Chapter Eighteen
My hands shook as I packed a suitcase. It had been a long time since I'd been so afraid. Humans generally didn't scare me. I could be hurt, certainly, but it would take a lot to kill me. That man, though, there had been something strange about him. And the things he said were even stranger. Even if he hadn't scared me, I still would have gone with Braxen. I needed to find out what the fuck was going on.
I locked up my apartment and turned to find Braxen standing on the stairs. He had an odd look on his face and his hand gripped the railing as if it were holding him up.
“What's wrong? Has something else happened?” I hurried over to him.
Braxen seemed to come out of a daze. After clearing his throat, he said, “Nothing else. Come.” He took my suitcase and headed downstairs.
“You know, you sound like a caveman when say 'Come,' like that.”
“Sorry.”
I rolled my eyes. But at the end of the roll, they fixated on the back of Braxen's neck. He had a tattoo there. It was the same as the one Rune had on his hip. The shaft disappeared into his shirt. It made me wonder if the line continued down his spine. My mouth went dry as images of licking my way down his back filled my head. Then I mentally shook myself.
What the actual fuck?! Are you this fickle?
No, I was not that kind of woman. I didn't kiss men seconds after we met, and I certainly didn't randomly fantasize about them when I was deeply in love with someone else. It felt as if I had cheated on Rune twice. I had to remind myself that I had done nothing wrong. He had left me. It was over between us. If I wanted to start something with Braxen, I could.
Oh, who was I kidding? I couldn't start anything with Braxen. For one thing, he looked too much like Rune. For another, he was practically related to Rune. That's just bad form. But great Gods, his back. His shoulders. His whole damn body was a work of art. Not that Rune's wasn't. But damn! Braxen was right before the point where muscles became monstrous or even ridiculous. He was Conan-thick, but the Jason Mamoa Conan, not Schwarzenegger. Big but not too big. Just enough to make people stare. As if his face didn't do that already.
I stumbled on the bottom step. As if he knew my every move, Braxen smoothly turned and steadied me with his free hand. His right hand was still carrying my heavy Louis Vuitton suitcase as if it were a feather.
“Thank you,” I murmured, my hand lingering on his biceps. “Dear Gods, you're . . .”
“What?” Braxen's whisper seemed intimate in the dark corridor. “What am I, Lomasi?”
“That's not my name anymore.”
“I like it. It has more meat to it than Lora.”
“Interesting way of putting it.” Yes, I was still touching him.
He just stared at me, waiting for my answer. What was he?
I swayed toward him again, then straightened, using his arm to push myself away. “You're perfect.”
Braxen's eyes widened.
“Fuck!” I let go and started to go past him. “I shouldn't have said that. I don't know why I'm—”
Braxen grabbed my wrist and spun me. I smacked into his chest, and he sort of folded around me, that huge body enveloping mine. His body heat was so soothing. His scent was like a Hallmark Christmas—warm spices and vanilla with a hint of something green. I couldn't help laying my head on his chest and listening to his heartbeat.
“You haven't done anything wrong, Lora,” Braxen said, his low voice vibrating through me. “Don't feel guilty for your desire. It's natural. And reciprocated. We'll weather the storm together.”
Holy shit. The guy spoke in single syllables, then turned around and spouted that? It was lucky that he was holding me or I may have fallen, just bowled over by his words. Reciprocated? Weather the storm together? That meant he felt something for me in return. But that was crazy. I loved Rune. I didn't love Braxen.
But I did feel an overwhelming attraction to Braxen. And I was damn comfortable in his arms. It was almost as if he had held me before. His body was so familiar. I knew the hard planes of his chest. I knew what it was like to be with him intimately. I even knew what he'd sound like when he came.
“What's happening?” I whispered.
“We'll explain everything after we get you somewhere safe.”
I lifted my head to look at him. “My gallery is secure.” Reason started to return and yet I still didn't move away from him. “Actually, I'd be perfectly safe here. This is unnecessary.”
“You have a good security system,” he suddenly sounded like a military man. “Normally, I would agree with you. But not this time. You need to come with me.”
“Lora!” Rune's voice echoed through the gallery.
I jerked away from Braxen in shock and horror.
“It's all right,” Braxen said, reaching for me.
“No, it isn't!” I hissed. “I love him. I shouldn't be doing anything intimate with you.”
“It's all right,” he repeated.
“Lora!” Rune shouted again, sounding closer.
“Back here!” I called back and went to him.
Braxen's heavy footsteps followed.
