by Emilia Rose
He glared at her for a few minutes and then shoved her back and released her chin. Wow, what a total bipolar—
Ares’s beta and a few other warriors pulled behind our car. They sniffed out the forest around us, looking for other hounds but found none. When they returned, Ares instructed them to take the woman and her pup back to his pack and get them food, water, and shelter.
But something wasn’t sitting easy with me. This wasn’t the Ares I knew. All of the stories I had heard of Ares were about him being ruthless and cutthroat, killing anyone and everyone in his path without a care in the world. This was different, and I didn’t know how I felt.
Because Ares didn’t save people from disaster. He caused it.
Chapter 10
Aurora
Ares grabbed my hand and led me to Liam’s car, tossing my bags in the trunk. Liam and the others disappeared through the forest. And instead of asking Ares why they hadn’t just come with us, I pressed my lips together.
I didn’t want to speak to him and his annoying ass. He had gotten us into this mess by stopping in Hound Territory. All I wanted was to get away from here and go somewhere I could rest with Ruffles on my chest. Somewhere without interruption, without a mate claiming me, without feeling like shit because I’d almost gotten myself killed by not shifting.
Ares slid behind the wheel, started the car, and said, “I need to clean off.”
“Can’t you wait until we get to your pack house?”
“I’m covered in blood, and my property is hours away by car.”
I turned toward the window, hoping he wouldn’t suggest running back to his pack, and stared out at the darkness that suddenly engulfed the forest, swallowing the trees, refusing to let the moonlight hit the ground. It was eerie and terrifying, just like the night before the hound attack that had killed Jeremy.
“Well, whose fault is that?” I asked.
He growled lowly and continued driving until we finally made it out of Hound Territory. The first dirt road he found, he drove down, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel.
“Great,” I said sarcastically. “Turn down a dark dirt road. What a good choice.”
“You always have something to say, don’t you?” he asked, jaw tight.
“Yes, I do.” I pressed my lips together and glared over at him, trying to suppress the growing urge my wolf had to rip his clothes off right then and there. Moonlight flickered in through the windshield, hitting his perfectly sculpted face, his brown eyes looking hard yet utterly sensual. I swallowed and turned my head away from him, so I wouldn’t stare anymore. “Especially when people make stupid decisions.”
He parked the car, cut the headlights, and stepped out without saying a word. After a few moments of complete silence, he disappeared into the woods. I glanced around at the darkness. We weren’t in Hound Territory anymore, but we were close. So, I followed after him. Definitely not because I was scared at all. I just wanted to give him a piece of my mind.
“You know what else too?” I asked, following his hazelnut scent.
In the near distance, water splashed gently against a shore. We walked into a clearing, and moonlight glimmered against a lake.
Ares peeled off his shirt, throwing me a cheeky look. “What?”
I gulped and tore my gaze away from his muscular back. Last night, I had seen him without his shirt, but I hadn’t known it was Ares. All I could think was how true the rumors were. Ares looked to be sculpted by the Moon Goddess herself, muscles swollen under the light, scars decorating his back.
Don’t think about it, Aurora. He’s a dick. Remember that.
“You’re disgusting.”
He shimmied out of his jeans and underwear. I forced myself to stare at anything but his back, his flexed triceps, and that ass. It all meant nothing if he was always such a dick.
After giving me a hard look, he stepped into the water. “What did I do that disgusted you so much?”
“Wanting that stone.”
“You don’t know what people would do to have that stone, what people have to give up for it.”
He submerged himself all the way in the water, and I cursed myself for even being here with him. I shouldn’t have left the car because my wolf wouldn’t stop going crazy.
While I hadn’t shifted into my wolf in almost two months, she was still as loud and excited as she always had been, maybe even more so now. Since she couldn’t get her energy out in the form of running, she made sure she got it out in other ways, like this.
