"I hope I didn't interrupt anything" he uttered smiling and I wasn't sure if it sounded more of a wheeze or a hiss. When he spoke, I expected a forked tongue that would flicker incessantly over his cracked lips however I was met with a row of teeth that looked broken and chipped like the heads of a weathered tombstone.
He was a tall and slender man with skin so pale it appeared as if he was the product of a deadly and contagious disease, not to mention his smell. It was a God-awful stench of decaying flesh mixed with the putrid scent of staled blood.
Deep down I knew his foul scent wasn't normal, but came from the souls that got polluted by his evil that finally hung from him in a heavy cloak.
"Ah, who is this lovely, I hope you brought her here for me to have a quick snack perhaps?" he inquired with a mischievous glint reaching out to touch me with his disgusting, white- like mayonnaise, unholy hands.
"If you touch her..." Ares snapped, pulling me behind him. "Then I hope, you are prepared to lose that entire limb"
He chuckled, a maniacal and sinister sound, apparently amused at Ares' disposition and his lathery face crinkling. Was this man mad? I was getting nervous, not for Ares but for Aleister and the way he was behaving, teasing Ares when he obviously despised him, I knew sooner or later the ashes of death were bound to rain down on him.
I studied Ares and realized that he was back to his cold and cautious self, not the type of cold like a cool breeze or water from a stream in autumn, but cold, like angry gushes of wind biting at your skin in the middle of a dead winter night.
"Now now don't be like that. There isn't any need for violence especially knowing that I might end up mutilated so no need to break a sweat" he said, flashing him bone-white fangs in what was a saccharine smile.
He finally stepped inside moving across from us casually walking over to where an armchair was then taking a seat, and even though I wasn't one to judge, I could tell from the confidence and poise he exuded, Ares probably owed him something.
"Your beliefs are both concerning and accurate considering that I never sweat under any circumstance- ever" His voice was harder than steel and more deadly than a sting from a resentful scorpion.
Something came over me in that moment that urged me to reach out and comfort him in his time of rage and annoyance finally placing my palms flat against his hard edged back. His muscles stiffened at my touch- which was expected but then he languidly glanced at me over his shoulders with those eyes that were easy to remember and hard to forget, before he visibly relaxed.
But it was only for a moment.
Because as he looked over at Aleister he was already watching us with a smile that showed nothing but bad intent and suspicion.
"Why have you come here, haven't I already established there is nothing more I will do for you to settle my transgression- or are you so greedy that your brain will only alter that which your ears want to hear?"
I could see his face twitching from irritation and the forced smile was fighting to stay plastered on his face but he managed to play it off with a short chuckle before saying.
"Here she comes..." His voice was suffused with a sugary tone but died away nevertheless.
Octavia appeared like a pesky sore, crashing and latching onto his body as if he were her long lost lover. The way she was behaving, highlighting her ample charms and looking up at him from under long, thick lashes-one would think he was responsible for hanging out the sun every morning.
What a bitch.
I felt myself being pushed away, not physical but mentally. Nobody seem to have notice that I was standing there anymore and once again I was beginning to feel myself get insecure about my position around supernatural-always the unimportant one.
"My daughter- If I recall my last request was that you take Octavia as the Luna of your pack and if I'm not mistaken, you actually agreed to this proposal" He said intertwining his fingers together and I gasped.
This time for sure I distanced myself and from ahead I could see when Ares was turning his body to look at me, but I didn't even want him to see my clouded expression and demeanor. I should have known from the beginning that things wouldn't work between us but I kept on trying to string together my unrealistic delusion.
Oh how foolish I was.
Jealousy poked and stabbed at my heart when I looked up and saw Octavia still hanging from his arm. He still looked dangerous, and in spite of that danger or probably because of it, I'd always feel drawn to him.
Drawn to him?
I paused, waiting to feel some revulsion or aversion but it didn't come and that realization frightened me a bit. They did look like the ultimate couple. A strong, powerful and attractive alpha and a pig-brained lummox. Yeah right.
