by J. S. Scott
“Why?” Athena asked quietly.
“You were destined to come here before you were permanently mated if you made the decision to stay on Earth. The oracles wanted to make sure you knew what would happen, and verify your choice. They’ve left that final job to me since I wanted to see my daughter.” Metis continued to stroke Athena’s hair gently, her face soft and warm. “If you decide to go, I’ll never see you again. I wanted one chance to see my child.”
“I’m glad,” Athena answered huskily. “It’s good to know not everything here is the same as it was back in the days of the gods.”
Metis nodded. “It was brutal, gods warring with other gods, most of them ignoring the rules and their duties.”
“Is it the same for you here now?” Athena hated the thought of her mother being pursued by Zeus in an effort to destroy her eternally.
“Not at all,” Metis assured her. “I have two protectors who can handle my ex-husband just fine.”
“Lovers? Two?” Athena couldn’t imagine. Hunter was more than she could handle. “Are you happy?”
“Yes,” Metis said, followed by a contented sigh. “Both of them are my soulmates in different ways. Together, we’re all complete.”
“I couldn’t imagine another man being what Hunter is to me,” Athena admitted.
“There never will be another for you. You and your stabilizer Sentinel were meant to be together. He’s been your perfect match since the day he was born, and you’ve been his. Although I selfishly wish for you to stay here with me, your destiny has always been with your Sentinel,” Metis said regretfully.
“I love him. I love him so much it hurts.” Athena stood up, wanting to spend more time with her parent, but anxious to get back to Hunter. “Father said Hunter is dying. Is that true?”
“Unfortunately, it is true,” Metis said as she rose to her feet. “In the event that you chose not to have him for a mate on Earth, he was fated to die. They thought they were being merciful at the time. He was born for you, and without you, he’d be unstable and unable to cope.”
“I’d never turn away from him,” Athena said adamantly. “But can he love me? Or does he want me only because it was fated?” It shouldn’t be an important question at the moment, but Athena held her breath while waiting for her mother’s answer.
“His mating instinct is exactly the same as any Sentinel. The strength of his attachment and love are his choice.” Metis cupped her daughter’s cheek softly, avoiding her injuries. “He may have been destined to be connected to you, but how could he not love you? You’re beautiful inside and out, and I’m proud to be your mother.”
Athena released her pent-up breath, relieved that Hunter still had free will. She was satisfied. He had chosen her before he knew that he would die without her. “I need to get to him. How can I save him?” she asked her mother desperately.
Metis reached into the pocket of her gown and drew out a small marble box. Lifting the top off carefully, she revealed a spinning violet orb no bigger than a large marble. “First we need to give you back your power.”
Athena was nearly bedazzled as she stared at the rapidly spinning sphere. “That’s my power?”
Metis nodded with a smile. “The Fates were holding it. That’s why I had to stop by their dwelling before I came here. Your power is too great to be allowed in the Elysian Fields, which is why your father intercepted you when you were weak and the oracles had already taken your power for your visit here. Had you agreed to give Zeus your magic, the Moirai would have been forced to release it to him. The Elysian Fields would have been chaos if he’d gained that type of power. Right now, he only thinks he’s the king of the gods. As it stands at the moment, most of us are equal, with minimal power like telepathy and other minor skills. We don’t need much else here. Your father might have a little of an edge because he managed to steal what little power a few of the minor gods were willing to give him, but most of us are onto his deceit. He’ll never be king of the gods here.”
“That’s a relief,” Athena answered honestly, glad she’d be leaving her mother in a happy place.
“Let me get you back to your mate.” Metis held out her palm, moving it closer to Athena as she kissed her daughter’s forehead reverently. “There will be a few additional requirements, but seeing how much you care for your Sentinel, I doubt they’ll matter.”
“Nothing matters except saving him,” Athena told her mother fiercely. “I’d give my life for his if I could.”
“Luckily, that’s not necessary,” Metis replied warmly.
