XXIII–An old friend (for real this time)
PROSERPINA:
Proserpina had already considered the possibility of Alastor forgetting some of what happened last night but she still couldn’t stop the pang of frustration, the twinge of humiliation of having to be the only one to remember because it may as well have never happened, it may as well have never been real.
It would have been easier if she just feigned nonchalance, she knows this already, if she had just dropped Alastor to his twin last night instead of bringing him along with her but she couldn’t further lament at the loss of
XXIV–Beginning of an End He was known by many names. Hades–God of the Underworld, King of Hell, Lord of the Dead; the adjudicator of souls, father of shadows and the wealthiest of the gods–had lived since the fall of the elder gods, the Titans, since the dawn of humanity and he does not take surprises lightly. Not many may have known but the eldest Olympian God actually possessed the rare gift of foresight regarding the fates of those who are about to be brought forth to his realm, those who are already dying, how and when will they die. And thus, there were few, precious things left in all existence which possessed any ghost of a chance to actually surprisehim. Hades took great pride in that fact… and even greater care to maintain this serviceable ability a s
XXV –Descent . . . Descent (noun): it can be an action of moving downward, dropping, or falling… or it could be a moral, a social or psychological decline into a specified undesirable state . . . PROSERPINA: Before she and Alastor can go shopping later–does this count as a date?–Proserpina had fully intended to leave the house not too far or for long seeing as she no longer felt that secure ever since they’ve been attacked there) when she returned to the shadows to rest. &
“Start by pulling him out of the fire andhoping that he will forget the smell. He was supposed to be an angel but they took himfrom that light and turned him into something hungry,something that forgets what his hands are for when theyaren’t shaking. He will lose so much, and you will watch it all happenbecause you had him first, and you would let the worldbreak its own neck if it means keeping him.Start by wiping the blood off of his chin andpretending to understand. Repeat to yourself– “I won’t leave you, I won’t leave you” …until you fall asleep and dream of the placewhere nothing is red. . . . The throne of the King of all Vampires is cold and rigid as a hum
A VERY LONG AUTHOR’S NOTE: The plot wasn't supposed to revolve around romance... nor even had a werewolf in it. The initial plot was a literal horror story about a girl being stalked by some supernatural creature ahem sLeNdEr MaN ahem until he eats her–but I felt it was too predictable, too boring–so let's add Greek mythology and a bunch of other monsters to the blender because I am too done with life for a complicated plot right now and justwanted someone to suffer. Let's be real, though: the story only happenedbecause I was bored and hungry when I was home-quarantined for two weeks WITHOUT INTERNET. The first draft was a scene of Winters and William escaping Roman's dungeon, haunted house–whatever it was called–but I scraped it
. . . “Death, be not proud, though some have called thee Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so; For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.” . . . Thunder boomed in the distance, like muffled roars ofoutrage–it was a sound that she hated ever since she was a child, too small and too naive to understand–as though Zeus, the lord of skies himself had known about her existence all along and was already prepared to smite her from his throne way up high in Olympus. Wouldn't be the first time he tried. In fact, Winters would be mostgratefulif her lord uncle did just that right now so… why not now? Slowly, s
I–He Who Does Not Forget ALASTOR NYX: Zeus must be having one of his infamous fits tonight,was what Alastor was thinking with a thin smirk on his face as he watched the rain pounding mercilessly around them, turning the open field dirty with mud and blood as his bare feet tore through the wet ground like a speedy bullet without missing a beat while thunder continued to roar overhead, the dark skies being illuminated by lightning from time to time. The first night of September was marked as their annual ‘friendly’ game against the other werewolf packs and Alastor Nyx–like any other year–had only one goal in mind for tonight… and that was towin. Alastor almost felt... well, for once, not numb. And that
II – The Other Half PROSERPINA: Proserpina–who had been following her two remaining prey she had taken down at least eight since last night–grew increasingly perplexed when the specific life sources Thanatos was specifically tasked to take for the meantime led her closer to what sounded like the midst of a battlefield, one that was echoing with roars and curses that would have made Dionysus proud. When the young goddess finally came upon the open field, though choosing not to physically emerge from the shadows just yet to observe– She tilted her head to the side, long plaited dark hair dangling over one shoulder aimlessly, her equally dark eyes staring curiously as she beheld the men that moved and fought like the spawns of Ares but are..
