It was pagan black, I couldn't tell if I was sleeping or awake, or how the hell I got to this place. This endless nothingness of doom and my teeth clattering with fear. It was cold, too cold I should say, like standing naked in an icy pond at midnight.
Was I dead?
Better yet... Was I in hell?
But hell was hot, and this place was unnaturally cold.
My eyes darted around maniacally, searching for some form of illumination but it was pointless as it felt as if I was blindfolded, but only I was not. I shuffled in my spot, reaching my hand out, however, I could neither see the outline nor any part of my body.
The darkness was just so impenetrable and surreal!
I felt my heart picking up speed and beating to another rhythm like never before. The quiet and blackness pressed into my ear and I sucked in a chilling breath that seemed to warm my lungs with a strange warmth in this very frigid but sinister place.
"Ares" I whispered desperately but my calling was too hushed and vanished away like a wisp of smoke.
"ARES!" I screamed, with my heart pounding in my ears, and I would have felt some form of reassurance if I heard an echo, that would indicate that there was an end to this blackening veil, but instead, the darkness seemed to swallow up my words.
This was not good.
Fear skittered its way up my spine when the feeling of unforeseen eyes began to watch me until it felt as if they were breathing down my neck. I couldn't take it anymore and I took off in a random direction with closed eyes, too afraid that I'd come across something that would scare my skeleton out of its skin.
My legs collided against each other and I went diving nose-first into the hard ground. I didn't bother to get up though, as my lungs were burning from the lack of oxygen and I just laid there with my hands hiding my face, silently crying and praying to whatever God that ruled my destiny to save me from this hell-hole.
But that was until I realized my sobs were being washed out by someone else's sobs, while the small hairs on my body stood on end. I thought I was the only one here.
I peeped through the openings of my finger, and despite the place being pitch black, I was shocked to see a woman with her knees curled up to her chest and her back to me quietly crying.
I hesitantly stood up but did not move afraid she was playing some kind of trick until she stopped crying momentarily, slightly turning her head.
"Skyler" She called almost like a plea and I jumped a foot off the ground in horror. How did she know my name?
And what made it worst was that it appeared she had no idea that I was standing around seven feet behind her. This was much worse than ten different horror movies...
"Ho- how do you know my name?" I trembled.
"Skyler...Is it really you?" She asked, but it was as if she was speaking to herself, like the idea of me standing behind her was too bizarre.
"Yes," I spoke, raising my voice and taking a step towards her. "Now tell me who you are"
She paused and began turning her head in my direction, while I sucked in a breath and held it. But as I was about to see her face, a white light temporarily blinded my vision and I flew up out of my sleep, breathing hard and ragged as I held my hammering heart.
Two seconds later as I sat upright in the bed, the owl that was always outside my window hooted and all tension left my body, relieved that it was just a nightmare.
The same nightmare that I had been having ever since I woke up from that coma.
Every encounter was the same, I always end up in the same place, seeing the same woman and regaining consciousness before I could even get a glimpse of her face. Not to mention the conflict I felt in deciding whether or not she was alive or dead.
Just who is this woman, and why does she know my name?
I plunged back into the comfort of my bed with a frustrated groan. The idea of sleeping would normally put me at ease, but now it felt like eternal torture. And in a way, I was glad my stomach rumbled as a way to distract me from my mind.
Descending the stairs, I switched on the lights for the living room, not feeling as confident as I did before walking through the darkness. I turned on my heel and nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw Ares laying on the sofa with both of his arms supporting his head on one armrest and his long legs hanging off the other.
I guess it was trivial to go to the kitchen now when this certified snack was already here.
I scowled and mentally face palmed myself for thinking something so preposterous. After standing soundlessly, contemplating, I finally concluded that he was fast asleep from his chest's soft rising and falling.
And like a thief in the night, I tiptoed my way over to where he laid to steel a close-up image of his taut features that was chiseled from stone. Even in his sleep, he didn't look less of a God.
