Alpha Ares

Warning: Explicit imagery.

Prologue

Luna Lacie sits in the shade of a tree in an attempt to evade the heat of the scorching sun.

She watches her mate and two sons spar on the lawn that outstretches from their home all the way to the nearby forest.

She considers her mate, Jupiter, to be too harsh in his approach of training their two sons. He always says that he is priming them to be kings. Jupiter believes that one of their sons is destined to ascend the werewolf throne.

He often complains that the current royal family is destroying werewolf tradition and is corrupted by greed. Lacie rolls her eyes at her mate whenever he goes on a tirade about the royal family.

While she does agree with his assertions, she also understands the price associated with taking over a kingdom, and she does not want either of her sons to go to war to fight for a crown.

A light breeze touches her skin giving her comfort.

She stares over at her second born son, Ares who is exuding an unnaturally powerful aura almost overpowering his older brother, Heph. Heph is her eldest son who is hardworking, diligent and easygoing.

Although she tries not to compare her two children, it is apparent that Heph does not take to the imperious role he was born into as alpha heir.

While Heph shows great commitment to his duties, he simply is not impassioned by what is required of him as the future alpha. Ares, on the other hand, has a natural strength that is so impressive that others have started to joke that he is "a god."

His leadership and strategy is advanced even for an experienced alpha wolf. At only eighteen, Ares is already showing signs of being stronger than both his brother and father.

While these qualities should comfort Luna Lacie, they have the opposite effect worrying her that he will be targeted by the royal family for his abilities.

Another peculiarity is that Ares’ wolf, Phanes who arrived last week on his birthday, does not speak to anyone, including Ares.

Luna Lacie’s wolf, and the wolves of her other son and mate often chat together. It is very unusual for him not to speak. Lacie started reading old texts trying to better understand Phanes.

While she has searched for information on silent wolves and abnormally strong wolves, she has not found anything that could help her understand what is happening. The only thing she could find was hidden deep in the archive. There is a list of the original werewolves created by the Moon Goddess.

On that list, one of the wolves shares the namesake, Phanes.

However, she has no idea what that could mean. Lacie sighs.

The mystery surrounding her son’s wolf troubles her. She feels powerless and does not know what to do. Sometimes she wishes she had the ability to predict the future.

Then she’d know how to help her sons. Lacie’s thoughts are interrupted when her mate, Alpha Jupiter comes and sits beside her.

Jupiter, not taking his eyes off his two sons’ match, asks, “What’s happening in that pretty head of yours? I can sense your worry through the mate bond.”

Embracing her with his muscular arms, he dips down to kiss her forehead. Warm sparks erupt on her skin as he touches her. Lacie cannot hide the smile that creeps on her face.

She loves it every time her mate touches her. After all, they are goddess gifted mates. Mates fated by the Moon Goddess are rare in the werewolf kingdom.

Having a fated mate bond is unlike any other.

Fated mates become two halves of the same soul. However, it is becoming less and less common for wolves to choose to be with their fated mates. Many werewolves have been led to believe that a fated mate bond can weaken a wolf.

Contrary to this popular belief, Lacie and Jupiter have found that their bond has strengthened both them and their wolves.

After all, Lacie was born into an omega family in a neighboring pack. She met Jupiter when he came to visit her former alpha to form a treaty.

His scent of cedar reached her as she served dinner for the treaty signing.

In that moment, Jupiter and Lacie’s wolves identified one another in front of everyone in attendance. She was initially afraid that Jupiter would reject her. Many alphas choose to reject fated mates born to omega families.

To her surprise, Jupiter accepted her immediately. They have been inseparable ever since.

Lacie exhales deeply before saying, “I am worried about Ares again.” She then snuggles into the warmth of her mate’s body.

Alpha Jupiter gently chuckles, “I have told you, my love, you do not need to worry about Ares. He is on his way to becoming the strongest wolf to ever exist.”

He then places another gentle kiss against Luna Lacie’s forehead.

“My love, if you want something to worry about, then worry about this outrageous trip we are taking to the royal pack. We will have to sit through meetings with King Alistair and his evil queen, Luna Lilith. I am sure they will speak nothing but nonsense the entire time we are there.”

Lacie recoils from just the thought of being near Luna Lilith.

Not wanting to be overheard, she switches to mind-link. “I do not understand why the Moon Goddess would curse Heph with Princess Calliste as his mate. Princess Calliste is an exact copy of Queen Lilith, who I am afraid might be one the most wicked creatures to have ever existed.”

Jupiter just sits and stares away from their sons with a far-away look in his eyes.