And then I was in Rune's arms and everything made sense again. I sighed as he held me. Had I said Braxen was perfect? He was, but not as perfect as Rune. Rune was my match. He and I just fit. I should never have been tempted by another man. The only excuse I could think of to give reason to my insanity was that Braxen reminded me so much of Rune, that my broken heart drew me to him. Yes, that had to be it. I missed Rune and Braxen kinda looked like him. He was a sort of rebound.
“Are you all right?” Rune eased back to look at me.
“Yes.” I stared up at him, drinking in his face, his eyes, his everything. It felt like forever since I'd seen him. “Braxen scared off the man who was chasing me. Rune, what's going on? He said something really strange.”
Rune looked up, over my shoulder, and his expression went grim. “We can't do this.”
“She's not safe here,” Braxen said.
“But you know what it will mean. I can't do that to you two. She can't be the one.”
“It's done,” Braxen said. “You know it as well as I.”
“No, it's not. Merrick will be furious if we bring her home. He doesn't want this.”
“Merrick knows.”
“What?” Rune's grip on me went slack. “He's okay with it?”
“Not okay, but there's nothing he can do. He feels it too.”
“You . . .” Rune glanced down at me, his face twitching, then straightened his shoulders as he refocused on his packmate. “You feel it? It's real?”
“Yes. I kissed her.”
“Fuck,” I whispered and stepped away from Rune. “I'm sorry, Rune. I should have been the one to tell you. I don't know why I did it. I just . . .” I looked up, expecting to see a wounded expression on Rune's face. I certainly didn't expect delight. It threw me so much, that I stuttered the next bit, “Wh-what, I mean, why are you . . . you-you're happy ?”
“We don't have time for this,” Braxen growled. His head lifted as he sniffed the air. “They could return at any moment. I want her behind our ward.”
Rune nodded. “I as well.” He held out a hand to me. “Come with me, Lora. Please.”
I didn't hesitate. I took Rune's hand and let him lead me to the door. He paused there, peering out and to either side, then drew me out.
“Keys,” Braxen said.
I looked back at Braxen to see his extended hand. For all his attraction to me, he didn't seem upset by my going with Rune. Instead, he looked oddly satisfied. I drew the keys out of my purse and handed them to him, thinking that of all the strange things I'd experienced in my life, this was right at the top of the list.
Braxen locked up while Rune watched the street. Then they sandwiched me all the way to Rune's car. Rune helped me into the backseat while Braxen put my suitcase in the trunk, then the men got in front, Rune at the wheel.
That was when Braxen drew a gun out from beneath his seat.
“What the fuck?” I leaned forward. “Why do you need a gun? Don't you guys deal with spirits? I assumed that man was possessed.”
“He's not,” was all Braxen said. He was too busy scanning the street and sidewalks as Rune drove. He kept the gun ready but below the window, out of sight.
“Then who was that man?”
“Please, Lora,” Rune said. “Just wait until we've got you safe.”
“This is scaring me.”
“Good,” Braxen grunted.
“Brax!” Rune snarled.
“What?”
“You're not helping.”
“She needs to be afraid. It will help to keep her safe.”
Rune shook his head but didn't say anything more.
I decided to focus on where we were going and let the men focus on their tasks. I noticed that we were headed for the water—Lake Washington. Then we took a turn into a very exclusive neighborhood—Windermere. We drove past sprawling estates done in every style from Tudor to modern Victorian. We drove closer and closer to the lake. Then we took a private lane with only a few homes off it. Another turn took us onto a driveway. We rolled down the center of a massive lawn, stone walls soaring at the edges. At the end of the driveway, a white stone home waited, done in a Spanish Revival style, with softly rounded stone arches over the upper-story windows, a wide red brick porch, and a green roof. It was amazing. Massive. Very expensive. But then, what did I expect from a Cerberus team?
Cameras swiveled to follow us as we waited for the garage door to lift. As soon as he got the clearance, Rune drove into the huge space. While he parked, Braxen hit the remote, stopping the garage door on its way up, then smacked it again to bring it back down. He climbed out of the car and went to the trunk. Rune jumped out and opened my door.
I took the hand Rune offered and got out as I looked around the clean, neat garage. A row of vehicles was parked beside Rune's. I saw the car Merrick had been driving—a black Mercedes. Then there was a dark blue truck. Don't ask me what kind. At the end was a gray work van, and then there were three motorcycles along the wall.
“This way,” Rune said.
We went into the house through a laundry room, then entered the kitchen. All white with a coffered ceiling painted pale blue. Through the windows, a backyard stretched, then fell away. Beyond the drop was Lake Washington, lights glinting off the serene water. It was a ten-million-dollar view, especially combined with the house.
