Hey guys, for everyone wondering, I had my last surgery yesterday! Will be in recovery for two weeks but finally I'm done getting sliced up lulz. Enjoy the update (you probably won't).

I throw the note on the table. "The little snake bitch double crossed us," I hiss, my body shaking in rage as I imagine ripping the head off that fucking Seer.

Killian reads the note, frowning as he does so. "I don't get it."

He hands the note to Thane, who also reads it with a puzzled expression. "Cain is gone?" He asks, and for the first time, Thane's typically bored expression is marred with worry.

I nod. "I went to track him after... after Katrina talked to the two of you," I say to Thane. Killian didn't need to know the details of what she told them. "I found the note. The Seer-Bitch... She told Cain everything so he would get mad and stray far from the territory so her fucking partners in crime could steal him."

Killian's head cocks to the side slightly. "Katrina wouldn't work with the Moon Goddess."

I snort. "Seriously, Killian? I don't know what the hell kind of trance the little witch put you under but-"

"Don't," He warns, his voice uncharacteristically dark. "Don't ever talk about her like that. I'm telling you: She wouldn't do this for no reason."

"You don't even know her!" I yell, my eyes blazing. "Don't you dare tell me what she would or wouldn't do. She only told Cain so that he would get mad enough to leave, so she could blackmail me into not killing Selene. Unless you know some part of her plan that I'm not privy to?"

He gives me a blank stare.

"That's what I thought," I sigh, sitting back in Cain's chair. "Here's what I say we should do: Destroy Iron Claw and then go after Selene, with enough time left to spare to save Cain."

Thane looks at me in bewilderment. "Ares, you can't seriously be suggesting going to war without Cain."

I shrug. "Why not? I know we can decimate them easily. It'll happen even easier with me out on the field."

Killian thoughtfully says, "I agree. I think we can slaughter them easily, with or without Cain. We'll have enough time before the eclipse."

"You're taking a lot of risks," Thane warns. "To assume that you'll have enough time to kill Selene and still find Cain."

I shrug. "It's our only option. Now, will you both back me in battle or not?"

Killian grins. "It'll be a great pleasure to see you in action, Ares."

Thane sighs, rubbing his temples. "This is borderline suicidal," He mutters. "But I'm in. For Cain, for the future of Blood Lake."

I exhale in relief. "Then we should go get some sleep. Tomorrow, we go to war. And we take no survivors."

***

We stare at Blood Lake for a few moments.

Finally, Killian speaks. "So the knife, the destroyer of a God, is somewhere down in there?"

I nod. "Whatever magic Selene used to protect Blood Lake is also stopping me from summoning it."

Last night, once I went to bed, I tried to summon Helios' cursed dagger, but failed. The only explanation was that Selene was blocking my Gift in a desperate attempt to stop her own assassination.

Coward.

"So, what's the plan?" Killian asked, the circles under his eyes dark. He must have gotten just about as much sleep as I had last night. We woke up at the crack of dawn to prepare for war.

I throw of my cloak and pull off my shirt. "There is no plan."

Thane blanches as I kick off my shoes and pull down my leggings, leaving myself in nothing put my bra and panties.

"Ares, as much as I appreciate seeing you in your undergarments," Killian begins, looking at me warily. "And believe me when I say I appreciate it immensely- please tell me what the hell you're doing."

I look down at Blood Lake, the water so cold, I see chunks of ice floating in it. Well, this wouldn't be pleasant at all.

"I'm getting the knife, stupid," I tell Killian, running towards the ledge.

And I dive into Blood Lake.

I hear Thane and Killian gasp as my body plummets down headfirst off the cliff.

I fall for what seems like years before I hit the water. The water feels like concrete on my skin. The feeling of pain is immediately replaces as it feels like ice coats every inch of my skin.

I open my eyes, and realize that I can see under water, even though my eyes nearly freeze solid as I do so.

I swim deeper and deeper until I see the floor of the lake, ignoring the way that the freezing water desperately tries to paralyze me.

