The pack sat around me, watching me cry my damn eyes out and cling onto my brother like he was the only thing that mattered, and I felt so weak. I let them fight without me; I let them protect me without trying to protect them. I was supposed to be their luna. I was supposed to care for them. I didn't want to be like Mom or Dad and let other wolves protect me so I could lead. I wasn't better than any of these warriors.

So, I wiped my tears with the back of my hand, grabbed the stone--feeling its power swell in my hand, and stood on shaky legs. I placed the stone at Ares's feet, unable to make eye contact with him, and turned back around to get Jeremy.

When I leaned down to scoop him into my arms, I heard someone shift behind me. "Aurora, let me help you," Ares said.

I shook my head. "No." I picked Jeremy's dead body in my arms, held him tightly to my chest, and walked through my pack members. Elijah and his pack waited on the outskirts of the forest, showing their respect the way they always did--by bowing their heads.

Tears still streamed down my face, but I didn't let myself cry out loud. I gave Jeremy's lifeless body to Elijah, brows furrowed together. "I'm sorry. He was hurting. He couldn't go on any longer." My lips trembled. "Please don't hate me like my family does. I'm sorry, Elijah."

Elijah took Jeremy in his arms. A stray tear fell down his cheek, but he quickly pushed it away. He took a deep breath, inhaling Jeremy's unfamiliar scent, and closed his eyes. "I could never hate you."

My heart ached, suddenly feeling overwhelmed. At least, someone who I knew before this whole mess didn't hate me for everything I wasn't... or was. I grasped Elijah's elbow in my hand and leaned my forehead against his shoulder, staring down at Jeremy. "Please," I said quietly. "When you're finished... take him to my father."

I couldn't face Dad right now. It was too painful to even think about him. Only last night I told Dad that Jeremy was alive and now he was dead and I killed him.

An eerie silence laid within the forest. I swallowed hard and walked to the packhouse, laid in Ruffles's bed with her, and stared at the ceiling, unable to move, unable to feel anything but pain. What had I done? Why had I done it? Dad was right... Maybe Ares had changed me into a cold-blooded monster.

The front door opened, and Ares shuffled through the house somewhere. He didn't call my name. He didn't make much noise. And he didn't barge into the room like I thought he would. Instead, he knocked quietly on the door and said, "Aurora, can I come in?"

I pet Ruffles and gave my weakest "mmhmm" as a response. The door opened, and Ares walked into the room with that stone in his hand. His eyes were an unusual delicate brown, searching mine. He crouched by the bed, and I sat up and kicked my feet over the edge.

Instead of meowing at me like she usually did, Ruffles hopped off me and laid by my side, her tail brushing against my back. Ares took my hands and placed the stone in them. "This is yours," he said.

My eyes widened, and I shook my head. "No, it's Charolette's." I pushed it back to him. "Give it to her."

"If you want her to have it, you give it to her." Though his expression was soft, his voice was stern and final. I pressed my lips together and gazed down at the stone in my hand, watching it emit a slight glow. Even though it wasn't inside of me, I could feel its power. I wanted to be healed more than anything... but I wanted Ares to be happy and I wanted Charolette to have a chance at life.

I grasped it tightly in my hand and then placed it on the nightstand. Ares grabbed my knees, squeezing lightly. I stared down at him, wanting to feel something other than this pain and sacrifice, so I grasped his face in my hands and pressed my lips to his.

Ares tensed and pulled away slightly. "Aurora," he said breathlessly before I pressed my lips to his again. All I wanted was to feel like myself again. All I wanted was to be happy and to feel good. He pushed me away again. "Stop, Aurora. You're hurting."

"Please, Ares..."

Desperate. I was desperate to feel good, to feel something other than this.

When he didn't say anything, I pressed my lips back against his. The pain didn't magically go away like I hoped it would; it still lingered in my heart, but Ares dulled it. I pulled him onto the bed with me and wrapped my legs around his waist, tugging his hips closer to mine. He was sweaty and bloody and dirty but I didn't care.

After one long kiss, he pulled away from me again. "Aurora, let me hold you."

"I don't want to be held," I said, grasping his hand and pressing it against my core. "I want to forget." Forget about everything that had happened between my family.

He closed his eyes, blowing out a low, steady breath. "Kitten..."

"Please, Ares."

After sighing one more time, he laid light yet passionate kisses down my neck, his mouth lingering by his mark. Then his lips traveled lower and lower, down my chest and abdomen, up my thighs, right to my core.

My body stayed tense the whole time, trying to keep everything bottled up inside of me. But when his lips pressed against my folds, I let out a deep breath and the tears followed. I bit my lip to hold back the cries, knowing that if I even let out a whimper that he'd stop, and squeezed my eyes closed.

Ares maneuvered himself between my legs, letting my thighs rest on his shoulders. He peeled my folds apart with his fingers, his tongue moving back and forth against my clit. I let out another breath, this time a shaky one.

All I had left was Ares. Dad would hate me. Elijah would go back to his pack. Ares was my only family left, and he accepted me... he always did, even when I thought I was weak. More tears slid down my cheeks, and I sucked in a breath, trying so hard not to make a sound.

When my abdomen tightened and I couldn't hold it in any longer, I let out a quiet whimper. Ares gazed up at me, immediately sitting up, but I grasped his hair. "Please, don't stop, Ares. Please."

There was so much desperation in my voice. Hell, there was so much desperation inside of me. All I wanted to do was feel loved for a few moments. I didn't want to think. I didn't want to feel. I just wanted this.

"You're crying, Kitten," he said, voice soft.

"Please..." My voice was quiet, and I stared down at him with tears in my eyes. "Please Ares. You're all I want right now." He stared at me, brows furrowed together, and dipped his head between my legs again, reaching up to wipe the tears from my cheeks. I curled my fingers into his hair, unable to stop the cries. "Goddess, I love you, Ares."

Alpha Ares, the infamous god of war, was the most loving man I had ever known. From standing over Jeremy and I during the fight to letting me decide what to do with the stone... he was more than those rumors, he was more than any man I had met before. He was mine, and I was his.

To care for.

To love.

To protect.

Ares kissed back up my body, his lips pressing hard to my skin. When he reached my lips, he placed a lingering kiss on them, then rolled onto his side, cradling my head in his hands and holding my body tightly to him. "Come Here, Kitten."