My nerves threatened to swallow me whole when he placed his hand on my lower back and led me to the elevator on his floor. And they didn't relax even as we rode the elevator in silence.
I didn't dare speak in the elevator, knowing that if I opened my mouth I was going to ask him to take me right there in the damn elevator.
He steered me to the lobby– yes, his mansion had a freaking lobby– and then to the front of the mansion.
I bit hard into my bottom lip when we walked past a group of maids and they stared at me with shock plastered all over their faces. I could only reward them with smug smiles. Yes, I was the Alpha's mate– and whore. I snickered inwardly.
When the guards pushed open the door, my jaw almost touched the ground in amazement. The scenery in front of the mansion was beautiful.
Ever since I stepped feet – well, not willingly– into the mansion, I had never ventured past the kitchen and the backyard. It wasn't that we were never allowed to, I just never wanted to. I always had a feeling that I was going to do something foolish immediately after I saw the big gates.
And I was trying hard not to be whipped again.
Two huge water fountains were planted in the middle of the huge compound. Water was coming out of the mouth of the glass statue of Hades in one and the second had water coming out of the nipples of Persephone. It was insanely beautiful.
I looked ahead, in the front of the huge black iron gates were heavily armed guards.
The heat of the heavy hand on my lower back snapped me out of my thoughts.
I glimpsed at the owner. "Why do your guards need so many weapons? Aren't they werewolves?"
"It's necessary." Came his swift and short response.
I hummed. He steered me to the right and we arrived at a garage. That was when I realised that I had truly lived in the dark because right smack in his garage were cars, expensive sleek cars. And they were all in one colour; black.
"This is beautiful..." I sighed in awe as I stared at everything with wide eyes. "How do you have so many cars?"
Ares only shrugged. "I have money."
"Must be nice," I muttered when he walked me to an Audi R8. Although sleek and simple, it screamed wealth, lots of it.
"And now, you do too." He said as he opened the passenger door for me.
"Thank you," I whispered after he leaned in to fasten my seatbelt for me. I sighed when he brushed my bangs and kissed the tip of my nose before straightening. I inhaled sharply, his car smelled exactly like him. I settled deeper into the expensive leather seat, taking everything in.
"I have something for you," Ares announced.
I locked gazes with him when he shoved a hand in his pocket to retrieve something.
That something turned out to be a blindfold.
I raised my eyebrows in disbelief. "You want to blindfold me."
It wasn't a question.
Ares nodded. "You have to trust me."
My throat clogged up and I stiffened. "You and trust are two opposite words."
Ares stilled. "I thought you said–"
I raised my hands, stopping him. "I know, I know–" I sucked in a much-needed breath. "I didn't say you're forgiven," I flashed him a small smile. "Which is why you still have to make it up to me."
He swallowed. "That's what I'm trying to do. I want you to trust me. If you can't trust me how the fuck am I supposed to earn your forgiveness?"
I sighed. "Okay."
I tried to take puffy breaths when he shifted closer to me but my nostrils were still filled with his smell. The door to the car was still open. His broad body filled the entire space, blocking light from infiltrating into the car and I prayed for strength when the silk blindfold went over my eyes. I prayed for strength when Area fastened the blindfold and dropped another kiss on my nose before shutting the door.
The next few minutes consisted of him entering the quiet car and the sounds of tyres against gravel. Distinctively, I heard the sounds of the huge gates opening and closing and a few seconds later as the car climbed onto the dirt road, I realised why Ares wanted me blindfolded.
"I'm not going to try to run away you know." My voice was surprisingly calm when I spoke, opposite from the turmoil going on inside me.
"I'm not taking any chances." He rasped.
His hand came to rest on my mid-thigh and I shuddered when I felt his heat above the fabric of the gown.
I knew for a fact that Ares was new to the scopes of a relationship and he would rather chain me to his bed and fuck me raw than take me on a date and act like a normal couple. Ares and I were anything but a normal couple and although the thought of him chaining me to his bed was enticing, I wanted a little bit of our relationship to scream normality.
"You're one to talk about trust." I snorted, my eyes were still closed peacefully behind the blindfold. "On one hand, you're trying to win me over while on the other you're putting a blindfold over my eyes to stop me from running away," My voice turned harsher as I spoke. "You're a fucking coward."
"I'm everything but a coward, little one," He growled. "Never mistake me for one."
And that was where our conversation ended. I stayed stiff throughout the journey, even as the road turned smoother and busier, indicating that we were in the city, I still said nothing. I only wondered where he was driving us to and tried my best not to say anything that would potentially ruin our night.
Soon enough, the roads got quieter and he killed the engine of the car.
I exhaled heavily when he spoke. "We're here."
His expert hands untied the blindfold and I struggled to keep my eyes from watering up with the sudden light.
I blinked when Ares opened my door and took my hands in his. My constant blinking never seemed to cease because the next thing I know, a valet appeared and he took the car key from Ares.
I looked at the building in front of us. It was nothing out of the ordinary. It was a simple white two-storey building. And by the looks of things, it looked like it was formerly a warehouse.
"Carina's," I read the name of the restaurant out loud as Ares began to walk us up the short flight of stairs to a set of double glass doors. "Sounds Italian."
"That's because it is." Ares divulged.
A host suddenly appeared and opened the huge glass doors for us.
He bowed a little with a hand in front of him after seeing Ares. "Welcome to Carina's. Your table is ready sir, and the Chef is present as per your request."
My eyebrows jumped of their own accord but I kept my mouth shut.
Request.
Demand.
Different meanings but I knew Ares did the latter.
