Aether's Claim | Editing

Chapter 5

Ares chose his words carefully. I could see it in his eyes. He saw how fragile I was as he took my hand and led me to sit down at the place I had just been at. I pulled away and wrapped my hands around my body, not looking him in the eyes. I knew it would hurt him. I did it anyway.

The mate pull thrummed through me. Our close proximity meant I was already feeling lightheaded and the place he had held me previously was aching with the last tendrils of contact. The feeling was euphoric, but I couldn't enjoy it, all I could think of was if he shared the same experiences with his new female.

I couldn't speak first. I had to show him I was not desperate for contact with him, even if it was a lie. I looked at the grass beneath us and concentrated on that while I waited for him to speak. I could feel his eyes on me, I longed to get lost in them, but I held strong and didn't cave.

"May..." He began, and a shudder rang through me. I reacted instantly and my eyes snapped to his despite my earlier attempt to not look at him. It was as if all he could muster up was my name, I hadn't heard him say anything that was akin to some sort of apology as to why he was here, some sort of explanation or advice. What he gave to me a few weeks ago was not it, under the watchful eyes of his father he let me leave with a mere few words and an empty promise.

He knew what he was doing. By saying my name, he was enticing me with the pleasurable feelings the mate pull would ignite in me. It would make me less angry towards him, more relaxed and more susceptible to his advances.

"Don't say my name." I whispered, not trusting my voice not to crack if I spoke louder.

This was all too much for me. I already knew he came to formally reject me, why else would he be here? My wolf was so foolish for leading us here, but I was even more foolish for coming on this walk in the first place.

"Just reject me already." I said, holding my breath.

I willed my legs to move; to stand me up and carry me away and back home - anywhere but here. But I stayed in place, my body frozen in time. The mate pull would not let me leave.

"I'd never do that." Ares growled lightly, searching my eyes for a reaction. His eyes kept flashing to his wolf and I knew I'd triggered some sort of anger within him with my mention of rejection, but I didn't care. Though it surprised me that he said that, it would only be a matter of time until he went back on his word and rejected me. Whatever plans his father had would not be dismissed simply because of me.

I chuckled darkly. "You might as well. It's not like you can disobey a direct order from your father."

He began to speak but I cut him off, anger fuelling my words. "Why are you even here? Your father gave us a direct order not to see each other."

"I couldn't stay away. The mate pull...you know that...you feel it." Ares said, his voice quiet but pleading.

It was a strange experience; being so close to the Alpha's son like this when we'd previously had little to no reason to talk to each other. In any other situation I should've been speaking to him respectfully, eyes drawn to the ground and voice low but as his mate I was essential his equal now and my wolf was not compelled to submit as other wolves would be. It was...surreal.

"Sometimes I wish I didn't." I whispered under my breath.

It was true, sometimes I did wish the mate pull didn't affect me. Just look at what it had done to me in less than a month; I had lost most of my appetite, my eyes were sunken in and tired. If it weren't for the wolf genes that thrummed through my veins, I would be worse. I shouldn't have said that, I knew it would hurt him a lot, but I wanted to hurt him as much as he had hurt me.