Finding Hope

by Krystal Shannan

  Pythia turned back to Ares and Artemis. He bowed his head, handed her the golden dagger, and accepted the faintly glowing diamond.

  “If you ever want to share your pleasure, Huntress…”

  Artemis bowed, a hint of a blush creeping into her cheeks. “I will keep it in mind.”

  Ares shook his head at the suggestive wink she offered Artemis.

  “Do that,” Pythia said and turned to Ares. “You are truly hers, God of War,” she whispered, her voice had changed again, and her eyes were white. Ares waited. “You are bound as she is bound. Two halves will become whole when trust is truly given.”

  Pythia smiled, and her eyes slowly turned back to their soft purple hue.

  “I thought we were already…”

  “I may be the oracle, but I cannot speak for Her meanings.”

  He nodded. “Thank you.”

  “Of course,” she answered. “Don’t worry about the family. They will be here a while, seeing how none of them brought me a present. They thought they could use my plain to have a secret meeting. Stupid gods. Nobody has manners these days. When Atlanteans came to the Plain thousands of years ago, they would bring me chests of jewels. Each generation has grown more casual.” She frowned. “It’s sad, really.”

  “Wait, you said when the Titans cease. Aphrodite is the only one left…right?”

  She smiled and winked. “One thing at a time, War god.”

  “Goodbye, Pythia,” Ares murmured.

  She nodded, dismissing him with a wave of her hand. The thought of other Titans still being around was unsettling, but she was right…one thing at a time.

  Ares took Artemis’s hand and phased to the pool outside Aphrodite’s palace. Two huntresses greeted them. He stooped at the edge of the water and slipped the diamond beneath it. Immediately the pain in his chest vanished. The diamond glowed bright white and sank to rest at the bottom with all the others.

  ***

  Aphrodite gasped and sat up in her bed.

  Dionysus jumped from his seat on her chaise on the opposite wall.

  “Ditee?”

  The pain was gone. Her essence had snapped back into place. The diamond was back, and the souls were safe. Ares had done it. His essence called to her from outside like a tug on a leash.

  “I am well, my friend. Thank you for watching over me.”

  Dionysus nodded.

  She phased to Ares’s side, leaving Dionysus in her bedroom.

  With no hesitation, she threw herself into Ares’s arms and stretched to reach his mouth. He obliged her assault and bent closer, returning her kiss with the aggressive dominance she’d grown to adore. His tongue thrust in and out of her mouth, revving her libido to high gear. She wrapped her legs around his waist and moaned in satisfaction when both his hands migrated to her ass and squeezed hard.

  A quiet cough at her right broke the moment. She and Ares broke the kiss and turned to look at Artemis. Warmth crept into her cheeks. It was embarrassing that she hadn’t even noticed her standing there.

  “I’ll just be going then,” Artemis said with a dirty grin. “Cora and Ness are staying on guard for now. We’ll talk after you two settle down.”

  Aphrodite nudged away from Ares, and he let her slip to the ground. She walked straight to the tall huntress and gave her a firm hug.

  “Thank you.”

  Artemis blushed and nodded. “What you do is very important. Many of the other gods are just too self-absorbed to understand the delicate balance between our realms.”

  “You helped save two immortal souls today from being completely destroyed. And you are loaning me your huntresses to help guard my pool. I owe you, Artemis.” She turned to face Dionysus, who had phased to the garden a few moments earlier. “And you, my dear friend.”

  “No trouble, darling. I think Artemis and I will say adieu and leave you to your hot-and-bothered god of war.”

  With quick nods, they both disappeared.

  Aphrodite smiled and looked back at Ares. He was watching her with that hungry stare she loved so much. His red eyes glowed, and heat radiated from his body, warming the air around her. She looked down. Hints of red swirled here and there within the tendrils of her white essence.

  “I have yours too,” he added softly.

  She studied his essence carefully. Sure enough, threads of white twisted and turned within the blood-red tendrils.