The host waited patiently while Ares carefully removed the coat from my shoulders. That was when I decided to look around for the first time.
And the restaurant was truly magnificent– and that was merely the word I could use to describe the place. It was completely different from what the outside showed people.
It had a warm and inviting atmosphere with its soft lights at the entrance. The pristine white walls shone brightly under the chandelier, reflecting beautifully on the windows. And the smell emitting from every corner of the room was mouthwatering.
Ares led me through the restaurant and up another flight of stairs until we got to a terrace.
The table was perfect. It was situated at the glass rail of the terrace and it overlooked what looked like a beach behind. The tablecloth was blinding white– what one would expect from a five-star Italian restaurant.
It was like a dream come true; I felt tears prickle in my eyes. How could I not forgive the man when he went out of his way to plan this?
"Are you okay?" Ares murmured close to my ear as he pulled out my chair to help me sit.
I cleared my throat as I sat down. "I'm fine."
He looked at me for some seconds before moving to his seat. My mouth watered at the way his muscles stretched when he moved to sit down opposite me.
The polite host appeared one more to give us the special Chef Bottura menu. Ares chose our course for us while I took everything in.
"Why is it so empty up here?" I realised we were the only ones here– and downstairs, the other tables were empty and I had a feeling that Ares had something to do with it.
Ares didn't even bother to look around.
"Don't tell me you rented the whole restaurant for the night," I stated. He didn't need to rent the entire restaurant if we were going to stay up here.
"I don't like people." Ares shrugged. "You should know that by now."
Humans. I wanted to correct. Ares didn't like humans and I was already pushing him past his boundaries by making him do this.
I hummed. "So... Why an Italian restaurant?"
"I have ties with the Italians." Came his clipped response. "I'm originally from Italy."
"Ahhh." I drawled. Hence the tall, dark and dangerous look he had going on.
"I haven't eaten any Italian dish before."
"Well, get ready. We're having a three-course Italian dish and they don't come little."
I laughed at that. "You spoil me."
A cheeky grin threatened his full lips and he leaned into his chair and spread his legs. "I like to spoil you."
My stomach flipped. The question on the tip of my tongue died when the waiter chose that moment to bring our starters.
Aperitiro, Ares had called it. It was a simple dish of olives. While Ares went for an expensive bottle of red wine, I chose a prosecco
Next was an Antipasti– Frito Misto to be exact, served with wedges of lemon and tartar.
Ares seemed to study my facial expressions as I tasted each dish. And I never failed to give him a big grin in return because they were all explosive.
"I think I just had a mini-orgasm," I moaned out loud when I tasted our first course. It was a plate of Gnocchi with scamper sauce.
"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself." His words were spoken with amusement.
Our second course was a plate of Osso Buco with steamed spinach. And after that, we were served a simple salad of mixed greens and a vinaigrette.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me." I groaned when I noticed another waiter coming toward us.
This time it was a plate of cheese with fresh grapes.
"I told you they didn't come little." Ares had shrugged, his eyes danced with mirth. It made me smile.
"You Italians are fucking gods when it comes to food."
He chuckled. "We try."
"Do you know how to cook?" I asked, bringing a piece of grape into my mouth.
Ares nodded. "My mum was a great Chef. I can cook for you on our next date." He quickly added. "If you would like that."
My heart warmed. "I would love that."
I was glad he was relaxed enough to mention his mum. That meant we were going somewhere.
Our dessert was served by Bottura himself. It was a Tiramisu cake; fluffy and vanilla flavoured, with a taste of espresso coffee.
The cake was indeed to die for and Bottura took it upon himself to package extra slices for me to take back home.
Bottura was definitely not what I expected. I expected a short, potbellied man but what I got was a tall man. Bottura was huge, with broad shoulders and tattoos scattered all over his body, including on his clean-shaven head.
Outside? The man looked like someone I would say my last prayers to if I ever crossed paths with him in a dark alley. But inside? He was a big softie. He was a big soft werewolf too. He gave me details about how he was one of Ares's best warriors and friends before he decided to further his passion for cooking.
"How old is he?" I asked Ares when Bottura walked away.
"Hundreds of years old." He looked at me. "I'm not too sure."
I gasped. He looked like he was in his mid-thirties.
"Are humans aware of the fact that werewolves exist?"
"They are. The last annual ball I hosted was filled with humans. Top politicians are aware of our existence and they are also involved in certain businesses with us." He explained.
I knew what he meant. During the annual ball– although they were in masks– I had recognized a few top politicians and celebrities.
"So... You hate humans but you still make money off of them?" I asked, sipping on my expensive glass of white wine.
Ares nodded. "Yes. I have a few chains of hotels and clubs all around the world."
"Wow," I breathed out. "That's pretty badass."
I envied the fact that he was still able to make so much money even with his hatred for humans. Although I wanted to tell him that it was completely stupid to stop his people from having a forever after with their human mates, I don't.
"They get something off of my kind too." He clarified when I gave him a look. "I'm not talking about Lycans. I'm talking about the werewolves. They are exceptionally smarter and stronger than humans. In exchange for business proposals, your kind gets extra security and weapons."
"It's the twenty-first century, Akira, certain things aren't to be hidden anymore. They either accept us or we kill them." Ares added.
"You should tell that to yourself every night before going to bed," I murmured, locking gazes with him as I took a sip of my white wine. "If certain things aren't meant to be hidden anymore, then certain rules aren't meant to be in existence."
With the way his jaw ticked and he knocked off his whisky in one gulp, I knew I just hit a sore spot.