5- Made in madness

(ARES)

Everything in me begged to stop, but Storm was strangely exhilarated. He never cared about women. I didn't know what it was about her that made him horny, too. He craved her, just as much as I did.

"I want to bite her and then lick her off... She smells delicious!" Storm said in a strange moan, which made me want to run far away from her. I licked my lips as I looked into her gray eyes, full of dark, dangerous storms, pulling me in, calling to my every sense.

My c*ck responded eagerly to the come hither look in her eyes. I wanted to grab her hand and push it against the evidence of my desire for her.

It was too much. She was too much. 

"Do you want a taste?" she moaned out and my arousal jumped in response. A million times yes and more.

This was why I didn't like this woman. She is unexpected. After all, she was still here in my pack and that should tell me how much trouble she was.

"I do. I do want a taste." Storm said, in a deep moan. I shook my head as the fire in my body flamed. She didn't even have to touch me, and I was already craving her.

"Yes, but..." My voice was only a breathy moan as my fingers traveled up her arms, settling in on her shoulders. I wanted to do things. 

"I don't like you, but I like how hot you look," she said as she scanned my body, licking her lips, her gaze dark and full of desire.  "You are infuriating, but I don't care... I just want a moment of reprieve." 

I shook my head. "I don't- you are mad."

She smirked, looking smug as hell. "Are you scared of me, Alpha? Poor old me?" She blinked and fluttered her eyes. 

"There is nothing poor about you, and we both know it!" I grunted as I took in a deep breath, and my head was filled with her scent. She smelled like a walk amid a field full of glittering sapphire lilies. Magical and breathtaking.

I fear her. I am scared of everything she stirs inside me.

I had duties and responsibilities. I had obligations I couldn't forsake for anyone. She would be a wild detour I couldn't afford.

I needed to keep my head straight. I couldn't get lost in the tempest in her eyes, the evil promises unspoken on her lips, the whispered sensuality in her scent.

Azalea needed me. My brother needed me. My pack needed me. And then there was that thing about MATE. 

She isn't mine! 

I could feel her fingers sneaking inside my shirt, and everyone of my logical reasons wanted to die badly. My body erupted with pleasure when her palm met my bare skin.

Everything around us was blurry when she leaned closer to me and when her scent filled the air. She pushed my chest until I felt my back pressed up against the tree. She came to stand in between my legs, and she was too close, yet too far away.

I wanted to push her hand away. But even as everything in me screamed to push her away, I couldn't. My legs refused to move. 

My body burned, and I felt like I was standing at the edge of a  cliff, willing to fall for her, but could I take that fall? I was strong, but I had a feeling this fall would change my life completely and I wasn't in the position to change my life. Not for someone who would only be a distraction and a temporary stop. 

Her finger softly touched the side of my lips and the touch was like a punch in the solar plexus.

"Stop thinking too much and just feel. Feel."

"You know I can't."

"Why can't you?"

"I have Azalea to think about, and Brian, too. They need me! After everything..."

"I understand that, but you are just 22, Ares, and your life hasn't even started yet." Storm looked concerned. He was worried about me, but I knew what I was doing. 

“And she is NOT my mate!” There was no response. 

I was doing just fine without this woman. And then two weeks ago, she stormed in like a violent tornado, and I feared my life would never be the same. 

She pressed a finger against my upper lip before tracing the lines of my lower lip. She let her finger reach the cleft in my chin, before leaning closer to me, and the scent of Sapphire lilies again flooded me.

"Wha- what are you do-doing?" My voice was strange even to me. "Back off." I was quick to respond, and shock and recognition replaced the teasing smile in her eyes.

She looked at me for a second before she took a hasty step away from me, blinking as she did.

"What the fuck was I thinking? This was a freaking mistake, and no matter what I tell myself... this is going to be-" she mumbled under her breath, and I knew she was right. If she hadn't pulled away, I would have.

I shook my head. "Yes. It is. I didn't know why I- it is my wolf," I half lied. It wasn't only my wolf.

"I know why I did it. It is to distract myself, but I know that is not how I should deal with my problems. It won't go away with a distraction, especially not if that distraction is you!" She took in a deep breath as she rubbed a hand against her cheeks that still looked flushed. My heart banged against my chest.

"What do you mean by especially me?" I growled out, and she sighed.

"You are you, Alpha Ares."

I wanted to prove to her how good of a distraction I could be, but that was just my ego talking. I still hadn't lost all my senses.

"Again? I don't understand."

"I don't like you. You don't like me. So this will only be one more problem for me."

She was right. I didn't know why it made me angry though.

"If you want me to go, I will go!" she said, and then turned and left without waiting for my answer.

"What did she mean? Go as in go now, or go forever?" Storm said, with furrowed brows.

"I don't know. We will know what she meant by tomorrow. We should go for a run now. I really need that run!" I said, as I stripped and hid the clothes behind the tree before bounding into the forest. The sky was just going dark. If we ran now, we could easily come back for dinner.

