Chapter 23
Ulysses
It had been a long week. Hell, a long life was more like it, now that I knew how good things could be.
The entire time with Ruadan—well, since the moment we gave in, anyway—I’d been fed, pampered, sated in every single way.
He’d catered to my needs to almost an obscene amount of satisfaction. He spoiled me, and now I was ruined.
And godsdamned it, I missed him. Not just the way he treated me, but his steady presence and quiet gaze.
I missed the way he played the piano when he couldn’t sleep, the way he traced idle patterns on my skin when he was deep in thought.
But I’d refused to talk to him, so this was where I was.
Alone. Fuck. Not just alone, but truly lonely for the first time in centuries.
I wasn’t happy with settling anymore.
Setting my hand on my belly, I rubbed tiny circles, imagining the life growing inside me. “Soon, baby. It’ll all work out soon.” How that would happen, I had no clue, but I had to believe it. Otherwise, what was the point to any of this?
My stomach let out a hungry gurgle. I hadn’t purged a soul since that night with Rue, and the pregnancy was driving my hunger to a whole new level.
I hadn’t been taking care of myself, I knew it.
And I knew baby deserved better. “Okay, sweetie, I hear you. How do you feel about tacos?” Another gurgle was my answer, so I shoved on some shoes, grabbed my jacket, and headed down the block toward where the food trucks liked to park at dinner time.
I could see the lineup from down the block, a mix of suits from people leaving the office and tight, flashy outfits for the early bar crowd. Before I could move to join the line, though, I felt a tingling sensation down my spine, and I knew immediately who was watching me.
Turning to look over my shoulder, I saw Rue leaning up against the wall outside The Apollo theater, hands tucked in his pockets, casual as could be. The wind tugged at his hair, a burnished gold in the light of the setting sun, and his eyes were pinned straight on me.
I debated ignoring him, going to eat my dinner, but the pull I felt toward my mate was impossible to resist. Slowly, I approached him, and he stayed right where he was, letting me come to him.
Coming to a stop two feet away, my fingers twitched to reach for him.
His cheeks were rough, as if he hadn’t shaved since I last saw him, and there were deep creases under his eyes like he hadn’t been sleeping.
He was suffering too. I sighed, strengthening my resolve.
“What are you doing here? I told you not to follow me.”
“I know, and I tried, but…” The corner of his mouth hitched in that smirk I loved so much.
“I couldn’t stay away. I miss you, baby.
” A prickling sensation began to creep up my neck, and I went to take a step back, but he was already reaching for me.
“Please, don’t. I’m so sorry for everything.
Give me a chance to show you how sorry I am.
” He tugged on my hand until I stumbled forward, catching myself on his chest. Rue buried his face into my neck, his breath too hot against my skin.
“I’ll make it up to you if you’ll let me.
I’ll do anything. Do you want me to beg?
I’ll get on my knees for you right here.
” He began to fumble with my pants, as if was going to pull my cock out.
“No!” I snapped, grabbing his wrist to stop him. “We’re in public!”
“Then let’s find somewhere private?” he purred, taking my hand and pulling me toward the theater’s door.
They were between shows, and while I was pretty sure the door was locked, with a twist of his wrist, Rue popped it open and led me into the darkened interior.
Shadows engulfed us as he closed the door behind me, then pressed me back against it.
“How’s this?” he muttered, pinning me with his body.
I squirmed to get out from under him. “Um, right, except… Rue, can you stop for a second? We need to talk.”
“Aw, come on, baby. What else do we need to say? I’m sorry, so can’t we just skip to the part where you forgive me? You know you want me.” His fingers dug into my ass, groping me roughly, then he shoved my jacket out of the way to get into my pants.
“Rue, stop,” I said firmly with my hands on his chest, gripping his shirt as I tried to push him off. “You’re scaring me.”
“Good,” he snarled viciously, his voice unrecognizable from the man I loved.
Instead of stopping, he shoved one hand down the back of my pants, and with the other, he grabbed my jaw, holding me in place on the wall with a painful grip.
His nails grew into razor-sharp talons, pricking into my neck, and I felt rivulets of blood trickle down my neck, warm, the copper scent sharp in my nostrils.
