by Setta Jay
Sirena took a deep breath and sat down. “It’s not you,” Sirena said, irritation bleeding into every word.
“Thanks, but can you explain what the hell I don’t know. The only time I was near him, he glared at me as if I’d massacred his family. I’ve never even spoken to him so I don’t know what his issues are, and I have no clue what’s going on in my body and how it’s going to affect me.” She felt tired all of a sudden. So much had been happening and this was just one more issue she needed to deal with. A huge one and she didn’t know where to start. She wished she could head back to Paradeisos Island and hide out, enjoying an endless array of spa treatments, but that wasn’t going to happen. Her instincts were telling her to go and find that damn Nereid and have him fix this. Confront the bastard for not at least telling her what he’d done. He’d left her to fend for herself with no idea what was happening inside her body.
“I would have let him tell you, but he’s likely in flight mode, and your mating has a time constraint now. You deserve all the information so that you know what you’re up against. He can try to yell at me later for this, I don’t care. He should have been upfront from the start, especially with me so I could figure out how to help you.” She blew out a harsh breath before resuming.
Rain’s stomach clenched, wondering what could be so bad.
“He was betrayed a century ago. Up until that point he’d spent centuries being reckless and a little wild. He was turned over to Cyril by a lover and two other females. They killed one of his close friends in front of him before turning him over to the enemy. I think he still blames himself for Cahal’s death. Drake always cautioned against mixing too closely with the other Immortals, so I think it’s that guilt that still eats at him.”
Sirena took a deep breath while Rain reeled. She couldn’t imagine being handed over to the enemy by someone she’d been intimate with. Jealousy mixed in with the anger that she felt on his behalf, which was idiotic. He didn’t give a shit about her, so she was wasting energy being offended for him.
“Why would a lover hand him over?”
“I don’t know exactly what Cyril promised, but with Immortal life spans and so few finding mates, Immortals can become mercenary out of boredom alone. It’s a very dangerous thing when you’re dealing with those with power. That’s why we employ the warriors to look after the Mageia and spell the cities against attack.” Sirena sighed. She suddenly looked as tired as Rain felt.
The healer cleared her throat and finished, “Needless to say, Dorian distrusts and avoids most interactions with Immortals, especially females. He spends his off time on Earth Realm, avoiding Tetartos altogether unless he’s patrolling the Realm.”
Tetartos was the Realm where the Creators had exiled all the Immortals to keep them away from the fragile humans. Mageia could make the choice to move to Tetartos, but it was a one-way trip, and some families had been there for hundreds of years. Only the Guardians could leave. Shit, her stomach churned. She couldn’t get to him if she wanted to. Damn him.
Earth was the one place she dreamed of visiting. Rain was second-generation Tetartos on her mother’s side and four generations on her father’s. It was her grandmother that had shared all kinds of stories about Earth Realm. Her gammy had lived in a very poor area with abusive parents and had little opportunity when she’d come of age. She said she’d jumped at the opportunity to leave Earth, and loved the life she’d found in Tetartos.
Rain had always been a little obsessed with anything to do with Earth. It just figured that her destined mate chose to live in a place where she could never go.
“I’m not an Immortal,” Rain’s irritation slid into each syllable. His attitude obviously wasn’t reserved purely for Immortals.
“You’re a female, and you will be Immortal when you two complete the ceremonies.”
Rain saw the hard glint in Sirena’s eyes and knew all hell was about to rain down on Dorian in the form of his fae-looking sister Guardian. She didn’t want that, though. She wanted to be the one to personally kick his ass.
“What should I expect to happen physically?”
“The symptoms will intensify. The good news is that he will suffer more than you do. There won’t be any relief until the two of you have sex. It will get worse and worse until it’s unbearable. Damn it, he’ll have to be taken off rotation at some point. It’s been three days…” Sirena’s violet eyes lit with a kind of evil mastermind look that surprised and, yes, impressed the hell out of Rain.
“Is there something you can do to dampen the symptoms?”
