Chapter Twenty-Four

Three things I thought I would never say in my life.

I'm sorry.

I want to fuck.

I was wrong.

I was doing two for three here, which was a bit concerning, but it was hard to concentrate on that when River was right in front of me, fucking buckass naked from head to toe. I hadn't seen him entirely naked before and, weirdly, it kind of put me in error mode for a moment. I was amazed at how far those muscles went, how sharp and thick they were, like he exercised daily.

"I never see you in the gym," I said blankly, watching the muscles in his back ripple as he took a towel to his hair, keeping his back to me. He seemed a bit uncomfortable as well, sheepish almost, so he just kept his eyes off me as he dried off.

"I use the guest gym. I could never intrude on the family," he replied quietly.

"We're family now," I said, making River glance up past the towel, "You're not intruding."

"A-Alright..." His voice trailed as he slid the towel from his hair, which was mostly dried, but wonderfully and delightfully curly. I couldn't resist coming forward, reaching up to brush at his curls, and he flushed, taking a step away from me and holding the towel in front of himself, like he was afraid I'd see his dick. I smirked at that, cocking my head and reaching up to grip his towel.

"No secrets," I reminded him, making him scowl, then gasp as I snatched the towel away from him and dropped it on the floor and he turned to face me, like he was going to give me a piece of his mind, but he seemed to choke on his words when he looked at my eyes, which were directly glued to his cock.

"Wow," I commented, feeling envy ripple through me, "That's impressive." River was turning red. Like, he was no longer caramel skinned or tanned, but fucking red like an apple. The best part, that flush traveled down his chest to a pair of dark nipples.

"I'm sure yours is quite nice as well," River responded roughly, looking embarrassed. I frowned at that, cocking my head.

"No, it kind of sucks," I said, making River blink and look at me, "It was a side effect of the meds I was on at the compound, so unfortunately, I don't really have anything impressive to offer you, but I can still do other things." River looked confused by that, then gasped in surprise when I reached out and gently brushed my fingers by the head of him. He reached back and grabbed the bedpost behind him like he was trying to keep from going down on his knees.

"You're awfully sensitive for an incubus," I mused, twirling my finger around the tip of him and he groaned, "Is it just an incubus thing?"

"It's a you thing," River responded breathily, then cleared his throat, "Definitely a you thing."

"A me thing?" I asked, trailing a finger down the length of him, impressed by each healthy inch I counted. He moaned, leaning back against the bedpost for support.

"Yes," was all he said. I tilted my head, brushing my thumb over the underside of him before walking my fingertips down to his balls to feel the weight of them. He was really impressive. He was so big everywhere. From his muscles to his dick to his sac. There was a brief moment of jealousy that cut through me. I wished I could be that big, give River something to play with like this, but he wouldn't have much luck with that. I could count on one hand how many times I'd been aroused in my life.

I flinched inwardly at a voice in my ear that came from nowhere, reminding me it was a lot more than I wanted to admit actually, considering my food had been drugged heavily at the compound.

But that wasn't where I was. I was here with River. I was touching River. I was touching a very sexy, needy body that required my attention.

I just had no idea what attention to provide.

Oh sure, I watched plenty of pornos since River and I first decided to get married, but none of it had been very helpful or arousing in the least, but that seemed to be what people liked out here and a lot of the videos featured incubi, so maybe this was the kind of thing River liked.

I lowered myself down onto my knees and River stiffened, reaching down to grab my shoulder, only to immediately let go when I shot him a look.

"You do not need to do that," River assured me, making me frown, "It may be unpleasant."

"I don't see how it would be unpleasant," I said dryly, "Actually, sounds like it might feel kinda nice. You tell me." I opened my mouth and closed my lips down around him before he could say anything, and all I heard was a gasp as his hand sank into my hair for a little tug. I rolled my eyes, ignoring the hair pulling so I could start moving my head the way they did in the videos. I rolled my tongue along the length of him, but it was a little hard, given how fucking huge river was, but I managed to find a comfortable rhythm and River made a noise above me. I peered up at him to see him panting, arching back against the bedpost.

Oh.

Oh. He looked really good when he did that. His body was a symphony of corded muscles bunching and stretching, his hips twitching ever so slightly, like he wanted to face fuck me, but he was being a typical gentleman and holding back. There was a brief moment of muscle memory to what I was doing, this nagging sensation in the back of my head that I had done this before, but I pushed that thought aside and focused on the task at hand. This was supposed to make him come, wasn't it? So why wasn't he coming yet?

