Chapter 5: Midnight Visit

*"Leave her alone, father."

"Then keep your hands off her, Ares. I know what you two have been doing behind everyone’s back.”

"Why is this about her and me now?"

"Sooner or later, you’re going to have to reject her son. Randall might have turned her, and Lachlan might have made her a good hunter, but she’s still not one of us, Ares. The moon goddess had clearly made a mistake when she made her your mate. But the minute you claim her, you and Vanya are banished from this pack."*

*Banishment. *

Alpha Callum's words weighed heavily on Vanya’s mind as she leaned against the balcony railing and stared out into space. It was already midnight and she was still trying to process what she had learned from Ares and Alpha Callum's earlier argument.

Despite not leaving her room, the day had been long and exhausting, and she still had another long day ahead of her. She needed to sleep, but she couldn't close her eyes and rest because of all of her pent-up frustration, worry, and the truth about Ares being her mate.

I am his mate. How could he have kept this from me?

As she began cursing Ares, a cool breeze blew in, coating her bare skin with a thin layer of bumps. Her beige nightgown was flimsy at best and did nothing to fend off the cold. Even so, she was reluctant to wander back inside and throw herself in her warm bed.

So she went on to replay the conversation she heard between Ares and Alpha Callum once more. After a few minutes, she finally told herself she was done overthinking. But before returning inside and closing the sliding glass door behind her, she took one more look at the sky. Then she moved over to her bed and lied down on her back on the mattress, listening to anyone who might still be up near her.

Dammit, she cursed and took deep, slow breaths. She needed to sleep, and she needed to do something about the anxiousness that was keeping her up.

As she stared the ceiling above her, she began to gently caress her breasts through her nightgown, flicking her buds up and down with her two fingers. Stroking her body with both hands from her breast down to her belly had become a routine for her to get every sense in her body going. Then, from her breast to her belly, she started stroking and stimulation her body with both hands.

As her right hand crept down her thin nightwear to feel the skin around her tummy and pelvic area, she quietly called his name as if he were even there, "Ares…"

She brought her right hand back up to tease her right nipple while she proceeded to rub her left palm all over her groin area over the thin material and slowly went on to rub her index and middle fingers gently against the folds under her panties.

"Ah, shit." The exhilarating sensation was almost immediate for Vanya. Her hear was pounding quickly. She could feel heat radiating from her lower abdomen in. She trembled from the pleasure and sexual arousal as she pulled back her left hand from inside her underwear and scraped her fingers over the fabric where her sensitive wet folds were.

She was so aroused and suddenly desperate for Ares’ touch. She slipped her left hand underneath the waistband of her panties once more, imagining it was Ares' hand, and carefully moved her fingers over her pubic bone, and onto her folds, tingling slightly with nervous anticipation. She unusually sensitive right now, all thanks to the anxiety the night had brought her.

She whimpered and closed her eyes, picturing Ares in the shower, his hair damp against his skin and water droplets cascading down his naked body. She slid a couple of fingers into her opening, imagining it was Ares’ tongue. "Ah…shit. Ares…"

She arched her back then pulled her slick fingers and began massaging her clit with earnest. Her eyes were tightly shut as she let her fantasy to continue, reaching up with her free hand to grab one of her breasts like Ares would if they were both in the shower.

Then Are would slither his fingers deep into her core. She moaned softly at the thought, biting her lower lip when she imagined him now taking himself in his hand and stroking his length slowly, his head thrown back in pleasure. She thrust her fingers between her legs, rubbing herself furiously at the image of him, hard and pleasuring himself.

"Fuck."

Her hips swayed against her fingers, and she became lost in the sensations. The chilly breeze coming in through the windows just added to her skin's tingling sensation. Her feeble breaths became heavier, as the as the intensity grew, she gasped and stopped stroking herself. She took a few more breaths before rubbing her clit again with both fingers, whimpering as the powerful pleasure spread from her inner core to the tips of her toes.

"Fuck…Ah!" She was so close, so she quickened her pace, her eyes fluttering, when suddenly, she heard a knock on the door.

“Really?” she groaned, forced to snap out of her daze and come down from her high. She drew her fingers back from between her legs, cursing under her breath.

Who even knocks on people’s doors at this hour?

She rolled out of bed, straightened her nightgown, and dragged her feet over to the door, where she was stunned to see him.

"Are you okay?" Ares asked, a sly grin on his face. Vanya’s eyes widened as she noticed his body was only wrapped in a towel. Droplets of water clung to him, his hair damp and sticking out in several directions.

What did he come here for so late at night? And did he just come out of the shower?

Ares smirked as he asked, "Have I interrupted something?"

Fuck. Vanya didn't respond because she knew if she said anything, he'd know. It was one thing to be caught fantasizing about him, but it was quite another to be caught touching herself while fantasizing about him, so she just shrugged. Though it wasn’t really the first time she had ever thought about him. He just had no idea.

"Yesterday, I was actually looking for you,” Ares said.

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yes, I wanted to drag you deep in the woods, find a secluded spot, wrestle those damn leather pants of yours down, and lick you until you forgot who you were," he drawled.

Vanya shivered at the images he had conjured up in her mind with his words. But she reminded herself how he had kept the truth from her, and so she found her voice again, "Ares, what the hell are you doing here?"

"I can smell you." He cocked his head, his eyes narrowed and darkened with desire. "Your room reeks of your arousal, Vanya.”

Shit. She bit her lower lip. "So what? This is my body and I can do whatever the hell I want with it," she rasped, struggling to maintain a steady and calm tone in her voice.

Her response only drew a smirk from Ares. "I know."

"And? So? What do you want, Ares?" she replied flippantly.  "Look, I don’t really want to talk with you right now. Okay? Not after how you rat me out to my father. And especially not after I―" she paused.

“What?”

"Nothing.” she sighed heavily. “Just leave me alone, please." She scowled and crossed her arms over her chest.

Ares, on the other hand, merely chuckled at what she said and instead took a few steps inside the room. "Do you really want me to leave?"

"Yes! Leave now so I can go back to my bed and relieve myself of all the frustrations and anxiety," she quipped. “Dammit!”

He smiled. "That’s what I really like about you, Vanya. You know what you want, and you’re not shy about declaring it. Now, why don’t we finish what you’ve started?"

"What―"

Without any warning, he walked over to Vanya and carried her to her bed and laid her down.

"Show me where your hands were before I rudely interrupted you." His words made her flush immediately.

Vanya could kick him out, but now that he was in her bed, his body still partially damp from the recent shower and wrapped only in a towel, she couldn't seem to stop the wild beating of her heart and the throbbing between her legs.

Ares leaned in and whispered into her ear, "I dare you, Vanya, to show me."

"Alright, then. You asked for it." She gulped hard and grasped the hem of her nightgown, carefully inching it up to her thigh.

Ares pulled slightly away to look at her. Her eyes dug into his as her other hand moved down between her legs to resume what she had started.