Chapter 1

Valeria's POV

"Shit." My step-brother's voice drifted through the quiet hallway, stopping me in my tracks.

"Fuck!" he added. It was the kind of swearing someone muttered after smashing their little toe against the edge of a table. But then, another curse followed, louder, strained, almost pained. My feet moved before my mind could tell them not to, walking towards his study. Living under the same roof as Ares Kingswood for seven years had taught me one simple rule: Avoid him at all costs.

He was impeccably well put together, a cold-blooded heir to our family's werewolf lineage. He was the man everyone in the kingdom admired, respected, and even feared, the man who never lost control, and the man who treated me like I was invisible.

Ares never initiated conversation with me, never even called me by my name; at some point I thought he didn't even know it. He barely glanced my way, and whenever we found ourselves alone in the same room, the man would walk out, keeping off me as if I were a plague. He had made it clear that I was not to disturb him, look at him, or even get close. To him, I was simply the fragile human who became his stepsister when my father married his mother after my mother's death. I was nothing more than a nuisance he tolerated because our parents had decided we were family.

So why did the sound coming from his study make my pulse jump? Why did it make my stomach stir and my chest warm up? Another curse followed, raw, unrestrained, not the controlled voice of the Alpha King heir everyone knew. I slowed as I approached the door, my heart pounding hard against my ribcage. A thin line of amber light spilt through the narrow gap of the double oak doors into the hallway. I knew I should have turned around, but knowing and doing were two different things.

"Goddess, help me," I whispered, low enough that I didn't even hear myself. Then, I held my breath and stepped closer until curiosity overpowered common sense. I leant towards the opening and looked inside, and I swear my breath caught. Ares leant against the edge of his massive oak desk, one hand gripping the wood so tightly his knuckles had turned white.

His white dress shirt hung open, revealing the hard planes of his chest. His head was thrown back, and his sculpted jaw was clenched, while his chest rose and fell with uneven ragged breaths. My eyes lowered until they fell on his hand, gripping his manhood, hard as a rock, going up and down, while he grunted. That sight alone sent sparks I couldn't control down between my legs, an ache developing immediately.

"Valeria..." he groaned, the sudden mention of my name making my heart leap into my throat. His voice at that point was barely recognisable; it was low and rough, dragged from somewhere deep inside him. I watched as sweat glistened along his throat, as his shoulders trembled and as his hand movements became sloppy and quick.

"Valeria, shit," he said my name again, and I swear I could hear my own heartbeat. I had no control over my body, and just like that, my pussy walls clenched in an uncontrollable response.

"Goddamn it, Val..." I couldn't breathe, not when I had to press my thighs together as the warmth in my core turned into a burn, one that needed some type of friction.

For seven years, Ares had acted as though saying my name was a burden, as though it made his stomach churn violently in disgust. Now he was grunting my name when he thought no one could hear him. "Oh goddess, don't stop Valeria," he went on, his lips parted and for some reason, a low sound that I couldn't recognise escaped my lips. I tried taking a step backwards, only for my heel to catch the edge of the hallway runner.

The sound was tiny, but the silence that followed was loud. Inside the study, Ares went completely still; his hand stopped moving on his manhood, his eyes met mine through the crack, and I swear my blood turned cold.

I tried to run, but my mind was faster than my feet. The doors were pushed open, and a large hand closed around my upper arm. Before I could scream, Ares yanked me inside and slammed the door shut behind me. I stumbled forward, but he caught me and spun me around. I barely had time to brace myself as my back hit the hard wooden door. I gasped, my hands instinctively pressing against his bare chest, where the shirt was unbuttoned.

"Fuck," I muttered, that small touch making my skin tingle, feeling the heat that radiated from his skin.

For one terrifying second, neither of us moved. His breathing was uneven, and goddess, his eyes; the silver I knew was gone. His pupils were blown wide as something feral flickered behind them.

"Do you know the meaning of privacy?" he asked in a controlled tone, pushing my hands from his chest. His expression hardened, his shoulders straightened, and he took a step back. 

"I asked you a question," he said. "What are you doing here?" His voice was icy, and for a moment I wondered if I'd imagined everything.

"Go back to your room." His voice sharpened. There it was, the familiar Ares, the one who couldn't even look at me. Except now I knew what existed underneath that was a facade, and I couldn't un-know it.

"No," I forced the word, craning my neck definitely.

"No?" he repeated, while my gaze dropped to his damp skin, down to his front. Just one look at the outline of his bulge inside the unzipped trousers had me shifting against the door. His eyes followed mine, and his nostrils flared. "Forget what you saw."

My eyes snapped back to his. "What?" I raised my brows.

"Forget it." His voice was dangerously quiet. I watched as he stepped closer, making me press harder against the door. He leant in until I could feel his warm breath fanning my face. "Whatever you think you saw," he relayed. "You saw nothing." 

I should have nodded; hell, I should have walked away, but something inside me had changed the moment I heard my name fall from his lips. For years I'd accepted his distance without questioning it; tonight, it was different. So instead of agreeing, I lowered my eyes again to his front, then lifted my chin and looked at him.

"If it was nothing..." My voice trembled, but I went on. "Why are you still shaking?"

Something flashed in his eyes, and his jaw flexed yet again. "Do not make me repeat myself." It was a warning, but I stepped forward anyway, just one step, enough to erase the small distance between us.

His eyes darkened as I tiptoed; although it wasn't enough to match his height, I still had to crane my neck. "If you truly wanted me away from you..." I whispered, swallowing hard. "Why was it my name you were calling?" My voice came out breathy. "And why are you still hard?"