by Setta Jay
“Why are you here?” Pothos bit out, drawing the male’s attention back to him, which was exactly where P wanted it, not caring about his father’s telepathic rants.
His eyes shot to his female without his meaning to. Heat and frustration rode in her emerald gaze, and lust hit him in the gut, slamming his cock against the denim of his jeans. He clenched his teeth and forced his eyes from her flushed cheeks. He needed to think. They still didn’t know why the Thulian Goddess Kara had tried to take Hades or why they’d come to Earth and captured Apollo weeks before that. Just two more issues destined to complicate the shit out of an already volatile situation, because as a Guardian of the Realms, it was P’s job to get the bastard Apollo back and contained again.
“It seems we are here for you.”
Pothos felt his power violently pulse inside him, and he ruthlessly pulled it back as he clamped his teeth.
Fuck. It was too damned strong.
“I would level all of Thule before allowing you to take him.” Hades’ voice rocked with so much pent-up power that it shook the trees and rocked the water of the lake. “So take your beasts and leave.”
Sirena’s voice came through again. Can you tell if she’s going through any symptoms of the mating frenzy?
Dagur growled, “That is a worthless threat, Hades. You have no idea who you speak to.”
Hroarr roared, “Enough.” And Dagur silently scowled.
He focused on his Goddess and Sirena’s question. He didn’t actually need to see her to know the answer to whether she was in the frenzy with him. She’d been just as affected in Thule, and he’d seen the heat in her eyes, scented her sweet wet pussy in the winds. Yes, she’s feeling it. He wanted to snarl; the most basic of his instincts demanded he take her away. That he claim her with his mouth and cock. The offending appendage chose that moment to throb painfully against the zipper of his jeans. Apparently, all the power holding them motionless wasn’t able to do the same for his damned cock.
He clenched his jaw at another harsh surge of his ability. Her eyes dilated and a frown crinkled the skin between her brows. Had his Goddess felt that?
I’m going to need to test her blood with yours to see what the hell happens, Sirena bit out.
He mentally grunted in response. He knew the healer was worried about compatibility, but he wasn’t sure it mattered. Once the frenzy hit, he was fucked. It didn’t just go away, and Sirena knew that.
P wanted to rub his aching temple and his fingers twitched. Was he able to move his body? He didn’t feel the hold on him anymore, but he still felt the cats’ power in the air. His gaze watched for any movement from Hroarr or the others as P tried to find a way to deal rationally with Hades. Father, you need to calm down. With a mating bond, if one of a pair dies, the other usually goes mad. They can’t hurt me without hurting her.
Hades scoffed furiously, You do not know that that will pertain to her. I wasn’t bound to the rules. His father had connected souls with his mate, Sacha, another Guardian, without going through all the steps of bonding that usually happened.
Father, let me worry about her. I need you to deal with her brothers. P’s concentration was shot and his father needed something else to focus on other than P’s mating, but he was forced to add, “Deal with them” does not mean try to fucking kill them.
Another hard surge of power violently slammed into P’s gut, and he just barely kept it from slipping his control. His muscles pulled tight enough to tear. The power was different, like a level five hurricane ready to unleash its furious wrath. He was completely losing his damned hold and he wasn’t even sure what kind of power it was. It wasn’t his old ability. No, this was something more. Something potentially dangerous to those he loved.
His shoulders and wings contracted as he searched wildly for some mental stability.
Fuck. More power than he’d ever wielded surged again. Just as fast as he locked it down, it was back that much stronger.
His vision hazed as he struggled.
As much as he’d tried to convince Hades everything would be fine, he wasn’t so fucking sure. His cock throbbed again, and when his vision cleared, he caught his Goddess’ sharp intake of breath. She was definitely feeling something. Was that pain in her eyes?
That look gutted him, but how the hell could he help her when he might be dangerous, even to her? He needed to get out of there.
He contacted Drake. Fuck. I’m losing my hold. This power… I have to get out of here. Without waiting for a response, he launched into millions of pieces, teleporting away. Thoughts of leaving his female nearly split him in half as his power surged with a force that whipped the air currents, turning them on end.
And then it did the unthinkable. That same power swept her away as well, pulling her into the air.
Into him.
Chapter 3
In Between Two Worlds
The second their very essence combined during the port, P’d been screwed. It was the most erotic thing he’d ever felt. His molecules merged with hers in a way that was too damned dirty and perfect. Inside the storm of their bodies he felt her panic and desire and couldn’t do anything about it while they were soaring into the unknown. He felt her trying to fight it, which only seemed to bind them that much tighter, distracting him even more.
Focus had been the first casualty to carrying her away with him. His power surged, shooting them further out of control, thundering them through the ether. He hoped his subconscious had given it a destination, because rerouting to Tetartos seemed to be impossible now. Not when he felt her all over him like a second skin. He was inside her in a way that was baser, deeper than any physical touch could have been. His brothers had all said teleporting together while in the mating frenzy was a fucking erotic nightmare. They’d never said a damned thing about being unable to control where the hell they were going.
Calling this an erotic nightmare was an understatement of epic proportion.
