Chapter 12
Hades
I mist to the Rutting Grounds, not the Nesting Gardens, and growl.
Apparently, I’m in a punishing mood, not a helpful one. Because I would much rather bask in the scent of sex than the fire lilies surrounding Glass Lake.
Although, ironically, Serapina’s arousal reminds me of the fiery flowers. So potent and rich. So aromatic.
I inhale, my eyes falling closed as my knot pulses in response.
It doesn’t take me long to track the alluring fragrance to one of the artfully hidden cave nests. I slip inside, my gaze taking in the freshly fucked-in sheets and the imprints against some of the walls.
“You certainly figured out the purpose of my designs,” I say when I feel Maliki join me in the cavern. “And shouldn’t you be cooking?”
“Shouldn’t you be helping Orcus?” he counters.
I sigh and face him. “What do you want from me, Maliki? An apology? A concession? Some sort of explanation?” I hold his gaze as I add, “A task?”
“Want to manifest me some pants?” he asks, causing me to glance downward.
I noticed he was naked in the kitchen earlier and didn’t think much of it.
But he’s starting to get hard now. Probably because he’s surrounded by the memories of what he and Serapina did here mere hours ago. Or perhaps even more recently than that. Time has felt more elusive than ever lately.
Shaking my head, I conjure a pair of jeans and toss them at Maliki. He grunts out a “Thanks” and starts dressing himself. Ignoring him, I prowl around the cave and imagine all the ways he fucked my mate.
My Omega.
My Serapina.
Her scent tells me she enjoyed herself. I should be furious. Violent. Something. Yet all I feel is a pang in my heart. Because I missed their mating. Missed watching my female come. Missed hearing her moan. Missed her screams. Her cries of pleasure. Her tears.
All I see now is evidence of rough sex.
Blood.
Shared arousal.
Sweat.
And Serapina’s sweet slick…
Fuck, my mouth is watering for a taste.
I close my eyes and imagine it—Serapina lying on the bed. Legs spread. Beckoning me with those beautiful blue irises.
She kissed me earlier with a ferocity I’ve never experienced before.
It was as though she wanted to drag me into battle. Ravage me. Prove her worth as my partner. Become my equal.
That’s exactly what makes this reincarnation of my mate so very powerful.
The Persephone I knew always relied on me to protect her. She was soft. Sweet. Easy to command.
But Serapina defied me.
As evidenced by this cave and the mess she and Maliki made of each other in that bed. I open my eyes to take it all in again, my knot pulsing with need.
I want to punish her for her rebellion.
Then praise her for it with my tongue.
It’s a conflict of interest, one I rather enjoy. Because I want to spank her and fuck her at the same time.
“Hades.” Maliki’s voice pulls my attention to where he’s standing by the edge of the mattress.
“Do you want a shirt?” I ask. “Or shoes, perhaps?”
He grunts. “No. But thank you for the pants.”
“Consider it payment for a job well done,” I mutter, looking at the bed again.
“Hades,” he repeats, this time with more stress on my name.
“Maliki,” I return, aware that I sound exhausted.
“Morpheus says Demeter isn’t in Pandora’s Box.”
I nod, my gaze still on the silk sheets.
“That’s why I couldn’t question her about what she’s done to Serapina.
” I inhale deeply, noting the scents in the air, the way the sensual undertones almost remind me of an Omega’s heat, but not quite.
“I’ve secured all my wards, and I intend to review them frequently. ”
When Maliki doesn’t reply, I look at him and find him staring right at me.
My jaw clenches.
This is ridiculous.
“Right, you may not trust me, but I’ll keep Serapina safe,” I tell him.
“And if that’s not enough for you, then consider that she harbors what’s left of Persephone.
I would never allow anyone or anything to harm her.
” My need to protect Serapina goes so much deeper than that, but I’m done trying to explain myself.
Especially to him.
The male I thought was my best friend.
Until I realized that friendship was one-sided. Not only does he not trust my intentions with my mate, but he also considers me to be his boss.
The term radiates like a bloody curse in my head, making me want to put my fist through the wall.
Or Maliki’s face.
Rather than do that, I turn and head toward the cave’s exit. Because the last thing I need to do is start a fight with a member of the mate-circle. Not when our bonds are holding on by a thread.
“I trust you implicitly, Hades,” Maliki says, giving me pause. “You’re like a brother to me. One I frequently want to punch in the face, but I respect you. That hasn’t changed. However, my priorities have changed. Perhaps for the first time in my life, I value someone else’s life more than my own.”
“Serapina’s,” I say.
