by Helen Scott
Daughter of Hades
Cerberus Book Two
Helen Scott
Contents
Copyright
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Other works by Helen Scott
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Daughter of Hades
Cerberus Book Two
Copyright © 2018 by Helen Scott
Cover Design © Natasha Snow
Editing by Courtney Umphress
All rights reserved.
This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author, except for the brief use of quotations in a book review.
This book is intended for adults only. The sexual activities represented in this book are a work of fiction intended for adults. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are used fictitiously by the author. Any resemblance to actual places, events, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Chapter One
Poppy
Sitting in a car with four incredibly attractive guys was not as sexy as I thought it would be; at least, not after the first couple days. It didn’t help that I was sleeping with two of them, but being the future queen of the Underworld had its perks. Our latest addition, Nolan, had quickly meshed with Knox and Emmett, but Hunter was keeping his distance, which seemed pretty normal. The plastic-and-metal new-car smell had faded the longer we had been in the SUV, but the different scents of cologne, body wash, and junk food now lingered in the air.
Snow was falling steadily as we headed north. The tank we were driving was supposed to be good in that kind of weather, but every now and then, the whole thing would fishtail, and my heart would jump into my throat. I had downloaded some meditation music at the motel the night before to help keep me calm, but I hated driving in the snow. It was too slippery and dangerous for me to be comfortable.
“We should pull off ahead. There’s a little town and a couple motels according to GPS,” Nolan’s voice rang through my peaceful Celtic music.
“I’m not stopping until I have to,” Hunter snapped back.
I took a deep breath and slowly let it out. There was nothing wrong. We were all fine. It was just a blizzard outside, and we couldn’t see more than ten feet in front of our car. “Guys,” I called from the back seat. Three sets of eyes swiveled in my direction. “I’m with Nolan. Let’s stop and rest. Get some food and see if we can wait the storm out.”
“Food does sound good,” Knox said.
“You’re just siding with her ’cause you want to get laid later,” Hunter said with an undercurrent of snark that brought my imaginary hackles up. I might not technically be a hellhound, but I was definitely picking up some of their behaviors.
I surged forward, but before I could rip into him, Knox’s hand landed on my knee. He shook his head and smiled. I knew it was fruitless to get into an argument with Hunter. The man was incapable of backing down, but that didn’t mean I wanted him talking about us like that. The one thing about this road trip was the lack of privacy. Knox and Emmett were being good sports about it, but I wanted them with a fire that was almost uncontrollable. I was trying to be discrete and not rub Hunter’s and Nolan’s faces in the fact that I hadn’t slept with them yet, not that Hunter particularly wanted me to.
Nolan was a different story. The fire that burned between us was peculiar. There was something in it that made me wary, as if it had the potential to be just as toxic as his hellhound’s drool, which could eat its way through pretty much anything. We were all bonded together, so it wasn’t as if we needed to consummate our relationship immediately.
I closed my eyes and looked inside myself to my flame. It burned brightly, and the purple and red that ran around it were bright and strong, unlike the green and blue. Each color represented one of my hounds. The bonds I had with Knox and Emmett were strongest, being both physical and emotional, whereas the bonds I had with Nolan and Hunter were weaker since they were just blood bonds. If I concentrated, I could feel their emotions ringing through the flames like bells in the distance, but I tried not to listen very often since it felt kind of like spying on them to me.
The car swerved on what could only be a patch of black ice, and my eyes snapped open. It was less than a month ago since Emmett and I had been in the worst car accident of my life. As the SUV continued to spin out of control, I couldn’t help the yelp of fear that escaped me as another car plowed into us. My head smacked against the window next to where I was sitting as the screech of metal against metal filled my ears and the surrounding landscape became a blur. The collision pushed us into the guardrail on the side of the road. Thankfully, it held, and we didn’t end up down in the ditch, not that the vehicle was drivable anymore, anyway.
Groans coming from the guys were the first thing I heard as I became aware of my surroundings once again. As I looked around, I noticed scorch marks on the side where both Emmett and Nolan were sitting. I knew they must have reflexively changed into their halfway form where they didn’t fully shift into a hellhound but were able to access the hound’s abilities, like setting itself on fire as a defense mechanism.
“Everyone okay?” Hunter’s voice called from the front.
I couldn’t seem to make my voice work no matter how hard I tried. When eyes began turning to look at me, I gestured to my throat, but it was as if they were looking through me. Knox’s and Emmett’s eyes were both wide, and fear paled their faces. When Hunter and Nolan looked at where I was sitting, they had similar reactions.
“Where the hell is she?” Nolan asked.
“Hell if I know . . .” Emmett added.
