Her Forever

Vulcan’s POV

Hades’ bones cracked, hair protruded from every pore. His screams turned into growls, g****s, and grunts until finally, he howled louder than Ares in his wolf form. Black majestic fur flowed from his body, red eyes pierced us all. Each wary step that Hades’ took left burned paw prints into the wooden floors. Smoke steamed, and the more he walked, the hotter his paws became. Flickers of flames came from his claws while he salivated.

Hades had turned into a hell hound. Hell hounds were something else; I hadn’t seen them in many years living in the Underworld. They lived in packs at the furthest region from the palace. They were dangerous, brutal, and most of all, unforgiving. When provoked, they could set ablaze an entire forest. Hades created them as guards to protect his home, but he told us he had nothing to protect once Persephone was taken. If anyone dared to enter his palace, he would see to it himself to destroy all who enters.

Thus the hellhounds were then banished since no demon could control them. Now, we have a hellhound in our midst, unsure how not to provoke the God of the Underworld.

Each pant blew cinder, ash, and smoke while his eyes burned brightly. Pawing the cabin floor, it burned holes beneath his paws. Stalking towards us, I pulled Tamera behind me and elbowed Ares to do something. He was a damn wolf; he would indeed have something to do or say to calm the beast.

“Ares! Do something!” I whispered harshly. Ares was beside himself as he looked on in horror.

“That isn’t an ordinary wolf; it’s a damn hellhound; what do you want me to do with it?” Wolves outside started to gather, hearing the unfamiliar cries. Alpha Jack ran up and pushed us aside to see the commotion but immediately took a few steps back.

“Goddess almighty,” he whispered. “What is that?”

“Hades,” I gritted my teeth. “Your daughter has been taken, and Hades’ emotions got the best of him. Looks like your daughter’s alpha bite gave him the ability to change.”

“I don’t know which statement to acknowledge first,” he growled. “Where is my daughter?” He roared, no longer concerned with the hellhound. Jack began to lose himself as Rosalie stepped up to pull Jack back outside. A large owl flew in through the opened door and landed on the bed railing. I sighed in relief as I saw the glimmering white feathers with gold tips.

“Athena,” I grabbed hold of Tamera, keeping her out of sight of Hades. His black saliva was dripping on the floor, sizzling as it dropped.

With a few flutters of her wings, Athena stood before us human attire of brown pleated pants and a tan blazer. Her hair pulled up in a tight bun as her thick-rimmed glasses sat on her face. “Well, isn’t this a sight?” Her finger brushed her lips as she approached Hades. His head snapped in her direction while cinder flew out of his nose.

“Didn’t expect that. Little Parisa packed a punch now, didn’t she?”

Ares tightened his jaw, no doubt either jealous or upset of his inability to control a creature before us. Sensing Ares’ turmoil, Athena approached while Mariah growled at Athena, not caring if she was a god.

“It’s alright, Mariah. I don’t want him; men don’t do it for me,” she chuckled. “No one does it for me,” she whispered again. “Now, Ares, treat him like any other rogue wolf. Just because he looks worse for wear doesn’t mean you can’t help him.” Ares blew out his nose as his back stood up straight to approach.

Hades didn’t show any sign of giving up, firing off a couple warning barks. Ares didn’t relent, not wanting to step down from a fight. “Fight it, Hades.” The hell hound shook his head as the black saliva slung across the room. A rabid beast might have been a better fit than a wolf.

“I command you, let go of your anger. Let go of the inner beast and get control over the animal. The human controls the wolf; beasts do not.” Hades shook his head again, howling in pain as his paws pulled strips of wood from the floor. Parisa wasn’t going to like the new look to their home away from home.

Ares lunged forward and grabbed Hades by the neck, wrestling him until Ares had pinned him in one swift swoop. Hades was on the floor, paws in the air, trying to nip at Ares’ ear. “Submit!” Ares used his brute strength and was being tested. Drips of condensation tickled his brow while his biceps crushed the windpipe. Hades began to still as the breath was taken from his lungs. “That’s it,” Ares encouraged. “Take back control of your body, calm your anger. We will get her back.” Hades’ whined and whimpered until his body went limp on the floor.

