Chapter 17 #3
T he palace guards give Ares some serious side-eye when he requests an armored vehicle, but no one stops us from leaving. I slide into the front passenger seat, running my fingers over the leather interior and examining the dashboard with its array of blinking lights and screens.
“This is incredible,” I say, watching Ares start the engine with a keycard rather than a traditional key. “I’ve never been in anything this high-tech before.”
Ares grins, clearly pleased by my interest. “Wait till you see what she can do.” He taps a series of buttons on the center console.
“Full security system with thermal imaging, bulletproof glass that can withstand a sniper round, autonomous piloting in both combat and navigation modes, reinforced panels...” His fingers dance across a screen showing the vehicle’s exterior.
“This beauty can take a direct rocket hit and keep rolling.”
“A rocket?” I laugh nervously. “Why would we need that much protection for a simple outing?”
Ares glances at me, his expression softening. “Because you’re precious cargo, little Omega.”
The words are obviously meant to be teasing, but they strike a raw nerve. Maybe it’s a morning already spent faking social niceties, but I can’t hold my tongue.
“Precious how?”
He glances at me before returning his gaze to the road. “What?”
“How am I precious?” I repeat slowly. “You’ve made it pretty clear from the beginning that any Omega is as good as another. We’re all interchangeable.”
His hands tighten on the steering wheel, knuckles whitening. His scent alters, the normal warmth of bourbon and chocolate souring. But I don’t sense any anger in him. If anything, he just seems pained.
“That’s not true,” he says, voice uncharacteristically quiet.
“Please. You’ve spent most of your time making crude jokes about my body and talking about me like I’m a toy to be passed around the pack.”
Ares comes to a stop at an intersection and turns to face me. “You’re wrong. You’re absolutely unique, Maya. Irreplaceable.”
“You only feel that way now because being Logan’s mate means I’m your only option unless you leave his pack,” I say, crossing my arms. “Let’s not pretend this is about me as a person.”
His green eyes flash with genuine offense. “Is that what you think of me? That I’m just some animal who can’t tell the difference between one Omega and another?”
I hold his gaze, refusing to back down even as something twists uncomfortably in my chest.
“I don’t know,” I say finally.
Another vehicle sounds its horn behind us, loud enough to drown out whatever Ares might have said in return. He returns his attention to the road, mouth set in a thin line.
I watch the scenery change through the window as we drive farther from the city. Concrete and steel gradually give way to scattered houses, then open fields. The silence between us stretches uncomfortably.
An uneasy feeling gnaws at me. Ares actually seemed genuinely offended at my accusation. I don’t know how to square that with everything else I thought I understood about him.
I open my mouth several times, but can’t decide what to say.
The landscape grows increasingly wild. Trees cluster together in dense patches, and the road narrows until it’s barely two lanes. I’ve never been this far from the city center before. This untamed terrain feels entirely alien.
“Where are we going?” I finally ask, unable to bear the silence any longer.
Ares doesn’t answer. His jaw remains tight, eyes fixed on the road ahead.
A massive checkpoint looms in the distance, complete with guard towers, barbed wire, and a gate that spans the entire roadway. Armed soldiers patrol the perimeter. My heart rate quickens.
“Is that the border?”
He still doesn’t respond, but slows our vehicle as we approach the gate. A guard steps out from the checkpoint booth, hand resting casually on his holstered weapon, seeming surprised when he recognizes the royal insignia on our vehicle.
The guard leans down to the peer into the window. His eyes bug slightly when he catches sight of me, but immediately straightens when Ares lets out a low growl of warning.
The gate rises with a mechanical groan, and Ares drives through. He pulls over just a few hundred feet past the checkpoint and cuts the engine. Without looking at me, he exits the vehicle, slamming the door behind him.
I take a deep breath, steadying myself. This isn’t going according to plan. I’m supposed to be figuring out a way to fracture this pack, undermine Logan’s position, not turn them against me.
I climb out of the car and follow Ares, who stands at the edge of a steep drop-off I hadn’t noticed from the road. Beyond it stretches a vast, untamed wilderness with mountains in the distance and forests below.
The view is breathtaking, even as I struggle to appreciate it as little more than further evidence of just how trapped I am here.
“What is that?” I ask, not really expecting a response.
“The edge of the Outlands,” he says after a long beat of silence. “Most of the territory in that direction is contested despite the unification. It isn’t safe to go any further than this without an armed escort.”
As far as he can take me.
I asked and he delivered.
I stare out at the wild expanse, feeling the wind whip my hair across my face. The silence between us stretches until I can’t stand it anymore.
“I’m not going to apologize,” I say, still looking at the horizon rather than at Ares.
To my surprise, he chuckles. “I don’t expect you to.”
