Her Forever

Gwen’s POV

After a long bath, which I wasn’t sure I was going to climb out of, I wrapped myself in a warm fluffy towel that made me giggle. I couldn’t get over that. I was in the largest bathtub in a giant bathroom that was larger than the room I slept in with 30 girls. My giggles were short-lived as I turned to the mirror. You could easily see my bony shoulders, my gaunt face, and large bags under my eyes. My hair was dull and lifeless, and I’m sure I weighed 100 pounds wet.

A large sigh escaped my lips. How Niko and Hades brought us to freedom and kept me was beyond a miracle. They picked me out of all the girls and brought me here, to this beautiful home. The other girls were prettier, fed better, and had curves in all the right places. Me? They purposefully had me malnourished to keep me small and have a pretty price over my head.

Walking out of the bathroom, I headed to the closet. I really didn’t want a maid to come in and dress me. I helped too many girls to get them ready out of pity; I didn’t need any of that since my body was so disgusting. Hunting through the closet, I found an abundance of clothes. Dresses, skirts, pants, jeans, shirts, just about anything a girl could want. Did he know my size? Weird.

Thumbing through the rack, I found a pretty plum-colored dress covering my bony shoulders and stitching at the waist. I still had plenty of room to grow in the waist area, but the way Niko had been forcing food down my throat the past two meals, I knew I would gain fast.

My hair was dry, and with a bit of concealer to cover the bags under my eyes, I was ready for someone to retrieve me. Part of me wanted to venture out on my own, but a room as big as this only made me worry about how big it was on the outside. I wasn’t one to get lost or get into some sort of confrontation with some maids since there was a fight earlier between them.

Before I could let my mind wander into thinking of all the things that could go wrong, there was a knock on the door. Jerking my head up and walking to the door, I cracked it open to see who it was on the other side. It was Hades, and my smile widened on its own accord.

“Hello, Hades,” I muttered. Hades’ smile widened as he took in my appearance. I hadn’t even opened the door, and he was looking at me like I was the light of his world. His eyes looked happier than they were the first time we met. The dark shadow had left him and was looking more, dare I say human?

There was no mistaking; he looked like a god carved from stone. His body towered over mine easily, and the recently shaven face made me want to touch it. It only makes me question more of his name, of his friends’ names. I was lucky to have something to read at night back at the club. The history books were a favorite, and Greek mythology always fascinated me. I would read about them over and over until I fell asleep at night. Wouldn’t that be amazing if he was the real Hades, God of the Underworld? He certainly had the looks for it. Ha, is it hot in here?

I bet they are in the Mafia, and those were the names they picked for themselves. Don’t they use code names? John’s men used code names, but they weren’t as cool as Hermes and Ares. Their names were Spike, Rage, or Rogue. Could they be into something illegal then?

My imagination was running away from me as I continued to look up into his dark eyes.

“Are you ready?” His smile widened even more. I blushed, looking down at my feet. “You might want to open the door a bit more if you plan on coming out,” he smirked.

“Oh, right,” I muttered again and opened the door.

“You look so beautiful Gwen,” his hand brushed a piece of my hair away. I gave a small smile, looking away. I felt anything but beautiful, the bruises are still fresh, and the lifelessness of my face will tell me otherwise. “Look at me,” he took his finger under my chin and ever so gently lifted my head. My eyes burning with unshed tears.

“If all the painters of the world tried to recreate your beauty on canvas for a thousand years, they still would come up short because no one can recreate your perfection.” I looked at him in awe as my mouth parted. No one has ever told me such words or attempted to say anything kind to me, and this man, the one who bought me, made my heart melt.

We stood in silence, looking at one another. His hand never left my chin as we stared into each other’s eyes once again. He glanced at my lips, and I hate to admit, I looked at his too. Hades began to lean in until I heard a loud bark that made me jump.

