Ares

“No killing,” I said through the mind link to my warriors, hopping out of the narrow cave and onto Darkmoon’s property. 

One by one, my warriors walked out and stood behind me in their wolf form, eyes trained on the patrol guards in the forest a mile away.

The early morning sun filed in around the monstrous trees, hit the forest floor, and created grotesque shadows. These lush greens would turn into a fucking bloodbath soon because I wasn’t leaving until I found that damn stone.

I’d search for it even if it was the end of me. All these packs in Sanguine Wilds played games, taunted me about it, plotted ways to rid me of something so precious.

But I was done with that shit.

I needed the stone, and I needed it now.

Liam stood next to me with his head held high, saliva dripping from his canines. 

I growled to silence all my warriors. “We take the stone and then take Alpha Theia’s daughter.”

Aurora. Her name was Aurora.

But I didn’t want anyone to know her name yet. She was mine. All mine.

She was the goddess with the brown hair and eyes as bright as the dawn. An alpha wolf who would rule by my side—whether she wanted to or not. I had waited to find my mate for years, always wanted her to be a strong warrior who could run with me.

She didn’t know me yet. She only knew Mars. She’d lain with him. She’d touched him. She’d begged for him. Then, she’d disappeared in the middle of the night after I had to head back to camp to deal with pack drama.

I had traced her scent through the entire forest and used—what seemed to be—her own secret little passage until I found her pack house. Part of me wanted to tear right through her home to find her, scold her for not staying, but it was my fault. I’d left her vulnerable.

But nothing would stop me from having her this time.

Now, I stood inside of her borders with the need for her growing stronger every moment. She might not know I was here for her, but when we attacked, when she smelled the fear of her own people, she’d know.

“We run.”

I sprinted ahead, the wind rushing through in my fur, rage in my blood, fresh air in my lungs. Our paws hit the ground in a thunderous roar, and I let out a ferocious growl to let the Darkmoon Pack know who had arrived while they slept so innocently in their beds.

As if they were waiting for an attack, enemy warriors ran at us with their teeth bared. 

“No killing,” I repeated through the mind link. 

There would be blood but no deaths. I only did that shit to hounds—those vicious rogues who lingered near my property.

Claws on fur. Flesh tearing. Blood splattering. We clashed.

Searching for her, my gaze traveled across the herd of werewolves running at me. As she was the next alpha, I expected her to be here, but I couldn’t smell her scent on any of these wolves. I smelled Tony. I smelled that rotten stench, same as the dirty, used sweatshirt Aurora had worn last night.

Black fur. Blacker eyes. Teeth dripping with blood.

He sprinted at me with so much ferocity that, if I didn’t know better, I would’ve thought he was the next in line to be alpha. I stepped out of his way, let him fall flat on his face behind me, and growled.

They knew what I wanted. They knew all they had to do was hand the stone over, give me any information on its whereabouts. That was all I fucking wanted. And if the stone really wasn’t here, I’d still come out of this battle victorious because I’d take my mate, Aurora, back home with me.

I didn’t care if she pleaded, screamed, hit, or flat-out refused. She would be mine.