Her Forever

Gwen’s POV

There were hushed whispers on the other side of the door. My heart continued to beat wildly in my chest. My hand was still attached to an IV pole, complete with clear fluids and another bag being mixed in with the tubing. I wanted to pull it out but was stopped by a hand.

Niko’s warm hand touched my knuckles, “I wouldn’t do that, love. It’s giving you some nutrients you need.” His voice was soft and delicate, but it didn’t relieve the gasp that fell from my lips. He had come into the room so quickly and quietly, was my mind that foggy? Growing up with Master, I had to be quick-thinking and listen well. If I didn’t, it could mean punishment or facing the wrath of one of his men. I always had been on the alert, and now I wasn’t.

“Are you drugging me?” I whispered almost silently. Niko furrowed his brows and sat on the bed next to me. Even though he hurt me emotionally, I still felt comfortable being around him. “No, Gwen, we would never do that. You were extremely dehydrated, and we did some b***d tests. You are extremely malnourished.” Niko looked over my form as I continued to shake out of fear and the coldness of the room.

“Are you cold? Do you need another blanket?” A blanket, I would have done almost anything to get a blanket over the years. Winters were rough at the club, and Master didn’t want to pay for extra heating in the basement, saying a bit of shivering would keep us from getting too fat. Without saying a word, Niko rose from the bed and grabbed a blanket overhanging a decorative chair, and wrapped it around me. “Thank you,” I murmured, and he just nodded.

“I’m sure you have questions,” Niko rubbed his hands together between his legs, “but first, you need to eat.” Niko had a tray full of food that was sat on a nearby dresser. It was complete with spaghetti noodles with meat sauce, garlic bread, a small salad, and a large glass of water. My mouth watered looking at it; that must be the most food ever to be presented in front of me. Niko chuckled as he flipped the tray’s legs out and sat it in front of me on the bed. “Come on now, dig in.”

Niko didn’t have to tell me twice as I untangled myself from wrapping my arms around me. I twirled my fork in the noodles and gathered as much sauce as I could. Once it dropped on my tongue, I was in instant heaven. I continued to eat like it was my last meal, but it wasn’t long until my stomach churned in protest. I had barely eaten five bites, and I was already full.

Niko had been watching me as I ate and noticed immediately stopping. “Gwen, what’s wrong? Do you not like it?” I shook my head as I bit my l*p. “No, I’m just full. I don’t think I can eat another bite.”

“What? That’s impossible, and you’ve barely eaten anything. Come on, and you must eat more.” Niko took my fork to put another large amount in my mouth, but I protested. “That is the most I’ve ever eaten in a single day,” I whimpered.

“I feel sick being this full.” Niko nodded his head with a sour expression and put the tray back on the dresser. “I know you are upset with me, but let me tell you that our friendship is true, and I was not there to buy you or anyone else in that hell hole.” I nodded silently while I continued to look in my lap. “The club was under an investigation for certain criminal activities, and I noticed things not looking legit my first time being there. That first thing was you.” Tears welled up into my eyes as he talked about our first-time meeting.

“The first time I saw you, Gwen. You were eating off leftovers in the back alley.” I sobbed at how embarrassing it sounded. “I thought maybe you were homeless, but you walked back into the back entrance to the strip club, and low and behold, you worked there!” Niko threw his hands up. “In the line of work I’m in, I had to dig and find out more than just the human trafficking to save you. You won’t understand now, but later you will.” Niko handed me a few tissues as my body began to shake. He sat beside me and put me into a side hug.

“Just know we are here now; we are going to keep you safe.” After a few moments and several hiccups later, things became quiet, and you could only hear the small drips from the IV still invading my system.

“Who is we?” I asked. My mind was racing a million miles a minute, albeit it was still foggy. Niko admitted he tried to get me out, but couldn’t he have called the police and let them know about the trafficking? Maybe the authority was in on it, too, more so than I thought. Some cops came to the club daily.

“Do you remember my friends from the club last night? I nodded my head. Ares, Hermes, and Vulcan could get all the girls out of there and back to their homes. They even found the transactions of where the other girls had gone as well. Hopefully, the FBI can find them.

“What about your o-other friend?” The man that had come into my room only minutes ago was still sitting in the back of my mind.

“That was Hades,” Niko said calmly. “He’s the one that really saved you.” I looked up at Niko and gave a small smile.

“Tell him I said, ‘thank you,’ then.” Niko stood up and fixed his dress shirt. “How about you tell him yourself. He is right outside the door?” My breath caught a little; the only guy I was comfortable with was Niko. I hadn’t known Hades that long.

“Hey, hey, listen,” Niko cooed. “I promise you, none of my friends would ever hurt you. Do you trust me?” I raised my knees to my chin and kept the blanket wrapped around me as I nodded my head in agreement. Niko let out a big smile showing his teeth. “Hades, come in.”

Hades opened the door; the light wasn’t as bright in the hallway as it was before, so I was able to adjust my eyes to see his face. He looked tired and worried as he stepped into the room. The first three buttons on his shirt were unbuttoned. His black shirt was wrinkled, and sleeves rolled up to his forearms. He pulled up a chair at the end of the bed and leaned on it, looking at me with uncertainty and vulnerability.

“Hi,” I whispered and buried my nose into my knees so he could only see my eyes. Hades gave a small smile.

“Hey there,” his voice was like hearing gravel rumble in his chest.

“T-thank you. F-for saving me,” I gave a small smile back, hugging my knees tightly again.

