Hades

by Crystal Dawn

  Hades thought they would need all the luck they could get. This time Ares and Poseidon would go with him as well as several secondary gods and demons. Before they hit the tenth spot, many of his brothers would have their chance to contribute to the search for the lost gods and demons they looked for. This trip would be closer, but no place was that close to Olympus.

  This trip would be made fully by copter with special fuel and enlarged tanks making sure they were able to make it there, but they would have to refuel to make it back. Zeus had someone meeting them to deal with that. The trip would be would be uncomfortable by civilian standards. It was a good thing none of them were civilians, not even Pedro’s guys who were all mercenaries. They were here now and would follow them to their destination. They would see a lot of Pedro while they worked their way through the list.

  They sat in the back of a copter, no way to be intimate, all he could do was hold her to him. He still smiled, these days he was a happy god. He thought back to when they had returned from Canada and Eres had greeted him.

  “I’ve never seen anything like it before,” Eres said as he leaned closed to Hades staring at his face as if he had something out of place there.

  “Is there something on my face? No one else has said a thing.”

  “You could say that, brother. You have a sappy smile where a smile has never been at all.” He laughed as he moved to avoid Hades’s fist.

  “Ha, ha!” Hades thought about it, but Eres was right. His life had never been anything to smile about, but now he finally had someone that was all his. He worried about the risk they were taking but he knew that neither of them could live with the threat of Origin over their heads like that. It would be worse when they had children and he realized he had no doubt that they would have them.

  Doc was so smart their children would probably be geniuses. They’d take after her in looks too because she was so beautiful. He only wanted them to have his strength and only because as a god he would be harder to hurt than she was as a human, even after the changes his venom would cause. He would love those children as much as he loved their mother and he would protect his family with his life. He pulled her even closer, he would protect her with his life.

  This mission wasn’t a success nor was it a failure. They found the lab and it was monstrous what they did there. Three gods and two demons were freed but it was the experiments with embryos and fetuses that brought tears to the eyes of all that saw them.

  “They never intended to grow them to term. I’m not even sure they would have survived so badly mutated,” Doc said her voice shaking.

  “What purpose was there in doing that?” Hades asked.

  “We may never know,” Doc answered.

  There had been rows of embryos and fetuses, some nearly to term, in large glass containers that had been left to rot, after they had terminated them. The gods and demons had been left to starve and die, abandoned for some unknown reason. Maybe they had intended to come back for them or maybe it was just too difficult to move them according to the odd way Origin thought.

  The next location was the Cape York Peninsula on the northern tip of Australia. It has a huge expanse of untouched wilderness, the perfect place to hide an illegal facility. The place they were headed was near the ocean and there were several beaches nearby to land on. Hades knew their luck had been too good and it was only a matter of time before it changed.

  It started when they landed and one of the copters broke down. They hit the facility and it was completely abandoned, even Pedro found nothing of value. The worst part was when they returned to the beach where they had landed. Origin hit them with a full force, were it not for their tactical body armor, lives would have been lost. Origin had only provided their team with vests so they had lost several men. He had come so close to losing Doc and in the end, it had been her ability to protect herself that had saved her.

  He knew he was agitated, knew he needed to calm down, but the ride back to Olympus had not helped his state of mind. They had been waiting for them, how had they known? He had two wounded gods and he might have lost his mate forever. Who knows what Origin would have done with her and if the gods could have even found her again. He wanted to kill each and every person that worked for Origin and damn their souls to hell like the Hades of Greek myths could. Unfortunately, he couldn’t and he wasn’t happy about that, it made him feel helpless.

  “Calm down,” she whispered to him before they headed into the meeting room.

  “I’ve tried but I can’t. I didn’t protect you and I almost lost you. Those bastards almost took you from me and you had to save yourself.”

  “I’m part of the team, sometimes I have to help you fight. I’m a warrior too, you’re not alone.”

  “I don’t want you to have to fight, you’re a healer.”

  “I am a healer, but I’m also a warrior, a lover, a sister, a friend. I’m many things, Baby, and I’m strong enough to be all of them.”

  He knew what she meant and he respected her for her strength, but he had been scared to death he would lose her and he still hadn’t recovered from that hollow feeling even just the thought had given him. He had seen her during the battle fighting her way through Origin soldiers while he was forced to fight his own adversaries, unable to go to her aid until they were all defeated.

  Zeus sat at the head of the table once more taking the time to look at each person present. “Anyone have any idea what happened and how it happened?”

  “They must have some inside information, they were waiting for us when we returned to the copters. If we hadn’t had our gear on, it would have been a slaughter,” Hades said. “The place was a total bust, nothing of value at all. The only thing there was a trap.”

  “If we have a leak, we need to seal it,” Zeus said. “We can’t have another mission like this. Nothing recovered and we had guys injured. It could have been worse, but we need to get it together so no one gets injured.”

  “How will we find out where the leak is? No one knew which location we were going to,” Hades pointed out.