I search the floor of the lake, knowing that I only have a minute or so before I'm completely out of oxygen or frozen solid, whichever happens first.
And then I spot the knife.

It sits on the floor of Blood Lake, shining like nothing is wrong. I push against the waves, fighting to get to the knife, and when I grip it, I realize that I've been without oxygen for far too long, and there's a decent chance I drown in this cursed lake.

Black dots spot my vision, and I nearly miss the dark oval in my line of sight.

Killian. He sent me a portal to escape in.

I swim towards the portal, still feeling the effects of the lack of oxygen. My hand barely touches the portal, and then it feels like I'm falling through the darkness.

I fall forever, until I'm finally able to breathe again. I cough, spitting up the water of that fucking lake. Thane and Killian lean over me, and I feel cold air hitting my skin, but the air is welcomed.

I gasp through the vomiting until the water is out of my lungs and is replaced with air. Killian smacks the hell out of my back, aiding the process.

I inhale deeply when it's all over, ignoring Thane and Killian's concerned stare, only caring about the oxygen that fills my lungs. It was a close call, too close, and it reminds me of Samuel yanking the air out of my lungs and killing me.

"Stupid," Killian mutters once I'm done throwing up the water. "Stupid girl. Do you realize how cold it is down there? You could have died."

I greedily inhale more air until I'm certain that it isn't going anywhere. "It worked, didnt it?" I say, sitting up as I hold the knife victoriously.

Thane exhales in relief. "You know you have to be alive in order to kill Selene, right?"

I roll my eyes. Obviously.

"Someone give me my fucking clothes. It's fucking
cold."

***

"No fear, no mercy," I yell to my wolves, who howl in response.

None of them dared to ask questions when I told them that I would be leading into battle. They knew they would be risking a death worse than whatever they would face at the hands of Iron Claw.

Even Axel must have seen the dead, insane look in my eyes when I told him the change in plans, because he didn't demand to keep me locked up until Cain returned.

Nothing would stop me on my quest for blood.

Not even my missing mate.

Thane's POV:

"No fear, no mercy!" Ares yells the battle cry, as though nothing was wrong, as though her mate wasn't being tortured and possibly killed as she spoke.

Blood Lake wolves howled, gazing in admiration at the person leading them into battle. I'm sure even I looked at her in admiration.

War paint decorated her face in swirls of red, traditional for Blood Lake Alphas. Until Ares, I had only seen that paint on Cain.

She was on the front lines, looking at the enemy wolves with hatred in her eyes. I stood to her left, and Killian to her right.

Alpha Reed was far in the back, well hidden behind his warriors, like the coward he is.

It didn't matter. I would tear him apart all the same. If not me, then Ares.

Ares, covered in the war paint, who meant her battle cry. She had no fear in herself as she braced herself against our enemy. Completely composed, as always.

I make the first move of the battle, using my magic to hold the Iron Claw in place, completely paralyzed.

Ares looks at me in surprise, and I give her a cocky grin. She had asked me what I had up my sleeve, and I told her she would have to see for herself.

But my magic wouldn't last long.

Unlike Onyx, there was a limited amount of magic in my reservoir. Onyx would have been able to paralyze them until the end of time, so long as she had living things to drain, but my power was limited.

Ares rushes at the enemy wolves along with the other Blood Lake wolves. Wolves of my own attack Iron Claw, but they know to protect themselves above all else. Blood Lake wolves would tear apart Iron Claw, no matter their own personal safety.

I focus on my magic, straining to keep as many of the enemy wolves in place for as long as I can before my energy is depleted.

Killian is a phantom on the field, popping up in front of wolves randomly, only to deliver lethal blows with his claws and disappearing before they even realize that they're about to die.

But with Ares, the fighting is much more personal. I watch her tear through the battle field, and while I watch, it's almost like I'm the one who's paralyzed.