"I think you may have misconstrued my very unequivocal statement back then. Never was it in my intention nor did I stutter when I said I would never take Octavia to be a part of my pack. Furthermore- she's an undiscerning palate and could never be my Luna" he replied haughtily.
He spoke so coldly, I was convinced his words were taken directly from an icebox.
"However... You might have manipulated the Were- Court into believing that I killed your father to exploit my authority in favor of your desires, but this is the end of the road for you Aleister"
There was a brief uncomfortable silence. Aleister looked dumbstruck and Octavia finally broke away from Ares to gawk at him like a fish out of water.
"Ho- how dare you say that about me" she sputtered with salty, unshed tears brimming her eyes. "Don't you feel the connection between us, can't you see that I am your mate?" She asked, sounding raw and desperate, hugging him around the waist and pushing up her body into his.
I cackled lowly and even though I tried to not let it break out into an uncontrollable fit of laughter they heard me nonetheless. Octavia looked at me in disbelief and surprise when she finally realized I was there all along, but her manner and attitude became sour in the midst of being embarrassed.
"Ares are you just going to stand here and let this servant dog laugh at me like that?" she scoffed looking up at him in hopes that he would come to her defense and her disgust was impossible to not pick up on.
"Do not speak to her like that!" He gutturalized and his anger descending on her from on high like the wrath of a God.
I flinched at the deep rumble of his voice as I noticed a strange and conflicted energy radiating from him while a deep dark terrible emptiness started to perfume his ambiance.
What the hell was going on with him?
I wanted to reach out and assure him that I-everything was fine, but something told me he was far pass that.
"But-
"Octavia- enough. Don't make a spectacle of yourself" Aleister interrupted, getting up to stand between Ares and his daughter.
The cocky smile he once flaunted had teleported to the land of oblivion and humiliation mixed with contempt had taken a spot on his face.
"Since that is how you feel, then there is no point in arguing. However I wonder what the Court will think of such decision" He continued and from his tone of voice I could tell he was trying to taunt Ares into changing his resolve but he did not falter rather he looked dauntless and uncaring.
He turned to leave, angered and defeated however the sick feeling that things weren't over or something bad was going to happen clawed at my throat.
And I was right.
Because as he stepped towards the door, I watched almost in slow motion when a sardonic smile broke out on his face, before he vanished from my sight only to reappear behind me with one hand around my throat and the other seizing my wrist behind me.
I stood in a kind of suspended animation, trying to mull over if he was really behind me holding me hostage or if this was all my imagination and when I felt the firm grip on my neck being tightened, panic rose in my veins like white hot fire, because this was all real indeed.
I was overcome with a nauseated feeling. Was this how it felt when death was literally standing right behind you? Ares looked at me earnestly before his eyes flickered to Aleister and then back to mine. It was a stern look that was a nebulous balance of disbelief and outrage yet landing on regret.
"Aleister-
"Shut up you insufferable criminal!" He cursed. "You're as stubborn as they say. Why couldn't you just do what you were told boy, or we wouldn't be in this position" He continued, jerking me harder in his body and adding pressure to the arm that was around my throat to the point where I was feeling myself gasp for air.
"Ares please" I screamed desperately and overwhelmingly helpless, reaching a hand forward in hopes that he would be able to grab me away and into the comfort of his arms, but my actions were futile since we were a good six feet away from each other.
"Skyler look at me" He called taking a step forward, searching my eyes imploringly while Aleister mirrored his movement causing the grip on my throat to loosen. "Skyler..." He called more softly and I looked up at him halfway between coughing and catching my breath.
"I won't let anything happen to you" He reassured calmly, making sure to look me straight in the eye sounding fierce and dignified all at once. His eyes were trained with such an intensity that could persuade an army of angry men into believing the battle was already won while at the same time sending them on their merry way without spreading chaos.
And I trusted him.
"Wait "He drawled out. "Could it be, she is your mate isn't she? And here I thought it was just a rumor" He carried on laughing, but it was laughter without humor.
