It didn't take me long to break down when I couldn't make sense of where I was or where I was headed. Everything looked the same. The halls, the walls, and the faces that passed by. All of them were unfamiliar and terrifying, blurring into one nightmare.

When I had taken the fourth turn that lead me to another unfamiliar hallway that was lined with unfamiliar drapes and paintings, I couldn't help but break down. I wasn't even sure at this point if I was remembering the correct paintings that lined the halls I needed to find.

Settling my hand against the wall, I gave myself a moment and let the tears flow free and loudly. Sadly, it was enough to warner the attention of a passing... Demon, while most had been keeping their distance from me.

"Hello?"

I jumped back from the dark-skinned woman that appeared too close over my shoulder. She would have looked, normal, well my definition of normal that consisted of human characteristics, if she didn't have cracks spidered across her skin. The cracks were filled with a bright orange pigment that resembled molten lava.

The woman was a beautiful sight to see with her tall, slender frame draped in yellow fabrics and her buzzcut hair. Or at least she would have been if I wasn't so caught up on the unfamiliar and foreign features that she had. Along with the spiderweb of lava that ran across her skin, her eyes were slitted like a snake's and a forked tongue made a brief appearance past her lips. Instead of appreciating her otherworldly beauty, I found myself pulling away like she had an infectious disease.

She frowned at the action.

"I've never seen you before," she said as she tilted her head. "You look like a lost little birdy who got her wings cut off. Pretty."

I tried to wipe the tears off my face, but they were quickly replaced by fresh ones. I tried to scrub them off my face, but it was like a dam had been opened and they just wouldn't stop flowing.

"Awe, you poor thing, they're there."

I hadn't realized she had stepped closer until her hand patted me gently in comfort. Though she tried to soothe, she garnered the opposite effect. I reeled away from her, but that didn't seem to get the message across.

Grabbing my arm she pulled me towards her and enveloped me in a soul-crushing hug that didn't leave any room to take another breath. I froze in terror.

Up until now, I had been able to wander in search of Ares without worrying about being approached. It was because everyone had actively been keeping their distance, giving me a respectful bow when I passed by that made it so I didn't have to make eye contact with them, letting me pass with my head down.

They knew who I was. Or at least they thought they did.

All they knew was that I was Cassius's, even if it wasn't true.

"You poor, adorable, little thing, don't cry. Momma will take care of you now." The woman pulled me closer, causing me to fear for my ribs as I felt them strain under the pressure of her hold.

"No, you won't Aruna. Let go of her, she's mine."

The sharp voice that cut through the air had a sob catching in my throat. I didn't know whether to feel relief that Cassius was here to save me from the crazy lady, or to sob harder knowing that I had been being followed the whole time.

One thing I did know though, was that I couldn't breathe.

The arm holding me tightened as Aruna pouted and narrowed her eyes on him. "She's yours?" She asked, eyeing me and raising a brow at him. "You don't look to be taking care of her properly. Just look how sad she is." She squished my cheeks between her fingers. The tears slicking my cheeks had her making a pitiful face as she pulled her hand away and wiped it on her outer thigh. "She'd be happier with me."

The smile that she gave me when she made her statement sent shivers down my spine. Not the pleasant kind. There was a hint of madness hidden behind each of her actions. It was reflected in the crazed glint that had entered her eye once she had gotten a look at my tears. That reaction to tears was never a good thing. It only hinted at how much worse it could get.

I didn't know if it was the bond forcing me to feel the way, or the woman holding me, but at that moment I knew that I was lucky that Cassius stood in the way of this woman 'taking care of me.'

Aruna's words visibly irked Cassius. It was visible in the way his eyes slightly narrowed at Aruna's words.

He crossed his arms and widened his stance. "Find someone else."

I knew posture was a big part of how you presented yourself and how people viewed you, but I never knew how heavily it could shift the mood of a room until I had unwillingly met Cassius. Just remembering the time I had to face his intensity on my own in his office had sweat beading on the back of my neck.

Aruna looked about ready to stomp her foot in defiance. It was a strange look to see on someone so tall and strong looking.

"But I want her," she nearly whined. "She so cute and soft." She squeezed a handful of my flesh in her hand, getting a feel of my fuller curves courtesy of the regular meals Ares had been ensuring I consumed daily.

"No." Cassius's answer was definite, but Aruna seemed to think she could get him to budge.

"Can you share?" She suggested, having me once again wonder if there were any other major cultural differences that I had to look out for. Monogamy did exist, I had witnessed and been introduced to a few monogamous pairs the previous night and had heard of a few in their Aradonna estate where Kai loved to share useless gossip with me while we shovelled shit.

Thinking of the boy's smiling face had my heart twisting. I wondered how he, Timothy, and Henry were doing. I hoped they didn't suffer any negative repercussions from associating with me after I was gone.

"No." Cassius's firm response brought me back to the problem at hand.

The pout vanished from Aruna's face, replaced by cold malice that fit her image better than the childlike behaviour moments ago, even if the words she spoke still lacked the maturity one would expect. "I'll tell Aunt Madeline."

Aunt? It was no surprise the two that didn't understand personal space and bounties were related. And did she really threaten to tell his mother?

Cassius didn't let the smugness that appeared in his eyes to show on his face. "Mother has no say in whether you can keep my wife as your pet or not. Like I said, find another poor soul," he looked me dead in the eyes. "This one is mine."

I felt the arms around me tense. The shift was so sudden from the fluid limbs holding me captive that I flinched.

Aruna's eyes widened. "You're w-wife?"

