The Pledge

by Angelique Armae

  Ares stomps away with the limp snake grasped in his fist. On the ground I see the slime’s decapitated head.

  My formerly covered in mud feet now are dressed in a splatter of blood. I so need a bath.

  Atalanta shifts from lion to human.

  A shadow rises from the ground, accompanied by that ghostly Phobetor.

  Just great. Moros and his ghastly goon. As if Atalanta isn’t enough to deal with.

  Phobetor steps forward. His translucent, edged in neon blue body, floats my way.

  In dreamland, I get all the losers. Go figure. “Well, Phobetor, this is definitely a nightmare. You should be pleased.” My snarky attitude can’t stay down.

  “Oh, we’re not finished with you yet, Pandora,” Moros says. “There’s still the matter of the apple and of Leonidas’s oath.”

  My lion remains mum.

  I can’t figure him out. He attacks Atalanta but refuses to speak up for himself. What gives with that? “If the goddess wants her apple, then she must let Leonidas decide his loyalty, for himself.” I wave my hand high, shiny fruit locked in my fingers.

  I wait.

  We all wait.

  Leonidas shifts form. “This matter concerns another soul. I am not free to choose.”

  “You are, now.” Lycus steps in front of me. “I don’t care anymore, Leo. Tell them all everything you know. Just get out from living under the gods’ grasp. Because for fucking sake, you deserve it.”

  Ares returns and goes into battle stance the second he eyes Moros and Phobetor.

  “Stand down.” Lycus shouts. He motions for Ares to lower his spear.

  The Spartan god obliges but doesn’t look all that pleased.

  Leonidas turns to Atalanta. “Even without my brother’s blessing to finally stick it to you, I want you to know that I would never have given you my complete loyalty. I would have taken whatever punishment you cared to dish out in exchange for freeing me and keeping Lycus’s story secret. You don’t deserve to be a goddess.” My lion walks away from Atalanta.

  The goddess rolls her eyes. “You are so over dramatic, Leo. And for what? A wolf and an imp? And let’s not forget our disgraced god over here.” She tilts her head toward Ares. “Wimps. All of you.” She saunters over and reaches for the apple in my hand.

  I refuse to let go. “Not so fast, Kitty.”

  I cringe, fearful of what she’ll do in retaliation, but I can’t care more than a cringe at this point. “Where is my box? My real box.”

  “I don’t know,” she says. “And that is the truth. I only came for Leonidas as I wanted him back. I don’t share well.”

  My heart deflates. So this was all about Leo and his pledge to Atalanta. Bitch. No one who endangers my guys, gets away with it.

  Ares lunges for me, wraps his arms around me. “Let it go, Sweet Cakes.” He kisses my cheek.

  Leonidas pries my hand open. “We don’t need her stupid trinkets, Pandora.”

  Lycus is at my back, his warm breath fanning my neck. He feels the best out of the three of my guys. I sink into his chest, my body all warm and tingly. The scent of mountain pine fills my nose.

  Moros appears at my side, his minion Phobetor right there with him. “I’ll be back, Pandora as your box is still out there and I still want it. But most of all you have given me a great gift today.”

  I raise an eyebrow. I’ve given the bastard nothing.

  He laughs. “Oh, but you have. I now know you will do anything for your Spartans and they will do anything in turn, for you. Which means when I do find your box, I will challenge you for it. I will make you risk all for those you love for those who love you back.” He leans in very close, too close in fact. “You’ve given me Hope.” His whisper shoots right to my core.

  He vanishes, Phobetor a second behind him.

  I’m back in my bedroom, all clean, not a trace of mud or blood on my body. My clothes are dry, almost as if they are fresh from the dryer.

  My three Spartans surround me.

  I stare at Lycus. “What secrets are you keeping from me?” It’s all I can think of. I need to know why my wolf is so moody.

  “I am not my father’s son. Leonidas and I are not blood brothers. But no one knew that other than the two of us, and my mother.”

  I sit up and lean against the headboard. “How is that so bad a thing? Why did you have to keep it a secret?”

  Lycus lets out a long breath. “My mother was my supposed father’s second wife. Leonidas came from the man’s first marriage. My mother told Leo’s father I was his. But in truth I was sired by a wolf shifter. The first time I shifted, Leo was at my side, the true brother that he was. But even when he realized I was not lion and we already knew we didn’t share the same mother, he remained at my side. Together, we protected my mother. But it cost me as my father was treacherous toward me. He wasn’t much better toward my mother, but she swore me to secrecy and I knew she’d be killed if the truth came out. A pride of lions is no place for a woman who coupled with a wolf.”

