Chapter Fourteen

"I fucking hate shadows!"

I said nothing as I stood by, watching Theo throw one of his world class temper tantrums. He stood at the end of the stone path that once led to his extravagant black mansion, which was now nothing more than a pile of black rock and rubble with smoke plumes still sailing up into the sky as the last of the fires went out.

At his side, Adonis was staring at the mess with a peeved stare, decked out once again like a sexy biker on the cover of a romance novel, especially with that wavy blonde hair swept back from his face. Standing beside him was Yiuwa, looking distraught at the mess that lay of their home.

"Why did they attack you?" Yiuwa asked, turning to Theo, who glared at him and gave him an I don't fucking know shrug with his arms out, but Adonis gave Yiuwa a droll stare.

"Probably something to do with the fact that Theo wiped out a shit ton of them earlier in the week."

"I'm supposed to wipe them out!" Theo exclaimed incredulously. Adonis inclined his head.

"Exactly. They just saw it from your point of view."

"Ugh," Theo shouted, stomping his foot like a petulant child, turning to pin the remains of his home with a long glare before making a whining sound. He spun around and went to Adonis, thumping his head on Adonis's chest. Adonis's smile was award-winning as he put his arms around Theo and held him close and Theo wrapped his arms around his waist, muttering something incoherent and whatever it was made Adonis chuckle and pat him on the head.

"Have we captured anyone this time?" Yiuwa asked, turning to look over at the authorities, who were casing the area and putting up bright red police tape. Theo stepped back from Yiuwa to sigh.

"Nobody alive," he said, and when Adonis opened his mouth, Theo elbowed him in the gut and made him grunt, "And it wasn't my fault. It was my Beast. He got a little overexcited. Fucking sue me, the guys apparently taste like chicken." Yiuwa gave him an odd look.

"Your beast communicated that to you?"

"No. I just like chicken."

"Okay," Yiuwa said slowly, turning away from him and looking at me, "Do you think perhaps this has to do with Uriel?" I frowned and Theo gave me a curious stare.

"Uriel? As in, like, the Lucifer-wannabe that Michael booted out of Heaven like a few months ago? Or was that a year ago. What fucking day is it," Theo demanded, turning around to look at everyone around us. Adonis took out his phone to literally check the day and Theo shoved the phone at him, making Adonis smirk. Their play was almost adorable... and something I found myself incredibly envious of.

"Yes, that Uriel," I answered, distracting myself with a glance up at the rubble, "And... Perhaps. It's uncertain at the moment. I'm not sure if Uriel is truly stupid enough to attack the same place twice, but then, if his goal was to enrage Hades, he chose a good target."

"Why my fucking place," Theo complained, "Why not Charon's? He's used to his house being blown to smithereens. Or Malachi. Malachi's place is ugly."

"Yes, but you're the son of Hades with a beast," I replied, "You're a more vulnerable target." There was also the fact that, even though Theo would probably never admit it or see it the way others did, Theo was still the weakest of Hades's sons. Not in terms of power or intelligence, certainly not, but his mental state was still in repair mode, and despite having two younger brothers after him, Theo was still the baby of the family. Even his younger brothers tended to baby him.

"Vulnerable my ass," Theo grumbled, folding his arms over his chest and pouting, "Fucking ripped their damn heads off. I'll show those assholes who's vulnerable. Break their goddamn arms off and use 'em as baseball bats for their fucking heads!" The last word was shouted and people glanced over warily. Theo glared at them and Adonis just put an arm around him.

"You already did that," Adonis reminded him, making him shrug, then Adonis turned to us, this time his playful expression slipping, "Those assholes got too close this time. It's not safe."

"You're right," I said, "It would be best if you stayed at Hades's palace."

"That place was just attacked the other day," Adonis deadpanned.

"But you had more of a chance there with Hades to protect you. If you're asking me to send you to a truly safe place, then I'm afraid I cannot because there is no such place. The Shifter can and will send its creatures wherever it wants. No barriers can keep them out," I explained grimly. Adonis looked thoroughly peeved at that, his teeth clenching together. His hand tightened on Theo, who blinked, then looked up at him. He gave Adonis a reassuring pat on the chest.

"Calm down, John Cena, we can stay at my dad's place. Besides, you said it was fun to watch Hades kill people."

"Yeah, but not when they're trying to kill you," Adonis growled. Theo smirked at that, turning so he could be completely encased in Adonis's arms. He snuggled in close, looking thrilled that Adonis was pissed on his behalf. Again, this aching tug started up in my chest as I watched them, and I quickly looked away, only for my eyes to land on Yiuwa, who had gotten close without my knowing. And I had no idea how he did that.

