Blood Lust

by Tricia Andersen

  Juliet bit back a growl. “Like father, like son.”

  “True, except I found love. I don’t think Zeus knows what that is.” Ares pulled a gold pocket watch from his slacks and flipped it open. He studied it for a moment. “I hate to cut off this chat but I need to get to Mom before she leaves for her daily coffee date with the First Lady. She likes to pop a piece of ambrosia just before she leaves.” He held the box in his hand out a bit to her. “Just so happens I was saving a fresh batch for her if I ever needed it. Today’s the day. Nothing is more important than reversing your curse.”

  “Ares,” Juliet began.

  “Gotta go.” He strode to the bed and pressed a hard, wet kiss to her lips. A moment later, he was gone, leaving Juliet alone in the cavern with the brilliant night sky still shining overhead.

  Chapter Six

  The sound of his boot steps on the granite floor echoed throughout the empty house. Ares frowned. Where was the hired help? Was he too late? Or did Mom turn them into some sort of vermin?

  He huffed. He wasn’t lying when he said his mother was a bitch. She manipulated mortals and gods alike. Even him. More than once, he was forced to play the good son in her little facade as a senator’s wife. He hated every second at her side dressed in the finest while playing her puppet. After he was free of her grasp, he binged on alcohol and whores. Or he started a massive war. It depended on his mood.

  He stepped inside the study and growled.

  Hera stood staring out the window into her garden.

  Out on the lawn, three peacocks strutted in brilliant colors amongst the flower beds. A glass of wine sat next to an aged bottle. The corkscrew that was still drilled into the cork left the pungent scent of alcohol in the room.

  She turned slowly and smiled.

  Her smirk sent chills through his veins.

  “So what do I owe the honor of the great god of war visiting me?”

  “Hey, Mom,” Ares replied. “Day drinking, huh?”

  “Ares, I’ve been drinking wine since I came into existence.” She nodded to white box in his hand. “And is that a gift you’ve brought for me? What do you want from me?”

  “Can’t a boy bring his mother a gift without wanting something?”

  Hera laughed. Her voice was beautiful but terrifying. He was sure he saw a bird or two drop dead outside.

  “Please, son. Let’s not pretend we’re the perfect family. I am the queen of the universe. You are the family reject. So I ask again. What do you want?”

  Ares took a moment to bite back his rising temper. Why his mother had to be a bitch to him still baffled him. But then again, she was a bitch to his father and half-siblings, too. It wasn’t like she played favorites. “Fine. I need a favor.”

  Hera reached down to her desk and swept up the stem of the wine glass between her long, pale fingers. She brought it to her lips and took a sip. She glared at him. “If it has to do with that vampire you’re playing with, the answer is no.”

  “How do you know about Juliet?”

  “You’re father warned us all about her. He seemed to emphasize it more to me. I believe he actually thought I would help you. I’m beginning to believe that fornicating with all those whores has finally corrupted his brain.”

  He growled at her. “So you’re not even going to hear me out.”

  “Why should I? You are the son of the great god Zeus. Maybe you should start acting like it. Be a son a mother could be proud of. I thought you couldn’t stoop any lower when you were sleeping with that tramp Aphrodite. Now I see I was wrong. She’s a cursed, undead creature. I couldn’t bless this if I wanted to. Which I don’t.”

  “Then make her undead. You could transform her into anything that would make you happy as long as it’s eternal.”

  Her eyes narrowed to thin slits. “You act like you are in love with this...thing.”

  “I am.”

  She huffed for a moment and stayed silent. Then she spoke, “No. Absolutely not.”

  Ares clenched the box so hard in his fist he felt the thin cardboard crack beneath his fingertips. “Even if it would make me happy?”

  “Definitely if it would make you happy. I could care less about your happiness.”

  He shook his head in disbelief. He spun on the toe of his boot and stormed towards the door. “Thanks, Mom. Great talk. I wouldn’t want to take any more of your time.”

  “Ares, wait.”