When he came back up, he shook out his wet hair, letting it fall into his face. Beads of water rolled down his taut chest. And all I could imagine were my hands gliding over his biceps and the way his fingers would dance alongside my hips if I were in the water with him.
“Not everyone is who you think they are, Aurora.” He glanced over at me. “Not even me.”
My wolf purred, just watching him in that water, all alone. She wanted to get in there with him. She wanted him. Now. And no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t control myself around him.
I dipped my toes into the water. “Then, show me who you are, Alpha.”
Waist deep in the lake, he grazed a hand down his abdomen, and my gaze followed. “Show you who I am?”
Maybe I’d gotten ahead of myself. That was a big statement for someone who was supposed to hate him at that moment, for someone who was supposed to not want anything to do with him at all.
He raked his golden wolfish eyes down my body and smirked. “Take off your clothes and come to me, Kitten. I’ll show you who I really am.”
My heart pounded in my chest. Moon Goddess, help me.
“Don’t make me say it again.”
“And if I want to make you say it again?” I whispered.
He chuckled, beads of water running down that taut chest of his. All I wanted was his hand around my throat, his fingers inside my pussy, his lips devouring mine like I was his to claim.
“Try me,” he said, stalking closer and closer to me, the water rippling around him.
Damn it. What the hell was wrong with me?
I forced myself to turn around. If I looked at him for another second, I would jump right into that lake with him and have no regrets. I would do anything that he told me to without thinking it through. I would forget that I was an alpha, too, and alphas didn’t react so rashly … unless they went by the name of Ares, the god of war.
The water stayed silent behind me, and my heart pounded against my chest.
It was too quiet. Too fucking quiet.
Suddenly, Ares snaked his hand around my neck from behind and pulled me toward him. “Take off your clothes,” he said against my ear, raking his fingers over my breast.
I shivered at his touch, my nipples immediately hardening against my bra.
“Now.”
Fuck acting cautiously.
Turning around, I curled my fingers under the hem of my shirt and tugged it over my head. My wolf stirred inside of me, willing to do anything that her mate asked her to do, betraying me and all my deepest, darkest wishes.
“Good girl.” Ares lightly his lips against my neck. He looped a finger in my bra cup, tugging on it. “Now, this.”
I unclipped my bra from behind me, remembering how his hands had felt on my body last night. He had made us feel better than anyone ever had. My wolf purred, wanting that again. Goddess, she wanted him to devour us like he had promised he would earlier.
Ares tore it off of me and groped my breast firmly in his hand. He ran his palm over my nipple, and I clenched.
Mate. Mate. Mate. Mate. Claim us.
He plunged a hand into my jeans and rubbed my swollen clit through my panties. “You’re always so wet for me, Kitten.”
Sucking my bottom lip between my teeth, I brushed my fingers against his hard cock. “Let me finish what I started before,” I said. I couldn’t take this anymore, hadn’t really stopped thinking about earlier since we left the pack house.
“Needy
, are we?” He chuckled against my skin and rubbed me harder. “Take off your panties. It’s my turn.”
My eyes widened, and I grasped his cock, stroking it slowly. “Your turn?”
He pressed his lips against mine and stared down at me, knowing that he had full control over my every move. It was like he had some divine aura or power to him. One way or another, this man had been fated to destroy me.
“Take them off and hand them to me.”
My pussy pulsed wildly. I just wanted him inside of me, thrusting his huge cock into my tight pussy, over and over until I was begging for him to stop. I kicked off my pants and slowly stepped out of my underwear. He held out his hand, and I placed them in it.
After tossing my thong toward the pile of his clothes, he pushed two fingers against my clit, rubbing gently. “Tell me how bad you want it, Kitten. Tell me how much you wish my face were between your legs, my tongue on your sensitive little clit, my fingers inside of you.”
He slid them down my folds to my opening, and I suppressed a moan.
“Come on, Kitten. Don’t be shy.”
