Chapter Forty-Six

Uriel gave an exaggerated wink while Thanatos glared at Ares.

Ares tapped the microphone once more, its sharp metallic sound cutting through the hazy air. The lingering scent of alcohol filled the dimly lit room, mingling with the faint smell of sweat from dancing. The gods, their eyes glazed and movements sluggish, barely stirred at the disturbance. Indifferent and lost in their own intoxicated haze, only a handful bothered to acknowledge Ares’ presence.

“Since bonding has become so important in our lives, we have stepped away from our past, the ravage sex orgies, multiple partners and having relations with random strangers as if they mean nothing,” Ares said. “It also means that we haven’t taught our children about bonding, how to please our mates, what sex really is, or how beautiful and magical it can be. Parents don’t want to teach their children and your children don’t want to hear it from their parents.”

Thanatos rolled his eyes, muttered a curse under his breath and left my side.

“This is working better than I had hoped,” Uriel snickered.

It certainly had. I smirked and glanced across the room at Ember who pointed to the nearest exit and shook her head. There was a guard at the door, the time wasn’t right.

“What is Ares doing?” Lucifer throws back a flaming shot. “He isn’t going to give a sex education class during your reception now, is he?”

Uriel snorts, shaking her head. Her curls bounce on her shoulders as she tries to keep our secret.

“I have no clue.” I said innocently as my face turn bright red.

Lucifer eyed me, then his mate and his mother across the room. Lucifer rolls his eyes and taps his shot glass with his finger. “You females are going to be the death of all of us, mark my words.”

Mariah pushed a cart out just below the platform, she”s cackling, her face flushed with too much to drink, and hits the button to turn the projector. Her shoulders heave, tears streaming down her face as she laughs.

The torches and candles are put out with a single breath from Lilith. She smiles like the cat got the cream with her reaper nanny, leading her away and covering her ears.

Sounds of skin slapping, moaning, and then Ares’ tight ass were seen on the screen next. Mariah was mostly covered, but everyone could see Ares’ muscular body plowing his mate. “As you see here, Mariah and I have tastefully made dozens of videos to teach everyone once they become of age to find their mates, when they are eighteen of course! They will learn how to pleasure their mate and—”

Thanatos’ wings expanded, pushing the crowd away. Part of the crowd that paid no attention, too drunk to even care, moved away, either passed out onto the floor or moved on with their conversation. Hades followed, his foreboding presence being enough to push back even the guards from the doors, giving me the perfect opportunity to escape.

Ares stopped talking once he saw the two dark, furious gods approaching him. He swallowed and made a gesture for Mariah to stop the recording. As she tried to hit stop, the volume turned up louder, and she squealed in panic and continued to hit the buttons until it came to a screeching halt.

“Are you fucking nuts?” Thanatos roared, his shadows wrapping around Ares’ feet and flipping him on his back. “Who the fuck shows a porno at a reception?”

Loki snorted in laughter and wrapped his arms around himself and bent over. “For once, I’m not in trouble, and this is the funniest thing I’ve ever seen.”

Ember nudged me and nodded her head to the door. I thanked her silently, picked up my dress, headed to the door, and slipped away through the crowd.

It had taken me weeks to figure out the perfect gift for Thanatos, and my plan was finally paying off.

What does one get a gift for a god? He had everything, a mansion on a mountain, jewels, servants, anything he could ask for. I might have unlocked some of his sexual desires when he was sleeping. It was hard to do so, but as my power grew every day, I was able to find something I could gift him. Keeping it a secret from him was harder than I could have ever imagined.

Luckily, I had my own master key to my secrets. He couldn’t invade my deepest and darkest. The only secret I held from him, however, was the surprise that I had waiting for him.

“Thank you,” I mouthed to Ember, Uriel, and Mariah, who were now watching Ares getting his ass kicked. Later, I would have to send him and Mariah a basket full of sex toys for having him be a distraction.

Really, I think he enjoyed getting beat up by Hades, but that is one soul I did not want to look into.

I ran out the door and slipped into the darkened hallway, losing my golden dress and replacing it with a navy starlight one.

This was going to be a chase he would never forget. If I could just get a head start.

“Juniper!” A thunderous roar came from the reception hall. I laughed, covering my mouth, and let the shoes that covered my feet slip away. With Hades’ permission and with Ember’s help, I’d learned how to transport myself from this realm onto earth and slipped away into the darkness.

“Damn it, not the face, not the face!” Ares cried. “Anywhere but the face!” I gripped his throat, and Ares’ vein in his forehead tripled in size. I wanted to fucking pop it and let the blood drip down his cheek.

“Easy, remember we are still at a reception,” Hades drawled, kicking his foot into Ares stomach.