Athena listened closely as her mother explained the things she didn’t know about her permanent existence on Earth, suppressing her impatience. Since Hunter’s survival depended on her knowing what to do, there was no information she needed to hear more at the moment.
“He’s dying,” Zach Winston told Kat, Drew, and Talia as they kept watch over Hunter in his hideous black bedroom. “What the hell is going on?” They were all perplexed and feeling helpless. Zach knew Hunter was dying, his breath becoming more rapid and shallow with every respiration. Hunter’s heart rate had slowed almost beyond survival for a Sentinel, and not a one of them had a clue what to do.
Dammit, Hunter. Wake the hell up!
Zach watched as Talia and Kat murmured to the sick Sentinel, wiping his sweaty brow with a cloth as though willing the unconscious man to speak to them.
“Bloody hell!” Drew exclaimed, his Irish brogue pronounced as he uttered the curse. “I don’t like sitting here doing nothing. I promised Hunter I’d find Athena.”
Zach and Drew were sitting in chairs that they’d manifested slightly away from Hunter’s bedside as the women tended to the pale, dying Sentinel. His brother had nothing but a bed in the dark room, so he and Drew had brought in some temporary furniture. Zach’s heart sank as he heard the despair in Drew’s voice, and he knew the feeling. They didn’t know why Hunter was sick, and there wasn’t even a medic or doctor to call for help. They all knew how to take care of their injuries until they healed, and the only person who might be able to help was in demon Hell: Kristoff.
“I’ve called every Sentinel I know,” Zach told Hunter dejectedly. “None of them have even heard of a case where a Sentinel gets ill. They get injured. They don’t get sick.”
“Obviously they do,” Drew answered huskily. “Talia says Hunter is burning up with fever, too.” He hesitated before adding, “I know he pisses us off sometimes, but we can’t lose him, Zach. We’re family like no family I’ve ever known. Hunter got thrown a pile of shit by fate, and he deserves some happiness. He can’t go this way.”
Zach’s pensive gaze was drawn to the bed. The Hunter they knew was gone, and only a shell of a Sentinel remained. His face was ghostly white, sweat trickling down to the sheets springing from every inch of his body. Hunter was shivering even though Kat had him covered.
All Zach could see was impending death, the scene so much like when his sister, Sophie, had died of smallpox. He’d watched his sister waste away from the illness right before he’d been offered life as a Sentinel by Kristoff. Unfortunately, the deal had come too late to get his sister to better medical facilities, too late to save her life. His beloved sister had died in squalor without Zach by her side. He’d been out trying to scrounge up supplies for Sophie when she’d died. She’d been buried in a mass grave immediately because of the threat of contagion, and Zach had never been able to even say goodbye.
Zach swallowed hard, willing himself not to think about how his sister had died alone. It was difficult not to think about it when he was literally watching his brother die right in front of him. “He might be a pain in the ass, but he’s our brother.” Zach finally shook off his morose thoughts and answered Drew. “I hate feeling this way. I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to leave. I’m afraid we’ll lose him while we’re gone.” He thought about his sister again. Even though Kat and Tal
ia were here, Hunter was his brother. He was afraid if he left, Hunter would die without his brothers by his side.
“Besides, where in the hell would we start? We don’t have a clue who did this to him. I don’t think it’s the Evils. What would they gain?” Drew pondered aloud. “The only thing I can think of is that Athena’s disappearance is somehow connected. I swear that if she did this to Hunter, I’ll find a way to kill her myself.” His voice was loud and angry.
“She didn’t do it,” Talia said quietly from Hunter’s bedside. “She loves him. But I think the two incidents are definitely connected. I don’t think it’s coincidence that she disappeared and Hunter immediately got sick.”
Kat nodded and looked at Talia. “Athena’s disappearance and Hunter’s illness is obviously linked in some way.”
Zach had already thought about that, but for the life of him he couldn’t figure out the why of the situation. Was Athena dead? Was that why Hunter was dying? Or had something the goddess had done inadvertently made him sick? He trusted Talia when she said Athena had done nothing intentionally. His wife had an eerie sense about people, and could read human behavior much better than he could.