He wanted more.
If it was possible to come in this state, he was about to.
Refocusing his thoughts to reroute to Tetartos Realm wasn’t changing anything. They’d soared out of his world. It was like being sucked into the center of a storm; all they could do at this point was ride it out.
Sweet fuck.
The second they were finally whole, it was with her body wrapped around him and her tongue in his mouth. He groaned as his fingers gripped her ass, pulling her tighter to his body as he took command of the kiss and fucking devoured her. His wings flexed as those long-assed legs tightened around his waist, grinding her pussy against him as she made sexy mewling noises against his lips. He growled and lifted one hand to tunnel his fingers in the silky strands of her hair.
Her hands were running over his shoulders, his head, his jaw. Everywhere she touched made his muscles twitch as if there was an electrical charge firing every nerve. It was intense. Out of control.
An ounce of self-preservation existed enough that he sent out a mental scan of the area. Every synapse fired, demanding he keep his female safe above all else. His eyes narrowed for a moment, noting the change from night to day before sliding over high stone pillars. He heard tranquil water flowing into a pool, with a brilliant green forest beyond. There were lounges with soft white cushions, but he refused to loosen his hold long enough to set her down.
Birds and animals were silent, but out there. He didn’t sense any people, and that was what he cared most about. Her safety.
The place was ancient, pure. Private. And so obviously not of his world that he knew he was back in Thule.
Mine thundered inside his mind over and over as he devoured her soft lips, riding her over his denim-clad cock. She felt so damned good. Perfect.
One moment she had her hands all over him, and the next she was in the wind, taking herself out of his reach. He growled low, a primal beast denied his mate. It took every ounce of his shredded control to stop from stalking her. His muscles fucking hurt from the tension in holding back. Hi
s father’s voice in his head and the loss of her touch were the distraction he needed. It saved him from closing the space separating them. He still tasted her, smelled the sweet seduction of her wet pussy aching for him.
Fuck. He struggled for breath as his eyes refocused.
His family. He needed to be sure they were safe.
What’s happening there? he simultaneously sent his father and Drake. I have the Goddess with me; tell them she’s safe. I didn’t fucking take her on purpose. He mentally cursed himself. He’d left them in order to protect those he’d cared about, but taking her with him was the opposite of protecting his damned family.
It was as if he were a babe with absolutely zero control of his abilities. The power inside him was like a living breathing thing, surging from every damned cell so that it completely flooded the space around them. Panic nearly drowned him before his mind computed it wasn’t hurting her. Her breathing was uneven, her eyes lust hazed, and there was a tiny crease between her eyes, but she seemed otherwise fine. It was all fuzzy as he fought the lust and attempted to focus on anything but how hard his dick was fighting the bounds of his fly.
He sucked in air as he watched her pant while facing one another over the span of the sunlit temple. Her back was pressed against a large carved rock pillar. They stood on more stone with steps leading to some pools on one side. The entire platform was built on a high cliff surrounded by a forest of vivid green shot with the occasional brilliant red flower.
Is everything okay? he demanded, further stressed when neither his cousin nor father answered right away.
His female was taking in their surroundings while angrily glaring at him. “What have you done?” she demanded.
He breathed deeply, needing to make sure his father and the others were okay before he attempted to answer her question.
His ears were ringing by the time his father’s voice came through. We’re still locked in place by these ridiculous creatures, Hades spat out. The Thulian Gods were demanding answers to what you’ve done with her, but the irritating animals haven’t so much as twitched… Where are you?
He felt a hint of relief that the cats hadn’t freaked out; that fact should calm the Gods of Thule. He hoped. It made sense to him that the powerful beasts would have been agitated unless they knew the Goddess was safe with him. He shook his head, thinking how ridiculous that sounded in his head. As if the cats were all powerful. Maybe they were. Maybe his life had turned into Planet of the Lynx.
He glanced around again, taking a better look at where they were. Brightly colored blue and red birds perched as still as statues in the ivy-covered trees beyond the pavilion. When he glanced around the pillar at his female’s back, he caught the view of an ethereal-looking waterfall. He narrowed his eyes at the familiarity of it. The beauty of glowing blue and silver orbs that made up the falls paled against the sight of his angry, lust-filled mate. He watched her closely and felt her trying to build power.
“Why did you take me?” she snapped and narrowed her eyes at him. His female was crouched as if they were about to battle and, fuck if her warrior stance didn’t make his cock throb harder against his zipper. The damned thing was probably imprinted with the metal teeth by now.
“I have no intention of harming you,” he assured her in the ancient language as calmly as possible though he could barely talk without growling. He felt like a damned animal. He wanted to fuck her until she was screaming his name. And nowhere in that scenario would there be any pain. Only soul-rending pleasure.
Son of a bitch, this was fucked. He wasn’t sure if he should take her back to the lake. He couldn’t be there though, not this out of control. His power had washed into the forest with the force and strength of a tsunami, and he wasn’t sure he could contain it all.
Everything in him stilled when the implication of it finally sank beneath the lust.
