Thanos (Masters Among Monsters Book 3)

by Ella Frank

  “Yes,” Paris croaked out.

  “When?”

  “A couple of days ago…I think. With Elias—”

  Thanos released him abruptly, as though Paris had caught fire and burned him.

  No… How can this be? How can this man I’ve spent the night talking with be connected to the human who butchered me? Almost ended me?

  It was unbelievable. It was—

  “What’s wrong?” Paris asked, cutting into Thanos’s rampant thoughts, and as everything began to make sense, a laugh emerged from Thanos that was so sinister it belonged in the same nightmares Eton’s demon belonged to.

  “You are,” he said, finally piecing together exactly who the man with the scared expression was. “How did I not realize this earlier? It is so obvious in that you are drawn to me even when I look like—” Thanos cut his words off then and said, “You are the third.”

  Paris took a wary step back and hit the wall behind him, and Thanos thought, To hell with the ground rule I set up earlier about not plucking information from his mind—and then he dove inside.

  Shit. Oh shit, Paris thought. He can’t mean what Elias was going on and on about, can he? That I’m the final piece? A…a demigod? Because that is just, just—

  “You are not even human,” Thanos growled, disgusted by his own folly. Then he narrowed his eyes and said, “You do not even know, do you, glikie antra?”

  Sweet man, indeed, Thanos thought. How wrong he’d been about this one and his innocent wide eyes.

  “Know…know what?”

  “That you have been sent here to kill me. That is what.”

  Then, before the demigod worked out the powers he held, Thanos decided to hedge his bets. He reached for the hand by Paris’s side once more, took a hold of it, and, for the first time in days, located his cousin, the most Ancient of their kind, and faded the two of them from his bedchambers.

  LEONIDAS CHAPEL SIGHED, fully satiated as the vampire behind him, Alasdair, wrapped an arm around his waist. He wriggled back against the male, and when cool lips brushed along the line of his shoulder, Leo couldn’t stop the smile that curved his mouth.

  “Well, you appear rather pleased with yourself, agori.” Vasilios, the other occupant of the bed, lay facing Leo as he trailed a finger down the cheek closest to him.

  Damn, Leo thought, as he angled his face into that touch. How’d I get lucky enough to wind up in their bed?

  “We wanted you here, file mou,” Alasdair said in his ear. “Therefore, you are here.”

  Leo tipped his head back and raised a brow at the arrogant male who’d just spoken, and Alasdair took his lips in a fierce kiss.

  “As stimulating as this has been,” Vasilios said, “I must take my leave of you both.”

  Leo pulled his mouth free of Alasdair’s and looked over at the glorious being who was climbing out of the massive bed they’d all settled into earlier—Vasilios’s bed.

  “Where are you going?”

  “Leonidas—” Alasdair said, reminding Leo he was not to question the Ancient who was now reaching for his robe. But that wasn’t going to work for him. If they were in this together, all three of them bonded by Vasilios’s blood, then there was no way he was going to just silently go along with whatever these two ordered, and Leo was quick to protest.

  “What? I’m not allowed to ask that? I’m naked in his bed and he was just…just—”

  “Just what?” Vasilios asked, as he looked over his shoulder. “Oh please. Do not stop there, agori.”

  Leo shifted slightly under that heated perusal and then raised his chin and replied, “Inside me. You were just inside me. So, that should mean something, right?” He could’ve sworn he heard electricity crackle between him and the male who pivoted back and placed his knee on the mattress. Then Vasilios tilted his head to the side and took Leo’s chin in a firm grip.

  I am always inside you, Leonidas. My blood, my body, my mind. And that most certainly means something. Do not forget that.

  Leo licked his lips at the reminder that after last night, in the Chamber—on that altar, Christ—his life was now bound to this magnificent specimen. Then Alasdair shifted behind him and Leo corrected himself. He was bound to two magnificent beings.

  “I do like your spirit, though, agori. I suppose I cannot command you to stop asking questions, can I? Or you may not continue to believe I am magnificent. Your curious mind goes hand in hand with what makes you so very…appealing. Wouldn’t you agree, Alasdair?”