"Let's head to Hades's," Yiuwa said softly. I just nodded.

As a group, we teleported to Hades's palace. We appeared in the throne room of the massive Gothic palace built into the side of a mountain range. The throne room had once been adorned like a Hallmark store with flowers and trees and plants galore with bright cheery colors. However, that had been when Hades was married to Persephone. Now, it was all Hades made with gorgeous black marble floors and walls that fade to green toward the ceiling that was covered in Aurora Borealis lighting. At the head of the throne room was a dais upon which sat Hades's sleek black marble throne and beyond that was his symbol of a skull and crossbones with a green backlight to it.

No sooner had we appeared did Hades himself arrive through a side door.

He still caught me off guard, even after all this time. A towering masculine entity, hair long and so black it seemed to absorb all color around it, his skin a rich shade of olive, his body rippling with lean muscles, his walk one of a confident killer. He dressed like the poster boy for Goth clothing what with his completely black leather pants with silver skull shaped buttons running up the sides, a tight black t-shirt with rips going up the back and short mesh sleeves, and a pair of huge black shitkickers that added an extra two or so inches to his already gargantuan height.

And he turned a pair of glowing blue eyes on us, and my stomach clenched, so I pretended to be interested in the throne as Theo went to him.

"Not done throwing a temper tantrum?" Hades asked, arching a brow in greeting. Theo stuck out his tongue.

"We figured chilling at your place would be safer, according to the oh great demon over there, oh, and Yiuwa," he tacked on, folding his arms over his chest. Hades frowned, glancing over at us, his eyes flickering between Yiuwa and I before landing on Adonis, who gave him a smirk of greeting.

"Gross," Hades declared, making Theo roll his eyes and Adonis drop his head to hide a chuckle, "But fine. It'd be a huge pain in the ass to have to deal with Theo beasting out again. But do me a huge favor and don't fuck in the public rooms here."

"We would never," Adonis said and Hades pinned him with a wary stare.

"Mm. Yeah. Just like I would never poke you with a hypodermic needle," he said, and Adonis just smiled innocently. It was a miracle Adonis could tease Hades, considering Hades had a particular hatred for all of his sons' partners. It wasn't that they were bad people; Hades just hated anyone who, from his point of view, stole his sons from him. Though, I think he had a particular soft spot for Adonis, and vice versa. Hades was one of the few gods who rejected Adonis being offered to him as a gift after the other gods had used and abused him. He, instead, put in a vote to have Adonis freed from the slavery he'd been roped into. It was his vote that led to Adonis's freedom.

So Hades was among very few gods that Adonis didn't hate with a passion.

"Nice," Theo said, then went to Adonis and took him by the hand, a gesture that made Hades's eyes narrow in irritation, "We're gonna go raid your kitchen then, cuz we haven't eaten shit all day."

"Fine," Hades said dryly, "But remember what I said about fucking. If I even fucking hear something, I'm slapping another chastity belt on you. And then let's see how close you two can get." Theo glared at him.

"I'm over a thousand years old, get a fucking grip. You can let Lucifer fuck you on the floor we're all standing right now, but when I want to do something, you throw a hissy fit. Double standards," he snapped, then tugged on Adonis to lead him away. Adonis glanced over his shoulder at Hades, giving him a look that told him he was going to honor Hades's wishes before he followed Theo out of the throne room.

Hades's glowing blue eyes followed them with mild irritation before he turned to look at us.

"And what news have you two got for me?" He asked dryly.

"We've gone to Yomi and reviewed the tablets," I explained immediately, jumping right to business and relieved to have it there, "The language used in the tablets is incredibly difficult to understand and pronounce. Our bodies are not physically capable of making certain sounds that the chant could contain. However, we did find a sister tablet located in Atlantis that hopefully will at least hold the words to the chant." Hades nodded slowly, folding an arm over his chest and rubbing his chin with his other hand thoughtfully.

"Alright... Okay, if you give me more details, I might be able to come up with a way to do it, but I'll need to have the chant first," he said. Yiuwa looked at him curiously.

"You do realize that Tristan must be the one to recite the chant unto the Shifter, because he is the winged songbird," he pointed out. Hades nodded.

"I know that. I'm about to give our fae a little upgrade. You guys go on ahead to Atlantis. I'm gonna work with what I have here first and meet you guys at the main hall tomorrow with what I have completed," he explained. I nodded at that, glancing at Yiuwa, who looked at me expectantly.

