I should’ve knownAres would never let us go.
A sob catches in my throat as I stare at the unconscious bodies of my lovers. They didn’t stand a chance against the God of War. They’re young. Untrained. Inexperienced.
“Did you really think I would let you leave me?” Ares demands, his hand twisting in my hair. Pain explodes from my scalp, and I cry out, futilely attempting to free myself from his impenetrable hold. “I allowed you to fuck around with those…those inferior men, even knowing that you belong to me. But no more.”
Roughly, he grabs the front of my shirt and rips it. His free hand immediately begins to grope my bare breast, roughly twisting my nipple.
“Why can’t you just let me love you?” he rasps in my ear as I sob. “YOU STUPID BITCH!”
He pulls my hair even harder and then pushes me away. Before I can even get to my feet, he punches me across the face.
I fall to the ground, blood filling my mouth and tears staining my cheeks.
He straddles me from above and roughly pushes my breasts together.
“You are mine, Winnifred. MINE!” He brings his lips to mine, but it’s not a kiss. His teeth bite down on my lower lip and tug, causing me to cry out. “I chose you. Even before you were born, I knew you were mine.”
As he speaks, his thumbs absently flick my nipples.
And then I say the words that seal my fate once and for all.
“I’ll never be yours.”
The next hour is the worst of my life.
Every punch, every kick, every scratch… I feel it all. Unconsciousness doesn’t claim me, despite how desperately I plead for it to.
“You’ll always be mine, Winnie,” Ares growls, staring hungrily down at my beaten, broken body. His fingers roughly thrust into my pussy, making me scream at the unwelcome intrusion. “Always.”
I snapout of the memories with a gasp. I’m cold everywhere. Can’t think. Can’t breathe. Terror coils around my heart like a venomous snake.
I stare up at the face of my stalker, my tormentor, my murderer.
“Y-you killed me,” I whisper, feeling as if I’m speaking around a thousand tiny knives in my throat.
Slowly, I back away from him, though he doesn’t make a move to follow me, seemingly frozen, shock splayed across his face.
“What?” Everett bellows.
All of my guys move closer, surrounding me, enveloping me in their warmth—though it does very little to thaw my frozen body.
“When he touched me…I…I remembered pieces of my past. Meeting you four. Falling in love. And…” God, I can’t speak. I’m going to be sick. Bile claws at my throat like acid-tipped talons. “Ares became obsessed with me. He stalked me. He…” A sob catches in my throat. “He did things to me and then…”
And then left me for dead.
Hell, he was probably the one to trap me in that room. It wouldn’t surprise me. He was desperate to possess me, own me, make me his.
Zaid’s expression has gone carefully blank. “Thea, are you saying that he…?”
He can’t seem to finish his question.
“He’s going to die,” Rafe vows.
And then everything happens really, really fast.
Everett’s body cracks as it contorts. The shift takes less than five seconds. His skin rips, fur explodes outwards, and three monstrous heads rise from his shoulders—a blue version of Cerberus in all his wrathful glory. Three sets of eyes lock on Ares like he’s dinner.
Rafe slices his palm open with clean precision. Blood streams down his fingers.