“Good, because you’ve treated me like a pretty plaything since the moment I arrived. Making crude jokes about my body, talking about passing me around the pack like I’m some kind of party favor. I can’t just forget all that.”
Ares leans against the hood of the vehicle, crossing his arms. “Things have changed.”
“Have they?” I turn to face him. “Or do you only feel that way now because Logan claimed me? Because now you’re stuck with me.”
His jaw tightens, green eyes flashing with genuine annoyance. “You think I feel trapped? No. I can walk away from this pack at any time I want. I stay because this is where I want to be.”
“What makes this pack so special?” I ask, genuinely curious despite myself. “What makes Logan so worthy of your loyalty?”
“Logan might be the greatest military strategist in the history of Melilla. He saved my life when I served in the Outlands. Not just mine and not just once,” Ares says simply, but with so much conviction that I know he believes it.
“He protects what’s his. He is fair in all the ways that matter.
” His voice softens as he stares off into the trees.
“And beneath all that royal bullshit, he actually gives a damn about making things better.”
“Too bad I can’t join the military, then,” I scoff. “Because the Logan I’ve seen is selfish, controlling, and violent.”
“He is under a kind of pressure that you can’t even imagine,” Ares counters. “It’s his job to be a perfect Alpha, especially now that every eye in the kingdom is on him. The more you challenge him, the more aggressively he’ll feel compelled to respond.”
“So, it’s my fault?”
“I didn’t say that.” Ares runs a hand through his curls. “You always seem to bring out the worst in him.” At the look on my face, he rushes to finish before I can say anything. “Which is his own shit to deal with, I know. But some growing pains are normal in new Alpha-Omega relationships.”
“Growing pains?” I repeat incredulously. “Is that what you call forcing a bond on someone?”
Ares sighs. “Look, I’m not saying everything he’s done is right. But I’ve known Logan for years. He’s not the monster you think he is.”
I open my mouth to tell him everything—about Cillian being an Omega, about the true nature of my shared bond, about Logan’s deception.
The words hover on the tip of my tongue.
With this one revelation, I could shatter Logan’s carefully constructed facade and turn his most loyal enforcer against him.
But something stops me. Maybe it’s the genuine belief in Ares’ eyes, or maybe it’s the realization that I’m not ready to play this card yet. Once I say the words, I won’t be able to take them back.
Instead, I turn back toward the wilderness. “Thanks for the advice.”
Without warning, Ares pulls me into a tight hug. His massive arms wrap around me, enveloping my entire body against his chest. My first instinct is to push away. I don’t want his comfort, his warmth, his touch.
But I freeze instead. My head barely reaches his chest, and I can hear the steady thump of his heart beneath my ear.
His body is like a furnace, radiating heat that seeps through my clothes and into my skin.
His scent surrounds me completely. I can’t help that it’s become as familiar as my own at this point.
Too familiar. Too reminiscent of the home I’ve never had.
I should pull away. I should maintain the distance I’ve been carefully cultivating.
But I don’t.
Ares is so large that his body forms a protective shell around mine.
His arms, corded with muscle, hold me firmly but without crushing.
I have the errant thought that if a wild animal or a rebel soldier suddenly emerged from the wilderness, Ares would tear them apart before they got anywhere near me.
The thought should be terrifying, but instead, I feel something I haven’t experienced in a long time.
Safe.
When was the last time I felt truly safe? Not since before the Enclave, certainly. Not since before I understood what being an Omega meant in this world.
The realization makes my throat tighten. I press my face against his chest, breathing in his scent, letting the warmth of his body chase away the chill of the wind. My arms, which had been hanging limply at my sides, slowly move to wrap around his waist.
When Ares finally pulls away, I feel strangely bereft. The cold air rushes between us, and I cross my arms over my chest, trying to hold on to the warmth he provided.
“Do we have to go back right away?” I ask, hoping my voice doesn’t betray how much I want to stay away from the palace.
Ares glances down at his comm unit, checking for messages. “No death threats from Logan yet, so we probably still have time.” His lips curl into a mischievous smile. “I could take you one more place, if you promise not to tell anyone.”
“Not even the others?”
“Especially not the others.” His green eyes gleam with something like excitement. “Logan would have my head if he knew I was taking you there.”
That piques my interest immediately. Anything Logan would disapprove of is automatically appealing. “I promise. Not a word to anyone.”
Ares studies me for a moment, as though weighing whether he can trust me. Finally, he nods. “Come on, then. But if anyone asks, you forced me to take you shopping.”
“Shopping?” I laugh. “Is that really the best cover story you could come up with?”
“It’s believable. You’re an Omega, aren’t you?” He winks to show he’s joking, but I still punch his arm.
“Careful,” I warn. “I know how to flip you now, remember?”
Ares laughs, a deep rumble that seems to vibrate through the air between us. “I remember. Now get in the car before I change my mind.”