Chapter 7: Fury

"She said you were being attacked by a man in here," Ares heard Gabrielle's voice repeat in his head over and over while he stood in the empty swimming pool room. Too blinded with fury to move now, he knew he had to calm down, at least until he made it to his car. He couldn't have a meltdown in public. Emma, Emma, Emma. She was as good as dead in his book. No, I've changed, he thought to himself.

"No, you haven't, kill her, kill her, KILL HER!" he heard the voice in his head tell him.

"No, you're wrong!" he screamed while grabbing the sides of his head and falling to his knees. Suddenly, the door opened and the one and only Emma walked in.

"Mr. Ares, are you okay? I thought I heard you scream, and it scared me thinking you might be hurt," Emma asked in the most innocent voice while she approached him, trying to help him to his feet; instead she "accidently" fell into his arms making him fall back onto the cold, hard, wet floor. She looked down into his eyes and smiled nervously. It felt so good to be on top of him. She felt her body become sweaty, as her heartbeat increased. Seeing Ares wasn't too thrilled at what had just happened, she stood up from him.

"Let's try this again."

Emma reached down to grab Ares' hand; his eyes turned black, unbeknownst to her. He was filled with blood rage. As Ares rose to his feet, Emma looked at him with a smile, and Ares reciprocated with a smile of his own. Emma turned to walk away from him, pretending she cared about the front desk now when he stopped her...

"Emma, do you have plans for tonight?" Emma's heart skipped a beat. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. It didn't make any sense to her. Ares seemed pretty satisfied with Xena less than five minutes ago and now he was asking her out on a date. Was he trying to toy with her? She desperately wanted to ask him about Xena, but a deep fear held her back. She was hesitant to let him know that she had seen them together and that she was the one responsible for the interruption.

"Mr. Ares..." Ares gently placed his finger to her lips. "Now, now, just call me Ares."

"Ares," she blushed, "I don't have any plans tonight. Once I'm off, I'm free for whatever."

"Great, I'll pick you up tonight at 8pm. How does that sound to you?" Ares asked in a low seductive voice. He grabbed her hand and pulled her closer to him. Emma's face was now fully flushed.

"That sounds amazing, I'll text you my address." Emma turned to leave but stopped to look back at him.

By the way, where are we going, so I can know what to wear?"

"Dinner babe, we're going to have a grand time," Ares howled. Emma gave him a quick hug and turned to leave. As she was about to walk out the door, she turned back to look at Ares and said "See you tonight, handsome." Ares smiled his devious smile, and she walked out.

~XA~

Ares finally made it back home from the gym, still in his furious state. Once inside his condo, he opened a window, settled onto the window seat, and conjured fireballs in his hands. He wanted to burn everything in sight. Before he threw the fireballs into the building across from him, he released them into the dark sky. Pedestrians below wow'd at the sight, thinking it was a fireworks show. Sighing, he looked at the clock, 7pm. Ares changed into a pair of jeans, a black long sleeved collar shirt, that he left unbuttoned halfway, sleeves rolled up to his elbow, with a pair of black boots. He took a comb through his curls once and left his condo.

~XA~

Emma was ecstatic. As soon as she got off work, she called her best friend, Lana, on the way home telling her how Ares finally asked her out. Both women screamed on the phone with excitement.

"Make sure you send me pictures of him, so I can save your special night!" her friend said with enthusiasm. She knew how long Emma had been trying to get Ares' attention.

Once Emma made it home, she rushed inside to get ready, heading straight for the shower and to shave. "I'm finally going to have the man of my dreams and we are going to live happily ever after," she dreamily voiced as she spun around in the mirror. Emma looked absolutely amazing, well amazing for Emma. Usually when Ares saw her, she had her hair in a bun or ponytail, with athletic wear and a pair of sneakers. Tonight, she put on a black leather mini skirt, fishnet stockings, a pair of heels, and a see through blue colored halter top. She put on a full face of makeup and curled her long hair. She looked at the clock, 7:45. She looked back at herself in the mirror. Pleased with what she saw, she sprayed on lavender perfume, and waited by her phone. She looked at the clock again, 7:58. Her stomach curled in a knot. Then, her doorbell rang. Bursting with anticipation she tried to calm herself down and not seem tooooo thrilled. It was a lost cause. She ran to the door. Her palms were beginning to sweat. Taking a deep breath, she turned the doorknob and slowly pulled it open. Her knees got weak. Ares was standing there holding a single daisy in his hand. His cologne intoxicated her senses. Ares handed her the flower and asked

"Are you ready?" Emma took the flower out his hand and walked inside, pulling him in with her. She smiled a flirtatious smile and put the flower in a cup of water.

