by Emilia Rose
“Eternity?” I asked, brows furrowed. “What do you mean? Who was it?”
He glanced up at the moon, and my eyes widened.
“The Moon God—”
Dad slapped a hand over my mouth to shut me up. “Don’t say her name out loud. You don’t know what people will do if they find out that the stone is capable of immortality. It is more than just strength and smarts. It’s forever and then some.”
Immortality? Did that mean that Aurora was going to live for as long as the stone was inside of her? She was—
“Selene, our Moon Goddess, was the last person known to have a similar stone inside of her. It’s what’s made her immortal all those years ago. Nobody knows if the stone was real or just a myth, but it’s what is accepted among many of the elder wolves. The younger generation doesn’t believe it, but I do. You’ve seen what it can do. You’ve felt its power in your hands after Aurora ripped it out of her brother. This will change both of your lives forever.”
Before I could respond, a wolf howled in agony, and people screamed from all directions, running in haste. We didn’t have any more time. The hounds were here, and they were out to find the stone and my Aurora.
Chapter 32
Aurora
Ferocious snarls rumbled through the dark forest. Men, women, and children ran in every direction to safety. Warrior wolves and patrol guards alerted us of the hundreds of hounds sprinting toward our property, some of their voices cutting from our minds suddenly.
Death.
The hounds had come with one goal—to kill us.
“Get the pups!” I screamed, hurrying to gather as many as I could find to lead them to the underground homes, where they’d be safe. But everyone started to shift to protect themselves and their families from the fiends. “Someone, get the pups to safety!”
After rallying as many as I could, I designated an older woman as their caretaker for now and hurried with them to the pack house, ushering them into the underground fort. Once I secured the door, I ran back out into the chaos to find more.
There had to be others. That wasn’t all of them. I needed to find—
A huge brown wolf latched its teeth into my wrist. I snatched myself away, about to kick him in the snout when I realized it was Ares. He grabbed my wrist in his sharp bite and dragged me toward the pack house.
“Someone, tell Elijah to get to the pack house now,” Ares said through the mind link.
We didn’t have time to get to the hospital for the surgery. It was too far.
Ares quickly shifted into his human, grabbed my hand, and pulled me through the groups of warriors. Most of them I didn’t recognize. They weren’t Minerva’s warriors. They weren’t Vulcan’s. They weren’t even ours. But they looked familiar, as if they were—
I inhaled deeply.
The stone people.
Some old, others young, they fought against the beasts with everything they had left. My gaze traveled across the battlefield as I tried desperately to find my father. He had to be here. He had to—
A hound sprinted right at us and knocked us onto the ground. He stalked toward me, bloodied saliva dripping from his teeth and black pits for eyes. Ares regained his balance, shielded me with his arm, and bared his colossal canines, his eyes endless, chaotic pits of red. Red.
When someone ripped the hound off us, Ares grabbed my hand and stood. With glowing bronze skin and golden eyes, the man who had once been a statue of white stone snapped the beast’s jaw in a moment.
“Go,” he said to us as the hounds leaped at him from all directions and piled on top. “I’ll hold them off as long as I can.”
“Who are you?” I asked, staring at him with wide eyes. “Why are you—”
Chucking the hounds off himself, he said, “Go! If you survive the night with the stone, we’ll have eternity for questions.”
Not wasting any more time, Ares grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the pack house, sprinting faster than he ever had. I sprinted right along with him, knowing that we should stay out here and help protect our people but needing to have the stone inside of me. If I did this, I could save so many lives.
So many people and so many pups wouldn’t have to endure a life of pain like I had.
Just as we approached the pack house, Ares stopped and cursed.
“What is—”
I gasped and stared at the hounds entering and exiting the pack house through the windows, glass shattering everywhere, chewing on couches, ripping apart clothes, eating up food. Tears welled up in my eyes, and I bit back a scream.
Everything … everything was getting torn to shreds. Everything was …
“Ruffles,” I said, heart dropping. “I need to find Ruffles.”
