"So what're everyone's names?" I asked as we pulled another mattress from Scarlet's old hideout. Most of them were still in the plastic wrappers. I wouldn't have minded if Alok's hadn't been. The female closest to me grabbed the seams of the mattress and chucked it through the air to the next person down the line. She made it look like she was throwing a piece of bread across the table, it looked so effortless. "I'm Araxalim.""Nice to meet you, Araxalim. I'm Taryk." I scooted another mattress down the line.She bowed her head low. "That is my sister, Ninleyn." She pointed with her delicate chin at the woman who was catching the mattresses."You look nothing alike. Are you close in age?" Scarlet asked from the sidelines. Even the single mattresses were bigger than my mate. Araxalim shook her head, a smile tugged at her mouth. "We are Warden sisters. Not sisters of the blood.""Oh. I got you. These boys all consider themselves brothers when really only Asher and Xander are
I pulled my invisibility around me like a blanket and darted to the side. The man's purple, gold, and brown eyes glinted as he tracked my movements. "We can still see you, Princess."On instinct, I reached down into the pool of magic that I'd gained from Kiema, I pulled the shadows tighter around myself. The Warden's face went blank.I moved to the side. He didn't follow my movements. These idiots thought to take me by force after Kiema gave them that whole spiel about them not earning our trust or even respect? Seems they needed a bigger example to drive the point home. I threw the shadows around my men, wrapping them up tighter than a virgin. The room around us erupted into chaos. I really wished I had the ability to speak into their minds the way they did. Even Kiema's one-way telepathy would be good enough right now. I moved around the frantic Wardens, making sure to keep out of the way of their incredibly long legs and arms. Two of the females pulled bows and ar
"And you let her go on her fucking own?!" I yelled at Taryk through the implant. "I won't be a jailer for her, Ash. Neither will you. I trust her. Get your head out of your pants and on straight, and you'll be able to see that she's a better covert operative than any of us could ever hope to be. She trained on the streets for twenty-two years. She'll be fine.""Reminding me about the sheer shittiness of her life is not helping your case right now, T," I said as he pushed me into the room we'd helped Cherry clear out not even a week ago."And your bullheadedness is proving mine. Look at her, Asher. Really see her. Not the version of her you carry in your head in the spot you've named mate.' See her. Otherwise, you're going to lose her." Taryk got up in my face, his expression more serious than anything I'd ever seen cross it before. I felt the deepest parts of my heart clench at the idea of her out there alone while we idiots cowered and crouched in her old hole. But the clea
Wrenching pain was swallowed by searing heat as something was plunged repeatedly through my body. My chest felt like a herd of elephants were sitting on it while something was gnawing on my legs. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out what was wrong, and I couldn't fucking open my eyes to see what it was either. The only thing I did know was that Kiema was with me. Her magic wrapped me in layers of love and peace even as agony rippled through me. Phantom fingers mussed my hair, smoothed my brow. A cool kiss was pressed to my head as a blazing inferno incinerated me from the inside out. "Xander." I grimaced. "Xan baby, I know you can hear me," a wrenching familiar voice said. I'd longed to hear that feminine voice one more time. To wrap it around me like a blanket, to store it forever in my memory. My memory hadn't done it justice. A husky chuckle that brought a tear to my eye. "Come on, Xan baby. Just open your eyes."I shook my head. If I didn't open them, maybe
I caught her before she tumbled to the floor in a dead faint. Xander disrupted his unit's embrace, almost shoving Scarlet to the side to get to Kiema. His face showed his horror. Saint grabbed Xander before he could hurt his own mate. "She's just exhausted, Xander. She's fine. I swear," Saint said. Xander looked up at me. I nodded. "She told us as soon as you both came out of the Gateway. Apparently, she used a lot of power and it drained her. She's going to be fine, I promise you." His dark brown eyes were flickering with the white, blue, and purple colors of his elemental tiger. "You swear on your life?"I dipped my head. "On my life."He fell back, scooped Scarlet back into his arms. Buried his head against her shoulders and began sobbing. "What the fuck do you think happened in there?" Saint asked me quietly as we moved out of the small room. I gave a low whistle as I looked at the carnage on the warehouse's former showroom floor. Pieces and parts of the Wa
"Good, luv?" I asked Atlas as he finished washing his hands for what had to be the millionth time after getting back to the warehouse.He nodded, not even bothering to look at me. His shoulders were trembling and small shoots of water sprang up from the sink at different intervals. I waited him out. One of the few things I'd learned about this enigmatic man, over and above the fact that he was a seriously good kisser, was that his love for his brothers and family was the solid core of him. I'd watched in helpless horror as the realization that he'd been unable to save Xander's life had washed over him back in that slaughterhouse.He turned from the sink, his head still down, his eyes closed tight. He shook his head. Still not bothering to look up at me. I walked over to him, careful not to get too close to invading his personal space. "Need some touch or rather not?"He nodded. The first tear splashed to the floor between my feet. I had him in my arms before the next cou
