Chapter 12
HADES
Iwas furious. I poured another glass of wine and downed it in one gulp. My erection strained against my jeans.
‘Fucking Persephone,’ I grunted. I’d taken her lips as if laying claim to her soul—a scorching kiss that left me unsteady on my feet; how I’d missed those kisses.
Remembering her taste, her tongue, the soft moans she made against my mouth, and the way her body ignited at my touch almost undid me. My cock grew even harder. I rumbled low in my throat. I should have taken her there and then on the table. I could have, but I knew I must not.
She still denied the bond, though I knew she was lying.
The look she’d given me when I’d asked said she’d rather gouge her eyes out with a rusty spoon than admit to feeling it.
I needed to get her out of my head. I needed to stop this before I fell any deeper for this stranger.
She was getting under my skin like a sweet poison.
She wasn’t my Persephone. I wanted to both fuck her senseless and return her to the mortal world for my sanity, before she and that shadow magic enthralled me completely.
My Persephone had been dynamic and powerful; she took shit from no one, including me—my equal—but she also loved me unconditionally, a love that both comforted and healed me.
There is no arguing with the soul bond. She had been made for me—even separated, we would have walked the earth to search for each other.
At the thought, I drank another glass of wine and paced the terrace.
Fates, what a mess.
‘Went well then?’ Hecate’s voice made me turn; she had my answer from the scowl I gave her. Her eyes lowered to my crotch, and she smirked. I fisted my hands and squinted at her. ‘Not saying a word.’ She raised her hands in a surrender gesture but carried on grinning.
‘She’s sweet one minute and downright infuriating the next. She flat-out denies that she feels the bond, and I know she lies,’ I ground out.
‘Hades, she’s always been the same. You know that.
You were married for how long before she—’ Hecate stopped as my gaze shot to hers.
‘That’s one thing you loved about her—her downright feistiness and determination.
You’re a god, and you expect her to throw herself at you.
Stop being so freaking arrogant. This whole situation has turned her world upside down. Give her time.’
‘We do not have time, Hecate.’ My voice cracked despite myself.
‘I cannot bear to lose her again, so I must stop this. She denies the bond… our bond.’ A crippling pain lanced through my chest, and I forced the next words out like ash.
‘She is not the same goddess I married. She’s not my Persephone anymore.
My Persephone would never put me through this. ’
I drew in a ragged breath. ‘It’s best if she leaves.’ Hecate opened her mouth to argue, but I raised a hand to silence her. ‘I’m going to see Zeus,’ I said, voice low and final. ‘I’ll tell him Persephone is returning to the mortal realm. I’ll dissolve the binding to me. She will be free.’
‘Well, I never took you for a quitter—’
‘Do not push me, Goddess.’ My shadows stirred, curling like smoke as my words sliced the air.
‘As you wish.’ She shook her head in disgust and vanished, leaving me feeling even more morose.
When I thought of Zeus, my cock softened, and I shadow-walked to Olympus.
He was ‘entertaining’ two nymphs, and the sight almost made me heave. One was on her knees in front of him, his dick in her mouth.
‘Brother!’ He grinned when his eyes met mine.
‘I’m dissolving the binding to Persephone. She is free to return to the mortal realm,’ I said through clenched teeth.
With a click of his fingers, the nymphs disappeared, and jeans now covered his modesty.
‘Well, that’s you out of the running, then,’ he said, offering a smug smile as he approached me.
‘What do you mean?’
‘Well, Persephone’s rightful place is in Olympus, preferably by my side. The other gods won’t stand a chance in the battle for her heart and body. I’ll bring her here instead; she can stay as my guest while we woo her. I’m salivating, thinking about getting my cock into her hot, wet pussy.’
My shadows enveloped the room, and anger became a living, breathing entity. ‘I’ll rip your fucking throat out,’ I roared.
Zeus bellowed with laughter, wrapping himself in a bubble of clouds and lightning.
‘Well, up your game, Brother, and stop behaving like a spurned teenager, you dozy bastard.’ Then he vanished, leaving me and my shadows in silence.
What in Olympus’s name is he playing at?
I stormed into my office and kicked a chair. What a fucking mess—Zeus took assholery to an epic level.
Persephone was still caught in the male intrasexual competition for her body, and the thought made me want to destroy them all.
The gods vying for her would employ an array of tactics to best their rivals—they were all scum.
She is my fucking wife… Or had been. If this competition continued, I had to win her back.
I couldn’t allow one of the other gods to have her.
I exhaled a ragged breath as rage swirled within me, mingled with heartbreaking sorrow and a myriad of different emotions that twisted my guts and turned me inside out.
Shadows ran rampant around my office, but I couldn’t lose control.
It wasn’t fair to my people. I’d done that once—when Persephone was taken from me—and had killed countless innocents. I was no longer that god.
‘Hecate!’ I yelled in my mind. No response. Where in the gods was she? ‘Thanatos!’ He appeared within a second.
‘Highness.’ He bowed deeply.
I waved my hand for him to rise. ‘Where’s Hecate?’
He gave a lazy shrug. ‘No idea. Is there a problem?’
‘Oh, yes, you could say that. When you see her, tell her to get her ass to me, pronto.’
He bowed and disappeared, leaving me stewing in self-doubt and disquiet—would Persephone choose me in this ridiculous competition for her betrothal?
It seemed unlikely. She refused to even acknowledge the bond.
The thought of her not loving me caused my heart to ache and my anger to resurface. I took a long, slow breath.
Would she be wooed by another of the rival gods, like Zeus, who had a beautiful realm to offer her, only to be taken from me… again? My heart would be shredded a second time. If that were to happen, I’d likely destroy Olympus and every god within it.
Struggling to rein in my fury, I poured myself a whisky and brooded, with nothing on my mind but my exasperating wife. I needed to see her. She was mine.
I called for Morpheus.