Ares wrapped his arms around my waist to hold me back, dragging me away from the pack house. “Trust her to hide and to stay safe. We have to go find another place for the surgery.”
But I needed her. She was the only family I had left. I loved her with all my damn heart. She couldn’t be gone. I couldn’t let the hounds have her. They had my entire family. Finding Ruffles dead would be the end of me.
After picking up my flailing body and throwing me over his shoulder, Ares rushed through the vicious creatures toward one of the other bunkers built into a hillside. With no pups here, we wouldn’t have to risk the hounds killing them if they found us.
Opening the door, he forced me into the room and mind linked someone to find Elijah.
I shoved his chest, trying to push him away so I could get back out there to find my cat. “Ares, please, let me go. I need to find her. She can’t die.”
Snatching my chin in his hand, he stared at me with both rage and fear in his eyes. “No. You need to be strong for your pack. You’ll get the stone inside of you. You’ll fight, and you’ll fight, and when you wake up from this surgery, you’ll continue to fight, no matter what you see outside.”
Lips quivering, I shakily nodded. I didn’t want to. I wanted to fight now.
But I had been preparing for this time to come. I knew what I had to do.
Someone banged on the door, and Elijah shouted, “Let me in! I have the stone.”
When Ares opened the door, Elijah and Dr. Farral hurried into the room.
Elijah scanned the room for a few moments, found a metal table, and threw all their supplies onto it. “Guard that door with your life, Ares. And I’ll guard Aurora with mine.” He ushered me to the table. “Lie down and pray to the Moon Goddess that this goes smoothly.”
Lying down, I stared up at the stone ceiling and tried to even my breathing, but all I could do was focus on everyone’s ragged and rapid heartbeats. Ares locked and bolted the door, standing with his hands flat on the metal and his back to me.
“Ares,” I whimpered, reaching out for him.
He held out one hand for me, our fingertips mere inches from each other. Though my Ares was the god of war, I saw the fear in his eyes as his pack screamed just outside the door.
“Calm down, Aurora,” Elijah instructed as the doctor prepared as quickly as he could.
Since we weren’t near a hospital or even the pharmacy, this procedure was bound to be tougher than expected.
After pulling out a knife, bandages, and a bottle of pills, Dr. Farral took a deep breath. “Please, calm down, Aurora. You’re hyperventilating. You need to breathe in order for me to do this correctly.”
I furrowed my brows. Ares … I wanted Ares over here with me. I was terrified. What if they killed me and I didn’t wake back up? I’d leave him on this earth with nothing but pain. I wouldn’t get to see my Ruffles again. All I wanted was to hold her one last time, to let her know that I loved her.
“Ares, I—”
Outside, a hound slammed against the door. They must’ve known we were in here; they must’ve sensed it. My chest tightened. My throat closed up. Tears raced down my cheeks. I struggled to stand, my wolf forcing me to hug Ares one last time.
Elijah pushed me back down and clasped my wrists
in his hands. “Stop it, Aurora.”
“Kitten,” Ares said, hands flat on the door to hold it closed. “I will do anything for you, anything to protect you from all this darkness. Don’t worry about me. Don’t worry if I’m not here when you wake up. You’re strong enough to lead this pack yourself.”
“No! Stop talking like that. Nothing’s going to happen to you,” I screamed as I struggled against Elijah, my body trembling. “Don’t say that! Please, please, don’t say that. It’s not true.”
But something deep in my heart told me that it was.
Something bad was going to happen. Something bad was happening.
Elijah climbed onto the table, straddled my waist, and pinned me down. “We need to do this, Aurora,” he said, his eyes pleading with me from above. “Please, stay still.”
Overcome with so many emotions, I twisted and turned and tried hard to get out of his hold, but Elijah just held me tighter.
“Ares! Ares, please, be strong. Please, don’t go out there.”
