“He was an alpha,” I said quietly. “A damn good alpha. One day, we were attacked by hounds, and he was torn into tiny pieces. I saw them shred every piece of his flesh, saw all his blood nearly drained. Mom pulled me away before I had the chance to say good-bye, but there was no doubt in my mind that he was dead.”
Ares leaned closer to me and squeezed my shoulder, his hazelnut aroma calming me. I pursed my lips together, thinking of the only solution that would save my brother from Ares’s wrath.
Me.
There was no way that I could or would lose Jeremy again. If I had to trek to the ends of the earth to find him one last time, I would. If I had to live every single day in pain and in terror, I would. I was the only solution to all of our problems.
“Ares,” I said quietly, placing my hands on his chest and gazing up into his brown eyes, “the only way that Jeremy survived that attack was because someone put the other half of the stone inside of him.” My voice was nearly a whisper toward the end.
As soon as the words left my mouth, I wished they hadn’t.
Ares’s eyes turned a light shade of gold—his wolf—and then a darker shade, his nostrils flaring. “Your brother has the fucking stone?”
His body tensed, and I thought he was going to rip himself out of my grasp. There was a darkness lurking deep within him, ready to come out, aching to kill. When he reached for my hands, I almost flinched.
But instead of hurting me, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
My eyes widened slightly at his surprising response, and I grasped his face in my hands. “Listen to me, Ares. And listen to me good. I will not let you kill him for it.”
“I’ve been looking for that stone for years, Aurora,” he said, voice taut. “Charolette doesn’t have much time left.”
“I know”—Please don’t hate me for this—“which is why Charolette will use my stone. Jeremy is my only brother, just like Charolette is your only sister. I love them both, and I don’t want either of them to die.”
He shook his head. “No. I’ve already told you before, that will not happen.”
“But, Ares—”
“No.” He growled down at me, his canines emerging from under his lips. “You will not trade your life for Charolette’s.”
“It’s not trading my life,” I pleaded. “It’s keeping people alive. I won’t die from removing the stone. I’ll just …”
“You’ll just what?” He stepped toward me, and I moved back, tears filling my eyes again. “You just won’t be able to shift? You just won’t be able to move? What if the procedure doesn’t work? What if the doctor fucks it up and you die?” I opened my mouth to speak, but Ares held his finger to my lips. And while I wanted to protest, something about that subtle action made me comply. “No,” he said in his alpha tone this time. “That’s final.”
I stared at him and grasped his hands. “Please, Ares. I don’t want your sister or my brother dead. I’ve already lost him once. Do this for Charolette. She deserves it.”
Playing the sick-sister card on him was shitty, but I needed to do it. He might not agree to use my stone at the moment, but hopefully, he’d consider it in the future. Because if worse came to worse and Charolette didn’t get better, I’d already made Elijah promise to take the stone from me and put it in her.
I didn’t need Ares’s permission to do what I wanted with my body.
I just hoped that he’d forgive me for it.
The microwave behind us beeped, startling me.
Ares stared down at me, lips pressed together, eyes as golden as the sun. “I said, no.” Then, he pulled out the pretzels, handed me one, and walked to our bedroom.
Chapter 45
Mars
Curled up next to me, Aurora drew soothing circles across my chest. A slight early morning breeze blew the sheer gray curtains open and against the bed. Last night, I had to wrestle my wolf into submission, so I could try to get some sleep … but all I could think about was Aurora’s proposition.
Ares, our wolf, and I didn’t like it at all.
Aurora hadn’t slept either. She had tossed and turned all night in my arms. Sitting up and lying back down. Glancing out the window and staring up at the bland ceiling. Back and forth until she finally laid her head on my chest and shut her eyes for a few moments. She must’ve been thinking about the stone too.
I loved Charolette, but I didn’t want Aurora to use the stone to save her. There had to be another way. If Aurora took out her stone, she wouldn’t be able to walk, never mind shift. And while I’d make sure she had the best life possible, I didn’t want her to be bound to a wheelchair or to a bed for the rest of her life.
My wolf could barely handle seeing our mate not able to shift. He really wouldn’t be able to handle her not able to walk.
She tilted her head toward me and placed a lingering kiss on my neck, right over the mark she’d left on me last night. I moved my head to the side and pulled her closer to me, letting her suck it softly.
Last night had been perfect—before she asked me to use her stone. She had marked me, I had gotten a chance to show it off to everyone, she’d finally stood up to her dad, and I’d found out that her brother was alive. Hell, I was still in shock at everything that had happened, especially—she drew her tongue against my mark—that.
“Kitten,” I mumbled.
She climbed on top of me, her breasts grazing against my bare chest. Ruffles meowed at her and hopped off
