Chapter 6
Sera
I gaze up at Hades, utterly at a loss for how to respond.
Starting over doesn’t feel possible, just like he said.
“If I’m your mate, then why did my ‘inner Omega’ send out a signal saying otherwise?” I ask him, focusing on that part of our conversation instead of his reintroduction.
Though, truly, it was the first time he’s ever actually introduced himself to me.
Other than the first night we met when he gave me his name—after I asked for it. And I thought that was a dream, not reality, for thirteen months.
His jaw clenches a little, the only indication that he’s not thrilled by my question. “Your soul is mated to mine,” he says. “But you, Serapina, the physical entity, are unmarked.”
I frown at that. “Okay, then mark me. I’m supposed to be yours, right?” Wouldn’t that solve everything? No more hunt?
His dark eyes narrow. “When I mark you, Omega, it won’t be under some misguided obligation on your part,” he replies, his accent thickening as his voice deepens. “I’ll claim you because you want me to, not because you need me to.”
My brow furrows. “So this requires my consent? But declaring our intended marriage didn’t?” I can’t help the sarcastic lilt underscoring my words. Because this doesn’t really make any sense. “What’s the difference?”
“I thought my Omega was playing a game with me, so I arranged a reenactment of our first mating ceremony. And in my mind, I wasn’t actually forcing you to do anything at all. I was playing with my mate. As I’ve said, I now realize my mistake.”
Patience radiates from his tone, despite him basically repeating what he’s already said. Even his touch is gentle.
Like the Hades in my dreams.
I blink and shake my head, needing to clear it again. It’s not just his purr that makes me dizzy; it’s him. His presence. His scent. His abs.
It’s then that I realize my palms are on his torso.
No idea when I placed them there. Maybe when he cupped my cheek? Perhaps a second ago?
I… I don’t know.
But this too perfect of a male specimen is making me feel insane.
Is this part of my heat? This irresistible urge to caress him and be near him?
He said touching me would help me.
Not sure this is helpful.
“I need to talk to my sister,” I blurt out. Alina went through this. She can guide me. Maybe. Or… Or no. I really don’t want to ask her about any of this.
I…
I huff a breath. “Never mind. I would rather you just mark me so I don’t have to worry about being hunted,” I mutter. “Was Alina hunted?” I ask in the next instant. “You didn’t answer my question.”
Instead, he talked about washing my hair.
Which derailed my focus.
“I want you to explain to me what Morpheus meant when he said the Alphas were hunting me,” I tell Hades directly.
“And please answer my question about Alina. Is she even still here?” My eyes widen.
“Is Reaper okay?” Because Hades also never really answered that, either.
Just gave me an emphatic no when I asked if he punished Reaper.
That doesn’t mean much.
He could have killed him, for all I know.
Reaper stabbed Hades.
I step to the side and try to walk around Hades to see his back, but he moves with me.
“Alina wasn’t hunted because she went into heat in another dimension. And I’m guessing Orcus claimed her quickly, too.” He turns in a circle as I continue to try to figure out where Reaper stabbed him.
Maybe I’ve lost my mind, but this seems important.
Or perhaps it’s just a necessary distraction.
“The Alphas are hunting you because you sent out a beacon saying you needed a knot,” he goes on, basically reiterating what I already knew.
Which, yeah. Okay. I asked a redundant question. But this is a lot.
“Yes, your sister is still here. She’s in Orcus’s wing with his mate-circle.” He steps into my path before I can circle him again, his palm suddenly on my neck. “And I’m not sure why you’re obsessed with Reaper’s well-being when he can take care of himself, but he’s fine.”
“He stabbed you.”
“Yes, he did. Perhaps you should ask if I’m okay instead?” he suggests, his eyebrow rising.
“You’re clearly fine,” I return.
“Am I?” he asks, still gazing down at me with that arrogantly arched brow.
“I just found out my mate’s soul is inside a stranger.
One I’ve treated horribly as a result of my need for revenge.
And now that Omega is about to go into heat, yet I can’t properly help her without potentially hurting her.
So instead, I’m going to risk everything to protect her. Because that’s what a good Alpha does.”
He releases me so abruptly that I nearly fall.
Which, of course, ends with him catching my hip to steady me.
“I’m going to wash your hair now,” he tells me. “Then I’m going to wash myself. And afterward, we’ll go eat, as I’m sure you’re starving.”
A denial graces my lips right as my stomach growls.
Oh, I think. I guess I am hungry.
