Chapter 3
Hades
A Few Minutes Earlier
I expect the punch a second before it lands, the hit sending me spiraling to the side as my brother appears before me in a wave of full Alpha fury.
Sighing, I roll to my back and stare up at Orcus’s furious form. “I’ll give you that hit, as it’s deserved,” I tell him. “The next one—”
His foot collides with my abdomen, propelling me across the sandy earth.
I halt the movement by slamming my palms against the ground and shoving myself upward to stand.
Orcus is there in a flash, his black wings beating at his back as his dark eyes glow red. “The first one was for upsetting my mate,” he tells me. “The second was for endangering Thea. And this—” His fist flies toward my face again, but I catch it.
Only to feel pain echo up my spine as a Death Fae appears behind me and drives a dagger into my lower back. “Is for upsetting our pet,” Reaper says, finishing Orcus’s statement.
I growl and mist out from between the two insane males.
“I was going to say for not communicating and thereby jeopardizing our mate-circle,” Orcus tells Reaper conversationally, his wings disappearing along with his temper. “Are you going to give Alina that bloody dagger as a gift?”
“Do you think she’ll like it?” Reaper asks, his expression radiating adoration and hope. “Or do I need to stab him again?”
My jaw clenches, my torso pulsing with agony, thanks to the Death Fae’s unanticipated attack.
Very few beings are suicidal enough to try to attack a God. It’s what first intrigued me about Maliki, so I suppose I can understand why Orcus chose Reaper for his mate-circle.
Pressing my palm to my back to prod the already healing wound, I glare at my brother and his friend and interrupt their conversation by saying, “We need to strengthen the wards.” The words are for Orcus. “You’ll be doing more of the work now.”
He folds his thick arms. “The Alphas won’t come here.”
“They will if they sense Serapina’s presence.”
His dark brow arches upward. “Serapina?” he repeats. “Not Persephone?”
“I don’t have time for one of your lectures right now, brother. Nor do I have time to teach you and Reaper a lesson in power. We need wards. Now.” Because I’m not risking my Omega’s life over this bullshit.
Orcus may be right about our kind avoiding this realm, but all it will take is a single pleasurable moment, and the Alphas will descend upon this world and ravage it in their quest to hunt Serapina down.
She’s an unmated Omega.
One who is about to go into heat.
Thanks to Maliki’s skilled tongue.
Fuck, I can picture him between her thighs. It’s a distraction I don’t need right now, yet I let it fuel my movements as I head down the beach along the rocky cliffs.
“Handle the sea wards,” I tell my brother over my shoulder. It’s not a request but a demand. He went into Alpha mode, thus calling out his wings. Saves me from having to do the same.
He ignores me, his focus on Reaper again as the Death Fae asks, “Pepperoni and sausage?”
“You can’t be serious,” my brother mutters.
“So that’s a yes, then?”
Orcus’s resulting sigh reaches me even though I’m more than twenty feet away from them now. “Just don’t take too long.”
“Well, I’ll try. But I want to get our pet a few different options for our visit.”
“This isn’t a vacation, Reaper. And you know she prefers veggies on the pizza.”
“I’m very aware of what our mate likes,” Reaper says back to him, a hint of offense in his tone as I begin calling magic to my fingertips.
It would be so easy to redirect the deadly enchantment to hit him in the ass, causing him to spiral down into my lethal playground. But I sort of need him alive right now, in case we need to fight.
“I meant that I’m going to get her a few varieties to try,” he goes on. “Proper Italian, New York style, Chicago deep dish, you know. So I’ll be back… soonish.”
“Hold on, Reaper. You can’t—”
I glance back and watch as the Death Fae vanishes.
Orcus blinks at the space Reaper just occupied, then growls. “Fucking lunatic.”
“Indeed,” I agree. “Now will you focus on the water wards?”
The look he gives me says he would prefer punching me again instead.
“I gave you two free hits,” I remind him. “Three, if you count Reaper stabbing me in the literal back. Do not expect me to be any more understanding or accommodating than I’ve already been, little brother.”
He was right to be angry with me over endangering his mate and child, but I didn’t realize an orgasm would set off Serapina’s mating call.
In hindsight, I suppose it makes sense that pleasure would be the key to awakening her inner Omega. However, I wasn’t anticipating my mate broadcasting herself as unclaimed to the whole of Mythos Fae kind.
The fact that she could even emit such a signal confirms that she’s not my Persephone.