His power was free and she wasn’t affected. He’d been right to leave the lake if his power didn’t work on Thulians. Even his father would have been rendered completely enthralled and at P’s mercy with a fraction of the power he was unleashing now.
He took in every inch of her, paying special attention to her heavy breathing and swollen lips like a damned fiend.
Was she immune because she was his mate? That made the most sense, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to test that theory. There was no way he was taking her back to her brothers if he couldn’t get his power back under control. He tried to force it back and heard the soft gasp of his mate.
Her eyes flashed with fire that lit him up as she choked out a demand, “What are you doing?”
His cock ached at the glazed look in his female’s eyes. She moved as if by compulsion. A few steps until she locked in place, balling her fists, glaring at him.
He tried again and they both groaned.
For fuck’s sake. His power was somehow linked to the raging arousal. For both of them. Each surge matched the throbbing of his damned cock. He ran a shaking hand over his head as he tried not to be embarrassed by the fact that they were both, in fact, ruled by his dick at the moment.
“What was that?” she breathed, and fury mixed with the arousal burning in his direction. “Have you put a spell on me?”
He eyed his female. The draw was a damned drug, and he could see her fighting it. Her tanned skin was flushed a gorgeous pink and her lips were swollen from his kisses. He smelled her juices and knew she was making more for him. He rubbed his lips and held back a damned growl at how much he wanted to taste it. Her eyes trailed his fingers and he was only seconds from losing his mind. He took a deep breath before telling his father what he was sure the God could already sense. What he sensed. We’re in Thule, and I can’t leave until I get my power back under control. It’s linked to her, and the mating frenzy is fucking with it. Do not start a war while I’m gone. I need time to figure out how to fix this. But tell me if anything changes there.
This was a damned nightmare.
*****
Gefn felt completely out of control of her body, spelled to the point of animalistic need by the heathen in front of her. The dizzying effects of how he’d taken her away had worn off, but intense power seemed to fill her entire body. All that power and the arousal were affecting her mind. She was wild and needy, out of control, and somehow it was linked to the male in front of her. He’d stayed on his side of the space, but it was taking all her will not to go to him. They were alone. But where had he taken her? It felt familiar, but not. She’d tried to build power for a portal and cursed when it fizzled out. How could she feel so powerful and not be able to wield the one ability she needed most?
One minute she’d been in his world, feeling the crushing impact of betrayal. Spa and Velspar hadn’t only been her protectors, they’d been her friends… her constant companions for thousands of years. She had a bond with them, had battled at their sides, so to be blindsided by the immense power she hadn’t known they held was like a blade to the chest.
Her cats had effectively immobilized not only the powerful beings in the new world, but also her and her brothers. If they’d always had this hidden ability, why hadn’t they used it to prevent her evil brother Tyr from slaughtering her priestesses?
She still mourned them. They were bonded to her at birth just like the cats. And she hadn’t saved them, but knowing that Spa and Velspar could have infuriated her. She’d been trying to get some kind of answers from the cats before she’d been whisked away by the intoxicating male.
She was still angry with the beasts, and feeling their pleasure that she’d been abducted only angered her more. Was she some kind of pawn in a greater plan for Thule? When she felt her beasts trying to soothe her again, she pushed them away. She didn’t need soothing. She needed answers, and she needed to get back to that lake.
“Return me to my brothers,” she demanded, even though a traitorous part of her rebelled at the thought of leaving this soothing place, of ending whatever this was. She wanted to be in his arms far too much,
but if she didn’t get back to Hroarr, there was no telling what he would do to find her.
“I can’t. Not with my power so out of control.” His words were said through clenched teeth.
She scowled at him. “You were able to get us here. You should be able to return me the same way.” She tried for another portal and again the power fizzled away. “You need to take me back.” Hroarr would not wait long.
“I am not lying to you,” he ground out, his chest rising and falling as harshly as hers. Lust? He continued more steadily, “Do you feel the power coming from me?”
“Yes,” she rasped out as she tried not to moan at the comforting warm blanket of power he spoke of.
“It doesn’t hurt you?” he growled.
She flushed, because it did the opposite of hurting her. “No.”
He growled low. “Fuck. It feels good to you, doesn’t it?”
She sucked in air, assuming the first word was a curse by the way he spoke it. “Yes.” She wasn’t about to admit how good it felt running along her skin.
He moved closer, and she was mesmerized by the animal grace of his movements, the way his muscled chest flexed with each step. The way his black wings fluttered in the building wind. He was more than beautiful, with the images on his arms and his piercing blue eyes drawing her in. His next words dried her mouth. “It makes you wet.”
She licked her lips and watched his eyes focus there. She swore a shudder ran over his body as his eyes nearly burned with heat. She refused to answer him, but his voice lowered. “I can smell how good it makes you feel, and I can’t wait to make it even better. Now, tell me your name.”
She gasped a little as her entire body flushed and she grew impossibly wetter at his words. She spoke without thought. “Gefn.”
“Gefn, I’m Pothos.” He said her name as if it were a vow, just as he’d said it at the lake. As if the word were for her only. Air stuttered from her lungs.