"And then a hero comes along

With the strength to carry on

And you cast your fears aside

And you know you can survive

So when you feel like hope is gone

Look inside you and be strong

And you'll finally see the truth

That a hero lies in you" ~ "Hero" by Mariah Carey

It was a relaxed Sunday afternoon and Aztec and I were chilling out in the games room; Aztec playing a game on the computer that was hooked up to the TV and I was curled into a ball on the armchair reading a new book.

The other day, Kavos had came into my room and surprised me with a collection of books that he had thought I would like, and I was almost half way through them. I was currently reading a series called Twilight and I was on Breaking Dawn, Part One.

I enjoyed the books and thought it had a good plot, but I couldn't help but think that the Bella girl had picked the wrong guy. Being with someone who was stone cold and sparkled wasn't exactly appealing for me, especially when I thought of how big and warm Kavos was.

I didn't know what type of creature Kavos was, I just knew that he was super strong, and while I was curious I didn't want to offend him. Although I decided I would subtly bring it up, and if he guessed what I was talking about then it was win-win situation as I wouldn't come out looking nosy.

Letting out a smile, I shook my head. Three weeks ago I wouldn't have dreamed of being so crafty and sneaky, but hanging out with Aztec for sure had that effect on me. He was always teaching me tricks of the trade and important facts such as 'never trusting a hoe'.

I wasn't exactly sure what a hoe was, but when I repeated it Kavos did not look happy and sent Aztec a withering look, so I decided that it was obviously something bad and not something to follow or say again.

"What are you smiling about?" Aztex asked, glancing my way briefly.

"Your words of wisdom," I admitted with a shrug.

"Sucks that we can't do those lessons anymore. Can't you try and persuade Kavos to let us?"

" I don't think so..." I frowned closing my book and sitting up, "Once his mind's made up, there's not really any going back-- you should know that."

"Yeah, but you're his mate. You're meant to be able to get anything out of him. Just throw in a seductive pout and give him puppy eyes," Aztec suggested.

"I don't think I can be seductive to save my life, sorry," I confessed, feeling embarrassed.

The idea of me being seductive towards Kavos made me feel faint. I knew that without a doubt I'd make a fool of myself and remind him exactly how naive I was. After reading a few romance novels, I knew that the whole innocent act only lasted for a while with guys, and after that they'd get bored.

I didn't want Kavos to get bored of me, but I didn't think I was ready to do anything further yet. As he hasn't hinted that he wanted to take our relationship further I didn't know if I should take it as a good or a bad thing.

"He's probably just stressed because of the incoming war, although he caused it by-- " Aztec abruptly cut off, his eyes widening at the words that had spilled from his mouth.

War?

What was he talking about?

"What war? Is that why Cassandra and Samuel had to come two weeks ago? Is that what he meant when he said he needed a powerful ally?" I demanded, everything suddenly coming together.

All the little hints, and bits and pieces of information that he had told me, were finally making sense-- Kavos was going to war!

But to war with who?

"Aztec, please, you have to tell me. What's going on? I deserve to know," I pleaded, getting up and clutching his arm.

"Fuck! He's going to kill me! I can't tell you anything, please drop it..." he hissed lowly, his eyes darting around nervously.

"You can't ask me to do that! My mate is going to war Aztec! The thought of him being in such an environment makes me feel sick with nerves. I need to know."

By this point I was genuinely close to tears, because I didn't want Aztec to get into trouble for telling me but I couldn't stomach the idea of Kavos getting hurt in war. I was always taught that violence was never the answer and that it was wrong, why couldn't conflict be solved peacefully?

No matter what, war always made sure that it killed the innocent; there was no such thing as a victimless war. Also I wasn't stupid either, if Kavos was going to war then it wouldn't be something small. If the King of the world was going to war, the whole world was going in war too. But I couldn't doggie out who would do such a careless thing, to try and fight against the most powerful person to exist on earth. It was baffling.

"What's going on?" came the sharp tone of Kavos making me jump and Aztec curse harshly.

"Nothing," responded Aztec.

"Blue?" Kavos walked over, pulling me into his warm and comforting embrace that calmed me down, "What's going on? Why are you distressed? Aztec didn't put on another horror movie did he? I told him not too after your nightmares."

"No," I sniffled, "I don't want to tell you, I don't want you to be mad at Aztec because he didn't mean too. But now I'm all worried that you'll get hurt."