“Not that I’ve found. I only started looking into something like that when Sam and Erik were suffering.” Sam was a Mageia abducted and raped by Cyril’s males as some sort of experiment to try to circumvent the mating curse. The spell created by an abused Immortal that had been used as a breeder by Apollo so many centuries ago. It made it so that Immortals could only procreate with their destined mate. Cyril was finally dead, but he’d done a lot of damage before being taken down.
It didn’t bear thinking about Cyril. She shook her head. She had her own issues to deal with. Her nipples had been constantly hard. She was hot and ready most of the time. If her arousal wasn’t as bad as his… He was likely out there on Earth, hard for her… while fucking someone else. “Is it possible to get relief with another?”
Sirena grew thoughtful, assessing. “I’ve never tested it. I’ve never known one to try to get relief from another when in the mating frenzy. I’ve known some who like to share and would include others, but I’ve never heard of a mate seeking ease from another during the actual frenzy.”
Wonderful… She didn’t like the idea that she was the first one experiencing that particular phenomenon. She was resigned and irritated by the fact that she knew the bastard was likely making his way through the female population of Earth at that very moment.
A twisted part of her wondered what those females were experiencing. She remembered his harsh glare. She couldn’t imagine him as a gentle or even playful lover. No, he’d be harsh and intense. She shivered.
He’d touched her, held her in his arms when she was unconscious and vulnerable. What else had he done to her? Did he touch her anywhere else? Run his lips over hers? Touch her breasts? She stifled a groan. She was too damn needy. She didn’t have any intention of finding someone to take the edge off. She’d do it herself.
“Do you know any more about his relationship with the female that betrayed him? Where is she now?” Rain wanted to know what happened to the treasonous bitch that would sell out a Guardian to one of the Realms biggest enemies. Was there a bigger crime against the Creators?
“She’s dead, killed along with the others,” Sirena said with a hard look that only stirred more questions.
“Don’t worry, Rain. I’ll talk to him, and if that doesn’t help, I’ll send Drake,” Sirena said with a deadly serious look on her beautiful face. She wondered just what Drake would do. Drake was his leader, and scary, but she didn’t think his talking to Dorian would really help anything.
“Can you wait for a bit before having Drake talk to him?” She didn’t like the idea of his being commanded to mate her. The thought alone made her stomach pitch.
They both turned at a knock at the door.
She jumped up and opened it. Layla, one of Sirena’s assistants stood in the hall. She smiled. “Sorry to interrupt, but Erik and Sam have been waiting for a while for their weekly exam.”
“Son of a bitch, I forgot they were coming in. Sorry, Rain. Do you want me to contact Alyssa to come see you?”
“No, thank you. She was going to stop by in a bit anyway.”
“Come see me if you have questions or need to talk. I’ll see what I can figure out.” Sirena blew out a breath, and looked sad. “Don’t give up on him. This may take some time, he’s stubborn, but he will be worth the wait. I promise.”
Rain wondered what would happen next. She hated feeling so out of control of her own fate.
Chapter 3
Outside Limni, Tetartos Realm
Dorian was irritated and frustrated. The week since he’d touched Rain had been pure hell. He sank his blade deep into the side of another hellhound, slowing its progression toward the city. Another cut took the beast’s head. Why had so many been sent by the bastard Tria? They’d sent packs over often in the last centuries, but in the last week it had been a constant barrage, and the numbers ensured all the Guardians were needed to help. When they weren’t sending beasts, they were sending demons to possess evil humans on Earth. It was all going down in greater numbers than he’d ever seen. It wasn’t good. He and his brothers knew it had to be some kind of distraction, but from what, they didn’t know, yet.
Drake had already instructed the head warriors in each area to have their people guard the city perimeters in events like these, making sure the mortal Mageia inhabiting the cities were protected. They were the most vulnerable beings in the Realm, and the Guardians had a responsibility to ensure their safety.
He, Bastian, and Sirena helped the other warriors down the vast meadow toward the small lake tucked up against a tree line. The city was at their backs, settled atop a steep cliff leading to the sea. The nice thing about fighting there was that the vegetation was much further from Limni than it was from the other cities. It gave the guards plenty of warning when hell beasts approached.
