by Setta Jay
“There’s a lot you need to understand,” he began and started to run his thumb over his lips before he stilled. His eyes heated instantly and she heard his deep intake of breath. She felt as if she were jolted with electric heat. It was the same hand he’d used to bring her to climax, and they both knew exactly what he smelled.
“Seriously? Just stop, you two,” Nastia snarled and paused before ordering, “Speak. You have exactly five minutes because the sexual tension in here is making me physically ill.”
Tasha watched his hand fall, but his eyes flashed with something close to amusement at her twin’s words. But when he spoke, it was directed at her and the words were laced with heat. “Why do you think I’m here, Natasha?”
Volcano. I’m not kidding, her sister snarled in Tasha’s mind.
Stop. Let him finish talking.
I’ll get his thoughts myself. I’m not sure why we’re even playing this game.
You know as well as I do that you only get short-term memories from the last hour. The images are clear for you to manipulate, but conversations and thoughts are not always so easy to understand in that context. Or am I wrong?
Her twin mentally growled, We’ll wait, but is it really too much to ask for you to stop getting naked with him? I don’t have any idea what’s come over you. You’re like an entirely different person, and it’s starting to freak me out.
I know. She huffed out a breath, surprised that he hadn’t repeated his question while she’d had that mental conversation with her twin. He wanted to know why she thought he was there, so she told him. “To exile us. Your turn, how did you find us?”
She tried not to picture him stripped bare and laid out for her pleasure, and for some reason it was getting increasingly harder to be in the room with his sexy masculine scent. He was so damned close, yet there seemed to be a wall separating them. A wall in the form of her twin.
“I didn’t come to exile you.” His voice dropped an octave when he looked at her again. “And I can find you anywhere.”
“Doubtful,” her sister bit out.
She narrowed her eyes. “How?”
He paused, watching her closely. When he spoke, she sucked in a breath. “Because you’re mine.” The words rang with such heated intensity that her mind short-circuited for a minute.
She couldn’t shake his penetrating gaze or the desire to really be “his.” She had all kinds of ideas of what that would be like. None of them were what the smart Tasha would do. She had a feeling that female was long gone.
Nastia bit out, “What in the hell are you talking about? Do not make me sink your pirate ship, Guardian.”
That broke the connection. He stared at her sister for a split second, and Nastia looked ready to do damage.
No, Nastia.
He’s a damned stalker! I need to put him out of his misery. Out of my misery!
“What do you know about Immortal matings?”
That shocked her out of her mental fight with her twin. The words were silky smooth and the look he gave her was so hot she nearly melted into a puddle, but… What?
“Matings? Seriously,” Nastia snarled. “We’re not animals, Guardian.” Stalker!
“We all have some animal DNA. Apollo’s way of making us stronger fighters,” he explained, but they already knew that about the races. It was something they’d learned in their training.
“You might, but we don’t,” Nastia snapped.
“You weren’t in his labs?”
“We were kept separate,” Tasha answered, unwilling to discuss it more. She sent him a hard stare indicating she was done with that topic.
He looked at her and for long moments she thought he might pry. Instead he asked, “You know that Apollo imprisoned and bred Immortals to create his ultimate army?”
“Yes,” Tasha acknowledged.
“He did it for nearly a century before one of the Immortals sacrificed herself by creating the mating spell. She couldn’t stand being used like an animal. Refused to lose another child to the warrior camps, where all the young were taken to be raised and trained.” His eyes hardened when he spoke of the camps. Maybe the conversation was bringing back bad memories for him as well.
He took a second and continued, “That Immortal, Charybdis, used a portion of her life force to create a spell that enabled only fated mates to have young, but it’s more than that.” His eyes latched on her hand. It had gone to her stomach at the mention of children, and she didn’t miss how dark his eyes went as he focused there. She almost felt the heat coming from him when he added, “We’re only given one mate… and once we touch, the mating frenzy starts.”