  He stopped cold at her voice. then turned and glared at her. “What?”

  Hera set her glass on the desk. He didn’t miss the pout on her face as she brushed a stray strand of blonde hair that escaped her bun from her face. “Aren’t you going to leave my gift?”

  He let go an exasperated laugh. “No, Mom. I think I’ll share it with a special girl instead. Have a good day.”

  “You’re not supposed to share ambrosia with anyone but us gods.”

  He didn’t stop when she shouted after him.

  “Don’t give any to that vampire you’re sleeping with. Just bring that box back here to me.”

  Her voice faded away as the front door of the mansion slammed shut behind him.

  * * * *

  Ares stormed down the sidewalk, growling at anyone he passed. He had no idea how long he’d been walking. In all the thousands of years, he had walked this cursed planet, he had never been so angry with his mother. He knew she was heartless. He knew she hated him. No wonder he was so fucked up.

  He sighed heavily as he dodged a couple of nuns scuttling past him. He’d failed Juliet. He wanted to free her from what that bastard vampire did to her. He promised her that. Now his only chance to liberate the woman he loved shut him down and humiliated him the entire time as she did so.

  He hated his mom with the passion of a thousand burning suns.

  “What brings you to these parts, stranger?”

  His head snapped up at the voice.

  Athena stood in front of him blocking his path dressed in her military work uniform.

  Ares snarled. “What the hell do you want?”

  “I could ask you the same thing. You’ve never visited me before at work. Makes me wonder what my big, bad, strong brother could possibly want.”

  Ares frowned then looked past her. The Pentagon loomed behind her like a crouching beast. How far did he wander? “I visited Mom,” he grumbled.

  Athena blew out a slow, steady breath. She strode to a park bench and sat down. Then she patted the spot beside her. “Sit. Tell me what the bitch did.”

  He shuffled to the bench and dropped onto it beside her. He smirked “Did you just call Hera a bitch?”

  “If the shoe fits. Or in her case, the five hundred dollar designer stilettos.”

  Ares looked down at the crumpled box he had clenched in his hand. He was surprised it was still in one piece. He pulled the top off and tossed the pieces on the ground. He held the rest of the box out to her. “Ambrosia?”

  Athena took a piece and popped it in her mouth with a grin. “Don’t mind if I do. Now spill. Does this have to do with Juliet?”

  Ares gaped at her in disbelief for a long moment as he held the box for her. Finally, he spoke, “Yes. Well, no. I went to her to help me change Juliet and break her curse. But then she tore into me and reminded me repeatedly what a worthless piece of shit I am and how much she hates me.”

  Athena huffed as she dangled her military-issue flat off her perfect big toe. “Typical Hera.”

  “Like she acts that way to you. You’re their little princess,” he accused with a snarl.

  “I’m Dad’s little princess. Hera isn’t my mom, remember? She hates me nearly as much as she hates you.”

  “Athena, everyone hates me. No wonder I’m so fucked up. My parents have hated me since the day I came into existence. My entire family hates me. Not one living, breathing creature has ever cared about me.” He stopped for a moment as the image of Juliet popped into his mind. He felt that familiar bond they shared tug at his heart. Truthfully, he didn’t know i
f he ever stopped thinking about her. Even when he was at war, she was on his mind. “Except Juliet. I know she loves me. And I love her. I just want to save her from the pain she goes through being who she is.”

  Athena cocked her head at him. Her eyes narrowed as if she were studying him. “She’s changed you.”

  Ares stared back at her then shrugged. “Yeah, she has. I’m not sure I want to go back to who I was.”

  “Why haven’t you asked if I would help you?”

  “Because you’re Daddy’s little girl and Zeus gave strict orders to do nothing. Besides, you hate me just like the others. Don’t deny it.”

  Athena plucked another piece of ambrosia from the box he held. “I’m not. I don’t like you. You’re violent and erratic and you act like a grade-A asshole nearly all the time. But you’re my brother and because of that and because I’ve watched you get the shit end of the stick for thousands of years, I love you. I don’t have to like you to love you, Ares.”

