by Hati Bell
“The bloody cheat!” Kellsey cried out. “She’s trying to sabotage the dare.”
“Good thing you’re playing fair,” Shay said dryly.
“It’s not the same.” I love him.
“Now what?” Shay asked.
There was really only one thing she could do. She put down the crossbow and hurried to the dungeons. Before she got there, she was approached by a frost giant with a wounded harpy on his shoulder. She couldn’t let the poor harpy suffer, of course, so they walked to her clinic where she put a splint on the broken wing. It eventually took over half an hour before she walked down the stairs to the dungeon.
Her brothers had turned the former asylum into a light and spacious place. The whole floor plan of the ground floor was open, almost like it was one big room. As a child, she’d often gotten lost in the hallways of their house. So often, in fact, that her brothers eventually remodeled the floors so it consisted of more open spaces instead of fifty rooms. Qasim, the most practical among them, had hung signs in the shape of an arrow. Kuno had painted a trail in the shape of wolf paws on the checkerboard floors.
On the sign she whirled by, it said “laundry”. Though you couldn’t find a single piece of clothing in the basement.
Kellsey walked to the room with the safe. She jumped backwards when she heard voices.
“Your safe is becoming pretty full. The chains of Prometheus, the staff of Osiris, Neptune’s trident,” Levi said. “When are you going to tell her what’s going on? She’s almost twenty-five.”
Kellsey heard chains ringing and then a vault door close. The same vault where she planned to nick a second arrow from.
“Soon,” Riz said.
His answer didn’t surprise her. Riz liked to carry the weight of the world to keep them out of range. Qasim called it his Atlas complex. He wrote his master’s thesis psychology on the matter and had pestered Riz to act as his test subject. Riz had answered his request with a punch on the nose.
Fortunately, it didn’t take long before they left the room. She filed away Levi’s remark. Surely, Riz would tell her if something was the matter.
She was just about to go inside when she heard a noise. The sound seemed to emanate from Kartal’s workshop. She knew she should just keep on walking, but curiosity made her investigate the sound.
She opened the door to the workshop and her jaw dropped. In the middle of the room stood a huge cage. However, that wasn’t what surprised her. No, it was the golden lion that paced inside the cage.
“Leroy?”
Velvety eyes immediately turned toward her. It was typical of her brothers to pull a prank on him by locking him in Kartal’s cage.
“Poor thing. Did evil Kartal lock you up?” she crooned softly. “Don’t worry. You’re not the first one I’ve had to rescue from that cage.” A few days ago she had freed a peacock that belonged to Hera and was pawned to Levi. Money wasn’t the only currency his casino accepted.
She opened the cage and stepped inside. She heard the door click shut as it closed behind her. Kartal was bloody brilliant. His cage could only be opened from the outside. Once inside, there was no escape. “It’s okay,” she said soothingly.
It was as if her soothing tone had the opposite effect because his eyes flashed and he roared.
The next moment Leroy stormed toward her. She jumped away from him before his jaws clamped around her throat. Apparently, Leroy didn’t have much control over his beast.
Just in case, she pulled a knife out of her boot. The blade, with the tip dabbed in hydra blood, had a numbing effect on mythos animals.
Leroy came at her again and Kellsey braced herself. She realized she’d made a mistake. Leroy would never attack her. Ergo, this wasn’t Leroy.
She ducked aside and stabbed him with her knife. To her horror, the blade bounced off him as if it had come into contact with steel.
Another deafening roar followed, and Kellsey shut her eyes when she stared into a wide-open lion’s muzzle. Apparently, she wasn’t able to look death in the eye. Suddenly the weight was lifted from her, and in a desperate last attempt, she stabbed with her knife again.
When she opened her eyes, she discovered that her biggest fantasy had come true. Leroy Leandros lay on top of her. Naked.
5
LEROY
Leroy lay on top of his biggest nightmare. Kellsey Callahan, the nail in his coffin, the object of his deepest, darkest fantasies. His forbidden fruit. He looked at the stab wound on his chest. The wound had already healed, but a bright red vein remained. Something that shouldn’t have happened unless the knife was poisoned.
