Sour Souls The Morningstar Series Book 6
Sour Souls Chapter 21

After Ares left me stunned... We went inside to eat with our friends. I was dazed the whole time, but that did not stop me from stuffing my face. Ares was right too, he does kind of smell like me now. I like it a lot.

Talia and Derek seem to be getting along well with everyone, and I'm thrilled. It's almost like this is where we were always meant to be. All of us. I know I definitely feel like I was always meant to replace Ares. Even if he is an assface most of the time. Not too long after eating and talking, we were back on the road. We have been driving for over two hours. I'm so bored.

"Are we going to be there soon?" I asked Ares.

"Yes." He answered.

"Cool. How soon?" I asked.

Ares rolled his eyes at me. See what I mean? Hot and cold.

"About an hour or so." Karla said from the driver's seat.

"Why don't you just try to take a nap. I'm not sure how long Tia will want to talk to you once we get there." Ares told me.

I snuggled into his body. Gods, he's so warm. I love it. Like my own personal heater.

Sleep claimed me quickly.

************

"Emilia, wake up. We're here." My mate whispered in my ear.

My eyes fluttered open, and I sat up. I yawned, and stretched my body out. Then I looked around.

We are on a small dirt road surrounded by nothing, but lush green forest. The sun is down, but I can still see pretty well. I looked at Ares, and furrowed my brow.

"We are about to pull up to the gates. I thought you would want to see the territory as we drive through." Ares told me.

I beamed at him. "Thank you." I said.

A few minutes later, we came to a very beautiful, and large gate. There are two large men standing outside of it. I leaned over Ares lap to peer out his window.

The two men nodded to Karla, and Kee, and then the gate opened. Karla drove down the road as I peered out of Ares window. Then his window rolled down. I looked down at the button to see Ares fingers on it. Then I looked at him. "Now you can get a better look." He said.

I smiled as I looked back out the window. I took a deep inhale. It smells lovely here. Much better than Blue Water ever smelled.

We passed by several houses, some very large, some small, and some inbetween. I noticed a very large black victorian mansion as well. Damn, I wonder who lives there. Is it maybe housing for the students?

Honi are you seeing this? I asked my wolf.

She hovered to the surface, looking through my eyes.

It's beautiful here. She said.

Maybe we can go for a real run. I told her.

I felt Honi's longing hit me like a train. She's never seen outside that dungeon before. Never. We had our first shift there. There weren't even any windows for her to see the moon. It made us weak for so long. Even since getting out, we haven't had the time. I turned to my mate.

"Can we go for a run tonight?" I asked.

"I don't know if we will have time tonight Emilia." He said.

"We can make time." I pushed.

"Emilia." Ares warned.

"Ares." I warned back in a mocking tone.

Ares sighed. His eyes clouded over for a moment, but then it was gone. Did he just mind link someone?

"We will make time." He said.

I beamed, and looked back out the window.

We always get our way with our mate. Honi said.

Unless we are trying to get in his pants apparently. I grumbled.

Honi just laughed at me.

Eventually, the dirt road turned to pavement, and then the car stopped. I'm looking at probably the largest building I have ever seen it. It looks sort of like a mansion... With two other mansions attached to it. It's huge. This must be the school. It's kind of dark in contrast. Nothing like what I would picture a private school, but it has a warm feeling to it. Almost like a homey feeling. I hope the students here feel that way too.

"Take us to the mansion. I want to show Emilia to our home before we talk to Tia." Ares said.

Karla gave him a single nod before the car started to move again. She turned onto a side dirt road that leads straight to the black mansion. My head whipped to my mate.

"This is our home?" I asked incredulously.

The place is way too big for the two of us. Though, I do love how different it looks. It looks straight out of a horror movie, but has the same warm feeling as the school. I've always loved Victorian style. "Well, it's complicated." Ares said.

I turned my head back to him, and frowned.

"This is where my family lives. After we grew, and started replaceing our mates, Tia and Max renovated half of it into apartments. Well, they are more like condos. My parents, along with my unmated siblings live in the main part of the mansion." Ares said.

"To the side there," he pointed to the side of the mansion, "that is where we will stay. The only ones of my siblings left that live other there with us are; Acaisia, her mate Bou, and their two kids, and Ahkari, her mate Bianca, and their two kids as well." He told me. "What about your other mated siblings?" I asked.

"Well, Aureaila is mated to the Lycan King-"

"One of your sisters is the Lycan Queen?" I interrupted to ask.

Ares smirked. "Yes, the oldest of us." He said.

"Wow.."

"Tia, she is the head of the BOC and school, she and her mate Max have too many kids now to stay in an apartment. They built a house behind the school. Ambrose, his mate Epperly, and their four kids live in another house here. It's the one covered in plants." He said. "Plants?" I asked.

Ares nodded. "It'll make sense soon pet." He told me. "Anyways, my twin Azai, he and his two mates live in another house as well. They have four kids as well with another on the way."

"Two mates?" I asked.

Ares nodded.

"How is that possible?" I asked.

Kee snorted. "If you knew Azai, you'd understand." She said.

