Chapter Twenty-Eight
Our erotic plans had to wait longer than expected. Just as the guys and I were enjoying a wonderful lunch of roasted chicken salad sandwiches and french fries, a knock came at the front door.
All of us froze.
“Expecting someone?” I asked.
“No,” Rune growled as he stood up. “Stay here.”
“Oh, hell no,” I said and followed him out of the kitchen along with Braxen and Merrick.
“Damn it, Lora! At least stay back while I answer the door,” Rune grumbled.
Braxen winked at me as he pulled a gun out of a drawer in the hallway bureau.
But before we reached the door, all three men stopped and scented the air like the hounds they were. They looked at each other in surprise and relaxed.
“It's another Cerberus,” Merrick explained as Rune went to the door.
“Another team?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Braxen said and took my hand. He set the gun on a side table.
Rune opened the door and there, on the porch, were three men. There was something about them that felt familiar. I couldn't say what. They all looked Caucasian but had hair usually found on Asians—midnight black, glossy, and thick. All three wore their hair in different degrees of short and had a military look about them even though they were dressed casually in jeans and T-shirts. The jeans were a nice normal loose style but their shirts were snug, giving glimpses of the bulging muscles beneath. Their stares were steady.
“Darius,” Rune said and stretched out his hand to the man in the center of the group. “It's been a long time.”
“It has.” Darius shook Rune's hand. “How are . . .” he trailed off when he saw me. “Oh. You have company. Is there somewhere we can speak privately?”
“This is Lora, our mate,” Rune said.
Three jaws dropped.
“Your mate?” Darius asked. “You found your mate?”
“We haven't bonded with her yet, but it's coming.”
“Congratulations,” one of the other two men said, a hint of jealousy in his tone.
“Thank you.”
“Come in,” Braxen said. “Are you hungry?”
“We could eat,” the third guy said with a grin. Then he sauntered over to me and held out his hand. “I'm Dominic. Welcome to the family.”
“I'm Lora.” I shook his hand as I scanned his face. Dominic was undeniably handsome. He had gray eyes with glittering flecks of gold in them. So much gold that it made the gray seem like the secondary color instead of the reverse. Stunning. But my appreciation was casual; no true interest involved. And that went for all three of them. “Thanks. Uh, why are you guys here?”
“She got there sooner than you three,” Darius said.
I looked over at Darius. His eyes were gray and glittered as well, but the flecks were silver, making his eyes seem metallic. The last man had a similar stare—gray again but with so many green flecks in them that they glittered green.
“Let's get the introductions over first,” Darius went on. “I'm Darius and this guy is Declan.”
“Three D names.” I looked at Merrick.
“Told you it was dumb,” Merrick said with a smirk.
“We're a pack,” Declan said, his tone light. “Practically one person. It makes sense to pick names that at least start the same. You guys have names that don't tie you to each other at all.”
“Our last names do,” Merrick drawled.
“Your last names tie you to all Cerberuses.” Darius rolled his eyes.
“All right, enough banter,” Braxen said and headed for the kitchen, pulling me with him. He grabbed the gun as he went. “We were eating lunch. Join us.”
The men followed us back to the kitchen, and Merrick pulled out the leftover chicken salad to make them sandwiches. Braxen veered off to put the gun away while I went to the freezer to fetch fries. I put the rest of the bag into the air fryer.
“Eleven minutes,” Merrick said to me.
“She doesn't know how to cook some fries in an air fryer?” Dominic asked.
“I can cook basic things, but I've never used an air fryer,” I said.
“You've never used an air fryer?” Darius asked. “Even I know about those.”
“I don't cook a lot.”
Then Declan narrowed his eyes at me. “You're one of us. Immortal. I can't believe I didn't sense it right away.”
“I did,” Rune said smugly.
“What are you?” Dominic asked.
“Rude,” Merrick said.
“She's rude?”
“No, you are.”
“How was that rude?” Dominic looked confused.
“It wasn't,” I said. “I was human. Then a god gave me immortality.”
“Which one?”
“None of your business,” Rune said crisply.
“Since we belong to Hades, it is my business,” Dominic said. “And Hades's as well. Who are you binding yourselves to?”
“Hermes,” I said before the fight could escalate.
“Hermes?” Dominic asked, his brows lifted. He looked at his packmates.
They chuckled.
“What's funny about Hermes?” I asked.
“No, nothing,” Dominic said. “We were worried it would be someone like Zeus or Poseidon. But Hermes is all right. We've met him. He's a fun guy.”
My men growled.
“Whoa,” Declan said. “What's that about?”
“I'm still sort of involved with him,” I said.
“Sort of involved?” Dominic asked.
“We have an open relationship.”
“Oh, shit.” Darius whistled. “You'd better settle things with Hermes before you seal the mating deal.”
“Hermes is pretty easy-going, but no god is going to let someone take their girl without getting a little pouty about it,” Declan added.
“And when gods pout, cities burn,” Dominic finished.
“I'm going to talk to him,” I said.
“When?” Dominic asked.
“None of your fucking business,” Rune said.
“Fine.” Dominic held his hands up. “But it is Hades's business. All of it. I think you should tell him.”
To my surprise, Merrick said, “We already have.”
