I wish I hadn't kissed him. I wished I'd remembered that I couldn't act on a reunion with a goddess riding with us. Not that I should anyway with his state, yet the vision of him drawing his weapon on Mullins sent a jolt through my system. I'd been a 'mother' and a father for weeks, so to have an ounce of masculinity back in my life from an outside source was like a dose of ecstasy to my system.

Driving home, I glance at Hathor in the rearview. My mind was a whirlwind of emotions; the wolf within whimpers, desperate to inspect every inch of him and ensure myself he was alright. It had been a month since I'd seen him besides our video calls, which often included our children.

 I feel like I'm on a hair trigger; I can't think straight, and everything in me comes to a focal point of getting him home.

"Darling.." Verando warns me with a slow exhale; I can't help myself as I practically pout at the scolding. "We're in a metal box. You need to change your thought."

"Would you like me to just worry about you instead? You look like hell."

What if I hadn't called him soon enough? How long would it have taken me to know he was gone? 

The pendant was like a piece of me now; I suppose the rhythmic heartbeat would have ceased, and then I would have known. 

Hathor hums lightly, folded neatly into her seat and fastened like a good passenger. 

She was still wearing her blindfold yet appeared no worse for wear, maybe even amused by the situation. Her clothes were various pieces of borrowed material, a man's button-up and some aged jeans from the homeowner's closet. Her hair had been pulled up into tangled shapes resembling a messy bun, repeatedly curling one strand around her finger as she pretended to look out the window. 

Why was he here? Where had he been? 

My clothes, my sleeves, all peppered in sand and dust. His hair and clothes, everything about him and Hathor, indicated they'd been covered in a layer of silt. 

Verando stares straight ahead with a look of fatigue. He is still bearing the towel around his shoulders and is uncomfortably pale compared to when I last saw him. The corners of his lips are pulled down into a somber frown, his brow creased with concern. Slumped into his seat, he exhales a chilled breath. It appears as though he wishes he had allowed me to continue fantasizing instead of scrutinizing him. 

Frosted air leaves his lips, and I curse under my breath. "You definitely overused," I remind him, my voice hard, uncertain if he was educated enough to know how serious this was. Without asking, I grabbed his hand, gritting my teeth at how cold he was. All over again, I feel that impulse, the desire to protect him just as he protected me. It was the first inkling I'd felt of the 'Alpha' gene in months. 

"Not much choice in the matter, love." He sighs. A light tremble forces its way through the marble form- a shiver. I couldn't be angry when he looked pitiful; the dark circles under his eyes seemed more prominent against his clammy skin. 

"Come on. You have to warm up. Your body is going into shock." The rugged, arctic hand slips into my own, and I nearly retract at the chill compared to my overly warm lycan skin. Once more, I curse, making him smirk just slightly. "You blew right past mortality and became a damned corpse. You must be hungry?" My mind trails to Fenrir, and how ravenous he'd been lately. 

"You certainly know how to make a man feel desired." Verando retorts roughly, twisting the ring on his ring finger absently as he pulls my hand into his lap, a quiet hint of possession that pleases me. I could safely assume he'd at least make it home if he felt well enough to be cheeky. "I'm not hungry."

"Liar." Hathor snickers, "If you don't say it, I will. We're starving! It took everything we had to get out of there."

I chuckle weakly, tightening my grip on his hand. Did he need blood? Was he at risk of slipping away like I was in this state? "I'll call Stefan when we get home; he can run and get some. supplies.. if needed." 

 Uncomfortable with the topic, Verando traces my fingers slowly. "You've been busy while I've been gone?" he asks, admiring the watch around my wrist. Of all the places I thought you'd bring me, I never guessed an event like this. What is this...? A block party? Are we becoming friends with our neighbors?"

I knew he was speaking of my liquidation of his properties more than he was about my interest in our community. Verando had permitted me to move forward, but I readied myself that he would be unprepared for the speed at which I'd move. I wanted it all to be concluded by the time he returned home, another month from now. 

It's just as well. I hoped to have better news regarding my shop but was still looking for investors. 

Before I can let the remorse consume me, my wolf reminds me that the object of my obsession was unexplainably damaged beside me. All over again, my libido spikes with the casual stroking of his fingertips over the back of my hand. I remind myself why we were in this car in the first place. 