“What’s a little blood at a god gathering? Isn’t that how it used to be in the old days?” I smirked and gave Ares an open slap to the face.

Mariah was half passed out on the projector. I would not let her witness Ares’ total emasculation.

“I’ve brought the rope!” Dionysus announced, tugging at the bright red fibers. “We use this in our shibari demonstrations. This rope is specifically for the gods. Powerful enough to even keep Ares tied up.

“No! Please no!” Ares wailed. “I am definitely not into that. I enjoy tying Mariah up, but I don’t wanna do that!”

Hades threw his head back in laughter. “Then this is perfect punishment. Now hold still or we will put a plug in your ass too.” Within seconds, Ares was tied with his hands under his legs, the rope between his lips, and blindfolded.

“Red, red!” he mumbled.

Dionysus tsked. “Ah, ah, ah, safe words don’t work when you are perfectly safe and you are being punished by Hades. I think that’s written in some Underworld code or something.”

Hades nodded, crossing his arms. “That it is. Now if you could try to explain what sort of idiot plays porn at someone’s bonding reception?” Hades raised a brow.

Me, on the other hand, gazed over the crowd. No one seemed fazed at Ares’ antics, but I was more worried about Juniper’s reaction. She wasn’t familiar with just how brash Ares could be. Was she going to be upset at this display?

Mariah snorted, sliding down the cart of the projector. Ember and Uriel sat next to her, both of them snickering and shushing her.

By the fucking Fates.

They were up to something.

“Where is Juniper?” I snarled, jumping from the platform. “Where is my mate?”

Lucifer’s wings extended to protect his mate, in turn protecting all of them. “They are having a bit of fun, but it was all your mate’s idea. I only found out a few minutes ago, otherwise I would have advised against it.”

Ares snorts in laughter, rolling around the stage.

“Where. Is. She?” I took a confident step forward, watching as my tailored suit slowly dissipated, revealing elegant robes in its place. In a graceful motion, my wings unfurled, casting elongated shadows that enveloped the room. Despite the torches and candles, the darkness intensified. As I stood there, a sense of power and enigma emanated from my transformed presence, captivating the room once more.

Uriel’s golden eyes blink up at me. “Well, where is the fun in that if we tell you?” She giggled. “Use the bond, you silly goose!”

“Juniper, what did I say about leaving my side—” I reach through the bond.

A sultry voice replies, one that descends straight to my cock, causing it to harden beneath my robes. “Come find me, God of Death.”

Mmm, a game.

I’ve never been fond of them, but when it involves her —

I balled my fists, my claws breaking the skin, and yell out into the reception and scream out her name, calling everyone to stop their drinks and look at me in shock. “Party is over, see yourselves out.”

I snapped myself out of the realm, not finding any trace of my mate in the Underworld. My soul is full when I reach Earth. Now I used hers as a beacon, following the pull of her soul. As my wings carried me through the dark skies, I felt a sense of urgency and desire, a primal instinct that drove me to find her.

A figure darted through the shadows, just beyond my grasp. Her dark, lustful thoughts sank into my mind as the bond between us pulsed with her heartbeat. It led me to an old Catholic church and an unkempt cemetery. This abandoned church held gargoyles, angels, demons, all protecting the dead, but it didn’t seem to deter her, especially since she had cut off her light to make her seem vulnerable—human even.

The moonlight cast dancing shadows on the grass as the wind blew against my wings when I landed. In the distance, I spotted her behind a large tombstone, teasing me with her low-cut dress, a pale leg, and bare feet.

My resolve hardened, and I gave chase, my muscles flexing and my wings beating the air as I ran. The bond between us grew stronger, her mischief filling my soul as she ran ahead, just out of reach. The moonlight caught her hair, which sparkles like a thousand stars, and her eyes, darkened in the night, held a mischievous glint.

She glanced over her shoulder; her smile was wide and inviting as she throws her head back and laughs. “Catch me if you can, Death,” she taunted, her voice like honey.

I gritted my teeth and pushed myself harder, my wings beating the air like a drum as I closed the distance between us. I felt her anticipation, her delight in our game, and it fueled me. My senses were heightened, the world slowing down around me as I focused on her.

She ducked behind another tombstone, and I followed, the air thick with anticipation. As I rounded the corner, she’s gone, the air still as I stand panting.

“Juniper,” I called out, my voice echoing through the graveyard. “I’ve had enough of this game.”

I felt her amusement in the bond, her heartbeat racing erratically. “Not yet, Bone Daddy.”

I shook my head, a smile tugging at the corner of my lips. “You always were a tease, weren’t you?”

With renewed determination, I took off, my wings beating the air and leaving a trail of shadows behind me. The game was on, and I was going to claim my prize.

