Bo grinned, thumping on the trunk when the noises increased. “Pretty much.”
Ryan and Alex made their way down the rocky path, Alex’s arm draped over Ryan’s shoulder as they maneuvered across the uneven landscape. Bo broke into a jog, meeting his brothers halfway and taking Alex’s other arm, easing the weight Ryan was carrying.
A small tremor rippled through the park as the brothers crossed the sand and they hesitated, Alex unhooking his arms from Ryan and Bo as he found his footing and limped his way to the road.
Without thinking, she ran to him, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist, almost knocking him off balance as he embraced her, his chin resting on the top of her head. Her mind caught up with her actions and she released him, jumping out of reach.
He gave her a tight smile. “Hey.”
Keeping her eyes averted, she shoved her hands into her back pockets to keep from embracing him again. “Hey yourself. Butch?”
“Ran off,” Ryan called over, unlocking the trunk while Bo used his weight to keep it down. “Start your car and when we give the word, drive.”
She paused and looked up at Alex. “What are you going to do to him?”
“Nothing you want to see.”
*
The Pirithous was on the cusp when the trunk popped open and Ryan dove into it, yanking the feral creature out as Bo yelled at Charlotte to drive. Her car lurched forward, braking long enough for Alex to catch the uncertainty in her eyes before Bo slammed his hand down on the roof, startling her.
As the taillights disappeared around the bend, Bo and Ryan dropped to all fours and transformed, circling the shuddering body impatiently. Bo prowled toward him, nudging Alex’s injured legs with his muzzle before he skulked back to Ryan, hackles raised and ready for the kill.
His steps faltered in the soft sand as he approached his brothers and he knelt down, ignoring the searing pain in his legs and tailbone as the transformation took place. He glanced down the empty road one last time and growled at the stench of the dying Pirithous, the stench that had overpowered Charlotte’s sweet scent as the bloodline had tried to take her down.
Ryan cocked his head as Alex stumbled to him, lowering it when he let loose a low snarl.
He had a bloodline to eliminate.
*
Charlotte flattened herself along the stone ridge, covering her mouth with her hands, her eyes wide as they took in the transformation she was witnessing.
She had identified Not-Butch immediately, his gait that of a hunter, fluid and low. The larger dog stood guard, his head swinging toward her for a moment before it turned toward Alex.
Alex.
Alex, who morphed into Butch before her eyes.
Shaking her head quickly, she drew in a breath and held it while the three dogs aligned themselves, a distinctive limp in each of their hindquarters. Their bodies fused into one immense beast, the heads arching back as they howled into the night. Its shoulders were easily three feet across, a massive three-headed dog that would rival even the largest of the Wyoming grizzly bears she’d studied during her training. The long fur was almost blacker than Butch’s, emitting a faint dark glow as it skulked toward its prey, the white of its claws and fangs brilliant in the dim starlight.
The thick tail swung, swiping a bush clean out of the earth and sending it skidding across the ground as the creature descended on the body of the man writhing in the sand, his gurgled gasps for air coming to an abrupt end as the middle dog’s head thrashed violently.
A scream rippled through the park, tearing at her vocal cords while one head swung her way, the enormous teeth bared until the beast froze, dropping his muzzle as the ground opened in a wave of fire, engulfing man and beast.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Alex snarled as they plummeted onto the cold marble slab at Hades’s feet, the sour blood of the Pirithous coating his tongue, the stench filling his nostrils. The collective segment of their minds worked in unity to move their singular body crouched protectively over its kill, Ryan snapping his jaws at Bo when the more obstinate brother raised his head to their master.
Hades rose from his ebony throne and grinned as he approached them, using his staff to prod the mutilated body of their prize. “I was starting to wonder if you’d found a new owner.” He chuckled, hooking his staff under one motionless arm and allowing it to flop heavily onto the stone. “Release him.”
They sat back on their haunches, bloodied paws dirtying the spotless floor.