Maybe I was bad at it, I noted. Maybe he didn't like it.

"Sorry if I kinda suck--" The words were barely out of my mouth as I pulled away, and a second later, River's cock sputtered right on my face. I froze at the feeling of hot fluids running down my face as River cursed.

"Fuck-- Damn it, Four, I told you I was going to come. Can you just listen to someone for once in your life?" He demanded, scrambling to get tissues by the nightstand. He immediately returned to my side to wipe my face off. He was incredibly gentle about it, sweeping the tissues across my lips and nose.

"Are you alright?" River asked me, straightening my face so I was looking at him. And honestly, for a second there, my heart jumped in my chest, like it was ready to kick into overdrive with fear, but the moment I met River's eyes, I relaxed because all I saw was those fiery flames.

"I'm alright," I murmured. River sighed in relief, then wiped one last splatter off my cheek before he went to toss it in the trash. I watched him go, cocking my head at the way he seemed put-off. I frowned.

"Did I do it wrong?" I asked. River blushed.

"No, if you had, my reaction wouldn't have been as..."

"Enthusiastic?"

"Yes," River said dryly, making me smirk as I rose to my feet, "Anyway... I appreciate your assistance. You did not have to do that." I shrugged, then paused to frown as I watched River's cock twitch back to life, like it was ready for a round two, making me raise an eyebrow. River cleared his throat, reaching out to snatch a robe off his bed and wrapping it around himself.

"I'm sure you have some business to attend to," River said, making me frown and look up, "I can meet with you later."

"Later? Are we done?" I asked, confused. River looked at me.

"For now, yes," he mumbled, then averted his eyes again, "Just. I need some time to think, if you don't mind."

"Think about what? If my head is good enough for marriage?" I asked, making River smack his forehead before he cut me a dry glare.

"I just need to think, Four. You didn't do anything wrong or bad. I just... I need to think, please," he added, making me frown.

"Okay," I said after a moment, but didn't move. River started to turn around, then realized I wasn't leaving and stared at me.

"Alone," he tacked on. I rolled my eyes, but didn't argue. I turned and headed to the door, pausing to look back toward River one last time as he sat on the bed and put his head in his hands. I frowned, stepping out of the room and closing the door behind me, only to lean on it in frustration.

That didn't go the way I expected it to.

I mean, I did help him with his issue, but clearly it didn't go away after just a blowjob, so what more was I supposed to do? Did my asking piss him off? What the fuck did he want from me? I thought we were going to have sex. A little part of me was kinda peeved he cockblocked me there. So I give him head and get what? A slap on the wrist? It didn't make sense.

Whenever Hades and Lucy ran off together, they usually came back in a good mood, but I didn't feel like I was in a good mood. I felt shooed away. Again. And this time, it was by the person I was supposed to get married to, so what was I supposed to do now?

Annoyed, I went downstairs to see if I could find someone else to bother. I wanted to know more about why River basically rejected me, but Lucy was never around to answer any of my questions. Or, if he was, he was busy with Hades, who I refused to speak to on anything, but the marriage.

Ugh.

I was going to go insane if I had to stay here any longer.

I wandered around, hoping to come across Niki or one of the brothers, but no one was really around. Sure, it was the middle of the week in the middle of the day, but where the hell was everyone?

I took out my phone as I headed back upstairs to my room, pausing on a few names and deciding to go with the one person who had given me some decent advice. I hopped up on my bed as I hit the speed dial number and sat back as the phone rang and the black screen shifted to an image of Hadrian sitting on the sofa in his apartment. One again, the guy was all dolled up like he was about to go to a fashion show with fancy make up and some kind of fancy silky ruffled shirt.

Pretty sure it was a chick's shirt.

Pretty sure ninety percent of Hadrian's wardrobe was chick stuff.

"Four," Hadrian greeted warmly, and I saw someone who had been leaning on him sit up, "It's good to see you again. You look much better." I wrinkled my nose, pausing as Hadrian turned to say something to whoever was next to him. A shifting revealed it was Six who'd been leaning all over Hadrian, who simply gave him a warm smile and a kiss on the cheek as Six rose to his feet to head to the kitchen behind them. I frowned, watching him go.

"Interrupting a date?" I asked dryly. Hadrian shook his head.

"We were just thinking about lunch. What's going on?"

"Can Six hear me from there?"