With a tight grip on my hand, Rune drew me past a vast kitchen island and through a bright dining room with a table long enough to sit a village. A left turn into a corridor and then we were heading upstairs. Hardwood floors, tasteful paintings on the walls hanging beside ancient weapons. No photographs. High ceilings and wide hallways. Nothing to stifle. You wouldn't feel claustrophobic there. We went through a doorway. Braxen continued past with my suitcase.
“Where's he going?” I asked.
“To put your things in a guest room.” Rune took me across a dark red handwoven rug, the design featuring the same weapon that Rune and Braxen had tattoos of.
All right, that had to be important. I should have asked Rune about it when I first saw his tattoo, instead of assuming it was simply a design he liked. But Braxen had it too and the dang thing was woven into their carpets, so there was a good chance that all three of them had the image tattooed on them. Why? What was it?
I stared at it, trying to remember where I'd seen it before. With all my research into battles and armor, I must have come across something similar before. But then I had to focus on navigating the room, stepping around thick leather couches and heavy side tables. To the right, a wooden desk loomed, three monitors set up like a folding screen atop it. Their glow turned the wood paneling behind the desk green. Several display cabinets were built into the walls, but a few more were freestanding. They all had interesting objects inside them. I wasn't surprised. As an immortal, I too had collected items from the past—items that became more and more precious as time went by.
“Have a seat, Lora,” Rune said, waving me to the couch.
I sat down, noting the bronze mantle above the cold fireplace. That weapon was featured in the bronze as well. As Rune drew a fluffy blanket off the back of the couch and settled it around my shoulders, I finally remembered where I'd seen the spear. No, not a spear—a bident. It was an ancient weapon. As ancient as the Gods.
“That's Hades's bident, isn't it?” I asked.
Braxen grunted as he came into the room. “At least we don't have to explain who we are to you.”
“Yes, it's his bident,” Rune answered with a nod at his packmate. “We all bear Hades's mark. He gave it to us when we were made.”
I shook my head. “I never thought to ask you about your tattoo. And I call myself an artist.”
“You are an artist.” Rune sat beside me. “You just didn't know my mark was something special. And it is a mark, not a tattoo. They bind us to Hades and that connection gives us a little of his magic.”
“I see,” I murmured.
And then Merrick walked in, wiping his hands on a towel. Because they were covered in blood.
I looked from Merrick's hands to his face. His lips, already on the thin side, pressed together into a razor line. His hair was drawn back in a ponytail, throwing his features into stark relief. Everything about him looked sharp. I didn't ask what he'd done to that man. Honestly, I'd seen so much violence in my life that it didn't shock me. And I knew when it was necessary. That man was going to hurt me. I wouldn't cry any tears over him.
Merrick looked as if he were waiting for a reaction from me. When he didn't get one, he tossed the rag on a side table and fell into an armchair. “I got nothing from him.”
“Nothing?” Braxen asked in surprise.
“Well, we have his wallet. I got his name and address. I can run them.” He rubbed a hand over his face. “It's been a while since I've seen someone hold out like that. I'm impressed.”
“We're dealing with zealots.” Braxen settled into a lean against the mantle. “They can be resilient.”
Merrick rolled his eyes. “Yeah. He thinks he's fighting for God. All his pain is earning him a spot in Heaven.”
“Which god?” I asked.
Merrick snorted. “That's why I asked him. He said the one true God.”
“Ah, him,” I said. “That would be the one who doesn't exist.”
“That's the one.” Merrick's lips twitched.
“So, you've got your prisoner. He isn't talking. Maybe you could talk to me now?” I suggested.
Rune looked at the other men.
Merrick shrugged, and Braxen nodded.
“There's a soul who's learned to jump bodies after possessing someone,” Rune said.
“They normally can't do that?” I asked.
“No. Once they possess someone, that's it until we take them out. Souls generally don't leave a healthy body,” Merrick said. “But this guy has already eluded the Portland Cerberus, tricking them into believing they captured him and took him back to the Underworld. He's cunning.”
“How did he do that?”
“By jumping bodies, like we just said,” Merrick snapped.
“Hey!” Rune snapped back. “Don't talk to her like that.”
“No,” was all Braxen said to Merrick, as if he was chastising a bad dog.
Merrick rolled his eyes, then went on as if he hadn't been interrupted, “The soul was in one body and holding a second possessed person as his prisoner. The Portland team chased him into the room the possessed woman was being held in, they saw him jump out of the first body and assumed he went into the woman, but he actually left. They didn't think to track his spirit because they saw him head for his prisoner. When they found her possessed, they assumed it was by him. They pulled the soul out of her and took it to the Underworld.”
