Max POV

It had been two days since my mate had been taken. I was losing my mind, and Ares had already gone on a rampage killing everyone my father and the General had captured. He tortured everyone, but they did not know anything. It was like everything was meticulously planned, and nothing got out inside the packs to other rankings.

Every minute was more challenging to control Ares, and I knew I could not block him. I needed his help, but at the same time, he was on the verge of hurting his people. Ares walked in circles inside my mind, and the only thing keeping us together was that we had not felt any pain. For the moment, Julie was safe and not being tortured, but Ares had not felt Aphrodite, not even once, and it was getting him nervous.

Sarah had been working on a tracking spell, but it was leading us to too many different places, and she said the Witch had put a spell on the area they were keeping her. Terry and Karl were working on gathering more Witches to help Sarah break the spell.

My mum walked into my office, stopping my thoughts. "You need to at least lay down for a while, son. You have not slept for nearly three days now."

I rubbed my forehead and looked outside. It was nearly nightfall again. I was tired, but sleep was the least of my priorities. "I will sleep when I find Julie, mum. Knowing she was in danger, I could never sleep comfortably in our bed. And it is not like Ares will let me. He is walking in circles in my mind and cannot quiet down."

"Alpha, you must come here now and bring Sarah with you." Connor's voice came on the mindlink, and it seemed hopeful for the first time in days. They might have found a lead at what remained of Shadows Pack. "I am on my way, Connor."

I got up quickly and walked to the door. "I need to go, Mum. Connor might have found something at the former Shadows Pack." She grabbed my hand before I could leave. "Make Ares sleep, Max. Things can come in his dreams. Maybe Aphrodite cannot reach him normally, but there are always ways for us true mates."

I squeezed her hand. "Ok, mum. I need to go now." I was anxious to see what Connor had found. I grabbed Sarah and drove fast inside my territory, crossing where the wooden borderline used to be. Shadows Pack territory belongs to the Blue Moon now, and my warriors had taken down the other part of the border that did not come down with Ares' roar.

Ger was waiting and brought us to the pack cells. It had another door hidden in the far end; inside, so many Witches were captured. I looked around and could not say how they got there. Ares was raging inside me. "What is this, Ares?"

"Witch hunt. Those are John's souvenirs." I knew if John were not dead, he would feel an excruciating death now by Ares. How could John have done that to those Witches? Sarah looked at me with tears and pointed to the left side. "This is my coven, Alpha Maximus." She ran inside to embrace them.

"We have enough Witches now, Max. They can help Sarah break the spell." Connor had a bright smile, and his wolf eyes sparkled. Ares had stopped for a minute, and I felt light. "Get them all to the pack house, Connor and see to their needs. Get more warriors here to help in the search. We might be able to find more things that John was hiding."

I got outside and shifted quickly. A run would do Ares some good. We ran towards our perfect place, the last place we slept with our mate. When Ares pushed the door with his head to get in, her sweet scent hit us strong. Ares walked to the bedroom, pulled the soft blanket to the ground with his teeth, made a makeshift bed, and lay down on it.

"We can try this, Kid. Your mother might be right, and I don't know what else to do while we wait for the Witches to break the spell." I knew Ares meant for us to try to sleep. I took a deep breath with him and tried to ease my mind. It was chaotic. We slept for two hours till Terry mindlinked me, saying he was back with four Witches from a coven nearby to help.

During my sleep, I felt nothing. "Anything, Ares?" He was quiet and did not comment on the Witches' arrival. "NO!" His voice was upset, and he stood for a little while in his position on the floor. Her scent, at least, had calmed us for a bit, just enough to give us more strength to continue. "We will keep trying, Ares. We will have her soon." Ares nodded and started the journey back to the pack house carrying the blanket in his mouth. Her scent was still fresh on it.

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Julie POV

Since the day Jordan and the other two left, I was alone in this dark room. Uncle Michael's wolf would come in twice a day, sit quietly at the far end of the room and look at my desperate state. He only inhaled my scent with his red glowing eyes in the darkness.

I was unsure how long I had been here, but they had given me nothing to eat or drink, and I was so thirsty. Despite my several attempts, Aphrodite had not answered me, and as I could not feel her, I was afraid she had gone forever.

The door was opened for the first time today, and I could see in the corridor that was already dark outside. The glowing red eyes took a deep whiff, and he seemed pleased. He shut the door behind him with a strong push making a terrible sound in this silent room. "Your scent is different today. It is sweeter. Has your wolf returned?"

He scared me, and I moved behind. His voice was too close. He did not take his usual spot. "No!" I was disgusted by him, and he could feel it. "I cannot feel her. You have killed her as you did to my family." The monster moved quickly and slapped me for my words. With the impact, my head rolled to the left side, and I could feel the copper taste in my mouth. I was already bleeding.

He returned to the door, and I thought he would leave, but no, he turned the lights on. I squished my eyes and looked at him. He put a hand behind his back and took what I feared the most. "I think it is time to teach you a lesson. I did not forget you left me when I told you could never. You are mine, and this will refresh your memory." He swung the Silver riding crop in front of me.