Tasha felt the room spin, and her sister was at her side, snarling at the male, “You knocked her up?”
“No.” The single word sent her world spinning. Did she hear regret in his voice? Did he want her to carry his child? The word, and the surety with which he’d said it, left her teetering on a cliff. How did he know that she wasn’t pregnant if what he said was true? If she was “his,” that meant his “mate,” didn’t it?
Her sister was already feeling for his mind, slipping into his head with her power.
Tasha watched him grit his teeth, and she braced for how horrible it had been last time, but he didn’t attempt to move. No animalistic roars escaped his lips. He kept his eyes focused on hers, he was allowing the invasion. It was obvious in the tightening of his shoulders and his balled fists that he was pissed and she hated that. But she needed to know he was telling the truth. She wouldn’t stop her sister.
“Son of a bitch!” her sister bit out. “His mind is linked to yours.” And my power won’t work on him. I can’t fog this. Nastia’s tone held a hint of the shock and fear Tasha was feeling.
Linked? The word whispered through her fractured mind.
It means you’re my other half, Psihi Mou. His words filtered into her head in a bright telepathic link. She followed it and nearly fell off the bed. Before she could think again, it was too late. She wanted to demand answers, but he was gone. Just gone!
Chapter 13
New York, Earth Realm
Bastian opened the wards to the penthouse he kept in New York. He paid no attention to the view of the park below and the bright lights beyond. Nothing mattered as much as getting his mind and his fucking dick under control. Seeing his mate upset had set him off, he’d been damned close to lifting her into his arms and taking her with him. It had taken all of his will to leave her with her twin. She needed to process what he’d said, but he didn’t have to be happy about giving her that fucking time.
He turned on the shower as soon as he stepped through the living room. He needed a minute. His hour was about to be up, and he’d have to lift the blocks on his location. At that point he’d have pissed-off Guardians all over his ass.
Natasha was toying with their link; he could hear it in her thoughts. She was still shocked by it, but he hadn’t heard any thoughts indicating that she saw any links to the other Guardians. He just hoped it stayed that way for a while. His brothers’ mates had gotten them not long after the frenzy had started. He was treading a fine line in trying to keep his brothers from wanting her caged, something she refused to ever go through again.
He dug his fingers in his hair after letting the tie fall to the floor. Tension had kept his muscles pulled tight and he wasn’t sure the shower could even ease them at this point. He didn’t think he’d be able to relax until he knew she was safe from his own brothers.
He calculated that he had less than fifteen minutes to get his cock under control and put some damned clothes on. It didn’t leave much time, but at this rate he wouldn’t need it.
He thought about what Drake was going to say when he got there, and the tension in his muscles expanded. If his mate and her twin could really lure Apollo, Drake would want to use them.
They needed to get the God back, but the idea that Natasha would be the bait sent his beast into a snapping, snarling rage. His muscles pulled impossibly tighter
under his skin.
He growled and stepped under the cool water. His skin was on fire and his cock was so hard it throbbed in his palm as he worked it under the cool liquid. This wouldn’t take long. His breathing was harsh to his own ears; he’d never been so out of control. All he had to do was imagine her frantic, greedy noises of pleasure. She was so damned lush and perfect, he could almost feel her round ass in his palm, her tight pussy pulling at his fingers, sucking him in, begging for more. He growled as he pumped his fist.
He rested his forehead against the tile as he worked his aching dick until his balls pulled up tight. Come shot onto the stone and down to the drain below as he panted. His pulse beat in his ears even as he tried to focus on her thoughts again. Something that was becoming a bad habit and would inevitably bite him in the ass, but it was the only way he could find to convince Drake and the others that his female and her twin could be trusted.
After shutting off the water, he ported, using air currents to dry his body before reforming in the closet. After a second he slipped on some loose workout pants and a long tee shirt to hide the fact that he still hadn’t had enough of his female. His usual black cargos and combat boots or the fighting leathers looked like a nightmare when he was still fighting his dick.
