Chapter Six
Apollo
The knock at the door startled Apollo. “Huh?”
Geri, who was across the table from him, looked up from her breakfast plate. “Are you expecting Hephaestus?”
“Hephaestus is at the door? How do you know it’s him?”
She tapped her ear. “I can hear the gears and stuff in his cybernetic leg.”
“Oh.”
“Well? Shouldn’t we let him in?”
“Right. I mean, I’ll just let him know he can come in.” Why the god of forges and fire would even knock on the door, Apollo didn’t know. But then again, it wasn’t like Hephaestus ever visited him.
Just come inside, Hephaestus.
Seconds later, Hephaestus materialized beside them. “Sorry to interrupt,” he said, glancing down at the table.
“It’s fine.” Apollo gestured to an empty chair. “Want to join us? We have lots of food.”
“No, I can’t.” Hephaestus’ dark brows drew together. “I have some news for you. Both of you.”
“What is it?” Geri asked.
“It’s your brother.” He took a deep breath. “There was a fire at the main lodge, and Cade was hurt badly.”
Blood drained from Geri’s face. “No…” Shaking her head, she shot up to her feet. “I need to go to him.”
“What? No!” Apollo was next to her in an instant. “Geri, you can’t—”
“Don’t you tell me what to do!” she growled. “My brother, the only living family I have left, is hurt!”
“He’s a shifter, so he can heal himself, like when his back was torn to shreds during the explosion. I’m sure he’s alive.” Otherwise, Hephaestus would have told them. “How’s he doing?” Apollo asked Hephaestus. “Was anyone else…?”
“No, Cade was able to get everyone out. As for him, he’s good, according to Artemis,” he replied. “She healed him, which is speeding up his recovery, but he’s still in a coma.”
“See? There’s no need for you to go there–”
“There’s every need,” she said, cutting him off. “Cade is down, and the pack needs every pair of hands available. But we also need to find who’s after the pack and get revenge.”
Apollo started, nearly jumping out of his own skin as hot, blazing fury shot up through the bond. He reached out to her. “Baby, calm down–”
“How can I calm down when everything and everyone I love is in danger?” She swatted his hand away. “What if it was Artemis? Wouldn’t you want to know who hurt her and make them pay?”
Hephaestus cleared his throat. “We actually do know who did it.”
“Good,” Apollo said. “Who is it?”
“A company called Arcane Corp.” Hephaestus quickly explained how Arcane was buying up all the land next to the Alaska pack’s territory, and how Cade refused to sell.
“Of course he wouldn’t,” Geri said. “We’ve owned that land for generations. And it’s not like we need the money.”
“Which is why they’ve resorted to these dirty tactics,” Hephaestus said. “Anyway, I’m about to head down to tell everyone what I found.”
“I’m coming with you,” Geri said. “Let’s go now–”
“What the heck are you saying? Have you gone mad?” Apollo exclaimed. “You can’t leave now.”
“And you can’t tell me what to do! My pack needs me.”
“I need you. To stay here. Remember the one-year requirement? It’s only been a few days.”
“Surely the council can make an exemption—”
“No, they were very clear. One year.”
“You said it yourself, it’s only been a few days. Maybe we can reset–”
“No, Geri. Once the council decides, it’s set in stone. No take backsies, no resets.”
“This is ridiculous.” She turned to Hephaestus. “You’re a member of the council. Can’t you speak to them on my behalf? Tell them about Arcane?”
A grim expression—moreso than usual—settled on the other god’s face. “I could, but your mate is correct. We’ve already given you an extremely generous offer, and if you decide to leave now, it won’t be on the table ever again.”
“I don’t care—”
“What the hell, Geri?” Apollo’s voice rose.
“Apollo, you—”
Hephaestus cleared his throat. “I need to go back to Alaska and tell Cade and Artemis what I’ve found.”
“Could you give us a minute?” Apollo said.
“I’ll be outside.”
“You can’t stop me!” Geri yelled as soon as Hephaestus disappeared.
