Aether's Claim | Editing

Chapter 11

"You're the perfect mate." Ares chuckled to himself.

We had been talking for most of the night and into dawn; about each other, ourselves, what we had noticed about one another over the years, which wasn't much. I had learnt so much about Ares; how he always strove to protect his family and the pack, how he had to take on so many responsibilities from a young age, how he feared he wouldn't be a good enough Alpha as his father was. It had broken my illusion of him being a mindless puppet for his father to control, I realised he too had insecurities and worries, that he too was fighting within himself.

I scoffed slightly at his statement, shaking my head and laughing as I played with his hands. I had grown more comfortable with him here, my earlier concern about not knowing anything about each other had dissipated, and my mind was now filled with images of a young, brave and reckless Ares who was headstrong and opinionated.

"I'm not. I'm impatient and stubborn and-" I began to rattle off.

"I mean, you're the perfect mate...for me." He interjected, laughing again.

His laugh was almost enchanting, and I didn't know whether it was the mate pull or not but when I looked at him, the sun bouncing off his curls and the sunlight brightening up his face, it seemed like I could forget all the problems in my life and every negative thing washed away. As cliche as it sounded, I appreciated the break in the agony I had been constantly subjected to ever since the mate ceremony, and I was glad I could finally act like the mate I was destined to be and hoped we would eventually become together.

A pang of guilt echoed through me when he said that, though, a reminder of the moment Aether and I had shared and what that had meant to me. I had to reassure myself that it was in my time of need, that I had been in immense pain and Aether had come to me, knowing what I was going through and wanting to help me. It was a slip up, we could have been caught, but I had to ensure it would not happen again. Now that I had seemingly made amends with Ares, it would make both Aether and I look worse if we were caught together, and it would surely upset Ares - even if he was spending his moments with another female himself.

I pushed the thoughts away, wanting to enjoy my time with Ares. They would return, inevitably, our illusion of peace was only so thick and eventually we would need to return to our respective places within the pack, barely speaking or interacting, forbidden from being together by his father. I wondered then what I would do, if I would inevitably be drawn back to Aether, cast away by Ares once again and craving the attention of a male that wasn't my own.

"Oh..." I muttered, still lost in my thoughts as a small smile adorned my face. Getting to know Ares better had been something I had initially been against, given the circumstances. But now, having done it and being with him in such a close and intimate way I would have never thought we could, I was glad I did it. It was refreshing and my wolf, of course, was relishing these moments too. She had been the biggest and most fierce advocate for the forgiveness of Ares and, though she was driven mostly by primal nature, she was right in this respect.

"I'm serious, May." Ares began again, looking at me with a serious, but amused expression on his face.

He was about to continue but frowned and sat up sharply, suddenly looking cornered.

"What's wrong?" I asked, my own emotions turning at the sight of my mate slightly agitated.

He turned to me, but I already knew what it was: the pack was beginning to wake up. Our fantasy, our little illusion, was broken again. We would have to return to a world where we couldn't have contact with each other. Just like that we would be strangers again, the mate pull trying desperately to pull us together but being unsuccessful until we ourselves made the conscious decision to meet.