“A dog!’ I squealed. Beside Hades was a giant dog that reminded me of a bulldog but much larger. His jaws are massive, and his teeth even longer. This animal may not even be a dog for how ferocious he looked, but it didn’t scare me. The body was large and full of powerful muscles. He had black sleek fur and had a twinkle in his eye.

“Can I pet him, please!” I almost started jumping up and down, and Hades started chuckling.

“Of course, you can; this is Cerberus.” I didn’t even have to bend down to pet him; he easily reached my mid-torso. I haven’t petted an animal in all my life, and the large canine didn’t even frighten me. He felt familiar. Reaching out, he automatically leaned into my touch. His breathing was heavy, and his head rubbed into my palm.

“Aren’t you a good boy! You are so sweet!” I smiled widely at him. He jumped a little to lick my cheek. “What kind of dog is he? I didn’t know dogs could get this big.”

“They definitely can, and this is a specially bred dog. There isn’t really a name for him, one of a kind.” I continued to pet him until I found a sweet spot on his chest and started scratching. His foot banging harshly against the floor and finally rolled over onto his back. I started laughing, continuing my assault.

“Does my big boy like that? Do you like that?” I cooed at the large dog as it g*****d in delight.

“Alright, that is enough of that; you are going to make me jealous,” he laughed again. It was a wonderful deep laugh that I’m sure rumbled in his chest. His hand took mine to lift me from the floor, and he put it in the crook of his arm.

“Come on, Cerberus, you attention hog,” he growled out playfully. Hades walked down the large hallways. This wasn’t a mansion; this was a palace or a castle! The statues, the paintings, portraits, there was one we passed by that caught my attention and made me stop. It was a picture of Hades in a long dark robe with a dark crown on his head. He looked angry as he sat on a throne full of thorns and skulls, a scepter in one hand and another hand gripping the arm of the throne.

A small gasp left my lips, and Hades gripped my arm tighter while he cleared his throat. “Uh, that was a bit of a gag gift,” he laughed lightly. “My family has a sick sense of humor,” he cleared his throat again. “Anyway,” he continued to walk me down the hall. “It was great seeing you laughing with Cerberus.”

I hummed in response, “yeah, I don’t remember the last time I laughed that hard.” Hades patted my hand that was still around his arm. His touch was warm and inviting, something I wouldn’t expect of a man of his beauty. At first glance, he’s cold and desolate. When I am around him, though, my heart flutters violently like it never has before, and I doubt it is because my b***d sugar is low.

Cerberus takes a giant leap ahead of us, shaking me from my thoughts again as we enter the large dining room. Hermes, Ares, and Vulcan were talking and sipping on glasses of wine until we approached the table. Hades pulled out my chair, and I muttered a quick ‘thank you.’

“You look ravishing, Gwen. Who knew you would clean up so well?” Hermes gave a wink as he drank another sip. “I’m sure Hades told you all about how gorgeous you look tonight.”

I pursed my lips to try and hide a smile. “I take that as a yes,” Vulcan added.

Hades kept piling food on my dinner plate while everyone talked. I kept mostly quiet, tasting every bit of food that was on my plate. Turkey, rolls, stuffing, potatoes with gravy, every bit of a Thanksgiving meal I had always dreamed of. I ate as much as I could, which wasn’t much, but Hades kept insisting on one more bite. I felt like a child, but I didn’t mind it. I’ve never had someone to fuss over me, so I just laughed it off and tried just one more bite for him.

Hades’ friends felt more at ease talking with him than the first two days I spent with them. He was more relaxed and carefree and even laughed at a few jokes Ares threw at him.

“Gwen, are you alright?” He asked me for the tenth time. “Yes,” I smiled back up at him.

“I do have a question, though.”

“Ask away then,” Hades gleamed. Wow, that smile. “Um, I was wondering if you guys were in the mafia or something?” Ares stared at me for a few seconds until he burst into laughter, pounding the table. I inched lower into my seat at his boisterous laughter as he continued his ministrations. With one quick glare from Hades, Ares cleared his throat.