  “Origin may have allowed the list to fall into our hands. They may have teams at more than one location. We need to take the time for satellite surveillance.”

  “It takes too long, our guys could die before we get to them,” Hades growled.

  “The risks are too great, we have no choice.”

  Hercules took charge of the surveillance personally and less than a week later he had some information that would give them something to think about. They sat in the meeting room, just the core leaders and their mates. Mated gods and most demons weren’t sent on the mission normally but Hermes and Cherish had both been involved in the satellite surveillance since they both had skills in that area. Poseidon, Apollo, and Ares would decide which of the gods they directed would be sent on each mission. Lu was there representing the demons who would also send someone along.

  “Who are you going to send, Lu,” Doc asked with a smile on her face. Hades fought with the ugly jealousy that reared its head. If they were hot for each other, he knew they had had the chance to explore it but they hadn’t. They were just friends and he repeated that over and over in his head.

  “You guys got lucky.”

  “We did?” Doc looked confused.

  “My very best demon volunteered to go to make sure things don’t go to hell.” Lu chuckled at his own joke as did most of the gods.

  “I thought you were the very best demon?” Doc joked.

  “You are so smart. Are you sure you don’t want to dump my brother and trade up?”

  “You always make me laugh,” she answered. Hades knew she didn’t take Lu seriously, but sometimes he wondered if Lu was serious or not. He did notice that while Lu flirted heavily with any female near him, he never seemed to take it further. There were a few single females that he was around but only when he wore his jumper which covered his tail and wings. Those were the rules because the world may have accepted the gods, well mostly, but they were
no where near ready for the demons.

  “Yeah, you’re so funny Lu!” Hades said with a look on his face that was anything but amused.

  “Someone needs to keep you mated males on your toes so you remember what treasures you have,” Lu said with a chuckle. He was probably the only one that didn’t seem to fear Hades. That was probably because Lu was just a tiny bit nuts and as lethal, if not more so, as Hades was.

  Zeus gave Hercules the task of taking the information gathered and recommending the top two choices. “I am going to recommend Easter Island, or Rapa Nui as it’s named, because no one is guarding it. There seems to be a pattern to the rotation they are using to try to catch us when we follow the list. If the pattern holds, we won’t have any opposition if we raid this facility now.”

  “Easter Island, isn’t that famous for some big ass statues?” Hermes asked.

  “Big ass statues?” Cherish questioned with a giggle. Hermes leaned in giving her a tender kiss.

  “Yes, massive stone sculptures dot the beach there. They are so massive that scientist question how the primitives that lived there at the time were able to move them, but we know they probably had help from some of our ancestors maybe even our father,” Hercules answered ignoring the mushy couple. “The other location I recommend is Ittoqqortoormitt, Greenland for vastly different reasons.”

  “That was a mouthful,” Lu said with a chuckle. Hercules glared at him, he was serious about these meetings because these missions could result in saving lives or losing them. He probably thought Lu couldn’t take anything seriously but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Lu was simply tired of everything in life being so serious. He ached for what he couldn’t have and he saw his brothers gaining one by one. He wanted his own family, he wanted a mate so he could stop searching through the females he found. He feared hurting them and he feared being hurt by them. Humor was a defense so that he didn’t dwell on all that was missing in his life now and all the pain he had visited on him in the past.

  “Like I said before I was rudely interrupted, the reasons for this location are different. This one is being guarded but not as well as others. That is probably because of its distance from here but it could be that they have others residing below in the facility itself. They may be trying to avoid calling attention to it but afraid not to give it some extra protection in case we show up.”

  “You know what you’re suggesting?” Zeus asked, his voice showing both excitement and worry.

  “Yes, I believe they may be holding a large number of our brothers. I’ve looked at the heat output, energy usage, and supplies brought in. I would estimate there are around one hundred and fifty people living there. Judging by Origin’s actions in the past I would estimate a hundred of them are imprisoned subjects. There’s only one way to be sure, but if I’m right, this location has the largest number of our people we can recover.”

  Silence, no one knew what to say. Hades spoke, “What the hell are we waiting for?”

  Now everyone tried to speak at once. “Quiet!” Zeus growled and everyone was quiet. “The choice is clear, prepare for the mission to Greenland.”

  Everyone broke into groups to plan their parts and submit their recommendations. Transporting a hundred of their males back here would be a daunting task. It would probably take a few runs by copter since the airfield on location was unusable most of the time due to the weather. Even taking copters was a risk, but one they would take willingly.

  “We’ll meet in two hours and I expect everyone to have recommendations for me by then,” Zeus announced before dismissing them.

  “What do we do now?” Doc whispered.

  “I’ll put Achilles in charge of everything while we go relax until the meeting.” He saw the look of uncertainty on her face.

  She probably wondered if Achilles could handle things since she didn’t know him well. Achilles kept to himself spending time only with the gods he worked with. Origin had kept him isolated so he could work on their most confidential programs. If he didn’t see or speak to anyone, he couldn’t give anything away. Considering the way they had treated him, his social skills were progressing rapidly.

