Elena froze, quickly realizing the situation. She had successfully soothed him, but Ares was unexpectedly entering his heat cycle. If she didn't act, he could die, and failure would erase her.

She had no choice.

Males in heat could only find relief through mating with a female.

Marking would completely restore the male's sanity, but it required the female's mental power to entwine with the male's during intercourse, releasing all his turbulent mental power.

Elena's gaze swept over Ares's massive form, towering and frighteningly powerful, and her throat went dry. She swallowed hard and drew a trembling breath before kissing Ares back.

Ares sensed her initiative. He deepened the kiss, his tongue forcefully parting her teeth and tangling with hers in raw hunger. His scorching breath fanned across her face, the mint scent intoxicating her senses.

Ares trailed kisses from her mouth to her neck, teeth scraping against her skin. Since he had been in his beast form earlier, he remained completely naked. Elena could feel his rock-hard cock pressing urgently against her private part.

His shaft was large and burning hot. As he moved, it brushed against her folds, sending waves of tingling pleasure through her body that made her knees weak. She could feel herself growing wet, though she knew that minimal moisture would never be enough to accommodate his thick length.

Ares pinned her beneath him, completely out of control. Every muscle in his body was rigid, his skin burning with fever. His huge cock pressed against her entrance.

No. This body is still a virgin.

Elena managed this clear thought despite his suffocating kisses. She needed to make him release some tension first, and she needed to... prepare herself.

While he buried his face in her neck, licking and biting, Elena reached down with trembling hands. She touched his solid abdomen, then grasped his hot, hard length. Ares immediately let out a satisfied, urgent growl from deep in his throat, thrusting forward into her touch.

His cock was fully exposed before her eyes now, its tip glistening and wet. A powerful male scent filled her nostrils.

No time for hesitation or embarrassment. Elena took a breath, lowered her head, and took his tip into her mouth.

"Mmph..."

Too big. The head stretched her mouth open, pressing down on her tongue as it pushed deeper. She could only take half before her jaw ached unbearably. She worked diligently on what she could manage, swirling her tongue around the tip and sucking hard at the small opening.

Above her, Ares's breathing grew heavy with pleasure.

But it wasn't enough. A large hand suddenly gripped her hair, forcing her head down!

"Gah! Ngh..." His cockhead slammed into the back of her throat.

Elena instantly couldn't breathe. Tears sprang to her eyes as all sounds were choked off. Her throat constricted around the intrusion by reflex, squeezing him tighter. This sensation clearly drove Ares wild-he bucked his hips, beginning to thrust into her mouth.

Elena could only make muffled whimpers as he used her.

Just as her vision started getting spotty, Ares seemed to remember "don't break her yet" and pulled out. Sticky fluid connected to the corner of her mouth as he growled hoarsely, "Open."

Elena tilted her face up, opening her swollen lips. Ares stroked his veiny cock rapidly with his hand. After a few quick pumps, thick streams of cum shot onto her face and into her waiting mouth.

The sight of Elena like this seemed to greatly please Ares's primal side.

He growled, pulling her up from the ground and holding her tightly against him, his large hands massaging her numb knees. But this moment of "tenderness" lasted only a second. In the next, he laid her down on the fur-covered floor and tore off what remained of her clothing.

Elena knew the Ares before her now had only "penetration" and "release" in mind-foreplay wasn't an option.

While he buried his face against her chest, greedily sucking and biting her hardened nipple while his hand roughly kneaded her other breast, Elena slid her hand between her legs.

She was already soaking wet. She carefully put one finger into her tight entrance.

It hurt a little, but the deeper sensation of emptiness and craving overwhelmed the discomfort. She gently moved her finger, trying to relax while searching for spots that would make her wetter. Soon, more slick arousal flowed out, coating her fingers.

That should help...

She thought as she withdrew her hand.

Ares's desire clearly hadn't been satisfied by the oral release-his cock stood just as hard, perhaps even more erect than before.

He spread her legs and positioned his tip against her slick wet pussy.

No pause, no asking permission.

With one powerful thrust, Ares drove inside, using brute strength and the little wetness she'd managed to make!

"AHHH!" Tearing pain instantly shot through her entire body.

Elena screamed, her nails digging deep into Ares's back.

So hot! So painful!

Being filled by that wild, rock-hard cock-the burning heat and rough stretching made her body shake uncontrollably.

Ares panted heavily, clearly uncomfortable.

Entry was difficult; she was too tight.