"Oh, okay." I said.

"Are you ready to see our apartment?" Ares asked me.

"We have our own?" I asked.

Ares nodded.

I smiled. "Okay.

Ares opened the door to the car, and got out. He held his hand out to me, and I took it. Ares locked our fingers together as he pulled me around the side of the house.

There are five small porches on the side of the house. All wooden. They all have small flower beds that line the porch. Ares lead us to the very last one. I let my fingers trail across the little red flowers. "These are beautiful." I said.

"Thanks, I did them." Ares told me.

I looked up at him, and raised a brow.

"You did? Really?" I asked.

My mate nodded. "Right before I left for the mission to Blue Water. Where I found something very precisous to me." He said.

I blushed.

Hot, and f*****g cold.

"I'm going to put a small swing here." Ares told me as he pointed to the far end of the small porch. "That way, we can sit out here, and enjoy the weather whenever you want. I can string lights around the top too. If Belle helps me, they will glow a warm color that I gaurantee you've never seen before." He said as he trailed his fingers along the awning.

I stared at Ares as he talked about his plans for our porch. He looks so excited to do all of these things. I wouldn't even care if we had a porch in the first place. I'm just happy to see the sun again, and be with my mate.

"Who's Belle?" I asked.

"She's Tia's best friend. She helps run the school. Belle is a Wood Nyphm. She lives in that cottage over there." Ares said as he pointed to a cute little cottage a few yards away.

"Her mate is a Phoenix. They have a few kids together too." He told me.

I turned back to him with a smile.

"Sounds like I have a lot of people to meet." I said.

It sounds lovely honestly.

"You don't have to meet them right away though." Ares said.

"I want to." I told him.

"Emilia, it's already a lot for you to take in." Ares said.

"I know. But I don't care." I replied.

Ares sighed.

"I spent my entire life alone." I said as I stared into his blue eyes. "Even before my mom found her mate. I was always alone. Isolated. Bullied. Then I met Talia, and then Noah was born. Although, things weren't better, but I had people. Then it was all ripped away from me." I told my mate.

Ares gave my hand a squeeze.

"I don't want to be alone anymore. Even if it is overwhelming at first. Even if they all end up hating me for some reason. I.."

I took a deep breath.

"You make me feel like I can do anything. And you make me feel calm. I want to meet them all." I said.

Ares cupped my cheek.

"They will all love you. The same way I do. I promise." He said.

I blushed.

He.. loves me?

Of course he does, he's our mate. Honi said.

Do we love him? I asked her.

Yes we do. Honi said confidently.

I smiled up at my mate.

"We love you too." I said.

Ares face turned a light shade of pink. Did I just make him blush?

"We?" He asked.

I nodded. "Honi and me." I said.

"Did Honi tell you that you both love me?" He asked.

Again, I nodded.

"I asked her if we do, she said yes." I said.

"So, she loves me then." Ares said.

I frowned.

"Am I not allowed to love you?" I asked.

Ares shook his head. "You don't know what love is Emilia. You are just listening to your wolf."

I frowned harder.

"You really love ruining moments don't you?" I grumbled.

"Emili-"

"Shut up." I interrupted him. "You can tell me I'm not ready for sex stuff. Tell me when to eat, when to let you feed. But you cannot tell me how I feel. I love you. So, you can either say thank you, and shut your damn mouth, or... Well, actually, that's it. So, s**k it up." I said.

Ares smiled at me as he held back a chuckle.

"Okay, okay, you love me, geez." He said. "Come, let's see our home."

Ares bent down to get a key from under the mat. It's a cute light brown mat that says 'Welcome' in black cursive. My mate unlocked the front door, and walked in. Ares let go of my hand to walk in, and start flipping on lights.

My breath caught in my throat as I took in the entryway. The ceiling is taller than I expected it to be. There is a beautiful light handing above my head. A closet to my right. I opened it to replace it empty. It's just a small coat closet.

I continued to walk through the apartment. I came out to an open space. There is a living room set up, with a very comfortable looking, gray, L shaped couch. Across from it is a large flat screen TV. In the middle is a long dark wooden small table. There are side tables on either side of the couch with pretty intricate lamps on them.

I see another door to my left, and opened it. This one has extra sheets, blankets, and pillows. Although, they are all white like a hotel or something. I shut the door, and walked to the dinning area.

There is a beautiful small chandelier hanging above a beauiful dark wood table. It matches the colors of the small tables in the living room. There's even a bouquet of flowers in the middle. Across from the table is a wall of windows surrounded by dark green curtains.

"Kitchen looks stocked too." Ares said.

I turned my head in the direction of my mate. Ares is standing in the middle of the kitchen. It's just as amazing as the rest of the house. All dark wood, with granite counter tops. There is an island with a bar top on one side, and the stove built in on the other. Ares is looking through drawers, and cupboards, inspecting everything.

"You act like you've never been in here before." I said with a laugh.

"I haven't." Ares replied without looking at me.

"You haven't?" I asked.

Finally, his deep blue eyes snapped up to me.