  He frowned as he studied her. “You would help us? You would change Juliet?”

  She returned his stare for a long moment. Then she gasped as she dramatically looked at the watch strapped to her wrist. “Gosh. Look at the time. I need to get back to work.” She leaned across the bench and pecked him on the cheek. “See you soon, brother.”

  “Answer the question, Athena,” Ares demanded.

  “Around here, around this place.” Athena waved towards the Pentagon. “It’s Anna. Family dinner is Sunday, Romeo. You should be there. If I have to deal with my stepmother, the bitch, then so do you.” She stood up quickly and strode as fast as she could towards the building.

  Ares growled as he watched her disappear. He fought the urge to chase after her, to rip her a new one in front of her new temple and her new worshippers. Instead, he rose, spit on the ground and stalked away.

  He stopped dead in his tracks as his gaze fell on an old man with his rickety flower cart. He was mesmerized by the bright colors of the blooms. He couldn’t remember the last time he appreciated the beauty they held. Had he ever picked them for Aphrodite? He didn’t think he did. But deep in his core he wanted to take a bunch home to Juliet. Did vampires like flowers?

  “Can I help you?” the vendor chirped in a sing song voice.

  Ares shook himself from his stupor then cleared his throat. He swiped his wallet from his back pocket. He scooped up a bouquet of blood red roses and dropped the bill before the old gent could say howdy do.

  Ares glared at the roses as he shuffled away from baffled old man. He muttered under his breath, “I am so fucked.”

  He rounded the corner into the alley and disappeared into thin air.

  * * * *

  Juliet yawned as her eyes fluttered open. She stared dreamily at the celestial scene above her that blanketed the rock ceiling. It was a change from her fluffy clouds. Her gaze traced the paths of the stars, the haze of the meteor showers, the illumination of planets with no names.

  She sighed to herself. There was no doubt in her mind that she loved being in Ares bed, of feeling the silk sheets on her naked flesh. But something deep inside her needed to roam. It didn’t necessarily want to feed. It desired to see something other than these stone walls.

  Her brow crinkled in confusion as she heard repeated soft rhythmic thuds in the distance. Gripping the sheet to her chest to cover herself, she rose and turned towards the sound.

  In a darkened corner of their cave, Ares sparred with a punching bag that hadn’t been hanging there before. He was dressed in nothing but a pair of loosely fitting fight shorts and a boxing glove wrapped tight around each hand. His skin held a thin sheen of sweat. His feet danced as he shuffled his steps with each punch. His muscles rippled as he threw a jab then a cross. His whole body was poetry as he silently warred with the bag.

  Juliet had watched more fighters than she could remember over the past few hundred years. None of them held a candle to Ares’s beauty as he fought.

  She tugged the sheet off the bed as she shimmed off the mattress. She wrapped the crimson satin around her as she wandered across the room to him. She stopped for a moment to admire the red roses in a crystal vase now sitting on the bedside table. Those weren’t there when she fell asleep either. Did the god of war do something as human as buy her flowers? She couldn’t fathom it. But there they were. She’d ask him but he’d probably give her some bullshit bravado about where they came from. She smiled as she continued on her way to him.

  His arms froze in mid strike and fell to his sides as she drew closer. He swiped the back of his forearm across his forehead then gathered her into his arms. Being pressed up against a man this sweaty normally made her nauseated. This happened more times than she cared to remember when she was a courtesan. But with Ares, inhaling his scent, feeling his heart race against her fingertips pressed to his damp chest, she wanted to lose the sheet and lead him back to the bed.

  “You’re up,” he said.

  “And restless. Like you, I see,” she replied.

  “My talk with Mom didn’t go as planned. It sucked balls actually. Hera is a world class bitch. She won’t help. I thought there for a second that my sister would. Then she took off without giving me a yay or nay.” He laid his forehead against hers. “I’m sorry, Juliet. I failed you.”

