Chapter 8

CHAPTER EIGHT

Marcus wore a path in the middle of Argathos’s floor while they waited for Zarek and the rest of his brothers to show up. The guardian had arrived at Argathos’s home in a complete panic, yelling something about Gwen vanishing. By the time Argathos had gotten the entire story from him, he realized her disappearance likely had something to do with his son. So, while they waited, he filled Marcus in on everything that had happened thus far.

“I feel like I was just here. Oh wait, I was,” Hades said as he sauntered to the bar and poured himself a drink.

“It’s not even nine in the morning yet,” Argathos pointed out.

Hades simply jacked up a black brow. “You have obviously never ruled over Hell. Drinking doesn’t need its own special fucking time.” He tipped back his glass and downed his drink. “So, why am I here?”

“We are still waiting for the others.” No sooner had Argathos spoke than Zarek and Aidyn came in together.

“Gwen is missing,” Marcus blurted out.

“I just saw her. What do you mean missing?” Zarek asked, stepping closer.

“I mean right after you left––yes I knew you were in Vandeldor––I watched her get sucked into some dark vortex.”

“I don’t like the sound of that. Did you learn anything from her while you were there?” It was Aidyn who posed the question.

Marcus tensed. He and Zarek had butted heads more times than Argathos could count in the past. Today was looking like it might be another. “Well? What the fuck did you learn?”

“That my nephew is indeed her mate and something powerful… Another god took him, but I can’t tell who just yet.”

“Her mate? Another god?” Marcus scrubbed a large palm down his face, then rolled his fingers into a fist like he was ready to throw a punch. Argathos moved closer, ready to intervene before things spiraled into a chaos of power and egos.

“Yes.” Argathos laid a hand on the guardian’s shoulder. “Gwen was certain that was her mate.” He faced his older brother. “Can we assume the same god took her? And, if so, to what purpose?”

Zarek’s brows dipped over swirling silver eyes. “We need to start a list of gods and goddesses from the old world that might want to hurt us by taking our own.”

Hades barked out a laugh. “Well sharpen your pencil, brother, but I don’t think there is enough paper in the universe for such a list. We pissed off a lot of gods.”

“This is my fault for being gone too long. I am still their king and you are their princes. It’s time to hold court once more.”

“You mean there are more of you out there other than those of you here?” Marcus asked.

“We are only the tip of the iceberg,” Hades offered. “Our mother is Cera, the sovereign goddess and all but her father knelt to her, but since she killed her mate and vanished, things have not been the same.”

“Who is her father?” Marcus looked from one god to the next.

Argathos responded. “Our mother is the daughter of Ra.”

The guardian’s eyes widened. “Fucking Christ! You are the grandsons of Ra himself?”

“So it would seem.” Hades grinned, then downed another drink.

“I had no idea. I mean, Ra…” Marcus shook his head in disbelief.

“It’s not something we have spoken of in this world,” Argathos offered, then looked at his brothers. “I agree. It’s time we held court so I can find my son and his mate. It’s time to go back home.”

A loud rumble ran through his home, and the floor beneath them shook.

“What was that?” Marcus asked.

Zarek paled. “It can’t be.”

Aidyn, who had remained quiet, finally broke his silence. “I fear it might be. Mother is trying to wake, which means we better fix shit fast or there will be hell to pay.”

Guilt was an emotion foreign to Kian until now anyway, but Khedeus had forced his hand. He’d sensed Gwen’s hesitation and didn’t blame her one bit. Being forced to be intimate with someone was wrong, no matter what. He only hoped he could ease any tensions between them.

He and Gwen went to work, and the morning passed by in silence. He had to admit, he was impressed with her. She nearly outpaced him bucket for bucket and he wondered if she was trying to prove her worth. When they finally stopped for lunch, she broke the silence with one hell of a shocker.

“I am your mate.”

“Excuse me?”

“Don’t you feel it?”

He felt things all right. An erection that he wanted to sink deep inside her, but she was an attractive female. A warrior in her own right, which he respected, but it also turned him on. Still… “Gods don’t have fated mates.” They mated for other reasons. Usually power and greed.

Her brow jacked up. “First off, you are a demigod and second, they most certainly do. All of your uncles have fated mates. Only your father is alone at the moment.”

The thought of his mother, a fragile mortal, caused emotions to surface. He also recalled the conversation with Ra, who had referred to him as the son of mortals.

“Your heritage will prove your true worth but beware of the female for she seeks to destroy you.”

Was Gwen the female who sought to destroy him? The goddess of truth never mentioned a mate. Wouldn’t she have? But then Ra had also mentioned a female that would be his salvation. At this point, he did not know who to trust and needed to tread lightly.

