49. The heart.

"Do you have any idea as to what you've done now?" His body shook in anger, veins on his neck popped out, skin flushed. Eros squeezed his hands into tight fists, trying to fight every fiber in his body, screaming to kill the woman standing in front of him.

"If you won't kill the bitch, I will," Ares snarled from the back of his mind.
The beast wasn't just angry- he was pissed beyond limits. Especially after seeing the woman he truly loved leaving their home because of some low life bitch. The truth was Zoey lied. Of course, Eros had his fair share of women ending up in his bed, yet Zoey was not one from the list. She was more like a try-hard, never-to-be-touched type of woman. Maybe Eros did find her attractive, years ago, but since Ares had always felt repulsed by her nothing happened between them.

"Let me deal with this, if she doesn't understand things the easy way, you're getting the control," Eros replied coldly. He didn't like letting Ares on the surface, especially during moments of anger, yet this time Eros didn't care. His unwelcome guest arrived at the worst moment possible. About now, he might have been in the bed, next to Eve or, more perfectly, on top of her.

"Alright, let's deal with this parasite before you get hard thinking about mate. You know, Zoey might take your boner wrongly and assume that you're willing to fuck her. I swear, if you get any near to that cave of nightmares between her legs, I'll personally rip our throat out, without any mercy or second-guessing the decision," Ares kept pushing his human side, the beast held no liking to the she-wolf near them.
Eros blocked him out, choosing to deal with the problem instead of wasting more time. Eve was out there, alone, God knows where, and most likely scared, wandering around the cold, dark streets on her own. He needed to get rid of Zoey and head out to find his mate.

"What? I didn't do anything wrong. She wasn't the one for you, anyway. You're strong and pretty powerful, and who is she? A simple, weak human being. Do you think that it'll work? Eros, think about it, for fuck's sake. She isn't strong enough to stand by your side, both mentally and physically. Have you thought of having a family in a year or two after the mating rituals are done? She will die in the best scenario. The worst one would be her dying alongside your pup, around the fifth or sixth month of pregnancy. I'm the one you need. I'm strong, and I have a perfect bloodline for us to be mated. Think, this will be the best outcome for all of us," Zoey ignored the look on his face. She noticed how angrier he had become after she spoke about Eve, but she didn't care. If she played her cards right, she will have him eating from her palm by sunrise, ideally, with his mark on her neck.

"Did I ever ask for your opinion on who I should or should not be mated with? Did anyone ever give you the right to choose for me, even more- defy the Moon Goddess? Do you have any idea as to how delusional you are? Zoey, I could kill you before you manage to snap your fingers. Is that what you want? Are you feeling brave tonight?" Eros neared her, each step he took made Zoey take one back, ending up with her back against the wall. Cold shivers travelled over her spine, nearly freezing her on the spot. His eyes darkened, canines extended, as did his claws. Oddly enough, he didn't look like any other werewolf. Zoey knew that Eros would not drop on all four and howl at her like a crazy dog. Whomever he was, Eros, and his beast were much more terrifying than the most powerful Alphas, Zoey had met.

"Who the fuck are you?" The question left her lips unintentionally. She wanted to stay mute, yet her mouth worked before her brain could even process the words.

"Wouldn't you love to find that out, huh? I recall you being passionate about acting; you used to talk about becoming the greatest actress one day. Do you remember that?" Eros smiled, the corners of his lips lifted, making him look a little wicked.

"You- you remember. I never thought that I meant that much to you. We were just kids when I spoke about that, and you... you still remember. That must mean that you love me, you have true feelings for me," the spark of hope danced in her eyes, Zoey's voice became almost terrifyingly high pitched as she spoke.

"Now, now, you misunderstood me. Love? Feelings? That's where you're wrong. If I ever had any feelings for you, I'd have claimed and mated you ten years ago, but I didn't. Instead, I went for the human. You want to know why? Because she's my destined mate, and I'd be a complete idiot to give up on perfection to have a cheap woman like you. The reason why I remember about your dreams is that I used to be your friend. And let me tell you this- you used to irritate the fuck out of me whenever you spoke about acting. The day wasn't a normal day if you wouldn't bring that topic up at least thirty times. Now, are there more questions, or will you leave?" Eros stood impossibly close to her, Zoey's breath hitched, and her heart skipped a beat. Indeed, the young woman was somewhat delusional. Eros spoke to her in a rather hurtful manner while she looked at him with love and adoration. She didn't hear the bad words coming from his parted lips- instead, she only heard how he praised her beauty and grace.

