I dumped my gym bag onto the ground at the edge of the training field and tugged my hair into a high ponytail so everyone could see Ares's mark on my neck. Though he marked me only about a day ago, his teeth had sunk so deep into me that my mark was still red and swollen. People from his pack gazed over at me, eyes lingering longer than they usually did.

The warriors and members in his pack weren't the most personal, but they were getting used to me. Some even smiled at me this morning. But, since I'd been here, they all seemed like something had haunted them, something was digging and hurting each one of their hearts that it was difficult to be happy. Especially Ares's.

Ares stood next to Marcel at the front of the pack, sneaking a gaze at me when Marcel talked to the pack. Though he was the biggest asshole that I ever knew, there was no doubt that Marcel was one of the strongest wolves in his pack. Part of me wasn't sure why Ares didn't use Marcel more during raids, instead of locking him in the car with Charolette.

Charolette bounced on her toes next to me, smiling wide. "Morning."

After fiddling with my fingers a few times, I tried to gather my thoughts. All night I had stayed up trying to think about how I was going to ask her why Ares needed the stone. The last time I asked her and Marcel, she had been so hesitant to say anything. In fact, she didn't say anything. And... I had a bad feeling that Ares needed the stone because something had happened.

I didn't know what it was, but whatever it could be had to be terrible for Charolette to not even want to talk about it. She was always a ray of sunshine, always willing to talk about anything.

"Three mile run around the property. Usual route," Marcel said. Everyone shifted into their wolves except Ares, Marcel, Charolette, and me. Marcel cocked a brow at us. "Even you two."

"I'm not running in my wolf," I said. I tried to say it with confidence, so that nobody would suspect a thing. Ares was the only person here that knew about me not being able to shift so easily, and I wanted to keep it that way until I was comfortable.

Though I knew he would protect me any way he could, that he would kill anyone in his pack that said something rude about me... people would look at me differently. They'd judge me. An alpha who couldn't shift. Their luna who couldn't shift. How could I be Ares's mate? How could they respect me once they found out?

I could snap any one of their necks in my human form, yes... but I wouldn't do that just because they judged me for it. I didn't want to lead by fear. I wanted them to respect me for me, and I had to earn that respect even as an alpha.

"She'll run in her human form." Ares nodded to the woods. "I'll run with her."

Marcel arched a brow at him. "No," he said. "She needs to run, and so do you." He stepped closer to Ares, lowering his voice. "You need to be strong for when we find that fucking stone."

Ares tensed and gazed at me. Charolette looked between us and suddenly stepped forward. "I'll run with Aurora."

Marcel gazed at her and shook his head. "You run with me."

Ares growled. "She will run with Aurora for today. They need to talk."

I straightened my posture and clenched my jaw. "Go," I said, not wanting to draw attention to myself. When they had shifted and disappeared through the woods, Charolette and I took off on the same path, running in our human forms.

"Why don't you shift?" she asked me suddenly.

My eyes widened. Well, this was not how I wanted this conversation with her to start. I wanted to figure out about the stone and Ares's need for it. "Uhm..." I hopped over some branches, the sounds of birds chirping echoing through the woods. I didn't know what to say to her. "I just... don't like to shift."

She furrowed her brows, her pace slowing. Her breaths were a bit uneven as if she was almost out of breath already. I slowed down my pace to meet hers. "I can see if you don't like it when we practice--because shifting takes so much energy--but... you don't even shift when there's danger."

I parted my lips and swallowed hard. Shit. Shit. Shit. Did Ares say something to her? Did he tell her that I couldn't shift? Did he tell anyone else that I couldn't shift? If he did... Goddess, there will be so many people who might try to challenge me for my place. Though challenging an alpha or luna for leadership didn't happen often and though I didn't think that Ares would allow it, that didn't mean I could just walk around his pack without looking over my shoulder every few minutes.

"Come on," Charolette said. "You can tell me."

I parted my lips. "If I tell you the truth, will you tell me something?"

