Alex woke to the sound of voices.

"You put the cream on, like I instructed?"

"I told you, she will have no pain nor scars." She recognized the voice of the red-headed guy called Bertie, then he was laughing. "Stop giving me that look, she won't even have a headache, I promise!"

The voices continued to sound around her, but Alex focused her muddled mind on her body. Her eyelids felt like dead weights and she couldn't seem to get her limbs to move. What the hell. What did they do to her.

Wait, wasn't she supposed to forget?

Alex thought of everything that had happened before she was injected: the cocktail party, dancing with Gabriel, kissing Gabriel on the terrace, going to his room...Marianne. Her mind balked at the memory of the beautiful blond changing into a wolf.

Werewolves. They were all werewolves.

A new voiced joined in beyond the darkness. This time it was Gabriel's cousin Theo, "He only cares for this woman like that. But are you serious about her absorbing pain? I've never heard of human's having that kind of ability."

Alex managed to make her fingertips move and her mind was feeling less foggy. Whatever was in that injection was obviously wearing off.

"It really is fascinating. Alpha," Bertie spoke again. "If you wouldn't mind, could I take a blood sample just to run a few tests..."

A blood sample?

Someone touched her arm, the slight throb in the temples that came with it making Alex flinch.

Suddenly the room went quiet.

Shit! She shouldn't have moved. She should have pretended to be asleep.

"Alex?" Gabriel's voice was close. This time it was definitely him that touched her arms, since there was no pain, only a warmth. A treacherous warmth. She couldn't pretend to sleep, they would catch her for sure. But she had to pretend she couldn't remember.

Lifting her lids with some difficultly, Alex blinked. Gabriel's face was closer than she thought, his blue eyes concerned. Behind him, Bertie and Theo were looking at her as if she had grown two heads. "Mr Moncrief?" She tried to sound confused as she looked around. "Where are we?"

"We are at Lupus Corp," he spoke slowly, his eyes roving over her face.

She pushed him gently away under the guise of sitting up, then her eyes landed on Bertie, "Who are you?"

"Bertie -" the professor began, but Gabriel held up his hand to stop him. His expression was unreadable now as he moved a bit of hair away from her face.

"Alex," he whispered her name, then before she could guess at what he was about, he pressed his lips on hers.

What in the hell? She struggled, her hands going up to push his shoulders away, but he just held her hands, stretching them above her head and pressing her down into the chair with his body. Against her will, she began to melt. All thoughts went out of her head and there was only Gabriel. The heat of him, the scent of him, the sound of her own heart beat in her ears.

Alex kissed him back, her mind racing back to the balcony, to his suite and Marianne. No! She couldn't. She couldn't want him! They were werewolves!

Gabriel let go abruptly, his eyes reflecting the surprise she felt: "You remember."