The hound slammed into the door again, leaving an indent the size of a human body in the door. The muscles in Ares’s back flexed as he tried to hold it shut, but the hinges were starting to come undone. I wiggled some more, my chin trembling uncontrollably.
“Aurora.” Dr. Farral moved beside me, a bottle filled with purple liquid in his hand. “Aurora, listen to me. You have to drink this. It will calm you down and put you out for a while as we complete the surgery.”
Not wanting to never see Ares again, I pressed my lips together and shook my head. By the way Ares had talked, it’d sounded like he was about to make the ultimate sacrifice for me. And I wouldn’t let it happen. I needed him just as much as that man needed me. I couldn’t let him just die. I … I couldn’t.
Elijah tightened his grip on my wrists and growled down at me. “Aurora, stop,” he said in his alpha command, trying to get me to calm down, but my heart wouldn’t stop racing.
“Ares, tell Mars that I love him,” I said through the mind link, but I wasn’t sure he’d heard me. I struggled some more as the doctor shoved the bottle between my lips and clamped my lips closed around it.
Another hound hit the door, making an even deeper indent, slamming against it over and over and over. The door flew open, and Ares was thrust back and slammed against the table. Two hounds sprinted into the room, and I tried to struggle toward Ares to help him, but my vision became cloudy.
“He’s going to die! Stop him. Sto … sto … hi … him …”
My eyes closed, but I struggled to stay conscious. I didn’t know if I’d ever see him again.
All I could hear was inhuman growling, claws slashing against fur, canines digging into flesh, coming from both inside the shelter and outside in the forest.
But the very last thing I caught before I passed out was Mars’s voice through the mind link. “I love you too, Kitten.”
Chapter 33
Ares
Immediately shifting into my wolf, I lurched at the hounds who had stormed into the room. All I could focus on was protecting my mate. I’d do whatever it fucking took to ensure she safely received the stone, so she could lead this pack and end this war.
If it was my time to go, then she would be strong enough.
After killing the three beasts, I stood in front of the open door and guarded it with my life. Behind me, Elijah and Dr. Farral turned Aurora onto her stomach to prep her for surgery. I turned around to face the outside, not wanting to know when they cut her open and certainly not when she died.
Mars fought for control, but I seized it. He had spoken his few words to Aurora before she passed out, and that was all I’d grant him. Warring wasn’t his forte, and neither was loss. If I had to shield him from this heartbreak too, I’d do it.
“Oh Goddess,” Dr. Farral said behind me in a hushed tone.
Two more hounds sprinted at me faster and harder than the last had, nearly knocking me down again. But this time, I made sure to stand my ground and rip each of their throats out until blood pooled below them.
“Are you sure?” Elijah asked, sounding worried.
“Yes,” Dr. Farral said.
Elijah hurried over to me and crouched by my side, next to the dead wolves. “Ares …” He gulped. “Ares, she’s pregnant.”
Everything slowed down, the wolves outside seeming to move in without haste anymore.
Aurora was pregnant.
My mate was pregnant with my pup.
Chapter 34
Mars
During that shocking moment, I snatched control from Ares by the canines. My chest tightened. I knew what I had to do to protect my family. We had waited for this moment forever, and now, I would never get to experience it with her. And if we didn’t protect her and this pack, Aurora would never be able to experience it either.
I shifted back into my human, my mouth drying up. “Boy or girl?” I whispered, wanting to know the kind of family she’d raise when I was gone. “Do you know?”
Elijah glanced back at Dr. Farral, who turned Aurora back over, lightly pressed his hand against Aurora’s stomach, and closed his eyes.
He smiled for a fraction of a second, a sorrowful breath escaping him. “Boys tend to have a slower heart rate, but hers is quick.”
Unable to hold back, I placed my hand on top of her stomach and felt the slightest heartbeat. A tear slid down my cheek. A pup … a little girl … that I’d never meet. It was the most blissful moment of my life, and I hoped that Aurora could find happiness without me.