  “He has it under control, don’t worry,” Hades said. He put his arm around her leading her toward his quarters. They were nice and even though he had feared she would never be his, when they remodeled, he had requested quarters for a mated god and Zeus had naturally approved his request.

  Doc looked around Hades recently remodeled quarters with surprise as they entered quarters much like those Zeus had. His place was designed to his personality. Where Zeus’s was light and airy, Hades’s was darker and sensual. His colors were dark reds and purples with a little green. Zeus had gold, light blues, and pink, yes everyone was surprised by touches of pink. Zeus had chosen that because Sierra favored it and he had already known at that time their first born would be female.

  His colors were pretty much the same throughout. He held his breath as he waited for her opinion. “It’s you, the darker colors suit your disposition,” she observed with a smile.

  “Is that an insult?” he asked and he noticed as he looked in the mirror he faced that it looked like he was pouting. He struggled for a more neutral expression, gods didn’t pout.

  She chuckled. “It wasn’t an insult, I love these colors especially the purple. Few people are brave enough to use such dramatic and contrasting color schemes.”

  He still wasn’t sure he hadn’t been insulted but she seemed to like the colors and that was what mattered. She found the door to the bedroom opening it and looking in seeing the king size bed covered in the rich colors and the smooth fabrics that said no expense was spared. Silk, if she knew anything about fabrics. She looked at him, her eyebrow raised.

  “I’ve never had a female in this bed, never until now.”

  She started to tell him he didn’t have a female in there now but she noticed his predatory look as he stalked closer forcing her to back up to the bed. The need on his face made heat shoot through her body as she imagined the feel of those decadent sheets against her skin. She felt the bed against the back of her legs with Hades standing in front of her cutting off any escape. He moved in for the kill, she was ready for him, hot and slick, he could smell it.

  He moved forward pulling his mate into his arms kissing her with a passion that they had denied for too long. He would have to make love to his mate for years before he could make up for all the denial they had gone through. He had barely begun and he wouldn’t ever have enough. He unbuttoned her shirt and unsnapped her bra exposing her to his hands and mouth. He kissed her neck nibbling occasionally as he worked his way down to her glorious breasts. A dusky rose color, her hard nipples begged for his attention and the points seemed to reach out to him. His tongue circled one before his mouth opened swallowing it whole and sucking hard. It was sweet, like a cherry but the texture of the hardened point seemed more like a berry.

  She moaned and writhed in approval of his efforts. He dropped her on the bed falling on top of her unable to wait a moment more than necessary before driving himself deep inside her. He slid her shirt off her arms before ripping her pants off her with a satisfying sound. She looked shocked, but he could also see desire in her eyes. “Mine!” he whispered raggedly.

  He dropped his pants and boxers after he quickly unbuttoned and unzipped them. He had no more patience left as he lined up their bodies and drove into her hard and fast. Her hips rose to meet his welcoming him even though he wasn’t gentle. The wild side of him, that part that felt without reason and did without thinking, took control as he pounded in and out of his mate rapidly. She moaned and arched against him, encouraging him to go faster and harder still.

  She was no delicate doll, but a tough athletic woman who matched him stroke for stroke. She reveled in his passionate love making, even as his beast rode him wanting more. He felt her heart pounding just like his was, her breathing was ragged like his, and her body was poised on the edge of an epic release needing on
ly the slightest push to explode. His hand moved between their bodies searching for her hot button to give her the release she needed.

  He found it, sliding his finger around then pinching it sending her slamming into an orgasm of incredible proportions. Her pussy squeezed his cock so hard he feared she’d squeeze it off. He felt pressure building until his whole world exploded. Jets of hot cum spewed out coating her channel, soaking her with his seed. He felt dizzy for a moment when the sheer pleasure flooded through his body making it hum. He continued to jerk against her as mini tremors racked his body until he finally came down from the high he had achieved by making love to his mate.

  He moved them around on the bed so they would be comfortable. He curled around her back with one hand over her breast, the other under her and he fell into a deep restful sleep. The ring of his phone woke him, he remembered the meeting. He shook her shoulder gently to wake her. She turned looked him in the eye and smiled. She looked happy and he felt like they were finally at peace with each other and their relationship. Once these missions were over and Origin defeated, life would be good.

  They dressed quickly before heading to the meeting room. They were the last to arrive but everyone seemed to understand. Most of them were just relieved to see that they had come to terms with each other and were now mated. He had been miserable without her and he thought she had been unhappy as well. They found empty seats, there were only a few of them and only two seats that were together. Zeus already had a stack of papers in front of him that held the suggestions he needed before he could make decisions for the mission.

  “Today and tomorrow everyone can rest, but the next day the team will head out. We don’t have the time to waste since the mistreatment of the gods and demons by Origin has steadily increased. They blame us for all their troubles but we are out of reach so they take it out on those they can reach.”