Bound to You, a Paranormal Romance (Book 3 of the Spellbound Series)

by Lola James

  “You make a valid point, and believe me, I want to get to know you, too. I’d love to hear every story about Dawn and her pageant days, but I am kind of supposed to meet my boyfriend and I don’t want to be rude.” That was all a well-orchestrated lie and Dawn was going to owe me big time for even thinking about said “boyfriend”.

  It all came rushing back to me. No matter how I try to avoid thinking about the two men in my life, they still seem to be there, waiting for me and my decision.

  The “ah-ha” moment arrived on Amy’s face and she closed her eyes and nodded with a smile.

  “Well, why didn’t you say so? Tomorrow, I will tell you everything I know.” She said with a wink.

  “Great.” I smiled at Amy to confirm and at Dawn to take in her embarrassment, before I breezed out the door.

  In the hallway, I leaned against the door gripping my neck. My thirst was getting stronger and I knew one thing that would quench it. Blood. I was new to this vampire thing and I was afraid a human would be the only way to satisfy my need.

  I zipped out of the hallway, down the stairs and onto the street. I was determined to get far away from Dawn and her sister, even though I wasn’t sure Dawn would survive without using her magic on Amy.

  The streets were a blur of green lights and darkness. I didn’t know the time or hell, even what day it was. Amy mentioned Dawn had been missing for three days; so had I been gone for four, maybe five? I wandered aimlessly in the streets until I found myself at Ben’s Pacific Heights house. I didn’t have a clue how I was going to get in, but I knew I would find what I needed in there: human blood.

  I walked up to the front door, which I had never seen used. I thought about breaking the beautiful bay window that had a glorious view of the ocean and going in that way, but that might have caused a scene in the upscale neighborhood. My next thought was to turn the doorknob. I might be able to break the lock, but that was a stretch.

  My hand touched the cool metal and I lightly turned it when the door opened. Here I had been thinking of committing the crime of breaking and entering and the front door was unlocked.

  I eased into the dated living room and quickly closed the door behind me. I looked around the room and saw the pile of ash, a bed sheet, Kevin’s spell book, and a messenger bag. Kevin, his sad eyes and broken heart came to mind. Of all the people who were hurt, he shouldn’t have been one of them. Kevin loved me and took care of me while we hid from Hades; the only problem was I didn’t want to hide. It’s not his fault he thought he was protecting me. I’d have to make it up to him one day. The room looked tossed about, but none of that was really my concern. I needed to get to the kitchen.

  In an instant, I was in front of the refrigerator with my hand on the stainless steel door. I pulled the door with more force than I expected but caught it before it swung around and hit the side. I searched desperately for the carafe that Ben kept blood in. Food filled the shelves and the sight of it turned my stomach. Either my eyes were playing tricks on me or it was gone. Panic set in. I slammed the door closed searching the room for a clue as to where the blood was stored. I eyed the white carafe in the sink.

  “No.” My eyes closed as pain burned my throat. Please don’t be empty. I moved to the sink and noticed the dried blood at the spout. I could feel the tears forming in my eyes. Twisting the cap off, I noticed a couple of blood drops at the bottom.

  I fixed my lips around the edge of the container and tilted my head back waiting for the droplets to hit my tongue.

  “I knew you’d be here.” Ben’s voice startled me. I turned to see the handsome dark haired vampire looking and smelling delicious. I was ready to bite him like an apple and drink his blood like water.

  Four

  Hades

  I had not been to the council at Olympus since I was forced/tricked into marriage by Persephone. After that, I had given my proxy vote to Poseidon to use if it was ever needed. Since he was over whatever crush he had on Demeter, I figured he would be the best to give it to. Zeus was too thirsty for power to have a free vote. His habit of morphing from the open-minded god to a tyrant, like our father, and the politics of it all sickened me. I had no ill will toward him, but I could go without seeing the almighty Zeus except on rare occasions. This happened to be one of those occasions.

