by Holly Evans
“You kissed me,” I said to him, frowning.
“And you, you kissed me, too,” I said to Kane.
Gideon grinned at me, and everyone laughed.
It was ridiculous. We were standing in the middle of a pile of bodies, blood, and gore. We’d rescued Dante from a bunch of purists who were trying to sacrifice him like in the movies. We’d killed the blood knight of the myths. It was so surreal.
“The Council had better pay me well for this,” I said as I gingerly picked my way through the mess.
Dante supported me as I walked, and I was glad of it.
“I’m sure they will,” Dante said.
“Gideon, help me burn this place,” Dante said as he helped me onto the ladder.
Kane had gone up first, and he helped me up at the top. The sunlight up there seemed horribly bright. I squinted at the clear blue sky visible through the window and felt it was wrong. After everything we’d been through, it should have been storming out there. Instead, it was a beautiful day, and the world carried on as if nothing had happened.
FIFTY-FOUR
We stumbled back to the apartment looking a mess. Many people paused to look and whisper about us. I didn’t give a damn about any of them. I was ravenous and in desperate need of a long hot shower.
We all stripped down to our underwear once we got inside. My injuries had healed a little from Dante’s blood, but the vast majority of his magic had gone into my magic. I flopped down on the sofa and remained sprawled out while Kane gently cleaned and applied healing salve to my multitude of injuries. The Silk and Thread clothes had done fantastically, but everything has its limit, and they had certainly hit theirs.
Gideon curled up next to me, his head on my shoulder and a gentle smile on his face as he fell asleep. It was alright for some. Dante emptied out the kitchen and gave everyone a large plate of sandwiches. I didn’t taste them, I just shovelled them into my mouth like there was no tomorrow. In return for the food, he’d called first turn in the shower. That left me with Kane.
“What the fuck was the deal with that kiss? And why don’t you care that I kissed Dante?” I demanded.
I was exhausted, and any tact I might have had was long gone. Kane smiled gently.
“Because they’re both yours,” Gideon said smugly.
I craned my neck to look down at him.
“Excuse me?” I asked.
Kane blushed and looked down.
“There are these things… I, er… polyamory,” Kane said.
I frowned and tried to understand.
Dante strolled back into the room shirtless and glistening.
“The Morrigan gave you all three of us,” he said with a smirk.
“She did what? How do you know?” I asked.
I was completely lost. If I understood them correctly, and I was sure I hadn’t, they’d just told me the Morrigan, the goddess of war among other things, had declared them my life bonds or something. I didn’t deal with the gods, I’d never had any contact with the Morrigan, and they didn’t give a damn about me.
Well, no, they hired me for work sometimes, but that was the minor gods, and they’d never screwed around with my romantic life. That I knew of.
Kane and Dante shared a look.
“You’re goddess chosen, and she chose us as your guardians and… partners,” Dante said.
“Since when?” I asked.
Kane laughed and reached out to stroke my cheek.
“Since a couple of days ago. She visited us while we were out in the city,” Kane lifted his left inner wrist and showed a raven feather tattoo formed of Celtic knots. Dante showed his wrist to have the same tattoo, as did Gideon.
I looked down and yelped when I saw the tattoo on my wrist as well.
“How did she sneak that on there?”
I’d been tired and side-tracked, but surely I’d have felt the goddess’s touch! A woman appeared out of thin air just behind the armchair. Her long hair appeared to be formed of raven feathers, her lips were blood red, and her eyes held a fierce intelligence.
“I’m a goddess, Wren, I can do many sneaky things,” the woman said with an amused smirk.
The Morrigan was one of the very few gods to walk the earth. They usually remained stuck on their own plane. She had managed to cut some sort of deal or weave some magic or something to allow her to visit the earth occasionally. I didn’t know whether to be terrified or honoured. I settled on awestruck.
“I chose you - and your men - very carefully. You will be tested to your very limits, but I have faith that you will fulfil your role. Do not disappoint me,” she said.
Her voice carried the rasping edge of a raven, and I realised I couldn’t hear her bloodsong. Maybe she was an illusion and I was in shock. That made more sense than any of this.
“You’re not dreaming, Wren Kincaid. I will be watching you,” she said.
“Why me? Why them? What role?” I asked.
The Morrigan smiled. It didn’t reach her amber eyes.
“Do not ask too many questions, and never doubt me,” she said coolly.
The questions flew around my mind. It wasn’t every day you spoke to a goddess.
“These men were chosen for you the day you were born. They will protect, guide, and satisfy you,” she said firmly.
She looked between the guys while I tried to wrap my mind around everything. They’d known, but they hadn’t felt the need to tell me.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked Kane quietly.
“Because I told him not to. You couldn’t be distracted when you faced the blood knight,” the Morrigan said.
“How did you claim me?” I asked.
As far as I knew, all witches belonged to the Crone.
“Blood witches are mine. The Crone does not dare touch you. Enough questions. If you need me, then I will come.”
With that, she vanished. My heart was racing and trying to break out of my ribcage. Gideon wrapped his arms around me and nuzzled against my neck. I pressed my face against his shoulder and tried to fight back the tears. It had all been too much.
