His Crimson Mate

Cheater!

(Janessa's POV)

It has been a little over a week since I began training with Hadeon. As much as I hate his guts, he is a formidable opponent. I surprised him at first with my skills, but he learned early on not to take it easy on me. Now though, I am beginning to dread training. I hate how my body and Hera respond to him. He is a disgusting vile being, but when we are alone at night, just us under the winter stars, he is almost sweet and gentle.

That is until he tries to put me into a chokehold to force me to submit. I rarely submit in our fights and I can tell he secretly loves when I don't. "Come on, it's time to go!" Hera whined through our mind link. I rolled my eyes at her. "I really hope you are not getting your hopes up. We are only doing this to learn his weaknesses. We will still have to reject and kill him soon," I explained to her, and she became quiet and distant.

I walked outside into the cold night air and made my way toward our hidden clearing. I hated how I felt a deep connection to this place, almost like it was home, but I knew it could never be. I fell into a little depression a few weeks back during Christmas and the New Year, and nobody so much as batted an eye.

There was no tree put out or a single light hung. There were no holiday wishes and, for some reason, it really made me homesick and put me into a funk. I was feeling much better now that I could take my pent-up anger out on Hadeon with no repercussions, but the building s****l tension between us was palpable.

I approached the clearing and immediately noticed Hadeon stretching. His muscles bulged through his short-sleeved black shirt. His tattoos looked as if they danced across his skin as his muscles flexed. The cloud of cold air coming from his lips made me grateful wolves ran hot or else we would both be freezing, I'm sure.

"You're late," Hadeon called out as he sensed my approach. "I'm sorry," I responded confidently as I took off my sweatshirt, revealing my black sports bra, and began stretching. "I'm sorry what?" he asked and I rolled my eyes at his pathetic need for dominance. "I'm sorry... Alpha," I spat defiantly. I really hated calling him that. He was no Alpha of mine, just a destructive wolf with a delicate ego.

The smirk on his face let me know he was satisfied with my response as he watched me finish my stretching. Once we were both stretched, we crouched down in our fighting stances to begin. Knowing his strength and fighting techniques, I gave Hadeon no time to think. I began to attack immediately by swinging my fists repeatedly at his face.

I landed a few punches before he grabbed my wrists and pushed me off. I went in with another series of attacks and Hadeon did his best to defend himself. Hadeon had fighting skills, I must admit, but he was like most males, thinking he could use his brute strength to win fights, but very often mental strength is just as important.

Hadeon and I were lost in our own world of close contact combat. Hadeon had his hand wrapped around my neck and I blocked his arm and used a pressure point to make him release me. I then quickly wrapped my arm around his neck and swung myself onto his back, tightly wrapping my legs around his waste.

Hadeon tried to fight me off but couldn't, and shortly after he fell onto his knees. I still held on for dear life hoping he would tap out or, even better, pass out so I could leave him out here to freeze to death.

Suddenly, I felt his arms reach back and a strange sensation began to come from my armpits. I tried to fight the sensation but I couldn't as involuntary laughs began to escape my lips. Is he tickling me? The moment my grip loosened, he pulled me forward and pushed me onto the ground underneath his body. He pinned both my hands above my head and continued his assault of tickles on my body. I screamed and squealed as I squirmed underneath him.

Finally, he stopped his tickle attack as we both tried to contain our laughter. I paused for a moment as I realized that was one of the first times I ever heard a genuine laugh from him and it almost sounded... normal. "Cheater!" I shouted breathlessly as he pinned me down with his body weight. The handsome smirk I hated so much appeared on his face, and I could not stop the wretched butterflies that erupted in my stomach.

Suddenly, we heard a loud scream, and then another. It sounded like chaos had broken loose near the packhouse. "What now," Hadeon grumbled as he stood up, pulling me to my feet, then took off running towards the house. I ran after him, keeping up easily. Something in my gut felt horribly wrong. As we came out of the tree line we saw wolves tearing at what looked like a group of rogues.

"My puppy!" I heard a woman shout in horror. I followed her line of sight and saw a small pup around four being chased by a rabid rogue. Before my body could react, Hadeon took off toward the pup. She slipped and fell, her brown curls covering her face as she shook in fear. The medium-sized, brown, mangy wolf jumped at her and my heart stopped in my chest.

