33 Roman #2
“Stay with it!” Meg’s voice was a beacon in the darkness.
Bits of tree were swept downstream as the large trunk groaned and snapped. Finally, it gave way. The pooling water under our feet receded, allowing the river to rush downstream again.
Howls and cheers rang out. Everyone clapped each other on the back for a job well done. I dipped through the chaos, finding Meg beside Kera.
“Trish and Jaxon are widening the river upstream,” Meg told her Alpha. “They’re strong. I think they’ll make it all the way down here.”
“I’ll send help.” Kera nodded, wiping the rain from her glowing eyes as she motioned to a group of shifters nearest the tree debris.
“I think we should—"
“You were right, okay? Is that what you want to hear?” Kera growled at Meg, cutting her off.
I stepped beside Meg, ready to go toe-to-toe with this woman whom she’d just rushed in to help.
“That’s not what I was saying,” Meg growled back as she pushed me behind her.
I tried not to be insulted that I was obviously no help in this situation.
“I’m sorry.” Kera lowered her eyes, and by the look of surprise on Meg’s face, I assumed that didn’t happen much. “Once this is over, I’ll talk to Jaxon about reopening biodiesel trade.”
Meg coughed slightly and then motioned with her chin past Kera to the three new people who stood on the cobblestone street, completely dry as the rain fell to either side of them.
“I think we should figure out who they are,” Meg finished her original sentence.
Kera turned, growling, as the rest of the wolf shifters around us followed her lead.
The man in the middle of the trio was larger than life with a massive jaw and dark beard that flowed with the long length of his black hair.
To his left was a dainty woman in a purple dress with long black hair that seemed to float as she moved barefoot and untouched over the puddles on the street.
To his right was a beastly looking male with glowing hazel eyes that seemed to judge all that he saw and found it lacking.
They weren’t human. I don’t know if I’d heard enough stories to have an idea of who they were, but this time Meg didn’t fight when I pulled her behind me.
Alpha Kera barked out, “Who are you?”
The man’s smile was as dark as the night that seemed to bend itself around him. “Do your souls not recognize me yet, or do you need more time with the living?”
“It’s Hades,” I whispered to Meg, not expecting fevered whispers to break out behind me as the name carried down river.
“The wolf and the warrior. At least he still knows my name.” Hades’s dark gaze cut to me and Meg, and the god cocked his head to the side. “How fortunate for us that love always wins.”
The woman floated forward and tenderly reached for Hades’s offered arm.
Persephone.
“My favorite stories.” Her pretty smile seemed to hold something wicked in it as she winked. “I adore a good forbidden romance.”
The beastly male beside them sniffed the air, turning his glowing eyes on the road we’d just come from.
Kera bravely stepped closer, claws extending that she twisted to hide behind her back. “What do you want with us?”
“We came to visit.” Hades spread out his arms, laughing to ease the tension. “It’s been years since we walked among the graveyard pack.”
Bright lights swept the cobblestone street as a vehicle came careening down the road. My pulse thudded in my ears when I saw it was Staff Sgt. Marcus in the Jeep.
“Go. I’ll take care of them.” Kera nodded at me, stepping to the side and drawing the gods closer to the pack. “You’ll have to excuse our rushed welcome. We seem to be dealing with some strange weather lately.”
Kera sucked at the diplomatic bit, but she did make Hades chuckle, which was a terrifying sound in itself. I hoped her Beta Coral would help soon. But I didn’t have time to stick around and help.
Not that I wanted to meet the lord of the underworld in person.
I still hadn’t released Meg’s hand as I ran across the street to where Marcus was jumping out of the Jeep. In my gut, I knew I should let her go, but not yet. A few more seconds.
The beastly male that stood with Hades didn’t take his burning gaze off us.
“What happened?” I asked, relaxing a fraction when I saw Justus safely in the backseat.
But Marcus had wild eyes and a death grip on his rifle. “We need to go. Ethica lost power.”
“So?” I asked. We had measures in place for this, back-up generators—
“Lightning or something fried the power grid!” Marcus was already jogging backwards to the Jeep. “We’re leaving now, Lieutenant. I need to get Daisy.”
My stomach sank when the realization hit.
“I have to go back to Ethica.” I turned to Meg, face slipping into a mask of stone as I thought about what awaited us.
“I’m coming with you.” Meg didn’t hesitate.
“No, you should stay.” I tried to warn her, pulling her close as I breathed in her scent a final time, then forced myself to step away.
Marcus punched the horn.
“Didn’t you hear me about the mate bond? We stick together. Where you go, I go.” Meg pushed me off and started to run for the Jeep.
Fuck.
I didn’t have time to argue.
Because if what Marcus said was true, then we were heading back home to the apocalypse.