Once I’d calmed down, eaten a lot of chocolate, and had a long hot shower, the guys explained that the Morrigan had approached them while they were away from me. I wasn’t ready to jump into bed with all of them. I needed time to come around to the new state of my world.
Dante knew I was a blood witch, and he was ok with it. I’d been goddess chosen, and the events of the past few days all swam around my mind.
Kane kissed my temple.
“How’re you feeling?” he asked gently.
“Very lost and confused,” I admitted.
He smiled, a soft smile that lit up his eyes.
“We’ll be here with you every step of the way,” Dante said as he squeezed my hand.
Gideon had been ousted to the armchair, Kane and Dante sat on either side of me. The hound had taken it surprisingly well. I felt him pining for the contact down the bond, but he hadn’t said anything.
“What do you think she meant, ‘fulfil our role?’” I asked.
“No one knows what games the gods play,” Dante said.
“That wasn’t very reassuring,” I said with a small laugh.
“We’ll focus on the present and the certain future,” Kane said.
“We’ll return to Prague and let the Council know everything that’s happened. You’ll need to register Gideon, then you’re moving to Inverness. I have a property there where we’ll all live,” Dante said.
“You have this all figured out,” I said with a smile.
It would be good to return to the Highlands again. I’d missed them so very much, but I hadn’t been able to afford to live there.
“The Council are going to give you a long-term job,” Kane said.
“And we’re going to do your ascension so you come into your full magic,” Dante said.
“I am not being branded,” I said reflexively before looking down at my wrists, both of which now bore tattoos.
>
“You’ll be working for the Scottish Council. They don’t believe in that bullshit,” Kane said, his full Scottish accent coming through.
“What about the fact I’m a blood witch?” I asked quietly.
“We’ll tell them you’re a combat witch,” Gideon said.
“Aye, your prowess with your daggers will allow them to believe that,” Kane said.
“And they’ll have my word,” Dante said.
I started to relax. Maybe this wasn’t going to be so bad.
FIFTY-FIVE
My little apartment in Prague felt so strange and wrong when I walked into it. What had been my little home now felt… wrong. I couldn’t quite place my finger on what had changed, but the sense of it being a sanctuary had definitely evaporated. I was ready to move on, and I was sure my landlord would be happy to have someone who paid the rent on time move in.
Dante had returned to his own apartment for the night, leaving me with Kane and Gideon. The hound looked around the space with curiosity.
“It is an odd little place,” he finally said.
I smiled and collapsed into my beanbag before I opened up my laptop. It was my last night in that place, and I was going to spend it watching my detective show.
Gideon and Kane settled down on either side of me. Gideon with his shoulder leaning against mine, and Kane with his hand on my knee. None of them had pushed the romantic side of things, which I appreciated. I wasn’t going to deny that I was very attracted to all of them, but that was different to getting into a complicated relationship with all three. That was going to take time, and I was thankful they were willing to give it.
“So, what is this tv show?” Gideon asked with a deep furrow between his brows.
“It’s an English detective on a Caribbean island, and he solves murders that happen there,” I said.
Gideon smiled, apparently happy with that premise.
We watched three episodes before the topic of bed was raised. I was exhausted, but the bed wasn’t that big. Gideon leaned in and brushed his lips over my throat.
“I’ll take my hound form and sleep on the beanbag,” he said.
With that,` he began stripping down. I turned my back, still not being ready to see him entirely naked, despite his insistence on being that way as much as possible.
Kane and I headed to the bedroom, where I awkwardly changed into my sleepwear and tried to relax into his arms as I had done so many times before. Fortunately, the moment I placed my head on his chest and his bloodsong washed over me, everything felt right again. Gideon’s calm happiness spread through the bond, and I fell asleep feeling contented and quietly hopeful.
Dante brought over a fresh pair of jeans, shirt, and a beautiful oxblood leather jacket. The knee-high boots were black, but I wasn’t complaining. They were still a work of art. Gideon had kindly pulled on his boxers before I entered the living room. He padded over to me and wrapped his arms around my waist while nuzzling his face against my neck. The night alone had been hard on him. I trailed my fingers up and down his spine and kissed behind his ear. It was becoming more natural and less awkward to show the hound affection.
We had to go and speak to the Council and register Gideon, but Dante took us all for breakfast at Cafe Slavia first. We feasted on sausage, bacon, eggs, French toast, and fantastic black coffee. Still, the mood was stormy. None of us wanted to be anywhere near the Council, not with everything that had happened. I’d made sure my tattoos were both covered. We had decided not to tell anyone about the Morrigan’s role in everything.
Our belongings had been packed up into backpacks, and I’d dropped a letter into my landlord’s office along with a month’s rent, courtesy of Dante. Still, a feeling of sadness swelled when I looked out the window and gazed over the river at the castle. As much as I’d been dying to leave Prague, I wasn’t entirely ready to go just yet. Every place has a unique energy, and there was something Prague that kept pulling me back. Maybe it was something to do with the hellmouth that had opened during the Prague incident, given that I was bound to two infernal beings.
