5.His face.

Eros wanted nothing more than to take her home, to see her wrapped in his bed sheets as the morning sun shines upon her. Unfortunately, he had to follow the mating law- meaning, no matter shifter or human, mates are to be brought back home, to decide when they'll move.

Eros approached the place where humans and shifters stood, waiting for the news of claiming. He held Eve on his arms, tightening the hold after noticing dozens of eyes following his moves. Even his beast grew overprotective, growling and snarling at everyone, who kept staring.

"Calm down; they're not staring at mate. They're staring at us." Eros scolded his beast, as expected- Ares didn't care, his behaviour didn't change, until everyone averted their gazes. The Alpha stood above everyone, observing both Eros and Eve suspiciously.

"It seems the first shifter has taken a human as a mate. Congratulations. Now, you know what to do, follow the protocol, and you may leave." He spoke calmly. Eros nodded his head and carried his mate away from everyone's eyes. A woman ran up to him.

"M-my baby. What have you done? What is wrong with her?" Eros wasn't sure why her voice trembled, was it because of fear or anger?

"Is this your daughter, miss?" He chose to go for more polite behaviour, keeping in mind how important humans hold family members.

"Oh, don't flatter, I'm married for God knows how long. You're holding my daughter, Evangeline," she didn't look at Eros, her eyes glued on her daughter.

"Evangeline," Eros shivered in delight as her name left his lips. His beast purred like a kitten, clearly overjoyed.

"I can assure you that Evangeline is more than alright. She's resting, shifter claiming can be tiring. Now, let's go, we have to follow the protocol, and I would love to take her home as soon as possible," he was calm, the woman didn't seem to mind her daughter being mated to a shifter.

Maybe, this will end better than he thought- there are a lot of risks when choosing the path he just took.

"Yes, sure. Let's go; my car is parked outside the forest. Follow me. My name is Angelina, by the way, but you can call me Ang or mom since my daughter will spend her life with you. We might as well try to get comfortable around each other." The woman babbled as she led the way towards her vehicle.

"Eros. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Right back at you, son. Now, let's hurry, it's getting cold out here." The woman was surprisingly nice, Eros had never thought good of humans. He was starting to change his mind a bit, first because of his human mate and now because of her mother.

They approached the car and sat in; Eros still held Eve tightly, unwilling to let go of her. After reaching their home, Eros took Eve to her bedroom and then went downstairs to talk with her parents.

Her father had been waiting for them. Not once did their gazes meet, Eros hid his face under the enormous hood of his jacket and kept his eyes down. The conversation went smoothly until someone banged on the door violently. Eve's mother let the person in.

"Where is she? Is it true? A shifter chooses her?" The newcomer's voice annoyed Eros; he was sure he had heard it before.

"Shush, don't scream. She's upstairs, resting, we're currently negotiating with the shifter in the living room," Eve's mother whispered. She didn't know that Eros could hear them. The advantages of being a werewolf.

"Okay, I'm sorry. I'll go upstairs to check on her."

"Hurry, he won't like it. We know how werewolves are.” The stranger didn't bother to listen to whatever Eve's mother had to say, instead she ran upstairs like the wind. Angelina joined both men in the living room, a little distressed.

"I'm sorry, our daughter's best friend is a little extra. She's worried about Evangeline's health, came here to check on her," she apologized quietly, looking at her husband.

"I still don't like that girl. On the other hand, I find this young man to be a good match for our princess. It seems that she will be in good hands from now on," Eve's father spoke genuinely, he did like Eros for simple reasons- shifter will protect his daughter and her being his mate means he will do anything for Eve.

"Excuse me, I shall check on my mate now," Eros spoke coldly, his beast was stirring inside of his mind, making him worried. His steps were almost as light as a feather, despite his weight, Eros had to be careful. He wanted to approach the bedroom door first, and check she was alright, if there was any danger, he would tear the door down, without thinking.

