MARS
Aurora sat on the grass, surrounded by the other gods and goddesses as well as her friend, Acesca. With her eyes closed, Aurora furrowed her brows and clenched her small hands into tight fists as she still tried to connect with the wolves and harpies.
I stared at my mate, hoping to the gods that she wasn’t willingly putting herself in danger by doing this. I didn’t know the first thing about how she was able to connect with the hounds and the wolves, but it was something special.
Something I hoped wouldn’t come bite her in the ass.
“I’m so close,” she mumbled, jaw twitching.
A few silent moments passed, not even the chattiest of gods making a sound. I swallowed and tried to calm my racing heart. I wanted this to be over already. I wanted her to be safe by my side.
Suddenly, her face paled, and her head snapped back, so she stared right up to the sky, except her eyes were still closed. When her body seized briefly, I sat up taller and rubbed my hands together, looking over at Acesca, who didn’t seem worried.
“Is she okay?” I asked, nervous as hell.
I had just gotten her back. I couldn’t lose her again.
Acesca felt her pulse and nodded. “Just a bit of an increase in heart rate. She can expend more energy before she passes out. I’ll make sure to pull her out before then, but”—she gnawed on the inside of her cheek—“don’t disrupt her while she’s in here.”
It was easier said than done.
Pain shot through my chest as she shook slightly. The veins in her neck became more pronounced, crawling up the column of her throat toward her eyes. Her eyes moved around underneath her eyelids, as if searching for something.
Incoherent words tumbled out of her mouth, almost sounding like an ancient language or something similar to the words in Medusa’s journal. I didn’t even think that she’d understood it when we were there, reading the journal.
Maybe she had.
“So close,” Aurora finally said.
Almost at the same time, her body fell back against the dirt, and her head smacked against the ground. I hurried over to her and cradled her head, gently rubbing it and trying to find any bumps.
She seized harder and faster, her limbs moving uncontrollably. I called out her name. I tried to get her to come back to me. I tried to connect with her through the mind link, but nothing. Absolutely nothing.
“Acesca,” I growled. “Do something.”
Acesca crawled over to us and placed her fingers on Aurora’s neck, brows drawn together. “She can go for a longer period. She told me not to pull her out until I knew that her body couldn’t control itself anymore.”
“She can’t!” I growled. “Look at her.”
“She can go longer,” Acesca said, voice soft and head bowed. “I’m sorry, Alpha Mars, but she can go for longer. She can connect with them. She said it herself that she’s close to connection. Please, let her.”
But how could I just let her? This was my mate, for crying out loud.
If Ares came back and found her dead …
If she died in my arms …
I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.
Distantly, the sound of howls erupted through the air. All the gods glanced over their shoulders and deep into the woods toward the direction of footsteps and flapping wings, and then we all saw the pack that Aurora had saved the other day, plus others.
Suddenly, Aurora’s body stopped convulsing. She opened her eyes and stared into the woods behind me, her irises glowing the soft colors of the dawn and her lips curled into a small smile. “They’re here, and they’re willing to help.”
With them, we would double our army. With them, we would have a fighting chance.