Blood Descendants (Vengeance and Venom #1)

Chapter 17

O ver the next four days, I see very little of Ares. He’s constantly wrapped up in business with the Barons and his father. So, I go back to work. I restart my classes. And while it feels amazing to be using my body again, to be moving and striking, there’s something different.

My heart isn’t in it. Not like it used to be.

My mind keeps wandering to other places. To visions of a king, to musings on a resurrecting queen.

Ares made some calls to other vampires he knows outside of New York.

They confirmed every damn detail James shared with us.

There really is a king.

There really is a queen.

There really are Royals who rule over the entire world.

Holy shit.

No wonder I can’t focus on work. No wonder my heart isn’t in it.

My world has expanded exponentially. And against all logic, I feel… enamored by it. I feel consumed by it.

I wonder what Sysco is up to and if Giovanni is causing trouble. I try to plan for Friday night.

Another Red party. Finally. It’s been three long weeks since the last one, which means Ophelia has been missing for five fucking weeks now. And I’ve not really gotten any closer to finding her or the answers to what happened to her.

I’d make a truly terrible detective.

And with all of this constantly going through my mind, I have to consider. Do I still want this? My job. The gym that has meant so much to me for my whole life. Last week, I would have said a resounding yes because what Ares and I were doing was still technically fake. Once we found Ophelia, we would go our separate ways, and I would need a life to go back to. I’d need this job, and I’d settle back into my small, shitty life.

But Ares and I are for real now. He’s mine. I’m not giving him up any time soon, and the way he touches me, the way he protects me, the way he looks at me? I don’t think he’s giving me up anytime soon, either. Lana and Ares are a package deal now.

So, what does that mean for my future? The idea of being a kept girlfriend is insane to me. Ares can certainly afford it—if I don’t want to, I don’t have to work another day in my life so long as we’re together.

I don’t know that I want that. To be reliant on him.

But as I wrap up my last class of the day, I’m relieved it’s over. Because my head hasn’t been here all day. It’s been in the supernatural. In the hidden world that has engulfed me wholly. It’s been wanting to be at Ares’ side, working through insane shit and bargaining with dangerous characters .

I walk out of the gym that night and find Billings parked at the curb. Just as he’s been every night since I started work back up. I climb inside and look out at the city.

My world has changed so drastically over the last three weeks. It seems impossible that it has only been that long since I went to that Red party and met Ares there. It feels like it’s been years, not weeks. My entire life has been turned upside down.

I can’t explain it, but I feel like I’m exactly where fate wanted me to be, though. It doesn’t make any sense. I’m not a vampire. I’m not even a Bitten. I’m just some human woman who doesn’t always have the best survival instincts, not when someone I care about is in danger. By all accounts, I shouldn’t have any reason to be tied to this world.

But as Billings makes the last turn to my building, I feel home. As I walk into the lobby and wave to Laz, I feel like I was meant to be in this life. As I unlock our door and step into the empty apartment that looks out over Central Park, I know, somehow, without a shadow of a doubt, that this is where I belong.

I head straight for my bathroom. I strip my sweaty workout clothes off, dropping them in the hamper where the housekeeper will take care of them tomorrow. I turn the water on hot in the shower and step in.

A sigh escapes my lips as I stand under the amazing water pressure. My fingers lace into my hair, and I let the water cascade down over me. The luxury that comes with my new life isn’t too bad, either.

I lather up my hair, taking my time washing it. I deep condition it. And I scrub the most amazing smelling body wash over my skin .

I barely feel the air change as the shower door is pulled open. A pair of warm hands wrap around my waist.

A soft smile pulls on my lips as I lean back into Ares’ touch. His tattooed hands slide over my stomach, one rising to cup my breast. His lips come to my neck, and a contented sigh escapes my lips as I lean my head back against his shoulder, granting him better access to my flesh.

“Coming home to you naked, in the shower, Vengeance?” Ares growls in my ear as his hand slips lower. “I hope you’re aware I’m never, ever going to get enough of you.”

I turn in his arms, coming chest to chest with him. And the sight of all that tattooed flesh glistening wet is enough to make me quiver. “I guess we’re just two greedy addicts.”

I take his mouth with mine, hungry, desperate, a little feral. And Ares doesn’t hold back. His hands slide over my ass before he hooks his hands behind my thighs, hoisting me up in one smooth motion. He backs me up until my back hits the tile wall. And the next moment, a gasp rips from my lips as the head of his cock teases my entrance, just one second before he slides himself inside me.

