Come Here, Kitten (God of War Book 1), стр. 6
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.
Chapter 5
Aurora
Sunlight flooded into my room, creating cute patterns from the shadow of the cherry tree outside my window. Ruffles lay on my chest and licked my face, her breath smelling suspiciously like potato chips. I sank into my sheets and sighed.
Stupid Mars. Stupid Aurora for giving in to Mars so easily. Stupid feelings for my stupid mate.
I shifted in the bed, let Ruffles hop off, and sat up. What was wrong with me? Why was I letting this get to me? Maybe it was because when I had been growing up, I’d watched Jeremy and his mate sneak away at night to spend the night together. I had seen those stolen glances and smiles, those lovely words of affection they shared.
Now that Jeremy was gone and all I heard from Mom were lies about how strong and great she thought I was, I wanted to find my mate more than anything. But, Goddess, not a mate who didn’t seem to care about me at all, not a mate who had left me alone in the forest after getting me off.
My wolf whimpered, and I knew she still wanted him and his wolf.
They were fated mates after all.
In the distance, growling erupted through the woods. I yawned and opened the window wider, breathing in the crisp morning air. Practice didn’t start for another hour. What—
A patrol guard scurried through the woods toward the direction of the pack hospital, a trail of blood following him. My eyes widened. We were being attacked.
I threw on a pair of clothes as quickly as I could.
“Mom?” I asked, running through the house.
Everything was silent, and my heart dropped in my chest. I tried the mind link and didn’t get a response from anyone, which made me think the worst. Mom must’ve been right; Alpha Ares was here sooner rather than later. I could just feel it.
“Mom!”
I raced through the woods, making sure to stay hidden in the trees. Mom had known that he was here, but she hadn’t even bothered waking me up, so I could help fight.
My body ached with shame at the mere thought of her shaking her head at Dad and saying, He’ll take her first. She’s the weakest link.
After a few miles of sprinting in my human form, I stopped. Wave after wave of iron and blood hit me, and I crouched behind a tree, scrunching my nose. Through the woods, I watched the warriors fight. Wolf on wolf. Teeth on teeth. Claws on claws. Flesh and fur being torn off. Blood spewing everywhere. My pack howling for Mom to do something.
And there he was.
Alpha Ares.
Standing in the center of the two enemy packs, he circled Mom like she was some sort of prey. He stood taller and larger than the rest of the wolves, his thick midnight fur glistening under the sunlight.
There was no doubt in my mind that he would kill her.
Dad stood a few feet away, holding up a fight against a wolf large enough to be a beta. My heart raced, and I tried to think up a good plan within the next few moments. But Ares moved so fast that I barely had time to think of anything other than a surprise attack. I’d leap at him when he was about to clamp down on Mom’s neck, just when he thought he had conquered another pack.
It would ruin him. I would ruin him. And maybe it’d prove something to Mom too.
After sneaking closer to the fight, I tried to analyze his movements. I needed an opening, some type of distraction to get into the center so I could save her. But Mom ruined my entire plan when she suddenly shifted into her human.
“Stop,” she said to her warriors and to Ares. “We have a proposition. One that you won’t pass up.”
Alpha Ares growled, his teeth dripping with sanguine-colored saliva. His warriors stopped their attacks and bowed their heads to him so quickly and so effortlessly that it scared me how much power that man had over feral