Love and War

by Tricia Andersen

  She screamed as her release raged through her. She couldn’t think of anything but the man lying on her and his cock filling her. She didn’t want to let either go.

  He wrapped his fist in her hair to tilt her head back as he pounded hard into her. Teeth nipped at her throat then licks soothed the wounds. She cried out again as he throbbed hard, the warmth he left spreading through her. He slowed his strokes as he let her go then lay still inside her.

  “We probably shouldn’t waste time,” she reminded him.

  “No, we shouldn’t.” Mack sighed against her flesh before he pulled free. He rose to his feet then tugged her up to hers.

  Athena smoothed her skirt over her hips as she looked up at him. She shuddered as he ran the tip of his tongue over his lower lip.

  “Let me change and make a phone call,” she requested.

  “Hurry up,” he answered.

  She scurried across her apartment and up the staircase. She stopped and glanced back at him. He stared at her as he stood stone still. She slipped her cell from her pocket as she ascended the rest of the steps.

  * * * *

  The sun dipped lower on the horizon yet had not hit sunset yet. Athena clung to the armrest mounted on the door of the tow truck as it bounced along the road. She had driven this stretch of road many times. Never had she been jostled this much.

  She glanced over to Mack as he studied the narrow two-lane highway before him. She took in the angles of his cheekbones that peeked above his thick, dark beard. His dark eyes weren’t as cold and hard as they were when they’d first met. They were pensive as if he was mulling over the secrets of the universe as they rode along.

  “Where are we going?” he questioned, his gaze never straying from the road ahead.

  “My sister’s place. She’s out in the middle of nowhere. It’s not as remote as your place but pretty close.”

  He chuckled. “Let me guess. Artemis.”

  “Yes.”

  His smile faded. “Believe it or not, I was joking.”

  “I’m not. And be careful. She’s pretty pissed off that you deflowered her sister.”

  Mack huffed as he sat rigid in the seat. “About that. We shouldn’t have done that.”

  Athena cocked her head as she stared at him. “Why not?”

  “Because you must have missed it when I said I probably would get you pregnant.”

  “No. I heard you.”

  “It was a little hard to resist you when, in your lust-filled stupor, you told me you wanted to have my baby.”

  Athena pressed her lips in a hard, thin line before she spoke. “I wasn’t in a lust-filled stupor.”

  He glanced at her for the first time since they’d gotten in the truck. “You don’t know me. I won’t make a good father.”

  “I know enough. I know you tucked me in and kissed me goodnight when we slept together. You cooked for me. You provided clothes and shelter when I was a total stranger. And you hold me close to your heart and smooth my hair when you think I’m asleep. You may not like me, Mack Bradshaw, and that’s fine. But I’ve been around for thousands of years. I can read mortals. I know if you had a child, you would love it more than your own life. That’s the type of man I want to father my baby.”

  He turned his focus back onto the highway as he nipped at the tip of his thumb. It seemed like an anxious force of habit. “I didn’t say I didn’t like you, Athena. I just won’t love you.”

  “Won’t? That makes you sound like you have a choice.”

  “I have a choice if, and who, I want to love.”

  “And I have a nephew who would strongly disagree with you.” Athena pointed at the gravel lane that was barely visible in the tree line. “Turn left there.”

  Mack wrenched the steering wheel to turn onto the narrow road. The low hanging branches whipped the top of the cab. “Love is for suckers. Love just gets your heart ripped out or worse. I’m not about to let that shit happen to me.”

  Athena frowned. “Wow. Someone must have screwed you over.”

  Mack growled but didn’t answer. Athena huffed then continued. “Mack, who was it?”

  “It doesn’t concern you.”

  “Oh, but it does.”

  He turned to glare at her as a particularly large branch smacked at the windshield. “How the fuck do you figure?”

  “Here’s the thing. This thing on my leg means I’m eternally bound to you, right? Which means if I ever did fall in love, which I haven’t so far, I can’t act on it. I can’t kiss them, I can’t make love to them, I can’t have their child. So if I never get to know the love of a man, then at least you can tell me the name of the bitch who destroyed my chance at love. Am I correct?