“Oh yes, I can,” Apollo said. “And you’re being utterly ridiculous! You heard what Hephaestus said—Cade is fine. No one else was hurt badly.”
“We still need to get justice.” Rage burned through the bond. “My pack will take care of those bastards.”
“And what could you do? Go after their CEO? The shareholders?”
“I don’t care, but someone has to!” She put her hands up. “Why are you trying to stop me? Don’t you care about me? You mated me—they’re your pack, too.”
“I know, baby,” he soothed. “And you know I love you.” Gently, he took her hand and placed it over his heart. “You can feel it, right?”
She remained silent, but gave a nod.
“Then you know I’m only worried about you. I want you to be safe and…” He took a deep breath. “I don’t want to make this about me, but…maybe you’ve changed your mind about us? About being immortal and leaving your life on the Upperworld behind.”
“What?” Geri’s expression softened. “No, oh no.” Wrapping her fingers around his, she pulled his hand toward her cheek and rubbed against it. “Never. I’m just…you know my temper.”
“I do.”
“I just feel so…helpless. And frankly…bored.” Letting go of his hand, she blew out a breath. “Going around Olympus and hanging out with other gods and goddesses was fun and all, like being on vacation. But now…”
“Now it’s sinking in that you’re stuck here.”
She let out a small laugh. “I’m not ‘stuck’. I’m here for you—for us. So that we can be together forever. But yeah…the reality of not being able to leave, especially when I need to, is hitting me hard right now.”
Apollo placed an arm around her. “I know, baby. I should be more sympathetic and understanding. Maybe even planned it better so as to make the time here easier on you. I’m sorry.”
“There’s nothing to be sorry about, Apollo. I’m sorry, too, for shouting at you and overreacting, especially when Cade is fine.” She pressed her lips together. “And…you’re right. I can’t throw it all away now, not after the hard work we’ve done to get this far.”
“It’s all right, baby. We will get through this. Now, why don’t I go with Hephaestus and see what’s happening back in Alaska? Or would you rather I stay here, and we wait for an update?”
She shook her head. “No, no, you should definitely go. There’s no use being stuck here like me. Besides, if the pack needs help—”
“I’ll be on it, of course. Whatever they need.” He gathered her in his arms and kissed her forehead. “It’ll be all right, baby.”
Arms wound around his torso. “I know it will.” Releasing him, she glanced up. “Hephaestus is waiting. You should go.”
“All right.” Leaning down, he kissed her on the mouth. “I’ll be back.”
She smiled. “I know you will.”
*****
Apollo had barely finished materializing back home when Geri pounced on him.
“Well?” Her nails dug into his biceps like talons. “Tell me what happened!”
Gently, he pried her hands off him. “It’s all over, Geri. Arcane will pay for what they did.”
His mate’s face crumpled in relief. “Oh, thank fuck! I hope those assholes get what they deserve.”
“They will.”
“And Cade? Is he okay?”
“Yeah, he’s great. I was all ready to heal him, but Artemis beat me to it. He was only in a healing coma for one night, apparently.”
Geri breathed out a sigh of relief. “I was worried he’d be under for a few weeks. But, tell me about Arcane. Are the authorities getting involved?”
“Yes. Not initially, but now they have no choice.”
“No choice?”
“Yeah.” Apollo grinned, then told her about how Hephaestus had gathered all the evidence of Arcane’s shady dealings and outright crimes as they sought to expand their business and increase their stock value.
“And then Hephaestus released it to the public. It’s all over the news now, and Arcane won’t be able to hide. ”
Geri’s jaw dropped. “That’s actually genius! The authorities have to investigate them now.”
“Exactly.”
“We should thank Hephaestus.”
“And Artemis,” he added. “It was her idea to release the data.”
“Ah, yes, of course, she did get the brains,” Geri said with a cheeky laugh.
“Hey now!” Apollo pretended to be offended, but truth be told, he was relieved.
If it were in his power, he would absolutely make sure Geri never ever felt anything but happiness for the rest of their immortal lives.
