AURORA
The morning sun beat down on me as I stared out at the open training field. Hundreds of warriors sparred on the grass, throwing punches, dodging kicks, doing takedowns and judo throws. I watched Marcel jog over to Ares and me, a Dri-FIT navy-blue shirt plastered to his body.
Last night, we’d stayed up until the wee hours of the morning, talking about how he always wanted a strong female mate, one who could put any other she-wolf to shame, one like me.
But he didn’t know me.
I shouldn’t keep the stone a secret or lead him on. I should’ve told him about it last night. Hell, I’d tried to tell him last night. I really had. But … with the way he’d kept smiling at me with so much love, I hadn’t wanted to ruin the moment.
Whatever was happening between us was happening faster than I wanted it to. Ares and Mars were different people … and part of me was falling for both of them already. It scared the living hell out of me how I just wanted him to be happy for a little bit, how I wanted to clear his head of all his insecurities, how I wanted to feel wanted—not by my parents, not by Tony, but by Ares or Mars.
But my wolf wouldn’t let me tell him anyway.
“There she is,” Marcel said, his silver hair blowing in the early morning breeze. “Has Princess decided that she wants to join us warriors for practice?”
“Don’t push it,” Ares said. He tore off his shirt and threw it to the side. “Train her like you train Charolette. They should both be training harder than any of the other she-wolves here.”
After Marcel fake-saluted Ares, I watched Ares jog toward the other warrior wolves to start training.
Marcel turned to me with a smug smirk on his face, eyes twinkling a psychotic blue. “Long night last night? I’m sure Ares kept you up.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “What’s your problem?”
He stalked around me, looking me up and down. “Not getting enough sleep weakens your reflexes.”
“My reflexes are fine,” I said.
He lunged at me, and I easily stepped out of the way and slammed my fist into his ribs.
“Like I said, my reflexes are fine.”
He stumbled back and chuckled. “Feisty.”
“Yeah, well, she’s about to be intrusive, too, when she puts her fist up your ass, especially if you keep messing with her,” Charolette said, throwing her gym bag down on the ground next to me, bumping her hip against mine. “Hey, girl.”
Marcel clenched his jaw. “Charolette, what are you doing here?”
“Keeping Aurora away from your disgusting, flirtatious remarks.”
The expression on Marcel’s face changed from playful to annoyed in less than a second. Nostrils flared, he gave her a pointed stare. “If you’re staying, you’re training.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and raised a brow at him. I could just feel the tension between them, and I didn’t know if they had been together before or were itching to sleep with each other.
“Well, big shot, show me what you got against an alpha like Aurora,” he said to her.
She humphed in his direction and pulled me onto some softer grass, so we could fight. Though she was small, she was fierce. Running at me, almost faster than I could react. Landing punch after punch on my abdomen. Taking me down once.
I let her.
I let her because I didn’t know how much she could take and because I didn’t want to give away that while my abilities far surpassed hers, they weren’t available in my wolf form. Only my human. If I showed off too much, they might expect more of me. But if I didn’t show off enough, they’d know something was up.
After fifteen minutes of Marcel critiquing our forms and giving me tips that I’d already known, he crossed his arms over his chest. “Okay, let’s run.”
Heaving to catch her breath, Charolette disappeared behind a tree and returned as a petite wolf. Unlike her blonde hair, her fur was a deep brown, similar to Ares. I looked at her, then at him, and then at Ares watching me from across the field.
Liam whispered something into his ear, and Ares let out a ferocious growl. Thick muscles glistening with sweat, he stormed toward me. I turned away from him and back toward Marcel.
Marcel cleared his throat. “Aurora, shift.”
I glanced back at Marcel, an uneasy feeling building in the pit of my stomach. Thank the Goddess that Ares was about to blow up about something because I wasn’t about to shift just to run.
“We have insight on the stone,” Ares said to Marcel but didn’t take his gaze off of me.
I parted my lips. Oh Goddess, please don’t tell me that he knows about me already. I hadn’t been here for a few days yet.
“Alpha Elijah had half of it.”
Shit.
Shit.
Shit.
He stared at me with eyes so golden that I thought they’d burn right through me. “Did you know about this?” he asked, jaw clenched. “The Darkmoon Pack’s closest ally is Elijah and his pack.”
My heart pounded in my ears, my chest tightening. Someone had found out about the stone, about the doctor from Elijah’s pack who had put it inside of me, and now, someone would die in Ares’s hands for it.
And that someone would be me.
I tried to think of the best-case scenario when Ares found out about the stone, my back, and my inability to shift easily into my wolf. I tried to remember how much love he had shown me last night, when we had a stupid-cute dinner in bed. Pretzels and cheese. His smile lighting up the whole damn room. Those beautiful, soft eyes.
“Aurora,” Ares said my name. Not Kitten. Not mate. Aurora with distaste.
“Ares, I-I didn’t know.” My fingers shook.
This was my mate … but this was not the gentle Mars that I had seen last night. This was the terrifying side of my mate. Ares. The side that would kill for power and for that stone.
He growled, his jaw twitching violently. “I will tear whoever has that fucking stone piece by fucking piece, rip it right out of their power-hungry body, and take it for myself.”
My eyes widened, and I wrapped my arms around myself.
Oh, Moon Goddess, no.
No. No. No. No. No.
This was what I never wanted to happen. This was why I’d told him not to mark me. I had hoped—prayed—that he wouldn’t do that to me … but deep down, I had known he would. The stone had given me a second chance, and now, it was about to destroy me.
“Ready the warriors,” Ares said. “We run to Elijah’s tonight.”
I swallowed hard and tried not to look so guilty. Someone, save me, please.
This man was a god with an insatiable hunger for violence, for war, for fury, and for rage. When I’d told him to ruin me, I hadn’t meant like this.