Page 63 of Alpha Marked

She chewed the inside of her cheek, remembering Ares' kiss from days before.

Wait. She was supposed to leave for Canada. Had he changed his mind? She'd stay a few more days? Stay a few more days… with him?

She reread the card. Maybe being mated to the hottest man on Earth wasn't the end of the world.

River didsomething she'd never done before. She went to an actual hair salon and got her hair washed, cut, and styled. It'd always been an extravagance she'd never wanted to splurge on before, but for some reason, she wanted to impress Ares. They were fated mates, which meant he was supposed to love her if she looked like she'd romped in a bale of hay and showered in mud, right? Even so, she wanted him to like what he saw when he saw her.

A thrill raced through her as the hair stylist spun her around to see her reflection. Damn! She had no idea her hair could do that. It'd been twisted, braided, poofed, sprayed, and teased into a design River had a hard time figuring out where it began or ended.

"Do you like it?" The hairdresser beamed.

"Absolutely. Thank you, it's… incredible."

He smiled so brightly River thought his face might crack.

Theo stood from his seat and walked to her. "Done?"

River nodded. "Do… do you think Ares will like it?" Her stomach tied in a knot. Stupid. She sounded like a stupid, silly girl with a crush.

Theo gave her a genuine smile. "He will love it, Princess."

The idea warmed River and made her wolf yip.

Okay, calm down, it's just hair.

Her wolf would not be deterred from happiness. She made her pleasure at River's trying to impress Ares clear.

Lachlan went to the counter and placed four-hundred-dollar bills down. Outside, Zeke waited at the corner of the building, and Theo showed her to the sedan and opened the door.

The hairdressers gawked at the window and talked animatedly to each other. She wondered if she'd ever grow used to the attention that came with all the money and influence Ares had. She sure hoped not. She didn't want to be one of those women. She wanted to stay who she was. Grassroots. Down to Earth. Not extravagant. But it wasn't every day a woman met her fated mate, and he took her on a fancy date. So this once, she would deal with the stares and whispers and relish being pampered.

River hadn't plannedon getting more than her hair done, but moments after she returned to the car, her phone buzzed with a text telling her she had an appointment. Confused, she stared at the text until Lachlan pulled up to a day spa. River glanced up in confusion as Theo opened her door for her.

"What are we doing here?" she asked.

His brows furrowed. "Didn't you get the text? You have an appointment."

"For what?"

"Ares said it's for whatever you want."

"I…uh…" Her cheeks heated. She'd never had a massage before, and somehow, having someone else massage her body seemed wrong. Not just that, her wolf would be too irritated to enjoy it. "I'm good. Can we go back to the suite?"

Theo glanced at his phone and back at River. "Don't you want to… you know, do all the stuff they do at spas?"

River snorted, easing her tension. "Theo, we haven't known each other long, but do I seem like the kind of girl who likes spa stuff?"

His eyebrows rose, and a smile crossed his face for the first time since she'd met him. "To be honest, no. But Ares wants you to be happy."

"Taking me to the spa isn't quite my idea of something that would make me happy."

Theo nodded. "I understand, but…"

"Say what you have to say."

He looked at her hard for a moment. "I'm mated, and there isn't anything I wouldn't do for my mate. In the beginning, I knew nothing about her. I bought her all kinds of stuff to make her happy. She accepted all of it and acted like she loved every single thing because she wanted me to be happy. As we got to know each other, we no longer needed to try so hard. We learned what it took to make the other happy. But initially, I wanted to show her I wanted nothing more than her happiness. I did a lot of things and gave her a lot of things I thought would make her happy. In return, she appreciated my effort, even if it wasn't what she wanted."

River thought for a moment. "Are you asking me to go in there and do spa stuff because it will make Ares happy?"

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