“I’m not certain I buy into this… Mate thing.” He was attracted to her, but he could also write that off to the fact he was a man and she was tempting. As far as the pull he had toward her? That could also be explained. The probability that Khedeus was behind this was highly likely. However, he believed her regarding his parents. He couldn’t trust that the rest of this wasn’t some kind of trick and would simply have to play this out to see where it ended up.

“You feel nothing toward me?” The pain in her eyes looked real. Maybe she too was a victim of Khedeus and made to think she was his fated.

“I won’t lie. I feel desire, but it is what any male would feel for a beautiful female.”

Her brown eyes darkened and sparked with anger. “I see.”

“I understand you’re upset. This situation isn’t ideal, but the alternative is even worse.”

Her hands bunched at her side, and he thought for a moment she might throw a punch his way. He’d allow it. After all, it was his bluntness that had hurt her, but at least she fully understood his position on the matter.

“Why thank you for sparing my life.” She scoffed. “You wouldn’t be the first guy I’ve had to fake my way through sex with.”

A slow, simmering anger churned in his gut at the thought of her with anyone else. “You are not a virgin?”

She doubled over in laughter. “Are you even serious? I am over four hundred years old. I’ve fucked. A lot.” She chuckled. “Virgin. That’s rich.”

Half of him felt the ire of a man filled with a jealous rage and the other part of him wondered at her experience. The jealous rage won out. “You would not wait for your mate and yet you expect him to accept soiled goods?” He’d not meant to refer to her in such a manner, but it seemed his emotions were currently in charge of his mouth. It unsettled him that any female could have such control over him.

“What a pompous asshole you are.” Her mouth pressed into a thin line as she marched toward him. She never made it, though. The ground shook and the Skeletal Moon opened up and swallowed her.

“Gwen!” He yelled above her scream as she fell. Without thinking, he dived into the gaping hole after her. All Kian could hear was Gwen’s petrified cry for help as they fell through the pitch black. He tested his powers and was relieved to find he still had some. Blasting a beam of light, he lit the darkness so he could see Gwen, then he cast a shield around her to stop her mid-fall. Once she was in a stable hover, he made a controlled decent until he was beside her, then pulled her into his arms.

“What the hell happened?” Her voice was still full of panic, even though she tried to act casual.

“I’m not sure, other than a hole opened, and you fell in. I jumped in after you.”

She gave a half-hearted laugh. “Pretty brave of you considering we have no idea where this leads.” Her gaze softened. “Thank you. I really wasn’t looking forward to all the broken bones I was going to have to heal.”

“You are welcome.” He looked above them where they came from, then below, but sensed nothing.

“What do we do now?”

Part of him wanted to respond by kissing her, but this was most definitely not the time or place. Before he could respond, his power glitched, and they fell again. “Son of a bitch,” he muttered as he tried to regain control.

“What’s happening?” She squeezed him tighter.

“My power was disrupted. Hold on,” he replied as they broke into what appeared to be another world and he saw foreign ground coming up fast.

“Oh shit, this is gonna hurt,” Gwen said in his ear.

Kian twisted his body at the last second so he would take the brunt of the impact. The air punched from his lungs as he snapped a thick tree branch with his back. Gwen buried her head into his chest, and he knew he was about to feel solid ground at his backside. He’d not even caught his breath from the tree when he hit, rolled, still keeping Gwen safely tucked to him as his bones snapped. He broke off several small saplings, but he had to hand it to the female snuggled into him. She didn’t utter a sound the entire time. He checked his power and was relieved to find it back, so tossed a shield around them and halted their tumble. They came to a full stop with him on his back and Gwen sitting ever so nicely on his cock.

Mine!

Shut it. She is not yours. Someone planted her to tempt you or whatever.

“Are you okay?” She ran her hands over his chest. “Sure, my brother gets the healing ability and I get visions which certainly didn’t tell me we were going to be swallowed by a big fucking hole in the ground.”

“Y-your brother?”

“Yes. He is a healer.”

He was still sending his own healing cells to his broken bones and tried not to wince as his collar bone knitted back together. It only took seconds before he was back to normal and that was when he realized his hands gripped her hips and kept her planted on his growing erection. He slowly moved his hands to his side so hopefully she wouldn’t notice, but when she just stared at him, he cleared his throat.

“Perhaps we should find out where we have landed.”

“Right. Good idea.” She pushed herself to standing, then stepped away, adjusting her dress. He missed her warmth and had to force his wide-awake dick into submission.

Jumping to his feet, he scanned for life. “I detect life but only animals, no other immortals.” He looked at her. “Are you hurt?”

She shook her head. “No. Thanks to you taking the brunt of that fall. You didn’t have to do that. Not after the little fight we just had.” She offered a nervous smile, then quickly glanced around. “Where the hell are we now?”

“No idea, but something tells me Khedeus is behind this.”