After he takes time to collect himself, he mind-links back, “The Moon Goddess works in mysterious ways, my love. Our job is not to understand her plan fully, but to honor her will. Just trust that she has a greater vision for werewolves that goes beyond our understanding.”

Jupiter then pulls Luna Lacie even more into his body, utilizing the effects of their mate-bond to calm her.

While Luna Lacie knows that he is right, her instincts are warning her that something is wrong. She has spent days trying to convince both herself and her wolf to accept the bond between her son, Heph and Princess Calliste.

She has also tried to let go of incessantly worrying about Ares, which she can’t.

While she knows that the Moon Goddess has a perfect vision, there is still something nagging her about everything that is happening. She cannot shake the feeling that there is something off.

Lacie gently closes her eyes and prays to the Moon Goddess:

Dear Moon Goddess,

Thank you for blessing me with the best mate and amazing sons. I am grateful for all of the blessings you have bestowed upon our family and pack.

I know that I must trust and accept my fate, but I have been experiencing feelings of uneasiness. I hope to not ask for too much, but... Please ensure Heph’s destined mate is good for him and grows to be the luna he needs.

Please look over and protect Ares. When you are ready to send his mate, please send someone who can help him manage his tenacious nature.

I try not to, but I worry for him. I do not want a path of destruction to find him like it has so many second born alphas. I believe that a well matched mate can ground him.

I know that I cannot control any of our destinies. I surrender fully to your will, Moon Goddess.

I accept the vision you have for all of your children.

***************

Ethan’s POV

The alpha family (excluding Ares) left with their two alpha units for the Scorpius Pack earlier this afternoon. An alpha unit is made up of an alpha, beta, gamma, and delta wolf.

One of the alpha squads is led by Alpha Jupiter. While the other alpha unit is led by heir, Heph.

Heph’s leadership squad will take over the pack when Alpha Jupiter retires. They are all headed to the Scorpius Pack, which is ruled by the royal family, the Lucians.

The Lucians are said to be descended from the first werewolf created by the Moon Goddess, Nyx. Similar to our pack, the Super Blue Moon pack, the wolves of Scorpius Pack have a reputation for their piety.

The Scorpius Pack claims to follow the old rules of the Moon Goddess. However, there are also rumors that the Lucians only maintain tradition for the sake of their public image as royals.

Amongst wolves there are whispers that the oldest family can be ruthlessly if anyone gets in their way. It is said that they would do just about anything to maintain control over the thrown.

I’ve heard first-hand accounts about the underhanded tactics being used by the queen. In my opinion, the royals like to hide their misdeeds from the eyes of the public.

There is no denying the fact that there is mystery shrouding the royal family. No one really knows what they are up to.

They are unpredictable, which makes them a great threat to all werewolves. One should always know whether their ruler is a friend or foe and yet their intentions are unclear.

My thoughts are interrupted as I walk into Ares’ office and I am instantly hit with the scent of sex.

My eyes dart to bouncing breast, as a naked she-wolf rides Ares on his desk chair. “Ares!” I growl. “You promised!”

The she-wolf on Ares’ lap cheeks redden in surprise as I enter the room.

She tries, but fails to cover her chest as she quickly hops off of Ares’ lap and starts searching around Ares’ office for her clothes.

Despite the awkward situation we are in, Ares has a big stupid grin on his face as he watches the she-wolf squirm around attempting to cover herself.

After getting his fill, he looks at me, “As I promised, I am meticulously handling my duties.”

I glare at him.

He sighs and continues, “The only problem is that you and I have different ideas about ‘seriousness,’ Ethan.”

I scrunch my face to show my discontent only to hear him say, “I am taking our duties the ‘just right’ level of serious, while you are taking our responsibilities ‘way too’ serious.”

Scoffing, I roll my eyes as his grin grows even bigger.

The she-wolf has found some clothes and immediately rushes out of Ares’ office without looking back.

I continue scolding Ares, “You heard Alpha Jupiter! We are in-charge of protecting the pack! Both senior alpha squads are off pack territory. If our enemies attack, then it is on us to protect everyone!”

Ares’ face loses its smile as he shouts, “Exactly! My dad put way too much pressure on us. I was only trying to relieve some stress.”

He then places his hand over his heart as his grin reappears.

Chuckling he tries to continue, but I cut him off, “what about your future mate? You heard what Luna Lacie said today. It’s only a matter of time before you find your goddess destined mate. How are you going to explain to her that you fucked every omega in the pack?”