  He stared ahead of him for a hard, silent moment as he navigated the truck down the rutted lane. Finally he muttered. “My mother.”

  Athena stared at him in disbelief. “I thought my family was messed up.”

  He shook his head. “It’s not like that. My mom had me alone. We lived in the shack in the swamp where I live now. She was human. She had a quick one-nighter with my father but didn’t know anything about him. Well, not until the mark formed on her and her new little boy sprouted fur and fangs every full moon. One day, when I was about ten, three men showed up at the shack. The biggest of them ran my mother through with a knife and all but sliced her in half. He held me back as I watched her die. He wouldn’t let me help her. Then he told me he was my father. He even showed me his mating mark and it was the same as hers. He tried to take me from the swamp, but his associates demanded that he leave me there. It seems that since I was a half-breed I was a dishonor to his name and completely and utterly worthless. They left a ten-year-old there in the swamp to bury the only person who ever loved him and to fend for himself. I’m fucking lucky I’m even alive.”

  She reached out to touch his arm as her heart fell. No wonder he was a pain in the ass. He had all the reason in the world to be. “Mack, I am so sorry.”

  He yanked his arm away from her causing the truck to sway. “Are you happy? Now you know.”

  She folded her hands in her lap. “Mack, I could never do something like that to you. Never.”

  He glanced at her. She could sense the raw pain in his gaze. “But what if it’s a curse? What if I did it to you?”

  She couldn’t stop her laugh. “You could try. But, baby, I’m a goddess. I’ve lived thousands of years. I’m going to live thousands more. I can’t die.”

  “Forgive me if I don’t buy into that.”

  Mack pulled to a stop in the clearing in front of the oversized log cabin. Even though Artemis perfected the rustic life, it was certainly evident she was a goddess. He flipped off the ignition and hopped out of the truck. Athena reached for the latch to open the door. It was yanked open as her fingers brushed the plastic.

  He offered his hand to her, to help her out. She smiled as she took it and slipped off the seat. She expected Mack to drop his hold as soon as her feet hit the ground. He threaded his fingers between hers instead as they walked towards the cabin.

  Artemis lounged across the wood plank steps of her wrap-around porch dressed in her usual black T-shirt and black leather pants. She flicked a blade over a piece of wood.

  Her head rose as they approached, her eyes narrowing as she took in Mack. She rose to her feet, her glare piercing the werewolf.

  Mack let go of Athena then crossed his arms over his chest to return her stare. The tension in the air was thick.

  “Hey, Sis,” Athena greeted.

  Artemis pointed the blade at Mack. “You will leave my animals alone. Got it? I find out you feasted on any of them, I will gut you like a fish. I don’t care if you’re sleeping with my sister. In fact, that gives me even more incentive to kill you.”

  Mack shrugged. “All I want to do is change. Your animals don’t even appeal to me.”

  Artemis scowled at him. Then she waved her hand, the knife glinting in the sun. “There is a black bear out there. Bastard poachers tagged h
im. He’s suffering, I can sense it, but I can’t find him so I can end his pain. If you find him, he’s yours. Actually, you’d be doing me a favor.”

  Mack nodded. “I’ll see what I can do.”

  He turned from the goddesses and strode towards the woods. Athena glanced at her sister then jogged after him.

  Mack frowned at her as she caught up to him. He shook his head. “Go back.”

  “I want to go with you,” she protested.

  “Athena, go back with your sister. It isn’t safe. If the craze takes me over and I attack, it could be tragic.”

  She grabbed his forearm and stopped, forcing him to stop with her. She caressed his face with her other hand. “I want to stay with you until you change. I’ll ghost if you try to hurt me.”

  He stared at her for a long moment. Then he turned his face into her hand to press a kiss into her palm. “Alright. I’m holding you to it.”

  She slipped her hand into his and followed as he led her into the forest. They wove through the trees until the branches nearly blocked out the sun.

