Page 16 of Alpha Queen
"And," she said.
"Yes?" Irritation laced his voice, though he kept his face impassive.
"I want a television."
"Fair enough."
He headed toward the door.
"One more thing."
He didn't turn.
"I need clothes. Sweats, lounge suits, underwear, socks, pajamas, comfortable stuff."
"What size?"
"Medium, large. I'm not picky. But nothing cheap or scratchy."
She hoped he got more mediums than larges. She didn't know if a large would even stay on her body, but the bigger the clothes, the better. The more she could hide her changing figure, the safer.
"Wow. I had no idea the twins could spoil you so badly in such a short amount of time."
"You can always send me back."
He looked as if he might say something, but instead turned and left. The door locked, and she waited before going to the fridge, ripping open the cardboard packaging, and grabbing a cola. She sank to the floor and chugged it. The soda burned as it slid down to her stomach. She burped and then curled in a ball, allowing the semi-cool air from the fridge to wash over her as she battled to keep the liquid down. It tried to make a reappearance several times, but she managed to prevent it from resurfacing.
Finally, her stomach settled, and her wolf sighed and laid down to rest. River stayed there for several more minutes before getting to her knees, grabbing another can of soda, kicking the door shut, and crawling to the bed.
She hauled herself up on it and melted into the foam. The interaction with Titan swam in her mind.
One thing was certain. If he came back with that list and her mom's name, or Strider's or Bianca's, Apollo's, or Ares' names were on it, she would disembowel Titan. She didn't know how, but she would- even if it killed her in the process.
CHAPTER SIX
ARES
Cherry gave Ares the information for the man who made River's suppression pills. Apollo had tried to insist on going with Ares to interrogate the man, but Ares refused. His brother still wasn't at full strength after having so much silver and wolfsbane pumped into him, and Ares was going to need Apollo at full strength for the battle to come. It surprised Ares how worried he'd been about his twin over the last week. So much had changed in so little time. But he couldn't focus on everything at the moment because thoughts of finding River consumed him.
Besides, Apollo had work in Montreal. Calls to Alphas. Condolences given, and support secured. All the kinds of diplomatic stuff that Apollo was brilliant at, like their mother had been. Ares was the hammer, Apollo was the glove, always had been. Only now did Ares realize what an asset that could be, and would need to be in the future. Titan hadn't gotten all those rogues to help him by sheer force. Somehow, he'd gotten them with finesse. Finesse that Ares mostly lacked, amongst other things.
As Ares' wolf's mournful whine pierced through him, it wasn't merely a sound, but a visceral ache. An echo of loss reverberating through his very soul. The wolf's raw, primal sorrow clawed at Ares' heart with an unrelenting ferocity. His breath caught as if the weight of the grief had physically struck him. His hand pressed against his breastbone, as though it could somehow ease the hollow ache spreading there. But no amount of pressure could muffle the truth that raged within him.
The weight of their failure to protect her bore down on him. The memory of her cries haunted him. Her voice, desperate and tinged with pain, had been a dagger to his soul. Ares clenched his fists, his nails biting into the armrests of his seat. He still saw her face in those final moments before she was ripped away from them: wide eyes filled with terror, reaching for him, trusting him to save her.
But he hadn't.
His wolf growled low and guttural inside him, a sound drenched in self-loathing and fury. We should have done more. Ares' fists clenched. He hadn't just failed her; he had failed them all.
Guarding her had been their sole purpose, yet they had faltered in that crucial moment. Every fiber of his being had been attuned to her presence since the day they bonded, her laughter like sunlight breaking through storm clouds, her touch grounding him when the world spiraled out of control. She was everything, not just to him but to the wolf that shared his soul. And now, emptiness took root where she should have been.
How could he safeguard his entire species when he couldn't even ensure the safety of his beloved mate? The thought sank like he'd swallowed a granite slab, cold and unrelenting. He let out a shuddering exhale, running a hand through his hair as if trying to pull himself together.
His mind flashed back to the elders' words during their last gathering. "You are our strongest warrior, Ares, the one who will lead us into a new era." The memory felt like mockery, a cruel joke. What kind of leader couldn't even protect his mate?
A mournful whine escaped his lips, not from his wolf but from somewhere deeper.
Ares opened his eyes, their usual stormy gray now tinged with an eerie golden glow as the wolf's presence surged to the surface. His breathing steadied as determination replaced despair.