"No, I don't think so. Would you rather I go to my room for privacy?" Hadrian asked. I considered it, but then realized I didn't give a shit at this point. Six and Three were bound to find out about this shit sooner or later, and it's not like it was news to them, considering they were both dating Hadrian.

Fuckin' greedy bastards.

"It's whatever," I said, making Hadrian incline his head, "Listen, I thought sex was supposed to be fun." Hadrian immediately frowned.

"Did you have sex?" He asked. Behind him, Six dropped something on the floor and dropped to pick it up, but even from this distance, I could see him blushing now as he hurried to get things out on the counter top. I rolled my eyes.

"I wanted to," I said, making Hadrian raise an eyebrow, "But all I did was, uh, suck him off and suddenly he was asking me to leave and he was still hard. Like, he still wanted to do it, I could tell, but he didn't want me in there. Ah, I think it maybe has something to do with his heat?" Hadrian frowned.

"Heat? What kind of demon did you say he was?"

"I didn't. He's part incubus," I said and Hadrian stared at me expectantly, making me scowl, "What more do you want?" Hadrian frowned.

"There are over fifty different species of incubus, Four. You need to be more specific. What region is he from?"

"Uhm... I forgot. It was some place in the mortal realm. Colombia? Cuba?"

"Okay, I know of a species that frequents both areas," Hadrian said with a nod, "They're a South American incubus, usually referred to as Xōchipi. They're children of the Aztec god, Xōchipilli, god of, well, sex and love and a bunch of other fun things. Anyway, they generally go through heat cycles until they reach maturity." I scowled.

"River's over six hundred years old," I said, which made Hadrian nod.

"He's hitting prime maturity age. They mature a bit slower than other eroticas," he explained, making me raise an eyebrow, "Meaning that he may be six hundred years old, but that's like... teenage years in his species time."

"Are you telling me I'm more mature than he is? Like, older?" I asked, which made Six snort in the background. Hadrian glanced back at Six before looking at me.

"I suppose you could say that, yes."

"Great, now I'm a cradle robber."

"Where did you learn that?"

"The Internet."

"Okay, well, anyway, Xōchipi tend to have pretty intense heat cycles. They can become highly aggressive, especially when they don't get what they want. They're stubborn and aren't known for taking no as an answer, so you have to be careful with them when they're in heat. If you change your mind halfway through, they'll be too ravenous to stop, so either have a plan set up to make them stop or just don't aggravate them when they're in a cycle."

"Okay, but River is my husband. I'm supposed to be doing this stuff for him," I said, making Hadrian frown slowly, "How am I supposed to get him to have sex with me if he doesn't want to and he won't stop once he's started?"

"Four," Hadrian said with an eerie calm, "You absolutely do not have to do anything you don't want to do, even with your husband. If you don't want to have sex, you don't have to. I'm sure River would agree with me." I rolled my eyes.

"Look, I know what husbands do when they're together. Think I'm dumb? Plus, it's like you said, he's an incubus. He's gonna need this kinda shit in order to survive, so I need to figure out how to do it and how to do it right."

"I'm sure River would understand, though, that you may not be ready for sex yet..."

"Not ready," I asked, then snorted, "That's not the problem. I want to have sex. It's River who doesn't want to. I'm wondering if I did something wrong and he didn't like it." Hadrian frowned for a moment thoughtfully, glancing back when Six dropped something else. He looked back at me.

"When you were with him before, did you feel anything odd? Maybe uncomfortable or nervous or scared?" He asked. I shrugged, laying back against the pillows on my bed and folding one leg over the other.

"Not really, no. I was just nervous I was doing it wrong. Because he just made me leave right afterwards."

"I'm sure he didn't do it to hurt you. He just wanted to avoid hurting you. Like I said, Xōchipi can be really aggressive during their heat cycles."

"Okay, but why didn't we just fuck then?"

"Because he doesn't want to hurt you."

"Why?"

"Because I'm sure he likes you very much," Hadrian said, making Six make a weird sound in the kitchen, which had both Hadrian and I looking at him oddly and he cleared his throat and went back to what he was doing, "You don't want to hurt the person you like, right? Makes sense."

"I guess," I said with a frown, "But why would it matter? It's sex."

"Because... Because sex isn't supposed to hurt, Four," Hadrian said simply, making me cock my head, "It's supposed to be fun and enjoyable. For everyone involved."

