Unbound: Desire Awakened

2 | Where Were You

There was a subtle shift in the bed, but it was noticeable enough to wake me. I could have ignored it. Would have, but the bed dipped with intentionally annoyance, urging me to open my eyes.

Welp, there goes my sleep.

To my surprise, Aries was sitting there, his expression a blend of anger and concern.

Those ash-colored eyes pierced through me.

Clearly, he wasn't happy.

"You know," he began, his eyes narrowed in frustration. "If you weren't healing, I would punish you for pulling that stunt."

I rolled my eyes at his remark. I had a feeling his reaction would be much different to Eros's. 

I knew him better by now. So despite his clear annoyance, I knew deep down that his concern was rooted into whatever weird bond we shared.

And instead of being intimidated, I allowed my eyes to flutter close once more, trying to ward off the remnants of fatigue that still clung to me as I spoke.

"What are you going to do, make me do more push-ups?" The sarcasm in my voice seeped through as I responded with playful defiance.

I peaked my eyes open, catching a flicker of amusement dancing in Aries's gray eyes.  His lips curved up into a ghost of a smile. "You know, I can be unrelenting outside of the gym too."

Oh?! My cheeks felt hot, the meaning behind his words was not lost on me. I quickly averted my gaze, attempting to brush off the unexpected surge of warmth that spread through me.

I should change the subject instead, steer the conversation away from taking the turn it always seemed to take.

"Did you expect me to stay here after everything you guys told me?"

Aries leaned back on his knuckles, his expression becoming contemplative. "Well, I didn't expect you to wreck my car, that's for certain."

My eyes widened in realization. "Your car?" I stammered.

Before I could apologize, he interrupted me with his stern voice. "You know, you almost got yourself killed."

"You mean by the massive wolf?"

Aries shook his head, a smirk plastered on his face. "No, not just the wolf." He responded. "Your crappy driving skills nearly did you in. And as for that wolf, well, that was just a tiny one."

"Tiny?" I repeated in disbelief.

From what I recalled, that wolf had been fucking huge!

"Well, I suppose it was more normal-sized compared to the red beast that stopped it. What was that thing anyways?" I wondered if Aries would give me a solid answer.

Aries's gaze met mine, and like Eros, he offered me a cryptic response. "Let's just say you're not in Kansas anymore, sweetheart." He said, with a touch of mystery in his tone.

Gee, that really cleared things up. "So what, you guys just have mutant dogs running around here?"

Aries's chuckle filled the air, breaking the tension that had once been between us. His eyes gleamed with amusement as he looked at me. "Mutant dogs, huh?" A playful grin tugged at the corners of his lips. "I like that."

Of course he would. I couldn't help but roll my eyes at his response. "I'm glad you like it, but that still doesn't answer my question, Aries. What exactly was that giant red thing?"

"What did it look like to you?" His eyes narrowed, staring at me intently.

"Well let's see," I began." It was strong."