Waving over his attendants to dispose of the corpse, Hades knelt before them, giving Ryan’s ears a hard scratching. “Good work, Cerberus.” He turned his attention to Bo and Alex and gave them the same treatment. “Dio’s in the east wing,” he mentioned, winking at Bo. “Swing by there and see him before you get yourselves cleaned up for dinner.”
Alex kept his head down as they padded through the familiar ornate halls, pausing intermittently to be welcomed home by the lesser deities roaming the palace. Dionysus’s roaring laughter echoed against the marble, Bo’s mismatched eyes lighting up as they walked into a large receiving room and the god sauntered over to them.
“Cerberus, my boy!” he called out, bending to cup Bo’s chin and running his thumb between Bo’s eyes. “We weren’t informed you were expected.”
There was a shrill squeal of excitement behind them and Alex cringed. “You’re back!”
Dio rolled his eyes and released Bo. “Let him settle in before you start spoiling him, Seph.”
Persephone’s long skirts billowed behind her as she scampered barefoot across the floor, wrapping her slender arms around Ryan’s and Alex’s necks. She burrowed her face in their fur, squeezing them tight. “You go freshen up and we’ll see you get a decent meal.” She glared back at Dionysus. “Poor thing’s thin.”
“He’s not thin,” Dio argued, offering his hand to assist her to her feet. “You’ve merely become accustomed to us burlier beasts, my dear.” He lowered a bowl of mead to Bo’s muzzle, patting his head when Bo dove into it.
Alex looked around the room, the luxurious tapestries and delicately carved pedestals adorned with statues and vases fashioned by the hands of favored artisans.
No pink.
No pilling blankets adorned with colorful cartoon characters.
No rows of photos hanging on the walls.
No intoxicating floral shampoo mingling with fruit-scented lotion.
No judgmental cat staring him down.
Home.
*
Alex snorted as Bo squatted in his chiton to prove his point.
“Easy on, easy off,” Bo stated, tossing his chlamys over his shoulder and needlessly demonstrating the speed of removal for him. “No buttons to fuck around with. No zippers slicing your junk. On. Off. Done.”
Rolling his eyes, he sprawled out on the chaise, yanking at the fabric bunching under his leg as he called out to Ryan. “You ready yet? I’m pretty much done with the fashion lesson from Dior over here.”
Ryan groaned from the bathing room. “Give me five. How’s the knee?”
He straightened his leg, grimacing when the slightest shift in position shot fire through his nerves. “Not great.”
“Shouldn’t have gone in there,” Bo snarked, booting the chaise. “Maybe your laid-up ass will luck out and Iris’ll come by.”
All levity disappeared from his head as his mind ripped through images of the only woman he wanted to see. He locked his attention on the flawless lines of the marbled tile, focusing his thoughts on the perfection of his surroundings.
The chaise molded to him, the cushioning remaining in place as he shifted and turned.
The bath temperature was always ideal, never turning cool with time.
There was no scorching heat of the sun, no overworked air conditioners humming in the background.
“Ready?”
Ryan extended his hand, assisting him to his feet and steadying him before they began their trek toward the banquet hall and the tempting aroma
s that were drifting through the palace.
*
Bo grinned at Alex, a glass of wine in each hand and three of Dionysus’s less dedicated servants lounging at his side. He raked his eyes over Iris’s tiny form, licking his lips before smirking and lifting his glass to Alex.
Ryan and Hades sat at the end of the large banquet table, Persephone flitting around them as she refilled their plates with ripe berries and aged cheeses, stopping periodically to reprimand Hades on his perceived overindulgence in Dio’s wine. Her hand would stroke Ryan’s head absently as she passed him, a habit she’d acquired early during her time in the underworld when the brothers were confined to sharing a single body.
“May I?”
Alex blinked, returning his attention to Iris. “Excuse me?”
“Your wine.” She smiled. “May I refill it for you?”