"Me?" I demand, scoffing, bewildered that he'd almost managed to derail me. "You'd like to talk about my goings-on? When you just asked me to summon you, terribly, I might add, and arrived covered in sand and a half-naked woman?" Cocking an eyebrow at him, my blood begins to boil once more, "What the hell happened? And I want the truth, Randy."

"Do you lie a lot?" Hathor asks, making us both sigh. I wish we were alone.

"No," Verando grumbles. 

"Yes." I snorted, though I wasn't sure if that was a fair assessment. Either way, I achieved my goal, for he cringed at the harshness of my tone. I'd wounded him, as was my intention. 

"It's a good question. How did you get trapped in that circle?" Hathor asks curiously, and I listen to the jingle of her earrings as she sits up, curious about our conversation. 

"Circle?" I ask, taking a hint of the wind out of my sails. Trapped? "What circle?"

"Tiberius." Verando finally admits, shutting his eyes to lean back into his seat as much as possible, willing himself to sleep, praying for a lack of consciousness. There would be no relief, not on my watch, not until I was satisfied with his answers. "Tiberius was a hired gun to assassinate me, but he knew it would not be possible. So he took the money, trapped me in some...bloody circle... and Seth summoned me from there."

"Seth summoned you?" I demand. Seth.. god of war? 

My warlord shrugs one shoulder in response. "Whole thing was rather suspect. I'm fuzzy on the details; it's been quite a long evening, love."

Hathor unbuckled her seatbelt to lean in between us, resting her cheek on the shoulder of Verando's seat. "Well, Death is using contracts, which means if someone wants a contract, they must be able to contact you. The circle was pretty basic, but I've never seen it used to control someone like Death." Considering this, she lightly taps her chin, "So this Tiberius didn't summon you.. he lured you into it?"

He considers this, his eyes sliding open as he searches the car's ceiling as if under tremendous pressure to find the correct answer. "When I stepped into the circle, he threw blood on the ground to complete it. It burned like hell to touch, but I didn't think testing the boundary without the chain on was safe. Fenrir could have gotten out," Verando concludes, each word slow and thoughtful. 

"Contracts like the one you offered that mother on the train? Or the one you offered Bastet?" I ask, keeping my voice low as if this valuable secret would go public if spoken too loudly. 

Verando didn't answer immediately; it was obvious that these deals were the culprit. "When I opened my eyes, I was in Seth's temple in Eygpt. They don't want to be vulnerable to the confines of mortality; they would like to secure their immortality, which is something I can't do. Even if I wanted to, everything has an expiration date. They wanted assurance they were safe from me-"

It was Hathor's turn to laugh, rolling her eyes under her blindfold. "They want control because they know you're strong enough to kill them. If you're willing to deal in contracts, you could heighten their support immensely if you were on their side or turn the tables on them. A god is only as powerful as those who follow them. 

If there are no followers, there's no power. Seth would like to believe he is the father of Anubis, but Anubis is the bastard son of Osiris. We feign loyalty to the God of War because he creates so much work for us. In Truth, we must be loyal to the human soul, not following the path of destruction."

My words form quicker than what my mind can piece together, "He wanted to kill you." I summarize, met only with silence as my chest tightens. I can feel Rosu snarling in the back of my mind, bristling at the thought. "He wants to appoint his own Death."

"He did once. Thus, we haven't had one in over two hundred years. Anubis and I can hardly spend time at the scales; there is such a backlog of souls to be judged. Anubis believes that Death should not serve only one sector but all variants of life." She explains; for a moment, I worry that Verando has lost consciousness again, though I spy that he's merely dwelling on all that could have been. 

He was oddly beautiful in the car's dim lighting. His light eyes stood out against the dark window, his full lips pressed into a thin line, his jaw tight. The tangle of gray hair almost appeared silver in such lighting, playing on his high cheekbones and making my heart throb once more.

"He didn't want to kill me; he wanted to prove that he couldn't." Verando had always possessed an impressive ability to predict intention, and I trusted his assessment. "Currently, most people can only guess who I am, though there are plenty of rumors since a few do know. It wouldn't be necessary to figure out if I could be outright killed. He needed to test that theory."

