06

Ares stared hard at the glass on his table. He wasn't transfixed by the object. It was a ploy to calm his wolf down who had been fussy all morning. He imagined his wolf snarling at that word. Trying to calm an Alpha wolf down was nearly impossible. But Ares had good control over it on most days, and today would be one of those days. He was setting out on an important mission today.

The last thing he needed was to be distracted or at a battle of wills. He figured the wolf was all over the place because of the mission. He'd been planning toward this day for months. Nothing could go wrong. He closed his eyes and breathed in, feeling his wolf retreating.

"Hello, my love!" Ingrid, a nineteen-year-old rosey cheeked damsel, barged into his room as she fondly did, shattering his concentration. "Viola sent me to let you know the girl is already in no man's land. You need to get going before night falls."

He sighed, and then glared at her for the intrusion but she missed it. Ares knew his pack thought he was too lax with her, but she was the closest thing to a family he had left. The thought left a sour taste in his mouth.

"You need to learn how to knock." Ares rolled his shoulders back and stood.

"Knock? What's that?" She pouted and he shook his head.

"Try to stay out of trouble while we are gone, and don't bother Viola. She might be our pack's seer, but I don't trust the damned wretch and her magic portions. Knowing how annoying you can be, I'll hate for you to upset her or break something in her cabin, and she ends up turning you into a rat."

Ingrid gasped. "Can she do that?"

"I'm sure she can." Ares deadpanned. "Avoid her. Take your gimmicks elsewhere or better still, restrain yourself till I return."

"Ugh, I'm not a child, Ares." Ingrid frowned and went to sit on the edge of his bed. True, she wasn't a child, but he was eight years her senior and would be damned before he let any harm come to her. They'd endured enough of that already.

"I mean it, Ingrid." He said in a final warning and left her in the room. He imagined her silently cursing his back.

"Alpha," His beta, Kyle came to join him as he crossed the landing.

"Is everything ready?"

"Yes, we're ready to leave." He nodded. Ares met him when they were fending off rogues in an unclaimed territory down south. He'd saved Kyle's life and Kyle had refused to leave him ever since. He figured he might as well work him out by making him his Beta but the fucker, being good at everything he did, excelled even in that.

Their group of eight set off into the forest. The sun was yet to rise but Ares could feel the movement in his bones. In exactly ten minutes the sun would be up and bright. He knew this forest like the back of his hand, yet his wolf started pacing again. Deciding what his wolf needed was a good run and chase, he commanded everyone to change to their wolf form.

After running for about thirty minutes, they reached a clearing. They changed back to human form and donned their clothes. The smell of blood and rot was poignant in the air. And in the middle of the clearing lay a lonesome form. Ares moved toward the body.

"Alpha—" Kyle started but Ares shut him up with a hand gesture.

The form belonged to a woman. Her auburn hair was spread out before her and her jeans were dirty and stained with blood. Blood and dirt covered every inch of her, but most especially her hands. Had she killed those rogues with her bare hands? Ares couldn't help feeling impressed. He'd found her, and she was everything Viola predicted.

Her shirt had riled up to her stomach and her pale skin glowed in the morning light. He bent to her level. His wolf was now frantically pacing. Excited? Likely, because their target was finally within reach. The prophecy would be fulfilled and everything would be his again.

The girl's lids suddenly shot open and she stared at him unseemly, with eyes as green as the foliage around them. One minute she was conscious, and the next she wasn't.

"Look at these dead rogues, do you think she killed them?" Kyle asked from behind him.

"Impossible." Ares murmured, yet somehow he knew she killed these rogues. Only her. Why was the idea this little form killed those rogues so exciting?

"And what's that smell?"

Ares suddenly growled. No wonder his wolf was frantic. He should have noticed sooner. She was in her last throes of heat. He turned around and growled at his men. They all turned their heads down. He hated the fact they could scent her. Her scent was maddening. A mix of lilacs and coral. He reached out a hand, gently touching her forehead. The contact sent sparks through his body and he couldn't make sense of it. "She's burning up."

Her hand abruptly shot out, landing on his, surprising him with her fast reflex. "Who are you?"