Cerberus hurried back to the gates of hell to guard it giving me one last lingering look before leaving.
Chapter 39- The Night Ariel Left
Aries
I stayed awake after the crack of dawn with Hermes in the office, trying to form the plan to our first attack on the witches. I didn't feel the urge to hurry to be met with an empty bed. Her absence had cast a bleak darkness over the palace.
Even though I worried about her reaction to my white lie, I nonetheless awaited her return with my at-most yearning.
Ariel's family were still asleep, unaware of the unfortunate death of their son.
I felt restless and wandered outside the mansion until I found my recently favored spot.
My remorse was eating me alive, inside out. I hid the truth from them, from Ariel, and didn't know if they would ever forgive me. I didn't know if she was would ever forgive me. Alpha Harris might consider this as an act of betrayal and break our alliance. He could even stand against me in war.
Could he? My wolf piped up.
I ignored him. I was in no mood for his incessant blabbering.
With my head in my hands, my thoughts were dragged back to Ariel. I needed her to tell me it was all going to be okay. I needed to feel the comfort her presence provided. When she was around, I felt like a piece of me had returned, filling the hollow shell that I had become from my miserable years on this wretched planet. I wanted her to place her hand on mine, to feel the fire that danced upon my skin with her every touch. I wanted her to reassure me, to say that she'll forgive me, but I knew deep down that that was not going to be the case.
I hid the death of her brother from her. She left thinking he was safe. She left to save him from death. And here I was, knowing well enough that her efforts were wasted but I let her leave anyway. What I did was truly unforgivable and Jake was right.
"Stop thinking so hard, you'll hurt yourself." Jake's voice sounded from behind me.
I was sat in the garden, on the bench near the pond that Ariel loved.
"How did you find me here?" I asked him sullenly, not even bothering to look back over my shoulder.
Jake came into view, smirking at me, "This place is Ariel's favorite. Well, second to the kitchen of course."
I half-heartedly laughed, "Girl does love her food," I jested, before patting the space on the bench beside me for him to grace me with his presence.
Jake sat down, looking at me intently.
"You made a mistake, Aries." He stated out flatly, "You didn't kill the kid though. It's not your fault...but he's dead. You couldn't have changed his fate. It was going to happen regardless of Ariel's presence," He continued, shrugging. "Even though it was a stupid mistake and for the first time since I've met you, I couldn't condone your decision to keep her in the dark. But we're not saints Aries," he said sighing, "and we're not dealing with a tangible enemy here. These people are witches, and they have conjured help from dark Olympian rulers; who betrayed their kind." Jake added, pausing and pursing his lips, before placing a supportive hand on my shoulder blade, "This pack looks up to you, we knew the consequences of standing by you, so did Ariel. She loves you, don't ever doubt that. You'll just have to give her time after you break the news to her. As for the pack, we blindly follow you because you are Aries. You're the goddamn god of war. The witches are retaliating fiercely and that's a good sign. They're going to try to hurt everyone you care about in an attempt to force you to back out. It means that they're scared out of their minds. We are going to win this, and once the war takes place, you can not stop. No matter who dies Aries, promise me you'll keep going. You have to fight for us. Fight for good in this world. Fight for Ariel. Fight for Adrien, you have to make his death count for something."
I took in a deep breath and let it out, "You know Jake, every day you stand by my side you prove to be the best Beta I've ever had," I said, getting out of my seat as I pulled Jake up for a brotherly embrace.
He patted my back, and as I released him I placed a firm hand on his shoulder flashing him a genuine smile, "Thank you, brother."
Jake grinned at me, giving me a brief nod, "Let's go beat their asses, Alpha Aries."
~
Jake and I barged into the office where Hermes was.
It was 9 am.
"Have you had your revelation already?" He inquired, as he took off his grey suit's jacket, folding his button-up shirt's cuffs to his elbows neatly.
Jake rolled his eyes at Hermes' posh accent and attitude, "As a matter of fact, he did Mr fancy pants."
Hermes smiled at Jake tightly before shifting his sardonic eyes to me, "Aries, would you tell your pet to address me politely, or else I will gut him like a fish and hang his corpse on the wall for everyone to see what happens to people who call me Mr-fancy-pants'."
Jake visibly gulped but glared at Hermes unwavering.
"This is no time for your foolish antics," I growled, annoyed.
Jake grinned at Hermes victoriously.
"Both of you," I continued watching as Jake's triumphant grin depleted.
Hermes sighed, "Unfortunately, pet, your master is right. Let us finish the plan for our first attack."
"The witches said fortnight in their first message. Which means there are 12 more days before their final attack. We can take this chance to help Hades set the trap for The Fates. He said he was going to punish them for allying with the witches. To defeat the witches we need to make sure that they're vulnerable and have no external help. So we'll take out their allies, one at a time," I said.