I pulled the chains, trying to escape, and the Silver only burned me and did not break. It made me so weak, and now he would put more Silver inside me with that Silver crop. "Please, A. Wake up. He will hurt me. PLEASEEEEEEE." I screamed from the fear inside my mind to wake her up.

He tied the chains closer to the wall so I would not move. The leash did not let me drag and went behind me to rip the back of Max's shirt I was wearing as a dress. Finally, someone kicked the door opened, and for a minute, I thought it was Ares saving me.

Tania barged in, holding a small man by the neck and threw him to the ground and went on top of him with her claws extended. "Do as I say, or I will kill him." Her voice seemed disturbed, and the Witch stepped into the room.

By the way, the Witch looked at the man. I knew he was her mate. She was a Witch, and he was a wolf. I could smell his wolf. How were they together? The Witch narrowed her eyes. "Jordan will not like that, Tania. We should wait to do it." Whatever they were discussing did not feel good. I felt the room and my body heavy.

"I don't care. Do it now. She killed my father and took Max and the Luna position from me. That Omega cannot be connected to him anymore. I want Max to love me." What are they talking about? Was Tania telling her to kill me? I was Max's true mate and marked not even my death would make him love her.

"What do you want here, Tania? I told you to stay away from her." Uncle Michael finally walked to them, and his eyes were normal. He did not seem pleased, and I hoped they all would leave me alone.

I closed my eyes, searching inside me. Where are you, Max? I asked myself. I knew we had come inside a portal. Even if Aphrodite was back and could reach Ares, we needed to figure out where we were. How would Ares find us?

"Let the Witch do her work, Michael. It will be beneficial for both of us. If she is not connected to Max, you can take her back to the Woodland and make her your mate, and I could leave to the Blue Moon." Tania's voice was firm. She knew what she wanted.

Uncle Michael looked back at me and back to Tania. "All right. Do it now. I cannot stand being here any longer. You are only causing my wolf headaches."

I took deep breaths as the Witch nodded and walked closer. Looking at them, I was finding it hard to control my breathing. I felt weak and alone, but I had to be strong till the end. I was Max's mate; I would never be anyone else.

The Witch got near me. She moved her head from one side to the other, watching me. She paused for a minute and smirked. "It will hurt." I could feel in her words that she was not doing it because Tania had her claws on her mate's neck. She was enjoying all of this because she enjoyed suffering.

She lifted her hands and started chanting loudly. My head fell back, and I screamed so loud that I was sure anyone outside heard. My eyes blinked, and I felt Aphrodite coming to the surface. My neck and my mark burned like I had been burned alive.

My eyes got pink. A strong howl left my mouth, and I shook the chains. Aphrodite was trying to come out, and the Silver chains were not letting her. The Witch stopped the chant. "Hold her, Alpha Michael."

My uncle came behind me, trying to hold me. Aphrodite was already in control, shaking the chains, making it impossible for him to keep us. He pulled my waist closer to his chest, locking my body. "When Ares gets here, you will all be dead. He will excruciatingly kill you all. He does not do mercy." Aphrodite's words had so much hate that I did not think someone that loved so much could feel it. With ragged breaths, I felt happy she was not dead.

"But you, Tania, I will do it myself. I told you if you returned, I would kill you. Don't try to take what is mine." Tania ran towards Aphrodite, but my uncle stopped her. "I won't let you kill her, Tania."

Furiously Tania looked at the Witch. "Start AGAIN!!!" The chant started again, and so did my screams and Aphrodite's howls. The transition kept happening nonstop between who was in control inside me. The Witch was messing with the Moon Goddess' doings and would not end well.

"Tania, please, that is enough for now. Jordan will kill you if you kill her, and you will not get Alpha Maximus if she dies with his mark." The pain finally stopped, and I heard the Witch advising Tania.

"All right. But we will try again tomorrow. Her wolf is awakened now. We should give her another shot of Wolfsbane." Tania seemed upset that it did not work.

"No!" Michael said quickly. My head rolled down, relieved Aphrodite would not be drugged again. He took his dirty hands from my waist and walked towards Tania. "We should wait. It was too much for her today. If we give her Wolfsbane now, we can kill her wolf. The Silver is binding her. She will not go anywhere or contact Maximus."

Now that the show was over, they started to leave me alone, and before the Witch could follow them, I lifted my head and looked at her. "Why are you doing this? Why are you helping them hurt me?"

"I saw just a glance of what Aphrodite's powers are capable of. I want to provoke her to see what else she can do." She has been trying to provoke Aphrodite since the day she came with the Wolf Council.

Aphrodite took control and smiled at her. "My mate will be here soon, Witch, and you will find out what he is capable of. Ares does many more interesting things than I do. But don't worry. You will have a chance to experience those." Aphrodite's eyes sparkled, and I felt hope. Had she contacted Ares? Was he and Max on their way to save us?

What are you guys think? Has Aphrodite been able to contact Ares while she was in pain? Or was she bluffing to gain time?