To your right. He spun and cut the head off another hound. The fact that Bastian’s warning was needed just pissed him off. He was slow to find his footing in the fight. His dick was slowly starting to soften into a semi, but fighting with a hard-on was a hell all its own and only seemed to get worse with each passing day. The fact that it still rubbed up against the leather fighting pants wasn’t making it any better.
Bastian and Sirena both sent him looks, waiting for him to lose his shit. Wasn’t going to happen. He knew they could smell how fucking horny he was, and all of his brethren knew the cause and had tried to get him to go to Rain. Drake was the scariest of them all. He’d been quiet.
Dorian was on edge. Everyone was pissed that he held out from claiming the Mageia. Fuck them. They all thought he wouldn’t be able to focus on the battle, but he planned to prove them wrong. He would get his head in the fight if it killed him. He clenched his jaw and finally gave himself to instinct and centuries of battle experience. He ignored the feel of the leather fighting gear and instead focused his power again, pulling water to douse the flames in the spots where the hell beasts had tried to set the hill ablaze.
Sirena, warrior down in Thalassa, and the healers are asking for help, Drake said through the link. Thank fuck, at least he’d get a reprieve from her dirty looks until she was done. If the other healers were calling Sirena, it usually meant dismemberment; he felt for whoever was down.
Bastian was further to his right, amid the city’s warriors. The air was filled with battle cries and the pungent stench of sulfur from the downed hell creatures. The Immortals fighting were mostly Ailouros, a whole fuck ton of cats out there in half human form, using blades and claws against their opponents. He looked to where Bastian was finishing off another ophiotaurus. Its horned bull head rolled away from the still-twitching bulk of its body. The beasts seemed to be thinning, and so far no hell creature had made it up to the city and into the second line of defense. It would take a lot to make it through to the city’s shield. They were still secure.
Report. Drake’s booming voice filtered through the Guardians’ mental link. He waited, half listening as the others reported in. It seemed the battle was coming to an end everywhere. It hadn’t been waging for long.
P, or Pothos if you wanted to piss the male off with his given name, Sander and their sister Sacha reported thinning in Efcharistisi. Uri reported for the city of Lofodes, Conn for Thalassa, and Dorian knew Drake was in Ouranos.
Limni’s fine. The horde is thinning. He informed the others.
Dorian pulled power and doused more flames as the hell beasts caught the meadow on fire in yet another spot. At the same time he engaged an ophiotaurus of his own. The key was teleporting around and lopping the serpent tail without getting kicked, bitten, burned or gored in the process. He managed it fairly quickly, dodging the heavy hooves. He scanned the area, still dousing flames as he sliced halfway through the beast’s thick neck while porting out of the way of the horns. He hated the stench of tainted hell-beast blood. It sprayed and stung his bare arms, but he didn’t like wearing full-sleeved gear. His leather protection only covered his torso, the acid like blood wouldn’t kill him, and he found it less irritating than fighting without range of motion in his arms. It was bad enough his dick felt strangled, he wanted to at least be able to move his fucking arms. He looked over at Bastian, who wore the full-sleeve version. The dark Kairos moved as if a shadow.
Dorian teleported around and took another swing, barely missing a horn to the gut.
He mulled over why so many hell beasts had attacked in the last week? It all seemed to start a couple of days after Cyril’s death.
He listened to the alarms going off in the city, alerting the mortal Mageia to stay indoors while they battled. It was a faint hum down the hill where he fought. So far, there hadn’t been any casualties or shield breaches, just hell beasts let loose toward the cities. Not that the Tria were all that bright, sadistic and pure evil, definitely, but not necessarily intelligent. Now that the Guardians knew Cyril’s bitch, Elizabeth, could contact the Tria in Hell, it was likely that things were more planned out than they’d ever imagined. A way to distract the Guardians in order to abduct more Mageia to experiment on.