"And how do you propose we defeat The Fates? They are in control of the mortals' lives; they could kill every single member of your pack one after the other, they may even be deemed more powerful than Zeus himself. They have psychic abilities, and it will be very difficult to trick them, Aries. They can probably see us right now as we speak! The only thing they cannot do is kill a god, and the only god that controls them seems to have lost what little control he had over them at the moment." Hermes countered.
"The Fates are strong Hermes, but every group has a weak link. We just have to find it whilst solving the problem to my pack's mortality."
Jake nodded, "We can only fix that with Ariel here. So until she comes back, we have to concentrate on finding the weak link between The Fates."
"How is Ariel the solution to your pack's mortality?" Asked Hermes raising his eyebrows, a glint of wonder in his eyes.
"The Mating ritual. Ariel and I will join bonds by blood by slitting our wrists over an old Greek antique chalice, the chalice is mystical. This symbol of bonding by blood will make her & my entire pack automatically immortal," I answered, "and anyone who wants to gain immortality will have to join our pack to be bonded by blood."
"Okay, now that that's settled, who do you think is the weak link between The Fates?" Jake asked.
I thought hard, trying to remember a time in history when The Fates messed up.
And then it hit me.
Clotho was the weak link. She always did take a liking to Hades out of the three sisters. The Fates never liked Hades. Come to think of it, no one ever liked Hades. Most simply feared him. He was grumpy, mean, sarcastic, sardonic, and well, very... death oriented. But the only one who was always seeking Hades' approval was Clotho. Even when the whole Hercules ordeal happened 900 years ago; it was she who always kissed his ass.
This was it. I knew what to do.
"Hermes," I called out to him. The messenger looked at me questioningly, "Time for a trip to the underworld." I finished, smirking at him.
~
Ariel
I stood before the castle in awe, my gaping lips complimenting Hades for me.
Hades chuckled before he placed a finger under my chin, and shut my mouth for me, quite literally, "Wait until you see the inside," He gloated.
We walked across the black stone bridge above a lava-filled moat.
I kept a scowl plastered on my face, trying to prove a point; that he can't just force me to leave
home like that and expect me to be okay!
Hades rolled his eyes at me, "You're still not over that? That was like 5 hours ago."
"5 hours ago?" I asked, astonished.
"Oh, so she speaks!" He sarcastically remarked.
I growled at his annoying attitude. He perfectly knew how to get under my skin.
"Time sure does fly when you're having fun," he said, stretching the 'n' sound for emphasis.
"Fun?" I asked outraged, throwing my hands in the air, "Fun! Yes of course," I repeated sarcastically, "I've been forced to the underworld with the dark lord, surrounded by dead people and tormented souls, what's not fun about that?" I agitatedly spat.
"Exactly! Fun. Aren't you thrilled?" He pressed teasingly.
I scowled at him, trying to fight the smile that wanted to spread across my face.
Curse our mutual love for dark humor!
"Can you just show me to my room so that we could get this over with?" I asked with a scowl on my face.
Hades rolled his eyes, "Aren't you going to compliment my castle's fine architecture?" He asked, the smirk still on his face as he patted the pillars that were half embedded next to the smooth and sleek ebony castle doors.
A small smile made its way to my face as I admired the castle before we entered, "It's gorgeous. I-I've never seen anything quite like it."
It was made of onyx. All of the walls at least. They burned like a thousand flames, fighting each other underneath the sheath of translucent stone. It was like nothing I've ever seen before and the apses of the castle towers, that I saw from afar before we neared, were made of black brick.
Hades smiled at me warmly, he looked almost sweet. He kind of felt like family. I didn't know how or why, but I had a feeling we were going to be good friends.
Maybe this time things won't go south like they did with Michael. My wolf suggested.
I agreed with her inwardly before Hades pushed the castle doors open.
I walked in and gawked at its dark beauty. Large chandeliers fell from the castle's high heavens, dark ruby rugs littered the sleek black marble floor. One long dark red rug extended backward covering a seemingly bronze polished floor until it reached Hades' throne. The throne was made of glittering black obsidian, with black marble pillars on the side supporting the also marble portico. Around the throne were multiple scattered skulls with two, in particular, each resting on an armrest. Antiques adorned every single inch of the entrance, but they weren't your regular home antiques. The entrance was bejeweled with dark flowers and precious jewels stemming from the base of the castle as an ingrowth. It was enchanting.
I heard my name being called from afar, coming from outside the castle. The voice was faded, but haunting.
It sounded like a squeaky whining.
My eyes widened as I looked at Hades with confusion mixed with shock. I tried to make out the voice for a couple of seconds and I could swear it sounded just like...
"Adrien..."
Chapter 40- Friend or Foe
Third Person.
"Ariel..."
She heard it again, but more clearly. His voice calling out her name.