Elena's instinctive contraction from pain only squeezed him tighter, causing both to groan in discomfort.

The wild Ares didn't understand why getting inside was so hard. He growled in frustration but started thrusting roughly with the little progress he'd made.

Each thrust brought new pain, making her lower stomach hurt badly. Sometimes, his thick head would brush a certain spot inside her, sending sharp electric jolts through her body, but these were quickly overwhelmed by more intense pain.

After what felt like forever, with all the friction and pressure, Elena felt herself getting wetter-her own arousal mixed with what might be blood from the rubbing.

She endured the pain and glanced down. What she saw made her scalp tingle: his massive shaft was buried inside her, stretching her delicate opening to a pale white. The tender flesh was pulled out and pushed back in with each thrust. A shocking length remained outside, the purple-red stem coated with their mixed fluids, his sack below swollen like a sandbag.

Watching herself being taken, the visual intensified the physical sensation. It still hurt, but a strange excitement of being completely filled and possessed emerged from deep within her. Involuntarily, she tightened her pussy, her inner walls starting to eagerly grip his enormous member as more wetness flowed.

Ares immediately felt the change. A satisfied growl rumbled in his throat as he suddenly increased his pace, each thrust more powerful than the last, drilling deep inside her.

Elena bit her lip, attempting to hold back her moans, but it was impossible. An intense spasm of mingled pain and extreme pleasure washed over her. Her vision went white as her core convulsed uncontrollably, releasing a flood of wetness that soaked the fur beneath them.

She was stunned to realize she had climaxed from such brutal sex.

Ares pulled his cock from her vagina, his eyes darkening as he admired her pulsing entrance still contracting after her climax.

Her thighs trembled uncontrollably, but his desire was far from satisfied-his cock remained hard, jutting upward demandingly.

Without warning, he pressed down on her again, folding her legs back against her chest, exposing her completely. This time, there was no hesitation as he drove his entire length into her in one brutal thrust, slamming against her cervix.

"No-wait-AH!" Elena's pleas shattered into broken cries.

Holding her nearly folded in half, Ares began ruthlessly pounding into her. After several savage thrusts, her cervix gave way, allowing him even deeper access.

"AAAGH!" Elena screamed, her voice breaking. Her stomach visibly bulged with each thrust, letting her feel every movement of his cock as it ravaged her deepest parts. Ares placed his palm on her flat stomach, as if wanting to feel himself moving inside her.

He varied his angles and depth-sometimes withdrawing completely before slamming back in, sometimes grinding against her tender inner walls with quick, shallow thrusts. The mixture of unbearable pain and primal pleasure threatened to tear Elena's consciousness apart. Every impact forced broken whimpers from her throat.

When the pain seemed endless, Elena had only one thought left: make it stop.

Now, the only way to end this torment seemed to be making him come.

Fighting through the aching soreness that threatened to tear her body apart and the dizziness clouding her mind, she struggled to move her hips on the rough fur beneath them. Her slick inner walls contracted desperately around him as she begged between sobs, "Cum inside me... please... fill me up..."

Ares paused briefly before unleashing an even more violent assault. After dozens of merciless thrusts, he growled deeply and flooded her newly opened womb with hot spurts of cum.

At the exact moment of his release, Elena felt the base of his cock swell dramatically inside her-a hot, hard knot rapidly expanding, locking her in place as it stretched her entrance beyond what she thought possible.

"No! Too much... AH!" She cried out at this new, more intense pressure. Massive amounts of semen pumped into her deepest parts with nowhere to escape, visibly swelling her lower belly.

Ares released a satisfied, low whimper, trembling as he pulled her closer. Even after finishing, his instincts drove him to press forward, ensuring his knot was buried as deeply as possible, trapping every drop of his seed inside her.

Now!

With their bodies completely joined and locked together, Elena fought through the stretching pain and dizziness. She turned her head sharply and sank her teeth into Ares's exposed neck, her small fangs breaking his skin.

A sharp pain made Ares's body stiffen. A rumbling growl vibrated in his throat, but instead of pushing her away, he held her tighter, as if accepting this deeper confirmation of their bond.

Simultaneously, Elena closed her eyes and concentrated every remaining ounce of strength to thrust her mental power into Ares's chaotic mental consciousness.

In their shared mental consciousness, her spiritual form manifested as an agile, alert leopard cat. At the center of the primal, storm-like mental terrain crouched a massive, majestic black wolf with burning eyes.

