"Come here, Kitten." Ares stood in the doorway, holding out his hand. I shrugged on the shirt and pants that he gave me and jumped off of the bed, trying not to make eye contact with him.

It was getting harder and harder to tell him my secret. Every time that it came up, I either chickened out or was interrupted. It was the Moon Goddess telling me that now wasn't the right time, that I should wait, that I should run. When he was gone trying to find that damn stone, it was my only chance.

I wanted an us... but this secret was too big. And though he said he wouldn't hurt me, I didn't believe him. Not when the universe was set on me not telling him. Not when he had a look that told me he could destroy me in seconds. Not when I didn't trust myself to try to stop him from letting him ruin me.

"Ares, that's not what I--"

"Ares," Liam said from down the hall. "Marcel wants to know which group he's commanding."

Ares took my hand and walked with me down the hall to the front door. Outside, in front of a running black SUV, Marcell was leaning with his arms crossed over his chest, smirking at an angry Charolette. "That's not my fault, Princess."

"It's always your fault, Marcell."

"Says the woman who--"

Ares growled, and they stopped their bickering. He stepped forward and handed Liam the keys to the car. "You'll be escorting Charolette and Aurora."

My eyes widened. So, now I was going with them to watch Elijah get tortured to fucking death, ruining my chances of ever escaping.

"Again?" he said with an over-exaggerated sigh. "I did it last time."

"Oh, come on!" Charolette said. "You're going to make me sit in the car with that asshole again? I can't stand another second of--"

"Ares, I can't go with them. I thought you said you wouldn't let me out of your sight."

"Enough."

We all fell silent, and I cursed myself for what I had said. All I wanted was to get out of his sight for a few moments, so I could think about all of this logically. Figure out my best course of action when Ares found out about me. Maybe decide who would get Ruffles once I was dead.

"You're all going. You"--he looked at Charolette--"nor you"--he looked at me--"are staying here alone where I can't get to you within a minute. And you're definitely not running through Hound territory with us. Marcell will drive you to Elijah's, then will drive you back once he has given us what we need."

Liam stepped forward, jaw clenched, and glared at Marcell. "You fucking touch her, and I will kill you."

"Ooh, boyfriend is mad." Marcel waved his hands in the air, acting scared, hopped into the car, and slammed the door shut. He watched through the window as Liam hugged Charolette to his chest and placed a kiss on her forehead. Charolette slid into the car and Liam gave one last look at Ares, telling him that we had to go. "You'll be safe with him," Ares said to me one last time. "The only reason that you're going with him is because I don't leave Charolette--or you--here now when I hunt. And..." He brushed his fingers up the side of my neck, making me shiver. "This pretty little neck of yours doesn't have my mark. I'm not going to risk someone trying to take you while I'm gone."