"Oh," I said, furrowing my brow as I tried to remember all the videos I'd seen, "Yeah, but it looks painful. And he's huge, man, I'm not kidding. The guy has got to be over a foot big." Six choked in the background and dropped something else, but this time he didn't pop back up over the counter. I rolled my eyes. Hadrian smiled pleasantly.

"I'm sure he's not impossible. It just takes a lot of practice and stretching. Do you ever touch yourself?" He asked. I scowled.

"Why?"

"To practice. To find what it is that you like during sex."

"Isn't that what sex is for?"

"Masturbation helps that too, Four."

"I've never masturbated," I muttered. This time it was Hadrian who made a weird noise and I looked at him with a raised eyebrow as he cleared his throat, brushing his hair over his shoulder casually while in the background, Six was rising up from the floor, but keeping his head down.

"What? What's wrong with that?" I asked. It was pretty normal for me considering I really didn't get aroused very often. The ichor they'd forced down my throat at the compound pretty much destroyed any sexual fantasies I might've had, and it only got worse considering what had happened to me since then.

"Maybe try masturbating," Hadrian said slowly after a moment, making me frown, "Try and figure out what you like, so you can help River when the time comes that you're together. And, you know, stretch yourself out."

"Stretch myself out?"

"I mean, if you plan on... taking the bottom role, or--"

"Oh, no, my dick's fucking useless," I muttered, making Hadrian blink in surprise, "That thing hasn't worked well since the ichor, so I figured I'd be the one spreading my legs, but I don't get what that means exactly. You want me to put my fingers in my ass or something?" Hadrian stared at me and I stared back, waiting impatiently for him to answer me. He seemed kind of startled, but by what, I had no idea.

"Yes," Hadrian said when he realized I wasn't going to say anything, "Ah, yes, or perhaps a toy... Have you spoken to River about any of this? Or maybe Lucy or Hades or--"

"What's the point of asking River? I don't want him to know I'm a fucking idiot, and like hell I'm gonna tell Lucy or Hades, especially Hades. I rather have my teeth pulled out one by one and shoved up my nose than to ask Hades anything," I tacked on with an eye roll. Hadrian smiled, but it was forced, like he was trying to pretend I didn't just insult Hades.

I swear, everyone around here had a Hades complex. Meaning, everyone fucking loved Hades and Hades this and Hades that. He was the greatest thing since sliced bread.

Except I didn't fucking see it.

"Well, I'm sure they'd be happy to explain things to you--"

"I'm sure Lucy would shit bricks over talking to me about literally anything," I drawled, "Hades would probably lock me in my room again. Not talking to either of them, or River. I called you, not them. I want your advice. Not theirs."

"Well, I appreciate that," Hadrian said calmly, "I'm glad you trust me enough to ask." I blinked, then felt heat rising into my cheeks when I realized that's exactly what I was doing. I had no idea where this concept of trust came in. I'd never trusted anyone else before, ever, with anything. The only person I trusted was me, because that was the only person I could trust. And yet, here I was, running to Hadrian whenever something weird happened.

"I don't know what I'm doing," I said at last, feeling strangely relieved to get that out, "Ever. I don't know how the world works out here or where to go or what to do. And I feel like I can't fucking settle down anywhere until the Mother is gone. She's going to uproot me as soon as she figures out where I am and I don't want your family to take the hit. I need to get this marriage working and if that means I gotta bend over for a little while, it's whatever. I just want to feel her neck break between my hands." Hadrian inclined his head in understanding.

"I understand. It's been a long road for you, and you still have a ways to go, but that's no reason to hurry. Take your time, go at your own pace. And don't worry about the Mother right now. She's not nearly as important as your own life. And if she does attack, Hades will be ready. Don't worry so much about everyone or anything else. Right now, focus on becoming the best version of yourself, Four. The best way to stick it to the Mother is to show her that you can do just fine on your own without her." He explained. I considered that. I didn't like taking my time or doing things slowly, but at the same time, I wanted to enjoy life a little bit. I wanted to enjoy the dumb shit the outside world had to offer, from the different foods to movies to shops.

"I want to go outside," I muttered, making Hadrian pause, "I want to see what Inferi looks like. I want to see what other people look like. I want to see clothes and food and shit. I want to see what else is out there."

"I think that would be really good for you."

"Only you," I snorted, "Hades won't even let me leave the palace to go on walks anymore. He's got me locked down hardcore and I can't fucking find him to tell him I want to go outside. He's purposely hiding from me because he doesn't want to talk to me."