"I don't have questions, but I won't leave either. Not until you accept and mate me. Forget your toy; take a real woman. You've done enough for her, now it's time that someone does it all for you," she bit her lower lip, trying her best to look seductive.

Zoey had planned to visit Eros for years. She tried her best to think of all possible outcomes, expect one- him claiming a mate. She was sure he wouldn't. After all, Eros always praised his love of freedom and the ability to choose his partners without being tied to them. Her delusional mind never took it as a possibility of him just simply not wanting her. Zoey had to plan how she would take over his heart and life. Before arriving, she had spent thousands of dollars on her physical appearance, just to meet his criteria. And now, she kept ignoring the rejection.
Even though Eve thought that Zoey was everything, she was not- it was the other way around. Zoey would never be Eve, and there was no way in Hell, that Eros would choose her over his mate.
Eros scanned her appearance; he tried to be as polite as possible and kept his facial expression cold. He wanted to show off how disgusted he was by her looks, yet the gentleman in him wouldn't allow such a thing to happen. When he thought of it- his Eve was perfect. Pale skin, emerald green eyes, long silver hair, and curves on the body to kill for. Zoey was just the regular looking werewolf woman- tall, brown eyes, darker skin, and hair, nothing out of the ordinary. Eros felt like he had hit the jackpot when he found Eve.

"Yeah, we might have a problem with that," Eros rolled his eyes.

"And why is that? What kind of problem, anyway?" Zoey raised an eyebrow in question. She was one of those who couldn't deal with the harsh reality, especially if it meant she wouldn't get what she wanted.

"Well, first of all- I will not mate you. I've found my destined mate, and she is carrying my mark. She will be the one who will be mated to me and carry my scent wherever she goes. About your leaving- that's another issue. If you do not leave on your own, I will help you with that. If not, we might as well play a little game, Ares is more than eager to do so," a corner of his lip twitched, making it look as if he was smirking, for a second.

"At least your wolf likes me. I knew that he would never say no to me, especially because he must hate humans. Every wolf out there must be ashamed of ending up with a human. Anyway, I don't mind playing that game," she placed her palm on his chest, sliding it down rather slowly. Eros grabbed her wrist, stopping her midway. Zoey was trying to reach for his crotch; the woman thought that, by now, he would be definitely hard because of her flirtatious ways.

"Misunderstood me. Again. The game I was implying to play is called "the heart." Do you remember that one?" Eros pushed himself against her body, making Zoey moan. She was lost in the sensation of the little skin-to-skin contact they had. Her mind instantly full of ideas of how Eros would fuck her in all possible ways, in each room of his apartment. The plans, popping into her head, were not only ridiculous but also pretty vile. Zoey was the type of woman who used to change men more often than she changed her socks. The kind of woman who would kill for fantastic sex.

"I- I don't. But I'm rather eager to try it out," she winked, ripping her wrist out of his hold to wrap both arms around his neck.

"Aren't you a little curious about the rules, though?" A part of Eros hoped that she would remember what type of game it was or catch on to his hints. She was an easy woman yet playing that particular game would be a last resort.

"No," she breathed, suddenly leaning closer and gently biting on his neck.

"I’d rather let you show me, I don't care, do whatever you want to do with me and my body, but for the love of God, make me scream!" She licked the sensitive spot behind his ear, trying her best to seduce him. Zoey was sure that she would succeed.

"Oh, don't you worry about that, I will make you scream. Not in the way you hope for, though," he placed his hand on her neck, caressing it gently. Zoey smiled, looking up at him, enjoying the victory too soon. Her greatest mistake was the inability to think about the words he had said. She got on her tippy toes and forced her lips against his, kissing him with all the passion she had in her. Eros didn't move a muscle; her kiss was never returned.

"This will show that bitch how to mess with my man," Zoey whispered. She knew that Eve would feel their kiss in the worst way possible.

"You had enough of your games; now it's my turn. "The heart" has one simple rule. If it beats ten times, after being ripped out of your ribcage, you win. If not, who cares, you're dead anyway," his voice was cold. Before Zoey could object, Ares took over and slammed his claw into her body, ripping the heart out with ease. The look of shock remained on her face as her body dropped on the floor. Ares observed the heart in his claw, patiently counting, looking at how the movements faded, until it wasn’t beating anymore.

"Odd, I thought it would be pitch black. And you didn't even scream, such a pity."