“Ares,” I said softly, eyes closing. I gripped his wrist. Moon Goddess …
“What do you want?” He pressed his fingers against my core, teasing me. “Tell me.”
I furrowed my brows together, watching his fingers rub against my folds. “You,” I said under my breath. “I want you.”
He growled lowly, picking me up and placing me down on the grassy patch by the lake. He spread my legs apart, and almost immediately, his breath was on my pussy. He inhaled. “Fuck.” He pushed a finger inside of me. “I’ve been waiting for this all fucking day.” He pressed his lips to my folds, his tongue massaging my swollen clit.
I moaned and arched my back into the grass, thrusting a hand through his hair. Holy—
“You taste so good.” He gently sucked my clit between his lips.
My toes curled, and I tried to stop my legs from trembling. Yet all I could imagine was how the great and powerful Ares couldn’t get me off his mind all day, how he’d wanted to taste me, how I had the power. His tongue was driving me wild, sending pleasure through my body, making me crave more.
“Say my name,” he murmured against me. “I want to hear my name on your lips.”
Such a vicious creature, begging me to say his name.
“Ares …” I dug my nails into his shoulders, trying to displace the pressure rising in my core with each thrust. “Moon Goddess, you’re so fucking good at that.”
“If we were home”—he flicked my clit with his tongue—“I would eat your pussy all night.”
He tugged on my nipple, and my body jerked into the air. My claws dug into his shoulders, my lips parted in pure bliss, my entire body shook with ecstasy.
I moaned loudly as my body tingled with delight. Wave after wave of pleasure rolled out of me. I took a deep breath and relaxed against the grass, my chest rising and falling raggedly.
He gazed up at me with a mischievous glint in his eye. “I’m not finished with you yet.”
“I can’t do what we did last night, Ares. My pussy is so—”
Instead of going in for seconds, he picked me up off the grass, threw me over his shoulder, and walked toward the water. My eyes widened, and I struggled in his hold, arms and legs flailing everywhere.
“Oh no, no, no, no, no, no.”
“Yes.” He wrapped his arms tightly around my torso, holding me to his chest as he submerged us into the water.
“Ares!” I shouted, my nipples hardening from the coldness of the water. “It’s freezing!”
He pressed his body against mine, and his arm wrapped around my waist under the water. He pulled me in closer, lips curling into a smile, and rested his forehead against mine. “Call me Mars, Aurora, please.”
“Why?” I ran my fingers over his muscles, loving how smooth and big they felt under the water.
He was so close, but I wanted him closer.
“Please,” he said so desperately. “Mars.”
“Mars.”
After burying his face into my neck and pushing a lock of my wet hair behind my shoulder, he inhaled my scent. Though the water was cold, being close to him made it bearable. I relaxed under his touch and kicked my legs back and forth under the water.
I had barely known Mars for an entire day, yet I had learned more about him than any rumor or Lunar Daily Newspaper article could tell me. Though an asshole, he was a fun asshole, a cute asshole, and a somewhat sweet asshole. Helping that rogue when she shouldn’t have been helped. Pulling me into his chest when I hadn’t wanted to be close to him, when I hadn’t wanted to feel these feelings for him. It was … refreshing.
I wondered how many other girls had fallen under this spell so easily.
My wolf growled at the thought, and I soothed her by clutching him closer. “Why do you really want that stone?”
The sudden, playful Mars was gone, and that godly look crossed his face. “Not now.” Even his voice was tense.
“I just want to know,” I whispered because I had half the stone inside of my body and didn’t want him ripping it out because he had this insatiable thirst for power.
I couldn’t allow myself to fall for him and let my guard down, only to die by the hands of my mate. When he found out that I couldn’t shift or fight easily, I would become useless to him.
If Mom thought I was worthless, a god like Ares would really have no use for a cripple like me.
My entire body tensed, and I pulled away from him. I couldn’t get close. I had to put space between us. I had to forget about whatever kind of goodness I had seen in him today. Because Alpha Ares wasn’t good; he was cruel. And when he found out I had the stone, he would tear me apart, just as he had done to so many packs before me.