  A few steps brought her to him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and sighed against his chest. He smelled of leather and sandalwood.

  “Are you okay with the bond?” she whispered. The connection was permanent if they didn’t break it soon. If he didn’t want to be stuck with her for all eternity, he better speak up now or “forever hold his peace,” as the humans would say.

  He stepped back and held her face gently in his hands. She looked up and met his soft gaze. The red had faded to a rich burgundy mixed with some brown as well as a few flecks of gold. He had such beautiful eyes. It was strange she’d never taken the time to notice that before.

  “I want nothing more than to spend an eternity with you. I am honored that you trusted me enough to give me another chance.”

  She smiled and nodded, unable to speak. The sincerity in his words cast aside any lingering doubts she had been clinging to about his loyalty. Warmth spread from his hands through her with a rush. Her body thrummed with desire, and separating his clothing from his sexy body became her first priority.

  “Please take me,” she moaned, rubbing her hips against the granite-hard bulge in his pants.

  “With pleasure,” he answered with a growl.

  ***

  A breath later she was sprawled on his bed beneath him. He snapped his fingers and her clothes vanished. She grinned up at him like a Cheshire cat. Long auburn curls framed her heart-shaped face and fanned across his bed. Her creamy white skin and rosy pink areoles called out to him like a siren’s song. He lowered his mouth and licked across her breasts, nipping and sucking at each pebbled nipple. The mewling noises coming from her throat hardened him more than he would have thought possible.

  “In me, please.” Her voice was raspy and needy. He loved it. A quick flick of his wrist had them skin-to-skin. His erection nudged at her slick entrance. A quick thrust of her hips urged her on, and he drove inside. Her tight channel flexed around him, and he groaned. The sensation was heavenly.

  “Gods, you feel so good, Ditee.” He sped up his thrusts, matching the rhythm of her undulating hips. She began to pant beneath him, and he knew she was getting close. He withdrew, drawing a wail of anguish from her red lips.

  “Where are you go—”

  “Shhhh,” he murmured and flicked his tongue across her swollen clit. The muscles in her thighs tensed and squeezed against either side of his head. He chuckled and sent his essence to hold her down. The red tendrils laced with white snaked around her wrists and ankles, securing her firmly to his bed and spreading her in her glory for his pleasure —the most powerful goddess on Olympus.

  He nuzzled her sex again, this time nipping a little at her lips and clit. She bucked against his face and thrashed, moaning for more. Her body shuddered, and a sheen of sweat slicked her skin.

  “I need to come, please. I need to come.”

  Over and over she begged.

  “Not just yet, my love.” He paused and waited. It’d slipped out without warning. They were, for all intents and purposes, mates. The oracle had even said two halves would be whole when trust was given. She trusted him. She’d asked him if he wanted the blending, and he’d assured her that he did….gods, he was over-thinking this.

  Her ice-blue eyes lazily opened, and she peered down at him. They were soft and dreamy, like the sky on a perfect summer day. She was in her happy place. He grinned. She’d found it even without roughhousing. He loved to play a little rough, and she totally got off on it, but this was about more than play. Today he made love to his mate, a mate he hoped returned the same affection.

  “God of War
, did you just call me your love?”

  “Yes.”

  Even though her hands were bound, her essence embraced and caressed his skin like kisses from her mouth. The experience was intoxicating. He growled, his desire for her growing exponentially by the second.

  “You are mine too,” she whispered.

  Those words pushed him over the edge. She accepted him. Wanted him. She’d forgiven him.

  He sank into the cradle of her hips and thrust deep. She arched into his movement, urging him to go harder and faster. He released her hands and reached out. Their palms touched, fingers interlaced, and energy flowed between them. Their essences mixed completely. A rush of energy surged through him. Her power mixed with his was a heady combination. The room burst with a white light as her essence filled the room. Her orgasm milked his hard cock, and he shuddered. His release quickly followed.