“Oh, no, I poisoned you!” Kellsey cried out. Her golden eyes grew large. “I’m so sorry.”
“Leave, Kellsey. Right now.” He anxiously waited until he would change into a monster again. The first signs of his change had already begun. It wouldn’t be long before he lost all control over his beast and this time he might kill her. It had taken every bit of his self-control to rein in his lion so Kellsey could escape. Had she stepped into the cage a day later, he could never have changed into a man and he would’ve killed her.
“Why do I have to leave?” Her initial horror turned into suspicion. She glanced around, as if searching for something. “What are you doing here anyway? Were you supposed to meet Lea here?”
He wanted to laugh out loud when she crossed her arms and looked at him sternly. Instead, he grabbed his boxers from the floor next to the cage and pulled them on. “Go get Qasim. My phone has no range here.”
Of course she refused. She always did the unexpected.
Kellsey wrapped a strand of hair around her finger. “I’m sorry I stabbed you. At first, I thought you had no control over your beast. When you kept attacking me, I thought maybe I was dealing with your evil twin. It happens, you know.”
Leroy sat down cross-legged. He battled to keep his inner monster reined. Which wasn’t easy now that Kellsey’s scent surrounded him like a cocoon. She smelled better than steak. No doubt she’d taste better as well. Not that he intended to taste her, of course. “Get Qasim,” he repeated.
Kellsey cocked an eyebrow. “Kartal’s cage can only be opened from the outside,” she reminded him, and he swallowed a curse because he hadn’t thought of that.
She pursed her full lips and Leroy felt his temperature rise. “Let me see,” she mused, as if she was solving a puzzle. “Obviously you’re a lion. I’m glad that’s cleared up, once and for all. You’d be surprised to know how many people had doubts about that. You have a golden skin that’s impervious to attack and deadly claws.” Her eyes widened. “I know! You’re a Nemean Lion. I can’t believe this. I thought the Nemean Lion became extinct when Herakles….” She abruptly stopped talking.
“When Herakles killed my father as one of his twelve labors,” he finished.
Kellsey’s eyes turned soft as she squatted in front of him. “I had no idea. Is that why you never talk about your family?”
No, that wasn’t the reason. He would never tell her the reason. “We have to get you outta here. Where is Qasim?” he grumbled. He said a silent prayer that he could keep his beast long enough caged inside. He couldn’t live with himself if he hurt her.
Judging by her grin she was feeling all too comfortable. The only thing missing was her sweet tea and pounds of the chocolate she loved so much.
“I kind of like it here. It’s cozy. You and me,” she said.
“Yeah, well, I like it less,” he said through gritted teeth.
“Oh, really?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked warily.
“You do know that men can’t lie whether they’re happy to see a woman, right?” She pointedly looked at his crotch. “A certain part of you was only too happy to see me. Just now. When you lay on top of me.” She clicked her tongue and got up.
He stifled a groan. It was a treacherous part of him that he couldn’t control when he saw her. Of course, she didn’t need to know that. She already looked smug.
Like a woman who’d just discovered the power she held over a man. Fuck. “Leave. Before I put you over my knee,” he growled.
She grabbed the bars and stretched out like a lazy cat. “That’s hardly a deterrent, you know.”
He swallowed when a dozen scenarios with her over his knee went through his head. None of them felt brotherly. Shit.
He let out a sigh of relief when a familiar blue hairdo appeared in the doorway. Qasim carried a big tray of meat. It smelled like Highland steak. The djinn knew his taste.
Qasim blinked when he saw him. “You’re not a lion anymore.”
“How perceptive of you.” Leroy shook his head. Couldn’t Qasim see that Kellsey was in danger? That was the first thing he should’ve noticed. “Get Kellsey out of here.”
“Nobody’s getting Kellsey out of anywhere,” Kellsey said. “What’s going on? Did Levi put you in the cage? Please don’t tell me you owe him a marker and he’s selling your ass to the highest bidder.”
Leroy couldn’t suppress a grin. She knew her brother all too well.