My eyes unashamedly watched as the corded muscles flexed in his arms that were folded behind his head, along with the metro of veins that threaded in his neck until they stopped at an exposed area of his chest where two of his buttons were undone and my cheeks blazed a crimson shade.
But looking alone wasn't enough.
And almost like a toddler about to take its first step, I dubiously reached out my arm, closing my eyes. Afraid that the dragon in its slumber would open its lids, catch me in the act, then would angrily spit its fire at me.
Yet fortunately, that didn't happen.
And I found my arm being tenderly placed against his cheek, marveling at the softness and warmth of it underneath my palm despite it always looking so sharp. My fingers left a trail of intrigue, stopping at a loose lock of hair that was brushing against his forehead, pinching it between the tips of my fingers.
He scowled in his sleep and I quickly retracted my hand not wanting to wake him up. Deciding that was enough touching for one night I turned to walk away but was caught off balance when he reached out and grasped my arm, pulling my body on his.
Strong and hard met small and soft as I went hurling into his body. His eyes were still closed and the hairs on my body vibrated with the nearness, feeling his breath fan across my skin. It didn't occur to me that the position I was in was achingly intimate, not to mention my nightgown that was bundled above my thighs as I straddled his waist.
"Don't you know it is not healthy to be up so late" His voice was bracing and soft, sexual and seductive and a slow heat crawled into my cheeks. I couldn't imagine the sight he would see if he opened his eyes and saw my face right now, but I knew it would be something identical to a tomato.
"I- I don't think it's that late" I answered quietly, not sure if that was a good enough answer and startled at the idea that he was probably awake this whole time, even during my touchy touchy session.
"It's 2:55 Skyler..." He answered suddenly husky and his voice laved across my name like a lover's tongue across the skin. My eyebrows knitted together and I looked over to the clock that was across the room from me to see that it was indeed the time he had said.
How did he know that?
I didn't answer as my mind and breathing were centered on the odd heaviness that had developed in my pelvis area as I straddled him. This warmth was so strange, it felt as if I was absorbing all the heat from a hot pack but I had no idea I was the one who was producing this heat.
I gently raised to swing my leg from around him, but he flexed his arm across my lower spine and my body went crashing into his for a second time while a gasp released from my lips. Because that simple action did something to me... on the inside.
I was not only straddling him now but I was now laying with my hands splayed on his hard pectorals, with our bodies being perfectly pressed against each other as if our shapes were the ideal compliments.
We were close, so close that if I were an inch or two closer, his plump lips would have been mine. However, I was sure that if Cyrus was to burst through those doors right now, he would have to run to wash his eyes with vinegar from the sight.
So thank God it was almost three in the morning.
He seemed contained now and less apt to fly into a rage, so I decided to ask the question that had been tormenting my mind for the longest while.
"Ares" I called softly.
"Hmm," he answered after a second or two.
"Will you let the Court take me away from here? I mean I would have understood if I did something wrong then I'd be more aware of what I'm getting myself into. But I have no idea and that thought scares me" I confessed with my head laying on his chest.
I expelled a breath, unaware that I'd been holding so long until I felt the beginning of a headache. Going to the werewolf court was like standing at the edge of a slippery and treacherous ravine ready to jump off, having no idea how long and how far you would fall.
And to say that I was worried was a massive understatement.
"Yes," He replied and my mind came to a screeching halt. I sat upright looking at him through narrowed slits, biting my lips, hard, to prevent an angry retort.
"Please tell me you are kidding me right now," I breathed in a broken voice, feeling the corners of my lips twitching with bridled wrath. I watched as the curtains of his eyes slowly make way for the earthiest browns, taking in my sight for the first time, like a bear that had just woken up from its hibernation.
"When will you finally see your actions for what they truly are?" I asked with furrowed eyebrows, deeply confused by him.
