AKIRA'S POV
I woke up to the weight of a heavy arm on me.
It was almost dawn, I slowly removed Ares's arm before going to the bathroom to do my business.
As he promised, I was very much sore. All part of me.
My muscles were screaming as I walked around and my vagina was also protesting.
After fucking me once, I had thought Ares would let me sleep but I was wrong. He fucked me twice after and I had tapped out when my poor clitoris couldn't take it anymore.
Done, I quickly brushed my teeth and as I looked into the mirror to clean my face, my eyes subconsciously went to the mark on my neck. I brushed my fingers over it and was shocked to still feel the electricity coursing through my body.
I quickly washed my face before going to the closet to put on one of Ares's shirts and sweatpants.
Looking at Ares sleeping peacefully on the bed, I smiled as I recalled how he kept us awake throughout the night.
And it was all worth it.
The man sleeping like a baby on the bed was different from the man who took me savagely last night.
I was feeling light and more connected to Ares in ways I couldn't describe. It was almost as if I could finally feel every wave of emotions streaming from him.
Sighing, I decided to take a walk in the garden. Something to steer my mind away from things. My mind was racing with many thoughts. They were bouncing off walls in my head nonstop. I needed answers to them.
The smile remained on my face as I took the lift down and walked to the exit next to the kitchen.
I wasn't surprised when I found two guards right outside the exit but I was immensely surprised when they bowed their heads down and made way for me to pass.
I could swear I heard the word Luna as I walked through.
My hands subconsciously went to my neck again and my grin expanded. The new treatment and respect were doing things to me.
I felt seen.
As I got nearer to my favourite bench I was shocked when I found Lenny and Eve sitting down there and chatting.
Although I was happy they were bonding so well, I also wanted to be part of them. But, knowing Ares I was never going to leave his sight. Especially now that I had his mark on me.
It was going to be a mission impossible.
"Morning," I greeted with a shy smile as I finally got to them.
They both smiled. Lenny patted on a spot in their middle, an indication for me to sit.
Immediately they began asking me how I was feeling. I reassured them that I was completely fine and apologized to them for stringing them along in my lies.
Soon, they picked up from the conversation and I sat and listened to them.
I smiled at Lenny's witty nature and I threw my head back and laughed at a particular sentence she made.
"Wait," Lenny gasped, looking at a spot on my neck. "Is that a hickey, Akira?"
I only smiled. My fingers fondly traced the mark.
Eve smirked, asking me to turn to her. Her sly smirk increased when she saw the mark. "Oh my, Akira and our Alpha finally bumped loonies, because this looks like he marked her to me."
Lenny nodded in agreement. "Mhmmm," She smirked. "I can't believe you finally did it. I would've hit that the night I knew he was my mate."
Eve and I laughed.
Lenny looked at us dryly but I knew she was trying not to laugh too. "Have you seen that specimen? It's not even going to be an option for me."
Eve nodded and looked at me. "She's not wrong." She laughed.
"I was in heat last night," I tipped my shoulders. "It just happened."
Eve gasped. "Heat? Wow, you're lucky Ares demanded that you sleep right next to him and not in the maid's quarters," Her face turned serious as she spoke. "These werewolves turn dangerous when they know that a human is in heat. Especially since you're mated to the Alpha, your scent was surely going to be strong."
I shivered at the imagination.
Lenny looked at Eve thoughtfully. "Does this heat thing happen randomly?"
Eve nodded. "For some females? Yes. But since Akira is the mate to the Alpha King, hers was bound to happen during the full moon."
We all stayed quiet for a while.
"Seems like Akira wasn't the only one who got some last night," Lenny finally smirked, looking at Eve.
I frowned as I looked at the face of a blushing Eve.
I scanned her face and when I got to her neck, I was surprised to find a hickey right underneath her chin.
Eve's face turned scarlet red as we both gave her knowing looks.
"Spill." I playfully glared at her. "I know you and Czar have something going on."
Lenny grinned. "I agree! Spill, Eve."
Eve gasped. "I thought this was about Akira." She pouted.
I shook my head, giving her a sly smile. "Same way I couldn't escape the usual interrogations is the same way you're going to answer all our questions."
"B-B-But..." Eve groaned. "Fineeeeee," She finally agreed after seeing the adamant look on our faces. "Czar and I are mates."
Lenny and I spoke at the same time;
"Wait, what?"
"I had a feeling. Czar was always looking at you like he wanted to eat you up."
I laughed at Lenny's dry comment. "I noticed the heated looks too but I always thought he just wanted to sleep with you and use you before his mate came along."