Suddenly, Hadeon jumped in front of the pup. He tried to grab the rogue with his arms but the rogue scratched his shoulder over his chest instead. The little girl let out a fearful scream and my instincts took over. I ran full speed towards Hadeon and the rabid wolf. I bent forward and scooped the crying pup into my arms, never slowing my pace. I ran away from the action and turned around to assess the situation.

Everything had calmed down and now everyone was fearfully staring at the wild rouge and their Alpha. I watched as Hadeon quickly grabbed the rouge by the upper and lower snout and began pulling its jaws apart. The rouge thrashed its body trying to get another scratch in, but Hadeon held his body at a firm distance away. I heard a whimper, then a sickening crack before I saw Hadeon rip the rouge's lower jaw straight off its face.

I could hear a few people vomit at the sight but I shielded the pup's face as I began to carry her over to her mother. Hadeon approached us and looked over the pup like he was making sure she was okay. Did he care? "T-thank you Alpha," the mother stuttered out in fear. Hadeon grunted and glanced around.

I looked around the front lawn and noticed a few bodies besides the rogues lying around. Also, there were a lot of injured people. I even saw a few pups bleeding and injured. Anger began to rise inside as I realized how these poor, stolen pack members were left out here to be slaughtered by rogues! How cocky is he to think rogues couldn't sneak onto his pack grounds in the middle of the night?

"Are you okay?" Hadeon asked me with what almost sounded like concern in his voice. Unfortunately for him, I was getting angrier by the minute. "How reckless can you be?!" I asked him through gritted teeth as I stared him in the eyes. "Lower your tone when you're talking to your Alpha!" he spat even though I could see confusion in his eyes behind my attitude. I scoffed at his insanity.

"Alpha? What kind of Alpha leaves his pack members out in the freezing cold all winter? If they were humans they would have frozen to death! What kind of Alpha leaves his pack members to be openly attacked by rogues in the middle of their sleep? Hmm?.. You're no Alpha!" I spat, my voice rising with every word.

I could see a fire in his eyes as he stared back at me. "These wolves aren't even true Death Shadow members!" he shouted. "Why because they were stolen?!" I responded back in anger. "Ab-sor-bed," he gritted out as if he was tired of explaining it to me. "You're pathetic!" I said and I earned a few gasps from the crowd I had finally realized was still standing right there.

"Watch your tone," Hadeon commanded as he took a threatening step toward me, releasing some of his Alpha aura, which did nothing but piss me off. I noticed others cower and submit to his show of strength, but I would never. Hadeon and I stared at each other intensely without uttering another word.

"Ahem," I heard a feminine voice cough next to us. Hadeon and I looked over at the same time and saw a couple standing next to us. The male was tall and handsome, built like a lumberjack. His face looked familiar and I recognized him as the one who threw me into the dungeons on my first day.

Next to him was a beautiful woman. Her smooth brown skin was the color of mocha and her long black ringlets were pulled up into a messy ponytail. She was breathtaking even as I could tell she had just suddenly woken up from her sleep. The arua around them both screamed they were strong Betas, but if I remember correctly, he was the Gamma of this pack. Clearly a step beneath his rank.

The thing that drew me the most to the female, though, was the look in her large, almond-shaped, chocolate-brown eyes. It was a look I hadn't yet seen on any of the ranked members around here. It was the look of... kindness? The beautiful young lady and I stared at each other without saying anything for a few moments. Who was she?

"Alpha, we have six dead. One was a pup," explained his Gamma. "Damnit!" growled Hadeon as he looked around again. "We need to move the dead, get the injured to the clinic, and clear this mess up," I stated, deciding to take charge. I wouldn't wait around for Hadeon to get a clue. These wolves needed help. Their conditions were sad and pitiful and enough was enough.

I looked around and noticed a few males who looked like warriors standing around. "You four began grabbing the bodies and taking them down to the clinic with the injured. You three, gather up all the dead rogues and burn them. Next time, keep one for questioning. Everyone else begin cleaning up the mangled tents and get this blood cleaned up," I commanded, not trying to scare them by using my Alpha aura.

Everyone looked around hesitantly like they wanted to move but they weren't sure. "You heard her. Get moving!" the sweet voice of the female next to me shouted. Even though her aura was that of a Beta, the force behind her command was definitely of a Gamma. Either way, everyone immediately jumped into action.