"I have a bad feeling about this one," Ares whined.
"I know. Now, let's listen," Eros answered sharply, begging for his beast to shut up.
"Look at us now. So whipped, acting like a stalker," Ares laughed. Instead of listening, Eros cut him off and focused on the two females, hidden in the bedroom. Their conversation was barely audible, both whispering.

"I can't believe how naive and stupid you are, Eve!" the stranger snarled, almost animalistic.

"What are you talking about? Did I offend you in any way? If so, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." As soon as he overheard his mate's voice, his body shivered, wanting for nothing but to hold her now, as close as possible.

"See, that's my problem. You're too nice. Way too nice to be with someone like him. He was supposed to choose me!" The woman raised her voice; Eros had to hold back; even now, his beast tried to control his body. Ares was not a kind one, and now, he had only one goal- to kill.

"So that's what this is about?"

"Yes. I'm strong, good at everything I do; I was the one he had to choose. You're too weak to deal with a man like him!" the other woman yelled. She didn't know yet, but she was testing his patience, walking on thin ice.

"It's not like I asked him to choose me, stop being so judgemental. For once, please understand!" Eve begged.

"See, here you are, once again, playing the victim. You're weak, Eve, too weak!"

"In that case, you can take him; I didn't want to be chosen by a shifter anyway!" As those words left her lips, Ares whimpered. Eve didn't know how those words hurt the man who chose her and his beast.

"Weak and stupid, indeed."

"Don't be rude, I'm trying to talk, but you keep throwing dirt on me, without bothering to listen!" Now his mate was the one to raise her voice. At this point, he wasn't sure if he should go in there. She doesn't know him, yet she's already giving up on Eros.

"If you wouldn't be stupid, you'd know that shifters are wolves, Eve! One partner for a lifetime. Once he takes you as his mate, he's not changing his mind. For fuck's sake! Grow up!"

"I can't stay in this room with you anymore. You're my best friend, I've been by your side through ups and downs, always supporting any decision you make. For once, I wanted you on my side; instead, I get this!" She grew more and more frustrated.

"Because you are garbage, you took what's mine!" Her so-called best friend screamed, and the sound of a slap echoed throughout the room.

"That's what you get for stealing men, you lying whore!" the woman yelled. Eros couldn't take it anymore; he pushed the door open and looked around the room. His mate was lying on the floor, palm covering her cheek. Her best friend was the same red-haired vixen Eros noticed earlier. He had enough of this woman; he grabbed her by the neck and pushed her body against the wall.

"Who. The. Fuck. You. Think. You. Are?" Eros snarled through gritted teeth.

"Let me go; you'll choke me to death!" The woman coughed. He smirked in amusement, a spark of mischief dancing in his eyes.

"That's the idea. It's funny how you bullied my mate and still thought that there would be no consequences. You hurt her- I hurt you." Eros squeezed her neck tighter, enjoying her skin changing color to more purple shade.

"What are you doing? Let go of her, you monster!" It was his mate's voice, which brought him back to reality. She was hitting his back, trying to fight the enormous man. He dropped the woman on the floor, looking at how greedily she took one breath after another.

"You. You chose me. You!" Eve couldn't form a sentence anymore; she shook in anger.

"I did." Eros simply stated, looking down at Eve, who struggled to bring any kind of pain upon the male.

"You have no idea how much I hate you! All of you! Your whole kind! If only you'd know what your people have done to me! Monsters, filthy, disgusting animals!" Eve yelled in rage, tears streaming down her cheeks as she kept banging her fists against his chest.

Eros felt defeated. Unable to do much more, he took a deep breath as the hood covering his face fell. Eve's eyes grew wider as she noticed the same mask she had seen before. Without thinking, she grabbed the mask and ripped it from his face in one violent movement.

First, she noticed his eyes- the deepest blue she has ever seen. Then, she gasped in shock, stepping back, away from him. Her bottom lip trembled as she covered her face with both of her palms, turning away.