Qasim put the tray down and immediately opened the door of the cage. “It’s the eve of the Heraia and you’re not a beast.”
Leroy gently pushed Kellsey out of the cage and shut the door behind her butt. “You’re repeating yourself.” He sighed, but he shared his surprise. Why wasn’t he a beast anymore? For millennia, he lost control over his lion during Hera’s festival. That stupid cow goddess literally celebrated his misery for three days a year.
“We don’t mention Hera or her festivities in this house,” Kellsey chastised him. “Do you have a death wish?”
There was only one person on this planet who hated Hera more than Leroy did and that was Riz Callahan. No one knew why, but there was undoubtedly an interesting story behind it. Not that he’d ask. He had enough problems of his own. “Speaking of death, could you take a look at this? I think your sister poisoned me.”
Kellsey cast her eyes down. He didn’t want to add to her guilt, but it was the only way to get her quiet. Kellsey Callahan was like a mini-tornado that simply happened to you. He wasn’t planning on becoming one of her “save the mythical beast from extinction” projects.
“You should leave, Kells,” Qasim said. “So I can examine him.”
Leroy knew there was nothing to examine. No poison could kill him permanently. Dying of poisoning, however, could result into terrible things. Catastrophic things.
“I’m not going anywhere,” she said determinedly. “This is my fault. So I’m not leaving until I know he’s okay.” Her eyes narrowed to slits.
Leroy let out an internal sigh. Yep. The twister was back. As expected, her remorseful demeanor hadn’t lasted long.
Qasim stepped into the cage and raised his hand to prevent Kellsey from following him.
“Hey,” Kellsey protested.
“Don’t you dare walk into the cage, Kells,” Qasim said. “Patch your own wound first. Your arm is bleeding.”
Leroy was glad to see that her brother finally reacted as he should. The woman had no idea of the danger she was in and someone should point it out to her.
“I’m a vet,” Kellsey said, offended. “So, if anyone should examine him it should be me. He is a lion, after all.”
“You’ve wounded the man, not the lion,” Qasim disagreed, as he examined the wound on Leroy’s chest.
“Did you stab him with your hydra knife?”
Kellsey looked worried again. “Aye.” She tore the bottom of her shirt, ripping off a piece, and bandaged her arm.
Leroy hated himself because he’d hurt her. He hated himself even more because he stared at her now-partly-bared flat stomach. He turned his gaze away.
“The rarest mythos poison,” Qasim mused. “Must be the reason why you no longer transform during the Heraia.”
“That’s great to hear. But something tells me I’m not magically cured of my curse by this poisoning,” Leroy said dryly. He saw Kellsey’s eyes grow large and could almost hear the wheels turning in her head.
Qasim sighed. “You’re right. You’re not cured. The good news is, you won’t change into your deadly lion. The bad news is…well, you’re dying.”
Fan-fucking-tastic. For millennia, he’d been hunted by legendary warriors like Achilles, Beowulf, and Gilgamesh. None of them had been able to best him. Two minutes in a cage with Kellsey Callahan, and he was a dead man.
6
KELLSEY
For years she had loved him from a distance. Two rounds in a cage with Leroy’s beast and she had killed him. How ironic. During her teens, her brothers joked she would be the death of them. She’d always found that funny. Watching Leroy, it wasn’t so funny anymore.
Tonight, she’d discovered three things about him. Since a certain part of his anatomy sprang up when he lay on top of her, she knew that he was happy to see her. It might not look like it, judging by his dark scowl, but there were certain things a man just couldn’t hide. The second was that he hated that he wanted her. In fact, he looked like a wounded animal ready to bolt. The third was that he apparently changed into a beast during Hera’s festival.
Wait a minute. “Why was your beast in the cage different than this afternoon during the Blood Games? The Heraia doesn’t start until tomorrow.” She knew she sounded accusatory, but she didn’t like that her reliable Leroy had secrets. “And since when did you join our clan?” And why hadn’t anybody bothered to tell her that? When Shay and Vicky became part of their clan, they had held a ceremony.