"I'll meet you at the main hall," I told him. Yiuwa frowned.

"We shouldn't be apart for long, Rowan--"

"I know," I said, ignoring Hades's curious stare, "It won't be for long." Yiuwa frowned. He clearly didn't like the idea, but he wasn't going to argue for long. Instead, he slowly nodded and vanished. The moment he was gone, I felt a sense of uneasiness, an emptiness. I waited a few moments after he left to turn to Hades, who arched a brow and folded his arms over his chest.

"Secrets in a relationship aren't a good idea," Hades sang tauntingly. I frowned at him.

"It's not a consensual relationship," I stated and immediately Hades's expression darkened at that, "No, it's not... It's difficult to explain. First, tell me, do you know anything of mating marks?" Hades looked surprised by the question, then shrugged a little.

"I suppose I know as much as the next person. Mating marks aren't really a thing in reality among our people. I know a few species that partake of it, and some of them aren't so much soul related as just culture related. I'm sure there are other universes that had them, though. Why? Yiuwa slap you with something unwanted?" He asked, cocking his head to study me. I sighed, averting my eyes for a moment before I pulled on the collar of my shirt to reveal the mark and Hades's eyes blue eyes not only widened, but literally began to glow with fascination as he took a step toward me, and I immediately took one back, making him scowl.

"I want you to find a way to get rid of it," I stated, making Hades arch a brow.

"Oh?"

"It's in the way," I responded slowly, trying to choose my words carefully, "It was an accident. A one night stand turned into something a little more complicated. I'm hoping you can find a way to get rid of it. And as soon as possible. Think of it as a side project." Hades hummed for a moment in thought before he nodded.

"Fine, but I'll need to take some photos, a biopsy," he added. I nodded.

"Do whatever you need to," I said. Hades's lips twitched in an evil smile. I probably should've worded that differently. Didn't matter, though. Hades led the way to his lab and I followed close behind. Once we got inside, Hades got out some fancy high-tech camera and told me to strip my shirt off. He got to work taking photos of the mark from every angle he could. He took x-rays of the mark, plus drew some blood specifically from beneath it, scraped at the top of it to get some skin, and then performed a punch biopsy that hurt like a bitch.

Once he was finished, he handed me a large bandage to paste over it. As he gathered all of his evidence and went to file it away, I felt a dull ache starting in my chest again. I shut my eyes tightly, pretending it wasn't that I needed to be with Yiuwa again. He couldn't be telling the truth. How unfair was it that I already wanted to be with him mentally and now physically my body was aching to be at his side again? It was going to make avoiding him intimately so much harder.

"Alright," Hades said, walking over to me, "So what do you know about this mark from what Yiuwa told you?"

"It's a mating mark from his universe," I said, pulling my shirt on, "Apparently it was how his people found their soulmate or something like that. It's like our version of getting married."

"Mazel tov," Hades replied, making me roll my eyes.

"Not really," I said, sliding off the table and tugging my shirt into place, "It's soul deep, he said. It intensifies everything in the relationship. He said that... when we aren't together, the mark will make us ache for each other more than we normally would. That we would eventually be drawn to each other again. We'd lose all motivation otherwise. We can't survive without one another."

"That's annoying as fuck," Hades deadpanned, and I nodded in agreement, "It sounds like a fucking shackle."

"A wedding ring," I agreed. Hades snorted, clearly feeling the same way I did over the whole thing. Our conversation was cut short, however, when the doors to the laboratory opened and Lucifer came inside, as if this were as much his home as it was Hades, and it probably was.

Lucifer was Hades's opposite in almost every way. Where Hades's skin was dark, Lucifer's was a warm shade of cream. Where Hades's hair was black, Lucifer's was golden blonde and fell in waves to his shoulders; though currently, it was swept back from his face in a man-bun, save for a few wavy strands that fell in his face. He even dressed differently. He was the fine upstanding fraternity boy to Hades's Gothic serial killer. He wore a crisp white button up under a pale blue sweater and jeans with expensive loafers and heavy gold watch on his wrist.

"Oh, sorry," Lucifer said, pulling up short when he saw me, "I hope I'm not interrupting."

"I was just leaving," I assured. Lucifer smiled.

"Well, I'm glad to see you're doing much better. Your family has been worried about you," he said. I didn't say anything to that, just turned to Hades and gave him the inclination of my head, though our gazes lingered as if he understood that I wanted to keep this visit on the downlow.

