Chapter 5: 5: Chapter 5

LEAH

I wake up the next morning alone in bed. My head is pounding, and my body is tired from the night’s lack of sleep. I get out of bed slowly as I rub my eyes to life. I get dressed and walk down to the dining room, which is full of people.

There, I find Ares and my mother along with Alpha Jason and his luna.

“Good morning, Your Majesty,” Luna Isabelle greets. “Do you want breakfast?”

“Yes, please,” I answer and sit down at the table opposite Ares. Our eyes meet as he looks anxiously at my tired face.

“Slept well?” my mom asks before taking a sip of her coffee.

Isabelle places a cup in front of me and a plate with scrambled eggs and two pieces of toast on it. I thank her before I look back at my mother.

“Well, I had strange dreams, but don’t worry. It will be fine when we can get back to the castle and I know you are all safe.”

“We just need to fix a couple of things and then we can go tomorrow,” Alpha Jason replies as he stands up to clear his own and his mate’s plate from the table. I nod in response and then focus on my food. While I eat, I listen to the conversations taking place around me. They are talking about how much they will bring with them, and Ares explains that he has already asked people back home to work on housing barracks that they can live in until further notice.

When I’m done eating, I excuse myself and leave the dining room. I walk out the front door to get some fresh air. Ever since that dream, I have had a bad feeling in my body.

“Your Majesty?” John asks as he stands next to me.

“Hmm?”

The forest in front of us is thick, the autumn’s crisp winds have begun to pull in over the country. The leaves already alternating in different colors. I place my arms around my torso and shudder.

“How are you feeling?” John takes off his thick sweater and puts it over my shoulders.

“I don’t know, John… I have a strange feeling in my body. It’s hard to explain, but it feels like these rogue attacks are just the beginning of something bigger.” I grab his shirt and tighten it over my torso.

“You don’t have to worry, me and Zeke have your back.”

“Zeke is not here, he found his mate yesterday, do you think he really wants to hang around me now all day and night?” I meet John’s gaze. I used to resent having them follow me everywhere, but now that there is a risk that Zeke will resign and choose a less time-consuming task, I find myself feeling alone and sad.

“In that case, the king will put a new one on that post, you won’t be by yourself. Also, I won’t leave you.” He turns his stare back to the forest, and I do the same. We stand in silence until the door behind us opens.

“Speaking of the trolls,” I say, giving Zeke a small smile.

“Your Majesty, I would like to introduce my mate, do you have time?” He looks nervous.

“Of course,” I reply, handing John his shirt back. I go back into the house and as I pass Zeke, he wrinkles his nose. I stop to give him a questioning look before I realize what it is he smells. I smell like John after wearing his shirt. I realize that Ares is going to go fucking crazy, but it is too late.

“Your Majesty,” Zeke begins, walking up to a young woman putting his arm around her waist. “This is my mate, Anna.” She has brown curly hair and kind big brown eyes.

I greet her with a big smile on my face. “It’s great to finally meet you,” I say, shaking her hand.

She looks up at Zeke and then at me with wide eyes.

“You don’t have to bow, I’m not that formal.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty. It is very nice to meet you too.”

Zeke stands and smirks widely, oozing with pride for his mate. Anna looks up at him as she positions herself as close as possible.

“Zeke, I’m relieving you of your bodyguard duty for now,” I finally say.

Zeke gives me a shocked look. “What do you mean? Aren’t you happy with me?”

“Calm down Zeke, I’m very pleased, but I want you to take this opportunity to spend as much time as possible with your mate now that you’ve finally found her.”

“But, Your Majesty…”

“No buts, Zeke!” I interrupted him. “Treat yourself to this, you have your position back then whenever you want. But take the opportunity to be together now instead of following after me all the time, okay?” I insist.

“Okay, thank you, Your Majesty,” Zeke says after a moment of reflection.

Suddenly, our conversation is interrupted by the door to the hall being slammed open.

“Leah,” Ares growls, his deep voice sending goosebumps all over my body. Zeke, Anna, and John excuse themselves before quickly leaving the room.

Ares takes great strides toward me; his gaze is pitch black. He grabs my upper arms and pulls me toward him before running his nose over my torso.

“Why do you smell like John?” he growls.

“Ares…,” I start cautiously but I quickly fall silent when our eyes meet, his wolf is dangerously close to taking over.

“No other man’s scent should be over your body!” he roars. He lifts me over his shoulder in one swoop and walks up to our room.

“It’s not John’s fault, Ares!” I plead. He kicks open the bedroom door before shutting it hard. He doesn’t let me down until we’re inside the bathroom. There he strips off my clothes and points to the shower. I do as he asks and wash myself thoroughly with soap. Ares hands me a towel that I pull around my body.

Now that John’s scent is gone, I see how he is starting to calm down, a hint of brown is visible in his previously pitch-black eyes. I take a few steps forward as I place my hands on his chest.

“I’m yours, you know it,” I whisper. A muffled growl escapes him before he pulls me into his arms.

“I’m going to kill him,” he growls at the top of my head.

“No, you won’t. I was freezing and he lent me his shirt. It’s my fault, I should have known better. But I didn’t think it would rub off on me so easily.”

I place my arms around his neck as I’m placing small kisses on his cheek and then down to his neck.

“Leah,” he groans.

“Mmm…” Slowly I let my hands caress his shirt upwards so that I can then toss it aside. My mouth explores his broad chest, down over his sculpted abs.

“Don’t you remember what I said? No intimacy until we’ve talked about…”

I interrupt him by smacking my lips on his. He responds immediately by lifting me up so that I straddle his waist. Our tongues begin to explore each other hungrily as he walks toward the bed. I scream as he suddenly throws me down on the mattress. Quickly I throw away the towel so that I am lying naked, worried that he will change his mind and leave me here by myself.

“You’re driving me crazy,” he swears before taking off his pants and climbing on top of me. His erection lies against my wet opening, ready to take what is his. “Tell me you’re mine.”

“I’m yours,” I groan, my hands rubbing against his back, urging him to push himself into me.

“Are you going to stop taking the pill so we can start a family?” he whispers as he kisses and sucks on my mark. Jolts of pleasure dart through my body as I am filled with an intoxicating sensation. My back shoots up against him as he nibbles gently on my neck.

“Answer me, Leah,” he growls softly.

All I can think about is the desire within me that burns after his touch.

“Yes,” I whimper, and he responds by pushing in his entire length. I scream in pleasure as he thrusts into me again and again. I cling to his body as I feel the tension increasing. Our bodies are starved of the closeness that they demand. His thrusts become more frenetic and demanding as the tension inside me increases to an excruciating degree.

I push my hips up to meet him and arch my back up as one of the most intense orgasms finally washes over me. In my haze of intoxication, I hear him moan loudly as his warm seed fills me up. He sinks down on top of me, breathless as we lie in silence.

Shit, what the hell did I just say yes to?