"Aurora," Ares called, jogging behind me in all of his glory. I stormed away from him, not because I was angry, not because I was childish, because I was... unsure. Unsure of his motives and unsure of my feelings.

He didn't touch me, didn't even think about hurting me. I would go as far as that he wanted me for what I was: weak. And I didn't know if this was all to just fuck with my head or if it was the truth. I had been scarred by the rumors of him, scarred when he marked me out of pure rage, scarred when he sprinted after me like a predator sprinted after prey.

Did he truly want me? Will he really pick me over the stone or is this all some elaborate scheme to get me to trust him so he could slowly kill me? The God of War always had something up his sleeve.

I wanted to trust him so badly. I wanted to be his. Maybe it was because of the mark on my neck or maybe it was because I had seen another side of him these past couple of days.

I continued to walk through the forest, trying to ignore the growls of Hounds in the distance. We were close to Hound Territory. Too close.

"Please, talk to me, Aurora," Ares begged. "I will do anything to get you to trust me again. Just... tell me what you need me to do."

When he grabbed my hand, I pulled it away from him. Tingles shot up and down my arm, like they always do, and made it difficult for me to think clearly. A look of sadness crossed his face, and he stepped away from me, giving me my space.

After walking in silence for another five minutes, Ares suddenly stopped. "Aurora, don't move."

I paused where I stood and gazed back at him, listening to the sounds of Hounds that had become louder. Echoing through the forest. Approaching us. Approaching me.

They came quickly, sprinting through the forest. First one. Then two more. Then five more. Until we were surrounded by eight hungry Hounds. Ares pushed me behind him, shifting into his wolf and readying to attack, even though he couldn't take on all eight alone and couldn't protect me.

Ares paused for the briefest moment, staring around at them and thinking of a game plan. "Go for the two north. One with the shorter tail, the other with the one eye. I trust that you can hold them off or kill them. And, if you can't, run."

Without another word, he leapt forward into the herd of six Hounds, teeth and claws tearing through flesh. I swallowed hard, trying to think of anything that I could use to help me. Every other time I came across Hounds, I'd been armed with my silver dagger, the one that Jeremy gave me. But, now, I was defenseless.

So, I did the only thing that I thought I could do. I sprinted toward the one with a single eye, leapt into the air when he sprinted toward me, and landed right on his back. I landed with a thump, grasping onto his fur to stay on top of his. Then, in Ruffles's honor, I dug my claws into his eye so hard until I could feel it pop out of his head and slide into my palm.

The wolf under me howled to the Moon Goddess and threw his body side to side, trying to throw me off of him. I clutched onto his fur harder, desperate to stay on his back. The Hound with the short tail bared his teeth at me and lowered his head, trying to figure out how to attack me without hurting his friend.

I kicked my Hound hard in the ass with my heel, making him leap forward and straight into Short Tail. Feeling flesh, No-Eyes latched his teeth into Short Tail's flesh and took a whole chunk of muscle out of his neck. My eyes widened, and I took this as an opportunity to hop off and snap whatever Short Tail had left of his throat.

No-Eyes wandered around aimlessly, growling and baring his teeth. I slammed my foot into his underbelly, snatched his neck, and pushed my thumbs so deep into him until they broke through the skin and I tore out his insides.

After taking a deep breath, I gazed over at Ares. He had killed four of the six Hounds and was working on the last two. Though I didn't have a chance to kill any of them who weren't already wounded, I would help.

Just as I was about to jog over, another one came at me from behind, leaping onto me and knocking me to the ground. I desperately wriggled onto my back and stared up at the deathly beast above me.

It wasn't just any Hound. It was a Hound that I'd remember forever. Hollow black eyes. Two scars like an X across his face. The pungent scent of corn fields and better days, staying out late with my only brother but never getting a chance to spend the rest of my life with him, of happiness that had been torn away, of the Hound that murdered Jeremy.

Now he would kill me.