Bastian and he continued to cut down beasts alongside the warriors. Dorian made sure to keep the Immortals as much in his sights as the hell creatures. It was going smoothly enough until, out in the distance, he watched three fucking ofioeidis come slithering between the trees. They were moving along the lake’s edge toward the fight and the city beyond. Shit. He looked over at Bastian; his brother caught the movement too.
Three ofioeidis in Limni, Dorian sent through the Guardian mental link.
Son of a bitch. We’ve got the same shit in Lofodes, he heard Uri say through the link. More of the same was coming from his brothers and sisters about the other cities.
I’ll be there as soon as I can. The warrior’s in bad shape, Sirena sent.
I’ll send help when I take care of these, Drake’s harsh voice came through. They’d pissed off the wrong dragon. Drake was the deadliest of them all. Only P, son of Hades, was close to their leader in power.
Dorian started barking orders to the other warriors, who were still fighting the other hell beasts. “Keep the beasts from making it up the rise. When you’ve thinned them enough that the warriors in the city can take them, make for the ofioeidis on the left. Stay away from its head. Bleed it, but stay the fuck back.”
Grunts of assent came from the warriors. The Immortal warriors generally respected the Guardians and mostly listened. They tended to be cocky and sometimes liked to pull out their dicks to show just how capable they were.
He took out another hound and saw Bastian working on his second or third ophiotaurus, making sure not to get gored or scorched in the fight. His adrenaline pumped, his body revving up for the bigger fight to come as he watched three of the deadliest of all hell creatures get closer. They fanned out in the meadow. The serpents were fast, and the poisonous venom could get even an Immortal killed. It was their speed and regenerative ability that made it so damn hard to take them out. Bulk alone prevented a swift slice of the head, which was the only way to kill the sons of bitches. He cocked his head. Something seemed odd about these creatures. They looked bigger, thicker. The red eyes and tough grey scales looked the same, but the barbed tails were new. What the fuck was going on?
These look different. A new breed? Dorian said through the link.
The ones we’ve been taking out in Hell haven’t had barbed tails and weren’t as big, P confirmed through the link. He and Sander were the Guardians on
Hell Realm rotation.
I’ve got the one in the middle, he said through the link to Bastian after he decapitated one more hound that lunged for his throat.
He and his brethren would be a bit thin with three ofioeidis per each of the five cities and twelve Guardians capable of singlehandedly combatting the damn things. Fortunately they had Uri’s Demi-Goddess mate, Alex, and her twin brothers, which evened the numbers if Sirena came back.
He eyed the creature, not liking the idea of a new breed popping up. He thought they’d nearly eradicated them from Hell. That was what Hell patrol was all about, cutting these fuckers down before the Demon Tria could send them to Tetartos or Heaven, the only Realms the Tria seemed able to send hell beasts to.
“Watch the ofioeidis’ tail too,” he bellowed to the warriors closest to him. He may not fully trust the bastards at his back but counted on them to work together and stall the serpent until he or Bastian could get to it. The warriors at the city had crossbows, which might slow it or maybe just piss it off. Either way, it would buy them some time.
I don’t like this shit, he said to Bastian.
I don’t either, his brother replied.
“Make sure the guards at the city stay put,” he yelled as he slid his second blade from the sheath at his back. The last thing they needed was for Mageia to get taken by the enemy, again.
Before the words were completely out, he ported to the top of an ofioeidis and slammed a blade deep into the thick neck; the beast bucked and started to coil. He used his weight and jumped down, pulling the blade through the skin. It barely moved a foot, but would start bleeding the bastard some. Its skin was too fucking thick to cut through even with the sharpest of blades. He kicked off to dislodge his blade and teleported out of reach. The huge beast’s thick middle nearly reached to Dorian’s six feet eight inches of height. He quickly began slicing as he ported around the beast, narrowly missing big sharp fangs filled with poison. He let fighting instinct take him over again, anticipating the beast’s moves. Blood sprayed from the cuts he’d made in the thick skin. It took a lot to finish off one of the fuckers, normally, but this one was even more advanced. He landed blow after blow as the thing bucked and coiled, striking out in quick succession.
