(ARES) I should feel happy. She was finally gone. This was what I had wanted the moment I realized she wasn't the woman I wanted, she wasn't my revenge, and yet here I was... staring straight into the woods where she had disappeared into a few hours ago, my heart twisting in confusion and panic. My stomach was made of tight knots that just wouldn't unknot. It wasn't like we were around each other every minute of every day. In fact, I had tried to avoid her most of the time. But now knowing she wouldn't be there stuffing her face with whatever Carella had made... or watching Dragons making love in the TV like she owned the whole pack house... it didn't feel right. Nothing did. It felt like someone was sitting in my stomach, digging a big pit. I poured a glass of Wolven bourbon and took a swig, and winced when the hot liquid burned my throat. Warm wind messed my hair. I had things to do. I had to pay the vendors, put in the order for new weapons, calculate the budget for next month.

(ARES) She sat there for a long time, staring at Storm, her hand pressed against his fur, in the surrounding silence. He was content just sitting there with her. "I want to shift," I said to Storm. Usually, the shift worked perfectly well when Storm and I were in perfect sync, but when the wolf didn't want to shift... it was usually a big problem. "I think I would like to be here with her. She is already shaken, and I don't want you to mess it up anymore than it already is. So I think I will stay with her for a while," Storm said with a sigh as she ran her fingers through his fur, still shuddering. I could feel her body shaking. She had stopped crying, but she wasn't fully alright yet. "I am not an asshole. I will not talk about that right now, at least not when she looks like she eats wolves like us for breakfast," I said with a wince. She had long red, bloody lines along her cheek, and I remembered the time I called her powerless. This woman here was not powerless. She looked p

(ELYN) I didn't expect it. I was waiting for him to refuse it, deny us of something that could bring both of us some pleasure, and reprieve, as he had always done, but... "Well, maybe I will reveal my secret this one time!" His voice was a deep, dark growl, that destroyed every piece of sanity that had hung in me. His hand was rough on my skin, demanding. Did I hear it right? Or was I hallucinating? I looked into his eyes, and my breath hitched from the power swirling in his eyes. The need. It was like a tornado, and I had to keep my feet firmly planted on the ground, or he would bring me to places I didn't want to go. No heart. No feelings. Only pleasure. Despite the need pulsing inside me, I knew I couldn't fully cross the line. Crossing the line meant heartbreaks I couldn't afford. His jaws clenched as he gave me a look that made my legs tremble. My body chanted for more of him, and maybe this incessant, insane whorl of need would stop when I finally had him, the way I had

(ARES) I slammed the door close behind me knowing very well she wouldn't do anything I asked for. I knew she wouldn't stay put, of course. When had she ever did anything I asked for? Never. But for now, I only cared about the man, the one who destroyed my family, standing in my doorstep. How dare he! The fucking bastard. Anger pulsed inside me as something dark and sinister twisted in my gut. I wanted to rip him from limb to limb and then hack him into pieces, until he was no more. I had dreamed of the day I could get to do this. For now, my pack needed to come back from the loss of their previous Alpha and their beloved Luna. I had to concentrate on building my pack. But there would come a day, and that day he would regret what he did to Andrea and Brian. I would make sure of that. One day or the other, I would pay the debt with interest. I stomped down the stairs, my head whirling with thoughts and memories. I tried to put a stop to them, but I couldn't. Everything in me screamed

(ELYN) "Well, it is a long story, but I think Ares should be the one to tell you about it.""Yeah, in my dreams," I scoffed as I closed my eyes. "You know... I often wonder about why I have born like this. My mom is a gamma warrior, and my dad is an Alpha. Why did I not have a wolf? What happened to my wolf? Why did the moon goddess miss me while she handed out the souls of the wolves?""I don't know the answer to any of that, but you are awesome the way you are." "Well, that is subjective, but yes, I do believe I am more than just awesome," I shrugged. "And so humble."I didn't know what it was... but I felt relaxed and comfortable sitting here, talking with her. Like riding on her wolf somehow gave us an understanding. I had never had a girl friend, except Reyna. Maybe this would be good for me. "So, how are you going to tell your brother and Ares that you have found your mate, and he is from the enemy pack? Oh, the perils of forbidden love." "That is something I don't want to t