Ariel audibly gasped as She looked at Hades wide-eyed.
She didn't understand why she could hear her baby brother's voice as he wept and cried for his big sister.
Her eyebrows knitted as she kept staring at Hades.
Hades' gaze was hard at first, but the longer this girl stared at him, the faster his resolution weakened. His eyes softened, as guilt seeped into his silver eyes.
Hades was not used to showing emotion.
But for some reason, he felt at ease around this curious girl.
Ariel's eyes started to water upon seeing the torment in Hades' eyes. Her mind put two and two, comprehending what her lips dared not to ask. The look in her friend's eyes was enough for everything to click into place.
Her baby brother was dead and his soul was lost and frightened.
Ariel's lower lip quivered as tears started falling onto her cheekbone, one at a time.
Her mind was spinning, going crazy, words racing, thoughts scrambled, and she couldn't find her voice let alone form a coherent sentence.
Her dewy eyes kept boring into Hades' own.
Hades nervously bit his lower lip, he couldn't apprehend the reason behind this surge of muddled emotions, but all he knew was that Ariel was behind it. He hasn't felt any sentiment in hundreds of years, not since the day Persephone abandoned him. Ariel made him feel again, she made him care, and it was unnerving to him. He hated it. He wanted to cease this torrent of sentiment and concern. But then again, he secretly felt pleased to welcome his enigmatic emotions. Nobody usually cared about him, not his siblings, nor his evil parents, or his servants and helpers. No one cared. Not even Persephone. He hadn't a friend in the world. But now all of a sudden these people, they were all friendly and caring. He furtively loved it. It was good to have a friend, it felt riveting to feel again.
"Ariel..." He started, so lowly he was almost inaudible. He startled himself when he heard his how shaky voice sounded.
What was happening to me? He asked himself.
The look in Ariel's eyes turned from a defeated, shattered look, to one of betrayal, treachery, along with the painful revelation.
"How could you?" She asked softly, her voice sounding as a shaky, cracked, strained, and pained murmur. Her voice reflected all the descriptions you could add to a list of miserable feelings.
Her gaze slowly hardened, as it drained from all emotion abruptly.
Her vibrant fervent silver eyes turning into dull, hollow ones. It was as if the life had been sucked right out of her.
"How could you?" She inquired once more, her voice sounding monotonous but still coming out as a whisper.
"I-I" Hades stammered.
"Why?" She asked again.
Hades couldn't reply.
"D-did A-aries know?" She probed further, even though she really didn't want to know, but she had to.
Hades swallowed hard before slowly nodding.
Ariel gulped back her tears, trying to stifle her choked sobs.
Ariel tore her eyes from Hades', before turning away from him, standing with her back facing her friend.
Ariel raised her shaky hands to her face and sobbed quietly.
Her heart had just gotten ripped out of her chest and squeezed until it crumbled to ashes. She didn't know what to cry about more; her brother's death, or the fact that the ones she trusted lied to, tricked and betrayed her, or the heart-wrenching comprehension that they were all next, that it was only a matter of time and that all the people she loved were going to die.
Her legs shook underneath her, unbuckling, as she fell to her knees and cried on the sleek, cold, black marble ground.
Her cries turned into whimpers and grew louder as she mumbled incoherent words in between. Hades watched her his eyebrows creasing before he clenched his jaw feeling anger surge through his body. He hated seeing her like this. Kneeling down to the ground behind her, he placed a hand on her back rubbing it soothingly.
Hades retracted his hand, the foreign feeling of sentiment making him feel awkward, "Listen to me," the dark lord ordered softly, "The witches & The Fates, they would see you and everyone you care about dead, but I promise you, I will damn every soul who wishes you harm. They will all be struck down, just as sure as I'm here by your side. I promise you, Ariel. I will ensure that your brother is safe and happy. I will let you see him. I will fix this." Hades vowed.
"W-why are you being so kind to me?" Ariel's shaky fragile voice sounded as she looked back at him, her cheeks red, tear-streaked, and eyes dewy.
Hades gave her a small smile, he himself did not know why he was doing this, "Because we're friends and I will always stand by you." He found himself saying, "Don't ask me why," Hades implored, shaking his head perplexingly, "I still don't have an answer to this question, but all I know is that I never break my promises. And you have my word on this."
/> Ariel struggled for words but she didn't know what to say to him. "How?" She finally managed.
Hades' lips tugged for a half-smile, "I'm Hades, this is my responsibility after all." He said, "Come, let's go find him before he ends up in Tartarus." He continued confidently, as he got up off the floor, lending a hand to Ariel.
Ariel looked up at him sniffling, then wiped her tears away with a shaky hand, before holding onto his own with the opposite one.
Hades pulled her up and Ariel took this chance to thank him with a hug.
Aries (Gods & Monsters Series Book 1) Page 33