Chapter 4

“aarrgghh”

I wake up feeling disoriented. I look at my surroundings. It's unfamiliar. I shift the sheets and start to stand up from the bed and move to stretch when I feel eyes on me from across the room.

“Arrrghhh!!!”

I thought I was alone. He sat quietly at the far end of the dark room like a creep. It's unnerving.

“Hey it's okay. I'm sorry to startle you. I've been waiting for you to wake up for a while now.”

“How long have I been out”

“Two days”

TWO DAYS!! was I drugged or something. What if he did something to me in my weak state? The panic must show on my face. 

“Don't panic. You are safe here”

The most magnetic voice says slowly, pacifyingly. I sniff the air and smell spice. I realise the room is covered in it too and so am I and it was not the most uncomfortable smell. I actually liked it.

“Mate”

Athena whispers weakly in my mind. She's recuperating after her fight with those rogues. I register what she says then.

“WHAT?! MATE? Athena don't spout nonsense. W-We already have a mate and he rejected us, remember?. I know you want another mate but you just can't go making assumptions.”

I scold Athena in my mind. I'm not one to give false hope. I mean I've heard stories of second chance mates. I just never thought I'd have one.

“Hello mate”

The magnetic voice spoke again. Wait, did he just say mate. I'm HIS mate!. He must have seen the confusion on my face. 

“Hi, I'm Jason. This is crescent pack. I am your mate and you are currently in my room”

He offers me a smile after his little introduction. He has a dimpled cheek. I want to keep a smile on his face.

“I'm Ares.”

“That’s a beautiful name.”

He offers me another megawatt smile. I love his smile and I love that it's directed at me. I send him a small smile of my own.

“Why were you wandering in the woods? Are you lost or something”

“I was sent out of my pack. Former pack.”

I correct myself. I am no longer a member of the moonstone pack. Maverick made sure of it.

“I had a mate”

I say with pain as I recall Maverick and Ashley's betrayal. Maverick might be a tool, but he made it for me. 

“What happened to him?”

He must have taken my pain for something else. 

“He rejected me for my adoptive sister and got me sent off from the pack.”

I answer with clenched teeth. I should have ripped their hearts out when I had the chance.

“He is a fool. His lost, my gain”

He offers me a full smile now. He has a perfect set of teeth and the most beautiful smile. I take in his full face. He was hand moulded perfectly by the moon goddess herself. 

He has the strongest jawline and most kissable lips. He stands proudly at 6’4 inches if I'm not mistaken. I'm tall but he's taller. His hands look like they were made to hold mine. 

His eyes are my favourite. They look at me the way Dad looks at Mum. I'm almost too scared to see if this is real. He doesn't look the least bothered that I'm checking him out openly, instead he looked pleased.

The little one. I panic. He must have sensed my panic.

“Where is she? The little cub that was with me. Who took her?”

“Adriana is fine. She's playing downstairs with her pairs. You did a good job protecting her. Thank you.”

I breathe easy when I hear she's fine.

“It's nothing”

“I don't know what I would have done if I lost her”

“What do you mean if you lost her?”

“Adriana is my daughter”

A beat passes. Another. I don't speak. There it was, the other shoe dropping. Of course he's not perfect. He has a daughter.

“Your daughter?”

I whisper. I'm almost too afraid to hear his answer. 

“I found her when I was looking for my mate during a pack attack. She was crying in a ruined building in my mate's arms. My mate died protecting her”

I sense the pain in his voice. He lost his mate. He's a good person, he raised a child that wasn't his because his mate died protecting her.

“I’m sorry for your loss. No one deserves to lose a mate.”

I really was. I was rejected but he lost his before they could build a life together. Wait!. That means we are each other's second chance mate.

“I’m your second mate as you are mine”

I say and he nods at me. 

We're interrupted by the sound of knocking. I see his eyes glaze over. He's probably talking to the person at the door through the pack link. 

Few seconds later, he returned his attention back to me. 

“Are you hungry, Ares?”

My stomach takes that as his clue to make itself known. I don't remember the last meal I had. I don't think my name has ever sounded better. It rolls off his tongue.

“Starving”

“Let me get you something to eat”

He offers me his hand. I don't take it. I see his face fall but he lets it go. 

“You'll warm up to me eventually.”

I want to take his hand but I don't think I trust him yet. A repeat of Maverick might kill me. I survived one rejection doesn't mean I can survive a second.

He opens the door for me and asks me to step out first. I hear noises the moment I step out. I give him a questioning look. 

“Sound-proofed room”

“Ahhhh”

I know I said I haven't had company in days. The unfamiliar voices make me miss the quiet. This must be the pack house. I smell different people and hear several footsteps.

As I headed downstairs with him, looks were thrown my way. He leads us to the kitchen.

“What do you want to eat?”

“ Anything would do”

“Okay. Give me a few minutes”

He leads me to sit at the dining table while he goes back to the kitchen. I hear the sound of approaching footsteps before it reaches me.

“Who are you?”