Ares was born for the battlefield. I realize that as I watch her kill wolf after wolf. Despite the fact that nearly everyone on the battlefield is twice her size, she takes them down before they have time to hesitate.

She holds two swords in her hands, and I can tell that they're heavy. But it doesn't slow her down, not in the slightest. There is no hesitation as she brutally decapitates wolf after wolf, in human form or not.

For her, fighting is an art form. All of her moves are clean, concise, despite the chaos that rages all around her, she maintains complete control of those around her. Her attacks are precise, like she knows what moves they're going to make before they even decide to make them.

And then my magic is completely depleted, not a drop left inside of me.

The wolves who were previously paralyzed gain control over their bodies, and begin to attack.
Since my magic is gone, I then put my focus in destroying our enemies. Ares had given me weapons before the battle, telling me that my wolf was weak compared to my human form with weapons.

If it were anyone else who said that to me, I would have shifted into my wolf just to show them how easily I could tear out their throat with my canines. But since it was Ares, all I did was laugh and half-heartedly threaten her, to which she responded with an equal amount of enthusiasm over the prospect of fighting me.

I try to ignore her on the battlefield as I stab wolf after wolf, but it's impossible to ignore the total force of nature she is.

Even the enemy wolves pause their assault to watch her in action, and I couldn't blame them. She was like a hurricane, causing death and destruction wherever she went.

Now that all of the wolves were unparalyzed, they focused their attention on the biggest threat: Ares.
Even with two other Alphas on the field, all of the wolves targeted Ares, undoubtedly knowing that she was the real menace.

It didn't seem to faze Ares. She cut down wolf after wolf, even when three would attack her at once. She never summoned new weapons, only using those two swords to destroy wolf after wolf.

With every wolf she killed, two more took their place, desperate to be the one who killed the Blood Luna.

I knew that Ares was lethal, dangerous beyond measure from our interactions in the woods, but it was nothing compared to what she was like in war.

In war, with a real threat present, she wasted no time toying with those on the receiving ends of her blades. Even the most skilled Iron Claw warriors could do nothing against her wrath.

I plunge my daggers into wolf after wolf, fighting to get near Ares before she got overwhelmed. And then I realized what she was doing.

She was pushing deeper and deeper in the enemy lines, creating a path so that she could reach the lazy Alpha that did nothing to help his own wolves, even though they were being slaughtered by the one he sought to annihilate.

Killian was near Ares, and I realized that he was paying close attention to wolves that attacked Ares with a vengeance. He killed most of them before they got within a five foot radius. Even when I had fought alongside him and Cain in past wars, he never paid that much attention to us. He was entirely devoted to protecting Ares, just as I am.

Ares finally reaches the Iron Claw Alpha, who smiles at her cruelty. I think they share a few words, but I can't hear over the sound of snarls and weapons colliding.

I push through the wolves, killing anyone stupid enough to get in my path. Killian lost focus on Ares, consumed with a gaggle of wolves attacking his own warriors.

Leo was holding his own, tearing wolves apart in his wolf form, and as I fought to get closer to Ares, I sent a silent prayer to whoever may be listening to let him live long enough to see the birth of his child.

Even as I slaughtered wolf after wolf, feeling nothing but cold indifference, I kept my eyes on Ares, who was fighting with the Alpha of Iron Claw.

He must have extremely thorough weapons training himself, because he fought against the Blood Luna with ease. Not an easy feat.

He must have been given the Gift of speed, because his movements were too fast for the naked eye to see clearly, and I realized too late that Ares was losing their duel.

With every cut she made on him, he made two more on her, but she did not yield. Even though I could smell her blood, she gave no indication that she was being brutally slashed.

I kill three more wolves in my way before I finally reach them, and the Alpha smartly retreats, taking a few steps away from Ares, who pants, and I see her clutching her stomach.

Blood seeps from her body, staining the grass underneath her, and I realize that he must have hit a vital organ or two, because she sways slightly.

And then the Alpha of Iron Claw draws a dagger, and throws it directly to her skull.