"Probably because you'll ask about the marriage thing," Hadrian admitted with a shrug and I scoffed.

"Yeah, no shit."

"Try just asking for one thing at a time. Ask if you can go outside today," Hadrian paused again, "With us. Outside. Not only will you be surrounded by the Cousins, but you'll also get the opportunity to see things on your own." I stared at him.

"You think you can ask him?" I asked. Hadrian raised an eyebrow.

"Why don't you ask?"

"Because Hades will tell me no, because he hates me," I deadpanned, making Hadrian frown, "But if you asked him and promised I'd be cool, he might be more likely to agree to it."

"I... suppose so..."

"Great. Thanks for offering. Give him a call and let me know what he says--"

"Okay, but, Four--"

"I'm gonna go get some people clothes on." I hung up before Hadrian could say anything else, because I had a feeling he was going to tell me the chances of Hades letting me go were slim to none, but maybe Hades was more likely to agree if it came from someone who wasn't me.

The concept was both exciting and freaky. Going outside? Not just outside, but into town? What kind of shit did towns usually have? I hadn't been to Inferi in a while, and even when I did have missions there, I couldn't very well stay to sightsee. I always had a guardian on my ass on missions and we always slept in back alleys, if we slept at all.

The idea of looking around was kind of cool. I wanted to see what kind of dumb shit people had in their shops or what kind of weird foods they sold. I wanted to see what other people were, what other people looked like. I was tired of being surrounded by royalty. I wanted to see the people. And the food. Did I mention the food?

I went to my closet to look through the stuff that'd been given to me. It wasn't really stuff I saw myself wearing. It was nice stuff, but not my kinda thing.

I considered what I could wear if I could wear my own clothes.

I'd probably dress like Cerberus. Cerberus was so fucking badass. He was so huge and attractive and confident. And huge pain in the ass, but that was just part of his whole big brother game with me. I didn't care much for that, but he did look really cool. The red eyes kinda made things better, but I bet I could rock a leather jacket if I wanted to.

Now that was strangely exciting. I could look badass too. Maybe I wasn't huge like I used to be, but I could still dress the part of a badass. Cerberus was huge and muscular, but he wasn't bulky. He had a tapered waist, wore skinny jeans with chains dangling off the side or leather pants with buckles. And his boots were so fucking massive, I'm sure I could fit both my feet in one of his boots. I wondered if I could find boots like that.

Theo wore boots like that, but with more of a platform feel to them so he could be as tall as everyone else. I could do that too.

Maybe some new clothes would make me feel more confident in myself.

"Gods," Three had complained once at the compound, "I know the uniforms are new, but ugh, they're so itchy and ugly. I feel like I'm wearing a baby's onesie." Six had shaken his head at him and given him an elbow in the ribs.

"I don't think they're that bad," Six said, then paused to give Three a very slow once over, "At least, not bad to look at anyway." Three glanced at him, then looked at me and almost puffed out his chest, like he was getting blown up by Six's compliment.

"Okay, they're not that bad," Three agreed reluctantly, pausing to look in the mirror in the locker room, twisting his hips. I rolled my eyes at their chatter and turned to tug the uniform up my legs, and much to my annoyance, I couldn't fit the damn thing on. I balled it up and threw it in the corner before I snatched a towel to wrap around my waist. I breezed by Three and Six, who both looked up warily as I sought out Micah, who was in the corner of the locker room with his arms folded over his chest, his legs spread apart, like he was ready to fuckin' jump any one of us at any time.

"My uniform doesn't fit," I snapped, making Micah glance at me in amusement.

"Perhaps you should think about losing some pounds, maggot."

"I'm not fat, assfuck, I'm two hundred seventy pounds of solid muscle and the uniform doesn't stretch to accommodate that. Get me the next size up," I added, turning away from Micah, who snorted.

"Do I look like your motherfucking mommy, bastard? Go put on what was given to you or you can just go to the arena naked," he said, making me whip around to glare at him.

"I'm not going out there naked."

"Why? Scared the whole world will see your microdick, little boy," Micah sneered, and I stiffened as laughter rippled through the locker room, "Get your fucking uniform on, brat, before I send you to the hole for three days."

"You're gonna have to send me to the hole for a lot more than that," I growled under my breath, but didn't say anything to Micah as I returned to my locker and stood there, glaring down at the snug uniform. I glanced behind me where the other guys were finishing up changing and heading out to the arena. I waited until the locker room was mainly empty, save for one or two people in the bathrooms and Micah leering in the corner.