  Mack slowed his pace then let her go. He grinned at her as he tugged his shirt off then handed it to her. He took his time to unfasten his belt then unzip his jeans. It was sheer torture for Athena to watch him slowly shimmy from the denim then kick the pants off. He hooked his thumbs in the waistband of his briefs then shoved them down also. He gathered his briefs and jeans from the forest floor then offered them to Athena.

  She gaped at him as she took in his nakedness in the dim light of the setting sun. She had never seen anything as beautiful as this man in her entire existence. She wanted to wind herself around him and never let go.

  He tucked his clothes in her arms. “Like what you see?”

  “It’s amazing,” she answered, her voice just a breath. “It is every time I see you, clothes or no clothes.”

  He cupped a finger under her chin to tilt her head up to his. His gaze wasn’t the hard, cold glare he normally wore. Instead it was soft and warm, accompanied by a gentle smile. It sent a shiver through her. His lips engulfed hers in a kiss she could feel in her soul. She shifted the clothes in her arms so she could trail her fingernails across his shoulder and down his back.

  Mack broke away from her. “Don’t start something you can’t finish.”

  “Believe me, I have all intentions of finishing,” she murmured.

  His gaze held hers for a moment more then looked up. Athena followed the direction of his stare. The sky was now a midnight blue and the pinpoint dots of stars blanketed the expanse.

  They looked at each other one more time. “We’re out of time, beautiful. Remember your promise to me. If anything happened to you, it would kill me.”

  She smiled. “I will. And I will be waiting for you here in the morning with your clothes.”

  Mack winked at her. “I’d be happier if you were waiting for me with my clothes with none on you.”

  Athena laughed. “That can be arranged.”

  He kissed her one last time then backed away from her, his eyes on her the entire time. At about ten paces his entire body seized. He dropped to his knees and rolled up in a ball on the forest floor. Tremors shook him as he let go a sob. The sound transformed into an inhuman growl. His flesh sprouted with coarse, almost black fur and his fingernails and toenails curved into long claws. As he untucked his head from his chest, his nose grew into a long snout complete with rows of razor-sharp teeth.

  The beast that took Mack’s place slowly rose and faced her. Feral gold eyes took her in as it closed the distance between it and her. Her body quaked as her mouth gaped open. She had seen many terrifying creatures in her long existence. This one gave them a run for their money.

  She held her hands up to ghost out of the woods. She’d promised Mack that she would. She concentrated on Artemis’s house in her mind and let her eyes flutter shut.

  The beast cocking his head to the side like a common German Shepherd stopped her in her tracks. It wandered up to her, then bowed its head to the ground to her. She blinked at it for several moments before she smiled.

  It was hard to remember that trapped within the beast was the man she loved.

  Her eyes widened as the thought passed through her mind again. The man she loved. Was she in love with Mack? She remembered the way he looked at her like she was his whole world, right before he’d changed into a werewolf. She might be carrying his child. She couldn’t deny it to herself. She didn’t know when or how it happened but the man from the swamp had stolen her heart.

  She was torn from her thoughts by the sensation of something nuzzling her. She was eye to eye with the beast before it snuggled against her again. She wrapped her free arm around its neck and hugged it to her.

  It pulled free from her grasp then twisted around her. It nudged its snout against her ass causing her to stumble forward a few inches. She looked up to see the glow of Artemis’s cabin through the trees.

  She glanced back at the werewolf. “Trying to get rid of me?”

  The beast snorted then nudged her again. She turned towards it and placed an affectionate kiss on the top of its head.

  She wandered through the forest towards the cabin. The werewolf never left her side until she reached the tree line. She pressed one last kiss into its fur before she broke free and jogged across the lawn. She looked back to the woods as she ascended the porch steps to the cabin. The golden eyes were still watching her as she opened the door and stepped inside.

  Chapter Eight

  The smell of apples and cinnamon hit Athena as she nudged the door of the cabin closed. The whole place glowed with warmth from the roaring fire in the fireplace to the kerosene lamps strategically placed throughout the living room. Even though it was still summer outside, the inside of the cabin looked and felt like late autumn.