III–Proserpina ALASTOR NYX: Finally, Harry aimed a kick to his back but Alastor, as though already sensing it, suddenly dodged out of the way, causing Harry to trip on his own two feet, gracelessly flailing his arms about as he fell face-first to the muddy ground with a high-pitched, indignant shriek. “What the hell's wrong with you?” Harry demanded, spitting out filth. “I could ask you the same thing,” Sean retorted, helping Alastor stand up, “...youdidtry to kick our own alpha.” Between labored breaths, Alastor clumsily got on his own two feet and embarrassingly, with Sean's help, his legs trembling a bit as he ignored anything and everyone around him but the one simple fact that he just found his m
A VERY LONG AUTHOR’S NOTE: The plot wasn't supposed to revolve around romance... nor even had a werewolf in it. The initial plot was a literal horror story about a girl being stalked by some supernatural creature ahem sLeNdEr MaN ahem until he eats her–but I felt it was too predictable, too boring–so let's add Greek mythology and a bunch of other monsters to the blender because I am too done with life for a complicated plot right now and justwanted someone to suffer. Let's be real, though: the story only happenedbecause I was bored and hungry when I was home-quarantined for two weeks WITHOUT INTERNET. The first draft was a scene of Winters and William escaping Roman's dungeon, haunted house–whatever it was called–but I scraped it
“Start by pulling him out of the fire andhoping that he will forget the smell. He was supposed to be an angel but they took himfrom that light and turned him into something hungry,something that forgets what his hands are for when theyaren’t shaking. He will lose so much, and you will watch it all happenbecause you had him first, and you would let the worldbreak its own neck if it means keeping him.Start by wiping the blood off of his chin andpretending to understand. Repeat to yourself– “I won’t leave you, I won’t leave you” …until you fall asleep and dream of the placewhere nothing is red. . . . The throne of the King of all Vampires is cold and rigid as a hum
XXV –Descent . . . Descent (noun): it can be an action of moving downward, dropping, or falling… or it could be a moral, a social or psychological decline into a specified undesirable state . . . PROSERPINA: Before she and Alastor can go shopping later–does this count as a date?–Proserpina had fully intended to leave the house not too far or for long seeing as she no longer felt that secure ever since they’ve been attacked there) when she returned to the shadows to rest. &
XXIV–Beginning of an End He was known by many names. Hades–God of the Underworld, King of Hell, Lord of the Dead; the adjudicator of souls, father of shadows and the wealthiest of the gods–had lived since the fall of the elder gods, the Titans, since the dawn of humanity and he does not take surprises lightly. Not many may have known but the eldest Olympian God actually possessed the rare gift of foresight regarding the fates of those who are about to be brought forth to his realm, those who are already dying, how and when will they die. And thus, there were few, precious things left in all existence which possessed any ghost of a chance to actually surprisehim. Hades took great pride in that fact… and even greater care to maintain this serviceable ability a s
XXIII–An old friend (for real this time) PROSERPINA: Proserpina had already considered the possibility of Alastor forgetting some of what happened last night but she still couldn’t stop the pang of frustration, the twinge of humiliation of having to be the only one to remember because it may as well have never happened, it may as well have never been real. It would have been easier if she just feigned nonchalance, she knows this already, if she had just dropped Alastor to his twin last night instead of bringing him along with her but she couldn’t further lament at the loss of
XXII–Calm before the Storm ALASTOR NYX: Not even ten minutes later, a freshly-showered Alastor half-skipped, half-walked down the stairs with a merry hop in his step, whistling an upbeat tune as he looked around. He was too much in a good mood; he couldn’t even find it in him to fidget with his borrowed clothes–a dark gray hoodie matched with black joggers, probably the only comfy outfit of her brother that would have fitted his considerably larger frame and never mind the way William’s faint scent still clings… it kind of reminded him of his mate’s honeyed scent, though this one feels more subdued– Alastor was practically bouncing up and down in joy as he moved. It’s fin
XXI – What it means to fall . . . “Have you ever been in love? Horrible, isn’t it? It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens you heart and it means that someone can get inside and mess you up.” –Neil Gaiman . . . ALASTOR NYX: It was so soft andcozy was the first thing his mind registered when he slowly came to...which was a whole lot of weird, since Alastor was sure he hadn't gotten back to his hotel room or even remembered falling asleep on a bed in the first place. But he could feel warm fabric
XX – The Gods Intervene PROSERPINA: Something crashed behind her. At hearing the sudden commotion, Proserpina feels a curious Thanatos slowly stir into attention at the back of her mind. “POPPPPYYYY!!!” …only for the god of death to promptly cut himself off faster than she could even register the words, let alone blink. So she’s on her own. Lovely. Proserpina exhales noisily. There can’t possibly be any sound reason for the blindingly bright god of the sun–and harbinger of headaches as Artemis liked to claim–to come running out of the b
XIX –The shadows, they grow darker WILLIAM VEIL: Selena'swas a cozy-looking café with a minimalistic interior design, themed with white and baby blues; soft and easy in the eyes, added by the pleasant aroma of brewed coffee and freshly baked bread. It was a hidden gem of a café that just recently opened a few months ago from what he had known when he chatted with the pretty barista. The shop was located a few blocks away from his old university's campus and just a few minutes’ drive from their summer home. Although he didn't mind the fact that he had to actually drive all the way here, William was a bit disappointed that the place hadn't been available when he was still a student. If it was, it would have been a pretty cool spot to hang out with what little