I vanished, leaving them alone and reappearing in Atlantis. I showed up in the entry room of the main hall that sat on top of the highest mountains on the main island. The room was bright and sparkling and all modern with columns that ran along the sides, in shapes of all the gods and goddesses of the current pantheon. At the head of the room sat the statue of the current king of the pantheon, Hannibal.

To the left was a large front desk where Yiuwa was in conversation with the demon at the front desk. Except the moment he appeared to sense my presence, he was straightening and turning to face me. There was an odd sense of relief seeing him there, and seeing him stand to attention for me. I wanted to go to him immediately, wanted to feel his arms around me, but I somehow managed to find control and walked over calmly.

"Have you let Hannibal know we're in the realm?" I asked smoothly. Yiuwa nodded.

"They're allowing us to stay at a hotel in town and they want us to head there as soon as we can to get settled before we meet with a god named Zetnos," he explained. That sounded good. Sort of. A hotel with Yiuwa? I prayed they got us separate rooms, but the way Yiuwa was looking at me told me that wasn't going to be the case.

And when we arrived at the four story massive hotel, my bad feeling turned out to be right-- naturally. The female at the front desk gave us a single key for a single room with a single bed. Although, the room was massive with a huge rounded window that looked out into the jungle where we got the perfect view of twin waterfalls that spilled down into a basin that led out to the ocean. The plants were colorful and alive, birds fluttering to and fro. Everything was so peaceful and quiet.

Until Yiuwa abruptly shut the door abruptly. I tensed, not turning around to face him, even though I could feel his hot gaze searing into my back. It felt almost like he was stripping me naked right there with just his eyes. A tingle started at the base of my spine and rode up steadily as I heard his feet moving toward me.

"You covered it," came Yiuwa's murmur from right behind me. I cleared my throat.

"It was safer that way," I said calmly, despite the tremors rushing through me, "Tenjin caught on right away. Sooner or later, someone more dangerous will find out about the connection and will use it to bring us harm." The lie felt bitter and slimy on my tongue. Like a poisonous sludge. I wanted to turn around and tell him I was lying, that I had to get rid of the mark, because if this kept up, he was going to be affected by my curse. He and everyone he knew and loved was going to die.

"It's just us now," Yiuwa said. His breath was hot against the back of my neck. I could feel his presence on top of me, feel the heat of him spreading across my skin. My cock was standing to attention, pressing against the confines of my slacks, even my ass ached in remembrance of having him inside me. I sucked in a deep quiet breath to find some sort of control.

Until he ripped the bandage off the mark on my neck and tossed it on the nightstand. A moan slipped past my lips and I bowed my head, straining for some level of control. And then Yiuwa's arms were around me, his hand slipping up my shirt, seeking out my chest, his other sliding down into the front of my pants. When his hand made contact with my cock, I whimpered and arched back against him, pressing my ass against the bulge in his jeans.

"We're supposed to meet Zetnos," I said breathlessly.

"After we get settled," Yiuwa said in my ear, his voice a deep rough growl that made my muscles twitch, "We're getting settled." I clenched my teeth as he drew his tongue across my throat, heading for the mark on my neck. I turned my head away, closing my neck off to him, but his hand squeezed my cock and I gasped, immediately giving him access now.

I tried to convince myself I didn't want this. This was non-consensual.

But that was complete and utter bullshit. I wasn't going to wound Yiuwa's pride or his reputation by pretending this was some kind of assault.

I was as hungry for this as he was. I wanted to feel his cock inside me. I wanted him to shove me down on the bed and take me from behind. I wanted him to pin my hands down and take control of me. I wanted him to tell me what to do, shove me down on my knees and force his cock down my throat. I wanted to feel him pull at my hair. I desperately needed to feel this raw intense connection.

It's not right.

This isn't right.

Stop!

The conflict burned inside me. One second I was letting Yiuwa rip my shirt off and the next I was pushing him away, only for him to whip me around and shove me down on the bed. I gasped, moving to get up, only to feel my arms get yanked behind me and my shirt being wrapped around my arms, pinning them behind me. I panted as heat rushed through me at being restrained, and I moaned as Yiuwa's weight pushed down on top of me and he began roll his hips against me, teasing me without penetration.

I whimpered as he reached between my legs, palmed me and rolled his fingertip against my sensitive slit. He pulled his hand away and slid it up my chest until he reached my mouth.