Xander was the last to slide into a seat at the huge dining table on Asher's level. The man himself was trying to play it cool by staying in the kitchen. But I could see the starkness in the gaze that had yet to leave his brother. He saw me looking at him. I nodded at him. He returned the gesture before going back to keep a close eye on his twin. "Anytime there, Kord," Ransom said from the far end of the table. The head of the table. I smiled at the unspoken hierarchy. I cleared my throat. "Right." Shit, now that the time was here, where did I freaking start? I rubbed my hands down my pants, trying to dry the suddenly damp palms. I wasn't quite sure where I fit in the hierarchy yet, but I knew I fucking wanted to. Damn, did they make family look appealing. I glanced at Kiema, she gave me a soft, if slightly unfocused smile. Fuck, she was a bright light in a world full of shitty darkness. And suddenly, I knew where to start. "Okay, so there are a total of four proph
"And I still don't care what it says. Unless they're just out there waiting to gobble me up, I'm going to freaking bed," I said for what felt like the tenth time. Ransom opened his mouth. I held up a hand, a frown pulling at the edges of my mouth. "If you suggest the Hold one more time, I'm going to shove you in there."He opened his mouth again."Without me," I said quickly.His mouth snapped closed with a click. I caught Scarlet's gaze. She rolled her eyes. So fucking true, girlfriend. So fucking true."Bed. Now. Any of my mates who want to join, there will be no sexy times. Sleeping is it. The end. The rest of you, good night. Pleasant dreams. I'll see you after I wake up. And I better not be woken up by any of you." I turned on my sock-covered heel and headed for the elevator. I couldn't handle their worry or expectation. The sliver of Scarlet's magic that I'd inherited made other people's emotions feel like weights around my neck while I was trying to just t
Three months later"And I'm telling you right now, dad, that if you want to ever see these babies, you'll stop sending my mates to the Underworld for a cooling off' period. That shit is getting old," I said as I waddled into the hospital built for gods and demi-gods. He chuckled beside me. "But, bubbles, they deserved it. Crowing like they built Olympus bare handed. They were getting on your Circle's nerves. I could tell." He said as he lifted me into the bed. "Bring them back, dad. Now." I glared at him. Even though, on the inside, I was smiling like a loon. This was the type of relationship I'd always dreamed of having with a father. He sighed, a smirk still pulling at his mouth. With a snap, my three mates stumbled into the room."Damn it, Apollo," Saint said as he flicked his shirt. "Cerberus almost got me that time."My dad's head tipped back as he laughed and laughed. The babies inside me loved that sound. They kicked at my belly. I rubbed at the spot. "Easy
Six months later"Last time, I'll ask. I swear." Kiema swallowed heavily as she moved around behind me. "You promise you're okay not getting your deer back?" Kiema asked me as flicked the fabric of my dress this way and that to get it to lay perfectly.I waited until she looked up at me. That look of slight hesitation on her face tugged at my heart. "I promise. I was never meant to be a deer. A shifter of any kind."She nodded, sniffled quietly. "You ready for the rest of this then?" Kiema asked me as she adjusted the crown of flowers in my hair. "So much more than ready. I've been waiting for this my entire life." I bit back the tears that wanted to flood my throat. Not today. I wouldn't ruin this day with tears.She smiled as she stepped back. "You look beautiful, little sister." Tears gathered in her eyes. I held up a hand, looked at the ceiling. "Don't do that. I told you I wasn't crying today. You start crying, then I'll start crying. Then we'll have to postpone e
The next night"Wake up, Saint," I said softly in our shared consciousness. I could barely contain myself. I had felt the swell of magic. Had felt it when it took root."Saint," I said again. The man slept like a rock at the bottom of a spring. "Mgmgs," he mumbled.Forcing our arm to move, I slapped our face. He shot up, his teeth bared. "Who's there?" he called out. "It's me, you buffoon," I said.Our head cocked to the side. "Ten? Why are you waking me up? Can't whatever it is wait until morning?" He snuggled back down into the comfortable bed in our new home. "No." I shook our head so he would fully wake up. "Wake up!"He sat up, pulling the blankets with him. "I'm awake. What can't wait until the morning, Ten?""Kiema is pregnant.""WHAT THE FUCK!?"I snickered as everyone in the room burst from the bed, fists and knives raised in defense. "What is it?" Ransom's head turned back and forth quickly, visually sweeping the room. With a grunt at its emp