I pulled the towel off and tried to get the uniform on again, but it wouldn't close over my chest. It kept sliding right back down. Frustrated, I yanked the zipper up again and this time, the zipper went flying off the track and flew across the room to bounce off a locker and slide across the floor to where Micah was standing. I groaned aloud, turning around as Micah bent down to snatch up the zipper.

"First your ass is too fat and now your tits are too big," Micah mocked, making me glare at him, "Should send your ass to a fucking brothel, Four, you might prove to be more useful there than on the battlefield."

"Fuck you," I spat at him, making him raise an eyebrow. He tossed the zipper in the air, then caught it and looked at me.

"Is that insubordination I hear in your voice? Perhaps I should speak to your guardian to make sure you're properly punished," he mused. I gritted my teeth and started toward him, but a second later, Micah was throwing his other hand out and a blast of magic pinned me against the lockers, making me grunt, then curse as my uniform split open the rest of the way. Micah barked a laugh as he approached me, holding me pinned to the lockers, despite my squirming to get away.

"Do not threaten me, little boy," Micah warned, pausing to glance down between my legs before he smirked and looked up at me, "Absolutely pathetic. You may be strong, thanks to the Mother, but you won't be able to breed worth a shit now. Nothing, but a bull with no sac. A steer, and you know what steers are used for, maggot?" He slammed his fist through the locker by my head, making me stiffen.

"Juicy steaks for the big guys," he sneered, then pushed away, "Now get your fat ass out there and do laps."

"My uniform--"

"Is fucked. You think we're going to special order for you? What the fuck makes you so special? Stop wasting my time flapping your lips and get out there before I really do send you to a brothel," Micah said, then laughed as he tossed the zipper up and down, heading for the exit, "You'd make a perfect little bitch if you just kept that big mouth of yours shut, Four." The door slammed shut behind him at the same time I fell off the lockers and hit the floor. I cursed, propping myself up on my hands and knees, looking down to see that my uniform was splitting at the seams now. Humiliation welled up inside me at that moment as I shot to my feet and struggled to get my uniform closed, but it only split further and I ended up going to practice with an open uniform, which was fuel for my peers to turn on me. Luckily, I was strong enough to break the jaw of anyone who laughed in my face.

Still. That was my only memory of having new clothes, so there was an odd sense of anxiety pooling in my stomach now. I had never felt like that before. What if nothing fit me? I was much smaller now than I was back then, but having clothes that were too big for me was also strangely embarrassing. It made me feel like a child, and for some goddamn reason, everyone around me liked to remind me that I was nothing, but.

Yeah, well, can a child start a full scale war against a Greek goddess?

Hmm...

The air suddenly rippled around me and I shot up off the bed at the same time Hades appeared in the middle of my room. Of course, he did not look the least bit happy and like he was about to come marching across the room to whack my ass, but I took a step back and a second later, Lucy appeared right behind him.

"Hades," Lucy said immediately, reaching out to grab Hades by the arm to stall his stalking toward me, "Don't." Hades shot him a glare, then looked back at me.

"You are not going anywhere and do not make any plans," he said, making me glare at him, "The last thing we need right now is you running around town. For all I fucking know, you might find another asshole to want to marry."

"For your information, River's the only guy I wanna marry," I said dryly, "I want to get new clothes."

"I'll have Akin send over another--"

"No! I want clothes that I picked out for me!"

"Then browse online and have it delivered."

"No! I want to go with Hadrian! And, whoever else," I added with a frown, because I just realized I had no idea what Hadrian had meant by the Cousins. Lucy perked up at that, though, as if he knew exactly what Hadrian had said.

"He'll be with the Cousins," Lucy said, making Hades glare at him, "I can think of no safer place."

"I can. Under my roof," he said, making Lucy sigh, "The last thing we need is this kid starting a revolution. The Cousins are already on thin ice right now after the Hadrian thing and do not get me started on the New Year's Eve party last year. Or are we going to conveniently forget that?" Lucy grimaced, then shook his head and gave Hades's hand a squeeze, looking up at him with these weird puppy dog eyes and I rolled my eyes so hard they almost disappeared into my head.

Come on, sweetheart, let him go outside and have fun. He's going to go stir crazy in here.

And he'll be dead out there. He's safer here. We've been able to protect him here. We can't do that when he's outside.