“Uh-huh,” I said. “So, this guy can jump bodies and he doesn't need his next body to be close. He can fly away and pick someone new at his leisure?”
“Pretty much,” Braxen said. “Makes him difficult to catch.”
“Nearly impossible,” Merrick muttered.
“He's holed up somewhere in Seattle,” Rune said. “And it gets worse. He's enlisted humans to build himself an army. He warned the Portland Cerberus to back off, or he'd start a war. They didn't back off. They couldn't. And now he's brought that war to us.”
“How does he get humans to fight for him?”
“He tells them he's the Archangel Michael, come to Earth to fight demons—us.”
“What?” I laughed.
“Humans will believe anything if it's religious,” Braxen muttered.
“Hold on. He tried to get the Portland Cerberus to leave him alone, but they didn't, so he threatened war, and when that didn't work, he tricked them into thinking they took him back to the Underworld?”
“Yes,” Rune said.
“Then why come at you now? Why didn't he just lie low?”
“Because Hades knew about the trick,” Merrick said. “And he sent us after Michael.”
“Ah. So, Michael is back on the defensive.”
“Yup,” Rune said.
“How does he convince people that he's an angel?” I asked.
“Who knows?” Merrick grumbled. “Maybe he jumps into them and brainwashes them from the inside.”
“You said Hades told you about Michael. So why didn't he tell the Portland team?”
“They had just claimed their mate, and they've been through a lot with her. He doesn't want them dealing with this.”
“Besides, he's in our territory now,” Braxen added.
I nodded. Processed. Went back to something. “Their mate? Her? Are you saying that all three of them are with one woman?”
The men shared a determined look, then Rune said, “Lora, there's a reason I couldn't . . .”
“Deal with Hermes?” I lifted my brows.
Braxen growled. Braxen, not Rune. I blinked, then gaped at Braxen. He looked away.
Rune sighed. “I guess you don't know everything about Cerberuses.”
“I only know what Hermes has told me and it's not a lot.” I glanced at Merrick, who stared back at me steadily, as if daring me to leave. “What exactly do I need to know?”
“Hades cast a spell on all the Cerberuses so that we'd find our mates—women who would love us forever,” Braxen said.
Rune and Merrick groaned.
“What?” I whispered.
“Brax, let me handle this,” Rune said.
Braxen waved at him in a go-on-then gesture.
“Every team is destined to meet one woman who will be perfect for them,” Rune said. “A mate to give us something to live for beyond our duty to Hades. Without love, we will eventually wither away and die, as the first Cerberus nearly did.”
“Hades went to the Fates when the first Cerberus started to wane,” Merrick said. “They told him that the hounds needed love just like anyone else. But because of who they were and what they did, they needed someone special. Someone strong enough to love them. A Persephone to match the Hades inside them.” He leaned forward onto his knees. “How strong are you, Lomasi?”
“What the fuck?” I whispered.
“Not helping, Merr,” Rune growled.
“Whatever.” Merrick sat back. “You do it then since you think you know her best .”
“Lora.” Rune took my hand. “Hades creates all Cerberuses in groups of three.”
“Yes, I know that much. You are bound so that you can join your hound shapes and become one, giant, three-headed hound.”
“Yes. Good.” Rune nodded. “Because of this bond between us, we can feel each other's emotions.”
“More than that,” Braxen muttered.
Rune shot him a silencing look before continuing. “Lora, when one of us falls in love, all of us eventually follow. And we only fall in love with our destined mate.”
I stared at him, comprehension dawning. But my brain shied away from the underlying truth and focused on something else. “Does this magic affect the woman you fall in love with?”
“We don't know exactly what it does to our mate. We only know that after we claim her, we share our immortality with her.”
“You . . .” My mind spun. Was I their mate? If I left Hermes, could their immortality replace that which he had given me? Could I leave Hermes? No, I couldn't. Not after everything he'd done for me. But what if I was a mate to a Cerberus team? I would have to leave him. Then it clicked. “You left me because you didn't want them to have to deal with Hermes too.”
Rune nodded. “It was too big an issue. I couldn't allow myself to love you if it meant that not only I, but all of us, would have to experience the pain of seeing you with Hermes.”
His words came back to me. “I can't, Lora. I can't let myself love you if you're still with him. I can't!” He had roared that last bit, so full of fury and frustration. I didn't know his words had been literal. That he truly couldn't make that decision on his own.
“But it's too late,” Merrick said. “You two took things too far. He's in love with you.”
I stared at Rune. “I said it to you, but you never said it back.”
“I was in denial,” Rune said.
