Ares’s POVI walked back into the palace with wobbly feet. I couldn’t believe what had just happened. Who could have sent that man? As soon as I walked back into the palace, I saw Belladonna there again. She was barely giving me any space, and I kind of liked it. I didn’t want to do anything I couldn’t account for. I didn’t want to drink either.The mystery of what the previous priestess was about to do before her head was cut off was still a mystery to me. We hadn’t figured that out yet. “Is there any issue?” I asked, and she shook her head.“It’s not important for now, but what happened? I saw how you were hurrying downstairs.” I looked away. “I got a message from someone. Apparently, they know exactly who is with Violet and probably where she was.Her eyes lighted up unnaturally. It seemed supernatural, in fact. “So where is she? And when are you going?”“Tomorrow. And no, I don’t know where she is. That is what I’m going to find out.”“Do you want me to come with you?” she asked,
Ares’s POV I could barely sleep a wink as I waited for the sun to rise. Someone has said they had information as to where Violet might be. It was six o'clock on the dot when I got up and headed out of the palace. I could have easily disobeyed the person that passed the information. I tried not to think about the fact that I had given orders while I was drunk. The fact that I didn't remember doing all those things was alarming. But I couldn't argue with them. It was shameful enough that I was drunk. The whole pack had heard about it. If there was any atom of respect left for me from the pack members after I had asked Colton to take Violet away, it was gone at the news of me asking people to abduct Violet while I was drunk. I could never really comprehend the issue. Or how it managed to spread round the whole pack to the extent that even the Omegas knew about it. I didn't miss their snickering whenever they walked past. Even if Violet returned, what was the assurance that she was
Violet’s POVFinally, I was going to see them. I couldn’t ignore the gut feeling that was telling me to pretend that I wasn’t feeling okay. Would that somehow save me? Before I could try to fake a stomach ache, I was already dragged outside by my hair. I turned back to see if Eric was following. He was walking slowly behind us. His eyes were sad, and he could barely look at me. I wanted to ask him what happened. Was he sad because he was remembering everything that happened the night before? Or was he sad because he had remembered what Ares had done to him? Or worse, was he sad and scared for me? I didn’t want to think that far. Everything was going to be fine. The weather was still gloomy, just the way I was feeling. Eric’s voice was ever present in my head, telling me all the things that Ares had done to him. I still couldn't comprehend everything I heard. “Move!” one of the men said, shoving me by the shoulder so hard that I fell to the ground. He grabbed me up by my hair agai
Violet’sPOV I did not bother to open my mouth to say anything. It would be totally useless to throw my legs either. I was a little excited to see him. But now, that feeling is gone. There was no need to be excited at the sight of the person that had tried to hurt me in the least moment I had expected. My ass and my back were on fire. I wanted to cry, but definitely not in front of him.“Why didn't you fight back?” He asked. Was that anger in his voice? “You and I know that you could have easily pushed them away if you wanted. But you just decided to be weak. Today of all days. Today when you were supposed to show me how you really are, you decided to fuck up.” I looked up. “Why would I show you anything?!” I fired back. “After everything you have done to me? After everything I've been through in your hands? After everything I've been through because of the people that you have hurt in the past?”He stopped in his tracks. I held my breath as I waited for him to apologise to me. He
Ares’ POV I watched how tiny she looked on the bed. How had she grown so much confidence? It was hot as fuck, even if it was stupid of her to start an argument with the Alpha of her pack. It made me remember someone. The last person I wanted to remember that day. Even as she spoke, it felt like it wasn't her. Her collarbones were prominent, and I was sure I could definitely count her ribs underneath her dress.I placed my hands on them, and she flinched. She was sleeping for fuck's sake, and she could still feel the pain in her back. I pretended like I didn't see the scar when I went to pick her up. Or the red marks on her face that were definitely from slapping. Even Belladonna had added to that. Or the splinters of wood that were still on her face. She was not lying down on them. I wanted to be angry, but I couldn't. My hands felt too weak to even form any kind of fists. She was extremely weak. And she wasn't healing quickly. Was it all me? Was she that weak because she had trie
Violet’s POVI hurried back to the room, crawling on the steps before Ares could even come out and see me. That was a close call.At some point, I felt bad. All nice and cosy since he said he wanted to take care of me. But that was what he said before, right? That was the one thing he promised to do.All I had to do was go on a date, get poisoned by someone in the pack, and he changed totally. He could not tolerate my ugly face for even a day before he sent me out. Well, my face was okay now, and my back was not. Was he going to send me back because of my ugly back too? Ares saying he wants to take care of me is the one thing I would not believe. He had promised the same thing before. And if he goes to dump me at Alpha Kyros, I don’t think I would be shocked either. It wasn’t the first time, was it?All I wanted to see was~~~~I had woken up, and the room was empty. I didn’t have that much hope to even see him there. But I could swear I felt his kiss on my forehead, but I didn’t kn