Chapter 11
Ares
After driving the rest of the way in silence, I placed Aurora’s sleeping body down on my bed, rested her head against the gray pillows, and draped the blankets over her shoulders. Moonlight flooded in through my window, bouncing off her perfect fucking face.
It had been less than a day, and I had lied to her already.
Yet I couldn’t help myself. It happened so naturally now, like a fucking protective mechanism or some shit.
The way she had said my name in the water, the way the moonlight had made her face glow like a goddess’s, everything about her … and I’d had to lie. I peeled off my shirt, hurled it into the hamper, and picked up Aurora’s backpack.
Little whimpers had been coming from it all day. And when I opened it, two big black eyes stared up at me. I reached in, pulled out Aurora’s cat, and held back a sneeze. “Moon Goddess …” I walked with the cat and Aurora’s backpack to the spare bedroom across from mine and set her on the ground. “I can’t believe she left you in there all day.”
She walked to the other side of the room, her little butt swaying from side to side, just like Aurora’s did, jumped onto a high dresser, and glared down at me. I shut the door behind us and searched through Aurora’s things, looking for her food.
Laptop. Chips. Pencil. Notes. Chips. Bloody silver knife that smelled like that hound. Chips. Chips. More chips.
I stared down at the five small bags of Ruffles chips and glanced up at the gray cat. She licked her lips, stared lovingly at the plastic bags. I picked one up, opened it, and pulled out a chip, moving it from side to side in front of her face. Her gaze followed my fingers.
After sneezing, I stuck the chip right in my mouth. The cat leaped right off of the dresser, wrapped her arms around my neck, and swatted the chip right out of my mouth. When it fell onto the floor, she hopped down and snatched it between her teeth.
I waved my hand in the air, trying to get rid of all the cat fur before I started sneezing and couldn’t stop.
My first lie was that I hadn’t wanted the fucking cat. I didn’t care that she had it. I just … couldn’t take all this … fucking shedding of fur. It drifted in the air and caused me to sneeze
again. I took a step toward the door and cursed.
Damn, I wished that this were my only lie.
After opening a couple of bags of chips and setting out a box—we’d have to get litter tomorrow—I left the cat in the room and walked to my dimly lit office. It was two in the morning, and Liam was sitting in one of the chairs in front of my desk, glancing through a file.
“How is the rogue and her son?” I asked.
He tossed the file onto my desk and stood. “Living with one of the elders. Told him to keep an eye on her for tonight. I’ll watch her until she gives us something about the stone. She knows more than she’s saying.”
I ran a hand over my face. Hunting for this damn thing was so tiring. I just needed the search to be over. We didn’t have time to sit around and wait anymore.
“Did you find any information regarding the stone at Aurora’s pack?”
“No,” he said. “We need more time.”
I growled, nails lengthening into claws. “We don’t fucking have time.”
Time was running out quicker than I wanted. We needed the stone, and we needed the stone now. I’d destroy the whole fucking world to find it. Packs. People. I didn’t care who or what got in my way.
“I know,” Liam said.
I snatched his throat, shoved him against the wall, and growled. “No, you don’t.” I pressed my lips together. Think of Aurora. Aurora. Aurora. My grip loosened on his neck, and I released him, turning my back. “You know how hopeless this all is without that stone.”
He rubbed his neck slightly and snarled. “Don’t think I don’t know the consequences of not getting that stone. Her life will turn to shit without it. She’ll just get worse.” Liam looked away and into the moonlight out the window.
What most people outside my pack didn’t know was that I didn’t want that stone for power or strength. I didn’t even want that stone to rule the lands. I wanted that stone for her, for Charolette. The one woman that I cared for the most, the one woman who had gotten me through every hardship, the one woman who I’d sworn to protect from anything—even my mate, if it came to it.