Qasim blinked. “Uh, I have to do research on the antidote. There’s no known antidote against hydra blood poisoning. It might take a while before I find something.”
“You do that,” Leroy said as he pulled on his jeans and tee. “In the meantime, I’ve got work to do.” Qasim nodded and he hurried away.
“You can’t just leave. You’re poisoned!” Kellsey exclaimed. She couldn’t believe he wanted to take off while a bomb shot through his veins.
“I already accepted the job, Kellsey.” Leroy stepped out of the cage. He raised an eyebrow when she stood before him.
“Surely you can do it later?” she pleaded.
“It’s no use waiting here when I can just as well start on my job. I’m sure I’ll hear from Qasim once he’s found a cure. Don’t worry. It’s gonna be okay.”
She highly doubted that. “So there’s nothing I can say to stop you?” she asked, just to be certain. When he shook his head her gaze automatically shot to the cage.
His eyes narrowed. “Don’t even think about it.”
She wished her arrow had hit him. Then she could’ve easily made him stay. “Fine,” she conceded. “Just wait until I pack a bag.”
Leroy froze. “What?”
“You heard me. I’m coming with you.” She might have lost the dare, but right now Lea’s smug smile was the least of her concerns.
“I don’t think so. I work alone, Kellsey.”
He seemed to be doing everything alone. “Well, tough. Because until you’re cured, I’m going to be your shadow, mate. You have to give me the chance to make up for my mistake. And don’t think I won’t be able to find you if you leave me behind. Nobody can shake an amazon off his tail.”
“Don’t you have to work?”
Yes, but he wasn’t getting rid of her that easily. “Vicky can keep the clinic running for a while without me. Besides, at the moment I only have the care of two selkies.” Krik had promised not to eat the sea creatures.
“Fine,” he said with a sigh. “You can come with me, but on one condition. I don’t want you putting yourself in dangerous situations or getting in my way. So you’ll do as I say.”
She frowned. “That sounds bossy.”
“Well, tough,” he said, tossing her words back at her. “This isn’t a democracy.”
“I’ll be good,” she immediately said.
“Really? That doesn’t sound like you.”
“Cross my heart,” she promised, relieved that he was going to
take her with him. “Be right back.”
She sprinted to her bedroom, stepped over a pile of clothes, threw open the door of her walk-in closet and pulled out a backpack. She quickly stuffed some clothes into the bag and changed her Doc Martens for sneakers.
When she turned, she found herself toe-to-toe with Macan. “Hey, what’re you doing here?” He hadn’t been into her bedroom since their break-up, which was over two years ago.
“I had to see you, Kells,” he said, his eyes soft.
“Now isn’t really a good time, Macan. I’m about to leave.” She moved forward, but he stepped in front of her.
“You can’t leave. Not without me.” He seemed horrified at the thought.
She frowned. “Is this one of your practical jokes? Where’s the rest of the band?” She’d gone on a tour with Scarab for a month and knew how the rest of the boys could be. It wouldn’t be the first time they tried to pull her leg.
“Forget the band,” he said, and Kellsey’s heart skipped a beat. Something was seriously wrong here. Scarab was his pride and joy.
“Forget the band?” she asked, just to be sure.
“We are far more important, Kells.” Macan gazed at her as he looked at his guitar, like he never wanted to let her go.
“We? What we?” she asked leery, as she slowly put on her backpack.
“You and me of course. Us.” Macan smiled. “I love you, Kellsey Callahan. I’m going to make you the happiest amazon in the world.”
Aha. I don’t think so. “Did you sniff too much euphoria?” She placed her hands on his face and looked into his eyes. Her heart skipped when she saw the pink glow that covered the surface of his hazel eyes. Crap. “Macan, listen to me. What you’re feeling for me isn’t real. Somehow you got hit by Cupid’s arrow.”
His smile grew wider as he leaned closer. “You’re right, Kells. I was hit by Cupid. I love you. I will never love another again.”
Ugh. She so didn’t have time for this. If she lingered too long Leroy would leave without her. “We’ll talk about this later, okay?” She tried to walk around him again, but he grabbed her shoulder.