"Well, surprise," Eve smiled before it turned into a grimace. "I ran away from him once."
I gasped. "No way."
How did that happen?
I couldn't imagine running away from Ares without him finding me under three days.
I thought silently for a while. Three days was too much. Maybe under two days.
"Tell us how it happened," Lenny demanded and I nodded in agreement.
Eve took in a deep breath and I knew she needed it. "I found out I was mated to Czar two years ago before we moved to the town. I hated it. I hated that I was his second chance mate. I hated that I was an option for him. So when the Alpha found out that my mother wasn't a full-fledged werewolf but also half-human, my whole family had to leave the pack premises. The fact that my dad turned her into a werewolf didn't deter the orders of the Alpha," She gave us both sad smiles. "But I was fucking scared, I didn't want my family to leave me all alone in the pack and I was heartbroken about being his second mate. So I ran away with them."
"How?" Lenny asked. "How did he not find you earlier?"
I nodded in agreement. I also wanted to know.
"My mother taught us how to cover our scent, how to make ourselves untraceable. So it was pretty easy for us." She smiled fondly.
"Did he mate with you or mark you before you left?" I asked.
Eve nodded. "He did. After running away, he constantly kept begging me to come back through our mind link. It was torture for me because I desperately wanted to go back to my mate but I hated the fact that his friend was the one who made that stupid rule and I was an option to him."
"So how did you do it? How did you tolerate his pleas and go on with your life just like that?" I asked again.
Eve smiled. "My mum was a guru at this, although she wasn't born as a werewolf, she learnt their tricks pretty fast and used it to punish my dad most times. She taught me how to block my mate from communicating with me through the mind link."
"So, basically you cut off all communications with your mate for years?????!" Lenny almost shrieked. "How did you do that? I know how you werewolves can't stay away from each other for a few seconds. So how did you do it?"
I also wanted to know. I thought it was impossible to do so.
"I was angry and I wanted to punish him so it happened. But I regretted it a lot of times." Eve replied.
"Do you think the Alpha knows that you're his Beta's mate?" Lenny asked again.
Eve shook her head. "I'm not too sure. He might have an idea now that Czar and I are closer to each other but he had no idea two years ago."
"Why were you his second chance mate?" I asked.
"He lost his mate to a raging war between us and the vampires a few years ago. I guess the Moon goddess has other plans for us."
"How fast did it take for your mum to turn into a werewolf?" I finally asked the question that has been bugging me.
Eve hummed. "It took her about two to three days. It was one of the most painful sights ever. I thought she was going to die."
I shivered. I didn't even want to ask how it happened.
"How long do you think it'll take before I transform into a Lycan?" I asked.
"I don't know. About a week? Normally it's supposed to happen immediately or at least a day after since you were marked by a Lycan. But I think you should give it time."
I nodded and thanked her for her response.
"So we're all going to pretend that Lenny had nothing to do with Cyrus, right?" Eve grunted.
Lenny faked hurt, placing a hand over her chest. "Eve! Poor Cyrus and I have nothing to do with this."
Eve flipped her the bird.
While I gave her a dry look.
Then we all busted out with laughter.
"We should go," Lenny finally stood up and looked up at the sky. "It's beginning to get brighter and we have a shit ton of work today."
Eve nodded in agreement. "Oh yeah. The visitors Madam Yelena spoke of."
Lenny looked at me with a soft smile. "We have to go, Akira. We'll see you soon."
I nodded and I watched them walk away.
Leaving me to my thoughts.
~
It was late afternoon, I just woke up from a much-needed nap and I looked beside me to find Ares only to meet a cold and empty bed space.
I didn't know if he was done with his meeting yet.
But I knew they were important guests.
The Elders.
Madam Yelena mentioned something about how the Elders were one of the oldest werewolves. They were ancestral and made certain decisions for the pack.
I sighed, rolled to his part of the bed and inhaled greedily.
The tingling sensation was back, but this time it was mild, more bearable but still uncomfortable.
I had read in the library earlier that even after the whole mating and marking process, most humans could still go on heat for days, if not weeks.
I inhaled again before closing my eyes and I tried to will myself to relax. I tried breathing exercises, all to no avail.
I parted my thighs and trailed my fingers under my shorts and then under my panties. I gasped when my fingers made contact with my swollen clit, it was still so sensitive, so I rubbed in slow little circles.
I imagined Ares in between my parted thighs, looming over me, his sinister smirk on his lips as he whispered dirty words into my ears.
Encouraging me to go faster.
I got bolder and I slipped two fingers into my wet heat. My breath began to come out in sharp pants as I began to pump them.