She instantly let go of me and pulled away. It was like I had suddenly become a poisonous frog. She looked at me accusingly like I had lured her in with my appearance just to trick her into touching my poisonous skin. Taking the opportunity, I scrambled away from her before she could squash me like the traitorous pest that she was looking at me like I was. I wanted to get away before she could try to step on me in an extermination attempt.

Not that I was confident she would have gotten very far with Cassius standing near. I didn't even realize I was back up towards him until I was closer to him than Aruna. It was when I changed course and started backing into the unfamiliar hallway that had brought me to tears.

While Aruna faced off against Cassius who was staring her down, daring her to continue in her quest to gain me like I was some toy up for trade.

Honestly, what was I beyond that at this point? All my life had been I had been being passed off from one abuser to another. Things seemed to have changed when Ares appeared. Even though he was the worst and most forceful, undressing and touching me in my most vulnerable state, he had done it for my own good. Though he was able to raise the same levels of fear in me as others, no one had been able to make me feel safe and comfortable like he had, either.

I would have been more than content with life if everything had gone according to our original plan, even if the thought of separating from Ares at the end of our time together had a physical stab of pain running through my heart. But, then again, I knew that pain would have failed too. I could see it in Ares's eyes before he was forced to bond me. I knew he wouldn't have let me leave.

And for once, I wouldn't have minded.

But things didn't go according to our original plan, so now I was sneaking off silently while witnessing a terrifying woman be brought down to a stuttering mess because of my association with the man before her.

Aruna had just chosen to switch her tactics when I reached a corner I could turn and disappear down, choosing to show excitement and interest in how we met rather than cower in fear for what she had attempted to do. Something I wasn't even sure about.

The turn took me down another unfamiliar hallway. Although I didn't know where it led, whatever was on the other end couldn't have been worse than what was before me.

I could still hear Cassius's faint voice as he warned his cousin that I was off-limits. The fact that he needed to state it took away most of the relief the assurance that she wouldn't try to 'steal me' could bring.

I was only able to breathe easily when I was out of their sight. Even though they hadn't stopped me, I had a feeling they were perfectly aware of exactly where I had been during the whole encounter, including the moment I turned the corner, but I didn't care. I needed to find Ares before anything else could happen.

Knowing that Cassius had been following me and may still have been only spurred my efforts to find him. I wasn't just looking for Ares to feel safe. He was the only way I could think of to take back an aspect of the control that had been taken from me. Considering what I had planned, I was sure Ares would be more than ecstatic to help me ground myself, especially considering the methods that would be employed.

I didn't waste time looking around aimlessly this time. I approached the first person I spotted who reacted as the majority had been reacting, with a respectful bow.

The smaller woman was surprised when I approached her and panicked when she caught sight of the tears still wetting my face. I was worried I had made a mistake, but that was before her eyes lit up in recognition when I asked if she knew about Ares's or even Ryder's whereabouts. Apparently, he wasn't shy at making his displeasure at not being able to find me known as he rampaged his way through the castle.

My heart skipped a beat. He had been looking for me this whole time? To a degree that people were aware?

Spinning in the direction the woman indicated she had last heard he was causing a ruckus in, I took off at full speed, not caring if Cassius or Aruna could hear my footsteps echo off the walls with their demon ears.

I had to stop a few times to ask to be pointed in the right direction, but eventually, I could spot the large, intricately carved, wooden doors leading into the private library the castle housed. Seeing my destination in sight, a renewed vigour entered my blood, making my legs pump faster as I raced towards the one person I trusted completely, refusing to consider the idea that he might not be there.

Not just trusted. The one person I wanted.

A shiver made its way down my spine at the thought, only this one was the opposite of the kind Aruna had me experiencing. This shiver was a good shiver.

My feet slapped against the carpet running down the hall with dulled thumps. I could feel each sharp slap of my foot against the floor all the way up my legs. When I reached the open doorway, I had to stop and support myself against the doorframe as I bent over, catching my breath.

Despite struggling to breathe, my desperation to lay my eyes on the man I wanted, the man that was mine, had me darting my eyes around in search of the familiar face. When my eyes caught it, my breath hitched.

I didn't waste another moment before running for him. All I wanted to do was bury my face in his familiar and faint scent that I didn't realize I had subconsciously taken note of.

Barreling into him, I was worried I would take us down for a moment, even if it was a ridiculous thought considering Ares strength and size compared to me, but Ares proved once again that he was always prepared when he barely shifted a step when I plowed into him full force.

The warmth and safety that wrapped around me along with his arms felt overwhelming after the uncertainty and fear the last hour or two had revolved around. I couldn't stop the surge of emotions from making me act as I wrapped myself around him, his hands holding keeping me up.

Before I could let unwarranted thoughts dig their way into my consciousness and make me back down, I slammed my lips down on his.

I barely noticed the bit of pain from the collision as his flavourful flooded my senses. He tasted like hopes and dreams, the stars that lit the dark sky. He tasted like my future.

I could feel him pause in surprise before his tongue wared with mine. His hands on my waist tightened, causing me to tighten the legs I had wrapped around his as warmth flooded my core.

I didn't just want to do this to prove to Cassius that he didn't own me, not when the man before me was Ares. Yes, it played a part, it gave me the push I no doubt would have needed to take the next step, but now that I was hurtling forwards, I knew I wanted to do this because I wanted Ares.

All of him.

I wanted to make him mine. More than he claimed he was. If he wanted to build a life with me, what was stopping me from building one with him?

Pulling away, I looked him in the eyes before speaking words that I had never spoken before or thought I would.

"Please, I need you to fuck me."