Kismet Dating Agency Box Set: Fated Mates Romance

by Haley Weir

  “I’ll transport us to Siberia if you don’t shut up.”

  Olivia stepped between them before the two started squabbling like children. “Let’s get to the hotel room and figure out where we’re going next.”

  “We should spend some time in my marshes. I think you’d like it there.”

  She shook her head with a bitter chuckle. “The last thing I want is to hear more tormented screams, Styx. We won’t be in Canada long; I just have to find the woman who raised me. She has to know something about who I am, right?”

  “Doubtful,” Adonis replied. “If someone wanted you hidden from the gods, they would have erased any memory this woman had of you. It’s pointless to seek out your guardians. Many of the demigods that are raised here in the mortal world never meet their parents. I would suggest laying low and training to control your abilities.”

  “So, I’ll never have the answers to my questions? Diana found Hades! What good is being a Titan if I can’t even find my parents?”

  “Because you don’t have parents,” Styx answered. “Technically, none of us do. Diana was the first and only god to be carried in the womb of an Olympian. You predate Olympians, Olivia; that means you were created by the same entity that created Prometheus, Cronus, and the other Titans. You are the thirteenth Titan, spawned from Uranus and Gaia.”

  Olivia looked between them, searching for any sign of sarcasm or sadistic humor. “You’re serious? I was a mistake? A flaw in the matrix or something?”

  “It’s the only explanation.” Adonis hadn’t meant to be cruel. Olivia knew he valued honesty, but it didn’t change the fact that she was hurt. She picked up the last of her luggage and walked towards the rental car. Styx slid into the driver’s seat while Adonis took the back. Olivia felt numb as she tucked her belongings into the trunk. When she got in the car, Adonis placed his hand on her arm between the seats. “I’m sorry. I know you wanted to believe that you weren’t an orphan. You aren’t alone, Olivia. We’re all orphans.”

  “It’s not your fault. And thank you, both of you. There’s no one else I’d rather be here with than the two of you. It’ll take some adjusting, but I think I’ll like having partners in crime.” She patted Adonis’s hand and napped during the drive into the city. Heat blasted from the vents, making it easier to doze off. Olivia felt as if she hadn’t slept in decades. Time on Olympus moved at a snail’s pace. One mortal life was nothing more than the blink of an eye for the gods.

  Olivia awakened when the car shut off.

  Styx fumbled with the seatbelt before he exited the vehicle. “You two head inside; I’ll handle the luggage,” he called. Instead of the hotel they had booked, Olivia glanced over at a motel sign that flickered over a decrepit building. She reached back and shook Adonis until he opened his eyes. He didn’t seem too happy with Styx’s spontaneous decision, either.

  “Styx!”

  “Quit barking at me!”

  “For the love of Gaia, where are we?” Adonis snapped. Olivia smothered a giggle into her coat as she climbed out of the passenger seat.

  “Somewhere between who the hell knows and over yonder. I figured we’d need someplace private if we were going to be training Olivia how to use her powers before the war. What could be better than an abandoned—potentially haunted—motel?” The look of excitement in Styx’s molten silver gaze made Olivia smile. “Now, let’s get moving before sulfur breaths show up to drag us down to Tartarus.”

  “Demons are after us?”

  “No, they’re after me,” Styx snorted. “I’m sort of skirting my duties in the underworld. Hades isn’t too pleased, but I’m sure he’ll come around once he hears I’ll be helping you. He’s got a soft spot for Diana and her friends. I even saw him take Casey shoe shopping once...it was really weird.”

  Olivia rolled her eyes and walked up to one of the windows of the motel as Styx went on a tangent. She wiped away the grime from the glass with her sleeve and curled her lip at the cloud of dust that puffed up into the air. The inside was completely gutted, and the doors were bolted shut. “Hey, Styx! How are we supposed to get inside?”

  “I thought pretty boy could shazam his way in there and open one of the doors for us.”

  She looked at Adonis, who was less than pleased with the recent turn of events, and pouted. “Can you open the door, please?”

  “I’ll do it for you, not because it was his idea.”

  “Thanks.” Olivia stood back as Adonis disappeared. He flashed on the other side of the window before ripping one of the doors off its hinges. “You could have just turned the lock.”

  ~*~

  Castle Black

  Destiny, Alaska

  "Why did I just process a report filed against Olivia?" Seth asked Balor as he handed his jacket to a servant. Balor ignored his brother, not wanting to encourage his family's belief that Olivia Knight was somehow his problem, but Seth followed him into Giddeon's study. "Walker Brazen said she stole his truck."

  "She borrowed his truck."

