Page 71 of Alpha Claimed

"His fault? Of course not. It's never Apollo's fault."

Apollo ground his teeth together, biting back the words that popped into his head.

"Ares. I'm serious. It's not about fault. I lost track of time. That's all."

Ares snorted, but his eyes stayed on Apollo. "Stop making excuses for him."

"Stop being an ass and listen to me," River demanded.

Ares' gaze moved to River, and the shift in Ares' posture surprised Apollo.

River reached for Ares's hand. "Look what I did, and you'll understand."

Ares' body relaxed further. He looked at Apollo and then at River again.

"Show me."

River smiled and pulled him over to her sculpture.

Apollo swallowed hard, and his wolf snarled. The barn was a gift he'd given River. He didn't like that she showed it to Ares. For the hours she'd sculpted, it felt like the barn might turn into their place.

She showed Ares the wolf sculpture. He put his arm around her waist, and Apollo's wolf leapt to his feet, ears flat and hackles raised.

Apollo's chest squeezed, and he turned to the door. His time was up. He'd had her all day. He had to honor her wishes to spend the rest of the evening with Ares. He just hoped that the evening didn't turn into her spending the whole night with him.

* * *

ARES

Ares knewthe moment Apollo left. Though his entire body was in tune with River's, the presence of his twin always had him on edge.

Sadness and rage swirled inside him. His. She was his. She was everything to him. His heart pounded in his chest. He'd initially begun to panic when he'd not found her inside the house, but Theo told him he'd seen them heading to the old barn. He couldn't have imagined why they'd gone out there, but the moment he'd opened the door, his heart sunk.

Apollo made her a space to create. The realization almost brought Ares to his knees. He should have thought of it. Hell, he'd had days without her. He should have spent every moment making the estate how she would like it, but Apollo had again outdone him. The notion that Apollo might take her from him made him want to die. And if he did take her… Ares knew he'd wish he was dead. He hadn't been kidding when he'd told Apollo that if he didn't get River, he would do more than disappear.

The idea made his wolf growl.

River pulled him around the sculpture, showing him different techniques she'd used, and with every smile, every glance his way, his anger abated, and his wolf backed down.

"I didn't know you worked with wood. I thought you just did metal."

"When I was with Apollo, we went to town, and a chainsaw carver was there. I started this piece there. I didn't know Apollo brought it back."

"So Apollo made this for you. This workshop."

River glared at him for a moment and then put her hands deep in his suit pant pockets, making him harden.

"He did. But you can have your own side."

"What do you mean?"

"There's a whole other side over there I could use for metal working. I brought my favorite tools, but I'll need others. You can put those things over there, and that will be our side."

Ares wolf growled. "You mean there will be a side for him and then a side for me?"

"Yup."

Ares blew out a harsh breath. "River-"