Light pours into the room, and I stretch, surprised to see Cain still in bed. Usually, he was gone by the time I woke up, always eager to start the day, even more so than I.

"Why the surprise, pup?" Cain asks, his eyes still closed, and I realized that I hadn't been blocking my emotions from the bond. "I told you that we would spend the next few days together."

I roll my eyes. "Yay. Can't wait to be locked up for the next 48 hours."

"Is it such a bad thing to have to spend time with your mate?" He nuzzles into my neck and I scowl.

"I feel like a grounded child," I pout. "Can we at least fight or something? I'm already bored."

Cain chuckles. "No, I already told you that I want you to take it easy. That includes no sparring, especially with me."

"So I can spar with someone else?" I counter, and Cain groans, putting the pillow over his face.

"This is going to be a long two days," He mutters, and I giggle, pleased I'm still able to get under his skin after all this time.

Cain gets out of bed, and stops me when I try to follow him. "You stay in bed, I'll bring you breakfast."

"I can walk to the kitchen," I scowl. "Surely that's not too taxing on me."

"Pup, please just let me take care of you, okay? My wolf needs it," Cain begs, and his sincerity sends pangs of guilt through my heart.

"Fine," I mumble, throwing the covers back over my face to block out the sunlight.

In about half an hour he returns with a tray packed with various breakfast items. "Wow, you went all out," I remark, slightly impressed.

Cain grins. "Anything for my sweet, gentle mate."

I snort. Sweet and gentle I certainly am not, though he would never agree with me on that. Have I lost my edge?

I point to the glass of orange juice. "I don't suppose you spiked that, did you?"

Cain rolls his eyes. "It's 9 in the morning, Ares."

"Is that a no?" I clarify, making him facepalm.

I shrug, and reach over into my bedside table, pulling out a bottle of vodka. Cain sighs as I drink half of the orange juice and replace the missing liquid with the alcohol.

"What?" I say defensively when I see the exasperated look on his face. "If I'm going to be on lockdown, I at least want to be drunk for it."

Rolling his eyes again, Cain begins cutting a pancake, holding the fork to my mouth. "There's actually something I want to talk to you about."

"Oh?" I raise my eyebrows, and he feeds me another piece of food.

"Nothing bad. At least, I don't think so," Cain says, his face pensive. "In two weeks, we have to attend the annual Mating Gathering in Crimson Shadow."

I groan. I forgot that once a year, all of the unmated wolves of 18 years or older attend the Mating Gathering, which is basically just a huge party held by a different pack every year, with the purpose of helping the unmated wolves find their mate. I was 17 during the last one, and had Cain not had found me shortly after I turned 18, I would have been forced to go, and undoubtably would have met him anyways. All unmated wolves of age were required to go by pack law, and the Alphas and Lunas also attended, typically accompanied by their Pack Leaders.

"Wait," I suddenly realize. "All of the Alphas and Lunas are required to go. That means..."

Cain sighs. "Yes, pup. I'm sure Thane and Onyx will be there."

I scowl. "I'm going to kill them both."

Cain rolls his eyes, feeding me once more. "You will do no such thing. The Mating Gathering is a peaceful event, it's illegal to attack another pack. The other packs would certainly conspire to kill us both if you did that."

"You don't actually want to kill them, Ares. I know you better than that," Cain says, his eyes soft. "You just feel betrayed, you don't want them dead."

I shrug. Maybe, maybe not. I wasn't in the habit of analyzing my emotions.

"Promise me you'll behave," Cain warns, his eyes narrowing.

"If I promise not to behave, can I get out of going?" I innocently bat my eyelashes.

Cain laughs, and is about to shoot me down when Axel's voice floods through our mindlink. Alpha, Luna. Sorry to disturb you on your, ah, vacation. But we just captured 6 wolves near the territory. They claim to be from Red Crescent.

I jump out of bed, and Cain looks at me in sadness. "Oh, hell no," I snarl. "You are not about to tell me to stay in this house when there's wolves from my old pack. The pack that, mind you, I am the Alpha of."

Cain sighs, and takes a tentative step towards me. I step back. "It's not safe for you to see them right now. They knew you when you didn't have your tongue and had all of those scars. If they see that they're healed, they'll know you had an Alpha Transformation. They could mindlink Sebastian, and we already agreed not to tell him until you're ready to do the transference."

I growl, but Cain's eyes flash dangerously. We both know that this is going to end in violence, the only way we know how to solve our disagreements.

"I said no, Ares," Cain snarls. "Their wolves may recognize you as their Alpha. We don't know why they're here, I'm not putting you in danger. You're not leaving this house."

