sabrina didn't like Richard Brady but this was outrageous. A man was brutally slaughtered in his own home. She felt her skin trickle with a stinging cold that froze her to the bone. She crossed her arms and tried to keep herself a little composed. Helen had texted her about this a while ago. Sabrina really didn't need this to ruin such a perfect night.

Hunter turned the television off, and they all sat in an eerie silence.

"Well, that just ruined my night," remarked Ryder.

"You can say that again," added Zeiden.

"Does anyone else find it strange that his hands were missing and nothing else?" asked Ronin.

Sabrina was sure that everyone in the room was wondering about exactly that. How could someone just cut off Richard's hands and leave with them, like some prized possession?

"It's a statement," said Gabriel sternly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Alec asked Gabriel.

"Someone was given a message through Richard Brady's death," answered Gabriel. "This wasn't a usual murder."

"Great, that's all we needed to ruin our night," sighed Zachariah. He shifted to his feet and stood in front of Gabriel. "Anyways, it's getting late. We should head out."

Gabriel shook Zachariah's hand. "Thanks for coming today."

Zachariah smiled charmingly. "Thanks for having us."

Sabrina shifted to the side to let Evangeline stand to her feet with her son who was asleep in her arms. Victor came around and grabbed the boy from Evangeline, she smiled at him and thanked him for helping her. Dimitri settled in his uncle's arms more comfortably. Evangeline said her 'goodbyes' to everyone and left with Zachariah beside her. Isaiah and Ashley joined them as well.

"We should meet up some time," Ashley said to Sabrina.

Sabrina hugged Ashley dodging her pregnant stomach. "I'll call you soon."

Lazarus, Zeiden, Adrik and Ronin followed their alpha and left the Centauri manor.

"I should head home too," said Sabrina.

Gabriel's head lifted. "Do you want me to drop you home?"

"I brought my car," she said. "It was so nice spending tonight with you all." Sabrina moved around and hugged the girls. She managed to get a 'goodnight' from Alec and Vadik, which lead her to believe that they softened up from being around the Centauri's all day. Sabrina hooked her purse over her shoulder and approached the door. Klaus opened the door for her and she had just past the threshold, when her hand was caught.

Gabriel's moonlit eyes looked down into hers. "Did you enjoy tonight?" he asked, like he needed to know for sure she had.

Sabrina noticed that Klaus left them on the porch alone. She couldn't help but blush, but she hid it well enough. "I did. Thank you."

Gabriel's hand collared her wrist, not tightly but just enough to make her feel the warmth of his palm and strength of his fingers. "Don't worry about what happened to Richard Brady," he said.

Sabrina looked down to her sandals. "I wasn't worrying about it," she told him. "It was just strange and sad. Do you think it's weird that I feel bad for him even though he tried to feel me up?"

Gabriel shook his head. "No, it just shows you're a good person," he said softly. Gabriel closed the space between them. The air in her lungs stopped and was replaced with his fiery scent that made her knees weak.

She moved back and tried not to fall for those golden eyes, that were resilient to the core. Her gaze was blocked by his broad shoulders, tall stature. She completely forgot that they were standing on his porch with his entire pack behind her and his family behind him in the house.

"You still have guests," she managed to use her voice.

"Alec and Vadik are like family," said Gabriel. "They'll be fine if I decide to drop you to your car."

Sabrina bit her lip and turned on her feet, because she knew that if she kept staring into his eyes and those stern lips, she'd give into her own wicked temptations. They crossed the field from his manor and she unlocked her car. Gabriel laid his hand on her waist stopping her, he leaned forward and opened the car's door for her. Sabrina put her purse and the wolf plushie she won on the passenger seat.

"Klaus told me that you gave a donation to the Institute," said Gabriel.

Sabrina's smile broadened. "I did," she stated firmly, because she wanted Gabriel to know she was serious about it, and it wasn't done on some whim.

Gabriel leaned his arm on the door and the other beside her, caging her within his arms. "You didn't have to but that was very generous of you."

"I want to continue to help this Institute, Gabriel," she told him sternly. "You better get used to it and much more from now on."

A glint of amusement passed through his gaze and it reflected his rakish grin. "I'm getting the feeling that I don't have much of a choice in the matter," he remarked.

Sabrina patted his shoulder. "You don't."

Gabriel's smile fell. He leaned down to her height, his face stood inches from her, those eyes glistened with a quality only this alpha had perfected. His dominance could be felt from every pore of his body and she was almost compelled to lay her lips on his own. But she hadn't and neither did he.

"I don't think I have any choice when it comes to you," his deep voice caressed her body like rich velvet. "You keep tying me to you and I can't help but love it."

"I didn't expect you to be like this-" it slipped out before Sabrina could stop herself.

Gabriel raised a brow. "Be like what?"

"So, so...bold," she blurted out.

Gabriel looked at her amused. "Does it bother you that I'm bold?"

Sabrina bit her lip. She was stumped of her intelligence. "I don't know how to answer that without embarrassing myself."

Gabriel straightened to his full height. His hand caressed her cheek, that was terribly warm despite it being cool outside. "I need you to know that I'm holding back from you," he revealed.

She tilted her head. "Really?"

"I don't want to scare you away," he said. A hint of vulnerability flashed across those formidable eyes.

She swallowed the tightness in her throat. "I think it'll be close to impossible for me to run away from you now," she confessed to him. "And I'm not just saying that because of our mating bond."

Gabriel put his hands in his pockets. "And why do you say that?"

Sabrina matched his warm gaze. "Because for the first time in my life I feel part of a family," she told him. Sabrina placed her hand daringly on his heart. "And you were the one who gave that to me." Sabrina fell under his mystic gaze, that never made her feel unsafe or broken. "Thank you for the great night. I had a lot of fun."

Sabrina dropped her hand and the emptiness lingered in her palm. The sensation of his beating heart was missed by her greatly. Gabriel closed the door to her car and she drove away, leaving him alone on the parking lot. Through the rear-view mirror, she saw his tall figure standing confidently as she drove away from him.