He lifted the block to his location as he moved to the living room. He didn’t have to wait long for the pissed-off dragon to port in. Guardians were porting in around him.
“What the fuck were you thinking?” Drake bellowed.
Bastian knew Uri and Sirena would have clued him in the minute Bastian went off the grid. They’d know what happened to him and why’d he’d blocked them.
“If something happened, I wouldn’t have been able to maintain the block.” Which had been a bitch while having his mate’s pussy all over his lips. She was more perfect than anything he could have dreamed up, and her taste alone fed something inside him. He felt stronger, but his dick still wanted more. Soon he had every Guardian, including his mother, in his home.
Someone telekinetically opened the patio doors to let the dragon smoke out.
“That’s how you justify being so fucking reckless?” Drake snarled.
“I’m in her thoughts. I would have known if they were planning to do something. No one else had that advantage, and Uri and Alex set up a shield for her twin’s powers.”
“And did her twin try to fuck with your head again?” Drake wasn’t getting any calmer.
“Only when I explained matings and that Natasha was mine. She didn’t believe me,” he bit out.
“Uri, check his fucking head,” Drake snarled.
Uri came up and he didn’t look happy. Bastian felt his brother’s power glide in his mind before the male spoke. “She didn’t use her power on him.”
“Does that mean Sander is immune now too?” their leader demanded to know.
“Probably. Unless the mating is making him immune to the twin’s power.”
Bastian clenched his teeth.
“Are they Demi-Gods?” Drake snarled.
He wasn’t sure. He hadn’t gotten that fucking far. “I don’t think so. Not with the power signatures. And they were kept in Apollo’s labs. They got out, and my mate’s mind had thoughts of escaping with Lykos. I think they were the ones who left with Dacia’s parents.” Dacia was Conn’s mate. Unfortunately her parents had died several decades ago, so he couldn’t confirm those suspicions.
Uri narrowed his eyes. “Didn’t Dacia say there were three Kairos?”
Conn nodded. “Two females and a male, but you said the twins aren’t Kairos.”
Bastian nodded. “They have Kairos coloring and can teleport, so it would make sense two young Lykos would have thought they were. They also don’t have a strong power signature. There was thought of a male that was with them.”
“What happened to the male?”
“I don’t know. Her thoughts indicated he’s dead, and I got the feeling he was a bastard.” Bastian growled, not liking the implications of what a “twisted” male would want with two young females. The context wasn’t that of an ill Immortal, more of a fucked-up pervert.
“Dacia’s parents thought they were dangerous. So maybe they’d felt something more with Kairos and hadn’t known what it was. They were young when they escaped,” Conn mused.
“Maybe,” Bastian agreed and then added, “I also learned that my mate’s sister can only get short-term thoughts. There are limits to the power.” He hoped that would make some damned difference in how their power was viewed. “When I questioned them about using their power like a God, they got angry. Her thoughts were of being enslaved by Apollo and that she and her twin would never become a ‘monster’ like him.” He fucking hated that he was using her personal thoughts. He would pay big when she found out he’d been in her head, but he’d continue doing it until he had the answers that would keep her safe from being caged by his leader.
“I want to know what they are. And I want to know how the fuck they think they can lure Apollo, because if it’s possible, I want that to fucking happen,” Drake snarled. Uri had obviously filled in dragon on everything they’d learned before Bastian left. “Bring them in and have Uri take blood memories.”
“No.” Bastian growled low and it took every inch of his will not to launch at his leader.
“Wait a second,” Sirena bit out, and Bastian felt some of his fury abate and knew his sister was using her powerful voice to try to defuse the situation. “If they’re so powerful, do we want them in Apollo’s hands? And we don’t know that she couldn’t fog Uri’s mind. We don’t know enough yet.”
Drake snarled. “Bastian would be there, and blood memories are not thoughts. Not to fucking mention Alex could fix anything the twin tried to do. We need that fucking God and they need to be caged until I’m confident they’re safe to be loose.”