I started birth control the day after Ares and I claimed each other for real. Too bad it won’t be fully effective yet.

But I’m going to enjoy every moment anyway.

Ares touches his forehead to mine, staring with such heat and intensity right into my own eyes. He gathers my wrists together, pinning them to the wall above my head as he thrusts into me again and again.

My breath comes out ragged as he pumps me. I feel so damn full. Every inch of me is occupied by him. And it’s everything, and not enough at the same time. More. I need more.

I surge forward and kiss him, taking his lips, biting and tugging. I claim his tongue. I steal his air. I pull a hand free, and it comes to his throat, appreciating every square inch of his skin as it slides down lower, down over his shoulder, sliding over the incredible ridges of his back.

I nearly moan in displeasure as Ares sets me down, but in the same movement, he bends me forward over the shower bench. He swipes his hand over my folds, caressing my most intimate area. The next moment, he sinks himself inside me once more. A breathy sigh of relief escapes my lips at our restored connection.

Ares’ hands dig into my hips, and I realize suddenly just how much control he’s having to exercise. I’ve watched Ares drive his hand straight through a man’s chest and rip his heart from his ribs without any effort. So, him applying just the exquisite amount of pressure? This man has exceptional control.

And it just gets so much damn better as he leans over me. One hand slides up to cup my breast. The other slides lower, and his fingers expertly slip between my folds until he finds just the right spot.

“You’re so damn good at that,” I pant as he swipes his middle finger right over my clit. I press my hips farther into him, begging for more.

“Fuck, just look at you,” he praises, and I can just feel the burn of his gaze as he takes every square inch of me in.

“Harder,” I beg him.

His hand comes back to my hip, and he grants me my wish. I stumble forward he thrusts so hard, but his firm grip keeps me in place, keeping me steady.

“More,” I beg, feeling the coil inside of me beginning to tighten .

Ares slides those wicked fingers over my clit and rams into me from behind. In. Out. Deprivation. Fulfillment.

Those wicked fingers play a symphony between my legs.

Ares’ lips come to my back, a kiss placed right between my shoulder blades. And then there’s his tongue, tasting my skin as if I were the sweetest sugar.

“Ares,” I breathe out, his name coming out desperate.

“I’ve got you, kitten,” he says, his voice rough but sure.

Every muscle in my body tightens, my breath growing shallow as he swipes one finger straight down my folds over my clit, increasing the pressure as he goes.

And I explode. I’m shoved right over the edge.

A cry comes out over my lips as my knees shake. It pulls from every corner of my body as the orgasm rips through me, from my scalp to my toes. I grip that bench like my life depends on it. Ares slams into me, pressing on that place deep inside of me that is so tightly wound, sending my brain spinning higher and higher.

Ares was named after a god, and he proves his worth right here, right now.

Moments after I reach the climax, as I begin spiraling down, Ares slides out of me. With a shuttered groan, he tightens his grip on me, and comes on the shower floor.

I’m panting. I’m quivering. I’m two seconds from collapsing onto the ground, completely spent. Completely satisfied.

Ares presses a kiss to my shoulder. And then he gathers me into his arms, my chest to his. He holds me so carefully, yet I feel completely supported and secure.

“Every inch of you is perfect, Vengeance,” Ares says as he looks down into my eyes. He looks a little drunk, a little high. And I take absolute pleasure that it was me who could make him look like this. “Every night, every morning, I want you. Every dark stare, every curve, every lock of hair. You undo me, Lana.”

I gather my strength, raising a hand to the back of his neck, kissing the man I’ve fallen for, the man I’d trade my soul for. “You’re my favorite new addiction, Venom.”

I grab the shampoo, squeezing out a dollop onto my hand. With a soft smile, I scrub my fingers through Ares’ hair. He lets his own hands slide over my body, undemanding, simply appreciative. I lather up the body wash next, taking my time as I scrub down every tattooed, beautiful inch of him. And Ares lets me, his head tipping back in appreciation of my touch. And it’s everything, the fact that I can make him feel this way. The fact that this man chooses me. That he worships me just as much as I do him.

We rinse off, and Ares hands me a fluffy towel as I shut off the water. Wrapped and comfortable, I step out of the shower, looking at the two of us in the mirror. Ares’ hair drips into his face, the towel wrapped low on his hips. Me, with my towel tucked under my arms, Ares towering above me in height.