Kavos' tone was suddenly very harsh and cold as he gritted out, "Hurt, why would I get hurt?"

"I let it slip to her about the war, I completely forgot you didn't tell her. Man, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to," sighed Aztec, sounding guilty, which in turn made me feel guilty .

"Blue, go your room."

"What!? No. That's not fair!" I gasped out, taking a step back from Kavos.

"I will not tell you again."

"That's ridiculous! I haven't done anything wrong! I'm not a child. I'm your mate, and you're meant to tell me everything, so why are you keeping secrets?"

For the first time in my life, I felt anger.

It was a weird emotion to feel, it made me feel like my blood was boiling and my heart was pumping faster than usual. My emotions surfaced quickly and I had the desire to hit something, or someone in this case, but I tried to keep my breathing steady and counted to ten in my head.

"You're acting like a child, so I'm going to treat you like one," he grounded out, his hands clenched.

My anger got the best of me and I felt so frustrated. Frustrated that instead of treating me with equality and like his mate, he didn't want to trust me. It hurt that he didn't trust me enough to tell me and I wanted to hurt him, I wanted him to feel how I felt, so I said the first thing that came to my mind.

"I hate you! I hate you so much! You're the worse mate, and I wish Aztec was my mate instead. At least he trusts me!" I screamed, tears streaming down my face, before I made to run upstairs.

Of course, I didn't mean it. My feelings for Aztec didn't stretch past brotherly love and the way I felt for Kavos couldn't compare to anything, but I wanted him to know how it felt.

I felt bad and immediately regretted it. Hurting someone wasn't a characteristic I'd ever associate with myself and It wasn't how I was brought up. Ms. Reid would be disappointed and that on top of that was the knowledge that I angered Kavos. It made my heart constrict painfully, at that moment I really hated myself.

I had disobeyed my mate, gone against everything I was taught, and possibly got Aztec into trouble-- I truly despise myself, I thought as tears erupted from my eyes.

However, before I made it to the second step I felt a ghost like presence grip me, and before I could blink I was on a huge king-sized bed with black velvet sheets.

My arms were pinned against the bed and Kavos' huge body covered mine. His mouth was pulled in a snarl and his sharp canine-looking teeth were out and bared at me. His purple eyes flashed with anger and his face was in a sneer. For the first time, I was frightened of my mate.

"My female dares to mention another man's name in front of me?" he hissed out, his tone sounding darker and more sinister than usual.

"I- I d- d- d-- " I couldn't even get words out I was that scared.

My heart was beating a million miles per hour, and I was so scared that I was having a panic attack. Tears clouded my vision and my throat closed up making it hard for me to breath.

His large hand gripped my throat, the hold not harsh but as a warning-- he was in charge .

"Shh, little one. Do not be afraid of me, I am simply going to give you a reminder of whom you belong to. Of who can evoke such feelings from your pretty little body." Kavos purred, nuzzling my neck affectionately .

Swallowing noisily, I nodded my head. His fingers flexed casually along my neck as he began to nibble on it. His lips were like heaven; every place they touched left a burning hot feeling of desire.

"Oh!" I gasped as he latched on to the particularly soft spot on my collarbone, his tongue working soothingly over the harsh nip he gave me.

His free hand ran comfortingly over the sides of my body, a complete juxtaposition of his rough bites and demanding hand on my throat, and all the different sensations left me feeling breathless.

"Who do you belong to?" he rumbled, sitting up on top of me and casually rolling his hips onto mine.

My eyes rolled back into my head and I gripped the sheets at the foreign emotion that was washing over me. I had no idea what to say or do, but I wanted whatever he done to me to happen again.

"Who. Do. You. Belong. To?" Kavos repeated.

Each word earned a thrust from him and a whimper from me. I mindlessly grabbed onto his shoulders, whispering out, "Y- You. I belong to you."

"That's right," his hands found themselves playing with the hem of my top in a teasing manner, "And now I'm going to show you how."

My eyes snapped open as his lips came closer to mine. I was not foolish, I knew what he meant. But even in my state of pleasure I began to panic as I knew I wasn't ready for such a big step.

But before I could tell him, his eyes snapped shut and his brutal expression went back to his usual cold, but otherwise familiar, look.

"Fuck!" he cursed, flinging his body off mine as his hands ran through his hair in frustration.

"I-- "

"I apologise. It looks like you just met my beast."