The leopard cat ran directly toward the wolf. Instead of the expected violent clash, the wolf simply lowered its head, touching its wet nose to the smaller cat, then extended its rough, broad tongue to lick the cat's fur with intimate, soothing strokes.

An indescribable comfort and sense of connection washed through Elena's entire body with each mental contact.

As their mental power began to intertwine uncontrollably, Elena felt Ares's immense, furry wolf tail possessively wrap around her body.

"Mmm..." A deep, satisfied sigh rumbled from Ares's throat, echoing directly in her ear and throughout her mental consciousness.

The sound was almost magical. Elena's mind went blank as she sank into a warm, soft cloud of sensation.

Intense pleasure exploded from the depths of her soul, washing away most of the pain and exhaustion.

Sweat dripped down her face as her flushed cheeks and dazed eyes showed exactly how she felt. She couldn't help gently licking the bleeding bite mark she'd left on his neck, a permanent sign of their bond.

After they joined both physically and mentally, Elena's mental power deliberately left a small piece of itself in Ares's mental consciousness. That tiny, warm, playful light lovingly rubbed against the black wolf's chin before curling up next to his huge form and making itself at home.

The marking was complete.

Elena slowly pulled the rest of her mental power back. As the last connection to Ares's mental consciousness broke, crushing emptiness and weakness hit her. Her body went limp, too weak to even lift a finger, only able to lie in Ares's still-burning embrace, feeling his knot pulsing deep inside her.

Just then, the familiar robotic voice of the system spoke in her head.

[Congratulations, host. First mission objective successfully completed.]

[Mission evaluation: Perfect. Successfully soothe and mark Ares Hayes.]

[Skill unlocked: 'Self-Healing Ability Lv.1.' Host's physical damage can now self-repair, physical constitution greatly enhanced to B level. Skill can be upgraded through further mission completion.]

[System authority unlock progress: 10%. Function Unlocked: Active Conversation Mode]

Elena sighed with relief. She would live.

About fifteen minutes later, Elena felt the knot inside her gradually receding as Ares's body temperature slowly returned to normal.

Still dazed, she noticed Ares suddenly stiffen beside her as he carefully moved away.

His green eyes still held traces of desire, his tanned skin flushed and sweat trailing down his muscled chest. But when he looked at her, his expression hardened with anger.

"Damn it! You marked me?!"

Ares's fury told Elena he was back to his senses.

Who flips out the moment they regain their mind? Elena thought.

Her mission was complete. She didn't fear him anymore. A female's mental power could soothe a male, not fight-but the mark she had left ensured he could not harm her.

The marking meant he was now bonded to her as her mate. Once bonded, any male who attacked his Matriarch would suffer double damage, whether physical or ability-based.

Elena sat up carefully, wrapping the shredded remnants of her clothes around herself.

"You went into heat suddenly," she explained. "If I hadn't marked you, you would've lost control. You could have killed me or yourself. This saves both of us."

She spoke casually, as if discussing the weather, but her words slapped Ares hard.

"Break the bond." Ares commanded coldly.

"No..." a hoarse voice pleaded in his mind. "I like her scent. I want her to stay..."

"Kael!" Ares roared at his wolf internally. "Get a grip!"

"She was gentle..." Kael's voice filled with yearning. "I want to have many cubs with her... want to protect her..."

Ares knew Kael had already accepted this woman as their mate because of the marking.

"She just took advantage when we lost control!" Ares argued furiously. "Just like every other female who's been chasing us!"

In this world, females were rare, and one female could claim several mates. Pack law was clear-if an Alpha male bonded with a chosen mate first, he couldn't ditch her for his fated mate later. Rejecting her could kill her.

Alphas could only sense their fated mate before being marked. Ares had waited years for his fated mate, turned down every other female, and now? Some stranger marked him while he was out of his mind. His chance at finding his fated mate? Gone.

"But she saved us..." Kael whined.

"She ruined us!" Ares snarled. "Now I'll never find my fated mate!"

Right then, Elena accidentally brushed his sensitive wolf tail. The moan that escaped him was absolutely mortifying.

"Mmm..."

Did I just-

Ares yanked his tail away like it was on fire. This was all the mark's fault.

Once I break the bond, I'll be back to normal.

Ares thought grimly.

"I will do it," Elena said, standing up. "But we'll have to wait until we're back in the Imperial Capital."

Breaking the bond wasn't risk-free. Even if the female broke the bond gently, the male's power level would drop.