  “I summon the gods of Olympus to Council,” I said aloud, while doing a 360. Olympus sat at the peak of the highest mountain in Greece. It barely kissed the sky where clouds surrounded the place and the twelve gods sat at Council. It was exactly as I remembered. This was the only place in the earthly realm, besides our individual temples, that gods were allowed to go. Of course, we all bent the rules from time to time; but this was truly our home.

  “Hades, what brings you here?” Hera purred, sitting in the seat next to Zeus’ unoccupied one. Mere mention of the Council at Olympus would summon them here. Those that were closest came first and Hera was right on time

  “Here to see my brother and the Council,” I muttered, unsure if I should ask her to be my ally or not. I knew in a matter of minutes all of the gods and goddesses would assemble in the circle. I needed to get my thoughts together. What I didn’t want was to look like a fool in front of Zeus. He knew we still had unresolved issues involving Persephone.

  “Oh, Hades, tell me your troubles and I will do my best to help remedy them.” She made a valid point. It is always best to have allies when speaking with Zeus and the other gods and goddesses. Deep down I knew that she hated Zeus for tricking her into marrying him but I was alone with this and didn’t know if I could trust her to see it my way.

  “Tell me your thoughts on mortals and immortals that are not of the gods,” I replied, using this as my test.

  “I don’t care much for any mortal or immortal that flirts with my husband you know that.”

  “Of course.” A sad smile touched my lips. Antonia hadn’t ever met Zeus, nor would she flirt with him; but I really didn’t have my answer and Hera could still go either way. Zeus’ infidelity with them was something of a legend, so she didn’t really like mortals because of this past trouble with them.

  “Is this about that mortal that Persephone attempted to kill for the curse?” I said nothing but I knew the anger from hearing the words showed in great depth on my face.

  “It is, ah. Now I will definitely help you. You know that I hate that bitch Demeter and her troublemaking daughter Persephone.” A wide malicious smile spread the length of her mouth.

  “What did my sister do now?” Athena appeared in front of me with one eyebrow raised. “Come, sit. I want to hear everything.” She took my hand, guiding me to my seat next to Poseidon’s and sat me down before making her way to her seat, across from me. Athena had always been flirtatious towards me and I had never given her any reason to stop.

  “Athena, you know Persephone is evil. What hasn’t she done?” Hera shrugged at her words kicking her leg up on the arm of the chair.

  “You all know the difficulties I’ve had with her.” I looked from Hera to Athena as a gust of wind swept through the clouds that nestled the seats where we sat.

  One by one gods and goddesses appeared in their seats, regally dressed and draped in gowns. Everyone in the circle, looked around, concerned as to why they had been summoned to the Council. They all live at Mt. Olympus, but only come to the council when summoned; and a summons meant an imbalance in the worlds.

  “Brother, if I didn’t know any better I’d think you missed being here at Olympus. You are always welcome, anytime.” Zeus’ words were laced with sarcasm, as he sat in the largest and head seat.

  “Seriously, Hades, anytime.” Athena confirmed with her flirtatious smile.

  “No, I just need to be heard before everyone on this matter.” Zeus sat down puzzled as to what matter I could possibly be talking about. He looked over at Hera but she just rolled her eyes at him and his cluelessness. Then it dawned on him what this was about.

  “Hades, there is no need to bring up the past.” Zeus�
�� pointed look was directed at me, knowing that I was about to spill about all the wrong his daughter had done. But the Council knew nothing about. Yet.

  I stood up and look among the gods and goddesses, acknowledging them all with a quick nod. I wasn’t sure any of them would agree or even assist me in my request.

  “As you all know, I am married to Persephone,” I stated, gazing around the room, the detest for her was apparent.

  “If you are going to talk ill of another god, it is only fair that she should be here,” Hestia offered. She was the mildest and most upright of the god’s. Maybe she had a point.

  “Dearest, you know that only the Council is allowed in here,” Poseidon said from my side, in a calm voice. He gave me a wink before I continued.

  “As I was saying, I am not here to speak ill of those not present. But I am here to say that I want my torturous marriage to be over.” My words solidified my point.

  Gasps came from everyone in the room, except Zeus. Instead, he narrowed his eyes on me and gave me a sharp look.