Faster, deeper.
I was getting closer to the edge. I pushed my t-shirt over my breasts and I pinched one nipple.
Then I fell over the edge.
It was swift. It happened so fast.
My lips parted open in a sharp cry and I moaned as I tried to get the best of my orgasm. After the rapid pounding of my heart ceased, I realised I needed more.
I needed Ares.
I slipped my fingers out and took a deep breath before walking to the closet to put on a pair of joggers before walking out of the room.
I took the lift down to the floor underneath Ares's quarters.
I walked out of the lift leisurely once it opened. I noticed that there weren't any guards in front of his office door as I walked closer.
As I walked closer all I could think about was how nice it was going to be just to feel his hands on me. To sit and watch him deal with his business.
All I could think was how badly I wanted to be close to him.
Once I reached the huge black mahogany doors I began to hear voices. Voices that were not his.
Ares wasn't alone. I realised he was still stuck in his meeting but as I proceeded to turn and walk away, I heard something that stopped me right in my tracks.
"....we won't let whatever you have with that human happen, Alpha."
The voice sounded mature. Like that of an elder it was hard but spoken so lowly I had to strain to listen.
"I stand with Esteban on this one, Alpha. Countless families were destroyed by the law you put out, you have no right to revoke them just to please yourself."
The second voice sounded harsher. Gruffer and his tone was hard.
"Respectfully, I think whatever the Alpha has with the girl is none of your business." It was Czar who spoke this time around.
"I think it does. It very much does concern us as Elders and members of this pack, the laws he makes as the Alpha either benefit us or harm us in a way but you never see us complain or cause a ruckus about it. We let him prosecute and send most of our people into exile just because they were mated to humans and now that he has found a little human slave to warm his bed he wants us to keep quiet? That would never happen, Czar." Esteban voiced out.
My breath hitched.
Fuck fuck fuck.
What was happening?
"You would have to do something about this predicament, Alpha. And we say this respectfully." It was the gruff voice that spoke up. I still didn't know his name.
"Esteban and Antoine, I suggest you steer clear away from matters that don't concern the safety of the pack." It was Ares who finally spoke. His voice was firm and authoritative. And calm. Almost way too calm.
"Well, we can't do that, Alpha." The man who I'm guessing is Antoine spoke up again. His tone was firmer, now matching Ares's. "This issue is also related to the safety of the pack and its members. The people are getting angry, they want justice for the ruination of their life, your law cost most people their happiness. Soon, they'll start up a protest for your silly human mate to be prosecuted or worse, they might send random attacks her way. They are never going to accept her and we will never accept her. So like I said, you have to solve your mess, Alpha."
He was right. I hated to admit but even if Antoine sounded like a dick he still made a lot of sense.
There was no way the people were going to accept me, a weak human, as their Luna. Especially after what Ares has done to them.
"And like I said Antoine, what I have with my little human has nothing to do with you or the rest of the damn pack," Ares sounded like he was getting pissed by the second. "What I have with Akira is nothing of importance and should be seen as such."
I couldn't hear anything else but the sound of my heart cracking into two and the constant pounding in my head.
"So you're saying the little human means nothing to you?" Esteban asked. "But rumours are going on, Alpha. Rumours even from the mansion itself that she'll become our next Luna."
"I'll take care of those who have spread those rumours." Ares cleared his throat. "I'm going to say this and I'm going to say this just once, Akira is of no importance to you or anyone in this pack. She's mine to do whatever I want with her and if I say she's no one, then, believe me, she's no one."
There it was.
My undoing.
I was no one to Ares.
I didn't listen to a word that was said after that. All I could focus on was the huge doors as I tried to listen to anything other than the loud ringing in my ears.
I took a step back, then another until I was running to the lift and his room.
I had to leave here, for my sake this time around.
If I wanted to live then I had to leave Ares.
But I was going to do things on my terms.
~
I looked back at the mansion and sighed.
It was time for me to go.
The past few days have been spent trying to navigate around Ares as I planned my escape. He noticed something, but I did my thing and convinced him that I was okay.
Our sex life was getting dirtier and downright filthier. I was going to miss that.
It didn't feel right– me running away. This was what I wanted but it still didn't feel right.
Something was nagging at my head and heart, telling me that leaving Ares wasn't the answer. I began rethinking.
I almost stepped a foot forward but I held myself.
I had to do this.
This was the freedom I had always wanted.
And nothing could stop me.
I wasn't welcomed here.
I was no one but a whore for the Pack's Alpha.
No one but a warm spot for the Alpha King.
With another soft sigh, I turned and walked into the darkness.