Tamera gripped my arm, a stray tear running down her face. Hades was hurt, devastated above all else; he was angry. Parisa was the only thing that held him together, and now she was gone. Hades stilled, and Ares let up on the massive hellhound.

“Now think of your human form,” Ares commanded. “Think of your skin, your hair, then feel of the clothes on your body.” Hade’s bones cracked again as he turned back into his body; his black robes covered him while smoke continued to rise from the ashes he had left. Grunting, he stood up, but his fire was still there.

Hades nodded to Ares in thanks, his mouth in a thin line. Howling, growling was heard from outside; no doubt the news of the Female Alpha been taken. “We leave at midnight,” Hades’ voice was tight.

Athena looked on at Hades, a small smile on her lips. “Well done, Hades. Maybe you do have some self-control.” Hades’ breath deepened while the smoke continued to flow through his limbs.

“Let’s get our fellow god and goddesses back.”

Parisa’s POV

“Let me go!” I screamed into the blackened night air. It was musty, stagnant, and worst of all, it smelled of death. If I could use my hands, I’m sure my hand would land on a corpse beneath my feet. However, I was unable to use my hands because they were bound to my back. With my newfound strength, I tried to burst free, but the tightness only worsened while trying. Dragon’s b***d must have been coated on each twine of the rope.

I screamed again, but a slap stopped me from continuing. Hisses came from the lips of the two holding me by my biceps. My enhanced vision wouldn’t even let me see through the darkness. I grit my teeth, trying to extend my fangs, but that too came up short.

“Elea, you still there?” I whispered.

“Yes, but something is holding me back, like the time I tried to get free. This one is so much stronger,” her voice was weak as Elea tried to talk.

“Sleep; I’ll need you later. We will get out of this.” Elea didn’t speak again; I knew we were in some deep poo.

“Take her with the rest,” the snarl rung through my ear. The breath was cold and stunk of old b***d. Vampire, it had to be a vampire. At least my smell hadn’t been taken from me. Internally rolling my eyes, their grip tightened as their claws gripped me tighter, piercing my naked skin.

No doubt, Hades was pissed. The worry about myself was thrown into the back of my mind. Hades was going to burn this place up, innocent people here or not. The site would look like a nuclear bomb hit; it would be ash by morning. Trying to rip my arm away again, it only angered my capturer, who hissed again.

“Can I at least have a shirt or something?” My body was completely naked, and I hadn’t felt this exposed since the club. Something else Hades was going to be mad about, me being naked around a bunch of creepy vampires. “When Hades gets here, he is gonna kick your sorry butt!” Another shove, and I fell flat on my face. My arms were still behind me; I ate nothing but dirt. The grittiness of the soil must have blacked my teeth; the taste was was of rich decaying leaves.

“My mate will make you suffer,” I whispered. A cloak was thrown over me, and I was thrown over someone’s shoulders.

“Wet dog,” the vampire grumbled, the creaking door was opened, and my body was dropped hard on the floor. My butt was broken; it was officially broken. I rubbed it harshly while glaring at my capturer. Fangs stuck out of his mouth, his eyes red with pinched eyebrows. He glanced at me with such disgust it made me feel dirty when I knew I wasn’t. Pulling the cloak tighter to my body, he slammed the door to the poorly lit cabin. A small fire glowed lowly, the embers nearly out. I wish I had Hades’ fire summoning ability; that would have been fun.

“Parisa?” A male voice spoke softly from the darkened corner. Crawling across the floor and finally standing, Hermes stood in the light of the candle. His brightly colored skin had turned grey, and his hair no longer shimmered.

“Hermes?” I cried. Keeping the cloak wrapped tight, I fell into his arms as we held onto each other.