Ares doesn't see the quick movement, possibly because of his Gift, or possibly because of her own deadly wounds.

I leap in front of her and take the dagger.

I know as soon as the wolfsbane-soaked silver blade embeds in my spine and through my torso that it's a fatal wound.

Ares screams.

***

Ares' POV

I scream as Thane jumps in front of me and takes Reed's dagger.

Reed was smart, wearing me down with his Gift of speed, cutting away at every inch of me until I nearly passed out from the blood loss.

Killian must have heard my scream, because I see him instantly appear in front of the Alpha of Iron Claw. They begin to fight, but with Killian's teleportation and Reed's speed, I can't see any of their attacks as their movements turn into one large blur.

Thane groans, and I try to catch him, but he's too heavy, and the two of us collapse on the ground.

I rip the knife out of his spine, but even I knew that the wound was fatal. I could smell the wolfsbane from a mile away, not to mention the silver that it covered.

Blood pours out of Thane fast, too fast, and even as I shove my hand into the incision to staunch the blood flow, it doesn't stop.

"You idiot," I whisper in disbelief as beads of sweat drip down Thane's face. "What have you done?"

Thane groans again, his eyes glazing over. "Can't let you have all the glory, now can we?"

I make a horrible choking sound as his blood covers the two of us. Killian still clashes against Reed, and I can't tell who's winning.

"You're not dying," I tell Thane, and I'm not sure who I'm trying to convince. There's so much blood.

Thane laughs weakly, coughing, and blood dribbles from the side of his mouth. "You always were a bad liar."

I mindlink a healer, but they tell me that they're all the way across the battlefield, and it would take time that we didn't have to reach us.

"Cain told me about when you died in Red Crescent," Thane says suddenly, weakly.

"Thane, you're not-"

"When you died. What did you see?" He asks, and his body shivers. He doesn't have much time left.

Thane was going to die in my arms. And there was nothing I could do to stop it. For the first time, I wished for a healing Gift, not one of destruction.

"It was peaceful," I tell him, deciding not to lie to a man on his deathbed. "Everything was over. I was no more. It was the most peace I have ever known."

Thane smiles faintly at my words. "I'm glad I knew everything before I die. I was always deeply disturbed by how much I loved you when I first saw you in the woods."

The woods? He must be talking about when we first met, when I tried to kill him while trying to escape Cain.

I can see Thane fading away, his skin already beginning to turn cold and clammy. My vision becomes obfuscated my tears.

Reed yells in pain, and I see Killian driving a dagger into the heart of the Alpha of Iron Claw. But it's too late. Thane is already on the brink of death.

If I was Onyx, perhaps I would have known what to say to a dying man. And according to Helios, my True Mate.

"Thane, I-"

"Don't," Thane says, and even as the life leaves his body, he finds the strength to reach his hand out to cup my cheek. "You just need to know... You have to know that..."

Thane's eyes roll to the back of his head, and I no longer hear the faint beat of his heart as his body slackens. I hear Blue Moon wolves howl as they feel Thane die.

I sob, still holding his dead body in my arms.

And I never did learn what he wanted me to know.

Ummm, so a few announcements on that note:

- Rest of the book on my Patreon! Don't wait to read the rest of ONYX and Lethal, read it now! Link in bio.

-The 4th book in the Gift Chronicles is on my Patreon also! Read up to Chapter 42!!! Yep, 42 chapters of a whole new book! My patrons won't hesitate to tell you that this is the best book I've ever written.

-Finally, I wanted to announce on Wattpad that I am writing a novella on Patreon about Thane and Ares, in an alternate universe where they were mates from the start. I am on chapter 3 of this story, and it will be EXCLUSIVE to Patreon. Just to clarify, this Thane x Ares book (titled: Our Demons) will ONLY be on Patreon. It will not EVER be posted on Wattpad, ONLY Patreon.

Anyways, RIP Thane, you fine ass mf.

XX
VVITICUS