Chapter 97 Finish it

Chapter 97 Finish it
HER
"Who are you and what are you doing in our territory?"
Damn it. So it wasn’t me Alaor was running away from in terror...
The sheer weight of the situation I was in made me drop the branch, left with absolutely no strength to fight. If I couldn't handle a wounded Alaor, how on earth was I going to handle a dozen werewolves staring down at me as if I were a piece of filth?
"Hi, boys... So, my name is Esmeralda, and you know what? If you want to kill me, just get it over with! I can't take this anymore, okay? I'm exhausted, I'm hurt, and I think I'm about to pass out."
The man standing at the very front looked back and signaled with his hand, and even more wolves emerged from the shadows.
Oh, Allah, can this get any worse?
One of them shifted back into his human form, and I recognized him instantly. I had seen him before in Ares's pack.
"Beta Eli, what the female is saying is true. I met her at the Saturnalia ceremony of the New Moon Pack."
"I remember you... you're General Adanir, right?" I asked, a spark of hope finally flaring up inside me.
"Yes, Luna. What are you doing here, injured like this?"
"I escaped. Allah is the one who brought me here. Please, let me speak with Alpha Derik. He told me I could come to him if I ever needed help!"

HIM
"I hate you, Ares!"
"He has a massive fever and he's breaking into a cold sweat! What is happening to him? He’s getting worse by the minute!"
"What triggered this condition, Lord Zaffir?"
"He fought with the Luna and threw her into the dungeon. When I got here, he was completely unconscious."
"An Alpha who throws his own mate—a born Luna, no less—into a dungeon is a complete idiot!"
"Don't speak of him like that, Lord Agar. He was deeply hurt," Dófona interjected, her voice laced with anxiety. "Besides, it's the law! The Elders of the Supreme Werewolf Council demanded her head. This was the only way to keep her alive."
"Law? To hell with the law! The mate bond is sacred. A born Luna is the very soul of the pack! The Elders of the Council are completely useless; all they know how to do is sit tall on their thrones, with all due respect, Lord Zaffir."
"I never want to see you again! Never come near me again!"
Lord Upyr wasn't bothered by Agar's comment, since he shared the exact same opinion about most of the Council members.
"He has a wound on his neck, and he wouldn't let me touch it to treat it. Could it be infected, or is it poison?" the Upyr asked.
Even while unconscious, Ares kept his hand clamped firmly over his neck.
"Hold his arms down. I need to examine the wound."
"He has to get better. Without him, everything will be lost. The Beta and his sister are acting as if they are the Alphas of this pack, rushing into major decisions with the Elders' approval. Our Luna is locked away, and they intend to turn her into a broodmare—Luna Elvira’s sick suggestion!"
"Beta Elvira, that's what she is! Luna, my ass! You know exactly what I think of that Beta, Dófona!"
"I know, but you can't use your romantic past with her as an argument against a Council Elder, Lord Agar!"
"Humph!" Agar brushed Ares's hand aside, and his eyes widened in shock. "Great Goddess... look at this. He has been marked, and he accepted the mark!"
"Marked? How?" Lord Zaffir knitted his brows, completely blindsided.
"You must be mistaken, Lord Agar. Ares would never accept Estela’s mark!"
The old man let out a dry chuckle.
"Judging by the mark, it wasn't Estela who bit him. Look at the teeth marks. It was the human! Gentlemen, Alpha Ares is a werewolf marked by his human mate!"
"How could something like that even happen? She doesn't carry the toxin!" Lord Zaffir stood there, completely perplexed.
"I don't know, but it happened. Ares is burning up not because he's getting worse, but because his body is adapting to his female's mark after everything that happened. You all know what happens when Alphas are marked by born Lunas, don't you?"
"Oh, by the gods... he is becoming even stronger. We are saved!"
"I hate you! I never want to see you again!"
Ares bolted upright, startling the healers who were tending to him. His skin glistened with sweat dripping down his entire body. His throat was so parched it burned, as if he had swallowed scorching desert sand.
Ignoring the flood of questions from everyone in the room, he stood up on unsteady legs and stumbled into the bathroom.
He turned on the shower, letting the ice-cold water blast over his body without even bothering to strip off his clothes. He felt like he was burning from the inside out; the fever was merely a surface reaction to the volcanic eruption tearing through his body and soul.
His wolf, which had been lost until now, was fully recovered and completely in sync with his third form, tearing through his soul like a hurricane.
Ares puffed out his chest, finally connecting with his true nature after such a long, hollow void, and let out a howl so deafening that the glass windows of the house shattered into pieces.
"Bring my female back. Now!"