I knew better than to question the men in front of their guests, so I held back. But I gave them a wide-eyed look.
“And he's fine with it?” Darius asked.
“He didn't say much.”
Declan grunted. “That's Hades.”
“Speaking of Hades, he sent us,” Dominic said as he took the plate Merrick slid his way. “Thanks.”
Merrick nodded.
I resumed my seat and returned to eating. This was their business, but I had a right to listen in.
“Why did he send you?” Rune asked.
“We were the closest team,” Darius said. “And you need help.”
“No, we don't,” Braxen said.
I held my tongue. They needed to work this out between them.
“Hades thinks you do,” Darius insisted. “According to him, there's a soul who's masquerading as an angel and giving you a hard time. He says this guy has already tricked the Portland Cerberus.”
Dominic added, “We're here now, so you might as well accept our help.”
“Fine,” Merrick said. “But our last lead was a trap, and we don't have any new ones.”
“Then we'll help you find a new lead,” Darius said. He bit into his sandwich and groaned. “Damn. Not bad, Merrick.”
Merrick nodded. “I roasted the chicken myself.”
“Shut up! This is delicious,” Declan said.
“Thanks. I brine it first.” Merrick glanced at me. “Lora likes my chicken too.”
“I'll bet she does,” Dominic drawled.
Declan smacked him in the chest.
“What the fuck?” Dominic snapped.
“Be respectful!” Declan said. “She's their mate. And what does that even mean?”
“That she's their mate? It means—”
“No,” Declan snarled. “That whole 'I'll bet she does.' You bet she enjoys his chicken too? How is that an innuendo?”
“Oh.” Dominic grimaced. “I don't know, but it sounded funny until you had to pick it apart.”
“No, it didn't.”
“It did.” Dominic took another bite, then spoke with his mouth full, “You just hate that I'm the funny one.”
“You only think you're funny. And don't speak with your mouth full.”
“I'm a grown-ass man, Mom .” Dominic rolled his eyes. “I can eat all by myself.”
“Can you? Because you look like a caveman.”
“Nothing wrong with that.”
“Dear fucking Gods,” Darius muttered and shook his head.
“I see they haven't changed,” Rune said.
“Nope.” Darius chuckled affectionately. “Centuries go by and only their hairstyles alter.”
“And the way we speak,” Dominic added. “We keep up with the lingo.”
“But do you?” Darius asked in a doubting tone.
Dominic stuck his tongue out at him.
I snorted a laugh.
“See? She likes me.” Dominic waved a hand toward me. “I'm funny.”
“Oh, no. Keep me out of whatever this is,” I said.
“Smart girl,” Darius muttered. “All right, so is there anything more you can tell us about Michael and his Host?”
“Well, we can tell you his Host is seriously depleted,” Rune said.
“Thanks to Lora,” Braxen added.
“What does that mean?” Darius looked at me.
“We got lured into a trap,” Rune said. “Got gunned down as soon as we walked in. Too injured to go ghost, much less defend ourselves.”
“Then our mate shot a rocket into the house,” Braxen said.
“A rocket?” Darius asked.
“Yup.”
“And she stormed in through the flames with a fucking machine gun. Just mowed them down,” Rune said, sliding me a surprisingly proud look. “I'm sorry I yelled at you, Lora.”
I took a page from Braxen's book and answered with a single word, “Forgiven.”
“Wait. You took her on a mission?” Darius asked. “Your mate?! What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“We didn't take her. She followed us,” Merrick said.
“I had a strange feeling,” I said. “I knew they were in danger.”
Declan made a huffing sound. “Yup, she's your mate.”
“Why do you say that?” I asked.
“Isn't it obvious?” Declan asked. “The bond is already starting to settle into place. She felt your need.”
“I thought we had to have sex to set the bond?” Rune asked. “As in, all of us with her at once.”
Declan shrugged. “Hades has never been clear about that.”
“True,” Rune murmured pensively. He rubbed his chest, then looked at me. “I don't feel different, though. Do you Lora?”
I shook my head. “No magical tingles going on. But I'm already immortal so maybe I won't feel it.”
My men looked at the other team. The other team shrugged in unison.
“Great,” I said. “I'm glad we know so much about the magic that's going to bind us forever.”
“The how doesn't matter,” Brax said. “Only that it happens.”
I smiled at him, wishing we could get back to what we'd been doing before lunch. He grinned back and from the look in his eye, he was thinking the same thing.
“So what do you guys do for fun around here?” Dominic asked.
Everyone stared at him.
“What? We won't be working constantly.” He looked from the men to me. “Dweebs.”
I snorted. “That's an outdated insult.”
“Is it? What should I call them?”
“Nothing negative if you want to live,” Rune said casually.
“You can't kill me.” Dominic grinned.
“Oh, I'm sorry. Let me clarify. Nothing negative if you want to live with all of your body parts attached.”
“Now, that's a better threat,” Dominic said and took another bite of his sandwich. “Still not scared, but better.”
Ding! The air fryer went off.
“Oh! French fries!” Dominic exclaimed.
“Dom, please close your damn mouth,” Darius said.
“What? I can't be excited for french fries?”
“I'd be excited to eat one meal without having to see what your food looks like inside your mouth.”
“Dweebs,” Dominic muttered and took another bite.