by Setta Jay
And then nothing for centuries until he was hit with the shock of the first Guardian mating. Then worry that something was coming when more followed suit.
Apollo’s stasis unit being taken out from under his watch. Fury and anger with himself for losing the God.
Fear that he’d lose Brianne and Vane as he and his Guardians pulled power to ensure the two didn’t get lost to their beasts during their hybrid mating.
Seeing Apollo awakened from the stasis unit and fighting to get ahold of him.
His first scent of Delia as he processed what he knew of her, of what she’d endured at Cyril’s hands. The dragon raging and killing while she suffered. Anger and guilt at not finding her before Cyril fueled his fury during those first weeks she was in pain. Helplessness drove him and his dragon nearly insane when Sirena couldn’t find a way to help her.
Delia was with him while he was losing control and beating Apollo against a cave floor with walls tumbling around them. Wanting the God’s blood for what his son, Cyril, had done to Delia. Fury when he lost the God along with the tumbling floor of the cave.
Losing control day by day. Hunting hell beasts with P at his side. Sirena using her voice to calm him.
So much fury and then shock as Delia’s mind linked to his.
The warriors coming out of the air and battling to take Apollo from the Guardians.
Sacha going down in battle along with Sander’s mate, Nastia. Rage and worry that his people were injured.
Awakening Hades and feeling the impact of that choice. Challenges with the God, his uncle.
The moment she showed him her body and mind. The stark certainty that she matched him. That she was strong enough for both dragon and man and he wanted her. He craved the one thing that was his alone. His mate.
She nearly moaned as she felt his intense pleasure when he first touched her, the first time he was inside her.
She watched all of the times he had her. The pleasure he felt all the way to his soul. She was in his head when he saw her dragon brand for the first time, as she sent him the image of his own mark. Possessiveness. Tenderness. Awe. For her.
When it was over, Delia slowly woke to see Drake staring down at her. His hands moved to her face and caressed her cheeks as he kissed her. Such gentle, sweet touches as she sighed into his mouth. She gripped his shoulders and started moving along his still-hard cock.
Her power wasn’t as out of control as before they’d blood bonded, but his soul still called to hers as he moved his hands and mouth over her lips to her neck.
The fans were still on and she heard him tell Sirena they were leaving, and he ported them directly through the spelled room within seconds. He was so strong, so incredibly powerful.
When they reformed beside his bed, she moaned deep at having been completely one with him again. It spiked her arousal and soon their clothes were torn free and tossed away with their shoes in a haze of need as he took her down to the bed and covered her with his big body. He claimed her with one hard thrust, filling her up as she moaned in pure bliss.
“Our brands have changed,” he growled as he lifted his chest off of her and she looked down with a gasp.
“It’s beautiful.” She gasped, but his hips moving were short-circuiting thought. The outline was filled in with scales that looked like pure gold mixed with iridescent green, and she saw the mark of a mated Immortal male, two serpents entwined by tails, lining the ridge of the dragon’s back.
It meant eternity. With him. Her heart ached with desire and the beautiful spell he was weaving as he looked down at her so intently.
“I think you marked us with the images of our dragons, temptress.” He growled as he gazed down at her chest, his eyes flashing with animal pleasure. He sent her the image of how the mark on her chest had changed. Delia sucked in a breath at the stunning greens and hints of gold that ran over the body as if it were fluid and living on her skin. Her mind’s eye sought out and thrilled at what he was showing her. The same mating mark lining the ridge of the beast’s back ringed over and again with the sign of their eternity. Their tattooed dragons wore matching mating marks.
“How? I don’t have a dragon half yet.” She looked up, shaking her head as she touched the mark reverently. “Does the one on my chest look like your living dragon?” It had seemed fitting that the marks were of dragons, but now she felt that maybe hers was somehow prophetic. That kind of power was… unimaginable. The mark of his dragon she could fathom because it already existed. But hers, she couldn’t comprehend how her power would have come up with a likeness to use.
“Yes, it looked like mine from the start, and if that’s the case, you’ve marked him too,” Drake said and he looked pleased by that thought.
She sighed when he rocked into her body again. “What do you mean?”
“The gold. I think you gilded my dragon, temptress.”
She stared up at him, itching to see his beast. He had to be wrong. But suddenly the thought of having a beast half became real, so real it stilled her heart. She’d been lost to the shadow for too long not to be anxious, yet she hadn’t truly given it real thought until now. She breathed out and his lips came down on hers, gently seducing her, calming her nerves to replace them with pleasure.
I’ll take care of it. Of you, temptress. Never doubt that. She sighed at the sound of his reassurance and knew she could trust him to call her back if the beast tried to take over. It was too late for worry now, because she would manifest a dragon after their beautiful night of loving was through.
She let him take away all thoughts and worry as she sank into the beauty of his mouth over hers.
She moaned into his lips as her hips moved up to get more, meeting his ever smooth glide. Loving how full he stretched her.
He broke the kiss moments later to eye her with heated intent enough it fired her blood with wild anticipation. “Now I get to claim every inch of my mate.”