“We look like we belong together,” I muse aloud. And I mean it. Staring at the two of us, side by side, we look like the perfect match.

Ares walks to my side, his hungry eyes fixed on me. He wraps his hands around my waist from behind, staring at us in the mirror over my shoulder. “Yeah, we do.”

He presses a kiss to my cheek, his breath warm and comforting. But I hear his breathing change, a little more concentrated, a little more dangerous. “I found a shell company my father is the owner of,” he says. And his tone tells me this is the last thing he wants to talk about right, but the fact that he is talking about it right now, considering the beautiful moments we’ve just created, tells me it’s wildly important.

“And?” I encourage, my brows lifting. He has my full attention.

Ares turns, leaning back against the counter. “It only owns one building. Near the airport in Newark.”

“Does Augustus own any other property in New Jersey?” I question.

Ares shrugs. “He owns plenty outside of New York, but nothing unexpected. But this building looks like a warehouse from what I can see online. I thought we could go check it out. My instincts are telling me it’s something.”

I admit to myself that this doesn’t seem like it will lead to much. Augustus owns tons of real estate. But the shell company. That this is the only property under it. That is strange.

“Okay,” I nod. “Let’s go.”

Twenty minutes later, we’re both dressed and walking out of the elevator. Ares hands me my helmet and climbs on the motorcycle. And while it was terrifying the first few times I climbed on behind this man, it feels as natural as breathing now. I slip into my seat and wrap my arms around Ares as he backs the bike out of its parked space and then points it to the exit.

The night is surprisingly peaceful as we roll onto the road. In fact, it’s some of the lightest I’ve seen the traffic in ages. Ares expertly navigates us through the streets, through the Lincoln Tunnel, and merges into traffic as we cross into New Jersey.

Just thirty minutes after we left our apartment, Ares slows the bike as we make the last turn. The area is extremely industrial, so it’s totally dead this time of night. A few cargo ships wait at the docks, their lights brilliant but without too much activity going on. Ares slows as we approach the address.

It looks like a warehouse, alright. It has old red, corrugated siding that’s starting to rust. I see two broken windows from here. But there is a thick padlock on the front door.

Ares pulls into the parking lot of the building next door, tucked beneath some trees, making it nearly impossible to see. I climb off the back, pulling the helmet off and putting it back on the bike as Ares dismounts.

“This certainly isn’t Augustus’ usual purchase,” Ares says, keeping his voice low as we cross the parking lot into the small parking area of Augustus’ warehouse. “And he only buys shit that can make him more money. This place looks abandoned.”

“He’s definitely wanting to keep people out, though,” I remark, pointing to the chained and locked front door.

Ares looks up, scanning the face of the building. I realize after a moment that he’s checking for cameras. When he doesn’t find any, he wraps his fingers around the chain and gives it a hard yank.

It falls to the ground, broken.

Damn.

The door protests as Ares slides it open. For a moment, he disappears into the dark interior. As I step inside, my eyes adjust, taking in the dim space.

It’s empty except for a few empty crates at the far back of the building. There’s nothing in here. Just a dusty, stained concrete floor.

“Foot tracks going back toward that office,” Ares says, nodding his head in the direction of the back left corner. “They look recent. ”

I squint in the dark, but I can’t see anything. Then again, I don’t have the eyes of a vampire.

Ares sets out in that direction, and I scramble to catch up with him. There is a walled-off section with one lone window that looks out into the bulk of the warehouse. A steel door separates the spaces. When he finds yet another lock on the door, Ares looks over his shoulder at me.

“Someone really doesn’t want anyone getting inside,” I say, arching a brow.

Ares gives a small nod of agreement before he breaks the chains and pulls the door open. This one does not squeal like the other door. It swings open silently.

It’s dusty in here, too, but the smell is different. Like more moisture. Colder.

There is an open space, though it isn’t large. Two desks are pushed up against the wall, but there are no chairs. And they look like they’ve been there since the eighties. There are three doors breaking off from here.

Ares checks the first door to find a supply closet with an assortment of random, forgotten about items. Door number two reveals a bathroom that is surprisingly clean, considering the rest of the space.

Door number three reveals a set of stairs plunging down into the ground.