I want to explore him, to assure myself he'd taken no more damage. Releasing his hand, the car jerks as I attempt to pull at his shirt, and he quickly reaches over to right the steering wheel. Hathor giggles at the swerving of the vehicle, forced back into the correct lane as headlights blow past us.

"Christ, Nic..." He hisses through his teeth.

 "Did he hurt you? Did-" I don't finish the sentence; how close had Seth come to completing his mission? How distraught should I be that I was at a political event, ignoring his text messages and leaving him a horrible voicemail while he was almost-

"No." Verando sighs, almost irritated that I would dare ask such an insult. 

"So when you were texting me..." I murmur, staring ahead into the darkness of the unlit road—only faint squares illuminate suggestions of what might be lanes beyond my headlights. 

"We were running for our lives. Seth had dozens of followers trying to slow us down. He intended to bury us alive. A few more seconds, and we might have been buried forever," Hathor muses, breaking the silence with a vocal yawn as she leans back into her seat again. "Good thing you summoned us!"

"Hathor." Verando spits, gathering my hand and bringing it to his lips, brushing my knuckles gently. "It could have been bad, you're right. Some new abilities have arisen that we will need to address; I'm really fine, darling. I'm just worn out."

We pull into the long driveway, illuminated by the solar pillars between the trees, imitating small torches with the way they flicker. "Tiberius did this," I repeat, swallowing back the venom in my tone. I could feel it, his own distain for the man as I spoke the words. 

His lips part, and momentarily, I wonder if he will declare war on the Sirens. Only he, then, hesitates, kissing my palm and lacing our fingers together. "If Hathor hadn't been there, I'm not sure what would have happened. We must look into this circle and determine exactly what it is and where it comes from. Though I have a strong suspicion it's Rouga Rou magic, we'll be paying a visit to Tucci. Damn him for his timing..." 

We were getting close to sending out the school's first admission forms and acceptance letters. A fight between us and Tucci would not bode well, resulting in delays and loss of funding. Overall, the timing felt opportune; if he was correct, Tucci could test the waters without risking their relationship. 

Pulling up to the house, I spy that our babysitter is watching television in the living room. The house is otherwise dark, which means she'd succeeded in putting the children to bed. Relief washes over me, another layer of proof that we could do this without all the help from his family.

Verando lifts his phone; I try not to focus on the tremble in his hand. "I have over 30 missed calls from every member of our family. You have been busy, haven't you?"

Shrugging, I press my lips together with a sigh. "Family shouldn't take as much as they take from you. "

Hathor clears her throat, "While I enjoy the darkness and vague words, I'm pretty sure Anubis is waiting for us."

Glancing up, I jump, almost honking the horn in shock, but Verando grabs my wrist before I can depress the layer completely. "Gods.." I murmur, an explanation and a frustration. His hand slips up, gripping my chin as he guides my face to his own, molding his lips to mine in a deep kiss that leaves me breathless. 

I part my lips with an airy sigh, cursing once more. "That's not fair." I manage, making Hathor clear her throat once more before she insists on messily searching for her door handle, then practically falling out of the car. 

"Just reminding him where my priority lay." Verando retorts, speaking against my lips as he kisses me once more, slower this time. "I'm not going with him." It's the assurance to both of us, perhaps also trying to convince himself that there was no way he was leaving. 

I slide out of the car, surprised at the surge of energy he displays as he moves to get in front of me. He beats me to the front of the vehicle as Anubis approaches in slow, even strides. 

Hathor pulls off her blindfold with a smile. "Told you I'd find him. Seth has been busy."

"This doesn't surprise me, Seth does not like the thought of his immortality ending. There has been a lot of talk about our decision to name this individual as Death and the amount of power he possesses. Those of Norse descent are reaching out with questions about our intentions. They would also like us to hand over this creature." The jackal mask tilts to look over the man; Verando grows rigid as he considers the intent behind the words. 

Was this Anubis telling us that we were becoming too much trouble? 

"If Odin is so interested, tell him to come for me himself." Verando snaps back, his voice low and hard. 