Worse, if he had another mental breakdown later, there was a good chance he'd reject any other female's mental power. Which meant death by uncontrolled rage.

Elena knew the rules inside and out. If Ares wanted to risk it, that was his funeral. But they were stuck in the middle of nowhere right now. Even with reduced abilities, he could still squash her like a bug after the mate bond was broken. She wasn't stupid.

Ares caught on immediately-she was using the mate bond as insurance. His fists clenched. The mate bond was locked in place. Years of waiting, all for nothing.

That was when they heard noise from the cave entrance.

A magpie beastman swooped in and shifted into a woman.

"General Ares!" Vera's voice was pure sugar. "Her Majesty sensed your mental power stabilizing, so I rushed right over!"

"You look even more gorgeous now that you're sane again."

Vera kept gushing until she noticed the other female in the cave. Her face went stiff.

"Why aren't you dead?"

Elena gave her a cold glance.

"I completed the mental comfort mission and saved his life. Problem?"

Vera's face darkened. She had planned to offer tender care while Ares was vulnerable and mark him in the process. Now someone had beaten her to it.

When she spotted the leopard-cat mark on Ares's neck, she nearly had a stroke.

"How dare you mark General Ares?!"

Vera shifted to her bird form and dive-bombed Elena, wings flapping like she wanted to shred her alive.

Elena saw it coming a mile away. She swiftly shifted to her leopard-cat form, dodged the attack, and swatted the annoying magpie out of the air with one paw.

Vera hit the ground hard, shrieking as she shifted back to human form with several deep claw marks across her face.

Pathetic.

Elena thought, then turned to Ares.

"I didn't know you had feelings for her. Don't worry. I won't play the third party. The mate bond will be broken."

Ares was puzzled. To him, Vera and Elena were both females seeking him. Yet Elena was rational, restrained, even offering to break the bond.

In this female-dominated world, most females were spoiled rotten and had males falling over themselves to please them.

Apologizing? Some would torture their marked males' minds just for kicks, breaking them for fun.

But this woman was different. Everything she did had a purpose.

"I'll do it as promised," Elena said, not looking at Vera. "Before then, I suggest you consider the consequences carefully."

Hearing about this, Vera perked up like someone had offered her a winning lottery ticket.

Perfect! When Ares needs mental comfort later, I can handle it.

Vera calculated silently.

Once a marked male broke the bond, his power would drop. If Ares fell to 3S, he would be the same rank as her. Surely then he wouldn't look down on her.

As for the risks of switching Matriarch? She didn't care. Ares was a handsome 4S general. That was enough.

"Ares, we can finally be together," Vera said softly, eyes full of longing. "Even if you've been marked before, I'm still willing to give you the position of first mate."

Ares looked at her with disgust.

"You think I don't know what you're planning?" he said coldly. "When I lost control, the Empire sent females for mental comfort. You weren't among them."

"You knew my level was too high. Anyone attempting mental comfort might die. So you stayed far away."

"Now that I'm stable, you rush over pretending devotion? Even dreaming of becoming my mate after she breaks the bond?"

He let out a short, mocking laugh.

"How ridiculous."

Compared with the risks of losing power and suffering another mental collapse, keeping Elena as his Matriarch was the better choice.

Besides, Kael clearly favored her.

She couldn't possibly be his fated mate. Later, he would draft an agreement-paying Elena for mental comfort, nothing more.

Ares turned to Elena.

"Don't break the bond. I have no relationship with Vera. You will continue as my Matriarch."

Elena quietly let out a breath. At least she wouldn't be the other woman.

Vera's eyes instantly reddened with rage.

"Ares, you'd choose her over me?" she snapped.

"My fertility rating is B-class! With me, you'd have a chance at offspring! She has no fertility value at all!"

In this interstellar world, even advanced technology couldn't improve fertility. Cubs were becoming rarer every year.

"You think I'd want cubs with a female who ran away when I needed her most?" Ares sneered. "I'd rather have none than take a coward who profits from someone else's misfortune."

Just then, the low hum of a hover vehicle sounded outside the cave, followed by approaching footsteps.

Elena glanced toward the entrance.

A silver-haired man stepped inside first, dressed in a long black coat trimmed with gold at the collar and cuffs. His deep, magnetic voice echoed through the cave.

"Welcome back, Ares."

At that moment, the System's voice rang in Elena's mind.

[New mission target detected. Preparing to issue new mission.]