  A burning sensation heated the palm of his right hand for a second. He heard her hiss in pain too, and pulled his hand away. A tattoo of Aphrodite’s flower had seared onto his palm. He held it up for her to see, raising a questioning eyebrow.

  Her eyes widened, and she pulled her own palm back. When she turned it to face him, he saw that the spear and shield emblem of his temple had been tattooed to hers. The tattoos shimmered, as though they’d been infused with some sort of metal.

  “Have you ever seen this before?” she asked him, a little wide-eyed.

  He shook his head. Gods married from time to time, but he’d never seen them mark each other.

  “I can feel your energy inside me,” he said in awe, rolling and tucking her tightly against him. Her pert round bottom wiggled against his already hardening cock.

  “I know.”

  “How?”

  “My essence is alive. It’s my life force. I can feel it wherever it is.”

  It made sense. When her essence had left her to search for the missing soul mate diamond, she’d looked as though she was dying. The pain he felt from the loss was insignificant compared to what she experienced. She was so strong. So resilient. Once the diamond had been returned and her essence came back, she was herself in mere moments.

  “Don’t be sad, God of War,” she murmured, snuggling against him again.

  He traced his fingertips along her bare hip and partway down her thigh, smiling when he felt her shiver. She’d always been very ticklish.

  “I’m not, Ditee. Just thankful.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Turn right here.” Charlotte pointed. He slammed on the brakes and took the turn a lot faster than he should have. The poor woman hung onto the bar above her seat and shrieked. “You should have just let me drive.”

  Adrian scowled. He probably should have, but he was too proud to admit it. “Just tell me where to turn more than two seconds ahead of time.”

  “Left ahead,” she added.

  The tires spun a second in the gravel before they found traction. He slowed just a little as they flew down the old logging road.

  “Don’t worry, this road goes all the way to the lake.”

  He nodded and pressed the gas back down a little harder.

  “Do you think she’s out here?”

  “It’s a long shot, but usually when things are out of order, it’s for a reason,” he answered. In truth, Addison could be anywhere. The chances of finding her, if she wasn’t in this ice-fishing shack, were really low. He was just praying she was still alive.

  Ten minutes later the Jeep exited the tree line, and Adrian pulled to a stop in a small gravel parking area. He jumped from the Jeep and froze. Dark slivers of fear crept up around his heart and squeezed. The bay was covered in shacks. They all looked the same.

  “Ch-Charlotte?” he said, choking out her name.

  She stopped beside him and stared.

  Her silence answered his question.

  “I’ll start with that one.” He pointed to his left. “You go to the right. Holler if you find her.”

  “Okay. Don’t hurry. You’ll end up on your ass.”

  He nodded and stepped out onto the ice. It seemed plenty strong. Charlotte moved away from him, sliding one foot forward and then another. He copied her movements and reached the shack on his left in a few minutes.

  “Addison!”

  No answer.

  The door opened easily, and he peered inside. Several camp chairs, fishing equipment, and a few blankets filled the cabin, but no Addison. He closed it back up and saw Charlotte moving toward another shack. He set his sights on the next closest shack to him and set off. Charlotte’s voice, calling for Addison, echoed ominously across the deserted lake.

  An hour later they had checked over two dozen shacks, and there were still dozens more. Adrian approached the next one and frowned at the padlock. He shook the door.

  “Addison?” he called out again.

  ***

  Adrian? Addison opened her eyes. The cold had seeped in so deep she could barely feel the mattress underneath her. The wadded-up rag in her mouth had hardened with spit, and her lips were cracked from the gag tied around her jaw.

  She tried to make a sound, but nothing came out.

  The door rattled again. “Addison, are you in there?”

  Panic set in. I’ve got to make some noise. She tried to kick, but moaned when the rope yanked her sore shoulders. Damn hogtie! A quick wiggle got her a little closer to the wall, and she bashed the side of her head into it as hard as she could. The wall shook from the impact. The noise from outside the door stopped. She knocked her head against the wall again, wincing. A lump had already started to swell from the first hit.