Behind me, a hound growled. I turned back to it, ready to give this everything I had, and shifted into my wolf. We were having a girl. Aurora was having a girl. And I’d make sure that they had a good, safe life.
“Ares,” Elijah said, pushing his glasses up his nose and nodding to me. “You’re a good guy. I’ll protect Aurora at all costs. Go protect your pack.”
After holding his gaze for a moment longer, I lunged at the hound and killed him before he could enter the room. Then, I stood by the door and scanned the forest for that cynical hound leader I called Fenris.
Standing at the base of a hill with a smug look on his face, he ripped one of my best warriors into two pieces. I needed to end this once and for all. This evil that had plagued my pack for years—the curse that the hounds would take my luna from me—could be broken by me.
“Sacrifice an alpha.”
That was what Dad had said needed to be done.
If offering myself up could end this war, if it stopped innocents from being slaughtered in their own homes, if everyone could sleep peacefully at night from now on, then I would do it. I would sacrifice myself for her.
I lifted my nose and howled to the moon, my heart aching.
Ares and I knew that it had to be done. This was the only way. We just wished we’d had more time with Aurora. We wished we could’ve had pups with her and watched them grow, becoming alphas and lunas themselves. But this was the hand that the Moon Goddess had dealt us.
Taking one last look back at Aurora, I smiled. “I’ll forever be yours, Kitten.”
Shooting forward and into the chaos, I weaved through wolves and hounds and surveyed the woods for the one man that I needed to find to end this war. Ash rained down from the dark gray sky, a layer covering my brown fur.
My family. My friends. My pack.
The hounds were destroying all of it.
And they would try to take my mate, too, if I didn’t stop it now. I couldn’t hold back any longer, couldn’t put this off a second more. I might not have been able to say good-bye to everyone I’d ever loved and cared for, but this had to be done. The world would be a better place.
“Stop it, Mars.” Ares seethed at me inside my mind. “Give me fucking control.”
I ignored him and spotted Fenris about to split a pup into pieces. Lurching forward, I knocked into the side of him and sent him flying against the tree. The pup scrambled to his feet and ran off, crying into the forest.
“Don
’t fucking do this, Mars,” Ares said. “You can’t do this. You can’t fight him alone.”
Refusing to listen to Ares, I roared at the man who had ruined my life over and over again. Fenris stood up, shook off the ash and dirt from his body, and growled back, his soulless black eyes fixed on me. Thick strands of saliva dripped from his bloodied canines.
When he leaped at me, I collapsed onto my stomach and waited for his attack.
The world seemed to slow, and all the memories I’d made with Aurora flashed through my mind, all the times she’d made me smile and the late-night pretzel-and-cheese feasts we’d had as Ruffles lounged at the foot of our bed, when she’d shifted for the first time in front of me, and when she had held me in the tub when Ares and I confessed everything to her.
I dug my claws into the dirt and bit back a howl, eyes filling with tears.
Fenris landed on my back, teeth ripping up fur and talons stabbing into any unmarked part of my flesh that he could find. Tearing, jerking, tugging, twisting, slashing, slitting, scratching, and lacerating. All of me.
Unmoving, I squeezed my eyes closed, ignored the pain, and imagined what life would’ve been like if the hounds had never attacked us. Three months from now, Aurora and I would’ve welcomed our first pup into the world. We would’ve taught her how to run and shift and kick a boy’s ass. And later on, we’d have been rocking on our porch chairs, gray hairs and all, watching the grand-pups play tag in the forest and sharing stories of our carefree younger days.
Fenris pierced his claws right through my heart. Blood spurted from my mouth. I closed my eyes one last time. All this would forever be lost in my hopes and dreams, as I would never live another day on this earth.
Chapter 35
Aurora
Slowly blinking my eyes open, I stared up at the tilted, flickering ceiling light that now hung a foot above my face. Blood smeared against the dented metal door, broken off its hinges. Every bone in my body seemed too heavy to move.