“You are most welcome.” Hades held out his hand for me to take. I was still unsure of this man. He did buy me, but he hasn’t hurt me yet. Niko gave an encouraging smile when I glanced at him. I unwrapped one of my arms and placed my hand in Hades’.

Hades POV

“Are you done yet?” I snapped. The doctor had poked and prodded Gwen for more than an hour. I made sure she stayed asleep as one of the female maids changed her into a large shirt that engulfed her small body. Her bones stuck out more than I originally thought, the uniform hid them well, and I’m sure that was the purpose.

“Yes, my Lord. She is finished. I’ll be sure to run these b***d viles quickly. She is receiving fluids and a few rounds of antibiotics and vitamins to help with any deficiencies she may have.” The doctor bowed and left the room. I wanted to be alone with her, to figure out what this woman was to me. Her eyes were an entrapment that captured my soul far too quickly in the short amount of time I was with her.

Her green eyes had their own vocabulary, and it was a beautiful language I wanted to learn.

She was so scared, submissive, and meek. My own anger and frustration turned into nothing but worry as she shivered in my arms as we brought her up to the penthouse. Touching her as I had laid her down, I felt small tingles throughout my fingers and my desire to keep her near me had strengthened tenfold since I was in the auction room.

My need to protect and care for her was strong, but what of it?

I wanted to keep her close to my body, to keep her warm. She consumed my mind, and my heavy heart had lightened considerably just a few words that I had exchanged with her. I was becoming obsessed with her, more so than I ever felt with Persephone.

Her skin was soft and glowed even in the dimly lit room. I wanted to be here when she woke up and to see her open her eyes again so I could stare into them, but she didn’t know me. She knew me as the man who bought her.

Niko knocked lightly on the door and walked in. “How is she?” His hand went to touch her foot, that was covered by a blanket, but I let out a growl in warning. His hands rose in surrender and backed away. “My Lord, what is it?” He inquired as he continued to hold her hand. My face contorted to anger. What was I feeling? Standing up quickly, I headed to the door, and I needed some air.

I left Niko to his own devices to watch over her. She knew him best, she would be more comfortable with him, and that infuriated me more. Grabbing the nearest vase, I threw it against the wall, smashing it into hundreds of pieces.

“What’s got his panties in a twist?” Ares whispered to Hermes while he snickered. I whipped my head around and glared at them as they mocked me. “Say it to my face,” I yelled. “I don’t need your damn whispering. I can hear it all, and I will burn you to a damn crisp, help you heal, and do it again.” My breath was staggering, my veins protruding from my neck like a mad man. I had become this in the past thousand or so years, so it was natural for me to be pissed off. My friends no longer wanted to be around me because of my damn attitude, but it was better that way.

“Hades, you must calm down, or you will wake the girl. She’s already scared. Do you want her even more afraid?” Hermes smirked and rose from his seat. He walked over to the liquor bar and poured himself a glass of whisky.

“You are awfully confident,” I growled. “What do you know?” Even though he wasn’t a trickster god, Hermes knew how to have fun at other people’s expense. He would hold secrets and let them out at just the right time to anger and piss off some demi-god. “I do not know what you mean,” he sipped on his drink as the ice clinked into the glass. Ares had his arms spread across the back of the sofa, and his lips pressed into a line trying to hold in a laugh.

“You overgrown carrier pigeon, spit it out!” I stomped to the other side of the room and gripped Hermes’s neck, and lifted him in the air. His glass dropped, and pieces of glass scattered the floor. Vulcan had just walked into the room and looked on in bewilderment. “The f**k?” he whispered to Ares, who only shrugged his shoulders.

“Put me down, you overgrown firecracker, and I’ll tell you,” Hermes smirked as he started to turn blue. Even though gods couldn’t die, they could still experience pain and pleasure as well as trying to heal from other god’s dramatic misfortunes on each other’s bodies.

Dropping him to the ground, he let out a cough and rubbed his neck. “Alright then,” he straightened his suit jacket and sat back on the couch. “Let’s begin with a story…” Ares began humming and started to sing, “A tale as old as timeeee,….”

I arose from my seat and punched Ares’s nose so hard it immediately bled while he laughed hysterically. Vulcan gathered some towels and started to help Ares clean up the b***d while Hermes looked at the scene unamused. Rubbing his eyes with his thumb and index finger, he sighed and looked back at me. “Really? Do you want to know or not?”

I sat back down and waved my hand to continue. “Do you remember, some two thousand years or so ago when Persephone left?”

“Bad call, Hermes.” Vulcan interrupted. Hermes narrowed his eyes and continued while I scowled at him.

“Selene has slowly given gods, angels, and demons mates to help the supernatural balance. I’ve seen it firsthand when she pairs souls, and let me tell you, it’s a beautiful thing.” I scoffed, hearing about Selene. She was just a dark goddess hell-bent on making my life miserable. I laid my head in my hands as my elbows rested on my legs.

“And 20 years ago, Selene visited our dark lord over here with a message.” Vulcan and Ares leaned in to listen better while I sluggishly lifted my head. My eyes weren’t concentrating on anything, just playing the memories in the back of my mind.

“Your mate has been born!” Selene stood up happily and clapped her hands in excitement.

“What. Of. It.” I growled each word individually.

“I just thought you should know! We got on such a bad foot, and I wanted to make sure you knew so you could search for her. I can even show you who and where she is now,” she lifted her hand to make a magical portal appear, but I slammed my glass to the floor as I stood up.

“I’ll have NOTHING to do with you and your mate shit.”

“The longer you take to accept that you have a mate to claim, the harder it will be for her to accept you.”