I pushed back the power that writhed and seethed to obliterate my mother. Taking a couple deep breaths to calm the raging storm inside me, I counted to ten to get myself - and my newly acquired power - under control."Don't just stand there, Kiema. We have much to do," Heppni said as she threaded her arm through my own. She tried to pull me from Nix's grasp.Nix kept her arm steady.I felt like the rope in a game of tug of war. "What are you doing here, Herpes?" I asked her. My mother's beautiful face pinched and twisted at the nickname. "Stop calling me that."Nix muffled a laugh on my other side. "My question still stands," I said. I tried to pull my arm free of Herpes'. She wrapped her fist around my arm, anchoring me to her side. "Because you've finally done something worthy of my attention.""How did you even know I was in the Spirit Realm?" I asked. Narrowing my gaze at her, I watched a number of different expressions mar her features before she settled on p
"Where to now, Ten?" I asked. "Right up this way, Learned One. We are about to pass through the ancient gates." Ten walked under a crumbling archway. Lukas pushed up from behind me. "What the fuck is this place?"I shrugged. "I've no idea. But this is where Ten and Nix said to come. I'm assuming her contact will know us when he or she sees us. She gave Ten some kind of token to identify us with.""Mmhmm," Lukas murmured. The ancient gates opened onto a manicured lawn full of statues. There were ones that scarcely reached my knees and ones that towered over Ten's dragon form. Rows upon rows, column upon column, statues stood sentry over a hushed meadow that spoke to someplace deep inside me. Just beyond the gathering of statues was a valley of verdant green. It reminded me of a familiar dreamscape from my childhood. The statues were never present, but the gently rolling hill and valley were hard to forget. In the spring, it was covered in vibrant wildflowers. In the fall
Someone was trying to pull me away from Ransom. I edged my body closer to his still form. Another tug on my arm had me baring my teeth as I opened my swollen, heavy eyelids. "Back the fuck up or get fucked up. Your choice," I snarled. "Kiema, they've made it back. My friend needs you to move. You've done your job beautifully. Let someone else help Ransom while you continue to rest," Nix said in a soft voice as she helped Kord pull me back from Ransom's prone form. I shook my head, focused my gaze. My mate was no longer blue, but he also hadn't woken up once since I started working on him. A commotion from the other side of the giant ballroom had me rubbing my eyes and squinting in confusion. "You're friends with a mountain?" I asked Nix. The Mountain's lips quirked. "You flatter me, belle. No, I am Mason Roche. Sacred Protector of Nix, Daughter of Anda, Goddess of Spirit." He tipped his head to the side as he bent to his knees beside Ransom's body. The corners of h
I bit my lip to keep from laughing at the small woman who was now my Kona, the one I offered my life as protection for. I could feel the strength in her spirit. The indomitable steel that pervaded her entire being. Her smile and attitude reminded me of Sebastian, my Prime. The one who'd given me a piece of his soul and brought me to literal life. The ache of his loss, even though it was almost too long ago to count now, still darkened my heart. Drenched my soul in pain. The men who had escorted me from Heilgat Samkoma had given me the very basic information of time and place. There was still much to discover about this new world I found myself in. Kiema, and what a beautiful name she carried, wiped the back of her hand over her mouth. Her cheeks pink, her solemn gray eyes downcast, she said, "Welcome to the club. We're all a little crazy here."The laugh started in my belly as a faint twitch. Soon, my whole body shook and trembled as my throat loosed it to the ceiling. And j
My rune was itching. It felt like I had bugs crawling under my skin. I rubbed at it. Again. When was my life going to settle down? Right now, I'd be down for boring, staid even. The room we entered was the one my guys and I had been sharing before the doomed ball. But now that everyone was going to be staying in here, it had been changed again. Several beds lined the edges of the room while the biggest table I'd ever seen dominated the middle of the space. Twelve chairs surrounded the table that was already groaning under the weight of a feast. I smiled as we all took our seats. As I looked around, I noticed that, except for Nix and Mason, we'd chosen our spots that we had in Asher's kitchen area. One big happy family. Conversation and laughter floated in and through the dinner. As if by some unspoken cue, no one talked about anything more serious than Faery's weather - gorgeous, or the clothes - bordering on ridiculous.After we'd stuffed our faces, we all sat back in our c
My Kona's mouth dropped wide as she spluttered at my comment. I hid my smile. She was easily riled, this female. I didn't want to hurt her feelings by laughing in her face. "But he's my uncle, too. Does that mean we are cousins?" she asked. She locked her expression away, her light gray eyes both guarded and softer than I had thought her capable of achieving."I carry the last vestiges of Bestia's Prime power in my body. If through no other means, that would make us family - in a way." I nodded. She tried to smile as her eyes filled with tears. "Good." She dashed her fingers under her eyes. "Good. That makes me happy.""And since Prime powers are gold, I would assume that you are carrying pieces of Hellion's power. If you can successfully integrate them into your magical well, you, too, would be a Prime," I explained. The tears vanished as if she'd been traversing a desert. "What?"I repeated myself. "B-bu-but I don't want to be a Prime. Why would Hellion give me powe
I closed my mouth with a soft click. Shook my head. "No. There's no way. Sebasti - " I shook my head again. "I cannot help you make sense of it if I don't get the rest of your meaning, mon amie," Mason said. "My great-grandfather's name was Sebastian. I never knew his wife's name. My grandfather's name was Silvere. He married Del - ""-phine." Mason's head tipped to the side as he stared at me. "But this does not make sense. You are in your younger years."I bristled. "I'm thirty-two." Instantly felt my cheeks heat as I imagined what that sounded like to a guy who had just admitted to sleeping for the last two hundred odd years.Mason nodded. "I did not mean to offend. What of your father? Your mother? Are they still alive?"I swallowed the ache talking about them usually brought me. "My father was Aleksandr and my mother was Lena. They were both killed in a car accident when I was younger.""Mes condoléances," Mason said as he laid a hand over his heart, dipped his hea
Two days laterAzica"We've got until tomorrow to get enough of these warehouses up and running for the Faeries, the Horde, the humans, and anyone else who wants to bunk with us. What can we do to make that happen?" I asked Saint as we walked back into the warehouse that I considered our home. He laughed as he picked me up and twirled me around. "You're the one practically overflowing with power. What do you say to giving your first couple lessons a real-life test?"I gulped. "S-sure. But let's use one of the ones down the street. That way if it implodes, it won't hurt our house."He laughed, right in my face, and set me down with a kiss on my nose. "I'll get the others." He ran from the room. "Great. Because I love an audience to my failures," I yelled after him. **We all met at the old mattress warehouse that Scarlet used to live in. Standing across the street - the safest distance I could get any of them to stand while I tried my hand at magicking a new building
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