"Stop..." He trailed off, and I felt him rumble underneath me
Your words and actions are completely contradictory, they pull in a totally opposite direction. How do you even sleep at night knowing that you do things without the regard for the feelings of others?" I continued
"I said stop...
"You know Ares, I thought I was truly getting to know you, but now that I have some form of understanding, I'm just now starting to see how cruel you actually are-
"I said stop goddamit!" He roared, flipping us over so that I was laying on my back and he was hovering over me, with eyes blazing and looking wounded. "You know nothing about me, so don't get the twisted misconception that you do"
"And yes, the court will take you... but will I let them, keep you? The answer is no Skyler" He voiced. "Because I know what's mine and I won't let anything of mine be subjected to any form of suffering on my account. Can't you see that I'm living in hell Skyler, hmm? And I had no idea that I was being burnt by the flames until you came into my life"
"Yet if I was the same man I was years ago, I would have brought another crusade upon this world at the very thought of taking you away from me. But I can't, especially now that I have something worth protecting, so sending you there is the best decision for the sake of peace"
"Do you really think that low of me, am I that evil to you?" He asked softly and his voice sounded sore.
I was speechless and in the intervals of him waiting on me to answer him, I realized that behind his beautiful eyes was the soul of a man that was long gone, wounded, and in need of both redemption and repair.
I felt like a potato right now.
"No" I murmured. "I don't think you're evil" But you are selfish...
"Then why do you keep on provoking me?" He asked, inching his body closer towards my center but I was too regretful to answer. He exuded a sexual vitality that I was very entranced by and the erotic position, as well as him breathing down on me, made my heart bump and body weak.
His face was edging closer and closer to mine and his eyes wandered to the expanse of my lips, looking at them longer than usual.
"Answer me" He muttered and his voice dropped to a satin whisper while he roamed the croak of my neck with his nose, where his mark was, and one of his hands being tangled in my hair, gently pulling my neck to the side for easier access.
"I- I don't know what to say..." I trailed off and I felt when he sighed, lifted his head from my neck then fell back in his former sleeping position and pulled me over him.
"Then just go to sleep" He ordered and after a while, I went limp in the comfort of his body.
---------------------------
When I woke up the following day, Ares was gone and a blanket was put over me. I couldn't stop myself from smiling, even when I was eating my breakfast.
Maybe he wasn't so bad after all.
I went over to the sink where I place the empty plate on the edge of the sink and proceed to draw the curtains of the window in front of me, but as I looked into the reflection of the glass, the smile on my face dropped and my expression stretched into one of terror.
The plate fell from the sink, shattering, as I spun on my heel in the speed of light, holding on to the sink for dear life.
I could have sworn I saw a woman standing behind me just now!
However, just like any other scary situation, no one was there when I turned around. Were my eyes fooling me? I was so dumbstruck about the idea that I just completely froze, unable to move, for a minute or so.
A knocking at the entrance brought me out of my state of bewilderment but I shook my head, shaking away the thought. It couldn't be...
Without a thought of who was on the other side, I swung open the door and Millena threw her hands over me in an alleviating hug almost knocking me off my feet.
"I was so worried after I heard what happened" She cried, hanging on to my shoulder and I gave her a reassuring smile, pulling away from her.
"It ok, I'm all good no-
I stopped abruptly, not even finishing my sentence. My stomach churned and I had to stop my breath to prevent my stomach content from rising to my mouth, while a stab of terror pierced through me at what I saw standing around two feet behind Millena.
Millena looked at me, but I didn't even spare her a glance before she followed where my eyes were planted and turned around as if she wasn't seeing what I saw.
"What are you looking at" She chuckled, knitting her eyebrows together, and I felt my heart leap in my throat. She didn't see her, but she was standing right there!
When I woke up from the coma, I was positive I saw something, better yet someone, and that someone was standing in front of me. I remembered who I saw now.
"Primrose"