“Yes.” She breathed out. They’d have each other in every way possible until the bond snapped into place and she couldn’t wait for all he’d do to her. All the ways she’d become his.
She groaned as he took her lips again and then broke off to thrust and she was falling into the beauty of her male taking her slowly. He was making love to her so reverently her body wouldn’t survive it. He cherished her with every kiss, every caress. She matched him, showing him with her body how much she cared, how much she wanted it all.
Heat, soft moans and the sounds of wet flesh filled the room. All she could do was ride it out as her lungs filled with the scent of them. Her pussy clenched and gripped over and over as he turned her over and gave her his weight, claiming her again until they were coming in an erotic haze of hands, lips and teeth. She moaned hard as he wrapped around her in a claiming so intense and wickedly beautiful she’d never get enough.
It felt like hours later when their souls snapped together so hard she cried out in a searing ecstasy so intense her vision dotted and darkness pulled her under.
Chapter 23
France, Earth Realm
Nastia walked into her bathroom naked and tried to ignore the charred bits of her bedroom that resulted from her and Sander’s initial stop in the Realm.
She still couldn’t believe it had taken a damned hellhound to get her out of Tetartos’ confinement spell. And the little bastard had slobbered on her and demanded petting as apparent payment. Sander had explained that it likely had to do with Uri’s blood bond to the beast and that the Guardians were looking out for more pregnant hounds to try to get another pup, because all other hell creatures were bonded to the Tria.
She sighed, not really caring about hell beasts or the confinement spell’s weird loophole.
She felt oddly bereft without the Phoenix at her side, but he’d gone to his place for clothes just as she had. She huffed into the empty home as she turned on the water in the shower.
She smiled, thinking of her new baby. It was safe and snug in the garage and she wondered if her twin had
known about it. Did you know?
Know what? her twin bit out. Know that my sister still hasn’t finished mating her Phoenix? Yes, I knew since I just asked Sirena if she’d helped you tag his ass with a mating mark yet.
Nastia shook her head and mentally flipped her twin off. Did you know what he was getting me?
What? Her sister sounded eager and pleased now.
Nastia sent her sister an image of her new car as she stepped into the shower and let the water run over her head while sporting a big stupid grin.
He did not just replace your car with a newer fancier one. Her twin groaned.
He did. Nastia smiled.
You sound suspiciously happy, Tasha accused and Nastia could hear the smile in her voice.
He has his moments.
I’m checking on Brigitte again.
Okay. Bye, she sent as she quickly rinsed off all the soap and stepped out to dry.
She knew the second he arrived. “What, no shower sex?”
“We need to talk,” he growled as his eyes roamed over her skin.
She knew they needed to, but damn. “That sounds painful.”
“Yeah.”
She smiled at his honesty. He was half sitting on her stone countertop in another sleeveless tee shirt and some worn jeans that hugged his muscled, beautiful thighs to perfection.
She sucked in a breath as he stood up, giving her a knowing look. “I’ll meet you on the balcony.” And he was gone before her bathroom ended up as charred as her bedroom.
His scent was still mixing with the steam and filling her lungs, making her groan as she walked through to her closet. She slipped into low jeans and a tee shirt and headed out. She stopped by the bar in the living room and grabbed a bottle of Jack and a couple of glasses.
She wasn’t even sure what he drank, or if he did. She groaned. It had come to this. They were about to share and she didn’t have the first clue how to do that. She might need a few more bottles to ease into it.
The sound of rain pelted the patio roof. He was looking out into the cloudy night with shoulders that looked tense and that made her uneasy. Not that he was tense, but that she wanted to soothe the tension away. She was completely out of her depth with all of this.
“Why hold back?” he growled as he turned around. His eyes caught hers and held on; he couldn’t possibly know that she wanted to wrap her arms around him and rest her cheek against him like a normal female would have done.
“Who said I was?”
“I feel it.”
She wanted to growl at his words.
“Can we start with easier stuff?” she grumbled and set the glasses on a small table and sat. “Want one? Or something else?” she offered as she waved a hand in the direction of the bar just inside the door.
“Jack’s fine.”
She poured him a glass, wishing he’d said no because then she could have kept the bottle to herself. It would take a lot more than one bottle to catch a buzz, the only negative thing about being an Immortal.
“I’m going to check Hades’ mind,” she said, thinking it only fair to warn him.
His eyes flashed to flames and he growled, “After.”
“After what?” But she already knew the answer to that.
His eyes flickered a bit as he fought for control, all the while she was hoping he’d let it go. “Nastia, don’t,” he warned. “Tempt me, fuck me, drive your car naked, but don’t bait the beast right now.”
She breathed out slowly as she watched him battle it back.
“I talked to P. He agrees it’s a good idea.”
She nodded. Of course it was, it was hers. “And you’ll burn shit down if I do it before you’ve staked your claim?”
“The claim was made when I carried you out of that damn battle,” he snarled. “Fuck, it was made before I laid a hand on you.”
She took a deep breath. There was no going back. Best to just get it done. Isn’t that what she tried to do with Brigitte, rip off the Band-Aid so the female could move on? This was much harder. She wasn’t stupid; she knew it was time. Those warriors could come back at any time and she refused to be a liability. Sander’s power could make her immune to their weapons.