  “A marriage between gods cannot just end, unfortunately,” Hera said, side eyeing Zeus. She had wanted an end to their marriage for years. They had the most hateful relationship. When they fought, mortals could feel it with the sky rattling. They had learned to play nice or tried too. It was mostly to keep up appearances.

  “Dearest Hades, why do you seek an end?” Athena asked with a sultry smile.

  “He is in love with a mortal,” Aphrodite whispered, as all the gods turned her way. Athena frowned; I hoped that my love for Antonia wouldn’t sway her thinking.

  “She is an immortal now, thanks to Persephone, Demeter and Eris,” Hermes piped in, looking rather bored. I figured he named all three to stir the pot. Every god hated Eris. She was a troublemaking bitch and when her name was in the grouping with other prominent gods, nothing good would come of it. The other two I hated, but for my own personal reasons.

  “She would have been dead but for ingesting a vampire’s blood.” Hermes shifted in his seat to get more comfortable. His winged shoe flapped as his legs crossed and a pleased smile fixed on his face.

  “Is this true?” Hera stood and looked between Zeus and me, as all eyes focused on me for a response.

  “Yes. It is.” The answer came from an unlikely source, Zeus. Everyone turned to face the head of the gods.

  My eyes fixed on those of my brother, as hisses and gasps filled the space surrounded with gods.

  “I am not being questioned, here. Hades has come to ask the Council to consider ending his marriage to Persephone.” Zeus shifted it back on me and I knew my uphill battle was on.

  “If your reason for ending the union is to tarnish Persephone’s image among the gods, I cannot allow it.” A gust of wind pushed everyone back into their seats as Zeus stood at the head of the Council.

  “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Father, but it is already tarnished,” Athena said in my defense.

  Rumbles and grumbles filled the room as everyone spoke at once. The gods loved chaos. I sunk into my chair, letting pandemonium take over. The commotion carried on as I worried for the future of my Antonia. I wanted her in every way, but as long as I was married to Persephone, that couldn’t happen.

  “Enough. We are gods; we will not fight and argue as though we were mortals,” Zeus demanded.

  The sky crackled with his words. He was so dramatic. It must be where Persephone got it. Between her dramatic father and evil mother, she was bound to be screwed up.

  “What would the basis be for the termination of the union? It’s no secret that Persephone is one of the vilest goddesses, but that isn’t enough to end a union.” Hera reasoned.

  She had a point. She had learned to love or at least tolerate Zeus over the years. She never wanted to be married to him, but it’s kind of hard to say no to the ruler of the gods—and also happens to be your brother. I knew she was interested in seeing what reason I could come up for her own use.

  “I never wanted to marry Persephone. I was tricked by her and, no doubt, her mother.” I paused for a moment trying to find the words to say. A smile touched my lips and every thought cleared from my head as her face came to mind. “My heart has belonged to Antonia since the moment I laid eyes on her beautiful face. And after the attempt on her life, I am not sure I could face Persephone without considering banishing her to Tartus. It’s unacceptable that she can walk around free after the attempt on my Antonia’s life. I plead with you to see the wrong in this. If not, I will have to take care of this in the underworld.” I hoped my case was well pleaded. I had nothing else. This was more than any god would do for a mortal, immortal or even another god for that matter. We could be quite selfish. Eyebrows rose at my statement, but silence hushed the crowd of gods. They had not seen me this angry in centuries and I doubt that they wanted to, now.

  “I understand your plight, dear brother; but that does not seem like enough to release you from marriage,” Poseidon offered. “Many gods have been married and wish it weren’t so.” His eyes met that of Hera’s. It wasn’t a secret. She didn’t want to be married to Zeus, but she is stuck and her jealousy made him think that she wanted to be there.

  “She doesn’t want to be married to me, either.” I stated, hoping that may actually help my case. As much as Hera didn’t want to be married to Zeus, he wanted be with her. Outside of the infidelity, I knew he loved her; so maybe there was some hope for their marriage.