A smile broke out onto her flush face. "Anything."

After swallowing my pride and praying that I could trust her, I slowed to a walk and rubbed my hands together. Charolette stopped, breathing still heavy. "I..." I started, taking a deep breath. "I can't shift easily. My pack was attacked by Hounds a long time ago. My brother died during the attack, and I was paralyzed from my neck down."

Her eyes widened, tears filling them. She shook her head. "But... how? Why? Wh-how are you still walking? How can you be walking?"

I gnawed on the inside of my cheek, trying to hold the tears back. It was bad enough trying to tell Ares about this last night... it would hurt me so much more trying to tell someone else about how shitty my life was and how shitty it had been since Jeremy passed.

But... the truth felt so freeing. I wanted Charolette to accept me the way that Ares did. I didn't want her to judge me or to try to make my life easier because something was wrong with me, because of this frustrating disability. And I hoped that she would treat me the same. I think she would.

"Half of the stone is in my back," I whispered.

Her eyes widened even more, lips parting in complete shock. "You have the stone inside of you?" An expression crossed her face, one that I couldn't quite decipher. She shook her head. "You can't tell Ares about it. He... he'll hurt you. He's been searching for that stone for years. He'll do anything for it."

"He already knows."

Her lips trembled, and she grasped my hand. "He knows?" She curled her lips into a frown, a tear falling down her cheeks. Then, she threw her arms around me, pulling me into a tight hug. "He's hurt so many people trying to find the stone. I'm... honestly... so happy that he didn't hurt you too."

Her fingers brushed against my spine, against the exact spot the stone was near my neck. "I'm so... so... happy for you, that you get to live your life to the fullest and aren't paralyzed anymore. Ares needs a strong woman in his life." She pulled away, more tears in her eyes. "After mom and now me..." The tears rushed down her cheeks. "I think he'd to start to hurt himself ag--"

I furrowed my brows. "What do you mean, you?" I asked. Ares's mother died, but Charolette was healthy.

She stepped away from me, swallowing hard. "Aurora..." Her eyes widened. "Wait... Ares still didn't tell you why he wants the stone?" She placed a hand over her heart. "Oh, Goddess, I wished he did."

"What's wrong?"

My stomach turned, and I swallowed hard. What could possibly be so terribly bad? Her fatigue during our run, Marcel getting her medication, Ares being so protective over her...

Her fingers trembled, and she let out a cry. "Aurora... I have cancer."

My eyes widened, and I shook my head. No. No, she couldn't. She was so healthy. She was so fucking health, so happy, so... Tears streamed down her face, and she let out another cry, letting it echo through the forest.

"No," I said, not wanting to believe it. "No, you can't."

"Leukemia." She grasped my hand harder. "I've had it for a few years, have been through chemo... and..." She squeezed her eyes shut, and my heart hurt so fucking bad.

This couldn't be true. I didn't want to believe it. I barely knew her, but she had quickly become one of my only true friends.

"It's not working," she said. "It's hard for me to do so many things that I used to be able to do. I can barely run. I can barely fight. I just try to live my last few days happy." She wiped her tears from her cheeks.

This was why Ares didn't want to tell me why he wanted the stone. It was for her, for Charolette. This was why he was in so much pain. First, his mother died and now Charolette might die too.

She frowned and watched the warriors gather in the field through the trees. "I've lost my hair. That's why I don't shift in front of people. I don't want them to see me without it... I always loved how I looked... and now... I'm nothing. I'm nothing."

I tugged her into a hug, letting her rest her head on my shoulders. She grasped onto me like if she let go, she'd fall over. "It's okay, Charolette." I gently rubbed her back, trying to be strong for her. But it wasn't okay. None of this was okay. It would never be okay.

"Mars thinks that if he finds the stone... he'd be able to fix me..." She shook her head. "But... I don't believe it. Nothing has been able to fix this and nothing will ever be able to fix this."

My heart shattered into a million pieces. She had accepted this fate without a second thought. She had given up hope.