The corner of my mouth turns up snidely. "I'd love for you to try to stop me, Alpha."

I summon a knife, throwing it at him, but it's a red herring for my true intentions. While he's focused on dodging the blade, I sweep my feet at his ankles, sending him crashing to the ground.

I quickly run out of the bedroom, knowing my only chance of going to the pack prison is if I beat him there. I'm almost to the door and I can hear him right behind me.

I stumble backwards when suddenly, there's a wall of fire blocking the door. I snarl. So not fair.

Cain sighs, walking past me. Before he steps through the fire, he looks at me sadly. "Axel and Zach will be here soon to make sure you don't escape. And please don't try to escape. All of the exits are charmed by heat, you won't be able to leave."

He definitely has gotten better at trapping me than he was when he first kidnapped me. He steps through the fire, immune to the flames. "Goodbye, Ares. I'll be back soon. I love you."

I scream in frustration, throwing a knife at him as he steps through the doorway, but he closes the door before it can reach him, and the blade is embedded in the door. As he closes the door, the wall of fire disintegrates, the only proof it existed was in the faint smoke whirling through the air.

Just to make sure he wasn't bluffing about charming the exits, I reach for the door knob, hissing in pain as it nearly burns through my skin to the bone.

True to his word, in a few moments, Axel and Zach arrive, Cain's charm having no effect on anyone but me. Axel looks unbothered by the deadly glare I send at them, and Zach smiles apologetically.

I size both of them up, trying to determine if I could take both of them on at once. If it was one on one, I could easily incapacitate either of them, but Axel is a strong Beta, and even Zach was an impressively strong Warrior, despite the fact that he wasn't ranked. They also had the advantage of being trained by me, making them more than capable.

Axel sighs. "If you're trying to decide if you can take both of us, you know you can't."

I shrug. "Could be worth a try."

Axel's arm transforms into pure metal as he's ready for me to attack, and stares expectantly at me, while Zach moves behind me, ready to restrain me if necessary.

I smile innocently. "No need to get violent, Axel. It's not like I would knock you out in order to escape."

Axel scoffs. "You would, and you have done that. Numerous times."

Zach added, "One time you punched me so hard I was unconscious for two hours."

I snorted. That was completely out of context. In my defense, that was a few months ago, after I had gotten injured during training pretty badly and Cain had Zach babysit me for the day while I was supposed to be "healing".

"Relax, I'm not going to escape," I hold my hands up as they take a step towards me when I begin walking to the staircase. "I'm just going to take a nap. You can even guard right outside my door if you want."

Axel narrows his eyes. "You bet your ass I'm going to be right outside your door. If I hear so much as a quiet thud, I'm breaking the door down. Cain has ordered us to use force to keep you here if necessary."

I give him a dazzling smile as I turn my head to the side innocently. "I said I'm just going to take a nap, Axel. I won't try to escape, I already hurt myself trying to get past Cain's charm once." I held up my hand that still had burns on it. I forgot how much of a bitch Cain's fire can be.

Axel glared at me suspiciously. "Fine, but we both know you're going to try to escape, and I'm going to have to sedate you."

"Not necessary," I said with a smile before I closed the bedroom door in his face, throwing myself face down on the bed. The truth is, I actually did plan on taking a nap, and once I woke up and their guard was down, I would make my escape.

I almost felt guilty for how deliciously evil my plan was.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

"This is so stupid," I whisper to Sebastian as we step through the large front doors, following behind Alpha Wilson and Beta Samuel. "If I find my mate, I'm going to kill him and hide his body before anyone finds out."

Sam turned around to give me a warning look, a warning to be on my best behavior tonight. For tonight was the annual Mating Gathering, the first one I had to go to since turning 18. I prayed to the Moon Goddess to not let me find my mate. Or at least a low-ranking one that I could easily mold to my liking. Maybe a tracker or something, they're notoriously nonviolent and submissive.

Sebastian snorted. "No way. I bet as soon as you lay your eyes on your mate, you'll be putty in his hands. Five bucks says you mate within the night."

"Make it fifty and you have a deal," I grin at Sebastian as we shake hands. "This is a nice house. Too bad it belongs to our rival pack."

The Mating Gathering was being hosted by Blue Moon this year, and it was the first time I had been in Blue Moon territory. I hadn't met the Alpha before, and hopefully I wouldn't have to.

I sniff, and I can feel my suppressed wolf going berserk in my head. "The smell of vanilla is a little bit much, though."