“It's why we followed you,” Braxen said. “We were drawn to you because of Rune's love.”
“What?” I whispered as I looked at Braxen.
“He loves you. That means we—”
“No, we don't,” Merrick cut him off. “Not yet.” He looked at me, then sighed. “But we will. It's inevitable now.”
“Inevitable.” I looked down at my hands. They were shaking even though Rune held one of them. “And what of Hermes?”
A growl filled the room, coming from all of them.
“No!” I stood up and glared at them. “He saved me. Hermes may have destroyed my love for him, but not my loyalty. He's certainly not my enemy. So, if you're going to . . .” I trailed off, then made a horrified sound. “What am I even saying? I can't be with three men. Three! How would that work? Where would we sleep? Would we have sex together? All of us at the same time?”
“We will figure it out as we go,” Rune said.
“You're jealous of Hermes, but you think you can share me with each other?” I scoffed.
“It's different with us,” Rune said. “We're like three parts of one being. Sharing with my packmates isn't the same as sharing with an outsider. They are me. I am them.”
“And yes, we'd all have sex together,” Merrick said. “To clarify, we'd have sex with you. Not with each other. That would be like fucking ourselves. Also, we're straight.”
I gaped at him. Three men. At once. Could I even . . . ? Suddenly, my fantasy came back to me. The strange, erotic masturbatory fantasy with the warriors in my paintings. Three of them. I had wanted to be with all of them at once. Holy shit. Had their Cerberus magic—the spell that Hades had cast upon them—been affecting me from the start? Was that fantasy because of them? Maybe it was trying to prepare me for this. But then why was the crusader there, staring at me in condemnation? Was he supposed to represent Hermes? Or maybe my guilt. Fuck, it was all so insane.
Slowly, I sank back onto the couch.
“Lora?” Rune asked.
“Give her a minute,” Merrick said. “We just laid a mental smackdown on her.”
“Fuck that. She's strong. That's why she's ours.” Braxen knelt before me. “Lomasi of the Tsimikiti, I know you are born of warriors. You are the last of your kind, more special than you know. And we are lucky that you have chosen to love one of us. But you will need to draw on the strength in your blood to love a Cerberus—to stand beside all three of us. Because our enemy knows how important you are, and he intends to use you to take us down.”
Braxen's words sank in. Past the shock of who we might become to each other. Past the dark fascination I had with the idea of having three men. Past the love that burned in my chest for Rune. It settled in my mind and slapped me back to sanity.
“Your enemy,” I repeated. “You mean Michael. He sent that man to hurt me.”
“Yes,” Braxen said. “When Merrick and I were watching you, we noticed that someone was trailing us. Then they stopped following us and started following you.”
“So, we set up cameras,” Merrick said.
“Wait. What?!” My head swung toward Merrick. “Cameras where?”
“Outside your home. Nothing too invasive,” Merrick said. “Calm down, Pocahontas.”
“I think that's offensive, Merrick,” Braxen said.
“Why? Pocahontas was awesome. They made movies about her.”
“I was shocked about the cameras too,” Rune said. “But I'm glad they did it.”
“You didn't know?” I asked.
“No, they did all their surveillance behind my back.”
“He was too busy pining for you,” Merrick said.
“I had lost my chance at the only woman I ever felt anything for!” Rune snarled.
Merrick snarled back. As in a real snarl, not words said viciously as Rune had done.
“Enough!” I snapped.
The men went still.
Interesting.
“I understand now,” I said. “I'm willing to see where this goes.”
The men started to smile.
I held up a hand and went on, “But I can't leave Hermes. So, if you can't deal with him, we're back in the same boat we started in. Only now, the boat's crowded.”
“He leaves you to fuck other women,” Merrick said. “Why do you have to stay with him?”
“Because he wants me to,” I said.
“That's stupid,” Braxen said.
“It's loyal,” Rune snapped at him.
“No, he's right,” I said. “It's stupid. I should leave him. But I still remember the man who teased me into love, then lifted me out of the mortal life I was born into, and made me a type of demigoddess. Hermes gave me eternity. He became my lover and companion for centuries before he left me. And even then, he couldn't stay away. He keeps coming back, and I keep welcoming him. Because I remember. I remember the love, but also the horrors I escaped because of him. He showed me the world at a time when humans couldn't even conceive of traveling such distances. He protected me from war, racism, and all the atrocities born of them. He made me wealthy, taught me things that no other human knows, and has always looked after me. I don't love him as a man anymore. But I do love him as a friend.”
The hounds were not happy, but, one after another, they nodded.
“We will deal with Hermes,” Rune said.
Braxen added, “But first, we have to deal with Michael.”