11. Chapter 11
eleven
Ares
S he may not believe it now, but my actions were necessary. Marking her as mine was the right thing to do. It’s what’s meant to be and the only way to keep her safe.
She doesn’t remember who she truly is, but I’m determined to help her remember. She’ll remember everything we shared together so many years ago, and she’ll realize all that I’ve done out of love for her.
I cannot count how many lives I’ve lived, how many times I’ve woken up in this same body. With each life, I search for her, witnessing the rise and fall of kingdoms but not the presence of my love.
Every time, I die alone, wondering if I’ ll ever find her.
Now that I’ve found her, I’m not losing her, and I’m not sharing her, either. That’s giving a piece of her away to someone else besides me, and I’ve already endured that before while sharing her with her husband.
Well, he didn’t realize that at the time.
The thought makes the side of my mouth curl up in a slight smirk as I stare into my cracked bathroom mirror. No matter what, I’ll make sure that she’s mine. We’re destined lovers, and I have to believe she knows that deep down.
No one else is good enough for her, including her first husband. She’ll realize that we’re meant to be and that we’re each other’s redemption after we were wronged by the other gods. We’ll ascend from our current states of being and become the powerful gods we used to be once more, and no one will stop us.
I’ll make sure of that.
I can see it in her eyes that a piece of her yearns for me, despite her not remembering our past together.
Our souls are bound together, and nothing can fully sever that tie. The other gods are fools for thinking we wouldn’t find our way back to each other.
I just have to get her to remember. I thought marking her would help jog her memories, but it didn’t.
We didn’t bond and connect like we should’ve, but she doesn’t even want to see me right now.
The sound of loud knocking on my door coaxes me out of the bathroom. It doesn’t sound like Rodi knocking, and I can only guess who’s here to chew me out for my behavior earlier.
I open the door and face Ethan as his gaze narrows at me. “What?”
Ethan pushes me aside and storms into my room, ignoring my snarls and growls .
He’s my Warden, my right hand. He knows how I’ve searched for her for so many lives, but he’s fighting me! How can she also be his mate? Are the gods playing some sort of cruel joke on me, showing me that she can never truly belong to just me?
“You have to let me in,” Ethan says as he whips around to face me.
My brow furrows in confusion as I step closer to him, tension ringing in the air. “Why would I?”
“Don’t you see what you’re doing to her, doing to all of us?” he says as worry glints in his eyes.
My jaw tightens. “Us?”
Ethan rolls his eyes and walks past me out of my room. “Stop playing, Ares.”
I grab him before he leaves my room and toss him back. “You know who she is!” I prowl closer, and his back presses against my dresser. “You know what it means now that I’ve found her.”
He huffs. “It means you get to leave and go back. I know that!”
“Then why stop me?”
His jaw ticks. “Because she’s mine too!”
A snort leaves me as I shake my head. “She was never yours.”
“She is, and that means more than you realize.”
“Yeah, what? What does it mean? Tell me, what don’t I know?” My breath fans over his face as he holds my stare.
“I don’t know,” he whispers. “But she’s still my mate.”
“Only to mess it up for me. You’re probably just some extra card tossed into the game for the gods.”
He blinks. “Do I mean so little to you?”
My heartbeat picks up as I realize what I said. Where I aimed for. “You’re my Warden,” I say .
“Nothing more?” He tilts his head as his eyes flicker to my lips, and I break.
My fist connects with his jaw before I can even blink. “Get out,” I grumble as blood oozes from his lips.
He chuckles, brushing his thumb over the cut as it starts to heal. “You always act before you think. After all these lifetimes, you never get smarter.”
My claws form, puncturing my skin as my body trembles. It fades as quickly as it surfaced when I hear the soft footsteps behind me.
“It almost looked like you two were going to kiss,” Rodi jokes, and I step back.
“We weren’t,” I snap as I turn to meet her eyes and take in a sharp breath.
“What would you feel if we were?” Ethan asks, and my brows pinch.
She blinks, her lips pursing slightly as she shifts on her feet. And then, a sly smile curls on her plump lips. “Show me, and I’ll let you know.”
Gritting my teeth, I keep the smile from spreading. I don’t want to say it, but ever since she stepped up to me, showing her true colors, I love her even more.
She was always a force, and when I found her, it hurt me to see her so dull. So… broken.
“Don’t push it.” My words aren’t as harsh as they should be, and she notices. Her brow rises as she tilts her head.
“Put on your riding gear and pack your stuff. We’re leaving.” I walk out before I say something I’ll regret.
Ethan can’t be right. I can’t mess this up.
But he needs to leave.
As I talk to some of my guards, readying our trip back, I sense her coming closer. I straighten slightly as this warmth spreads inside me, and then I hear her .
I turn and watch her walk closer, a simple bag in her hand, and my brows furrow. “Packed already?”
“I don’t have much. I actually only have what you gave me.” She glances away as a blush spreads on her cheeks.
The fire I saw earlier has faded as if I reminded her of how little she is, how little she has.
Closing the distance between us, I hook my finger under her chin and lift her face to meet my eyes again.
“Never look away from me. You and I are the same. There are no ranks between us,” I say as I remind myself that she doesn’t know who she is. Not yet. “Are you ready to go home?”
“How can it be a home when I can’t be with the ones I want to be with?” She scoffs and moves past me.
Ethan’s soft laughter draws me back, and I grit my teeth. “I don’t think you can smooth-talk your way out of this,” he says.
“Shut it,” I snap and turn to follow Rodi.
Once we’re home, everything will change.
She’ll remember.
She has to.