Gideon slowed his pace as we approached the Council building. Worry and concern came down the bond. I slowed and entwined my fingers with his.
“We won’t let anything happen to you,” I said gently.
Kane put his arm around the hound’s shoulders from the other side.
“We’re pack,” Kane said, grinning.
The hound relaxed and smiled. Dante gave him a reassuring squeeze of the shoulder before he opened the door to the Council building. He changed as he stepped inside. Gone was the relaxed man I was bound to, to be replaced with a cool businessman. His shoulders went back, his smile dropped away for a cool expression, and his steps became far more efficient. I tried to follow suit. We hadn’t done anything wrong. We were here to tell them about the clusterfuck in Dubrovnik and to pick up our fees.
An older wolf shifter greeted us in the foyer area and turned and walked off down the hallway. Gideon’s grip on my hand tightened, and I caressed his thumb with my own. We weren’t going to let anything happen to him.
We were led to the room at the very end, where three people awaited us. I spotted the small pile of paperwork on a desk to my right and held back the sigh. They were far too fond of their damn paperwork, and it all had to be done by hand in triplicate. Dante handed back the expense card and a sheet that detailed everything that had been spent on the card. The shifter didn’t so much as glance at it. He handed it to a younger puka, who hadn’t bothered to hide the black cat ears and tail.
“Tell us everything that happened in Dubrovnik,” the hellhound said.
I hadn’t noticed him at first. He was sitting casually in the corner with one ankle propped up on his other knee. His eyes were a deep ocean blue. There was a great story hiding behind those eyes. He caught me looking at him and his lips flickered with a smile. I didn’t miss the wedding band on his finger as he tilted his hand slightly so it caught the light.
“We had thought that the cult was the most likely culprit behind the missing supernals,” Dante began.
I tried very hard to stay still while Dante told the condensed version of the events. He left out the dick-swinging between him and Kane and instead acted as though Kane was a useful contact that had been there by design. When he reached the interrogation of the Shadow Moon Coven, the hellhound held up his hand and nodded to me.
“I’d like to hear how the bond came to be from those who were bound,” he said.
“The Shadow Moon Coven brought me to this plane and bound me to their leader, Carmen, a month before Wren et al. arrived at the coven the first time. When they left the premises, a plan was hatched to move my bond over to Wren, as they realised that she was a strong enough witch to make such a thing possible. They knew that Mr. Caspari wasn’t going to give up on the idea of them being tied to the disappearances and instructed the witch archivist not to give them any information, in order to further raise their suspicions and push them into returning,” Gideon said.
I took over.
“I was lured into the lower levels of the coven house under the pretence of seeing the witch family tree. Carmen grabbed my wrist and drew blood. When I looked down, the tattoo was present, and I could feel Gideon in the back of my mind. I couldn’t abandon him, and so we brought him back to the apartment,” I said.
The hound nodded, and Dante continued.
He explained how we came to realise it was the cult and how we broke through the barrier only to be ambushed. He skimmed over the part where he went demon and was almost killed by the Olapireta. Kane gave his side of the story how he had been caged and they had planned on draining him of his blood to make more ‘guardians,’ the fae-vampire creatures, and use the rest to keep Addison alive.
Then it was back to me to tell them about how I rescued Kane and we went and got Dante. I left out the part about defeating Addison with blood magic, instead saying that between the four of us we managed to break through his blood
magic and kill him. The hellhound’s mouth tightened a little, but he didn’t say anything. The shifter and the puka seemed satisfied.
“Ms. Kincaid, you understand that the hound is entirely your responsibility and you will be held accountable for any laws he breaks?”
“I do,” I said.
“And you understand that your bond is for life unless you gain permission from the Council to transfer the bond?”
“I do, but I need to know, will the Shadow Moon Coven suffer consequences?” I asked.
The shifter glared at me. His hands started to curl into fists, but he relaxed them again.
“They have a good reputation and form a very strong bloodline. They are a pillar within the supernal community,” the shifter said.
“What he means to say is they have a lot of money and have paid off a number of key players,” the puka said drily.
“Yes. They will suffer consequences for bringing through a young hellhound illegally and bonding him to an unsuspecting and unwilling witch,” the hound said.
“Now, you will need to fill in this paperwork to receive your payment, this paperwork to register the hound, and this paperwork to register yourself as a witch,” the puka said.
“Why have you not registered to date?” the shifter growled.
“Because she is from hunter’s lines and did not know she was a witch. Her parents left when she was 16, she has not been ascended, and thus her magic is untapped,” Dante said sharply.
The shifter looked between us and let it drop.
“Fill in the paper. Councilman Hawke wishes to discuss the future of your hound with you,” the shifter growled before he curled a lip at the hound.
I swallowed hard. I knew the name Hawke. The Hawke twins had been the hunters involved in the Prague incident, and that meant the hound before me was the first hound brought through to this plane.
FIFTY-SIX
Dante and Kane had subtly moved closer to Gideon and me. The shifter and the puka had left us alone with the hellhound. He stood once the door was closed. He had a big presence about him, an authority that shone through and affected his bearing. Gideon lowered his eyes.