Ares looks back at me, and I wonder if he can hear how hard my heart is beating in this moment. Something surges inside me. Excitement. Hope. Fear. It all wraps its cold hands around my throat.

Without a word, Ares steps down onto the first stair. Then the other.

Nerves are eating me alive, but I don’t stop as I follow after Ares into the dark.

I expect my footsteps to echo throughout a cavernous space. Instead, the sound bounces back to me. Then I hear the sound of someone sucking in a sharp breath.

And it wasn’t Ares.

“Please,” a woman says, her voice terrified. I startle so hard my foot slips on the last step. “Just let me out. I swear I won’t say anything. Just, please. I need to go home.”

“Fuck,” Ares says. One second later, I feel half-blinded as a few overhead lights turn on, buzzing loudly as the tube lights warm up.

Cages. My entire body feels numb as my eyes take in bars first. And then my eyes focus, and I see people.

A man backs away from the bars quickly, his entire body shaking with fear. A brunette woman walks up to her bars, gripping them and staring out at Ares and me.

“Oh my gosh, please,” a second woman says, this one with brilliant red hair. “Please, get me out of here. Before those other guys come back. Please.”

“What the fuck?” I breathe out, all of my organs squeezing with disgust and terror.

There are six cages in this damp, dark space. Prison cells. In each one, there is a bed. In each one, there is a toilet and a sink. Exactly like a prison cell.

And there are three people in those cells.

“What the fuck is going on?” Ares asks, his brows furrowed as he looks around at each of the people. “Why are you here? Who?—”

“You’re not with those assholes?” the calm brunette asks.

“What assholes?” Ares asks, trepidation in his voice .

“I didn’t get their names,” she says. And I can’t believe how calm she is. “The big one with the scars. And the tall skinny one with the stupid green hair.”

“Toby and Keiran,” Ares says, the look in his eyes growing colder. Goons that work for Augustus.

“Are you with them?” the man in the cage asks, and I’ve never heard such equal measures of fear and accusation.

“No,” I answer. “How did you get here?”

I feel sick. So sick. Because I’m so scared I already know the answer.

“I went to a party,” the redhead speaks up first. “I didn’t really know what it was for, who was hosting it. Or I guess I should say what .”

“A Red party?” Ares questions.

She nods.

“When?” I ask next.

“Hard to tell how long we’ve been down here,” the man answers. “If I had to guess, two weeks?”

Ares curses. “So, there are more of them I’m not seeing.”

“Or you just didn’t get the alerts set up in time,” I correct him.

“Where?” Ares demands, the anger radiating off of him growing stronger. “Where was the party?”

“Brooklyn,” they both answer at the same time.

“Still in New York,” I say, looking over at Ares. “I think you just didn’t get the alert quick enough.”

“Better than another operation to find,” Ares concedes. “Tell me exactly what happened.”

“My friend told me about this party she’d heard about,” the woman dives in. She’s filled with all kinds of words and all kinds of emotions, bursting at the seams. “We got there, and it wasn’t really anything special. But the attendees? I’ve never seen so many hot guys in one place.”

I know what she’s talking about. Those guys at the Red party I miraculously walked away from, thanks to Ares, were indeed alluring. Somehow, I walked away with the most attractive of them all.

Damn vampires.

Not only are they ultimate predators, but they’re beautiful too.

“I hit it off with this guy, and we started kissing. And then I remember something sharp, pain. But then… nothing for at least a few seconds. I… I still don’t really know what happened. But I felt kind of out of it after. I looked around for my friend, but she wasn’t there. And then there was this guy, the big one. He took me through this back door, told me he had something for my headache. Only that asshole knocked me out. When I woke up, I was here.”

She lets out a little sob, barely keeping it together. And I shouldn’t judge her for being emotional. After what she’s been through.

“Same for you?” Ares asks the man in the cell next to hers.

The man nods. “Same. The party. Missing time. The big guy taking me through the back door, then I woke up here.”

Ares turns to the woman across. “You too?”

Her gaze darkens. “Not me. I’m an exchange.”

“What does that mean?” I ask, really not wanting the answer.

“You know what they are, right?” the woman asks, her gaze fixed on Ares. “You’re one of them, to break in like you did.”

Ares holds her eyes for a moment, evaluating the ramifications of confirming what she already knows. He gives a small nod.

“They’re collecting us from the Red parties,” she says, her eyes cold as she stares at Ares. “Then holding us here until they have a buyer.”