I took a deep breath and slid into the car, watching him shift into his wolf and run in front of the car. Moon Goddess, what was I going to do? Jump out of this car once we started down the road? Convince Charolette to convince Marcell to stay at home instead of go to Elijah's?

~~~

About halfway to Elijah's pack, I had neither convinced them to turn back nor spoken a word. I didn't want to convince anyone. I didn't want to run away from Ares. He was so excited to see my wolf, yet I didn't have the courage to tell him that my wolf didn't come out that often, that we wouldn't be able to run free together.

"Can you turn the A/C down? It's freezing." Charolette reached for the A/C.

Marcell pushed her hand away and clenched his jaw. "Touch the damn thing one more time, Charolette, and see what happens."

She scoffed. "What're you going to do? Hit me?"

"I don't hit women who don't know how to fight."

"Well, then you should have no problem hitting me."

"You don't know the first thing about--"

"Why does Ares want that stone so bad?" I asked, a sliver of hope that this wasn't all for power. That maybe there was a good side of Ares.

The two suddenly became quiet, quieter than they had been this entire car ride. Marcell glanced at Charolette and Charolette glanced at him then at her lap. She parted her lips, looking up briefly, and screamed. Marcell hit the breaks, and I flew forward in the car, the seat belt digging into my neck.

Tony stood in the middle of the street, naked and sweaty. I blinked my eyes a few times to make sure that I wasn't seeing things. What the hell was he doing here? In Hound Territory? Out in the open? By himself? Was he stupid or was he fucking stupid? A stupid alpha to lead Mom's stupid pack when she retired.

Marcell took his foot off the break, his hand tight on the steering wheel, immediately shifting into warrior-mode. "I'm going to drive past him. Leave him for the Hounds."

I clenched my jaw. "No. Stop the car." I hated the guy, but I didn't want him dead. Yet.

Charolette stared at Tony with wide-eyes, then at Marcell. Marcell gazed at me with hatred in his eyes. "Ares will not like us stopping, especially in Hound Territory."

"Now, Marcell."

He sighed deeply through his nose and put the car into park. "Ares is going to have my fucking ass for this." He gazed at Charolette. "Stay in the car."

I hopped out of the car, not waiting for him, and walked right up to Tony. "What the hell are you doing here?" I lowered my voice and looked around the eerie forest. I could hear the sounds of howling in the distance. "We're in Hound Territory."

Tony stepped toward me, and that's when I noticed some of the other warrior-wolves from Mom's pack behind him. "I'm bringing you home."

I flared my nostrils. "No." Not only did I want to get away from Ares, but I also didn't want to leave with Tony. The man who stole my place as an alpha.

"You're not safe with Ares," Tony seethed. Marcell stepped forward, brows furrowed together and jaw clenched hard, as if he was about to kill Tony if he got too close. "Let's go." Tony grasped my wrist, tugging me in the opposite direction, and Marcell growled.

I yanked my wrist away from him and glared in his direction. "I asked why you were here."

He clenched his jaw. "Because I know about the stone," he said under his breath. "I know why you can't shift. I know that it's inside of you. I've known that it's inside of you since your brother passed."

My heart stopped. "You told on Elijah," I said under my breath. Fury raced through my veins. He was the snitch. He was the one who had turned this into a whole mess. Everything was going just fine until this happened. I could've hid it from Ares for longer, but this fucking guy had to ruin it for me, just like he ruined becoming an alpha for me.

I growled and stepped forward, wrapping my hands around his throat. "Fuck you for everything that you've ever done to me. Jeremy wouldn't have this. You know what Elijah meant to him. Even when he's dead, you continue to disrespect my brother."

He grasped my hands and tried to pull them away. "I'm doing this to protect you. You think that the rogue and her kid just ran out in front of your car when you were leaving with Ares just because? I hired her to tell him what I knew, so he'd run off--power-hungry--to Elijah's, and so I could get you back."

"No!" I said, refusing to believe anything that came out of his mouth and squeezing his neck even tighter. "You're doing this to have me." And I was done being his little puppet.

I pulled him close, so my lips met his ear. "Leave now and I won't tell Ares to snap your neck. I would do it myself, but Ares would relish in how good it'd feel." I pushed him away and walked back to the car.

Marcell raised his brows at me. "Actually have some fight in you, Aurora."

I slammed the car door shut and waited for him to get into the car. Tony growled, yet disappeared back into the woods with his posse. Marcell got into the car and gazed at Charolette, then at me. "What was that about?"

"Drive Marcell. Just drive."

He started the car, and we drove further into the forest toward Elijah's pack. What was his problem? Why did he always think that I needed saving? The only person I wanted to save me was Ruffles. Only Ruffles.

After ten more minutes of complete silence from Marcel and Charolette, my mind buzzing with pure rage, and deafening growls outside of the car, the forest suddenly became quiet. The only sounds were those of victorious howls. I gazed out the car window in the direction of the wolves, my heart dropping. Through the forest, about a quarter mile east, Ares's warrior wolves were gathered around a man, a god--Ares--who stood naked on two feet, blood dripping down his chin to his chest, holding a beaten-down and weakened Elijah by the throat.