I waved my arms in front of me. How could they not see me? When I saw my hands, a cold fear climbed up my spine. They were dark and almost ghostly, as if I were made up of smoke or something. Had I died? I shifted around to look at the seat and see what could have possibly killed me, only to find there was no body there. I had literally just vanished into thin air, except I was right there, looking at them and trying to talk to them.
“She’s still there. I can feel her fear,” Knox said, his eyes studying the back seat for any clues.
As though his very words had given it even more power, the fear I felt inside like a brick of ice seemed to grow, expanding to the point that it touched my limbs and neck, which only made me even more scared.
Emmett cocked his head like a dog listening to a strange sound. “She’s terrified.”
“Oh my gawd, are you guys okay?” a strange voice sounded through one of the broken windows.
All their attention snapped to the source of the sound, and I felt them all go on alert, ready for a potential attack. Although, if it were me, I wouldn’t have announced myself before attacking, but maybe that was because I watched too many horror movies. I’d never understood why the main character always called out to the killer.
“We’re fine,” Hunter ground out. “Are you okay?”
/> “The car’s totaled, but we’re fine. You guys just appeared out of nowhere. I swear I didn’t have any idea there was someone in front of me, and then there you were, spinning like a ballerina. I’m so sorry,” the owner of the strange voice said as he finally came into view. He was older, maybe in his fifties or sixties, and balding. His plain button-down shirt was neatly tucked into his khakis and had a name tag pinned to it that read Bob P.
Knox’s phone was already up to his ear, and I could hear the dispatcher answer on the other end before he quickly explained the situation. No ambulance needed, just two tow trucks and a police officer to take statements of what happened. Surprisingly, the crash had already been reported by someone else, and the dispatcher let Knox know that the police officer should be there within a few minutes.
Hunter spoke with the driver of the other vehicle, and Knox with the dispatcher, while I just sat there invisible. How the hell was I supposed to fix it when I didn’t know how it happened in the first place? Emmett and Nolan kept sneaking glances back at where I should be sitting as if they were trying to figure out a puzzle.
The sky was darkening by the time the police officer showed up, which was strange since it was only just coming up to midafternoon and we weren’t even in Canada yet, which was where we were heading before all this.
We needed to find my judges.
As the future queen of hell, I had to bring my own team in with me—hellhounds and judges to decide which souls went where. I couldn’t claim the throne until I had my people all ready to go, and even then, it was going to be a battle, especially when another goddess wanted to claim it for herself.
Everything became darker and darker as night seemed to fall within seconds. The only thing I could still see was the flashing lights of the cop car, and those faded eventually as well. Alone in the dark. Not my favorite thing if I was honest. Other sounds came into focus, sounds I’d never heard before and didn’t want to know what was causing them. It was almost like chain rattling around a fence except everything sounded distorted and echoey.
I tried to focus on listening to the guys talk, figuring out what they were saying to the police officer, how they were explaining away the burn marks along the inside of the vehicle, but I couldn’t hear any of it. I had vanished completely, and only the darkness remained. When figures began appearing, I couldn’t help but feel the fear making my heart pound in my chest and covering my body in a cold sweat.
Ghosts like the one I had seen at the house the guys owned, and even like the one I’d seen at the club, were rising to meet me. Some were deformed, others had body parts completely missing, while still more looked completely normal. They all moved toward me at a slow pace. I could have outrun them if I needed to, but the strange thing was the closer they got, the less frightened I became.
Barely visible hands reached out to me, and I took them, shaking each one like some kind of politician. I felt them, each and every one. I felt their pain, their regrets, their loves, each one a burst of knowledge across my consciousness. As soon as they were acknowledged, they faded, as if all they needed was that bit of attention, someone showing that they cared and that they see them. Their ethereal forms disappeared once more into the night while I was left with a deep conflict of emotions. Both grief and love welled up within me. Grief at so many lives being cut short, and love at the joy that not only filled those lives but that they provided to others. Each one was special and deserved to be heard, so I stood and waited, greeting each of them as they continued to approach me.
After what felt like ages, I was alone once more, just me and the darkness. I closed my eyes and looked for my flame and the bright colors that swirled around it. It took longer than normal to find, long enough, in fact, that I was nervous I had lost all my connections to the guys. The closer I looked at it, the brighter it became and the more the darkness receded. I pushed forward until the light was all around me, blinding me to everything else. When I thought I couldn’t take it anymore, the whole world rushed back in. Sound. Light. Sensation. It was all there.
“By the gods!” a male voice exclaimed.
I blinked in the light, my eyes burning. I felt as if I’d just been spit out from the closet in Poltergeist, or maybe just escaped being the opening of a Supernatural episode.