“Hunter!”
Zach could hear the panicked female scream from down in the kitchen. “Athena,” he muttered in relief. “Up here,” he called loudly, hoping she could hear him from their position in Hunter’s bedroom.
Athena appeared very close to the bedside, and Zach gaped as he looked at her ravaged appearance. “What the hell happened?” He asked the question automatically, but it was obvious she’d been beaten…hard. Her face was cut and bruised, and her eyes were beginning to swell from taking some punches.
“How is he?” Athena asked breathlessly, ignoring Zach’s question.
“Athena!” Kat exclaimed. “Thank God.”
Zach watched as the women explained to Athena exactly what had happened. He took the opportunity to watch her. Her expression was grave and she didn’t take her eyes off Hunter as she listened, dropping to her knees beside the bed.
When Talia and Kat finally finished speaking, Athena gently ran a hand through Hunter’s hair, her focus entirely on him.
“What happened to you?” Zach asked louder, more urgently. He needed to understand what was going on before they could help his brother. “Were the Evils involved?”
Athena shook her head without looking at him. “No. This happened because of the gods and their stupid ideas,” she retorted furiously.
“How can we fix it?” Drew asked imperatively as he rose to his feet. “And how do we repay whoever did that to you? I’m sorry we didn’t start searching for you, Athena. We weren’t even sure where to look.”
Zach stood up next to him, waiting for Athena’s answer so he and Drew could kick some ass. “We’ll find whoever did this to you. Somebody beat you.”
“My father,” she conceded. “But it doesn’t matter now. Hunter is dying. I don’t care about my injuries. I’ll heal quickly.”
“How do we save him?” Zach asked gravely. He hated that he had doubts, but Hunter looked beyond saving right now.
“You’re going to have to leave us. We need to mate. His mating mark is almost gone. It has to happen now,” Athena told him hurriedly as she ran a finger over the mating mark on Hunter’s shoulder. “I can barely see it.”
Zach moved forward, unable to see the mark until he was extremely close to Hunter. Squinting, he could see the very faint outline of the symbol. “Uh…no offense, Athena, but I don’t think he’s in the condition to mate,” he said carefully.
“He must,” she shot back at Zach angrily.
“Athena? Why are you pissed off, Princess? I’ll kill whoever made you mad,” Hunter mumbled in a rambling voice.
“He’s conscious,” Talia announced happily.
“You all need to leave us. I promise as soon as he’s well, I’ll bring him to you. Trust me when I say I’ll do whatever is in my power to save him,” Athena pledged in a tremulous voice. “Go now and let me get to work.”
Zach had never heard of mating being work, but then he’d never heard of it being done with a dying Sentinel, either.
Hoping they were doing the right thing by leaving Hunter’s fate in Athena’s hands, he and Drew collected their wives. As he transported himself and Kat back to his home, he hoped to hell he wasn’t going to regret leaving his dying brother.
Athena’s heart had sunk the moment she’d seen Hunter. He was even worse than she could have imagined.
As soon as the others disappeared, she leaned down and planted a kiss on Hunter’s damp forehead. “I’m so sorry.”
When had she and the other gods not caused him pain? His entire life had been torment because of his job as a stabilizer. Okay…maybe she hadn’t arranged for him to have that duty, but it had been partially for her, because of her. Hunter was the only reason she still existed.
“I told you not to say that,” Hunter grumbled.
Athena watched him, noted that his breathing was short and shallow. Placing her hand on his chest, she could feel the stuttering heartbeat. He might be speaking, but he was far from coherent. “I had to say it. You wouldn’t be sick like this if it wasn’t for me.” She stroked a finger over his brow.
Hunter caught her hand with surprising strength. “There isn’t a damn thing I wouldn’t do for you, Princess, including feeling like I got run over by a pack of Evils. I feel like I’m dying. Am I?”