  “Ares, you didn’t fail me. You did your best.” She frowned at him, confused. “I do have a question. You’re a god. Why can’t you do it?”

  He let go a hopeless laugh. “Because what I make has a tendency to turn against me. The Amazons? We’re not exactly on speaking terms at the moment. Changing you would make things too complicated between us. And I can’t have you hating me.”

  She lifted herself up on her tiptoes to kiss him. He parted her mouth to deepen it. She could taste something similar to honey on his tongue. She tugged him closer for more.

  As they parted she murmured, “I need to get out of here. I love this place. Don’t get me wrong. But I haven’t been this cooped up in one spot in centuries. I need to go out.”

  He grinned at her. “Well, then. You’re in luck. I’m heading to my club tonight. I’m so pissed off at my family and the other gods I need to fight.”

  “And we leave when?”

  He pushed her away from him.

  The short distance made her feel vacant. What had she said that angered him?

  A smile spread across her lips as the sheet disappeared. It was replaced by a skin tight black dress with spaghetti straps. The hem cut at her mid-thigh. On her feet were a pair of black stilettos.

  She ran the tip of her tongue along a fang. “Not my usual style.”

  “I’d rather dress you in a chiton,” Ares responded with a hungry gaze. “But that would be out of place at the club.”

  “A chiton?”

  He pressed a kiss to her lips as he traced his finger along her breast bone. A diamond necklace was left in its wake. “Only the best for my queen.”

  “Guess I’ve upgraded from concubine, huh?” She glanced back at the bed. The sheet was tucked back into its place. The flowers caught her attention. “Where did the flowers come from?”

  “I thought you would like them. I picked them up before I came home. I didn’t know if vampires liked roses are not.”

  “They’re beautiful.”

  “You think so?”

  Juliet gazed at him. He almost seemed like a little puppy wanting her approval. She kissed his cheek. “I love them. Thank you.”

  Ares chuckled as he took a step back. His fight shorts melted away. His skin was covered with an expensive pair of slacks, a linen dress shirt and a black tie. He held out his hand to her. “Ready?”

  “I thought you were going to fight?” Juliet questioned as she threaded her fingers between his.

  “The shorts are on under the suit. They’re the tight ones. I’ll let you peel them off when we get home.” He winked at her.

  Seconds later, they disappeared.

  * * * *

  The dim light from th
e street lamps reflected off the dull red brick that lined the alleyway and illuminated the tiny puddles between the cobblestones. Juliet tightened her grip as she hurried to catch up with his stride.

  As they walked, she was still a step or two behind him. A concubine snarky remark rested like venom on her tongue. That was until a large, dangerous looking fellow crossed their paths. She saw him for a brief second before Ares tucked her protectively behind him. It was then when she understood. He didn’t believe he was better than her.

  He needed reaction time. She was a vampire. There were only a handful of things that could kill here and none of them were readily available in this damp, smelly corridor. She had lived centuries. Yet, he still put her before him.

  No one, not since she could remember, cared this much for her. When she was a mortal, she was a toy, something to play with until they were tired and threw her away. And when she wasn’t, she was alone with no connections. After watching Beatrice suffer and die at Antonius’s hand, she knew it was better that way. No love. No emotion.

  That was until Ares. The self centered, pompous god bought her flowers in hopes she would like them. He fought to find a way to break her curse. She couldn’t help but love him.

  But somehow, a deep down feeling in her gut told her this wasn’t sunshine and rainbows. This wasn’t going to end like the myths or fairy tales. Maybe it was time to cut her losses and run.

  She heard him chuckle as he took a step up into the doorway of his club. He looked at her over his shoulder. “You know if you take off, I’ll just find you and bring you back to me. Then I’ll probably put you over my knee and spank you for running away.”

  Juliet gaped at him. “You heard me?”

  “Every word.”

  “Invasion of privacy much?”

  He tugged her up on the step with him and gathered her in his arms. “I can’t help the connection we have. And nothing is going to happen to you. You forget who the fuck I am.”