  “Addison! If that’s you, sweetheart, I’m going to get you out of there. I’ll be right back.”

  His footsteps moved away from the shack. He said he was coming right back.

  She sighed and sank back into the nasty mattress, tears running down her face. It had been so cold and so dark last night, but what had really scared her most were the wolves or coyotes that had come out on the ice last night and gnawed on the shack. Their growls and whines would haunt her dreams for sure. She hadn’t slept since she’d woke up in this frozen cage.

  It seemed like forever before the sound of shuffling footsteps approached the shack again. A woman’s voice called from not too far off.

  “If she’s there, just holler. I’m going to keep checking the other shacks.”

  “Lord have mercy, she’s got to be here. Why, out of all these shacks, would only this one have a padlock?”

  The clank of metal hitting metal shook the door.

  Addison waited. She just wanted to see his face again.

  A loud snap heralded the lock breaking apart. The door swung open, blinding her temporarily.

  He gasped. “Addison! Charlotte! She’s here!” he shouted and dove to her side. “Oh my God, sweetheart, are you hurt?” he asked, making short work of the gag and wadded-up rag in her mouth. She wheezed out a barely audible “no.” He pulled a pocketknife from his back jean pocket and sawed through the rope tying her wrists to her ankles. A hoarse scream tore from her throat as the blood began rushing back into her sore, numbed limbs. The cold had been terrible, but not being able to move had been worse. He pulled her into his lap, and she sobbed into his chest.

  He’s alive. He’s well. He’s found me.

  “Thank God she’s alive. I couldn’t believe Bryan would kill someone.” Charlotte’s voice drifted to her ears.

  Charlotte Keller is here? Deputy Miller is involved? Holy crap! Oh my God, everything hurts.

  She continued to sob while her body tried to warm from its semi-frozen state. The pain was like a thousand stabbing needles. Even speaking was impossible. When she tried, only a hoarse croak had emerged. Her throat was so dry. He had shushed her and hugged her even tighter.

  Adrian’s chest was warm. She buried her face inside his coat and against his flannel shirt. Darts of pain shot through her body when he stood with her in his arms. But the pain was nothing next to the relief of knowing
he was alive and well.

  “Do you have a blanket in the Jeep?”

  “Yep, a couple of them,” Charlotte answered him. “How is she?”

  “Cold as ice. I can’t really tell anything else yet.”

  Their pace increased once Adrian had solid ground under his feet. He slid her into the backseat of Charlotte’s Jeep and then clambered in beside her.

  “Reach under the seat. The blankets should be there,” Charlotte directed. The Jeep roared to life, and gravel spattered the undercarriage as she pulled it out of the parking area.

  “Got them.”

  Her teeth chattered. She missed his body heat already. He wrapped the blankets around her and then pulled her back into his lap. She relaxed into his arms as the heat from his body and the insulation of the blankets started to warm her just a little.

  He shifted and pulled a phone from his pocket.

  “Sheriff Tate. We found her.”

  Relief was evident in the sheriff’s voice, even though she couldn’t really make out what he said.

  “We are headed to the hospital…yes, the one in Glasgow. Charlotte said it was a little closer.”

  He hung up and pressed a kiss to the crown of her head.

  “W-Wha—” Addison tried to speak again, but her throat and mouth hurt too much.

  “Shhhh. Sweetheart, don’t worry about anything. It’s okay. Give yourself a little time.”

  She sighed. He was right, and the warmth in the Jeep was starting to make her sleepy. She hadn’t been able to sleep at all once the scavengers had started attacking the shack. Her nerves and fear had kept her body stimulated and on high alert. It was safe to let her guard down now. The steady beat of Adrian’s heart lulled her to sleep within minutes.

  ***

  She was being carried. Sounds coming from overhead intercoms and people bustling roused her from the first bit of rest she’d gotten since this ordeal started. I wonder how long I was out there. Adrian’s pine scent filled her nostrils. He was still with her. Thank God.