And tired, too.
When was the last time I slept or ate?
What day is it even?
I don’t have the energy to figure it out. I’m suddenly exhausted. Depleted. Done.
Hades must take my silence as acquiescence because he starts combing his fingers through my hair.
When the familiar scent of roses reaches me, I close my eyes and let the aroma mingle with his wintry cologne.
Memories assault me of standing outside the greenhouse on a cold morning.
Only, the vision shifts to one from my dreams of Hades holding me in a garden surrounded by fiery orange flowers.
It’s an image from one of my earlier dreams, reminding me of why I first took a rose outside. I was trying to re-create the fragrance from my fantasy.
Is it normal to smell something so beautiful while one sleeps? I wonder. Or is my dream actually something else entirely?
Hades told me the roses I picked were similar to fire lilies, at least in terms of scent.
Are those what blossomed around us in my dreams?
I’ve never smelled a live fire lily, only the decaying ones Pip often leaves on my pillow.
I wasn’t even sure of the species due to the black petals and leaves, but he wrote it down for me one day.
Then Hades mentioned that it was Persephone’s favorite flower.
Is that a coincidence?
“Serapina?” Hades murmurs, the question in his voice suggesting this isn’t the first time he’s said my name.
I open my eyes and find him standing in front of me, his hair dripping onto his muscular shoulders.
He’s intimidating. Large. Ridiculously handsome. Yet watching me with a guarded gaze, like he’s afraid I’ll somehow hurt him.
It’s strange. Utterly impossible. Yet his nervousness is almost tangible.
“Do you want the soap bar, or can I touch you?” he asks.
I swallow. I should probably take the soap bar and tell him to leave me alone. To give me space. To just… go away.
But I really don’t want any of that.
I’ve been trying to take care of myself for months. I’m not sure if I’ve even begun to succeed. But I need a break. I simply want to let someone else take control, even if it’s just for a few stolen moments.
Lifting my palm, I press it to the crown tattoo on his chest and close my eyes again. “You win for now, Hades. I don’t have energy for anything else.”
He releases a rumble that sounds more like a growl than a purr. “We’re not playing a game, Omega.”
“Says the Alpha who demanded I marry him because he hates my soul,” I mutter.
His palm is on my nape again in a flash, and I’m suddenly up against a wall.
No. Between two walls. One made of marble and the other all hot, hard man. “I do not hate your soul, Serapina. I love your soul. Persephone may have betrayed me in the worst way, but she is still mine. And I could never hate my Omega.”
I shiver, my gaze glued to his as he stares me down.
“The games Persephone and I played were complicated,” he goes on. “But what’s happening between you and me is not a battle or a game or any other passing amusement.”
His palm moves to my throat, giving it a subtle squeeze.
“This is intense, Serapina. It’s serious.
I fucked up, and I’m going to fix it. And if I can’t, then you’ll choose who sees you through your heat.
All while I’ll be forced to watch and guard.
Because I won’t let anyone hurt you, Omega.
You’re mine to cherish and mine to protect.
But you’re not mine to knot. Not until I earn your trust.”
With that, he steps backward and holds out the soap.
“Take it and finish washing yourself while I find you something to wear.”
My limbs obey on autopilot, my hand meeting his in a touch that’s far too brief.
He moves away from me, rinses himself off, and leaves without looking back at me.
I watch every movement, take in the defined planes of his form, then realize he never once took off his boxers.
Yet I saw the outline there, too. His massive size. Stars, it was just as intimidating as the rest of him.
All while I stood here… completely naked.
I blink. It’s not like nudity is new to me. There were certain requirements in Nightingale Village that made me rather acquainted with the concept.
But Hades never once made me feel uncomfortable about my nude state.
Just about everything else, I think, looking down at the soap in my hand.
I don’t have the energy to think about everything he’s said, so I just focus on finishing my shower.
I’m pretty sure he thoroughly washed my hair since it feels refreshed and soft.
So I don’t bother with anything other than cleansing my body.
Then I step out of the shower and jump when it magically shuts off.
“Stars,” I whisper. I’m in the Human Realm and still surrounded by magic.
As evidenced by the neatly folded warm towel that appears on the counter in front of me. The one I dropped on the floor before has disappeared, too.
“Okay.” I’m not even going to question it. I’m just going to accept the fluffy haven, dry myself off, and…
And face Hades, I think, sighing.
He said he was getting me clothes.
Maybe his closet magics things into existence, too.