I bit at his fingers, so he just shoved three right in my mouth and I choked on them. I felt his cock tracing the crack of my ass, slowly sliding up and down. I moaned around his fingers, caught between nipping at them and sucking on them.

"I don't know why you won't talk to me," Yiuwa whispered against my ear, making me shiver, "I don't know why you won't give us a chance... But I will find out. Something about you drives me insane. I'm caught between being angry with you and being..." He didn't finish his sentence, yet for some insane reason I could hear in love with you there, and I immediately scolded myself for that thought. Again, we hadn't known each other long enough, we knew nothing of one another, we--

My assurance of denial was scattered as Yiuwa plunged himself inside me. I cried out, then bit down on his fingers. Yiuwa hissed, a combination from my muscles clenching around him and my fangs sinking into his fingers. The taste of blood filled my mouth, but instead of disgusting me, I moaned at what tasted like rich spicy wine. I suckled on his fingers with my mouth, felt my body drinking him up on the other end.

His hips rolled against mine and he untied my hands from the shirt, tossing it aside and lacing our fingers together. He broke his hand away from my mouth, had both my hands laced with his, and pinned them down as he began a steady pounding. I panted, pressing my face down against the pillow, trying to muffle the sounds of pleasure threatening to burst free. I felt Yiuwa nip my ear and I whimpered.

"The walls are soundproof here. I want to hear you scream," he whispered. His voice so hot and raw in my ear, his demand so sexy, was the final straw. I choked as an orgasm blew me apart from the inside out and I cried out again, my vision fizzling over, my muscles locking up, body taking on a mind of its own as it bent and twisted to pleasure. I heard Yiuwa growling above me, and as I came down from my orgasm, his was still spilling inside me

After a few moments, Yiuwa had lifted me from the side of the bed and placed me down under the covers, crawling in beside me. I wanted to shove him away from me, but couldn't summon the strength of denial to do so. I just laid there, and his arms wrapped around me, and I tried to not enjoy it. I tried not to like the weight of his muscular arms going around me protectively. I pretended there was nothing sexy about his rough breathing, the afterglow of sex making his skin soft pink and smooth.

"We need to see Zetnos," I said quietly after a while.

"It's late," Yiuwa said immediately after, making me frown, "We'll go in the morning. They'll understand." I wanted to argue, but for some reason, I didn't. I said nothing instead, just laid there, and it got worse when Yiuwa began to trail his hand along my arm, stroking me so gently. I pretended I didn't want to purr under his touch.

"I didn't hurt you, did I?" Yiuwa asked after a while.

"No."

"I wasn't sure if you were into being restrained, but something told me to try it."

"I don't mind."

"That's good... I understand many misinterpret it in this universe."

"Because it's been used for evil."

"I see," Yiuwa lapsed into another moment of silence, then snuggled in close, "Theo tells me that males in this universe do not generally bear children. Is that true of your species?" I almost snorted at that. What a weird thing to think of. I shook my head a little.

"I am a child of destruction... But I can create certain creatures, in different ways, but not in the way you're thinking of. I am not fae. Even if I was, I can't have children." I stopped myself, wondering why the fuck I had said that. I felt Yiuwa frown.

"Why ever not?" He asked. I ground my teeth together for a moment, then cleared my throat.

"Because I'm sterile," I replied calmly, "My sperm does not fertilize eggs."

"Why?"

Because all those years ago, I realized that I wouldn't dare curse a child with my own curse, couldn't risk it. I refused to be the reason my children died. The closest thing I'd had to a child was Hades, and that was more of a strange way to see it considering nothing connected us, but our eyes and it was nothing more than my stupid prophecy that had done it. And look how that had turned out; I'd destroyed Hades's life with that prophecy. I couldn't do that to my own flesh and blood.

So I'd sought out a witch, who'd cast a spell on me and left me sterile. Now I didn't have to worry, didn't have to be tempted by the idea of children.

"Some things are just meant to be," I said after a moment. Yiuwa frowned.

"But--"

"I'm going to shower," I said, untangling myself of Yiuwa's arms and sliding to the edge of the bed, "When I finish, we should go over the notes we took regarding the tablets from Tenjin." Yiuwa didn't answer. I could sense his tension. It filtered through the air like chili powder. He wasn't happy, and I wondered briefly if it was because I was sterile. And even though there was an intense pain in my chest at the thought of having disappointed him, I welcomed it with open arms.

As I stepped into the shower, I tilted my face toward the hot water and closed my eyes.

Another reason why this was not going to work out.

And hopefully soon, Yiuwa would see it too.