The stones were unevenly laid in the temple of Ares. They were hard and cold beneath the worshipper's bare knees. The mighty Warrior Princess had come to say a final goodbye. She had been in a hundred battles but Xena felt her heart beat rhythmically hard in her chest, like a drum beat. Would he really come?

Gloomily as the minutes slipped casually by, the strength of the glistening candles grew as the sun sunk lower in the sky outside. No one else had been to this remote temple whilst she had been there, not even a disciple was to be seen. Spiders spun silky webs in the neglected ancient stone work.

With a heavy sigh to herself Xena knew it had been a long shot when she had left Gabrielle in the village at the bottom of the mountain. Unsure herself of the reason she had come. She was no longer one of his pets to do with as he pleased. That much she had made clear to him numerous times. There was only something which still bound them.

Standing up, the warrior fingered then item which had become a part of her. There was no other way. Otherwise he could lay claim to her forever.

Resting her precious Chakram on the alter, Xena remembered fondly the moment Ares had gifted it to her after discovering his protégée's talent for war. Now it only served as a painful reminder of what had been, or perhaps what could have been. The circular ring was unusually heavy to hold. Normally it was an extension of her arm. Now was the time to leave it for a more deserving warrior who could fulfill his wishes dutifully in a way she could not.

"It was a gift," Ares' voice floated down to her charmingly.

Yes, he was handsome.

Xena recounted the passionate nights sprawled under the midnight sky as blood hung dryly in the air. Tall, dark and devishly handsome: a dark deadly combination.

"I thought you didn't care for mortals," Xena gathered her wits, "That the Gods were more important than our mundane human lives."

"Times change," Ares laughed bluntly walking around the other side of the alter. "But so have I," the God of War stared through her hostility. Stripping her bare from the constraints of her leather dress with his eyes, it made her lose a little more of her self control.

"What's that Ares?" She hung onto his every word fiercely waiting for the hatred to boil from deep inside her to purple rage.

"You," Ares whispered in her ear, seizing her tightly from behind.

Biting her lip Xena doubted whether or not he was serious. "How many times have you tried to or have others kill me?" Xena demanded as he spun her around with violent passion.

The stone was hard and firm against her buttocks. In front of her, her recurrent lover pushing between her thighs. "Even if I wanted to, Xena," he purred, "I couldn't kill you..."

"Do you think I can redeem you?" Xena tilted her head away. The Warrior Princess had been saved from a life bathed in blood by Gabrielle. She was not so sure if she could for him.

"Maybe," Ares gazed at her.

Sinking deeper into each other, Xena felt herself being lifted onto the stone slab allowing Ares to anchor himself between her thighs. It was like the old times. It was comforting, familiar. Confidently, the God melted the words softly into her right ear, "I am not the same man."

"You once made me an offer of protection for me and my child; since that day I believe you are more sincere," Xena arced her neck as he planted a longing kiss on its base.

It coursed like a poison from where he had kissed her. She wanted him to seduce her. To take her in his carved biceps and ensnare her with everything she had repressed deep within her. Xena wanted him to spread her on this slab and tell her that she was his.

"I'll always be bad Xena," he managed before frantically pressing his lips against her hungry ones. She was the wolf and he the b ear coming together from their own wildernesses. Their tongues flowing freely into the others as layers of clothing were pealed from their sticky, entwine-

Suddenly Xena sat bolt upright. In the bed next to her Gabrielle slept like a babe. It had all been a dream, a wonderfully horrible dream. A cold sweat past over her.

Did she really want him so badly?

There was much she still need to think about it. Gabrielle would only fret like a mother hen if she saw her upset. Turning over, Xena let a restless sleep fall on her. In the morning there would be much to think about, but after that sleep did not last long. Ares was in her mind as well as her body. Where would this end?