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
Ari's POV Just then, a rush of hurried knocks comes rapping at the door, interrupting this sexually charged moment. “Alpha, Luna - there has been a breach in security!” Alessandro shouts. That shakes us out of our mesmerizing haze and we both look at each other with concern. I check myself to make sure everything is back on where it should be, while Ares snaps the button on his slacks and fixes his belt before walking out of the office. “What’s going on?” Ares asks Alessandro as he swings the door open abruptly walking out. I follow them as we head to the central security office where all the monitors to all the cameras around the compound and territory are placed. Ares showed me this office when we first got here, letting me know this is like the central nervous system of the entire pack, and right throu
Ari's POV “We will finish this conversation later.” Ares grits out, turns around, and walks out of the security office and into the interrogation room. Since I’m still in the security room, I call Alessandro in and ask him to pull up the footage of interrogation room one so I can watch Ares interrogate this woman. “What’s your name?” Ares asks the woman as he sits in the seat across from her. She looks up and stares at him. “Oh. My. Gosh! It’s really you!” She squeaks out. “Name?” Ares reiterates more forcefully. “Stacey! Stacey Scroggins!” She quickly blurts. “What are you doing in the woods...alone?” “Looking for you of course
Ares’s POV After a few days of going over pack paperwork and business, we finally were able to get to a place and position where I felt comfortable leaving the pack again, even if we weren’t leaving our pack territory, I still didn’t like making long trips with business hanging over my head. Ari wouldn’t let me leave without her, come hell or high water. She even insisted that we go like a caravan! After all matters and arguments were settled, Ari, Ani, Alec, Alessandro, Illyana, and I all ended up going together in one SUV. I left the pack in the hands of former Beta, Trace. I knew he would keep our people safe and protected. He had done so for many years for my father while I was away for pack business or hiding out in Texline when I was younger and my father was so wasted that he couldn't. He was a good Beta and one of t
Fen’s POV I’m getting tired of waiting for the council to make a decision about Ares and Ari. He wasn’t supposed to be her mate! Their mating one another royally fucked my plans up. Now I have to spend most of my time pandering to the court of public opinion...the media. The more of the ‘Mr. Perfect’ image I project right now, the more everyone will sympathize with me and press the council to name me the heir. I hear a knock on the door of my office. I’ve been hulled up in here for the past few days working out the schematics of my proposal I am going to present to the council. Before I do though, I’m going to give a speech to the public on national television to pressure the council to lean in my favor. Alexia still hasn’t returned home. I’m beginning to t