"Now I am," she replied, linking her arms with Ares' as they walked out her apartment. The smell of lavender clouded his senses. Lavender. The same scent that Xena wears. His Xena. His Xena, the woman this tramp ruined one of the most precious moments of his life with. He was going to teach her about messing with the God of War.

Ares drove Emma to a fancy Italian restaurant two towns over. He couldn't risk the possibility of anyone, especially Xena or Gabrielle at this point, seeing him with her. Ares got out of the car and walked to the passenger side to open the door for Emma. She blushed at his gesture.

"No one has ever opened the car door for me," Emma scandalously told Ares as she stepped out. She intertwined her arm with his. She pulled out her phone and asked,

"Can we take a selfie?" Ares obliged. She placed her lips on his cheek and she snapped the photo. Feeling accomplished, she speedily put her phone back in her purse and the pair walked into the restaurant.

Once they were seated at their table, Ares noticed how pretty Emma was, something he'd never noticed before. Emma slightly reddened, realizing how Ares eyes were fixed on her. "Emma, you look very beautiful tonight," came his honest compliment. Emma put her head down and blushed. Before she forgot, she pulled out her phone and sent the selfie to Lana. Their waitress appeared with their wine and food. "Aren't you two a good-looking couple," the waitress addressed as she sat their items down on the table.

"Is it a special occasion tonight?" Ares looked at Emma. Smiling, he looked back at the waitress, "Very special."

Throughout their course of dinner and drinks, Emma let herself become drunk without a care in the world. She was having a great time with Ares and thought of him as the perfect gentleman. Once their bill was paid, by Ares of course, they left. Ares helped Emma into the car and buckled her up. He took his rightful seat behind the wheel. Before they pulled out of the parking lot, Ares took Emma's hand and leaned into her neck. He inhaled her lavender scent that still softly lingered on her fair skin. With his free hand, he hit the button that dropped the roof down in the car. He needed fresh air, to wash away the lavender that still lingered, clouding his thoughts. He was on a mission, and he needed Xena out of his head to complete it.

He whispered in her ear, "My place or yours?" Emma's drunk heart began to beat so hard against her chest that she thought it was going to come through her skin. She turned his way and answered, "Yours." Ares, put the car into drive without another word.

After arriving at his place, he took Emma's hand and led her inside his condo. Emma was in awe. It was nothing like her 1-bedroom apartment. Ares place was fit for a king, a God. Ares sat down on his large couch and invited Emma to sit next to him. He almost snapped his fingers and lit the fireplace but remembered he needed to do everything the mortal way. Getting up, he lit the fireplace underneath the TV and went to his bedroom. With Ares out of sight, Emma's eyes began to scan his place, searching for any indication that he was involved with Xena or with anybody for that fact. She didn't see any pictures of them. In fact, she didn't see any pictures of anybody. The place didn't have a feminine touch to it either. She wondered where he disappeared off to. At that thought, he returned shirtless and in a pair of black pajama pants.

Emma couldn't believe what was happening. She started to have second thoughts. She didn't know if she wanted to go all the way with her boss. She looked at Ares as he walked near her and made up her mind. Ares sat next to her on the couch. She put her hand on his leg and gave it a light squeeze. Ares turned towards her, leaning in. He brushed the side of his face along hers. Emma grabbed both sides of his face with her soft hands and leaned in, capturing his lips. Ares kissed her back, lightly. He then maneuvered his hands up her skirt and pulled her stockings down. Emma laid back on the couch and pulled Ares between her legs. Ares ran his hand alongside her inner thigh, just to discover she didn't have any underwear on. This made his manhood jerk at the thought. Emma felt the monster in his pants pressing against her. She reached for the drawstrings of his pants, loosening them up. She closed her eyes with anticipation.

The next second, she was gasping for air. Her eyes shot open to see Ares' hands around her neck.

"Emma, did you think I wouldn't find out about your little scheme? You knew I was in the pool room and I asked you to do one thing. But instead, you ruined one of the most important days of my life." Ares was filled with fury. How dare this whore act like she deserved him? He let her neck go, Emma gasped for air, just to feel Ares hands back around her neck, squeezing even harder this time. Emma had pure fear in her eyes. Ares enjoyed it, feeding off her. As the flames from the fireplace flickered against his eyes, she noticed they were no longer brown, but black. A very scary black. She wanted to apologize, to say something, anything, so he could let her go. A tear rolled down her face. "Oh no, no you don't. You don't get to feel hurt. YOU'RE THE DEVIL!" And with that, he broke her neck. Ares looked at her lifeless body, casually leaning his head over to the side. Not knowing what else to do with it, he turned her into a pile of ash with a snap of his fingers.