  Leo shivered under Alasdair’s palm as it trailed down his ribs to rest on his hip.

  “I would. Though I wasn’t sure how you would react in the face of such disobedience.”

  Leo scoffed. “I’m not some petulant child, Alasdair.”

  “Of that I am most aware, file mou. But you also do not understand the importance of our hierarchy just yet. Not in the way that it will pertain to you.”

  “Umm, I’m pretty sure I get it. Big V here is the almighty, and the other two—Mr. Scary Silver-haired guy and the young, good-looking one—are next in line. Then you, of course, my Alasdair.”

  “Our Alasdair,” Vasilios corrected. “And how interesting that you find Eton such an appealing young man.” The Ancient’s eyebrow rose, and then his eyes left Leo’s to find the male behind him. “I have come to the conclusion that in here, Alasdair, between us, he should feel free to do as he pleases with no fear of…”

  “Death? Mutilation? Consequence?” Leo suggested.

  “Yes,” Vasilios said. “It appears we are all tied to each other’s life. So, there would be no reason for one of us to jeopardize the other.” He paused and then stroked Leo’s lip. “However, beyond these doors, you will respect the way our kind conducts themselves. They will not feel the same. Nor would they expect me to take on anyone like yourself as my own. Do you understand?”

  “Yes,” Leo mumbled. Nothing like being told you weren’t good enough, even if it was a species thing and not, like, a…personality thing.

  “What was that? I didn’t quite hear you.”

  “Yes,” he said, and when his chin was released, Alasdair rolled him to his back and moved over the top of him. He sucked in a breath, and when Vasilios chuckled, Leo turned his head to see the Ancient walking toward the bathroom. “So what now?”

  I believe Alasdair has a specific need he wishes to fulfill. Something about making you feel good enough. But then he will take you to collect your things and bring you back here.

  As Vasilios’s words entered his mind, Leo put his hands to Alasdair’s chest and pushed him up. “Hang on a minute. What?”

  “It’s time to make this permanent,” Alasdair said. “You won’t be going back to your job, back to that dingy little apartment.”

  Leo shoved the vampire away—shit, I still can’t believe I can do that—and then sat up in bed. “You mean my dingy little apartment? The one I own? And my job? Why can’t I keep that? I love my job. I thought we already decided I wasn’t going to be some prisoner. Some…some slave.”

  “Settle yourself, file mou.”

  “Ahh, how about no. Explain,” Leo demanded, crossing his arms, which he knew was ridiculous, considering he was naked as a jaybird.

  “I trust you can take care of this, ómorfo mou agorí,” Vasilios said.

  “Ne, go. I will take care of our agori.” Alasdair had moved to his knees, presumably to do just that, when two figures suddenly appeared inside the room at the end of the bed.

  Leo sucked in a startled breath at the intrusion, and scrambled to take hold of the sheet. When the figures came into view, Leo didn’t immediately recognize the taller of the two, but that had everything to do with a freaky face mask of a skeleton and a hood. The second, however, was extremely familiar.

  “Paris.” Leo kept his eyes on his friend and coworker as Paris glanced in Leo’s direction. And God, the fear in his expression and the way he clutched at his head, which no doubt ached from the transport, had Leo wanting to go to him. Paris l
ooked the way he knew he must’ve the first time Alasdair had brought him to the lair. Bewildered and terrified. And when he turned back to the one who had a firm hold of his wrist, Paris gasped in shock and tried to pull away.

  Leo scooted to the edge of the mattress with every intention of going to his friend’s aide, but Vasilios’s voice echoed through his head, halting him.

  Stay exactly where you are, agori.

  Leo’s eyes cut to the Ancient who was staring at the two who had dared enter his chambers uninvited, and the expression on the handsome male’s face gave none of his thoughts away.

  Who’s that with him? Leo thought, but before he received any kind of response in his mind, Alasdair was on his feet and saying, “Thanos.”

  Thanos? Oh, holy shit. The last time Leo had seen that bastard, he’d been a bloodied piece of meat on a bed, with Alasdair and the other three Ancients hovering around him with saws, knives and— Shit, I wonder what he looks like under that mask and hood.