“They’re not dangerous. And they think of Tetartos as a prison. Uri can take my fucking memories and thoughts from being in her head, but he’s not taking my mate’s fucking blood.” Bastian growled, the fury ramping up all over again at the dragon’s words. The thought of his brother’s fangs in Natasha’s soft skin made his vision blur red. His shoulders were tense and he knew he was losing his mind. His brothers moved up a few steps and he was sure it was in case Bastian decided to tangle with the dragon.
The tension in the air was thick when Sirena stepped between them. “Bastian just needs to complete the mating. That’s the answer. Then we’ll know what we’re dealing with.” Sharing blood would solidify the mating bond. It also meant they’d be sharing every strong memory of their lives. He’d do it, but he wouldn’t be pleased to be forced to do it so fast. He wasn’t sure he was ready to see her darkest secrets, see all that she’d suffered at the God’s hands. She didn’t want to think about that time and he would be living it in her memories.
“I need time. She didn’t know anything about the frenzy or mating bonds. This is all new to her.”
Drake growled and more fucking smoke filled the room.
Sirena quickly added, “Apollo has been loose for a month already. Bastian should have time with her to figure this out.”
Bastian looked at his sister Guardian and nodded in appreciation.
Alex chimed in, “We can still check them out in other ways while Bastian learns more. We can start at the club and see what the employees know of them.”
“I want everyone fucking looking for the damned God, but not until their minds have been checked,” Drake snarled at Uri.
Bastian tensed when the dragon’s furious gaze narrowed on him.
“And I want a mating within forty-eight hours.” His eyes flashed to the dragon as he growled, “You’re off patrol. Off everything until it’s done. It doesn’t happen, I’ll toss you both in a cage until it does,” Drake said, and then he was gone.
P shook his head. “He’s being a fucking dick, but he’s right. Your mate can track your link and teleport. If she gets the Guardian links, she could know where to find us a
ll. I get that you trust that she’s not dangerous, but if she feels caged, what will she do?”
“I’ll be in her mind.” He had no choice unless he wanted the situation to get even worse. “You should all block me to be safe,” Bastian pointed out, and blocking their locations from him should prevent his mate from seeing them.
P nodded. “Tell us when she sees the link. We need to get Apollo before he does something fucked up.” The Demi-God eyed Bastian and then disappeared, leaving the others standing in his living room.
Uri and Alex worked on the Guardians’ minds, but he barely paid attention. He was too busy trying to get his fury under control. His jaw clenched tight as his brothers and sister spoke around him. He wasn’t hearing any of it and didn’t fucking care. He had forty-eight hours to finish the bond with his female and he was being forced to hide the fact that he was hearing every private thought she had. He’d probably have to rack up even more lies and omissions before they blood-bonded and it blew up in his face, because she’d see it all in his memories.
“That went well.” Conn’s words oozed with sarcasm as the male shook his head. “I’ll drop off cell phones to everyone later, that way you can call us. They won’t work in the other Realms unless it’s at the Guardian manor in Tetartos. I’ll print directions for how they work. Give me an hour,” the Lykos said, and Bastian knew his brother was trying to lighten the mood. Nothing was going to ease his fury and frustration. Forty-eight fucking hours kept playing in his head.
Sirena eyed him, a mix of exhaustion and irritation in her violet eyes. “Good luck and I’ll be at the manor.” And then she was gone.
More Guardians came up and congratulated him or asked questions, but he wasn’t really hearing any of it.
“Word of advice,” Alex said with a sad smile. “Let the instincts guide you. You don’t have time to be the logical Guardian right now.” Logic went out the door when he’d laid eyes on his damned mate. The Demi-Goddess frowned as if in thought for a moment before adding, “I don’t know if it’s better to ask permission or forgiveness at this point. You’ve already set yourself up for massive groveling later by staying in her thoughts without her knowing it.”