Shaking his head, he placed the empty glass at his feet. “No thanks.” He glanced around the crowded hall. “Is it always this busy now?”
Iris drew her legs onto the chaise, carefully smoothing her skirt over her knees. “While Seph’s here, yes,” she replied, folding her hands demurely into her lap. “She brings quite an entourage with her. Hades and Demeter are in an open negotiation for the division of her time now, so I’ve become quite familiar with the place in between messages.”
He craned his neck back at Persephone, chuckling when her hands flew to her hips and she stared down the fearsome Hades, his large form shrinking in his seat until he nodded and Seph smiled sweetly. “Who’s driving the negotiations?”
“Seph, of course.” Iris laughed, schooling herself quickly and tilting her head. “I’m sure you’ll catch up on all the comings and goings soon. Have you resettled into your rooms?”
He nodded absently, keeping one eye on Dio’s reaction to Bo nuzzling into the neck of an olive-skinned handmaiden. “Not much to settle,” he muttered, pushing himself up a fraction on the cushions and cursing under his breath when his knee protested. “We pack light.”
Another laugh quickly ended, Iris’s practiced serenity returning with unnatural speed. She placed one hand on his leg, each of her manicured nails the precise length of the next as they trailed up his inner thigh. “Would you care to retire? I’m not expected anywhere until tomorrow evening.”
He looked down at the pretty goddess, her delicate features accentuating her perfect nymph-like form. “Yeah, no. I’m taken.”
*
Charlotte watched Max’s hardened expression through a haze, the injection from the medic having taken effect almost instantly. She blinked, losing the precarious focus she had before giving up and closing her eyes, shutting out the sterilized bags and syringes in sight and focusing on the rumble of the tires as the ambulance sped down the highway.
“She’s even more out of it than she was when I found her,” Max barked. “What the hell did you give her?”
She smiled, her veins warm and mind clouded with a heavy fog that blocked out the unpleasant thoughts lurking in the background.
Max’s gruff voice grumbled incoherently for a moment, his hand pressing lightly on her elbow. “No, I don’t know how she did it.”
A cold hand pushed against her side. She turned her head and opened one eye, swatting a weighted arm at the invasion.
“He’s just checking out those bruises, Chuck,” Max reassured her, running his hand over her forehead. “We’re gonna put that medical coverage to good use today.”
*
Alex rested his weight against the wall and briefly debated how determined he was to make it to his quarters. When Dio’s raucous laughter tore down the hall, he doubled his efforts to escape to the isolation of his room, not bothering to hide his limp as he sped up. Gritting his teeth, he crossed the threshold and collapsed on his bed.
He rolled onto his back and stared at the stunning mural on his ceiling, a piece commissioned for him by Hades centuries earlier after a particularly difficult hunt. All three of them had the same painting, their Cerberus form sitting regally at Hades’s side, the shades of their kills standing faceless and nameless behind them.
It was a perfect replica of the tattoo that adorned their backs, the shades of the Pirithous stretching down their arms.
A morbid trophy case, updated by the artist with every successful Pirithous takedown.
He tossed his arm over his eyes.
Within the week, another figure would be added to the piece, leaving the wall of death distractingly lopsided. The transparent charcoal form would look like the others, void of life and expression, standing solely through the will of Hades. Ryan, Bo, and Alex would then sit stoically under Seph’s watchful eye as the art on their bodies was adapted to reflect their skilled service to their master.
Ryan had posed proudly for the sketch, the hand of his master resting on his neck. Bo’s head was slightly bowed, his eyes narrowed and hungry, the bowl of mead at the foot of the artist not making it into the artwork.
He lifted his arm and looked up. His own distinctive eyes held a glint of resignation, the scant cocking of one ear captured in the artist’s mind as he completed the painting.
It was a duty. A job. An assignment no different than prowling the banks of the river for centuries.
While Ryan embraced it, Bo bucked against the restraints, his constant search for something he could control leading him by the nose.
