Page 90 of Alpha Marked

River blushed, and he held open the door for her. Amazing wasn't the word for it. Opulent, grand, and too much were the words she would have chosen. But she assumed with him having to house all his guards and now his guard's mates, a sizeable estate was bound to be needed.

The fresh air invaded her as she stepped out. She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. The only traces of pollution were the fumes from the cars. The scents of leaves, dirt, and flowers made her wolf jump up and whine. She wanted to be let out. She wanted to run.

All River had ever done was ignore her wolf, but now the grip was so tight she turned toward the edge of the clearing. Ares took her hand and pulled her from her thoughts.

"Not that way." He laughed and led her to the front marble steps. The new guards bowed.

"Highnesses," they murmured.

Ares nodded.

They entered the grand foyer, and River's eyes popped wide. Every surface of the entrance gleamed as if recently polished. Marble-tiled floors and huge paintings adorned the room. A chandelier with thousands of tiny crystals illuminated the space from high above them. And to the left and right, two giant staircases wound upward and joined on the landing.

"This has to be a joke," she said.

"What do you mean?" Ares asked.

She snorted. "You did not grow up in this house. It's not possible. It's like living in a museum."

"And there's more than simply a foyer," Ares chided. "Come on. Wait until you see our rooms."

He pulled her up the staircase and headed down the left corridor. Everywhere she looked, a different piece of artwork hung. A tapestry, blown glass, or a sculpture or statue at least two centuries old. It might take River the rest of her life to be able to study everything in the mansion. Screw going to art museums, she'd stay home and study from now on.

They turned a corner and headed down another long corridor, past several heavyset doors. Several scents mingled together. Ares lived there, but… someone else did, too. Ares stopped before opening a heavy set of double doors. At the same moment, someone exited the room behind her.

A scent overpowered her. A trickle ran down her spine, and her wolf leapt to her feet. Ares continued into the room, but she couldn't hear what he said as a warm body approached her from behind. The aroma of wood and freshly turned earth permeated her nose, and her wolf howled.

Light fingers brushed the hair from her neck, and warm breath tickled her skin. A muscular arm snaked around her waist, and a low rumble sounded behind her.

"Mine."

River whirled around, staring into a set of bright hazel eyes. Her mouth fell open, and she blinked rapidly as confusion fuzzed her mind. She stared into the same face she'd seen for almost two weeks. Every inch identical to Ares, only… thinner, more angular. A small scar marred the brow above his left eye. He wore a soft but needy expression. A brown curl obscured one eye, and River reached out to brush it away when someone ripped her out of the man's grasp. In an instant, Ares had the man pinned by the throat against the wall, teeth bared, eyes like midnight. The other man's eyes were equally dark, and he growled back and shoved Ares off him.

The two males circled each other until River wasn't sure who was who. One of the men lunged at the other and body-slammed him to the floor. They tumbled over and over, crashing into an end table and sending a vase shattering to the ground and flowers exploding everywhere.

Stop. Stop. Make them stop.River's wolf begged.

River stared on in horror, unable to move. Two of them. There were two. Twins.

Footsteps rounded the corner, and Santiago and Theo ran into view, followed by several guards she didn't recognize.

Snarls and slashing ensued between them. The smell of blood filled the air, and the sound of crushing bones. One kicked the other off, and he flew across the hall, crashing into a painting and sending it splintering to the floor.

"She's mine!" Ares bellowed, rushing the other man again. "How dare you touch her."

"You lying dog. She mine.” The other snarled as he met Ares halfway, and they toppled to the floor again.

"Not possible, you don't know her." Ares punched the man in the nose as his teeth elongated.

"Well, my wolf sure as hell does." The other man slashed Ares across the chest, painting his shirt with blood.

The guards rushed down the corridor and tackled the two bloodied men, tearing them apart.

"Ares!" Theo shouted. "Ares, stop!"

"Apollo," another guard shouted. "What happened? What's going on?"

Ares roared and fought against his guards, his nails lengthening and hair erupting from his arms. "I'll kill you this time. I swear I will."