Aether's Claim | Editing

Chapter 4

That was the last time I had seen or spoken to Ares.

It had only been a few weeks, not even a month had passed, but I felt like I had exhausted all the tears I would every cry in my entire life. I had betrayed my earlier promise to myself to not shed another tear because of my situation, but the second I was back in my bed replaying everything that had happened, the tears started again and wouldn't stop. My mother tried to talk to me for the first few days, tried to gage how I was feeling, but it was obvious and after I wouldn't open the door and didn't answer when she called, she knew I needed some time and left me alone.

I could smell her scent outside of my door; she'd been there for a while, lingering, probably contemplating whether she should knock or just come in. She was holding a plate of food, my favourite; waffles drenched in maple syrup, but she knew I wouldn't eat. I hadn't been able to stomach food since the mate ceremony, everything I ate just invited a wave of nausea that shortly brought the food back up again, like my body was solely focused on my heartbreak and could do nothing else.

I shifted under my covers, curling up tighter in a ball as I waited for her to walk away, but she didn't. She knocked at the door three times, then turned my handle and walked in, stopping at the foot of my bed. I pulled the covers under my chin and peered at her through blurry, tired eyes as she looked around my room.

"May..." She trailed off, coming to sit by me and placing the plate of waffles on my nightstand.

I groaned and shook my head, squeezing my eyes shut. The last thing I needed was a lecture about the state of my bedroom, she knew what I was going through, couldn't she be more sympathetic?

"May...you have to get up, okay?" She continued, stroking my tangled hair.

I did need a shower, I thought, I had taken one here and there over the past few weeks, but I was already overdue one and I didn't want to put it off. I stretched out my limbs and sat up, glancing at the waffles as my stomach lurched.

"The final Alphas are leaving to go back to their packs today, there's a dinner for them before they go." She said, standing up and beginning to clean.

I nodded at her silently, sliding out of bed and wobbling on my feet as she chatted on. It had been a while since I had stood on my own two feet, in a literal sense, and as I began stripping off my clothes, I noticed she had stopped talking. Her hands flew to her mouth and tears welled in her eyes as she looked at me, shock and worry etched across her face.

"May...oh May." She whispered, shaking her head.

I knew what she was talking about. I knew it was bad. Weeks of not eating had taken a toll on my body and I could feel that my shirt and trousers sagged in places they never used too. I'd been muscular before due to the training, much like the other females in my pack, but now I was lean and thin, my muscles had all but gone and my ribs showed through my shirt. It was a drastic difference and would certainly be noticeable, but I didn't care, it was like nothing mattered to me anymore. Like the heart break I experienced drained the emotion from my body and no longer was I able to feel anything.

I dragged myself into the bathroom, turning the shower on and setting the temperature to the highest. The mirror quickly fogged up and I stepped in, wincing at the scalding hot water as it touched my skin. I sank to the floor and let the water soak my hair and cascade down my back, scrubbing at my body.

I sat in the shower for a while, thinking and letting myself cry again. It seemed I had a reservoir of endless tears that would not stop flowing, every time I thought I was done, another thought would come, and I'd get upset again. My wolf was no better; none stop whining to go and see Ares, to defy the Alpha's orders and mark him so he was ours. My wolf had no care for what I was feeling, she was acting purely on instinct and so despite everything, wanted me to mark Ares even though I could not.