His eyes had darkened, green irises turned black spilling over into the whites, and his lip pulled back in an ugly snarl, until there was no doubt that it wasn’t my mate staring back at me—it was Apate.
“Let’s get this over with. The deal was to get you back,” he hissed, “but he never specified you had to be willing.” And then he slammed his lips onto mine in a savage kiss.
Just like we planned…
One Week Ago
Unable to mask my emotions, I rolled away from him and pulled the blanket up to my nose. “You know what? I think you’re right. I’m still pretty tired. You go ahead and eat breakfast without me. I’m still full from last night,” I told him, burying my stinging eyes into my pillow.
What had I gotten myself into, mating a man I barely knew?
I should’ve known better, though, because newly mated or not, there was no doubt that Ruadan wasn’t the kind of man to let anything go.
Instead of taking the easy route and leaving to eat breakfast, ignoring the problem and letting me pretend to sleep, he wrapped himself around me and held me tight.
“Please talk to me,” he whispered against my neck, right over the mating mark.
Eyes stinging, I clung to the arm he had wrapped around my waist. “You’re lying to me, and I’m scared to ask why.”
He could’ve denied it—most alphas would’ve—but instead, he sighed, tightening his hold on me.
“You’re right, and I’m sorry.” I could sense his conflicted thoughts swirling around inside him.
“Mal wants me to figure out how to draw Apate out of hiding, and I don’t have the first clue how to do that.
All I know is she’s escalating, and if I keep coming after her, it’ll only be a matter of time before she comes for you. You are my only weakness, after all.”
Blinking, my tears scrolled down my cheeks, and I rolled over to look at him.
His eyes were glassy too. He shook his head, smiling sadly.
“I didn’t tell you because… Uly, I don’t want you involved in this, and I don’t know if I can keep you safe.
If something happened to you… to our child…
I couldn’t bear it. If you left this earth, I would do everything in my power to join you in the underworld. Where you go, I go.”
“Then why are you trying to leave me behind?” I sobbed, slapping my hand on his chest in frustration. “‘Where you go, I go’ works both ways! If we’re in this together, then it starts now, not just when things are easy. Tell me everything he said.”
And as Rue outlined the horrifying details of the attack, I felt myself grow sick and cold, my skin growing clammy.
So much careless death and destruction. I’d spent my whole life purging everyday sins like snacks, lies and jealousy and laziness, but never once had I allowed myself to become hardened to them.
And these atrocities this goddess was committing…
“She’s declaring war,” I whispered as the truth sank into my bones.
Rue went rigid, his eyes glittering in the dawn light seeping into the room around the curtain. “What did you say?”
“Remember how Cameron said that Apate was afraid of Loki, that she was operating her little black-market dealings right under his nose from inside her pocket dimension. And with Loki’s power gone, it’s a safe guess that she’s going to make a play against him.
She’s looking to boost her power, and you know what would give her that? ”
“What?” he asked.
“You.” I was starting to get excited now as a plan began to take form in my mind.
“All these humans she’s been possessing, they’re small fries compared to the big fish,” I said, mixing metaphors, but he had to see what I was saying.
“She’ll want you, access to a god’s power, but she’s not stupid.
She knows she can’t take it from you by force—not without making a deal. ”
He rolled onto his back, frowning up at the ceiling.
“But there’s no way she’d believe I was coming to her to make a deal.
There’s nothing I can’t get for myself, nothing I want enough to…
” He drifted off, and when he looked back at me, I saw we’d both reached the same conclusion.
“You, sin-eater. You’re the only thing I would ever want enough to be willing to make a deal with the devil himself. ”
“And if you didn’t have me...” I began, and he was nodding. “If I left you…”
“We would have to make it believable. Something public, above debate, with lots of witnesses, and we would need to stay away from each other, no hint that we’re setting her up. And once we catch her, we would still need to figure out how to trap her.”
“I have a plan for that part, but you’re not going to like it.” Were we really going to do this? “Together?” I asked.
Ruadan’s eyes were filled with regret and fear, but there was also limitless love. “Together.”
Now