He doesn't need your protection. The Cousins will cover him just fine. You know as well as I do that those guys would never let anything happen to Four.

What, like they did with Hadrian?

For your information, the only reason we found Hadrian last time was thanks to the Cousins. Otherwise, we'd have never known where they were. Just let him out for one day. That's all. What kind of trouble can he cause in twenty-four hours?

Do not challenge him, Lucy.

"I won't do anything," I said, making them look at me, "I won't start any fights or beat anyone up, unless they attack me first. Hell, I won't even talk if you don't want me to! I'll stay quiet the whole time." I made a zipping motion over my lips and Hades narrowed his eyes.

"You couldn't stay quiet if the fate of the word depended on it," he challenged. I glared at him, opening my mouth to say something, but when Hades raised an eyebrow, I closed my mouth and just glared at him with my arms folded over my chest.

"He'll be alright," Lucy encouraged, giving Hades's shoulder a squeeze now, "Just a couple hours in town and he'll be home before eight."

"Eight," I exclaimed, "I'm an adult!"

"Okay, fine, ten," Lucy said, making Hades scoff.

"Eight," Hades repeated, making me glare at him, though I paused when I realized what he meant when he said that and just stared at him as he glared at me, "If you are not back in this house by eight tonight, you don't have to worry about making curfew from now on because you'll be housebound for the rest of your fucking life. If you think I'm joking right now--"

"Yes, finally," I exclaimed, reaching for my phone to take it out and call Hadrian, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, curfew's eight, fine whatever-- Hey!" I cursed when Hades plucked the phone out of my hand and I scowled as he seemed to be punching something in.

"I'm activating the tracking app I put on your phone," he said, making me glare at him, "I'll know where you are, when you are, and how you are. And also..." His voice trailed as he reached into his pocket, making me frown as he pulled out what looked like a watch, but without a face. He clipped it to my wrist and punched a button on it as it clicked shut and I scowled, giving it a tug.

"The fuck is this?" I demanded.

"Something like an ankle bracelet," Hades replied, "Except more stylish and high tech. I get even a blip on this, meaning if your blood pressure spikes or your heart rate goes up, I will be there the moment it tells me something's off. So if I were you, I'd stay nice and calm, but alert. If someone so much as looks at you the wrong way, tell your Cousins and I will be there. And I fucking mean it. I don't care if you think it's small fry, call me. If I have to come on my own, you're dead meat." I glared at him, then at the tracking device on my wrist. I glanced up at Hades again, who stood there with his arms folded over his chest, handing me my phone back.

"Still wanna go out?" He asked. I narrowed my eyes and snatched my phone back.

"Abso-fucking-lutely."

"Hm. We'll see how long that lasts," Hades muttered, "And remember, eight p.m. One minute past and I will come get you myself and you know how fun that'll be." I grimaced, but said nothing as I continued to glare at him. Lucy smiled tightly.

"Excellent. See, that wasn't so hard, was it? There's always a compromise," he said, glancing at Hades, who rolled his eyes. I tsked, but didn't speak anymore as the two of them headed out of the room. Hades paused, looking back at me once and I stuck my tongue out at him. He pressed his lips together in a firm, annoyed line before he turned and walked out, slamming the door shut behind him. I grinned the moment they were gone and hopped back up on the bed and dialed Hadrian, who picked up almost immediately, looking grim.

"I'm free," I greeted, then paused to look at the tracking device on my wrist, "Er, for the most part."

"Great," Hadrian muttered, "But I'll have you know that Hades gave me very strict instructions on where I can and cannot take you and what to do in case of an emergency."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. When are we meeting? Where are we going? Can we get clothes? What about food? Are we going out to eat too?" I asked. Hadrian blinked, looking surprised by the excitement.

"Oh, ah, we can leave now, if you'd like. I'll let the others know and we can meet in Inferi. Dress comfortably, and I'll swing by to grab you so you know where we're going," he said, making me sigh in relief.

"Cool. I'm down," I replied, which made Hadrian incline his head and hang up. I flopped back on the bed, breathing out a long sigh.

Okay, so this wasn't a solution to my dick problem, but this was definitely a solution to my boredom issue. Besides, maybe I could find something to help me with the dick problem out there anyway. Hadrian mentioned something like a toy to use for practice, so maybe I could find something like that?

Who gave a fuck now?

I was going outside! Like, outside outside.

Finally!