“Yes,” he replies. “And I’ll fight anyone who tries to take her from me. Just as I will argue against being told what to do where my mate is concerned.”
“Your mate,” I repeat, the words ones I would usually utter with a heavy dose of incredulity. But I don’t have it in me to do so now. “She’s yours now, not ours. An important distinction.” I fold my arms over my chest. “Your mate just dared me to knot her.”
His lips twitch. “She did. It was cute. I look forward to watching it happen, hopefully soon. As it is, I’ve never watched you fuck. Always the other way around. I think I’ll make some popcorn for the occasion.”
I gape at him. “You anticipate being entertained and not aroused?”
“I can eat popcorn with an erection, Hades.”
I roll my eyes. “Your bedroom manners need work.”
“My bedroom manners are fine,” he counters. “Just ask Sera.”
I stare at him. “I fear you’re not the only one who frequently desires to punch another in the face, Maliki.”
He smiles. “Then we’re good, yeah?”
“We were never not good,” I tell him.
“Sure,” he agrees. “We’ll pretend like you weren’t here to sulk.” He cocks his head. “You do realize that I found you on the first try, right? Want to know how I did that?”
“Not really,” I admit.
“Too bad,” he returns. “I might not always be able to anticipate your movements, or understand them, but I do know you, Hades. And I’ve never seen you as a boss. I’ve made some jokes about it because that’s what Sera thought in the beginning since I mentioned working for you.”
My brow furrows. “You’ve never worked for me.”
“I’ve done a lot of jobs for you, Hades.”
“Because you enjoyed the tasks,” I counter. “So I shared opportunities with you.”
“Exactly,” he replies. “But guarding Sera certainly started as a job, and she knows that. Which is why she thought you were my boss.”
“I asked you to guard Serapina because you were the only one I trusted to help keep her safe,” I mutter. “Not because it was a job.”
“I know,” he replies. “I referred to it as a job to her, though, because I had to think of her as an assignment. It was too risky to consider her as anything else, not when you made it clear she belonged to you.”
My jaw ticks. He’s not wrong—I did stake my claim. But… “I would have shared her with you, had you asked.”
His eyebrow lifts. “Would you have?” He voices the question with a hint of sarcasm. “Hades, you are one of the most possessive fae I know.”
“Yet you spent the last however many hours fucking my Omega in a cave I built specifically for her heat, and I’ve not reacted negatively,” I point out. “I think that proves I can share.”
“Now, yes,” he agrees. “But a year ago? Not a chance.”
I take a deep breath and release it through my teeth. “I would comment on the futility of focusing on the past, but that would clearly make me a hypocrite.”
Maliki’s lips twitch. “It would, yeah.”
I palm my nape and stretch it back a little to look at the glittering ceiling above. The twinkling lights were supposed to resemble glowworms, a phenomenon from the Human Realm that Persephone favored eons ago.
It was supposed to be a boon—a gift to show her I still loved her despite her betrayal.
Everything’s changed now.
Serapina knows the truths hidden inside my mate’s soul. She told me that Persephone fought to reach me. But Demeter was too strong. She possessed too much control.
Because she groomed her daughter to do her bidding.
I can see that clearly now.
Just as I can see how Demeter has failed to do the same with this reincarnated version of my mate.
Serapina has fought Demeter and won a few times now. In her own way, at least. Via her link to Maliki. By being safeguarded by this labyrinth.
However, deep down, it’s because Serapina refuses to submit to Demeter’s wishes.
Which is what makes her such an ideal mate. The perfect reincarnation for Persephone.
“I loved my Omega,” I tell Maliki quietly. “Fae, I loved her more than anyone or anything in all the dimensions. Spent millennia hunting for her, not only to punish her, but to save her. To rekindle our bond. To…” I trail off, unsure of how to articulate everything I thought I desired.
But what I wanted really isn’t the point.
“Serapina has changed everything,” I admit, my voice still soft, like I’m confiding a sin. “She’s not Persephone. She’s… she’s so much more. And she’s made me realize that I never actually knew what I wanted, or what I truly needed, until I met her.”
My gaze leaves the ceiling and refocuses on Maliki, who is leaning against a wall now, arms crossed, eyes on me.
“I’m conflicted,” I tell him. “Is it wrong to fall for a woman who is nothing like my mate? Am I tarnishing Persephone’s memory… or honoring it?”
I shake my head, trying to clear it. I’ve revealed more than I intended to. Though, that’s always been the way with Maliki.
Whether he realizes it or not, I’ve trusted him with a myriad of secrets.
He said I’m like a brother to him, but I fear he’s so much more to me. A soulmate of a sort. Perhaps not romantically, but we’re… bonded.