The God of War - Editing
Sleeping Potion

Julie’s POV

Beta Terry arrived with a food tray that smelled divine. “Hello, Julie. I can see you are finally awake. I felt frightened when I came to bring you dinner upon your arrival. You were unresponsive.” I felt embarrassed for creating all this disturbance. What was my mate thinking of me? “I am sorry, Beta Terry. I did not mean to.”

He smiled and waved his hand. “Don’t worry about it. The trip was long, I understand.” He left the food tray on the small table and disappeared to another door. I could hear the running water, and it must be the bathroom. On Beta Terry’s return, he said. “Now, I ran you a bath. It would be best if you relaxed a little after everything. I put your things inside the dressing room” Beta Terry moved his head to another door indicating the place.

“I will be back to bring your dinner. Just relax for now. By the way, the steak was provided by Ares.” I blushed. And Aphrodite was wagging her tail. “See, I told you our mate must be in love. He is bearing gifts already.”

“Thank you very much, Beta Terry. You are very kind.” I was confused. Terry was a Beta. Betas have too many serious responsibilities, and I can only imagine the amount of work in a pack this size. Why was he nicely playing Omega? A female Omega should be looking after me, now that I was to become their Luna, and doing those non-essential things. He left the room, and I heard the lock clicking. “Jules, did he just lock us in the room?”

“I think he did lock it. Are we in any danger, Aphrodite? I know this is a strong pack of warriors. But do you think they can get here and hurt us?” Aphrodite moved around, thinking. “Even if we are in danger, Jules, I am unable to sense it. But it doesn’t matter. Now we have a strong mate to protect us.”

I took a deep breath and thought about my family. “That is true. My father protected my mother till the end. It might be because we have not been introduced to the pack yet. We are rogues at the moment. Better stay inside till the Luna ceremony.”

“Yes, Jules, we can’t afford to run into trouble. Now eat our food. It smells delicious. I can’t wait to taste what Ares got us and have a well-deserved bath.” I laughed. “Oh yes! I have not had a warm bath since I was twelve.”

The delicious food and the bath Beta Terry prepared were to die for. The bathroom was even more luxurious than my father’s one at the pack, and everything seemed expensive. It was dark outside, and I was getting nervous. I did not know when my mate finished his Alpha duties and if he would have dinner with me. Would he replace me pretty even when I could not look at my skinny face in the mirror?

I was wearing a long sleeve white top and jeans, both engulfing my frame. But even though I was nervous, I wanted to see him. I wanted him to hold me in his arms like Aphrodite said he did. I felt calm again, and I knew it was Aphrodite sensing my discomfort and trying to help me. The door clicked open, and in walked Beta Terry with a tray. I am sure he could feel my disappointment. He knew I wanted it to be my mate.

He gave me an apologetic smile and put the tray on the small table. “How was your day, Julie? Were you able to relax?” I went to sit on the sofa. “Thank you for the food. My day was good. The bath was lovely. I feel rested now, thanks to you.”

“Speaking of baths, I got you something.” He put a small glass flask on the table. “I drove to a witch that works with the pack. She lost her coven, and we provided her with safety. In exchange, she helps the pack when needed. She made the potion especially for you. It will help you heal and sleep.”

I was looking at him. I did not know what to say. Could it be an evil potion to take away my mate? I had heard stories when I was a kid. But Beta Terry looked sincere and has been kind to me so far. I could not tell if he was tricking me. He gave a reassuring smile. “I will prepare another bath for you while you eat. We should put the potion into the bath. You can soak in before bed.”

I nodded and sat to eat. Again the food was delicious, and Beta Terry was right. The pack’s food is much better than the one from the diner. Beta Terry sat and talked about his duties while I finished dinner. He had mentioned that the Alpha was very busy and trying to catch up on the things he missed while visiting my former pack. When he said goodnight, I did not dare to ask if my mate was coming to see me later.

When it was time for the bath, Aphrodite had nothing to say about it. She could not sense anything even if she wanted to. I said a prayer to the Moon Goddess and got inside it. The minute I soaked in, I felt relaxed and sleepy. After a while, I got into my long brown shirt and fell asleep in less than five minutes.

*******

Max’s POV

I was having dinner with my pack. My day had been a disaster. I could not get anything done. Ares was whining every five minutes wanting his bloody mate. The only thing I could do without him blabbing was training. And oh boy, at least on it I kicked some ass. Terry took a seat on my left, and I knew he was late because of the little wolf.

And like I did not already have Ares in my head complaining, he came to the mindlink with his complaints. “Everything is as you requested. She is fed. However, I should not be the one providing for her. It is a mate’s job.” I snarled on the mindlink. But it did not affect Terry, and he kept going.

He put a key on the table. “I got you a copy in case you want to see her. She is locked there like a prisoner. I also visited Sarah, the witch, today, and she made her a healing potion. I asked Sarah to add a sleep potion to it. She will be in a deep sleep. You can see her if Ares gives you a hard time before bed. She won’t wake up. You are welcome.”

