Page 114 of Heroes & Hitmen
CHAPTER 36
Miley
The full moonhangs overhead like an unblinking, watchful eye, the atmosphere pulsing with energy reminiscent of the air before a storm. It feels as if the whole world is holding its breath, each second dragging on longer than the last while my pulse races like it’s trying to outrun what’s coming. Every muscle in my body is coiled and trembling, spine locked straight, tension pounding through my skull.
I’ve always known Ares Raines was a fearless idiot, butthis? This isn’t just reckless. It’s suicide.
Even with the full moon lending its energy, there’s no way his wolf has fully recovered from this morning’s serum extraction. It took days for my inner animal to bounce back following my own. The recent procedure has put Ares at a major disadvantage, and declaring a mate challenge against an Alpha right now might just be the most catastrophically dumb thing he’s ever done.
And yet, it’s also brave. Selfless. A declaration so unflinching that it completely guts me, because this isn’t just strategy. This isn’t rebellion. This is love.
Helovesme.
And dammit, I lovehim. I have for a while– quietly, stubbornly, too scared to admit it even to myself. And now it might be too late. Now, I’m rooted to this spot, forced to stand back and watch him bleed for me.
Ares’ copper wolf bursts from his skin in a violent explosion of muscle and fur, shifting into shape with brutal grace. He landshard on four paws, murmurs of awe rippling through the crowd at the sight of his massive animal form. He’s broader than Elias, taller at the shoulder, built like he was born for destruction.
He lowers his head and lets out a menacing growl that vibrates through the soles of my feet. Elias answers with one of his own, their two hulking wolf forms squaring off and circling one another. The energy in the air spikes like a match to dry kindling. People start to shiver and quake, unable to contain the wild, primal instinct inside them.
Clothes shred. Bones snap. Limbs twist.
Several members of the pack lose control completely, shifting to their wolves under the pressure of the moon and the heat of the moment, their howls rising into the night like a battle cry. I stagger backwards as the pulse of it all crashes over me– the moon, the fury, the primal hunger in the air.
I’ve always prided myself on my control. I’venevershifted unless I chose to. But right now, my wolf is refusing to back down.
She’s clawing at my insides, pacing and snarling to be let out. I grit my teeth under the effort to keep her restrained, every nerve ending sparking, vision tunneling to the figures in the center of the clearing. Ares and Elias are still sizing one another up, two apex predators locked in a slow, deadly orbit.
My heartbeat pounds like a war drum as Ares’ copper coat catches the moonlight, haloing his body like an eternal flame. Elias’ silver wolf prowls opposite him, lower to the ground, muscles twitching with barely restrained violence. Their movements are measured, precise– but the second one of them makes the first move, it’s going to be chaos.
I tip my face skyward and inhale sharply, cool air spilling into my aching lungs. The moon beckons from above, bright and insistent, sending a surge of energy pulsing through my veins.
Then everything erupts.
My knees buckle as my inner beast explodes free, clothes tearing away as the shift rips through my body. I land hard on four paws, panting for breath, everything crashing into focus with overwhelming intensity. It’s as if I can hear the thunder of each heartbeat in the clearing, feel every grain of dirt under my claws. The tang of pine coats my tongue, and I’m instantly consumed by the smell ofhim. Delicious and familiar and suddenly ten times as potent, Ares’ scent is like a drug floodingmy bloodstream, delivering a euphoric rush like nothing I’ve ever felt before.
His head snaps around. His wolf locks eyes with mine, and in the next breath, the world detonates.
My wolf is flung back to the recesses of my consciousness, forcing the shift just as abruptly as when she burst forth. The next thing I know, I’m rising on two legs across from a very naked, very human Ares, the bond between us snapping into place like a shockwave.
It’s not soft. It’s not gentle. It’sseismic.
And I know in my soul exactly what this is.
Fate.
Ares’ bare chest heaves, his dark eyes locked on mine, lips parted. My heart pounds harder and I whisper a single word into the stunned silence surrounding us.
“Mate.”
Gasps ripple through the clearing, the energy of the crowd shifting to disbelief and awe. The bond between Ares and I pulses like a living, breathing thing, sparking beneath my skin and burning brightly in my chest.
One pack member howls in celebration, then another, while Alpha just stares at us with his mouth slack. There’s no denying what just happened– not when every soul here just witnessed it. The fated mate bond, in real time. Undeniable. Sacred.
For one glorious second, I let it wash over me.
This isreal. He’smine. We’refated.
He was right all along, and dammit, why didn’t I see it sooner?Of course it’s him.