  “This is why she attempts to break the curse?” Hermes sat upright and directed his question to me, as if I knew the answer. The curse he spoke of was a mandate that she could only spend half of her time at Olympus and the other half must be spent in the Underworld. Zeus gave this stipulation as part of our forced marriage. Everyone waited for a reply. The only thing I knew to be true was that Persephone was power hungry. She would marry her own father if it meant that she could rule the sky.

  “It’s not a curse; it is merely a condition of her marriage. Most want to be around their spouses and not separated and living in separate worlds.” Leave it to Zeus to change the curse to a condition to avoid being blamed for anything.

  Hera must have realized what Zeus was doing and that we knew he was spinning the truth. She narrowed her eyes, leaned over and whispered in his ear. I could only hope she was telling him of his wrongdoing.

  “I will speak with Persephone and if she confirms that she does not want to be joined in the union with Hades, we will be able to decide, as a council, to consider Hades request.” Zeus disappeared after his last word.

  “Does that mean we have to wait?” Hermes asked, falling back in his seat staring at the blue sky.

  “Yes, we ALL will stay here,” Hera ordered with a piercing look at him.

  Small chitchat rumbled among the gods in individual conversations. My mind drifted to Antonia. If this were to happen, I would be able to be with her—if she chose me over the vampire. I envisioned us wrapped in each other’s arms. My heart ached for Antonia, it more a need than a want. It’s a necessity that she be with me, like air and water.

  She had changed so much since we first reunited. Her life is gone and her soul now belongs to me; but I need her to want to belong to me. I want her to make the decision to be with me, but not by my influence. I need to make sure that she can have the time she needs to herself in order to make that decision, without the inference of the vampire or the daughter of Circe.

  “Tell us about her,” Aphrodite asked, watching me closely. She already knew I loved her, being the goddess of love and all. “You’ve been sitting there smiling since Zeus left us here. Tell us about the one who’s on your mind.”

  She was right. Antonia was on my mind.

  “I met her when I went to collect a soul, back when gods were allowed to walk the earth.”

  Loud sighs rang out when I mentioned the time of walking the earth.

  “Ah, those days seems so far away,” Apollo added as soft music rose from his lyre.

  “Our e
yes met and nothing else mattered. Time froze and not a word was spoken. A magnetic passion drew us to each other. For the first time, I felt whole and I knew she was the one that I was meant to love. I wanted her body and I wanted to give her my soul.”

  “Damn,” a random voice mumbled.

  “Of course, her father wouldn’t allow it because I am “Hades”.”

  “We are gods. We don’t have to ask for permission or forgiveness,” Ares offered. I needed him to calm down; the god of war never needs to be stirred up.

  “But yet, we sit here waiting to see if I can have a divorce from Persephone,” I countered.

  “Touché.” Ares nodded to my point.

  “She ran away with me to my temple and we made plans to marry. Long before I was tricked by Persephone into - this duplicitous marriage that we now have.”

  “We all knew that Demeter hoped the union would get that vile bitch a seat on the Council; but as long as I’m here, that will never happen.” Hera didn’t care for Persephone and her words proved it. “You were saying, Hades.” Hera wasn’t afraid to speak her mind or stand up for what she believed in I guess that’s what happens when your marriage is built on strife. As I told our story, my heart fluttered at the thought of the power of our love. I’d walk the earth, forever, to see her smile, die a thousand times for her touch; and to hear her say she loves me; I’d give it all up. I wouldn’t need to be Hades, ruler of the underworld, just the love of her life. I pondered that thought for a moment. Nothing in any of the worlds mattered, but her.

  “Her father came to my temple while I was tending to business in the underworld and took her away. He changed her appearance and erased any memory of me over the centuries,” I concluded.

  “But how did he change her appearance, is he into sorcery?” Artemis questioned. She sat next to her twin Apollo and admiring the notes, he played.

  “No, he wasn’t. He and a sorceress had her spellbound to protect her, or so they thought. Her memory was wiped every few years and she would start her life anew, with a different look every time. That was until the vampire came along. His compulsion cracked the spell.” I seethed at the thought of him, Benjamin.