He hadn’t pressured her; he’d tried to give her time to heal. He’d shared energy when she was depleted, while going through the frenzy’s affects alone. And then there was her car. She’d had fun tonight. They’d both been grinning like loons when she hit two hundred and had to teleport them out of the way of a deer. The adrenaline rush and the bout of wild sex was intoxicating. She liked him. More than liked.
“Okay. When?”
“Tonight,” he bit out.
She took a long pull from her glass and nodded. She really didn’t want to blood bond. Sharing ancient memories of terrible moments sounded horrible.
Band-Aid.
She sighed and asked the question she’d thought of earlier, “Did you even want a mate?”
“I want you,” he said simply as he twirled his glass on the table. The words were enough to melt her a little more. He was getting pretty damned good at making her into a puddle.
“You might not like some of what you see,” she finally admitted. Better her jealous male be prepared now.
“You won’t either,” he growled.
Shit. “Maybe just tell me now,” she suggested. “You show me yours and I’ll show you mine.”
His lips tilted a second before he laughed. “You first, nasty girl.”
“The worst was when Tasha and I were escaping Apollo, so it’s really old.” She closed her eyes, not quite believing she was going to tell him, but at the same time she didn’t want him to see that without her having clued him in. “We started our escape plan early, but it wasn’t easy. I had to seduce the guard when I was fifteen.”
He didn’t speak, but she saw the fire light in his eyes. “He took you when you were a child?” he growled.
She didn’t like the sound of that, but it was the truth. It may have been acceptable for a human female millennia ago, but Immortals didn’t reach maturity until age twenty. “Yeah. He was twisted too.” She didn’t like to think of all she’d done, but to get free of Apollo it had been well worth the emotional scars. Tasha had tried to take her place over and over, but Nastia wouldn’t allow it. Why let them both suffer in disgust? “It went on for years and he finally got us out, so it was worth it.”
She saw the flames lick even brighter and she smiled a little evilly. “Don’t worry, Sparky. I killed him. Painfully.” The flames didn’t bank, but she plowed on anyway. “After we were free and he’d given us all the information we needed, I tortured him in the best ways.”
She sat while he was processing that. “And you’ll probably see me and Tasha as kids. If we didn’t do what Apollo demanded, he separated us. It doesn’t sound that bad, but we were kept in metal rooms underground to drain our strength. And since we were twins and close, any separation made us a little insane.” A lot insane.
“Son of a bitch,” Sander growled.
She shook her head. “We didn’t even see actual sunlight until we were close to twenty.”
“That’s why you left your room at the manor, even though you still needed energy,” he snarled.
She nodded. “Your turn.”
He ran a hand over his head and she felt so much better that hers was over. “I was one of the original Immortals created and assigned to Ares.” His look of distaste and her knowledge of that particular God made her uneasy. Ares was said to be one of the most twisted; the God had actually screwed his own sister, Artemis, and spawned the evil Tria who were imprisoned in Hell.
“He was fucked up even when he was young,” Sander admitted. “I tried to keep him under control. Fuck, we all did.” The Gods each had several Immortals assigned to them, training them in their abilities.
“You’ll see a decent amount of torture and I spent several years locked in a hole for trying to help one of the females.” The look on his face gave her a chill;
he looked vaguely ill. “It’s probably going to be real uncomfortable for you to see. I hate that it has to happen,” he admitted seriously.
“So do I. I don’t want to open old wounds.”
Sander nodded. “He also let Apollo experiment on me.” He’d been given a beast half like almost all the Immortals. She and Tasha had been created differently, using Hera’s blood, no animal DNA. But her male was a Phoenix. Not a bird to rise from the ashes, but a male who could. The race was given some form of hell beast, but it was one that didn’t actually shift. She didn’t want to think of what having a beast would be like, but she’d manifest one that matched his. Tasha said she didn’t even notice her non-shifting half, so maybe Nastia wouldn’t feel hers either.
“You’ll also see a lot of shit from when P, Jax and I spent decades looking for the artifact to call the Creators back. Ares and Artemis were beyond fucked up. I stayed in their palace trying to find clues for years. There was a lot of shit I couldn’t prevent.” He growled and she watched him rub a hand over one arm, over his inked skulls.
“The tattoos?” she asked, wondering if they had significance.
“My demons.”
She hated this. She didn’t want to see him hurting and she didn’t want him to see her as some kind of victim.
He took a long drink. “We only have to get through this once.”
She could almost swear he was trying to convince himself.
Chapter 24
Drake’s Home, Tetartos Realm
Delia woke in Drake’s arms without the overflow of power driving her insane, but there was an unsettling feeling of a different kind in its place. Her chest heated as the animal rose beneath the surface of her skin. She rolled onto her hands and knees as her back ached and she was sure it was wings wanting to break free as she panicked.
Shit. She really was being thrown into her first transformation. She fought it back, but it didn’t feel wrong; it felt primal and wild… and terrifying, but not wrong.