"What do you think you're doing?" I heard Hadeon growl lowly in my ear while standing behind me. I spun around to look him in the eye and ended up facing an ugly scratch that stretched from his shoulder to his chest and toward his stomach. I could already tell it was healing, but it was much deeper than I had realized.

I finally looked up into his eyes and said, "I am going to help get this place in order. This is deplorable. I was raised by an Alpha and I can't stand around in good consciousness and continue to watch innocent wolves being treated this way." He looked at me for a moment. I could see the confusion in his eyes like I was some puzzle he just couldn't seem to figure out.

When he didn't say anything for a few moments, I turned around and walked away. I began picking up pieces of tent, bowls, spoons, blankets, and clothing. Many people's belongings were torn to shreds in that unexpected attack and it was sad.

I walked over to a woman on her knees crying in front of an empty spot where a tent used to be. "It's okay, we will get you another tent," I told her soothingly as I rubbed small circles on her back. She let out a loud sob and I sat there with her and let her cry for a few minutes.

"I-it's not just the tent. My mate was killed while helping take over the Blue Ridge Pack a few months back. All I had left of him, his clothes, his pictures, were all destroyed in a matter of minutes," she managed to get out before more sobs racked her body. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and held onto her tightly.

I heard the ground crunching nearby and we both looked up into the eyes of Hadeon. "I-I'm so sorry, A-Alpha. I am g-going to help clean up now," the young widow stuttered before jumping to her feet and running off. I really hated how everyone was so scared of their Alpha. It wasn't supposed to be like this. Respect, yes, but fear, fear can be dangerous amongst a large crowd.

"Why are you still here? You should go to the clinic to get that scratch looked at," I stated drily as I stood up and continued to collect the scraps that were lying around. "I'm helping," he responded matter-of-factly. I stopped in my tracks and looked at him as if he had grown two heads.

"Why?" was all I managed to get out. "Why wouldn't I? This is my pack, is it not?' he asked. "I can't tell. You don't take any pride in this place. It's a dump," I responded with a scoff and an eye roll. Hadeon looked around with his eyes wide open as if he were looking at this place for the first time. "I-I do take pride in this place," he said quietly, with less confidence than I think we were both expecting.

"Then why squander what the Moon Goddess has blessed you with? You have a responsibility to protect this pack and it doesn't seem you take it seriously," I said. Hadeon scoffed, "Now you almost sound like my wolf." I looked at him and a pang of sadness hit me. Who raised him to be so distant and uncaring? This place must have been abused and neglected for a long time.

"Alpha, can I talk to you?" A tall, thin male asked. His shifty brown eyes stared at me in disgust. "What is it, Rick?" Hadeon asked with a hint of annoyance in his voice. "In private," he spat while he still looked at me as if I was the enemy. I could feel his Beta aura spilling from him, but it was weak if you asked me.

I began to walk away when I heard Mr. Shifty eyes say, "You shouldn't even be allowed to wander around. You're a prisoner!" I turned around to rip him a new one when an arm wrapped around my arm and pulled me away. I began to protest when I looked up into those almond-shaped, chocolate-brown eyes and I instantly calmed down.

"My name is Evi," she said softly. I smiled and responded, "I'm Janessa." "I know. You're the Crimson Wolf they stole from Blood Moon," she responded. I smiled at her use of the word stole. Maybe she wasn't like everyone else.

Evi and I moved to another part of the lawn and continued helping. "I've never seen anyone speak to the Alpha that way. He has a terrible temper," Evi stated with a knowing look in her eyes. "Yeah, well I just have a low tolerance for BS I guess," I told her as I grabbed a large trash bag and began throwing things inside.

"Why are you being nice to me? Aren't you a ranked member?" I asked. Even though she seemed sweet, I still had to be guarded. "Yes, I am mated to the Gamma of this pack. Listen, I know they do terrible things, but everyone here isn't evil. My mate has a huge heart and knows right from wrong. Unfortunately, he has a duty to his Alpha. Even Hades isn't as bad as everyone thinks. To me, he is more of a lost pup who still follows his father's command. His father? Now he's the real demon wolf," Evi whispered quietly to me.

My eyes widened in shock. His father was still alive? "W-where's his father?" I asked, scared to hear the answer. "How about you have a private lunch with me tomorrow in the Gamma's chambers?" Evi asked me and I knew this was my opportunity to try and gain an ally. "Okay," I finally replied and she smiled as we continued to quietly clean up the lawn into the early morning.