  “Well, well. This is quite the unexpected visit,” Vasilios said, as he walked toward the end of the bed. “And as much as it overjoys me that you’ve finally decided to reenter society, Thanos, I do believe your presence would be much more appreciated in Eton’s chambers. Especially since you’ve brought him a gift to apologize for your recent behavior. Have you forgotten how to get there?”

  Leo didn’t miss the wary expression on Paris’s face as Vasilios got closer to the pair, and he tried again to stand. It was a fruitless effort, however—Vasilios’s will was as impenetrable as iron.

  I told you to stay where you are, Leonidas. This is one of those moments we just finished discussing. Do not make me punish you for disobedience after we just spent a lovely few hours enjoying one another.

  Leo frowned, but also knew that Paris’s best chance of safety right now was if he kept his mouth shut. Alasdair was also moving toward the end of the bed, sans a robe, and when he stopped only feet away, Paris’s eyes flicked to him and he stumbled back a step.

  “Please… Thanos,” Paris said, and Leo didn’t miss the tremble in his friend’s voice or the fact that he seemed to know the vampire currently holding him captive. “Don’t give me to him.”

  Alasdair looked across the bed at Vasilios without acknowledging Paris’s words, and spoke directly to his sire. “He is the third, Vasilios. The one who was locked up in the holding cell. I’m not sure how—”

  “So I was right,” Thanos said, and then thrust Paris forward. Leo watched him stagger at the force of the shove before he reached out to brace himself on the footboard of the bed, his eyes darting around wildly. “He is like this human in your bed and the one who knew Isa. The one who almost killed me.”

  “He is,” Alasdair confirmed. “Though I’m curious how he ended up in your company, cousin.”

  “As am I,” Vasilios said, and the tone was so low that there was no mistaking the warning there. He was not happy with that little revelation.

  “I have no clue. One minute I was enjoying my solitude and the next he was bursting into my chambers.”

  “When was this?” Alasdair demanded, and the hooded head turned in his direction.

  Leo tried to catch a glimpse of the face underneath, remembering how handsome it had once been, but could see nothing.

  Is he scarred terribly? He has to be after what I saw. Doesn’t he?

  At his wayward thought, glowing blue orbs found his from beneath the hood, and he wanted to kick himself in the ass. God, how fucking rude could he be? And why hadn’t he thought to blank his mind? He knew better than that.

  “It was hours ago,” Thanos said, thankfully ignoring Leo entirely.

  “What?” Vasilios thundered, and the entire room shook from the force of it.

  Paris’s fingers white-knuckled the footboard as his entire body quaked, and Leo silently prayed that Vasilios remembered that the man he was getting closer and closer to was his friend. One he’d like to see live another day.

  “Was your brain cut out when that silver was removed from your face?”

  “Vasilios,” Leo said, horrified at the words that had just left the Ancient’s mouth.

  “Not now, Leonidas,” Vasilios barked, and then his arm whipped out and he had Paris’s long tail of hair in his hand, twisting his head back so he was looking him in the eye. “You, however, need to start talking. My Alasdair says he left you in the holding cell. So how is it that you escaped?”

  PARIS’S HEART THUNDERED as he stared into the face of the most attractive man—well, vampire—he’d ever seen. He was wearing a white robe and apparently not much more, and the male’s olive complexion was a stark contrast to the deep V of the robe’s lapels. His short black hair was slicked back, and the dark slash of his eyebrows enhanced the jade eyes that glared down upon Paris. The dark stubble that lined his jaw also framed a perfect set of lips, and if it wasn’t for the two pointed fangs now descending from his gums, Paris would’ve said the guy could be a fucking supermodel.

  But his heart wasn’t thumping because of that… No, it was pounding because somehow he sensed he was in the presence of immense power. Where Thanos had been frightening because of what he was—a vampire—this male, Vasilios? He was utterly intimidating due to the control and authority he clearly held over every other being in this room.

  “I asked you a question,” Vasilios said, and then looked back to Leo. Poor Leo, who is naked in that bed. “What is your friend’s name, agori?”

  Leo’s gaze was flitting between the one holding him and Alasdair, as though he expected him to step in. Paris had no such expectations.

