"Care to explain what happened back there?" Theo settled in the seat beside him, concern in his eyes. Gabriel looked across the isle to where Alex had fallen asleep only moments after take off.

"I don't know," Gabriel admitted. He had been replaying the scene in the lobby over and over in his mind, trying to understand what had pushed him into a rage. Was it the feeling he got when he saw Blake and Alex looking at each other. They just stood there, looking at each other and there was a connection...His fingers curled around his whiskey glass, so Gabriel took a sip. The liquid burned its way down his throat but didn't help calm his anger. "They looked like lovers."

Theo shook his head, "No, I don't think so. What I felt was not passion, it was more like a deep sadness."

"Exactly," Gabriel frowned, taking another sip of his drink. How would that kind of sorrow come without love? The idea that his Alex could be in love with someone made his wolf want to howl.

"I've been thinking." Theo began hesitantly. "You know how elders go on about mates..."

"Hah!" For the first time that evening, Gabriel was amused. "Mates, really? I might have lost my cool, but you've lost your mind, pup."

"Come on, Gabriel, think about it." Theo insisted. "The elders say when our wolves find their mates, they can't be calm until they mark them. There are even stories of wolves causing utter chaos, wreaking havoc -"

"Stop." Gabriel commanded. "I admit, I got a little pissed off earlier."

"A little," Theo snorted, then quietened immediately at Gabriel's thunderous look.

"Yes, a little." He glanced at Alex, her thick lashes looked dark on her pale skin as she slept. "And yes, seeing her with other men irks me. But it's all circumstantial. The way we met, her strangeness, the fact that I've been loyal to an incredibly boring woman for months." Yes, that was it. He hadn't been with a woman in too long, that was the problem.

Theo leaned in, the corner of his lips raised in amusement. "You're putting this down to sexual frustration?"

"Yes." Gabriel agreed. Yes, that sounded right. "I'll have to make some time to meet another female, a werewolf, and all of this will be over."

"Right." His cousin nodded. "Then the cocktail in a few days is a perfect place to find your werewolf. In fact, why don't I make you a list of eligible distractors ahead of time, and you can see if you can force yourself to fancy them?"

"Theo..."

"But wait!" His cousin was not finished with hi theatrics. "Why try finding a werewolf if this is only about sex? Why not pick up on any one of the dozen invitations thrown your way during the average day. Half the women in the lobby earlier would have run at the chance to get into bed with you."

Gabriel narrowed his eyes at his cousin's innocent expression. "What? You want me to believe I have a mate. A human mate. Does that truly makes sense to you?"

The jet shook as they flew over an air pocket. Alex stirred in the seat in front of them, her hand curling under her cheek like a child as she continued to sleep. A strange protective instinct stirred in Gabriel's chest and before he knew it, he was signalling for Charlese to approach.

"Yes, sir?"

"Cover Ms Turner with a blanket."

The stewardess smiled, "Of course, Sir."

Theo waited until Charlese was out of hearing range before he spoke. "Can you really not see how different you are with Alex? She is special to you, I can feel it."

When Gabriel just raised an unimpressed brow, Theo leaned his elbows on his knees and looked away from him. "I know your sisters relationship with her human didn't work out. He didn't want to be turned and that devastated her -"

"No," Gabriel shook his head. "His refusal to be one of us hurt her, but it was having to wipe herself from his memories that broke her. Her heart never recovered, while he continues his life like nothing ever happened."

Theo grimaced but said no more. What was there to say, when the truth was so obvious. No Human should be special to a werewolf. He would find a way to put Alex out of his mind, it was just a matter of time.

Pressing his lips together, he lifted the file on the table to his left. "Once the paperwork comes through from the charging company we will be ready to launch the Heart-Ring. I want the ads line up as well as the details of the soft launch event."

"I had them send it to your inbox after we left the meeting earlier," Theo took up his cue. They were done discussing ridiculous theories. It was back to business now.