“A buyer?” the word comes across my lips, rough and low.

Her eyes slide over to meet mine. “They’re selling us as living blood bags.”

All of my organs drop out. The world tilts just a little. And my entire body feels cold.

“There were four of them two weeks ago,” the woman continues to explain. “Two of them have sold. The buyer is coming for him tomorrow.” She nods her head toward the man across from her.

“How do you know that?” Ares questions.

“They like to talk,” the woman says, the disgust unhidden from her voice. “Sick fucks. I think they just like making everyone afraid. To make a horrific situation worse. But they don’t lie. Everything they’ve said, it happens.”

“Please,” the man says, desperation rising in his tone. “Get me out of here. Please. I can’t do this. I can’t be some vampire’s living dinner, day after day!”

Ares holds a hand up to him, silencing him temporarily. “You said you’re an exchange,” he says, his dark eyes fixed on her. “What do you mean by that?”

I swear the air is ten degrees colder with that frigid stare of hers. “I was sold to a politician who happens to have fangs two months ago. He kept me in this room. Fed me. Made sure I was always hydrated. Gave me books to read so I didn’t die from boredom.” The sarcasm and hatred are thick in her tone. “But for some reason, he decided he didn’t like the taste of me. The boss told him he could exchange me. She’s going as my replacement in three days.”

The redheaded woman lets out a sob, turning away from the bars as she laces her fingers into her dirty hair.

“The boss,” Ares says, his voice growing rougher by the moment. “You know his name?”

“Toby and Keiran call him Al,” the woman answers.

It only takes two seconds for it to sink in.

Augustus Lonan. Al.

Fuck.

Augustus is harvesting people at the Red parties. And then he’s trafficking them to vampires.

“Do you recognize this woman?” I ask, yanking my phone from my pocket. I take five seconds to scroll through my pictures until I find the one of Ophelia I was showing off at the party I attended. I walk across to the woman, holding it up for her to see.

She only shakes her head.

I move to the man, displaying Ophelia’s picture.

“Maybe,” he says. “There was some blonde woman in that cell on the end when I first got here. She didn’t say much, and she was only here for a few hours.”

My stomach quivers. I walk down the row, showing the other woman the picture on my phone.

She nods. “That was her,” she says, her eyes welling with tears. “Like Nick said, she didn’t say much. But she was right across from me.”

Shit.

Shit.

“Ophelia was here,” I say, turning to Ares. The backs of my eyes are burning. My stomach turns. I feel like I’m going to throw up. “She was here. And that motherfucker sold her!”

Ares crosses to me in two long strides. He grabs my wrists, and I realize I was about to slam my fist into the metal bars. “We’ll find her, Vengeance,” he says, his tone low. “At least now we know she isn’t dead.”

“Don’t count on it,” the brunette says. “Not all of these bastards have very good control.”

A tear breaks free from my eyes, racing down my face.

“We will find her,” Ares says as he stares into my swimming eyes. “There will be a record. Al will have buried it good, hidden it well. But there will be a record. And we’ll get Ophelia back.”

For the first time since I got all wrapped up in this, for the first time since I realized Ophelia was missing, I want to break. I want to shatter.

We have our limits, and I’m pressing up against the boundaries of mine.

Ares holds my eyes, the conviction in his own shining through in the deepest of promises. He’s begging me to hold on, to keep it together just a little longer. When I give the smallest of nods, he turns back to our informants.

“Is there anything else helpful you can give me?” he says. “Anything that can help me find those who have already been sold?”

“There’s another Red party this weekend,” the redhead says as she rushes to her prison bars again. “I heard them talking about it when they brought our dinner.”

Ares nods. “I know about that one. I’ll be there to make sure no one else falls victim to Al. ”

“Are you going to let us out of here or what?” the man asks, desperation rising in his tone with every passing second.

“I am,” Ares says, nodding. “But I need you to understand that you are dealing with a very powerful, very hungry man. A man who has incredible resources. Money. Influence. I am not threatening any of you, and I am not blackmailing you. But you need to understand what might happen to you if you get out of here and talk. That you will likely be found, and you will likely be silenced.”

Chills wash over my skin. I always knew Augustus was dangerous. I knew he was sick and twisted for his drive to make so many children. But this? Trafficking and imprisonment? Ares is right. The things Augustus might do to cover his tracks…

“It’s in your best interest to leave here and get out of the city if you can,” Ares continues explaining. “Do not make a scene. Do not say what you know now. Just get out and try to move on.”

