Mars

When I’d found Aurora in her human form with a deep gash down the side of her arm, straddling the rogue and stabbing him relentlessly in his neck, all I could feel was an intense fear. She shouldn’t be here. She shouldn’t have done that. I didn’t want her to become like Ares.

From the doorway, I crossed my arms over my chest and watched the doctor clean her arm with alcohol. Two times. We had been attacked by hounds two times since I had been with her, and she hadn’t shifted once. If I’d lost her today—before I even had a chance to get to know her—because she didn’t shift, I would’ve lost it.

Ares would’ve taken full control, slaughtered every single hound in that goddamn forest, slaughtered innocent people, slaughtered our own people. We couldn’t lose Aurora to hounds, especially not after we had lost Mom.

After the doctor wrapped some gauze around Aurora’s arm to stop the bleeding, I grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the grocery store. Stars danced against the dark night sky, and all I wanted was to enjoy this night with her. Take her out to the lake, show her the waterfall, pull her under the water with me, and admire her smile. Run free with her wolf.

I was even going to let her mark me tonight.

When I’d mentioned it earlier and her small little body got all tense, I could barely contain myself. I wanted her to accept me and Ares, accept that we were two crazy pieces of one man who’d do anything for her. I wanted to show her that I was more than that ghoulish monster all the rumors had made me out to be.

But that couldn’t happen. These hounds had been out of control these past few days … maybe even after her, like Liam had said. It was hard to believe that my mate had so much history with the hounds that they wanted her dead.

On our walk back to the pack house, she snatched her arm away from me, but I grabbed her hand back and held it close to me, as if I’d lose her if I didn’t. 

“Why are the hounds after you?”

Aurora tensed and glanced at her feet. “They’re not after me,” she said a bit too quickly. “They were never this violent before I met you.”

“Well, they never attacked my pack before I met you.” I opened the pack house door for her and followed her up the stairs, watching her ass sway back and forth. 

Mad Moon Grocery was on the edge of our property; they had to have had a good reason to kill two guards at the borders to get Aurora.

Ever since I had taken over as alpha, hounds hadn’t dared to step on my property. They knew to stay away.

She pushed our bedroom door open. “That’s not my fault, Ares.”

I growled at the name, feeling him slowly awaken inside of me. I thought I had suppressed Ares earlier, but he had just been waiting to take control, to scream at her for not shifting, for not protecting herself the way she should have.

“Tomorrow, you start training,” I said. “With Marcel.”

She turned on her heel, blue eyes wide. “What! Are you serious?”

“Yes, Marcel will train you to react with your wolf in that kind of situation.”

“But you hate him. I hate him!”

It was true. I hated his guts. But I couldn’t let Aurora get hurt. I wouldn’t be able to handle Charolette’s death if it happened, and I really wouldn’t be able to handle Aurora’s too. Marcel could make her stronger. He was my best warrior and the greatest trainer in the pack. He had pushed me to be better than I’d thought I could be, had trained Ares relentlessly to make him unstoppable. But I wouldn’t let her ever be alone with that asshole.

She stared up at me with a blazing fire in her blue eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t need training. If you haven’t noticed, I’ve killed two hounds within the last two days. I think I know how to defend myself.”

I growled, feeling Ares stir inside of me, and stepped toward her. “Then, why didn’t you shift, Aurora, huh?”

Moon Goddess, did she not know how? How was it that she hadn’t shifted once when there was a threat? Did her wolf not sense it? Or maybe she just didn’t think she had to. Whatever the reason, it was unacceptable. This wasn’t a game of strength or pride.

“Those hounds will kill you. If more than one were coming at you, you wouldn’t be strong enough to defeat them without your wolf.”

“Not strong enough?” She growled and met my glare with an intense one. 

All I wanted to do was shove her against the wall and take her right there. Those wide eyes. The pure heat radiating off of her. Her strength. It was everything that I had ever dreamed of having in a mate. 

“I am strong enough to defeat them.”

I snatched her chin in my hand, squeezing roughly. “If you’re strong enough, then push me away,” I said. 

She shoved her hands right into my chest, but I didn’t move. 

I stepped closer to her, growling. “Do it, Aurora.” 

She shoved her hands right into me again, harder but not hard enough. 

“What’re you waiting for?” I stepped closer, pinning her to the wall with just my hand. “Shove me away.”

She struggled, and Ares took complete control from me.

Ares

“Ares”—she seethed—“let me go. I don’t have to prove shit to you.”

My hand slipped around her pretty little throat, thumb brushing roughly against her jaw. I pushed her head to the side and stepped closer to my mate. “Yes, you do.” 

I breathed in her rich lemon scent and felt her pulse. Such a fast beat. Such a beautiful fucking neck that I could claim.

“You’re mine, and it’s my job to make sure nobody tries to take what’s mine from me.” I chuckled lowly in her ear, making her shiver. “You’re oh-so pretty, Kitten. And there are far too many people who will try to take you away from me.”

She clenched her jaw and shoved her hands back into my chest, but instead of pulling them away, she curled her fingers into my skin. Claws in my flesh. Canines emerging under those plump lips. Her wolf and mine.

“And I will kill them,” she said.

“Then, fucking prove it to me, Aurora.”

My hand tightened around her throat, and all I could see was black. Pure black. The hounds could’ve killed her today. They could’ve taken her away from me. They could’ve brought her back to their hideout, ripped off her clothes, and taken her dignity.

“Prove to me that you wouldn’t have let them pin you against the wall.” I pushed her further into the wall, letting her squirm. “Prove to me that you wouldn’t have let them press their lips to your throat.” I inhaled deeply, her scent becoming overwhelming, and kissed the spot I would mark soon. “Prove to me that you wouldn’t let them touch you like I do.” I pushed my hand into her pants and relished in how ready she was for me.

It hadn’t even been three fucking days yet, and here she was, making me feel things that I had never felt before. An innate need to make her mine. A thirst to thrust myself inside of her—and only her—for the rest of my life. A hunger to show everyone how fucking strong my mate was, to make every other alpha jealous, to make her my fucking goddess among such peasants.

She gulped, her breath in my ear. “What if I don’t want to prove it to you?”

I tensed when I smelled her arousal. She wanted the same, and it freaked me the fuck out. How could she want a monster like me, someone so menacingly vicious, someone so brutal?

“What if I want you to take me, Ares?” she whispered, trying to taunt me.

I growled and pressed my hard cock against her stomach, letting her feel where I would be later. That deep inside of her. Tearing up her tight little pussy.

“You want all of me, Kitten?” I asked against her ear. “Because I’ll give you all of me.”