Page 51 of Alpha Marked

Zeke thought for a moment. "Sorry, are we the feral house cats or the lions?"

"No clue."

The women stood from the hot tub and toweled off. That was Ares's cue.

"I'll see you tomorrow. Take care of them for me."

Zeke inclined his head. "With my life."

Ares clapped Zeke on the shoulder. With his wolf howling, Ares went to gather a few things for the night and following day.

And then… he'd go for a jog. A long, leg burning, heart pounding, keep going till his legs gave out jog. One meant to drop him into bed and forget all about the fact that his Omega, River, lay in a bed a hundred feet from him.

* * *

When River reentered the suite,Ares no longer stood staring at her and Bianca. She'd gone out to the hot tub to relax, but from the moment Ares had made his presence known, she'd been able to do anything but. Her wolf stood on high alert, clocking his every movement and wanting only to be closer to him.

But River refused to look at him, hoping he'd grow bored and leave. Which he apparently had because when she'd gotten out of the water and dried off, he'd been gone.

Now, sitting at the dinner table with Bianca and Zeke, listening to them chatter about mating ceremony details, River couldn't do anything more than push her food around her plate and continually glance sideways at the empty chair where Ares should be.

After twenty minutes, River couldn't take any more. "When will Ares be back?" she blurted, interrupting Bianca.

Zeke looked at her. "Ares is gone for the night. I'm sorry."

River's body flushed with heat. "For the night? You mean with another female?"

"No. Not at all." Zeke's eyes widened. "I mean, he only stopped by to pack a few things. That's all."

"Pack a few things?" She didn't understand.

"Ares has gotten another suite across the hall. He thought you would prefer to have your own space."

A chill rained down on River. Her own space? They hadn't been together for two days, and already he'd had enough of her. River laid down her fork and took a long sip of her wine. Conflict rooted in her breast. Wasn't that what she wanted? Him to reject her and let her go? Or did she? She couldn't deny the attraction between their wolves, nor her attraction to him in general. He was the most handsome man she'd ever met. But at the same time, she had a life in New York, and she liked being able to do what she wanted.

And yet… She'd always hoped for a fated mate. Always hoped to find someone who looked at her the way Strider did at her mom. Someone who became her whole world. Someone to love and protect her against everything. The kind of connection that could never break. With someone who would never leave her. Someone all her own.

River stood. "I think I'm going to go to bed. I'm tired."

Bianca stood. "Do you want company?"

River shook her head. "You and Zeke need time together. Besides, if you are coming to Canada with me, we'll see more of each other from now on. Enough that you'll get sick of me." River forced a smile, but the words hurt more than she could say.

"Never River. I love that we'll be together again." Bianca stepped to River, but Zeke gripped her wrist, and Bianca sat back in her chair.

"River. It may not be my place, but I need to tell you. Ares may be overbearing and aggressive, but he is also loyal and kind-hearted. If he weren't, I never would have agreed to be turned by him or to work with him. I understand the bond isn't what you want, but you shouldn't let that get in the way of the happiness you can have with your fated mate."

Now, what the hell did she say?

She nodded to Zeke, turned, and shuffled to the bedroom. The blanket still lay on the floor where Ares had slept the night before. She walked to it without knowing why and lay down on it, pulling his scent into her nostrils. Every muscle relaxed, and within minutes, she fell asleep.

* * *

"I'm telling you,Highness, she is curled in a ball on the floor in the makeshift bed you made, asleep."

Ares paced his suite. He didn't want to be away from River working on business all day, and now, back at the hotel, his wolf demanded to check on her.

The marathon had not weakened Ares's wolf or what he wanted. In a weird way, it made his wolf more agitated since all he wanted was for River to run with him. He wanted nothing more than to take her home to his estate and explore the woods surrounding his house with her. Okay, there was one thing he wanted to be doing more. He wanted to wrap around her naked in his bed.