  Artemis’s home was a complete difference from her own. Where Athena craved pure sunlight, Artemis preferred the cool dark of her abode. Not that it was a bad thing. Athena liked her sister’s house.

  Athena looked up as she heard something shuffle in the kitchen. She glanced around the quiet house. Night had fallen so, as the goddess of the moon, Artemis should have been long gone.

  She almost jumped out of her skin when she heard her sister’s voice.

  “Took you long enough,” Artemis chided.

  Athena pressed a palm to her chest to slow her stampeding heart. It didn’t help. “You just scared the shit out of me. Aren’t you supposed to be working?”

  “Apollo is taking the first part of my shift so we can have some sister time. I’ll head out when you go to bed. I’m assuming you’re spending the night. Or did you plan on dumping your werewolf in my forest and running?”

  Athena laughed as she set Mack’s clothes in an armchair before joining her sister in the kitchen. “I was hoping to stay. Thank you. I thought Apollo hated it when you dumped your shifts on him?”

  Artemis stirred the large cast iron pot on the stove. She ladled out the copper colored liquid into two mugs then handed one to Athena. “He does. But when I explained it was you, he volunteered. He likes you more than me.”

  “But you’re his twin.”

  “Which is probably why he likes you more than me.” Artemis motioned towards the overstuffed, threadbare plaid couch in the living room. “Let’s sit. Talk.”

  The goddesses made their way to the sofa and dropped onto the plush cushions. Athena sipped her apple cider with a content hum.

  Artemis set her mug on the polished wood coffee table. “So, what’s going on with you and the wolfman? Shouldn’t he be back in the swamp?”

  Athena caressed her cup between her hands as she stared at the surface of the cider. “Mack was supposed to fight Ares at his next fight. Some guy named Namtar showed up out of nowhere and got Ares thrown off the fight.”

  “That has to have pissed Ares off.” Artemis paused. “Who names their kid after a Sumerian death god.”

  Athena sighed. “Whoever names Sumerian death gods.
He’s not mortal, he’s a demon. And he showed up at Mack’s last night to warn Mack that he’s out for blood. He wouldn’t tell Mack whose though.”

  Artemis bit her lower lip. “The only ones killable in the entire equation would be Mack and possibly Juliet.”

  Athena ran the tip of her finger along the rim of the mug. Her voice was soft. “He kills gods, Artemis. He’s killed his own. I don’t know if he can kill others.”

  She noticed Artemis’s face grow pale in the dim living room. “You need to cut ties with this werewolf. Now.”

  Athena shook her head. “He came to Ares first, not Mack. He knows Ares is Romeo Lynch. Besides, I can’t leave him.”

  “Why not?” Artemis scowled. “You fell in love with him.”

  Athena shrugged. “Yes, I did. That and…” Her voice trailed off as she swallowed hard.

  “And what?”

  “Mack is only fertile during the full moon and it is almost guaranteed he’ll father a child then. We had sex before we headed here. I know I won’t know for a while but I want to have his child.”

  Artemis shook her head. “What happened to you? You used to be cool and calculating. You used to care only for knowledge, discipline, strategy and conquest. Now you’re sitting here blubbering about love and a man. When did you turn into Aphrodite?”

  Athena bit back a snarl. “Thanks for the support.”

  “Look, I’m just stating the truth. I have to admit, considering first impressions, I like the guy. But is he worth throwing your entire existence away? And does he feel the same about you?”

  Athena opened her mouth and took a breath to respond but was cut off by the melodic rhythm of her ringtone. She muttered a curse in Greek.

  “Who is it?” Artemis asked.

  “Zeus.” She slipped her phone from her purse and swiped her thumb across the screen to answer it. “Hi, Dad.”

  “Hello, Athena. Are you alone?” Zeus questioned.

  By the cold tone in the King’s voice, she could tell he was irritated. She swallowed hard. “No, I’m with Artemis.”

  “Isn’t she supposed to be guiding the moon? Am I losing control of all of my children?”