Chapter 4
THANE
I woke in a pool of my blood, surrounded by my discarded appendages.
I coughed at the phantom sensation of tongue in my throat, but it had returned to its proper place in my mouth.
My fingers had returned with no residual marks from my torment.
My toes helped me push off the floor. The only thing still injured was my tattered mind and shredded soul, and I wasn't sure I could ever repair the damage.
"Oh handsome, you look dreadful," a sultry voice chuckled.
A groan tore from my battered chest. It was particularly cruel when Hades visited after the dismemberment.
She knew I was at my weakest, which was exactly why she was here.
As she had been every day for what felt like an eternity.
I didn't bother with grace while fumbling to my feet, my hands and toes slipping through the bloodied mess surrounding me.
I stumbled to face her, rage and hatred boiling up my throat.
"Fuck you, you ugly hag," I gasped. I wiped the partially dried blood from my mouth and flicked it at her, though it dissipated before touching her flawless skin.
She smirked. "Now, now, is that any way to speak to me? It's our hundredth anniversary, you know."
My eyes widened, and I stumbled over to the wall without responding to her.
I had left scratches that now covered the soft clay, one marking each of Hades’s visits.
They covered the entire surface, far too many for me to count anymore.
Were there really one hundred years' worth?
I crumpled to my knees, desolation consuming whatever was left of me.
The first time Hades had come to my cell with her offer, I had spat in her face and told her to kiss my ass.
Surely, I could outlast her. Someone had paid me to kill her, and eventually another would be successful in the venture.
Yet here she was, another century under her belt, and she didn't look a day over thirty.
My eternity was beginning to feel very daunting. I would be her plaything to torment forever. My soul would take it, too. Over and over, morphing into a heap of shredded scraps if she wished it.
A hand clutched my shoulder. "Why don't we consummate such a special occasion? Just say the word."
I meant to turn and launch myself at her.
It did no good—a soul couldn't hurt Hades—but it sure made me feel better.
Yet, my limbs refused to move. I continued to gaze blankly at the room that had held me for far longer than I had lived.
Her laugh returned, crawling over my skin like spiders.
"Did I finally break you? I'll admit you were a glorious stallion, handsome, but it was only a matter of time before you were brought to heel. "
"Fuck you," I murmured, but the words lacked their normal bite. I couldn't believe I was actually considering accepting her. Perhaps I truly was broken.
She fisted my hair to painfully yank my head back, forcing my gaze to hers from my place at her feet. Emerald viper’s eyes gazed down at me, and a feral grin warped her features. "You wish you could earn the pleasure."
Then she let me go, nearly sending me into the dirt. "Let's skip the foreplay, Thane. Are you finally ready to end this?"
"I'm fucking pathetic," I murmured to myself.
My fingertips dug into the wall, and I hid my face between my arms. A better man would've held out for an eternity.
Any shred of pride that remained demanded that I tell her to kick rocks, yet the thought of seeing the fury—of being torn to pieces—made it hard to breathe. I was done.
I couldn't do another hundred years.
"You are indeed, but if it makes you feel better, you lasted longer than I thought you would. You have certainly tested my patience."
It was the nicest thing she had ever said to me, which meant she knew I was giving in. Kindness was not in her nature. I turned to her, keeping my gaze on the floor. "Fine, Hades. I will sell my soul to you if it means the torture stops."
There was a moment of heavy silence, then, "Look at me."
I obeyed, only to find a worn piece of parchment in her hand. It was familiar, the same contract she had offered me for a century. In her other hand was a raven's quill. Hades’s smile was gone, leaving a scorched intensity that bored into me and heated my flesh.
"Sign the contract."
Shivering fingers clasped the utensils and laid the contract on the floor.
I didn't need to read it; I already knew what it said.
My soul would be the property of Hades as compensation for transfer from Tartarus.
She would own me unequivocally, to do with as she pleased.
It was intentionally vague about what that entailed. My fist tightened around the quill.
"What are you going to do with me?" I asked in a broken whisper.
Her lip curled up on one side. "That is for me to know and for you to find out, handsome."
My brows tightened, but I dropped the quill tip to the signature line.
This had always been my destiny, signed and sealed the moment I stepped onto the bridge of death.
A thick droplet of ink spilled from the tip in deep red.
I gulped and scrawled my signature. When I pulled away, I noticed my fingertips soaked in the blood that had fueled the utensil.
The parchment disappeared. A gasp tore through me, and my vision went spotty.
Whatever was in the void where my heart had been was being crushed in a vise.
Raised black markings like roots wove around my wrists, and when they encircled my flesh, every nerve ending was aware of Hades’s presence.
She drew me to her like a pathetic, accursed moth to light.
"Stand," she barked.
Despite my instincts screaming not to, I obeyed without question, clambering up and facing her as a soldier brought to attention. It was as though my limbs weren't my own, and really, they weren't. They were hers.
She smiled. "Step forward."
My feet moved without my telling them to.
Her hand cradled my cheek. It should have been a comforting touch, but it only brought me dread when I realized I couldn't pull away. My eyes widened, and I did my best to steady my rapid breathing. I would not show her how fucking terrified I was.
"Your name is now Wolfe," she said matter-of-factly.
My eyebrows scrunched. "The fuck it is. I already have a name, it’s…” my voice trailed off, and my lips parted in horror.
A twisted smile warped her face. "What was that? You have a name? Then tell me what it is, Wolfe."
What was my name? Wolfe, Wolfe, WOLFE. It was an omnipresent chant in my head regardless of how I tried to silence it.
I knew it was wrong. I had a real name, but it had escaped me.
It was as though the moment she uttered the command, my entire being took it as truth.
My undead heart dropped. She had ripped away my name as if my very identity was nothing but a smudge to be erased.
"Please don't do this," I begged in a broken whisper.
I had never asked her for anything. Never had I begged for the torture to stop or for forgiveness.
But my identity was all I had left. I had been a worthless piece of shit gun-for-hire in life, but at least it was something to hold on to, but now she had taken that too.
She scoffed. "You don't have the right to beg for anything from me unless I fucking tell you to beg. Your name is Wolfe, and you are a trained dog for the goddess of the dead, who will kill who I tell him to, when and how I tell him to. Congratulations, and welcome to your new life."
My world dropped from my stomach. I hadn't expected her to give in to me, that had been a pathetic plea from a desperate man, but I hadn't anticipated her plans for me.
The only people I killed for were my cabal, the men and women that pulled my worthless ass out of the gutters as a child and gave me a chance at life. “I’m retired."
Her fingers moved from my cheek to my throat, where her claws dug in and yanked me to her level. "I don't think you fully grasp what you signed, Wolfe. Bark."
I blinked. "What?"
Her grip on my throat tightened. "I said bark, like the fucking dog you are."
Anger washed over me. This fucking raging demonic bitch; I wished I had stabbed her a few more times when I'd had the chance.
When my mouth parted to retort, the rough bubble of an animalistic noise rose in my throat.
I snapped my jaw shut and fought against the sound, even as it clawed its way out of me.
I will not fucking bark for this monster, I chanted in my mind.
Sweat slicked my forehead and nape as I fought against the command.
Yet, a sharp bark tore from my lips as though she ripped it from my vocal cords.
I winced, especially as a victorious smirk spread across her face.
"Maybe now you'll understand. You will follow my command because there is no other choice, and you’re stuck by my side because your soul will decay if you leave. I own you.”