Two wolves howled in the distance, and I watched Ares rip their throats right out of their bodies with his teeth. "Ares!" I screamed. He turned his head, eyes a vicious black, and sprinted in my direction.

But before he could get the Hound off of me, another came sprinting out from the woods, latched his teeth into the other Hound's neck, and ripped him off of me. I stared at the two Hounds with wide-eyes, never having seen two fight against each other before, and every image of Jeremy flashed into my mind.

Of his last moments breathing, when he gazed over at me and reached out his hand for me to take but Mom pulled me away too fast for me to help him, when his lips curled into the smallest of smiles and he mouthed the words "I love you," when all the light left his eyes and they became two dull and empty orbs.

Ares stood in front of me and growled harshly. Jeremy's killer sprinted into the woods. The other wolf paused for the briefest moment, tilting his head to the side to look at me. I sucked in a sharp breath, something so eerily familiar about him, and grasped onto Ares's paw.

The wolf ran into the forest, following Jeremy's killer, and disappeared.

"Let me kill him," Ares said.

"No," I said. "Let him go. Bring me home. I don't want to be left here alone."

Ares shifted, and I stood up. So many thoughts were rushing through my mind. So many questions. So many uncertainties.

On our walk home, Ares asked, "Do you think it's because of the stone?" He breathed deeply through his nose, his bloodied, brawn chest heaving up and down. "Do you think that's why they keep trying to attack you?"

I pressed my lips together, struggling to keep eye contact with him. "I'm not sure," I said and continued walking.

The sun was rising just over the trees, shining through the leaves. Some of Ares's warriors watched us walk back to the packhouse through the forest. They whispered, but I didn't care. I didn't know how I was feeling after that--about the Hounds and about Ares

Ares marked me out of pure rage and jealousy.

Ares chased me through the forest with his teeth bared.

Ares terrorized me.

Yet... he loved me. He had said it in the woods; he had proved it in the woods. He told me that being unable to shift wasn't my fault, that it wouldn't make him leave me. But I didn't believe that fully. He needed the stone, for some reason. And, although he said it wasn't for power, he didn't give me any sort of reason.

How could I live with someone who made me so anxious? How could I live with someone who couldn't control his wolf? How could I live with someone that terrified me?

Before I reached the packhouse, Ares grasped my hand. "Aurora, I want to tell you why I need that stone, but I can't."

I pressed my lips together, listening to the chatter in the woods, and pulled my hand away from him. "Why not? If you want to gain my trust again, Ares, you have to give me something--anything--that I can believe."

A look of confliction crossed his face, and he pushed a hand into his hair, avoiding all eye contact with me. I stared at his face, searching it for any sort of reasoning, any sort of something that I could latch onto. I wanted him to reassure me that--though Ares needed that stone--he wouldn't tear it out of me while I was sleeping, when he couldn't see my terror, when he couldn't feel my hurt.

He sighed deeply through his nose and rubbed his face. "It's not my place to tell you. You have to talk to Charolette."

"Charolette?" I asked, brows furrowed together. "Why do I need to talk to her?"

He grimaced and gazed at his feet, more pain crossing his face. "You just have to. I can't tell you."

I wanted to be so angry at him; I wanted to hurt him like he hurt me; I wanted to make him feel all the pain that I had... but I could feel the pain he had. It was killing him on the inside, and he was hiding it all behind Ares: the ruthless alpha, the ruthless alpha that almost killed Elijah.

"I will talk to Charolette later. I need to go help Elijah. Don't follow me and make sure none of your guards get in my way or I'll lock them inside one of those cages and do to them what you have done to Elijah."

I turned on my heel, my heart racing, and stepped away. But before I had the chance to leave him again, he grasped my wrist. "Promise me that you won't leave me, Aurora, please. Promise me that if you leave this property, you'll come back to me."

I swallowed hard and stared at my feet. Then I placed my hand on top of his and pushed him away. I needed to find Elijah. "I'll see you tonight."