"You know, for someone who is revered as a God in this society, you're pretty stupid. You would rather deny an ethereal beaut, a literal goddess but choose a mortal human wimp that you can't have. You haven't even marked her yet" He argued, chuckling deep within his throat.
Fear held an iron fist around my throat, I was too busy trying to figure out a way to escape from his grip to even say anything. But even if I could say anything it would be frivolous as this conversation and situation was beyond me.
I didn't want to bite, scratch or kick him, as I dreaded angering him any more than he already was because I knew that in a mere millisecond, he could snap my neck or worse bite me.
And I didn't want to die.
"Your words do not affect me Aleister but if you let her go then I'd be willing to discuss an alternative that satisfies you in a more civil manner" He replied with a lethal scowl yet looking as harmless as a startled rattle snake.
His shoulders appeared broader and the planes of pectoral were visible underneath the fabric of his white shirt and I noticed how he seemed taller and heavier under long, filled out legs.
"Civil?" He asked incredulously. "You're one to talk- not after what you did two decades ago. And while I must admit that you didn't directly killed my father the aftermath of what happened explained it all. My people died from starvation and feared even walking outside at night all because of you. We were already burdened to be banished to the night and your actions ostracized us even more. But what's worse, is that to this day, you still can't give an explanation as to why you did it"
"With that said though, I admired you Ares. I wanted to be like you, be able to do what you did, but you certainly have changed and that's sad"
"I am not the same man I was back then" He said with a grim expression. "And even if I did explain what happened, I doubt very strongly that the knowledge would change anything at all"
He took another step further and then he looked down at me but I was very startled to see the concerned gleam in his amber pools that were rimmed with a bright golden hue that surprised me for a second.
I didn't know about this unsightly war, but the extremity and solemnness to it made me realized that I might have been seeing things through the crack of a closet, however, like always, there were more paths than clues. Paths that only Ares went down on but didn't want to disclose.
"Well isn't that unfortunate. Once down a path of blood and carnage but now you want to retrace your steps to humanity. Stop wasting your time, when are you going to realize that you're just a titan that's reduced to a puppet who is kissing up to the ass of the court" He ridiculed, roughly dragging my head back and running a lone finger down my throat.
"DON'T-
He barked and his eyes flashing a furious yellow before it disappeared. He sucked in a breath and screwed his eyes shut as if to gather himself but as he reopened them a menacing aura blanketed the room.
"Do that"
"Oh my bad- then you won't mind me doing this then" The next thing I felt was a slick wet tongue trailing a path from the side of my neck to the tip of my ear and just when I thought things were over, an excruciating pain that burned like hellfire spread through my neck when his alarmingly sharp fang punctured my skin.
Yet he didn't stop there instead he proceeded to pull the blood from my veins in large gulps before the muscles in my legs liquefied and I was dropped to the ground like a rag doll. My body felt like it was in an inferno, and I felt the rest of the blood that he had spared spewing out in gallons, painting the carpet in an angry red.
I caught a glimpse of Ares to see him standing there with eyes pregnant with shock and horror. It was almost as if his brain refused to accept the image sent by his eyes and that was the last normal look that was thrown my way.
There was a last impression of sound, of shallow, rasping breaths and a fixed expression which had reached tightly compressed lips before Aleister was flung across the room. I didn't know how he reached over to me so quickly but I didn't care, I just wanted him to hold me in my last moments.
Kneeling down, he was careful enough to lift me off the hard floor and into the comfort of his arms in a protective embrace and when he saw the oozing wound on my neck, I think that was when he truly lost.
A feral growl rumbled the earth and the windows in his office shattered completely. The dark ambers were long gone and had turned into a murderous canary yellow.
"Ares!" Cyrus shouted storming through the door trying to map out his Alpha. Ares snapped his head in Cyrus' direction, lips curling back from his teeth and when Cyrus saw him, he froze.
"Shit" He cursed lowly but he didn't dwell on the ferocious look that Ares displayed when he saw me laying in his arms on his lap.
"What happened to her?" He asked frantically bending down to assess my wound but I was pulled away and closer in Ares' body, the possessive bearing taking control of him.
