When I finish dressing, I quickly rush out the door and downstairs before Ares can nab me and throw me in bed to have his way with me before training. I want him to let that little tease sink in a little and I can’t wait to see him squirm during training.
When I get downstairs, I mind-link Ani and ask her to meet me at the training grounds. She hasn’t gotten out of bed yet.
‘What do you mean you haven’t gotten up yet? You ALWAYS get up at the same time every day!’
‘Alec didn’t wake me up! He’s not here! He left for training without me, that little fucker!’
‘Well hurry up girl! I’ll see you down there.’
When I arrive at the training facility, I see Alec already working with some warriors. I see some she-wolves at the mats practicing a defensive maneuver on each other, and I see another group of younger wolves stretching out getting ready to work. I decide to wait for Ani and begin stretching.
Ani and Ares arri
Ares, Alec, Ani, and I left training and headed for the kitchen commons for our breakfast. “OHHHH! There’s our Ares! Oh, such a handsome devil you are, my sweet Ares!” An old lady cooed when she saw us walk into the kitchen. I couldn’t help but chuckle at the doting words she used to describe Ares. Ares laughed, “Mrs. Cora, this is my mate, Ari. Ari, this is…” “Oh. My. Goddess! I know exactly who this is! Mrs. Cora and Mr. Jasper from the wolf cooking channel on youtube! I’m a fan!” I shout and hug them both fangirling a bit. “You didn’t tell me your head chefs were Mrs. Cora and Mr. Jasper! What the heck Ares!” “I...I didn’t realize you were a fan...of food…” He mutters looking sheepish. “Uh...FAT KID THAT LOVES FOOD RIGHT HERE!” I shout! “Oh sweety, you are hardly what anyone can call fat! If anything, I think I need to feed you more and put some meat on those bones!” Mrs. Cora chuckles. “That you MUST do Mrs. Cora!”
Ari’s POV “ALEXIA!” I squeal as I hold my arms out and run towards my best friend like a little school girl. “ARI!” She smiles, but the smile doesn’t reach her eyes. She looks exhausted, and there is a sadness in her aura that was never there before. Alexia was the life of the party, but right now, she was less than that. Maybe the travel exhausted her? I know Slick Paw is quite the distance since their pack house is located all the way in Concord, New Hampshire, but I didn’t think traveling would take so much out of a person? “How are you Alexia? I missed you so much! I’m SO sorry for disappearing off the face of the earth like that!” I quickly jump to what I think might be the source of her lack of excitement. “It’s okay
“Alexia said something that made me think for a second…” “What’s that?” “She said she thinks I’m taller, my hair is way longer, I’m glowing, my complexion is better, and now that I think of it, I FEEL different. Like, I feel stronger, my vision has improved - I can see stuff MILES away that I never could before, come to think of it! My nails have grown super long in a short period of time, Sienna’s teeth are sharper...just a lot of changes...have you noticed anything?” He chuckles, “Besides the fact that you are pregnant with my pup?” “C`mon Ares, I’m being serious!” He sighs, “Come here…” He reaches for my hands. I walk over to him and he pulls m
Ares doesn’t look happy, but he doesn’t try to stop me from trying to use one. I focus and close my eyes, clearing my mind of everything. As I empty my thoughts and calm my senses, I feel a warmth pass over my body and when I open my eyes, I’m not standing in the hallway between Ares’s office and the hall bathroom any more; I’m standing in a GIANT library. It’s quite breathtaking and marvelous, but it is definitely a library I have never seen before. There are three GIANT cathedral style windows with stained glass to the side above the shelves. In front of me are couches and lounges with tables, I assume for those interested in reading in the library or studying here. To my left and right are rows and rows with shelves and shelves of books! When I look up, there is a second floor to this library and you can see all the way around the upstairs since it is open from floor to ceiling with a spiral staircase off to the left. Upstairs is just more shelves
“Ani? What are you doing here?” I walk around the corner to see her standing in the entry. “Oh! Um, well...Alexia and I got bored and so we were going to go to the library to do some light ‘What to Expect When You're Expecting’ reading.” She chuckles as she turns a light shade of red. “Already that excited?” I laughed. “Well...being wolves and clearly not educated in this stuff like everyone here at Freedom Ridge...I thought I should brush up on everything about to hit my ass so I don’t make an ass out of myself like I did on the car ride over here!” Ani laughs. I scrunched my brows, “What do you mean?” “Ari...Alec told me their pack…” She paused
Ares’s POV Now that Ari, Ani, and Alexia have something to focus their energy on, Alec and I have some pack business that needs to get straightened out. “Do you really think Alexia will roll over on her own mate?” Alec asks me skeptically. “I don’t really know, but Ari swears she can read her lies like an open book. If she sucks that much at lying, she won’t technically be rolling over on him.” “What are you going to do if she confirms our suspicions? Will you let her leave?” “If she wants to return to him, then I can’t stop her. If Ari thinks it best she stays with us, or she wants to, I won’t tell her she can’t stay.” I begin to think over all the possibilities
Ari’s POV When everyone leaves Ares’s office except Alexia and me, I finally take a deep breath and exhale. Whatever Alexia can’t say in front of everyone else can’t be good. I put my block up so even Ares can’t eavesdrop through our mate bond. ‘Is that a good idea princess?’ Ares coos through the mind-link. He may sound like he’s trying to be sweet, but I can also tell through our bond that he is irritated that I put the block up. ‘Haven’t you ever heard of a thing called - PRIVACY?’ I scoff back to him. ‘We are wolves, what is privacy?’ He openly laughs, which only frustrates me.
Ari’s POV A few hours later, after some downtime to collect my own thoughts and get a grip on my emotions, I was able to call my dad and ask him where his witch contact could be found. He told me I needed to seek out the leader of the Sisters of the Moon. They are a friendly coven of white witches. Dad told me that their coven is hidden away in the mountains of Montana. This works out pretty perfectly for us since we are already in Freedom Ridge and Montana is a part of Freedom Ridge territory. Ares said it is about a two-day trip to the area he has heard rumors of a coven residing. He has never gone to investigate because they have never caused any trouble or created any problems, keeping to themselves and seldom ever going out. Ares tried to take