He looks at me with incredulity, “Sigmas! I like to fuck sigmas, not omegas. Omegas have lovely curves, but there is something about pounding the glasses off a little nerdy she-wolf...”

I cut him off again, “You are totally missing the point, Ares! Even if we are not the senior alpha unit, we still need to protect the pack.”

As Ares’ beta it is my duty to balance Ares’ strengths and weaknesses.

Unfortunately for me, he has never taken pack duties seriously.

Ares’ action always result in us both getting scolded by Alpha Jupiter. Ares gets scolded for being Ares. While I get scolded for not being able to stop Ares from being Ares.

Ares finally sighs and shrugs his shoulders, “Ok, Beta Ethan. I promise to focus on the job. I will not fall victim to any more distractions.”

I nod before realizing that he is not done, “I also promise to stop making my way through the entire she-wolf population... for the sake of my mate. Also, for the sake of your mate. I would hate to accidentally fuck your mate, Ethan.”

He slaps his leg as he chuckles.

I shake my head at him, then respond sarcastically. “Thank you for your commitment in doing your part.”

Exhausted, I take a deep breath. “Anyways, I am headed to check on border patrol before I call it a night. If you need me, then mind-link.”

Ares nods his head yes affirming that he heard me.

Then he looks down at a stack of papers on his desk as I leave his office to head for the forest line.

I cannot stop the grin that creeps on my face when thinking about Ares. He is such a jokester!

One of my earliest memories is him trying to get me to hide so that we could lose our nanny. He is my best friend and even though he pisses me off from slacking off all of the time, I know he does it because he is bored.

The problem with Ares is the same problem that many second born alpha’s face, he is a natural born predator stuck in a role that does not allow him to fully actualize his dominance.

Everyone can see his abilities.

He could easily challenge his older brother to become the alpha heir. No one doubts, including Heph, whether or not he would win.

With that said, everyone also knows that Ares would never do that. He loves his brother way too much and could never do anything to harm his family.

I know Ares internally struggles and intentionally distracts himself for the sake of preserving peace within the pack. He tries to divert his focus in an attempt to tone down his alpha urges.

My situation is slightly different with my older brother.

He is our pack’s beta heir. It is in a beta’s nature to balance out their given alpha. My guess is that since Heph is so chill it makes his beta, my brother, Scott, a maniac.

My brother’s vicious nature makes him a horrible beta!

Sometimes when Scott is being a jerk, I feel the urge to challenge him for his title. I often remind myself to tone it down for the sake of maintaining peace within the pack.

Unlike my brother, I am a great beta.

I’m extremely detail oriented and have a pulse on everything happening around the pack. That also probably has a lot more to do with my given alpha, Ares, who is constantly finding himself in trouble.

As I walk towards the tree line of the forest, I am hit with the most excruciating pain. It feels like my chest is being ripped apart.

Over a dozen pack links are severed at once. Our pack does not typically experience situations where a bond would break.

Although this feeling is foreign, I know what it is. The bonds severing means that our pack members have died.

I sense the broken links belong to...

Alpha Jupiter, Luna Lacie, Heph, Scott, my parents, and the members of the two alpha units. They are all gone.

Tears start to trickle down my face. The pain is overwhelming.

The closer a person is to the member who passes, the more painful it is when the bond breaks. The burning sensation paralyzes me on the ground. I hear a terrifying roar come from the pack house and I try to gather myself.

Pushing my body up from ground, I wipe my face and try to hide the tears. Slowly steadying myself, I attempt to walk towards the pack house, but cannot handle the weird feeling in my stomach. I bend over to vomit.

Once my stomach is empty, I stand up again. This time more steady.

Up ahead I can see Ares’ wolf, Phanes jump from the third story window of his office. Clearing the landing, Phanes stands a few feet in front of me. His aura has intensified into a shimmering crimson glow.

Ares mind-links me, “Beta Ethan, assemble the alpha and secret unit for a meeting in a hour. Put the pack in lock down protocol. I am going to secure the border.”

I bow and say, “Yes, alpha.”

His new aura has become more potent. At first I cannot handle it, and it pushes me into a kneeling position.

I bow with my head on the ground until the presence of his aura is gone. That’s when I notice that my skin is tingling and the feeling is slowly overtaking my senses.

It hits me, the Moon Goddess is transferring the beta title to me.

The transfer takes a few minutes, and I can feel my body strengthening each second.

Once the transfer is complete calmness washes over me.

I lift my head. The air around me vibrates with power. A calm strength spreads through me as I get ready to go and follow my alpha’s orders.