Ares’ POVViolet was being nice. Too nice for my liking. Even when she was trying to be nice, she was never as nice as that. I hoped to hell that she was not pretending. Because if she was pretending, I could as well just go to hell. She was being nice, fine. But she was quite overdoing it. The Elders wanted to have a meeting with her as regards the mating ceremony. I already knew what her response was going to be. And I had already fucked up by bringing the meeting while I was just five minutes into being nice with her. She was at least smart enough to put two and two together. And it wouldn’t take her as much time as it would take a normal person. If she hadn’t already tried understanding everything herself.Maybe there was just no need to pretend with her. I could just go straight up and tell her what she needed to do. If she was ever going to agree with me, of course.She was still staring at me when a knock came at the door. I groaned internally for not locking the door when I
Violet’s POVDid I seem freer? Or was I imagining things? I was smiling everywhere after that kiss with Ares. I had honestly hoped for him to push me away. But he didn’t. He genuinely kissed me. I didn’t want to believe that he was acting with me. He wasn’t. I wanted to believe and hope that he wasn’t playing with me again. I tried to get rid of the thought that he was just playing another game with me as I walked with him through the garden. “You said you wanted to talk?” I asked him, and he nodded.“I think the Elders would prefer to talk to you first.” I nodded, looking at how my hand fit in his perfectly. I blinked. I didn’t want to imagine any more things that weren’t meant to be. That was the one thing I didn’t want to do. I was doing perfectly well without my imaginations. “Just don’t get angry at whatever they might ask of you, because I will be asking you just the same thing.”I wanted to ask what more he was going to say or what the elders were going to say, because he de
VIOLET'S POVThere was no denying the fact that Ares was there. He had been there, and I could smell his scent on the baby. Even the way Elmyra and Jackie had been acting did nothing but confirm my thoughts. I didn't mind. I didn't have any issues with the whole thing. Because I knew that Ares would never hurt his child even if he had wanted to kill me in the past. But smelling his scent up close like that just brought back so many memories that it wasn't supposed to. It made me cry at night.And of course, there was literally no one to tell when those things came. Jackie was busy as well, and Elmyra was finally the female alpha. It had never happened before, but there she was, making a difference more than anyone in the world. There she was, pushing the pack forward.I placed the baby in his cot as soon as I finished feeding him. I was already searching for a name that I wanted to give him. But even that was taking time. It seemed hard to even think of something. I knew that Are
ARES' POVTHREE MONTHS LATERI had gotten the information that Violet was in labour, and I wanted to be there more than anything. I had been going to her doorstep every day, morning and evening, trying to get to talk to her, but she obviously wasn't interested. She didn't want to talk to me. It was either that she was ignoring me, or she looked and refused to say anything while I begged her. I knew that I fucked up big time by accusing her of just going to hide. But I was also under so much pressure, and I couldn't see her properly. But I could swear on anything that I was not responsible for keeping her or maltreating her at any point. Even if the voice in my head didn't want me to go and see her, I was still compelled. I could not let her go through so much pain alone. I didn't want her feeling like I had abandoned her. I wanted to be there for her the way I was supposed to be right from the beginning. I parked the car right in front of their pack gate. Jackie ran to me immedi
VIOLET'S POVAres seemed broken as he begged me to stay at the palace. He was almost down on his knees, and I could see him rolling on the floor if I even spent a second more there. I turned back one more time, only to meet his worried face and Belladonna's worried one. Her eyes were fixed on Ares and back at me. It was almost like she wanted to tell me to stay back but could not bring herself to say the words. I headed out of the pack, with my bags in my arms. I looked at the building through the exterior part of the gate. I was thankful that there were no pack members that were there to stop me. “Luna”, someone called out to me, and I closed my eyes, wanting to ignore and run away. “Please turn and look at me,” the voice said in an almost pleading voice. I succumbed, already feeling too weak to do otherwise. I didn't know why I felt a little bit relieved when I turned and saw Cole, one of the guards. I took pride in the fact that I knew almost all their names. Of course, I was