Oh, she possesses my mate’s soul… But Serapina is very much her own person.
Which leads me to wonder what will happen during her estrus.
Will she join with Persephone? Or is she merely a reincarnation of my mate?
Everything about this situation is unprecedented, leaving me conflicted about how to proceed.
I could claim her; she’s technically already mine. However, I… I don’t know if Serapina will accept me as hers.
And I need her consent to proceed.
My bite would tame her by force, but it would break her spirit. Hurt her. Make her hate me more than she probably already does.
So no, that’s not an option at all.
Fuck.
I shake my head, needing a clear mind to concentrate on my task.
Manifestation magic comes from the soul, which means I can’t think about my mate right now. Otherwise, I’ll lose myself to a series of questions that I may or may not be able to answer.
Swallowing, I draw my hand through the air and imagine a barrier spell, one meant to sound alarms inside my cavern should an unexpected presence arrive.
Specifically, an uninvited Alpha presence.
As Morpheus is already here, I’m forced to include his essence in the framework of my creation. If I don’t, the sirens will blare until I physically remove him.
So he can stay.
For now, I think, growling to myself.
I loathe the fact that he followed us here, not just because he’s an irritant that refuses to fuck off, but because it further proves his connection to my mate’s soul.
However, he mentioned he’s been here before, too. Something I wasn’t aware of until I overheard him commenting to Sera about running water.
There’s no way he knew I intended to bring her here, though. I have homes all over the realms. Yet, with how fast he discovered us, I know he didn’t check any other locations first.
And the only person who knew about this emergency meet-up location was my brother, who I’m certain would never share that detail with another Alpha. Especially our cousin.
Thus, there’s only one way my cousin knew where to go—his spiritual link to my Persephone. And I fucking despise seeing proof of his connection to my Omega.
I’ve known for millennia that he fancied her as his mate, but I’ve ignored his claim.
This, however, I can’t ignore. Nor will I ever be able to forget it.
My jaw clenches as I finish the barrier spell, the magic tangible despite being invisible in nature. That’s part of what makes it a successful enchantment.
Misting a mile away, I craft a similar ward, just in case anyone tries to sneak up on us by foot. A rare choice, given our abilities, but an Alpha on the hunt can be quite clever.
The next layer of power includes a masking charm, one that should cloak our presence here on the island. There are some beings who will easily see through my design—or sense the manifestation magic itself—but not many Alphas can weave their way through my deadly labyrinths.
Because my energy is underlain by death. Which is a bit of a contradiction in theory, but creates a lethal combination of effects.
Therefore, tampering with my spells or trying to fracture them… kills.
Or that’s the layer of protection I add to my creation, anyway.
Orcus is likely doing the same, his magic similar to mine, as he’s my brother. Only, his source of power is different from mine. Less potent and not nearly as deadly.
He can access my death world, but the souls there bow to me as their God and view Orcus as more of a prince. He’s able to wield control and issue demands, while I’m the one they pray to and revere like one would a king.
Hence my role in the Netherworld Kingdom.
My dynamic with Orcus is complicated and unique. However, it works.
Something that becomes evident as we meet on the beach outside of the cavern once more. He manifested half of it ages ago, just as I took the other side, the two of us hollowing out the cliffside with our joint powers to create a safe haven for us to enjoy in this realm.
I’m about to thank him when Reaper appears and hands Orcus a stack of pizza boxes. “Ran out of hands,” the Death Fae says before blinking out of existence once more.
Orcus sighs heavily. “Restraint is not one of Reaper’s strengths.”
“Clearly,” I deadpan, thinking about the blood drying against my lower back. The wound has already healed, but the residual mess is proving to be uncomfortable.
A shower will be needed upon my return.
I wonder if Serapina has finished bathing, I think, picturing her delectable form in my shower. Wet. Naked. Writhing.
It’s an enchanting image, one that has my knot pulsing with intent.
Alas, I can’t play with my Omega here. It’s not protected enough. One orgasm will alert all of Mythos Fae Alpha kind, and they’ll ravage this world with a vengeance.
Not to mention the fact that said Omega probably doesn’t want to play with me. Only Maliki.
Hmm.
My fantasy shifts to visions of him licking her sweet little pussy, the mewls she made when she came, the way his lips glistened with her slick.
Fuck, I need to see that again.
And soon.
Once our Omega is safe. Once I have her consent. Once I make her mine… again.
If she’ll have me.