  “Leonidas,” Vasilios said, as his fist tightened in Paris’s hair. “What is his name?”

  Leo blinked, and Paris wanted to tell his friend not to throw himself down for his mercy. Just tell him what he wanted to know and be done. But then Leo shocked the shit out of him.

  “I’ll tell you if you let him go. Then we can all talk about this like mature adults.”

  Uhh…is he out of his goddamn mind?

  The growl that reverberated out of the male who was holding him was a rumble of annoyance as his eyes flashed to black. “You try my patience, agori.”

  “His name is Paris,” Alasdair said, and Paris caught the glimpse of betrayal in Leo’s eyes.

  “Yes,” Thanos confirmed from behind him. “That is what he told me. But he is not why I am here.”

  That seemed to get Vasilios’s attention. “You mean to tell me that you are not at all disturbed by the fact that this man is here to kill you? Well, that is slightly perplexing, Thanos. I thought you were beyond that childish death-wish phase.”

  Paris looked out of the corner of his eye to where his ex-captor stood to see what he would say, but when silence was all that lingered in the air, Vasilios continued.

  “If you did not come here to bring this Houdini to me, then why are you disturbing me? Because I have to say, the satisfaction I had from taking Leonidas all night is fast dissipating. So, if you wish to leave in the same way you arrived, start talking. Otherwise, I will take great delight in sending Eton pieces of you for an entire week.”

  Paris gulped at the threat. The gory details were bad enough, but the calm tone in which it was delivered was downright twisted.

  “Eton is why I am here,” Thanos said. “I would not have left my chambers for any other reason. You say this man is the third. That means he is here to kill me, is he not?”

  “It does,” Vasilios said. “Which, in turn, means Eton will die. How very self-serving of you.”

  “You are wrong,” Thanos said, and the word wrong seemed to land and detonate in the room like a bomb.

  In the blink of an eye, Paris’s hair was released, and the one who’d been holding him had Thanos across the room and his back plastered to the wall.

  “You dare to challenge me, agori? Tread carefully, for I am not too fond of how you have treated my brother of late. What do you mean, I am wrong?”

  Paris collapsed to h
is knees, not caring much beyond the fact that Vasilios was no longer focused on him.

  “He broke the bond,” Thanos said. “Not even an hour ago.”

  “Motherfucker,” someone muttered, as Leo asked, “What’s that mean?”

  Vasilios dropped his arms to his sides and took a step back. He then looked over his shoulder to the three of them and said, “It means that hell is ever so much closer tonight, Leonidas. And suddenly you and your little friends are not at the top of my most-wanted list.”

  Then, before anything else was said, Vasilios vanished from the room.

  DIOMÊDÊS BRUSHED ASIDE Isadora’s long raven hair and placed his lips to her naked shoulder as he studied the man lying just beyond them. After their earlier tryst, the male—Elias Fontana—had predictably fallen asleep and now lay on his back with his eyes closed and a sheet draped over his waist. He smelled of apples, Isadora’s scent, and it was everything Diomêdês could do not to want to run his nose along the man’s vein to see how deep within his pores it had seeped. He really was drawn to Elias, despite his treachery and gender, and Diomêdês wondered just what that would mean to them all in the long run.

  He wrapped an arm around Isadora’s waist and slowly trailed his fingers down the crease of her leg to the warm pussy in between. Fuck, he missed this, missed sinking his cock deep in the tight folds of a willing female. But sliding his fingers inside her was a pleasurable second place if he had to have one.

  She craned her head back, and he took her lips in a scorching kiss as she widened her legs and pressed her fingers against his, urging him deeper. He rubbed a finger over her swollen clit, and when she moaned into his mouth, his fangs elongated and he nipped at her lip.

  “Pio vathia,” she said. “Deeper.”

  As the demand met his ears, he saw the male who’d been asleep on his back had now rolled to his side. Elias’s silver stare was fixated on them, and Diomêdês wondered what he was thinking. Elias was a cagey one, and though he was lying in his and Isadora’s bed, that didn’t mean Diomêdês trusted him in the slightest.