Two weeks later"Are we finally going to try this? We've been prepping for what feels like forever." I licked my way up Saint's neck. He shivered as his fingers curled into the flesh of my ass. "Maybe we should wait one more day. I don't want to hurt you."I rolled my eyes under the cover of my closed lids. This man. So dominant. So caring. So sure I wasn't ready to take one of them in my ass. I guess I'll just have to show him that I was more than ready.I slid down his body. A wave of magic and all of us were naked as the day we were born. As I sucked his cock into my mouth, Kord came up behind me.Curling around my back, he pinched my nipples with one hand. With his other, he slid a hand down my belly and straight over my clit. With a sharp movement, his fingers were deep inside me. I groaned around Saint's dick as waves of pleasure washed over me. Sprinkled with the counterpoints of pain from Kord getting my nipples ready for the clover clamps. I felt my core cream at
The next day"Torture and then straight back to bed. I don't care that your father is the god of healing. This is ridiculous, Kiema," Atlas said as we stood in the elevator on our way to the basement level."Don't get trapped in the dungeons," Apollo had said as he laid his palm against the electronic plate on the wall of the elevator.Right. Dungeons in a god hospital. Gods were freaking weird.I patted his cheek. "I've got my main medical provider right next to me. I'll be fine. Besides I feel like a million bucks."He huffed a laugh as Mason and Lukas came up beside him. I wiggled my eyebrows at Atlas, looked over his shoulder, back to his face.He chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Yes, little sister. We've decided to try being a thruple."I wrinkled my nose. "What kind of word is thruple?""A three-person couple, luv," Lukas answered. I snorted. "And you guys won't let me make up words? That's a heaping load of Berserker shit right there."We were all laughi
I pushed the other two through the doors. I wasn't waiting another minute to see my girl. I'd felt her die. Felt my spirit try to follow her down that long tunnel. My heart had stopped beating when I saw Heppni literally rip her heart from her chest and crush it. But here we were. Alive. Healing. She was pale against the bright white sheets of the hospital bed. Although it was unlike any hospital I'd ever been in. Apollo said something about it being a place for gods and goddesses. I shook my head. It didn't matter to me what it was as long as it made her better. She looked over as we rushed in. Her eyes searched each one of us before returning to me. Tears flooded her eyes as I pulled her into my arms. We all sat on the bed, curled and huddled together while she got it all out. The guys and I had had some truly brutal boxing matches to deal with our own emotions. I was still achy and sore from a couple of well-placed hits from Kord. The man might be a nerdy librarian, b
My chest hurt. I tried to rub it, but my arms were restrained. "Easy there, bubbles. You'll pull your stitches if you do that," a man said. His voice was soft and melodious. Like listening to angels sing. Angels. Something about that word tickled my brain.Angel. Almost. Almost.Ransom. As soon as I thought his name, his face popped into my brain. I tried to sit up. Made it a couple inches before I was pushed back to the bed beneath me. I opened my eyes. Ignoring the stabbing pain that slid into my eyeballs, I blinked to clear my vision. A bright white room greeted me. The only color in it was the man who had a hand against my chest. I looked down at his hand. Looked up at his face. Raised an eyebrow. "Get the fuck off, perv. My mates will rip you to shreds."He huffed a laugh and removed his hand. "I doubt your mates will be doing much more than breathing for a couple more hours, but I'm glad to see that you're back, bubbles. Have a nice nap?" I leaned ba
Everyone Hellion had made me vow to keep alive fell to the ground as if they were puppets and their strings had been cut. Fuck, fuck, fuck. I hurried to the closest one's side. Pushed two fingers to his neck. Gone. I was so fucking dead. I blasted an oncoming human with a burst of magic. He withered where he stood. I sank to my knees next to the small woman with bright white hair. She was gone as well. The woman with the long brown hair threw her blade into an approaching Direct. It sliced through him like he was air. With wild eyes, she didn't even try to gather the particles of his passing. She pushed me aside as she cradled the smaller woman to her chest. "No no no not my baby no no no please no no," she wailed. Her agonized scream was muffled against the smaller woman's head.The rest of the humans who had interrupted our plans were either dead or falling back the way they'd come. Movement drew my eye. I squinted as I tracked it across the street. It wa
I sent another stream of fiery magic at the Direct who thought to protect my mother. Some pansy-assed gifted asshole wasn't going to stop me from hunting my mother down and killing her. With a wave of my hand, a path cleared. With a curl of my fist, humans fell to the ground, their spines crumbled into dust. "I'm coming for you, Herpes," I screamed at the top of my lungs. She scurried away, down the side street towards the fighting arena I'd created for us to use for practice. I picked up my pace and followed her. "You better be fucking careful, honey," Saint said through my head. He was working with Arasne and Felix at the opening of the street where the humans were still grouped. The Faeries had set up a blockade of sorts, forcing the humans into a bottleneck situation. They were taken down one by one as Ransom had his horde of beasts funneled them through the line of magical warriors. "Always, Saint baby. See you in a bit." I rushed down the street Herpes had