  "Well, where is it?"

  "The cabin," Balor supplied. "But don't expect to find her there. She's in the wind again."

  "You let her get away?"

  "I didn't let her do anything," he countered. "Hades sensed something was different about Olivia before she even stole the sword. I thought she was a succubus, but I was wrong. She's something much older and much more complicated than any demon."

  Giddeon stood up from behind his desk. "I suggest you start talking."

  Balor moved to stand in front of Giddeon. "She's a Titan. I don't know what her powers are or even if she's on our side. All I know is that we can't force her to give us a sword that isn't ours to demand. What she went through with Zeus and Apollo took a toll on her. If she thinks leaving is what's best, I stand by her decision."

  Seth lunged for Balor, but Giddeon intercepted. "Are you really that ignorant? The fate of the mortal world depends on your one-night stand, Balor. Olivia needs to hand over the sword."

  Balor leaned his hip against the desk, casting a disapproving look at his brother. "You and Caleb turned your backs on all of us because you didn't want any part of our family's fucked-up history. You're no better than Olivia. None of you are."

  "Wow…" Seth drawled as he shook off Giddeon's hold. "How can you stand there and defend her when you were the one who said she couldn't be trusted in the first place?"

  "What do you want from me? I have given my all to this sleuth and our family. When you call, I come running. I teach everyone, I heal everyone, and I protect everyone. It's time I put my needs first for once. I'm the only one of Samael's sons who hasn't found a mate. So, leave me alone and try to fix this mess without my help."

  Giddeon walked over to the decanter of brandy that he favored. "Damien and Madeu are rounding up the Alphas of the other shifter clans. You have until they return to find your mate—that's three months, Balor. Be angry with me if you want, but that's all the time I can allow you. We're at war, and it's time we started acting like it."

  "And Olivia?" Balor asked.

  "Mercenaries are still after her. I can't promise she'll be safe with the sword in her possession, but I give you my word that I won't send our people after her while you're gone."

  Balor nodded and pulled his brother in for a hug. "Thank you, Giddeon."

  "Protect yourself, Balor. While you're gone, Seth and I will see what we can find about an unnamed Titan in the lore." They separated and put some distance between them. Balor cleared his throat before he passed Seth on his way out of the study. He hated fighting with his brothers—especially Seth, after all he had been through—but he had to set things right before he could focus on the war to come. Balor was a man of intelligence. Fighting wasn't as natural for him as it was for Giddeon, Caleb, Madeu, and Seth. While the others trained as warriors, Balor had spent his days with Thanatos and his nights with Hecate.

  Hecate…

  Balor closed his eyes as he stopped dead in his tracks. It had been centuries
since he last thought of her. He knew where her sanctuary was hidden, but Balor feared he would not be welcomed. So, the sage made his way to the forest. There, as he wandered among the trees that bent and twisted towards the sun, he found a sense of peace. Snow clung to the canopy. Flakes of white drifted to the ground. Balor reached into his pocket and pulled out a tarot card with the image of a three-headed woman holding a crescent moon in her hands. He tossed the card into the air, and it floated on the wind. Magic soared all around the forest, moving between the trees in ribbons of light.

  The card spun until a portal revealed itself. It exploded into a spectrum of blue, violet, and green. Balor held his breath and stepped forward. The scent of Belladonna hung in the air. In Hecate’s forest, there was no snow. Instead, the trees were covered in ruby leaves that glittered in the moonlight. A cauldron bubbled at the heart of the forest. Balor approached with caution, moving slowly as he drew nearer to the Hecate’s layer. Somewhere in the shadows, a voice hummed a haunting melody that caused his heart to pound in his chest. The trees parted like curtains to make way for the Goddess of Magic. Balor smiled, for Hecate looked nothing like the pictures or sculptures that humans had made in her honor.

  “Basilius?”

  “Actually, it’s Balor now,” he replied. The wind rustled the sheer fabric of her robes, parting at her hips to reveal a sliver of skin the same hue as his favorite toffee sweet. Her long, thick kinky curls brushed the curve of her lower back. Just the sight of her violet eyes was enough to make him shiver. “I missed you…”

  “Did you?”

  “I did. Truly. If not for Hermes, I would have never stopped seeing you,” Balor confessed. “Or if you had ever found it in your heart to care for me the way I had cared for you.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Uninhabited, Canada

  Olivia laid across the make-shift bed she shared with her two companions and flipped through profiles of eligible bachelors on her phone. Kismet Dating Agency released a hot new dating app that paired supernatural beings with compatible partners—which Olivia figured was her best shot at finding love. “What do you think about him?” she asked Styx as she showed him the latest shifter she had been crushing on. “He’s cute, right?”