“You mean it?” the man asks. “You want us to just leave and not say a word?”

“Have you not opened your eyes since you came here?” the brunette says, her tone cold. “These are not reasonable people we’ve been dealing with. These are people willing to sell you for your blood. Listen to this guy.”

“I won’t say anything,” the redhead says, staring out at us with wide eyes. “I swear. I just want out of here. Please.”

Ares nods. He crosses to her cell, where he fumbles with the lock. When he finds it made of solid steel, nothing to really break to open it, he grips the very bars themselves. They groan and scream in protest as Ares pries them open until there’s an opening just wide enough for the woman to slip out. She gives a terrified but relieved sound as she slips out. She doesn’t wait as she races to the stairs, climbing them two at a time.

Ares moves to the man’s cell, prying the bars open, bending the inch thick rods.

“Thank you,” he says as he squeezes his way out, pausing for a moment to look Ares in the eye. “Thank you.”

Ares just nods, and the man takes off for the stairs.

Finally, Ares walks to the brunette’s cell. He pries the bars apart until there’s an opening just large enough for her to slip through.

“Thank you for all of the information,” Ares says as she steps free. “You might have helped save a lot of lives from being really miserable.”

“You think you can stop this guy?” she asks as she stands in the walkway.

“I know I can,” Ares confirms, his hands rolling into tight fists.

“Good to know not all vampires are pure fucking evil,” she says. And she turns and walks for the stairs.

I feel chilled. Cold to the bone as I look around this terrifying place. Ophelia was here. She was literally in a cell. And she was sold. For her blood.

“Get me out of here,” I say, my words coming out as a hoarse whisper.

Ares hand slips into mine, and he pulls me forward, crossing to the stairs. He leads me up them, and we cross the warehouse after the brunette, watching as she walks out the door. As we make our own exit, I see two figures running down the street toward the lights of civilization, and the last woman walking calmly behind them.

My body feels stiff as Ares directs us back to his bike. My legs feel like they’re full of sand. My joints need oiling. My shoulders tense toward my ears.

Bars.

Darkness.

Money.

Blood slaves.

Fuck.

“Lana,” my name suddenly reaches my ears. I blink and realize we’re standing next to Ares’ motorcycle, and Ares is staring into my eyes.

“Augustus is an evil man,” I say, my brain suddenly snapping into hyperdrive. “He’s taking people, ignorant, innocent people, and he’s selling them to vampires! And, and he has to be making a lot of money off of it because otherwise, why would he do something so risky? He makes so much money with everything else. Ares, I?—”

But words fail me suddenly.

I can’t process it all.

“What Augustus is doing is unforgivable,” Ares says, locking eyes with me. “Taking humans like this, the kidnapping, the trafficking, there is no good explanation. I will end him for this.”

Those six words instantly still everything in me. I stand a little straighter. Ares suddenly comes into focus. I feel the cool of the night air.

Augustus is a bad man. In this country, bad men go to prison.

But you can’t send a vampire into a prison.

When he gets hungry enough, it would turn into the worst kind of horror movie .

There will be no prison time for Augustus for his crimes. Only death.

“I will end Augustus, Lana,” Ares vows, his hands on my arms. He stares deep into my core, into my very soul. “But first, I have to find the record. We need to know how many people and where they went. And then we have to serve justice.”

It hits me what he means. Ares has vowed to take out all those vampires who purchased a human to feed off of.

Ares has had a mission for a few months now. Something that drove him, gave him purpose. Find out what Augustus was doing, why he was renting mediocre venues when he owned dozens of upscale ones.

As of tonight, Ares has accomplished his mission.

And now he has a new one.

Find the record.

Take out Augustus.

Take out the buyers.

I can already feel my world shifting. The trajectory of our lives has just altered dramatically.

“Okay,” I say, my throat feeling rough and tight. “But take me home tonight. I… I don’t feel… I need a few minutes to process.”

“Of course,” Ares says. He cups a hand to my cheek, concern laced through his gaze. He leans forward, pressing his lips to mine briefly. He then grabs my helmet and gently secures it for me. Finally, he climbs on the bike and rips it to life. I slip on behind him and hold on for dear life because suddenly it seems like my own is spiraling into chaos.