"I like that!" Aphrodite giggled and hiccuped before taking a sip from her glass.

"I told you to not giver her more," Inanna hissed at Eros in response. The latter tried to act oblivious to the fact that he might have poured his mother more than three glasses of wine.

"I think we should amp it up mo-" Aphrodite hiccuped, "more. I'd like to see them get dirty. YougetwhatI'msaying?" She spoke. Her words were now starting to get tangled with each other, making it hard for others to comprehend what she was saying. Though the goddess didn't seem to care about this much as she chugged down the whole glass of wine before holding it up in front of Eros again.

"Don't you fvcking dare," Inanna hissed at Eros, pairing it with a deadly glare. She was clutching her own glass of wine with a little bit too much force while fighting away a hiccup which was threatening to escape her lips. She wasn't any less drunk than Aphrodite.

Eros didn't take her threat seriously and was already pouring another glass of wine to his mother before he lifted the bottle to his lips and chugged down almost half of it in one go.

"I fvcking hate this," Inanna hiccuped and chugged down her glass of wine. Aphrodite giggled meanwhile, enjoying the scene that was slowly unfolding just a few meters away at the military camp.

The three deities were currently seated on a tree branch, drinking wine and enjoying the scuffle between the obnoxious lycan king and the strong headed she-wolf General.

"What don't you like about this?" Aphrodite asked with a hiccup as she waved her hand at the lycan who was dragging the she-wolf towards a tent, "Aren't they lovely together? I quite like them," She spoke.

Inanna ground her teeth as she watched the scene unfold. At first, the she-wolf looked helpless but soon she turned around and slapped the Lycan King without caring for her life.

"Now, would you look at that!" Eros laughed with Aphrodite while Inanna watched the couple fight silently. "It's lovely to see them bonding together,"

"It's not called b-" Inanna hiccuped, "bonding. It's called forcing," Inanna added unhappily. She had tossed her empty glass away and crossed her arms on her chest as she glared at the lycan king from the distance.

"She'd have to get used to this if she is to become the queen of Lycans," Aphrodite reminded the pairer. Her words made the frown on Inanna's face even deeper but she chose not to utter any other word.

She turned to find the Lycan now taking the she-wolf inside the tent. Instantly, she heard an arrow leave a bow beside her, making her turn around to find Eros shooting an arrow at Ezekiel. This deepened her frown even more.

"There. I have given him a new dose which should be sufficient for a while," Eros declared proudly as the arrow hit the Lycan's back before it disappeared inside the tent.

"You don't look happy. What's the matter?" Aphrodite asked Inanna.

"I don't like how you all are meddling in my matters," Inanna spat nastily before she glanced at the tent once and disappeared into a puff of smoke, leaving the two other deities alone.

"I think we should leave too," Eros suggested.

"I want to stay here," Aphrodite pouted.

"We'll come back later but for now, we must leave. I think this should be enough for today,"

"Alright, alright, "Aphrodite grumbled before the two of them disappeared into a puff of smoke.

~

-HIM-

After making sure that she was asleep, I left my tent. I was still seething due to the things that happened today.

Someone was not doing their job properly so I set out looking for that nasty thing with whom I had entrusted the duty of being Celeste's bodyguard.

I didn't have to look for her long. I caught her stale scent in the air and followed it to the other end of the camp where the leftovers from the dinner was discarded.

I found her in the rubbish, looking for food. She froze in her place as soon as she spotted me. Just seeing her escalated the anger that was already seething inside of me.

"You," I growled, clutching my fists and edging closer towards her. I saw fear in her eyes and she instantly stumbled back but she was smart enough to haven't run because I would have killed her tonight.

"W-what do you want?" She asked me weakly, shaking visibly.

"What did I tell you?" I growled at her, pinning her with my eyes.

"W-what?"

My chest vibrated with a growl, making her cower and lower her eyes. She was now shaking even more with fear. I took a step closer, reaching for my sword. She must have noticed this because she instantly fell to her knees and pleaded.

"Please, don't kill us. I couldn't keep up with that she-wolf. She is fast and I didn't even have a boat. I had to swim all the way to this shore and fight the monste-" Before she could finish speaking, I slapped her across the face. It was powerful enough to have her falling sideways.

A sob left her lips but she didn't make a sound beyond that. I would have killed her otherwise.

"Don't give me excuses. It would only make me want to kill you more,"

"Please... no. Don't! I am begging you!" She pleaded, cowering even more until her head was touching the ground. Another growl ripped past my lips as I closed the distance between us and grabbed her by her snaky hair and made her look me in the eyes.

A small whimper left her lips but she mostly kept quiet and averted her gaze from me.

"If she gets into danger again, I will have your head!" I warned her before pulling out two of the snakes out of her head. She screeched in pain but was smart enough to haven't have protested.

This still wasn't enough for me. I had this rage burning inside of me. I wanted to spill blood but that would have to wait till we got to the frozen valleys.

I kicked her at the side of her abdomen when she wasn't paying attention. She let out a loud screech, earning another kick from me before I decided to leave her alone. I was yearning to kill her but that wouldn't be of help in either way because she needed to watch out for Celeste and when the time came, she also needed to sacrifice herself.

I glanced at that ugly and filthy creature to find her clutching her stomach in pain and whimpering silently before I finally left.

I needed to take care of other things before the sun could come up.

Or you want to find ways to keep us from going back into the tent and sleeping next to her. My lycan chimed in. He was right but I wasn't going to admit that.

Instead, I walked straight into the dark woods and got lost there for the night.

I turned back to the camp only when the sun had started to rise. I wiped the blood of my sword and put it back before I started going back to the camp.

Everyone was already awake when I reached there. The wolves and the lycans were busy packing and preparing for the day ahead. I spotted Celeste with her annoying counterpart, both of whom ignored me like I wasn't there in the first place.

Whenever she did this it made my hands itch. It made my hands itch to grab her and force her to look at me and acknowledge my presence. I was the lycan king after all and no one ever got away by insulting me like this expect for one person— this she-wolf who seemed to have the patience of a saint and the determination made of steel.

For now, I chose to not say anything to her. I could always deal with her when we were alone at the night. The wolves and lycans were getting somewhat suspicious and I didn't want them to find out about us yet.

After packing everything up, we finally set out for the day. This was going to be our last day in the woods. We'd finally reach the frozen valleys by tomorrow and just thinking about having her there was now making me more and more anxious.

I didn't want her to go there because of the things that were lurking there, desperate to harm me in any way possible.

I didn't want her to go there because I knew that they would be waiting there for me. They would want to harm me. They would want to take her away if they ever find out that she's my mate.

This struck me with fear— something I hadn't felt in ages.

_

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