She looked at me in confusion. "It doesn't smell like vanilla in here. All I can smell is the food. Speaking of, let's get something to eat, I'm starving."

I roll my eyes. "You're always starving." I wondered why his sense of smell was so weak, the smell of the vanilla and pine trees was overwhelming all of my other senses.

We went over to the food table, and I avoided conversation with all of the male wolves that approached me. I was pissed that Wilson made me leave my mask and cloak in the car, leaving me only in a short black dress. I glared at any wolf who looked my way, itching for a fight.

One brave wolf approached me, grinning from ear to ear. For some reason, he didn't really strike me as threatening, despite his large size. "Care to dance?"

"No," I deadpan.

He raises an eyebrow. "How about a drink then?"

I smile. "Now you're talking."

He laughs, pouring me a glass of wine. "I'm Axel, Gamma of Blood Lake," He offers his hand, and I shake it.

"Blood Lake, huh?" I ask in surprise. "I thought you guys were supposed to be cavemen."

Axel laughs, and it bellows throughout the room. Some wolves turn to look at us, some of the males glaring enviously at Axel. "I see that our reputation precedes us. What pack would you be from?"

"Red Crescent," I say, and he frowns.

"You're one to talk about brutish packs. Don't you have the female Gamma? She tore off one of her challenger's heads."

I grin wickedly. "She's a good time."

Axel blanches, awestruck. "You're Ares? The deadly Gamma? It's an honor to meet you."

I nod once, hating the attention. "My Alpha would love to meet you, he's exceptionally curious about you," He says, scanning the room for the Blood Alpha.

"Tell your Alpha to fuck off," I mutter under my breath.

"Hmm?" He asks, distracted as he looks through the crowd.

"I've got to go, I'll see you later," I quickly dismiss myself, shoving through the large throngs of wolves enjoying themselves. I go up the stairs, looking for a quiet place to hide for the rest of the night. I see a balcony, and I rush to get fresh air.

In my hurry, I don't realize that someone stepped in front of me. I crash into them and scowl. "Watch where you're going, dumbass," I snarl.

"What the fuck did you just say to me?" The large man growls, grabbing me roughly by my forearm.

"Did I stutter?" I snarl as I unsuccessfully attempt to yank my arm away from him. "I said, watch where you're going. Should I say it in another language or does English work for you?"

"I'm the fucking Blood Alpha, pup. You will apologize for your disrespect immediately," He growls, and his eyes are completely black. The rumors of him being more wolf than man are true.

"You crashed into me, douche," I scoff. "I'm not apologizing for shit, I don't care what you're the Alpha of."

His eyes blaze in fury, and raises his hand to smack me. I summon a knife, ready to plunge it into him.

Suddenly, we're interrupted by a deep voice that smoothly says, "Don't ruin my party, Cousin, we haven't even gotten to the toast yet."

I jerk my eyes over to the person speaking. Tall, muscular, and looks dangerously calm. His green eyes are bright, standing out among his tanned skin and dark hair.

"Mate!" My wolf internally screams at me.

"No, no, no," I whisper, but if the mysterious male has noticed I'm his mate, he gave no indication. His eyes were focused intensely on the Blood Alpha's hand, which was gripped tightly around my arm still.

"Release the girl, Cain," The man coaxes. "You know you're not allowed to fight anyone tonight."

The Blood Alpha snarls, releasing my hand and shoving past me, but not before whispering. "The next time I see you, you're dead, pup."

I roll my eyes at the theatrics, and the mysterious man approaches me. "I've never seen Cain so mad," He laughs, and gently grabs my wrist, examining the bruises the Blood Alpha left. This touch feels like electricity against my skin. "You must have really pissed him off. I prefer calling him a dickhead, but douche is good too."

I surprise myself when I laugh at his good-natured attitude. I felt relaxed by the fact that he didn't seem to notice that we're mates.

"Let's go get you some ice for these bruises, yeah?" The man smiles.

I shake my head. "Thanks for your help, but I'm fine, it's nothing."

"The slightest bruise on my mate matters to me," He softly spoke, meeting my gaze.

I wince. So he did know. "I don't know what you're talking about," I lie.

The man laughs, his eyes twinkling in amusement. "No? So my mate isn't the Reaper, standing before me as we speak?"

My breath catches in my throat. "How... I..." I'm at a loss for words.

The man winks, releasing my wrist, and turns away from me. "Enjoy the rest of your night, Ares. I'll be seeing you very soon."

He leaves me on the balcony, wind making the leaves on the nearby trees shake, leaving me standing alone, completely lost.