VIOLET'S POVI allowed myself to be dragged away by the masked men. I didn't even want to ask where they were taking me. I was just glad to be out of that airless room. I was honestly weak since the last thing I had was a bottle of water in whatever amount of hours I had been at this place. I had been in a situation like this before. Eric was a living testimony. But they were not Eric. These people were different. I had absolutely no idea how I was even still able to walk as they pushed me to wherever I was being led to. It was the first time I had been out of the room with my eyes open. I was finally fully sane after such a long time. The hallway was filled with different rooms, all with the same doors. I couldn't help but wonder if that was where other people were kept. If there were other people. They finally opened up one of the doors and pushed me in, as they dumped me on one of the chairs. I was patient enough to wait for whatever was coming after that. I noticed that I was
ARES’ POVThe way I hurried outside with Colton was out of this world. I could feel the others coming behind me. I just needed to see that print. I was the one who got the shoes. I had gotten the particular sole print that she liked. So I was going to identify them anywhere. Torches were flashing at every point. People were starting to get the hint that there was actually something wrong. Every single person wanted to see what was actually happening. Just like me, they wanted to see the print. Even if they didn’t know her shoe sole print, they could at least identify her shoe size.I held my breath as we got close to the backyard. Cole looked back, as if asking me if I really wanted to see what he was about to show. I gave him a small nod, and he finally pointed at the place. The backyard was slightly muddy. I could already picture a struggle. A small smile wanted to creep on my lips. Of course, my Violet was not just going to give up just like that. She was going to fight with th
ARES' POVI wanted to sit. I wanted to breathe. But I couldn't. Finding Violet was more important. How could she not be in the pack as a whole? Elmyra was obviously trying not to cry, while Jackie tried her best to remain neutral and strong for Elmyra as she tried petting her. Indigo was continuously jittering in her sleep. I was worried about the kind of connection that she had with Violet. It was starting to feel like it wasn't safe. Akira was carrying her in different ways just to make sure that she was not going to wake her up. We both knew that if she woke up, she was going to be crying continuously. And we didn't want that. “She was right in front of me an hour ago,” Elmyra said as she sniffled. “She was finally happy. The revenge thing was over. She could finally sleep. And now this is happening?”Luna and Lynn were worried as well. We were practically the only ones that knew she was missing. Luna didn't want us alarming the guests just yet. She still felt Violet was somewh
VIOLET’S POVI followed the Omega upstairs. She seemed pretty excited that the whole thing was going on. I couldn’t help but notice how much the pack members needed this party. How relaxed they finally felt. It wasn’t a lie that we had been under so much tension. It almost felt like I didn’t belong there. But I pushed the thought out of my head. I deserved happiness too.I saw Lynn and Luna sitting together, with drinks in their hands. I wanted to be angry at both of them, but this was life, right? They had their own things to do. They couldn’t be here for me all the time. Their faces lit up as soon as they saw me, and I could tell that they both missed me. The way they hurried to hug me was out of this world. Lynn didn’t even care that she was putting on a gown. She jumped on me without any kind of hesitation. I tried my best to hold her still. Luna was still seated with the largest smile on her face. I got to where she was seated and hugged her too. I heard her sniffle, and I k
ARES’ POVI was at the terrace, trying to cool off my head when I felt someone bow behind me. I turned, slightly shocked to see Akira there. There was something about her mood. It was off. I knew she wanted something. I decided to act like I had no idea. “What is it?” I asked her, and she shook her head. I allowed myself a small smile. Well, two could play this game.“Where is Violet?” I asked. I made sure that I didn’t leave the room until Violet had fallen asleep. I was glad that she had gotten the revenge that she wanted. She could finally have some peace of her own. She deserved every kind of peace and joy. She deserved to be spoiled. And I wanted to spoil it. I wanted to be the one person that made her happy. When she thought about happiness, I wanted her to think about me, the kids, the pack and everything that I was going to show her. “She’s in my room,” Akira said, and my eyes widened. When was that tiny woman ever going to listen to the instructions that I gave? I specifi
VIOLET'S POVIt all started as a joke, didn't it? But there I was, allowing myself to be carried in Ares' arms as I moaned in pain. I could feel the baby. I could feel the baby shift. But even through all my pain, I could tell that Ares was more pain than I was. The frown line on his face was not leaving. He was stuck in between carrying me to our room, stroking my back, kissing my forehead, and whispering words of affirmation to me. It was all too much for me to take in. That didn't change the fact that I was dead meat as soon as I got better… if I did. He finally trusted me once, and I flopped. I was already feeling like a bad mother. With opened eyes, I put my child's life at stake. That didn't change the fact that Alpha Damien was finally dead. He was finally gone. Revenge had been served. Even if it was still with Ares' help. Ares swung the door to the room open with his feet. He gently placed me on the bed. He was in a hurry, but he took a few seconds to look at me one more