“You are the last person I thought I would see,” he heaved a breath of relief. “I see that Hades has lost his touch.” Chuckling, two more figures stood up to join us. Selene, the woman in my dreams, touched my hand that was still wrapped around Hermes’ torso. The bright moon that shone on her forehead didn’t glow as bright, and dark circles tainted her face. Hecate, the ‘doctor’ that saw me from so long ago, was also here. They were all here, all the missing gods.

“How did you get here?” Selene spoke calmly. “Where is Hades?” I bit my l*p while looking everywhere but her eyes.

“Someone was trying to break the ward of our cabin, then I heard a baby cry and thought someone was hurting a pup, so I rushed into the house, but I ended up somewhere, in the dark. Naked. I couldn’t shift back into my wolf.

“Demeter has cursed this area with dragon b***d; since you are mated to a god, it affects you too,” Hecate brushed my hair back from my muddy face. Sighing heavily, I sat by the nearby table.

“She has the Sphere,” I choked. “Demeter must have it; what are we going to do?” Selene shook her head as she kneeled before me.

“It will all work out; Hades will come for you, and that in itself puts everything on our side. How much does do you all know?”

Everyone sat in a circle around me. I explained everything I knew. From the shifter dragon’s b***d to Demeter taking me when I was a child, to Nero who had the Helm and someone breaking the ward. My chest continued to tighten, and my fingers balled into fists. Everything had been against me from the very beginning. All the emotions of being away from my family, suffering, having no one to lean on for so many years came flooding back. I thought I had been through this, went through the motions of forgiving Hades, Michael, my family. Why is this coming back now?

I broke into a sob. So close to having everything back for it just to slip away through my fingers. Was I not allowed to be happy? Were the fates that cruel to me? To give me a life that made me so happy to strip it away so suddenly?

“It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have ran. The darkness I felt, the worry, I thought someone was in danger, and I couldn’t just let it go.”

“Oh darling,” Hermes cooed. “Demeter would have gotten the Sphere with or without you. She has too much on her side right now, but your mate is going to make her pay. The Dragon’s b***d is almost gone,” he whispered slowly. “Demeter has just enough for what she wants to accomplish, and that’s it.”

“What does she want to do?” Glancing at the three of them, they frowned. Hecate stepped forward, holding my hands in hers. “Break the bond between Persephone and Gabriel and have Selene create a new one with Nero. Nero has promised Demeter he would remain in Demeter’s home so she could always have her daughter.”

I gasped. How cruel of a mother to break a bond of her child of her true mate?

“That’s terrible,” I spoke.

“She’s sick,” Hermes spat. “A sick woman that is too attached to her daughter. Won’t let the girl grow up,” Hermes shook his head.

“What does that have to do with Hades and me, though?” Hermes lowered his head as his dirty hair fell into his face.

“Demeter hates Hades for keeping Persephone; Demeter only accepted the deal of 6 months out of the year with her daughter because that was the only way to have her. Now she wants revenge; she wants to break your bond with Hades as well. If it breaks, your goddess powers will be taken away, and it will kill you.”

Anger filled me. I was not the one for violence, Hades was, but this was unacceptable. I growled as I threw back the table. The candle blew out as I huffed in annoyance. No one was going to take our bond; I’d make sure of it.

“Well then,” Hermes laughed. “You’ve got a bit of Hades’ anger in you.” I sat back in the chair, feeling utterly defeated. Hades was coming, I had to remind myself. He would come; he would rescue all of us.

Hecate petted my hair, pushing it back behind my ear. Her touch was calming as I tried to rein my emotions in. My empath abilities had not weakened as much as I thought they would. Maybe I could use it to my advantage later.

“I’m sorry to change the subject so quickly. Most of my powers have weakened, significantly and I cannot do much.” Hecate lowered her voice as her fingers trailed to my abdomen. “However, there is some good news that I can tell you, Parisa.” My heart stopped as Hecate squeezed my hand.

“My dear, you are with child.”