Raising Standards, Whipped King, and Electric Connection

~ARES' POV~

Mates. I always thought of which to be a weakness. A target for my enemies to prey on. A distraction that may drive me away from my responsibilities and make me a forgetful person.

Getting even stronger, breaking my limits, growing my powers and protecting my people was the one and only goal of my life.

I remained so focused on my goal that it left me no time to focus on any other emotion. As their King, I had the entirety of the Lycans look up to me and follow my lead. I couldn't spare any time for other things.

Growing up without parents and people who tried to kill me at every step of the way, my emotions froze up over time. It killed all my emotions like love, and I made myself content with it.

I had to be, if I wanted to protect what was precious to me.

The prophecy had foretold me, guided me, but I thought it wouldn't matter. I thought I didn't have it in me. 

Of course, it was all before I met her. 

And I am not sure if I mind it. There was something just so delicate about her that made me feel like ripping the world apart, if it meant she could smile with lively eyes.

When I saw her for the first time, her eyes were tired and dull and dead, reminding me of the times I was lost with no ambition in life.

All the philosophies I was determined to stick with, forgotten with a flick of her fingers.

A couple of days, and I already felt like laying the whole world at her feet.

This is certainly not normal, is it?

I thought I wouldn't feel anything if I were to meet my mate. I was wrong big time.

The gentle breeze rustled the leaves of the nearby trees, creating a soothing melody. Though I found her voice to be the most melodious rhythm that I had become addicted to. 

"You're f-cking adorable."

While that wasn't a lie, I said that mostly to fluster her, so she would look at me with those enchanting eyes of hers.

I couldn't help losing myself in her deep ocean blue eyes that seemed to stretch to eternity. Her gaze was like a tranquil sea on a calm summer's day, a place of serene beauty and infinite mysteries. Those eyes held secrets I longed to discover, depths I yearned to explore.

Deeper than the ocean, her eyes conveyed the same depths as they sparkled under the glow of the moonlight, like sunlight dancing on the water's surface. 

Her eyes were a sanctuary, a haven where I found solace and wanted to drown in. And as I gazed into them, I knew I would willingly sail through any storm, just to find myself lost in the depths of her profound gaze. 

However, she gave me an even sweeter reaction. A small gasp escaped her throat as her head whipped to my side for the second time. Her jaw dropped and mouth fell open as she gawked at me. Her cheeks turned a rosy hue, as if touched by a gentle breeze of embarrassment.

Suppressing a chuckle, I secretly enjoyed the shocked look in her wide eyes.

She was too f-cking adorable for her own good. 

Resisting the urge to touch and caress her dazzling hair, which shimmered under the blue gleam, like liquid silver cascading down her back. Each strand seemed to capture the moon's gentle glow, turning her locks into a celestial masterpiece. 

Her hair, a radiant waterfall of silver, ethereal and otherworldly in the night's embrace, seemed to move with a life of their own, as though they were touched by the very breath of the night.

I couldn't help but be captivated by its beauty, just as I was captivated by the woman who wore it like a crown of stars.

She was ethereal. Angelic. Heavenly. Incandescently ravishing. Exquisitely beautiful. Stunningly lovely. Utterly gorgeous. Mesmerisingly pretty. So wonderful. Heart warming. And every other word that means the same. In all languages that exist. 

Unable to resist my urges for any longer, I raised my hand to caress her hair and feel her rosy cheeks.

She shivered under my touch as I kept my hand pressed on the side of her face. After a second or so, she turned away from me, shaking a little. 

Have I overwhelmed her? Is she scared?

I was about to stand up and give her space when I noticed her bright red ears. 

Oh- 

My little vixen is just furiously shy.

After a minute or so of recomposing herself, she slowly turned towards and gulped. 

"Um, thanks I guess." She awkwardly cleared her throat.

I was unable to maintain my stoic countenance around her any longer, and a rough chuckle escaped my throat, which became the reason for her another surprise fit as she clutched her chest.

A small smile graced her lips as she grinned sweetly, fluttering up her lashes at me. 

"You look so different when you smile or laugh. Though that was too little to consider as a laugh." 

My eyebrow raised into an arch as I suppressed my growing smile.

Before meeting her, I could count on my one finger the amount of times I have smiled or laughed. 

And now it was becoming a regular occurrence.

Just her presence was enough to melt the coldness of my heart and showed me emotions that I never knew existed within me. 

"Different?"

"Yes, you look more pretty when you're not brooding-" 

I smirked as she paused at her words and looked at me to check if I was offended. 

She could say the meanest or cruellest things to me, and I will never be offended. Not by her. 

"Not that you're not pretty otherwise." She blessed me with another pretty smile. 

"Likewise." 

"Likewise?"

"Likewise." I repeated with a smirk at her dumb founded self.

"Likewise, as in...?" 

"As in, you're blindingly beautiful." She checked my eyes to see if I was lying, but I looked at her with all the seriousness in the world.

Her face bloomed like a delicate rose in full springtime bloom as she burned furiously once again at my words. 

"You need to stop it." She murmured quietly while fanning her face with her hands. 

"Stop what?"

"This...flirting and complimenting game you've got going on." 

I let out a huff of breathy laugh. 

"This isn't a game, Erina."

A pause. A turn around. A silent scream. Another pause. 

And then she slowly turned to me again.

My lips twitched into a smirk again.

She was so precious. 

"Then- then what is this?" 

Is it time? Should I tell her?

Letting out a deep sigh, I grasped her small cold hand in my big one, as an electrical jolt shot both our bodies at the same time. 

She looked at me with her confused, wide eyes at the tingling sensations that my touch produced in her. 

"Can you feel this, my Queen?" 

She frowned before touching me again, sending another jolt through our veins. 

"What- what is this..?" 

My blood boiled at that moment and the temptation to burn this pack down became stronger. She didn't know how the mate bond was supposed to feel like. How the connection felt like. 

Guess I will just have to show her then.

Intertwining our hands together, multiple tingles arose that sent shivers down her spine and through mine. I caressed her beautiful face with my other hand, pulling her closer to me by her chin. 

"You are my mate, Erina. Destined and blessed by the goddess, we are mates."