And Alex accepted it, because it was what it was.
He lay in the darkness for hours as the revelry continued into the early morning hours, the absence of the rising sun wreaking havoc on his ability to track time.
This was home.
Chapter Thirty
Alex stretched his arms out across the cool marble of the bath, craning his neck to watch Hades as he approached, Ryan padding alongside.
His master grinned at him, tossing a towel within reach. “So this is where you’ve been hiding today.” He chuckled. “Your twin is still facedown in a bowl of wine on the banquet hall floor.”
Running his hands through his wet hair and sinking further into the warm water, he snorted. “I’ll go by and drag his ass to his quarters after I finish up here.”
Hades tested the temperature of the bath, wiping his hand on his chiton. “Overheard an interesting conversation between Seph and Iris after you retired to your room alone,” he said casually as he rose up. “I was under the impression Iris was one of your preferred companions when you were down here.”
“She’s sweet,” he muttered, slipping under the water to buy himself a few seconds.
Iris was sweet. Sweet and timid, and apparently still on hiatus from her millennia-old marriage.
Hades tracked him as Alex exited the bath and wrapped a towel around his hips, shaking his hair out and earning a chuff of amusement from Ryan. He put weight on his injured leg, bending it to test the amplified healing properties in the underworld water.
Not bad.
“What precisely does the term taken imply?” Hades pressed, his arms crossing.
He snatched his chiton off a chair. “Nothing,” he replied. “Anything on the docket today or am I good to deal with Bo and hang out in the receiving rooms?”
His master remained motionless, dark eyes narrowing as he stared him down. “You’re free for now,” he said slowly, his hand dropping to scratch Ryan’s ears. “I’ll be holding court tomorrow. Your presence is required.”
He waited until Hades walked out before he exited the bathing room and made his way down the hall to find Bo. His twin was sprawled out in the banquet hall, his muzzle resting on the edge of a bowl of wine, paws thrown over his eyes.
Maintaining a human body in the underworld required significantly more effort than it did topside, the weight of ancestry and blood bearing down on the brothers to return to their natural form. Alex often held out longer than the others, Ryan preferring his inborn state and Bo usually too drunk to uphold his human physique past the first few hours.
He knelt beside Bo, lifting the enormous
paws from his face and easing the bowl from under his jowls. “Come on,” he urged, meeting his twin’s glassy, unfocused eyes. “Hades is gonna flip a nut if he comes back in here and you’re heaving on his rugs.”
Bo struggled to gain his footing, leaning against him for balance and nipping at his hand when Alex attempted to lead him by the scruff. They weaved through the halls, passing Dionysus’s closed door and slowly making their way to Bo’s quarters. Pushing the heavy wooden doors open, he waited for Bo to stumble into his bedroom and collapse on the floor, growling before he passed out.
Leaving his brother to sleep it off, he entered the receiving rooms, freezing at the entrance when a dark ponytail caught his eye.
“Alexandros!”
Snapping his attention to Persephone, he gave his mistress a quick smile and joined her at the elegant seating area Hades had put together for her, the pastel fabrics and rich rosewood furnishings at odds with the harsh ebony and marble palace decor. He accepted a heaping plate of smoked meats and breads from one of her many handmaidens, glancing back at the dark ponytail and letting out a breath when the woman turned around, her angular features bearing no resemblance to the woman plaguing his head.
Seph reached over to him, tucking a loose strand of hair behind his ear and scratching him under the chin. “Fill me in, honey,” she ordered, nestling back in her seat, her blue eyes sparkling with curiosity.
He swallowed his first bite, shrugging. “You’ve seen what it’s like up there. Same humans, same wars, same mistakes.” He paused. “The air reeks.”
Placing her cup down, Persephone leveled him with a blank stare. “Tell me about the woman. Charlotte, was it?”
His stomach knotted, the familiar tightness returning to his throat as he took another bite of the bread and chewed slowly to buy himself time.
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