“No, we are not,” Ares said. “But it would be f*****g awesome if we were!” The table laughed again as I fiddled with my fork.

“What’s on your mind? I see you deep in thought,” Vulcan asked. He was certainly more in-tune with emotions and less on the talking.

“It’s just, this place, it’s huge. I would think someone from the mafia would have a place like this with all the servants. Some of them look dangerous like they are going to pull out a gun or something… and, and your names!” The servants here were not normal, not one bit. They were all tall, bulky, and wearing clothes I wasn’t familiar with. They didn’t look like they fit them properly, some being too small.

“I will explain everything to you soon,” Hades spoke up. I want to get you to settle in and work on your health a bit before we get into that.”

Dear heavens, they are doing something illegal. My eyes widened.

“Gwen, it’s fine. We are not doing anything wrong,” Hermes said seriously. You are safe here, more so than anywhere else.”

His word didn’t comfort me as Hades did. I was still in unknown territory. My purpose for being here was yet unknown. Everything has a price continues to ring through my head.

Hades POV

Gwen was able to stomach a normal-sized plate of food, much to my persistent pushing. I could tell I was pushing her too hard when she kept putting smaller and smaller pieces of food in her mouth. Vulcan had to reprimand me in front of her for pushing too hard. Lucky for him, since my mate was there, he didn’t get to put a fork in his eye.

Gwen had only been up for a couple of hours, but it was apparent she was already tired, rubbing her eyes like a small child. “Gwen, would you like me to take you back to your room?” I reached for her hand that was on the table and gave her a little squeeze.

“I’m not sure why I’m so tired,” she yawned. “I slept all day and really well too.” My i***t self gleamed with pride. She slept well because of me, the bond that we share. She felt safe and secure with me, and hopefully, I would be able to sleep with her more often.

Cerberus licked his jaws several times as he came out from under the table and let out a yawn himself. “What did you eat?” I spoke to him through my mind. Looking from Gwen to Cerberus, I could see the guilty look on Gwen’s face. She couldn’t lie; the small innocent smile that played on her lips was so damn adorable. I wanted to nuzzle into her neck and give her a playful nip to show her who’s boss.

“I don’t know what you are talking about,” Cerberus turned and gave Gwen a good lick on her hand as she giggled playfully. “Who’s a good boy?” Gwen cooed.

“I’m a damn good boy,” he announced while I rolled my eyes.

“There is something about her, and I don’t know, Master. I feel so comfortable with her. Something… familiar,” He purred. Can I possibly be any more jealous of her petting his damn head? A small growl came from my lips, and Hermes threw a roll at my head. Stupid fucker.

“The f**k?” I growled out, and Hermes played innocence. Gwen looked between the both of us and gave a laugh. Damn, that laugh was sexy. It was playful, innocent and I wanted to hear more of it.

After taking her to her room, she requested that Cerberus stay with her for the night. The puppy eyes she gave me were enough for me to bend over backward and give her whatever she wanted. I would hunt down her enemies, kill my friends and go to war with the gods if it would make her happy. Damn, and I was so close to kissing those perfect lips earlier, except Cerberus had to be a c**k block.

The day I k**s her, hell will freeze over. I will plan a festival in her honor for just letting my lips grace hers.

“I guess it’s alright,” I said playfully. Turning to leave, she jumped towards me and gave me a large hug. Her head barely reached the top of my chest as she buried herself deep within it. Not taking any time for granted, I wrapped my hands around her waist and bent down so I could breathe in her scent. Kronos, she smelled like a perfect gardenia. She laughed again and pulled away, my body ached to hold her more, but I couldn’t push her, not yet.

“Thank you, Hades!” and she pranced off, beckoning Cerberus and the damn mutt had a smirk of a smile on his face.

“Protect her,” I growled at him.

“With my life, Master.”