Part 44. Ares POV

The Alpha looked over at his brothers, his eyebrows raised and his lips still on the top of the tea cup. His jaw set tight at finding Nora in their cabin, rage coiling in his stomach at Zach. The perfumed scent was another thing he could not stand, especially if it were tainting Ava’s natural scent. The omega was just out of her heat, for moon's sake but still smelled amazing.





Shaking his head, he turned to the omegas in front of him, awkwardly gripping their teacups.




"Ava, is it?" Nora said with a sweet smile, head tilting towards Ava as her finger ran around the rim of the cup. "What are you doing here so early?"




Ava was lost at the question, her mouth opening and closing. He could feel the omegas intense stare on him as if she wanted the Alpha to clarify. Silence stretched between them for a second too long, which motivated Ares to set his cup down and answer himself.





"She's living with us."




Flustered, Ava hastily took a sip of her tea, hiding her face behind the cup. Ares was not in a position to blame the omega for trying to be cautious around Nora with the information. Unmated omegas technically don't live with Alphas, but no one knows she's an omega yet.





"Oh?" Nora forcefully laughed, her hands folded together. "I-I wasn't aware of this. May I know why is she living here?"




Ares pulled his mouth away, his mouth slightly stained with pale foam. The tip of his tongue flicked out quickly enough to lap up the foam. At the question, he froze, suddenly forced to recall the incident that led to Ava moving in with them. Blood rushed through his veins, heart thumping loudly as he found her on the floor, a dagger in her ankle. Even if he had been a second late, that guard would have attempted something. That thought itself caused him to tighten his grip around the handle of the cup.




Before he could answer, the commotion from the kitchen started rising, hushed voices clashing against each other. Nora raised her brow, her eyes digging into the Alphas in the corner.




Nora cleared her throat, which halted their movements. "What's going on over there?" The omega asked, brows knitted together. “Is everything alright?”




Ares forehead smoothed a bit at the distraction, his eyebrows lifting, but his eyes remained stormy. The Alpha wanted her to leave so that they could start talking with Ava. He wondered if his brothers realised that instead of fighting amongst each other in the kitchen at that.




“Umm…it’s nothing.” Dante lamely shrugged, approaching the barstools.




Ares let out a sigh. If they were not going to do anything about Nora, he will. His brothers can keep arguing for all he cared. Sucking a sharp breath, he turned his head towards the omega; lips set firm.





“Nora, I think you need to leave now.”



That’s the most polite way he could put it without sounding angry. He watched as her mouth dropped open, eyes widening slightly. Ava, on the other hand, made a soft sound at the back of her throat. His mate might not have been expecting the straightforward tone from him.




“Ares!” Zach whispered, taking a step in his direction. The Pack Alpha was taken back at that; he could see it.



“Trust me, brother, we need to do this sooner than later.”




With that, the Alpha tilted his head high, straightening his back, face composed and calm. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Ava’s lips twitch before it was quickly gone and replaced with a blank look.





“Leave?” She asked, not even bothering to tame the hopefulness of her voice. “W-Why? Did I do something?”




Zach opened his mouth, albeit he was the reason for this mess in the first place. The Alpha cut him off because his brother would say something that would give the omega hope. And that’s the last thing he wanted to happen.




“This is not going to work out, Nora. We are sorry for leading you on.”




Dante’s jaw hung at that; quickly, he blinked and nodded along. The Alpha came to stand beside his brother as a show of unity, perhaps. Besides, they both were not interested from the beginning and with Ava in the picture now, nothing could convince them otherwise.




Nora let out a nervous laughter, eyes roaming around the cabin, hands clasped together. “Is this a prank?!”





Even though his clenched jaw, his teeth chattered, jumping and clicking in his mouth. He hunched over, rubbing his arms together. “No, it is not. My brothers feel the same about this. We cannot continue forward with the arrangement.”




She shook her head, abruptly standing and causing the table to shake. The Alpha held it firmly, watching as the omega narrowed her eyes together. A delirious crazed look flickered over her face. “I think the joke has gone too far. Stop it now. Come on.”




Zach cleared his throat, hands crossed against his chest as he shook his head, “I am afraid it’s not a joke, Nora. We are sorry for leading you on.”




“You are not!” She shrieked, accusingly pointing her finger at him. Her voice grated against his ears, causing Ares to pinch his brows together. Tears pooled in her eyes which the omega dabbed at.




He pried his numb fingers from his arms, his fingertips leaving grooves in the jacket. The Alpha tried to smooth them with his palm before giving up and reaching for the inside pocket of his coat, “We will talk about this later.”




Nora scoffed. “I don’t care what you have to say, but I am not leaving this place until you admit this is a prank.”




Ares dryly snorted. Was she for real? He thought that the omega went to a university. For someone who’s supposed to be well educated, Nora sure acted slow and challenged.




His brothers shifted uncomfortably at her words, their lips twisting, frown settling on their features. Ava just appeared shocked at the omegas behaviour.




The Alpha opened his mouth before he could take a breath, and his words rushed out fast and tight, but he couldn't even care; he just wanted them out. “You are our guest, and it would be rude for us to call the pack guards on you, Nora.”




“You wouldn’t!” She cried, eyes wide.




Dante blinked at her. “You are leaving us no choice. So I think it’s better if you go on your own.”




The Alpha lifted his head, and her eyes were still wide, and he couldn't tell if she was scared, or angry, or something else entirely. Nora tucked her hair behind, exhaling loudly before she turned on her heels. Before taking a step further, she looked back and scanned the room.




“Do not for a second think it’s over. I am not leaving without being a Luna to this pack.” The omega declared, almost whining as her eyes bore into the Alphas before glaring at Ava. Fortunately, she didn’t comment anything about their mate sitting motionlessly in her seat.




Nora's heels clicked away from the kitchen, which made Ares exhale a breath he was holding for a long time.




A second later, their front door slammed behind her, the harsh sound reverberating through the walls. It almost made Ava jump in her spot, a wince escaping her parted lips. Tearing his eyes away, Ares looked at his brothers, who still appeared in a daze.




“She’s something else, huh?” Ares breathed.





“Yeah”, Dante hummed. “Crazy would be the word you are looking for. When Rayly told me earlier that Nora has been obsessed with us and the idea to be our mate I almost didn’t believe her. I can now see it clearly.”




“What?” Ava squeaked. “Obsessed?”



Dante hummed, plopping on the empty barstool where Nora sat earlier, resting his chin on his folded hands. “I just found out this morning.”




Ares gaped at the information, his eyes taking a double turn towards the door. As the omega was finally gone, he rubbed his face; eyes clenched shut. “That’s rough. Why didn’t Rayly tell this before?”




“I think she thought our dad wouldn’t go through with this arrangement.”





Zach ran a hand through his hair, exhaling through his mouth as he turned to look at Ares. A groan escaped his throat. “Speaking of whom this won’t end well, I can feel it in my gut. Our father will be crushed. What should we do?”




Ares shrugged. “We tell him the truth. It's not like we are purposely trying to get out of mating someone. I am sure he will understand once we tell him about Ava.”



Dante nodded along, humming under his breath. “Yeah, I think so too.”



The omega, who had been quiet for a while now, suddenly spoke up, her voice small but adamant at the same time. “No. Please, I don’t want anyone to know.”
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I feel like some of you want me to rush with the story. Let me clarify that this will be a long book with several chapters, new characters and twists ahead. I will tie up all the loose ends and give equal focus to plots in future.
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