"I think that's the issue. Nobody knows what to do about you. Nobody wants to get too close; it's becoming common knowledge among some major players that you are more than willing to end us. But.. that is not a bad thing. Checks and balances.. this is how it is supposed to be. Gods are not supposed to have free reign to do whatever they please."

I could almost find humor in it; it had always been the case that those in power were worried about their position around us. It would always seem that we ended up being the wild card, always on the wrong side of history. 

"Seth had Sekhmet with him, and it seemed as though nobody else wanted to risk it or at least didn't want to show their faces," Hathor concludes, shrugging as she crosses her arms over her chest. "Dozens of humans are dead, though. He used mortals for support."

"Of course he did." Anubis sighs, turning his attention back to my warlord. "You do seem to draw a lot of trouble, don't you."

"Vet your candidates better, perhaps." The man retorts shortly. I squeeze his arm, wishing he'd hold his tongue a bit more. 

"Hmm.. right. Well, at least this time, you managed not to slaughter your entire family. I have to show you some sort of praise for that, so.. good.. job?" Anubis seems almost to be testing how it felt to be positive. He frowns all the same, his voice unchanging. 

While it seemed to catch everyone off guard, Verando growled low in his throat, unimpressed. "Save your praise, take your help, and leave. I'm taking some time off to recover. You owe me that much-"

Anubis crosses his arms over his chest, exhaling in frustration. "Time off is not part of the deal. If you'd like time off, appoint yourself some help, and remember the burden of the job. You were warned that continually exposing yourself and your position would alert the other gods to your location and bring them to find you. I see you've been doing contracts; I can't stop you now. I'd like to remind you that becoming more powerful can be a double-edged sword."

Verando sets his jaw, leaving me, slipping his arm out of mine to approach the jackal. While the god doesn't shrink away, I note the tension growing in his shoulders concerning the intention of the approaching reborn lycan. 

"That's the difference between you and me. You'd like everyone to get along, and I understand it's impossible without cause. The thought of consequences isn't enough; get me something with Seth's scent on it. I'll take care of this situation on my own." 

I shiver at his tone, making my blood run cold; it'd been so long since I'd heard him sound so sinister. Yet, I know the implications of that task all too well. Was he planning to kill Seth? 

"On your own," Anubis repeats, almost sounding amused. "You're drained from one fight with Seth."

"Then I guess you should start looking for my replacement if you think I'll fail. Get me the scent." Verando waves him off, rigid and determined. "Considering how shocked Seth looked, I'd say not many have come back out of that temple. And judging by the way you've leaned away from me, you don't quite know how to take me either. I've got a trainer; I'll be ready when you bring me the scent."

Me?  Was he suggesting I try to train him again?

Cocking his head, Anubis glances from me to Hathor, considering the proposal. "Are you waiting for me to turn my back so you can snag your lover's soul? I'm surprised, given your cocky attitude, that you've not challenged me for it."

I often tried to put that fact out of my mind; I didn't like to think about the fact that Verando had almost killed me, that he'd killed our unborn creation. 

The stillness of my warlord is almost as unsettling as seeing him in action. "You think too small, Anubis. I'm not going to take it from you; I want you to be so concerned.. so bloody terrified.. of what I'm going to do to you that you'll give it to me on your own. I won't risk attempting to take it, not when you will hand it over."

Anubis visibly startles, straightening as he takes the man in. "Bold statements."

"Promises and intentions. You're asking me because you know it's coming, and you're well aware of the fact that if I challenge you, it'll be because I have certain I'll defeat you. You've had your fun throwing me around, I'm sure. But I've also had time to build up a disturbing amount of resentment. So, enjoy this ounce of power just a bit longer.. as I said, you'll hand it over to me rather quickly."

Hathor pats Anubis roughly on the back. "I like him. He's funny," she tells Anubis with a smirk.

With a shrug, Anubis waves her off. "Right. We will see if your prediction runs true. I'm glad to see you're in good spirits, Death. When I heard Seth had you, I was worried I'd find you in pieces. So, this has been an overall pleasant surprise. I'll give you some time to recoup, and I'll find the scent."

In the blink of an eye, he and Hathor disappear, leaving us alone. Verando staggers to grab the post of the deck with a heavy exhale, slumping down to sit on the porch steps. 

"Bloody hell I thought he'd never leave... "