Just when I thought I was about to reach her, she disappeared once more, her laughter echoing through the night. The game had turned into a dance, a waltz of desire and anticipation.

I decided to end it, done with the game and ready to claim her once more. I see her, hiding behind a mausoleum, her eyes twinkling in the dim light. She’s wearing nothing but a thin navy gown that twinkles in the night. It does little to cover her curves, and her hair is loose and wild, framing her face like a halo. My heart beats wildly, my cock hard from slapping against my thighs.

I can smell her, I can feel her want through the bond.

Before she bolts away, I catch her from the other side, pinning her to the mausoleum wall with my hand around her throat.

“Well, damn you got me.” She fluttered her lashes.

I rubbed my nose against hers. “That I did, I will always find you, catch you.” I nipped her lips.

“Yeah?” she whispered. “And then what will you do?”

I growled in my throat, moving my robes to the side to expose my cock. I didn’t have to move Juniper’s dress much. Her slit went straight up her thigh and it was easy enough access to her cunt.

“You are a sneaky little goddess, aren’t you?” I trailed my cock through her wet folds and slapped the head against her clit. “You planned this.”

She moaned against my lips.

“You got into my soul, read some of my secrets.”

Juniper pulled the sides of her dress, exposing her breasts to the night air. I quickly put her tit into my mouth, sucking on it hard until I took a rough bite against the supple breast tissue.

“Does that answer your question?” She gasped, her hands pulling my head closer to her breast.

Smirking, I withdrew my teeth from her flesh, the taste of her blood still lingering on my tongue. “I don’t know whether to punish you or reward you.” With a half-laugh, half-growl, I spun her around, pressing her against the cold, hard stone of the mausoleum. Her gown rode up, revealing the entirety of her naked ass to me. I couldn’t help but run my fingers through the soft curls of her hair, eliciting a moan from her lips.

“I never know what to expect from you, my treasure, but I promise you, I’ll make sure to keep you close,” I whispered, my lips brushing against her ear.

I couldn’t resist the temptation any longer, and I thrust into her from behind. Her cunt was hot and wet, gripping my cock like a vise as I fucked her from behind. She was moaning and writhing against me, her body undulating with each thrust. The scent of her arousal and the taste of her blood intoxicated me, and I knew I needed her more than ever.

As I pumped into her, I reached up and grabbed her by the hips, pulling her into me even harder. My claws dug into her skin, leaving small, red marks that would heal almost instantly, but the pain only seemed to spur her on. She was a wild one, my Goddess, and I loved her for it.

“Take me, Thanatos,” she gasped, her voice filled with lust and desperation. “Take me hard.”

I moaned and obliged, changing the angle of my thrusts. I curved my hips, thrusting up into her as deep as I could go, my balls slapping against her ass. Her ass was firm and round, a delight to hold on to as I drove myself into her.

Juniper’s moans grew louder, more intense, and I knew she was close. I kissed the back of her neck, my teeth gently scraping against her skin. “Do you like that?” I whispered hoarsely. “Do you like it when I take you this hard? Against the stone?”

“Yes,” she whimpered, her voice almost lost in her own pleasure. “Yes, Thanatos, please.”

I reached around her, my fingers finding her clit. At first, I just circled it, softly teasing her, but soon my fingers were rubbing her clit more insistently. She cried out, her body trembling against mine as she reached the brink of orgasm.

“I’m going to make you come so hard, Juniper,” I growled, my voice low and thick with lust. “You’ll scream my name and beg for mercy.”

She gasped, her body going rigid as I thrust into her one last time, her muscles clenching around me. I felt her orgasm surge through her, her pussy gripping at my cock like a vice. Her moans filled the air, mingling with the sounds of the wind and the soft rustling of the high grass.

“Thanatos,” she cried out, her voice hoarse and needy. “I’m coming, oh fucking gods, please don’t stop.”

I didn’t stop. I kept thrusting into her, my hips pounding against her ass, my cock sliding in and out of her tight, wet pussy.

Once her cunt clenched around my cock, milking me dry, It was over. I came so hard I damn saw stars inside the back of my head.

“Fuck, Juniper,” I groaned, my hips jerking against her as I came. “You feel so good.”

She moaned, leaning back against me, her head falling back as she reveled in the aftermath of her climax. I continued to stroke her clit, eliciting soft mewls of pleasure from her throat.

“You always know how to make me feel so damn good, Thanatos,” she panted, her body still trembling. “You’re the only one who can make me feel like this.”

I smiled, feeling a burst of pride at her words. “And you’re the only one who can make me feel this way, my treasure.” I brushed a strand of hair from her face. “Now are you ready for round two in the cemetery?”