I thought about Storm in my head, his lean body, paws on the ground, and I felt my body shift and change until my paws hit the ground, making a soft thump.

Storm looked around, sniffing, before he bounded into the thick forest.

He lifted his snout up in the air as he took in the scent of her mixed in air. It was intoxicating. Storm followed the path of her scent, and this much needed run had now become a torture for me too.

"Stop following her scent, you idiot," I hissed at Storm as he howled and shook his head.

"I can't..."

He increased his pace, and weaved through trees, ran over the branches, until he was panting. The wolf shuddered in pleasure as the chilly breeze ruffled his fur.

We ran until thoughts in our head were nothing but a soft growl. I felt the power of his shift in my blood. It was like an ancient call. Nature and wolf. Nothing else. 

He came to a halt in front of the trees.

"Why did you stop?"

"She stopped here. But something is wrong." He sniffed the air and shook his head.

"What is wrong?"

"Someone else was here. But-"

"But?"

"The scent... it was not really a scent. It was-" Storm turned around and around, sniffing and shaking his head. I could feel the confusion in him. Having a wolf meant sharing his feelings and thoughts, just as he shared mine. I could feel his scepticism.

"Maybe it was too long ago," I said to him and he shook his head as he turned around and around before exhaling loudly.

"Maybe. I don't know. I don't- this doesn't feel right. Just tell the warriors to be more alert."

"What if she is a spy?" I whispered to him. "William said she told him she was the Alpha's daughter. Why did she say that? And the way she refuses to leave, it is suspicious, don't you think? What if that asshole from Turquoise Falls sent her here?!"

Storm huffed. "I don't know."

"I should keep an eye on her!" I said to him and he rolled his eyes.

"Are you finding an excuse to stalk her?"

I didn't appreciate the snark. Not at all. After a while, we ran back to the pack, and I quickly shifted, wore my clothes and walked towards the pack house, and stopped when I heard Azalea's giggles.

She rarely ever giggled with anyone other than me. I worried about the little girl. She was only five, and she lost her mother just two years ago. And then her father... he just- My heart twisted when I thought about how small she was back then, how fragile she looked. I wasn't ready for a child. I was just twenty and enjoying my life.

My brother was the Alpha, and I was lost in my books and my toys, as Brian called them.

She had stopped talking what little she talked and she kept crying, and it broke my heart to see the little girl like that. But after a few months she came out of her cocoon, but she was still shy when compared to the girls her age, and subdued.

I silently walked in and saw she was sitting with Elyn. They had their heads bent together as Elyn read a book in a funny voice, making Azalea giggle even more. The little girl looked comfortable with Elyn.

A soft sigh left my lips before I turned and left.

"She is good, isn't she?"

I stopped as I saw Kai looking at me.

"I don't know what she is!" I admitted.

"Azalea looks besotted."

I rubbed my eyes with a grunt.

"She does."

"So do you..." Kai's eyes were pointed as he looked at me and I shook my head.

"No way in hell. I don't have time for distractions."

"A beautiful distraction!" he said and I could see the glint in his eyes and I could see that Kai was interested too. And she called him handsome. I gritted my teeth.

"No." I shook my head. "Hey, inform our warriors to increase the patrols in the northern woods."

He looked at me and raised his brows.

"I don't know exactly, but I felt Storm's agitation. He thinks someone had trespassed into our woods and wants to keep an eye on things. I just want to be safe." 

Kai nodded and walked away. 

"Uncle Ares. Elyn was telling me a story. Come on. She will tell you a story, too."

Elyn looked at me and her lips went flat. I knew she didn't want to tell me any stories.

"It is alright, cookie. I just-"

"Come on, Uncle Ares. Elyn tells the most amazing stories." Azalea grabbed my hand and pulled me to the couch. Elyn's eyes met mine once before she looked away. Azalea smiled as she waved her little hands excitedly. "Elyn, Elyn..."

"Yes, Azalea?"

"Tell him the story about the Alpha who doesn't know how to smile and how everyone has to teach him about it and then they paint his face with-"

Elyn flushed. Of course, I knew who that Alpha was. Her eyes flickered to mine before she glanced away, but I knew she was laughing.

"Yeah, please, tell me, Elyn!"

***

(UNKNOWN)

"And?" I looked at the man standing in front of me as I ran a finger through my hair, my heart banging in anticipation. The woman sitting next to me bristled and I could sense her feeling of agitation and jealousy, but she knew she was temporary. I had always been open about it.

The man gave me a small look before handing me a cover. "How is she doing?" I whispered as I pulled the pictures out of the big envelope. Steel-gray eyes met me through the picture and I had this intense urge to run to her. She was beautiful. She had always been. The need in my bones grew. 

I knew she was mine the moment I first saw her years ago. Only mine. 

"And the Luna is still hurting her." 

"The Luna will never get what she wants. But once I get what I want, I will destroy the Luna for doing this to Elyn," I avowed. "First, I have to find the shards and then I will take care of that Luna." 

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