"Where is Doctor Alexandru?" He asked. I could hear the restrained emotions in his voice that was curtained by anger and desperation.
"He's not here- he went to visit his family members at one of the estates" He explained and a part of me lost hope right then and there.
So this is how it's all going to end huh. I wished Scarlette was here so that I could tell her goodbye and see her face as I was taking my last breath.
"She's losing too much blood Ares, by the time the doctor is back she'll be already-
He stopped himself in the middle of his sentence as if he was thinking of possible ways to save my life.
"Mark her" Cyrus said as if he was unsure of what he was saying. "Mark her!" he spoke more loudly this time, holding on to his shoulder and looking him dead in the eye.
"Cyrus are you insane" He barked "You have no idea what that will do to me" He uttered and the both of them went silent, gazing at there each other intently like they were having an unspoken battle between them.
A sight ahead of Cyrus caused him to break away from the stare and I saw when in flash a figure escaped through the door. Cyrus got up to chase after it but stop midway to say.
"Well it's either that, or your will no longer have the honor of saying you ever had a mate" Then he was off.
Ares looked dejected and in an inner turmoil gazing almost vacantly. I felt the air in my lungs vanishing but before that happened, I leaned my head so that I was gazing at him, so that, for the last time I could trace the outline of his face and burn the vision of him in my brain.
And even though I was in my weakened state, my hands reached up to cup his face but sadly they did not reach him as my hands drooped and fell to my side as I took my last breath, falling unconscious forever.
---------------------------------------------------
I woke up to the sensation of someone carrying me bridal style and a sharp pain that was two times as bad as the one that was there before. He kicked opened a door and I cried out from the pain that shot through my body from being jolted.
He stopped momentarily to look down at me with slightly wide eyes. His gaze was like fire- reminding me of the golden glow of dawn that lifted my gaze and drawing me in.
Could it be that he marked me?
How else would I be alive?
"I thought I lost you" He whispered slowly, surprising me when his head reached down and touching his forehead with mine, a closeness and side of him that I thought I'd never experience. A tingling sensation began at the area where our heads touched and skated to my heart causing it to beat faster and harder than ever before.
Yet all that soon came to an end when the warmth of his head tore away from me and he yelled out in agony while the veins in his neck seemed to pop out of the skin in his neck. His head began to twitch from side to side and an untamable growl came from his throat.
He wobbled slightly but gain his equilibrium, tightening his hold on me so that I wouldn't fall yet breathing rapidly in shallow breaths as if he had just ran a marathon.
"Fuck, not now" he cursed incoherently but I heard him clear as day.
"Are, are you alrigh-
"Shh don't speak, you're in no condition to be talking right now" He uttered and I watched as his head twitched again.
What the hell was wrong with him, he seemed almost unstable.
He took off at a faster pace and I did what I was told anyway I closed my eyes feeling drowsing and reopened then when we were outside. I saw Cyrus barking orders at some werewolves who then took in the direction of the forest.
"Here take her" he instructed Cyrus and handing me over to him.
"No! Give her back to me" He threatened as if he hadn't just ordered him to take me away from him but before he could hand me over, Ares dropped to his knees with his back arching upwards letting out a series of howls and growl and heavy coughs.
A dark, sinister aura visibly flowed around him, like a black smoke ready to consume him. Cyrus rushed me to the back of an ambulance that I hadn't seen before mumbling a string of profanities, carefully placing me on the stretcher before taking off in the direction of Ares.
"Calm down Ares" He yelled gripping him by the shoulder and shaking him while Ares writhed tormented and in obvious pain. "Do not let him take control of you, or everything you have worked for up to this point will be in vain".
I watched in complete stupor, having no idea what the hell was going on, and when a wave of tiredness hit me, in that last moment I saw when Cyrus pulled a rectangular box from his pockets revealing a syringe with a silver content and stabbing it in his neck.
"It's alright, Skyler is ok now, you don't have to worry"
My mind was reeling with intrigue and curious question, but the one that stood out was.
'Who did they not want to let out, and what would happen if he was released?'