“Not if I can help it.”
“Can you?” he asked flatly.
“Yes. But we have to mate,” she informed him matter-of-factly.
“I doubt I’ll give my best performance right now,” Hunter replied painfully.
“Damn your performance. We just need to mate.” Athena quickly explained why he was sick and how she could save his life.
Hunter opened his beautiful eyes, and Athena stared unabashedly at him. His gaze was a golden glow, and the intensity in it was nothing less than spectacular.
“Then let’s do it as long as you aren’t doing this out of pity,” Hunter rasped.
She squeezed his hand. “If I remember right, I told you I loved you before I knew what would happen,” she reminded him.
“Oh yeah, about that—” He stopped short with his comment, his stare suddenly going to her entire face. “What the fuck happened? Did somebody beat you up?”
She’d glossed over her beating and focused only on the conversation with her mother. But she should have known her battered face would be Hunter’s first concern. “I’m fine. My father tried to convince me to give up my power and stay in the Elysian Fields.”
“So the bastard hit you before your mother got there?” Hunter growled.
“Yes,” she admitted. “Several times.” She sighed as she confronted a furious Sentinel. “It doesn’t matter right now, Hunter. We need to get to the mating.”
“It matters, Princess. When it comes to you, everything matters. I don’t want anybody laying a finger on you,” he told her gruffly, running his thumb over the back of her palm.
“It won’t happen again,” she assured him, wanting to drop the subject.
“Damn right it won’t,” Hunter rumbled. “I’d die before I let anybody hurt you.”
Tears started to make her eyes blurry, but Athena didn’t let go of her eye contact with Hunter. She needed him awake; she needed his participation. But the fact that he was prepared to give his life willingly for her overwhelmed her. “Dying isn’t necessary,” she murmured, watching the fire in his eyes start to burn hotter.
“About what you said before you disappeared—” He stopped and looked at her uncertainly. “Did you mean it?”
What the hell? Hunter was dying and all he wanted was to know if she really loved him. “Yes. It’s true. I want us to be mated more than anything else in the world.”
“Tell
me,” he begged.
“I love you, Hunter Winston. You’re my heart.”
“Good.” He let out a satisfied huff. “Now let’s get naked.”
Athena would have burst out laughing if she wasn’t such a nervous wreck. He was so weak that he couldn’t keep his eyes open, but he was still cocky about his prowess.
“Hunter?” she said urgently as she watched his eyes flutter closed and his head suddenly tilt to one side. She put her hand on his chest nervously.
Then, the goddess Athena did something she couldn’t remember doing during her entire existence. She laid her head lightly on his chest and completely lost control of her emotions.
Athena sobbed openly with relief, practically crying a river—or at least a small pond—on Hunter’s muscular chest. She cried for the pain he’d suffered, for the mental anguish he’d been put through for his entire existence because he’d been a stabilizer. He’d been elementally changed through no fault of his own when he was only a newborn, forever a tool for the gods’ convenience. She knew the Fates had never given a thought to what they were doing to a human life. Hunter had been considered disposable once he’d served his purpose to the gods. Not a moment’s consideration was given to the fact that his life was valuable.
Her mother had quickly given Athena instructions before restoring her power and sending her back to Earth. Most of the information Metis had given Athena was things she already knew. The most vital thing she’d relayed to Athena was that Hunter wouldn’t die, that if Athena got to him before he took his last breath, he’d live.
Her mother had spoken the truth. Hunter’s breathing was becoming more even and she could hear his heartbeat speed up to a normal rhythm, but he remained unconscious.
After pulling herself together, she swiped the tears from her face, and got to work. She climbed up on the bed, careful not to hurt Hunter. She knelt by his side and gently put her lips to his mating mark. Her body shuddered as she willed some of her power into Hunter’s body. When she finished, she sat back on her heels and watched his face gain color and his eyes flutter open. She didn’t think she’d ever seen anything as beautiful as the amber glow of his eyes.