  It had to be agony for Lycus all those years. “But why continue to keep your secrets. Is your mother still alive?”

  He shakes his head. “No. But neither is Leonidas’s father. And I’m afraid he died in an animal attack on the pride.”

  I stare at Leonidas who averts his gaze to the floor but keeps quiet.

  “I take it the man was killed by a wolf who was perhaps aided by a lion?”

  “There are rumors,” Lycus says, but doesn’t elaborate.

  “There are also rumors that said lion king was about to kill his two sons and his second wife, when he was brutally murdered. I heard he had ordered their execution for no reason other than he was tired of them.”

  Lycus steps away. “That’s still no excuse for what took place.” He walks out of the room.

  “He’s riddled with guilt,” Leonidas says. “But you must believe me when I say he only did what he did to defend me and his mother. The poor woman died, despite her son’s efforts to save her. The gods could have interfered, but they didn’t. They laughed as everything played out. We were nothing but entertainment for them. And as for me, well…Lycus nursed me back from the dead. And it wasn’t easy as we had to flee the pride and I was dying, but still he refused to leave me. I don’t know how he did it, but I will consider him my brother until my dying day.” He turns and leaves me with Ares.

  I want more than anything to find my box now. Maybe Hope can heal Lycus’s guilt, heal his heart and stop him from hating himself.

  The gods are cruel.

  And their game with me is far from over.

  To be continued…

  If you enjoyed THE PLEDGE, click to buy THE CHALLENGE (Pandora’s Harem 3) here.

  Author’s Note

  Thank you for reading THE PLEDGE, the second serial installment in my Pandora’s Harem series. I really love visiting Pandora’s world and catching up with her trio of warriors as they battle the gods. Up next is THE CHALLENGE, a tale where Pandora comes face to face with her real missing box.

  About the Author

  National best-selling author Angelique Armae is a native New Yorker who loves all things royal, can trace her Irish roots back to the Scottish Highlands, is half Italian, and is owned by a long-haired Tuxedo feline. She spends most days writing, unless her cat deems otherwise.

  http://www.angeliquearmae.com

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  GLOSSARY

  ATALANTA – goddess of Running. She’s a
lso a fierce hunter and a lioness shifter.

  ARES – one of three Spartan warriors accidentally summoned by Pandora. Ares is the god Ares, son of Zeus.

  CHAOS – the Greek goddess of discord/chaos/storms, etc. Chaos is the mother of Nyx, goddess of Night. She is also the grandmother to the gods Moros, Thanatos, and Ker. On earth she is a professor teaching Greek Mythology at Thorel H. Lane University in Manhattan. She goes by the name Professor Kaye Os.

  Chiton – a long toga-like gown worn by the ancient Greeks.

  Golden Apples – gold apples made by Aphrodite to be used to slow down Atalanta so she would lose a race and then her hand could be won in marriage.

  MOROS – the Greek god of Doom, who leads a soul to death. His brothers, also gods of Death, are Ker and Thanatos. His mother is the goddess Nyx, the daughter of Chaos.

  PANDORA – the first woman created by the Greek gods. She was given a jar filled with the ills of the earth and Hope. She was told by Zeus to keep the jar sealed. She opened it and unleashed hell on earth, save for Hope, which remained in the jar.

  Pandora’s box – the jar or box given to Pandora. Scholars of Antiquity dispute if it was a jar or a box.

  PHOBETOR – god of Nightmares, also a son of Nyx.

  KER – a Greek god of Death and is brother to Moros and Thanatos. His mother is Nyx and his grandmother is Chaos.

  LEONIDAS – a Spartan warrior who is one of Pandora’s protectors. He’s a lion shapeshifter. His brother is Lycus.

  LYCUS – a Spartan warrior who is also one of Pandora’s protectors. Like is brother Leonidas, Lycus is also a shapeshifter but he’s a wolf.

  Mount Olympus – home of the Greek gods. A place on the ethereal plane.

  THANATOS – a Greek god of Death. His brothers are Ker and Moros. His mother is Nyx, the daughter of the Greek goddess Chaos.

  ZEUS – the mighty god and ruler of Mount Olympus, home of the Greek gods.

  Zeus’s Book – a book given to Pandora, by the goddess Chaos. It’s written by Zeus and includes magickal spells and powers. But the book doesn’t work with a specific set of instructions. It can be very good or very dangerous. It possesses a myriad of powers.