Chapter 19 - 90 days huh?
"You asked for me, my lord?"
Ares looked over as the girl approached him, her head bowed. He had sent for her the moment he stepped out of his room.
"Yes, Astrid, is it?"
She seemed surprised that he knew her name at all and it showed. "Yes, my lord."
"I want you to go in there and be with Ayla. Can you do that?"
"Yes, of course, my lord."
"Good. I will have anything you both need sent in."
Astrid hesitated.
"Is something wrong?" Ares asked her.
"My lord, did something happen with Ayla? You asking me to be with her in your personal chambers can only mean something is wrong."
"She needs a friend. That is all you need to know."
The girl bowed low and walked into the room.
Now he stood in the silence of the corridor, his hand pressed against the door, listening to the faint murmur of them talking inside.
The tension in his shoulders eased by half a degree then he turned around and walked away heading to Damon’s quarters, the rage flooding back in his veins.
Without knocking, he shoved the door open.
A girl was inside, making his bed and she started with fright at the intrusion before realizing who it was.
"Where is he?" He asked her.
"Prince Damon?"
"Yes, who else would I be asking for?"
"I don’t know, my lord. He hasn’t come in here."
Ares’ eyes swept the room then he backed away and began heading in the direction of the room he had found Damon about to force himself on Ayla.
As he suspected, it was empty too.
Where the fuck was he?
He did not need to look far.
He saw his brother out in the open corridor, his arms folded across his chest as he leaned against a wall.
He looked up as soon as Ares approached.
"Brother..."
Ares did not slow down. His fist connected with Damon’s face.
The impact sent him stumbling sideways. A grunt escaped his lips as blood immediately gushed from his nose.
A nearby servant screamed, scrambling away in fear.
Damon straightened slowly, touching his fingers to his nose. They came away red. He looked at the blood, then at Ares, his eyes narrowing.
Ares grabbed him by the collar and slammed him against the wall.
"Are you fucking crazy? Do you have any idea what you almost did?"
Damon’s jaw tightened as he met his brother’s stare.
"I said..." Ares shoved him again, hard enough that Damon’s head hit the wall. "...do you have any fucking idea?"
"I know what I did." Damon’s throat worked. "I was not thinking straight."
"Oh, you were not thinking at all, you fucking piece of shit."
Ares drew his fist back again.
"Stop!"
Cassian’s voice cut through the chaos.
"What the hell is going on?"
Ares shoved Damon who stumbled back, catching himself before he fell. His fist stayed clenched, his arm trembling with the effort of holding back.
"He tried to force himself on Ayla."
"What did you say?"
"You heard me."
Cassian turned to Damon, his blue eyes hard.
"Is this true?"
Damon’s gaze dropped.
"I was not thinking straight," he repeated.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Cassian whirled on Damon. "Are you so far gone in your damnation that you would rape a girl?"
"I feel like fucking shit about what I did."
"Then why did you do it at all?"
"I do not know."
"You do not know?" Ares stepped forward again, his hands curling into fists. "You do not know?"
"Something came over me." Damon’s voice dropped. "When I touched her. When I tasted her. I could not control it. My wolf..."
"Of course, blame your fucking wolf." Ares cut him off. "If you were not my brother, I would shove your cock so far up your ass, you will choke on..."
"ENOUGH."
The voice thundered like a crack of lightning, freezing all the princes in their place.
Alpha Kieran stood at the end of the corridor, his eyes blazing with fury.
"I heard screaming from my study and I come to find my sons brawling in the hallways like common rogues? Explain yourselves."
No one spoke.
"I said explain yourselves, now!"
Ares was the first to break the silence.
"Damon tried to force himself on Ayla."
Alpha Kieran’s eyes snapped to Damon.
"Is this true?"
Damon did not answer but his silence was enough to figure that it was indeed true.
Alpha Kieran studied his youngest son for a long moment, his expression unreadable.
Then he turned to the guards.
"Clear the hallway. Now."
The guards moved quickly, ushering the servants that had somehow gathered to watch the conflict away.
"Follow me," Alpha Kieran said. "All of you."
He turned and walked toward his study without waiting to see if they followed.
Cassian fell into step behind him. Damon moved next, his head bowed and blood still dripping from his nose where Ares had struck him but Ares did not follow.
His father turned when he noticed this.
"Ares..." He called out.
"I am going to have to pass on this conversation, father."
"It was not a request, son." Alpha Kieran’s eyes flashed.
Ares maintained his stance for a minute or two before he nodded.
"Fine."
He followed after them.
As they walked back inside, his eyes happened on Willow.
She was standing at the end of the hallway, her arms wrapped around herself and from the look on her face, he knew she had heard everything.
Him beating Damon up because of Ayla.
Ever since the whole thing in the study where she had forced herself on him, he had been avoiding her. She also knew better than to appear before him like she was doing now.
Ares’ eyes also caught track of movement in the corner and when he glanced in that direction, he saw Brenna, Ayla’s mother.
She was half hidden behind a pillar and her lips were curved into a small satisfied smile.