Page 86 of Alpha Marked

Theo stepped forward. "I present Prince Ares of Wolvenguard."

Without a word, each Alpha and Beta took a knee and bowed their heads. Again, Ares noted the ones slower to bow and those whose gazes didn't hit the floor. He would need Theo to investigate them as soon as they returned to the estate.

He didn't need to look at the other Alphas to know the things going through their minds.

"Here comes the New Lycan King."

"How did that monster score an Omega?"

"I'm going to rip his throat out one day."

Ares strode to the front of the room and prepared to speak when someone squeezed through the gathered group. Ares stiffened, and Theo and Santiago crossed in front of him as a small woman in a simple black halter dress with a long slit strode to the front of the room and stopped in front of Theo and Santiago.

She was pretty, with a light smattering of makeup. Older, in her forties. Her red hair piled up on her head, and stray wild curls framed her face, refusing to be tamed.

She snarled at Theo and Santiago in annoyance. "Where's my daughter?"

Holy shit. Cherry. He'd not recognized her all dressed up. He should have, though; only Cherry would dare to try and push past Alphas and Betas to find her daughter.

Ares decided he liked Cherry. She may be brash, irrational, and overbearing, but she loved River and would protect River with her own life. And he liked her for it.

Her gaze traveled to Ares, and he inclined his head to her.

"Cherry."

She inclined her head. "Prince Ares."

"My mate, River Whitetail of the Silver Moon clan, is in our penthouse. She preferred to stay somewhere more secure with so many unmated males here."

Cherry studied him for a moment as if deciding something and then nodded. "Smart girl. I'll go to the penthouse then."

Ares nodded to Zeke. "Please take our mother-in-law to her daughters."

Zeke nodded, and Cherry followed him from the room. As if a colossal balloon had popped, the tension in the air deflated. The tall wolf, Strider, followed Cherry out of the room.

"Everyone eat, then we'll talk," Ares announced. And just like that, various Alphas and Betas moved to the buffet and picked up plates.

Many didn't move; they simply kept their eyes on Ares. Several moved to the open bar and ordered a drink. But the few younger, single Alphas worried Ares the most. Their jealous, angry gazes made Ares want to rip each of them apart.

Theo and Santiago moved behind Ares and took up their positions as sentinels.

As Ares did a full sweep of the room, he spied the last person he wanted to see. Vanessa. She stood in the corner by herself, staring straight at him. He signaled Santiago forward with a flick of his fingers. The hand signals he used with his guards had saved him on more than one occasion.

"Boss?"

"What's she doing here?"

Santiago followed Ares's gaze. "She said she wanted to make sure everything ran smoothly."

Ares gave a slight jerk of his head, and Santiago nodded and headed for Vanessa. She didn't wait for Santiago to reach her before she stalked to the door and out the exit.

Ares waited until everyone else had food before going to the buffet table. The room filled with sounds of pleasure as the others ate and drank and chatted. It made him smile. Shifters became much more amenable when they'd eaten a filling meal.

* * *

Cherry's arrivaldid the opposite of making River calmer. She'd questioned River to no end about Ares and what he'd done to her. What she thought of being kept like a prisoner. How she planned on staying true to herself with him dictating everything she did. About leaving for Canada. About what had happened at the Opera. And a million other things setting River more on edge. Thankfully, Strider had realized River's waning patience and urged Cherry to return to the dinner after twenty minutes.

However, when two hours had passed, and Ares hadn't returned, River wanted to rip her skin off.

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