“Feel better now?” He didn’t have to ask, of course—he could feel the sense of relief from his mate through their bond.
She sank back down on the couch. “Yes, so much better.”
He sat down next to her and put an arm around her. “I’m glad. Now, there’s something else.”
“Something else?” Alarm rang through their bond. “Is anyone else hurt? Did they—”
“No, no, baby, nothing about that.” Getting to his feet, he pulled her up. “While I was away, I did some thinking. About what you said.”
“What I said?”
“Yeah, about being bored and having nothing to do. And well…it’s partly my fault, as I didn’t even think about what you’d be doing for an entire year up here. Like, for me, a year really goes by in a flash, so I hadn’t thought about how much time that is for you.”
“It’s all right. I didn’t think about it either. We were both just caught up in the fact that the council even granted me this opportunity.”
“Yeah, that too. And really, if we never left this house or our bedroom for an entire year, I’d be happy.” He waggled his eyebrows at her, making her laugh aloud. “But that’s not realistic, is it? So…well, I had this idea.”
“What is it? Tell me.”
“Better that I show you, actually.” Tucking her arm into his, he led her out of the living room, to the back door that led to the outside. “This”—he gestured around them— “Is my idea.”
“Apollo, I’ve already seen—what the fuck?
” Geri’s eyes widened. “Your garden! What happened?” Stepping away from him, she spun around.
“It’s all gone.” Instead of the lush, beautifully-manicured and maintained garden, they now stood in a bare yard.
“The flowers, the trees…they must have been alive for millennia. Did you get rid of them?”
“What? Oh no, I didn’t,” he assured her. “It’s still there. I mean…” How could he explain it to her? “Since this is my home, I can do whatever I want. Reality here bends to my will. The garden you saw still exists. It just…how do I put this…it exists somewhere else.”
Her nose wrinkled. “Like a different dimension?”
“Something like that. Nothing was disturbed, and no plant was destroyed. If I want to, I can easily restore it here again. Or we can visit it anytime you wish. But, I was thinking, since you love plants and gardening so much, you could start a new garden here. Your garden.”
Geri inhaled a quick breath. “This…this is all mine?”
“Yes.”
“And I can do anything here?”
“Whatever you want. And–mmph!” Apollo never got a chance to finish his sentence as Geri wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down for a long, sensuous kiss. When she finally let go of him, he grinned at her. “I take it from your reaction that you like it?”
She smirked. “What do you think?” Pure love and happiness thrummed through the bond. “I love it. And I love you.”
“I love you, too.” He planted a quick kiss on her lips. “I’ll help too.”
“You want to help? With gardening?”
“Well, yeah. It’s something we can do together.” He folded his arms over his chest. “Hey now, what’s with that look?”
“What look?”
“That look—the one on your face right now that has skepticism written all over it.”
“Nothing. I mean, Apollo, gardening takes a lot of patience.”
“I’m patient,” he said.
“Uh-huh.” The corner of her mouth tugged up. “You were so cranky while we were waiting in line at that wine booth at the market.”
“It’s wine!” he huffed. “I don’t understand why it’s an hour-long wait for a cup of fermented grape juice, just because this seller blew up on Hellenagram.”
“See? This is what I meant about you and patience.”
He thought for a moment. “I have other skills, too, you know. Ones that can be useful for gardening.”
“I’d like to see that.”
“Oh, you’re gonna see it.” First, he’d have to think of what those skills were exactly. “But…why don’t we walk around and start planning? Maybe you’ll be inspired—hey, that’s one of my skills! I can inspire you to create the most beautiful garden anyone’s ever seen, here and on the Upperworld.”
She chuckled. “I don’t know about that, but I’ll definitely do my best.”
“I know you will.” He was sure of it.
“Apollo?”
“Yes?”
“Thank you. For everything.”
He didn’t even need to feel her emotions through the bond—the smile and expression on Geri’s beautiful face told him everything he needed to know. “You’re welcome.”