Chapter 11: 11: Chapter 11

LEAH

When I step out into the corridor, I see Boris’s wolf lying lifeless on the floor next to seven rogue wolves. I seem to see a hint of breathing, at least I hope so. Even though he’s an asshole, I wish him no harm; he is a part of my pack after all.

“Go!” one of the masked men yells as he pushes me forward.

I try not to slip in all the blood that is covering the floor when they push me out through the hospital section.

I open the bond between me and Ares and am washed over by his anger and worry.

~“Ares, come to the back of the hospital, hurry up.”~

I hear a loud growl in response, and I tighten my knuckles and prepare myself so that I have the courage to follow through with my plan. We walk out of the hospital, and I immediately see that we are not alone.

“We have her!” one of them shouts to the group.

I reckon there are eight rogues waiting for us. I know Ares is on his way to help me, but I don’t know how far away he is. If he is at the northern border, it may take a while for him to get here.

“Idiot! Why is she conscious?! She can call on the king for help!” says one of the rogues, and I realize that my chance is now or never.

Quickly, I turn around and punch one of the masked men in the face so that he staggers backward. An uproar breaks out when the other masked man tries to grab me, but I kick him between the legs so that he falls to the ground. I back up a few steps with my fists up in front of my face, eyeing every single one of them.

The group of rogues approaches me slowly as they circle me. I focus on the one of them who seems to be the boss, a large woman with short black hair and worn clothes. She isn’t wearing a mask like some of the others do.

“Your Majesty,” she says in a raspy voice with her hands raised. “If you come voluntarily, we won’t hurt you. What a pity if your porcelain skin would be covered in scars.”

I snort at her. “Take me if you can,” I spit out before she lunges at me. I step aside so that she barely misses me. Someone suddenly grabs me from behind and I push away with my feet so that I jump up and do a backflip over the person. As soon as I land on my feet behind him, I grab his neck only to snap it quickly.

His lifeless body falls to the ground with a thud. This drives the whole group crazy, and I understand that I will soon have a hard time holding myself against them. Just as the powerful woman is about to jump on me, I feel the sparks spread over my skin.

A huge silver-gray wolf throws himself into the crowd with his jaws open, he grabs the nearest rogue and tears him to pieces.

“Ares,” I sigh with relief.

Suddenly, it blackens before my eyes as the woman has hit me across the temple with a hard object. I stagger backward with my hand against my forehead, warm liquid seeping down from the wound.

“She told us not to kill you, but I can’t fucking help it,” she hisses before taking off and throwing herself at me.

I fall backward with all her weight over me as I ward off her blows.

Quickly I get my feet up to her waist so I can kick her off from me. She lands on the ground in front of me, and dust from the ground flies up. I get up on my feet, glancing quickly at Ares who is fighting two rogues. All the rest of them are lying bloodied on the ground, some barely alive and others lifeless.

The female rogue growls at me and bares her canines. “She always gets what she wants in the end. See you again soon, princess,” she hisses before running in the opposite direction away from me and Ares.

My gaze lands on Ares, and I see how he is biting the throat of the last wolf; he jerks so that his teeth cut open a large hole in the carotid artery. The blood spurts as the wolf stumbles away from him, and I run toward my mate.

I throw my arms around his thick neck, and his wolf gently licks the wound on my forehead. Soon, I hear bones cracking until Ares is standing in front of me in his human form. His body is covered in blood, but I don’t care. I wrap my arms around him and relax as I feel him pull me into his arms.

“Do you understand how dangerous it was for you to defy me?!” he roars as he lets go of his embrace and holds me at an arm’s distance. His gaze is traveling over my body in search of any damage and stops on my forehead. The wound has already started to heal and no longer hurts, it was only superficial.

“I know, I’m sorry, but I…”

“No buts!” Ares raises his voice and I wince. “They almost got you; do you get that?!”

Guards have started to join us, and I feel tears burning behind my eyelids.

“I know, I’m sorry!” I plead. I don’t know if Ares has ever been this upset with me before.

He clenches his jaws, takes my hand, and starts walking back to the castle.

***

We don’t say anything the whole way back to our bedroom. He releases my hand only when the door is closed, and I sit down on the bed. Silently, Ares enters the bathroom. I hear him starting the shower.

I feel guilty that I put myself in such a dangerous situation, but at the same time, I stand by the fact that I did the right thing. I could not leave Maria when she was in the middle of giving birth to her child. Maria!

~“How are you? How is the baby?”~ I ask Mateo desperately.

~“Your Majesty! Are you okay?”~

~“Yes, I’m in the castle with Ares. But how are you and the baby?”~

~“We’re fine, a doctor came shortly after you left the hospital room. All the rogues disappeared when you went along voluntarily. Maria and the baby are now sleeping, we will try to be moved to our room as soon as possible.”~

~“Okay, thanks, Mateo. Thank you for being such a nice mate and dad.”~

Suddenly, the door to the bathroom opens. The water is dripping from Ares’s hair, and I follow him with my gaze as he walks through the room toward the closet. He puts on a T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants before sitting down on the bed next to me.

“I was on top of it,” I begin to say gently, but quickly fall silent when I hear Ares begin to growl.

“Don’t you realize how valuable you are?” He clenches his hands in his lap.

“I know, but they threatened to hurt Maria and Mateo. I did the right thing as queen and protected my people!” I stand up, frustrated that he doesn’t understand where I’m coming from. I turn around and meet his stare, his jaws tense, and his eyes are dark.

“Was I supposed to sacrifice my people?” I ask cockily.

We stare at each other; I can feel through our bond how frustrated Ares is.

He finally sighs and stands up. Gently he takes my hand and pulls me into his arms.

“I almost went mad with worry,” he whispers against my head.

“I know, and I apologize for that. But I was in control and…”

“Control?!” he interrupts irritably. “There were ten rogues surrounding you! You were careless!” He holds my upper arms tightly.

“I know! But I had a plan, and I knew you would drop everything to help me.”

Ares growls softly and pulls me back into his arms. He doesn’t say anything when he turns my face up to his. I close my eyes when his lips meet mine in a passionate kiss. Slowly I purse my lips and moan loudly as he begins to explore me with his tongue. I can feel all his emotions, a mixture of fear, passion, and adrenaline.

Hungrily, he starts pulling off my clothes and I stumble backward toward the bed. When my legs hit the bed frame, I fall backward onto the mattress. I enjoy watching him as he takes off all his clothes, his manhood standing in all its glory, ready to take what belongs to him. He climbs onto the mattress like a beast seeking its prey.

That night we made love to each other all night, with a burning passion, hunger, and desperation for closeness.

Little did we know, that in a far distance, someone was planning their next attack…