Chapter Two
Poppy
“Poppy! Can you hear me?” Emmett shouted next to me, making me cringe as the noise pierced my ears.
“Not so loud,” I whispered as I took in a half-naked Knox, along with three other concerned faces. I glanced around as much as I could, only to find that we were in another motel. The cheap watercolor print of a boat on a lake decorated the wall above one bed, while another fake painting of waves crashing against a giant rock was over the other one. Pale pink walls surrounded the room and made me uneasy. The look was topped off with brown curtains that were bordered with a floral motif. All the patterns and colors hurt my eyes, but when they landed on my men once more, I had to say I was more than a little happy to see them again.
“Sorry. What happened?” he asked as he sat me down on the bed.
“I don’t know. There was the accident, and then you guys were talking, but you couldn’t see me, and then everything faded to black. I saw ghosts and looked for the bond between us and used it to kind of pull myself home. If that makes any sense?” I could feel the confusion settling on my face. It sounded crazy when I said it out loud, but it was the truth.
“I think so,” Emmett said, rubbing his chin in thought.
Nolan had brought me a towel from the bathroom, and I was confused as to why, but when I took it, I saw dust and soot all over my arms. I looked down my body, only to find that I was covered in it.
“Do you mind if I shower?” I asked, holding the towel away from me so that I could use it momentarily.
The guys shook their heads, and I disappeared into the bathroom. I turned the shower on and was greeted by a squeaky handle and pipes that whistled as they expelled the air before the water could get through. When I turned around, what I saw in the mirror would have made me scream had it just showed up in our hotel room. Not only was I covered in soot and dust, or maybe ash, but I was covered in handprints, each a slightly different shade than the ones around it.
I thought of all the ghosts, all their lives, and everything they had shared with me, and I wondered if they had been showing me their regrets and loves to help me better appreciate the ones I had in my own life. I was falling in love with the guys, which felt weird to think. How could I love them? Weren’t people supposed to only love one person at a time? Or was that just a myth? Maybe some people were just built to love a different way. I knew I definitely was. I had been built to love all these guys. If I really thought about it, I could probably include the guys I hadn’t met yet as well, knowing myself. The best part was that they were built to love me, too. We all formed this weird kind of system that I wouldn’t trade for the world.
Once steam was covering the mirror and hiding my soot-covered face, I stripped off and stepped into the almost-too-hot water. Less than a half hour later, I stepped back out and realized a flaw in my plan. I hadn’t brought my bag in with me. I carefully wrapped one of the tiny motel towels around myself and left my hair down. Fortunately, my chestnut locks were now long enough that they went past my shoulders and reached the towel, which helped slightly with water absorption.
I stood behind the door for a moment, listening to the murmur of their voices, before I gathered up the courage to leave the bathroom in search of my bag. As soon as I opened the door, I felt their attention on me like a gentle wind blowing over my skin. “Has anyone seen my bag?”
Emmett was on his feet and retrieving it for me before I even got the whole question out.
“Thanks.” I smiled up at him in relief as I tugged it into the bathroom with me. When it caught on the door, I wanted to curse, but then as I got it through the awkward space, I realized the bathroom was too small for me to actually be in there wi
th the suitcase. The small square of tiled floor was mostly covered with the toilet, and if the shower door was open, that took up even more space, but I couldn’t get the bag in without standing in the shower.
A small shriek of frustration escaped me as I discovered the suitcase had become wedged between the shower and the sink cabinet. Barely a second later, Knox was standing in the doorway, his large form more than filling the space. His long, wavy black hair was pulled up in a bun, while his usual five o’clock shadow was turning into a full-on beard. Golden brown skin gleamed in the light from the bathroom, and all I wanted in that moment was to climb over my gods forsaken suitcase and curl up with him. Let his warmth seep into my bones and chase away the chill that wanted to be a permanent resident.
“What’s going on, angel?” his low gravelly voice asked tenderly.
I let out an exasperated sigh. “I just want to get dressed, but I can’t get my bag in here, let alone open it. Now I want to get it back out, and it’s stuck.”
A deep chuckle rose up from him before he leaned down and tilted the bag, dragging it out of the bathroom before he stepped in and closed the door. “What’s got you so flustered?”
“I don’t know,” I said honestly. “Everything just seems to be going wrong. You guys made it sound so easy, and with the pull in my belly leading us, I thought we would get this done in no time.”
He stepped closer to me, surrounding me in his scent like a blanket, and I practically fell into him. Arms wrapped around me like thick bands of steel, pulling me close for a moment before releasing me as he dropped his head to meet mine. His warm, yielding lips moved over my own until my blood was pounding in my ears and my breath was coming in short gasps.