"I told you, these are meant for the mated pairs." He said.

"Where did you stay before this?" I asked.

"My bedroom in the main part of the mansion. I called my mom as soon as I found you, and got you out of that dungeon. I asked her to have all of my things moved over here, and get the place stocked. Like I expected, she went all out so far." He said. "So far?" I asked.

Ares nodded. "Well, we haven't seen the bathroom down here yet, or the upstairs." He said. "There's an upstairs?" I asked.

Ares nodded again. He grabbed my hand, and pulled me to a door off of the living room that I didn't notice before. Inside is a small bathroom with a stand in shower. It's cute. All white, with nothing on the walls. Seems that the drawers, and toliet paper is stocked though.

Then Ares dragged me to a set of stairs next to the kitchen. I didn't notice these either. The whole first floor is all dark wood flooring, but that changes as soon as you see the stairs. The stairs are covered in thick light gray fluffy carpet.

Ares lead me up the stairs. I squished my sock covered toes into the fluffy carpet as we walked. We found four guest bedrooms. All had light gray walls, queen sized beds with white blankets like a hotel, and their own bathrooms. How did they even fit so much into an apartment?

The walls are white, and bare. Which kind of surprised me. Downstairs they were a dark red color everywhere. It compliments the dark wood very well. Or, at least I felt that way.

Up here though, its so plain. I wonder why. Maybe they didn't get time to finish it?

Ares stopped in front of a closed door, and turned to me.

"This is our room." He told me.

Then Ares opened the door, and stood to the side as I walked in. I flipped the light on, and gasped. This is by far the largest room here. It's huge. With fluffy carpet to match the rest of the upstairs, and a large bed in the middle of the room.

The bed looks much bigger than the others. The frame is a light gray, with an almost squishy looking headboard. The comforter is a light purple color. Which kind of shocked me. Ares is all black and bleek.

There are bedside tables on either side of the bed. One has an alarm clock on it. The other is bare.

One side of the room is lined with windows. I love it. Being able to see the outside all the time. I bet it will be lovely to wake up with the sun shining on my skin.

The other side of the room has three doors. I walked over to one. When I opened it I found it smells strongly of my mate. It's full of clothes, and other things. This must be Ares closet.

I opened the middle one to see it's a very large bathroom. I walked onto the white, and gold tiled floor. This bathroom is huge. Much bigger than the others in our apartment. There is a huge tub in the corner, with jets.

Big enough for our mate to join us for a bath. Honi said.

You think Ares would join us? I asked.

Yes I do. She replied.

I smiled as I looked at the huge shower with six different shower heads. Ares would most definitely fit in there with me. I really like the fake rock wall in there too. I bet it's lovely.

"Don't like the shower?" Ares asked from the doorway.

I turned my head to look at him.

"Just thinking about how we could both fit in either of these." I said as I gestured to both the shower and tub.

Ares eyes darkened. I held my breath. Those intense eyes...

"Come, you didn't see your closet." He said.

I smiled. "I have a closet?" I asked.

"Of course you do Emilia, don't be silly." Ares said.

I rolled my eyes. "Don't be silly Emilia." I mocked making Ares growl. "I don't even have clothes." I said.

Ares opened the closet door for me.

"I had my mother get some for you. When you start gaining weight, we can get you more." He said.

I looked into the closet, and gasped. It's full. Like, full full. All kinds of clothes are hung up. I wallked in to look at some of them. There is a dresser in here, just like with Ares side. It's full of underwear, bras, pajamas. Anything I could ever need. Tears misted my eyes as I looked up at my mate.

"If there is anything you don't like, we can give it away. We have a sort of set up here for the students who are orphans." Ares told me.

"I can't believe you all did this for me." I said softly.

Ares walked into the closet, and wrapped his arms around me from the side.

"You are my mate Emilia. You will always be loved, and taken care of here." He told me.

I stared down at the dresser as tears began to fall from my eyes. Never in my life have I been this cared for. Just a few days ago I was being beaten almost every day. My life was nothing but t*****e.

It's changed so much.

Now.. Now, I have a mate who actually cares, and loves me. He took me from the darkness, killed those who hurt me, and brought me into a light I never thought I'd replace. I'm fed, I get to sleep. Hell, I have my own apartment with my mate, a stocked closet. "Hey, why are you crying?"

I don't think I've heard Ares voice so soft before. Which just made me cry more.

"I just.. I never thought that I would live this long, let alone get out of that dungeon. And now.. I have all of this." I said looking up at Ares.

"It's too much for you." He said.

I shook my head. "No, it's lovely. I mean, I would have been happy just having you. Even if we lived in a shed. I just.. wasn't expecting all of this when you rescued me." I admitted.

Ares kissed my forehead.

"You deserve all of this Emilia." He said.

I smiled, and turned my body into Ares. I slumped against him as I rested my hands on his chest. This isn't a dream right?

No, Emi it is not. Honi said.

"I hate to pull you away from here so soon, but.. Are you ready to go talk with my sister?" Ares asked.

I pulled away, and wiped my face.

"Yeah, let's go."