With that, he got up and did not stay to have dinner with me. I knew it was just the beginning, and I was curious about which would be more challenging to handle, Terry or Ares. It was after dinner when my phone rang. And I quickly blocked Ares. Alpha John from the Shadows Pack was calling. He wanted to discuss the logistics of the visit.

With everything happening, I completely forgot about it. We had settled it before I left for that trip to hell. And I already knew I would have a problem with Ares when he found out about it. Alpha John was pushing hard to renew our Alliance. And, of course, I knew who was the one behind it, his daughter Tania.

The Alliance benefited both packs. We shared borders. They were a good sizeable pack of skilled men. Every year John organises an extravagant mating ball for my men to look for their mates. We have easy access to the pack and no trouble on our south borders. Because of it, we rarely have problems with rogues getting inside the pack from there. I could concentrate the night patrol in other areas, and my men are happier as fewer people must do night shifts, allowing them to sleep with their mates more often.

My pack had more skilled warriors than his. They knew they could rely on us when someone challenged them. We had fought their wars many times because of our Alliance. If we did not close the deal, John’s pack would suffer more than mine. But he was stupid enough to risk the safety of his pack because of his daughter’s wants.

Of course, the new deal had to be his daughter’s doing. The terms had been the same since my great-grandfather. Now John wanted me to mate with Tania in order to keep our agreement.

I met Tania when I returned from Alpha training camp, ready to start my duties as Alpha. It was my twenty-first birthday, and we had a big party, inviting all the ally packs. Of course, it was also an opportunity for Ares and I to replace our mate.

There were many people, but we did not replace our mate. Tania was not keen to save anything for her destined mate, nor was she interested in replaceing one. I fooled around with Tania, and she ended the night in my bed. Of course, she was not my first conquest, and I was sure she had mated before.

Many Alpha’s daughters travel around packs looking for their mates. But not Tania. She has always wanted me as her mate. Tania wanted to be my Luna., saying she wanted a powerful Alpha and pack, and I was it.

Tania is beautiful and charming. She had been trained to be a strong Luna since she was a pup, and I was okay with accepting her into Blue Moon. I would not have to worry about breaking her in half or that Tania would not heal in case a war happened. She would not easily get hurt and die, killing me in the process.

I did not promise John anything before I left for that goddammit trip. I invited him for a visit and a party. I said I would consider it. But when Ares hears that I am taking Tania as our mate, he will flip.

I lowered my walls. It was eleven in the evening. Ares was already antsy, waiting. “You know, you got to stop doing that. It is like you have some secret you don’t want me to discover. Your phone rang, and you blocked me.”

Annoyed, I massaged my forehead “I blocked you, Ares, because you haven’t been able to shut up for a minute since we left for that awful pack nearly a week ago. I’m running a pack here, pal. I have to concentrate, and you aren’t letting me.”

He stood up. “Whatever, Max. You better bring me to my mate now. It is late, and there is zero chance I will let you sleep tonight if you don’t let me see her. I have been patiently waiting for you the whole day.”

I groaned. “Ares, if there is one thing you don’t have, it is patience.” I walked to her room and used the key Terry had given me. “Why did you lock the door, Max?” Of course, he would not understand my answer. If he could, he would be in the room with her all day till she could leave. “Because I don’t want anyone seeing her, Ares. Remember, no marking her or I will take away all your privileges with her.”

He whined. “I hate you sometimes. Do you know that?” When I opened the door, he breathed into her scent. And odd enough, all my worries were gone. “Look, she is already sleeping. I told you we should have stopped working and gone to her earlier.” I was annoyed with all this talking about the girl. “Stop, Ares! You wanted to see her, we are here. She needs healing. Now enjoy your time with her while you can.”

He perked his ears up. “What is that supposed to mean, Max?” I sighed. There was a better time to tell him the truth. “Nothing, Ares.” He walked to the bed and said in a harsh tone. “Fine. But we are sleeping here again.” He took my clothes off, leaving us only in boxers. I knew it would be harder to handle. With more exposed skin, I would feel more of the sparks. Ares lay beside her and took her to his chest. She was wearing a long sleeve shirt to her knees, and I could feel the sparks on my legs.

Ares happily said in a very soothing voice, like he was not the most feral monster on Earth. “Isn’t her scent calming, Max? Moon Goddess did a great job giving this sweet little one to us. She is perfect.”

Ares embraced her further, burying his nose in her hair, and I was afraid she would wake, but just as Terry said, she was in a deep sleep. I did not want to feel her. I took a deep breath and blocked my senses, going numb.

Max is hiding everything from Ares and is ready to welcome Tania of the Shadows Pack into his life. Will Ares replace out and put a stop to it? Leave your comments below.