  “Sure, if you’re into that sort of thing.”

  “Thing?”

  “Shifters,” he explained. “If you want to spend the rest of eternity pulling hairballs out of your shower drain, then be my guest. I’d suggest someone far more handsome, funny, charming, and packing some serious—”

  “Styx!” Olivia smothered her flushed face in the blanket beneath her, trying to banish the unsavory images his suggestive words had conjured in her mind. “We can’t fool around. How many times do I have to tell you that?”

  “At least several hundred more. You don’t have to wake up with serious morning wood because you have a warm body pressing up against you like a cat in heat.”

  “I did not,” she gasped in humiliation. “Please tell me I didn’t…”

  “Oh, you did. That’s why Adonis said you need to get laid. Even his old-fashioned values are tempted by your irresistible pheromones. Lesser males would have jumped you by now. Luckily, you have someone like me here who’s willing to...worship you any way you see fit.” Styx winked at Olivia and stole a chip from her snack bag. “It’s been about two weeks in the mortal realm and over three years in Olympus times since you got laid. I say it’s well overdue.”

  “Tell me about it.”

  The door to their little grunge oasis opened. Adonis dropped a couple of bags of groceries on the DIY table they put together with old construction materials lying around. He cast an annoyed glance at the bag of chips, cookies, and sour gummies between them. “That’s not a meal. You need to keep your strength if you’re going to survive today’s training session.”

  “I’m not training today.”

  “What? Why?”

  “I’m looking for a date,” Olivia said with an air of giddy excitement. “I need to get laid, Adonis. You said so yourself. I won’t be able to concentrate if I’m worried about getting my rocks off every second of the day. So, help me flip through the new profiles.”

  “What happened to romance and courtship?”

  “The internet,” Styx grumbled. “It’s completely useless unless you’re looking for a hookup or you want to watch humorous videos of humans failing to accomplish simple tasks. If infomercials are any indication of how the mortal world has advanced over the years, I think they might be in worse shape than the dinosaurs before the whole asteroid thing.”

  Olivia rolled her eyes and handed Adonis her phone. “Show me what you got, Cupid.”

  “That would be Eros. I’m…that’s strange.”

  “Huh?” She stood on her tippy-toes and peeked over his arm at her phone. “What is it?”

  “It really is Eros. You matched with him.”

  “No way! Is he hot?”

  Adonis swiped over the God of Desire’s pictures. “He’s not a chubby little cherub if that’s what you’re expecting.”

  She nearly drooled at the sight of Eros. Short, chestnut curls shined like silk in the sunlight. Lightly tanned skin contrasted beautifully with an impossibly white smile bracketed by boyish dimples. There was a spattering of freckles on the bridge of his nose, but that was where the angelic features ended. Olivia wondered if it was blasphemous to lick the stubbled cleft chin of an ancient deity. She took in the sharp angle of his jaw just as much as she took note of the leather jacket and distressed jeans that hugged his body. “It should be a sin to look that good.”

  Styx looked horrified by her reaction. “What am I? Old gym socks?”

  Olivia couldn’t deny that both Adonis and Styx were attractive. They were extreme opposites. Adonis had blond hair, blue eyes, and a sun-kissed complexion. Styx had long black hair, silver eyes, and his skin was the color of alabaster. Both of her companions had timeless beauty with an unmistakably masculine aura. “No, you’re totally hot. Both of you. I just don’t feel that way about you. Maybe we’ve seen too much of each others’ scars to see anything else. When I decide to settle down with someone, I don't want them to look at me like I’m broken.”

  Adonis put his arm around her and tapped the button to accept the date. “I won’t lie and say I’m not envious of Eros at the moment, but I wish you luck on your date nonetheless.”

  “Thank you, Adonis.” Olivia kissed him on the cheek and scurried into the last bathroom standing to change into something that wasn’t yoga pants and a hoodie. She hadn’t packed many formal outfits—thinking she would never get another date after what happened the first time she used the service, but Olivia found a cute blouse and a pair of nice jeans that fit her perfectly. Her hair was as unruly as ever. Whatever mojo had tamed her curls before in Olympus clearly had worn off when she dropped back to Earth, so she braided it down her back and put on some simple earrings. “What do you think?” she asked as she gave a twirl in the doorway of the bathroom.

  Styx complained under his breath as he adjusted himself in a not-so-subtle manner.

  Adonis bit his bottom lip, but at least he gave her a quick nod of his head. Olivia took both of their reactions as compliments and slipped on her new boots. She had learned her lesson about wearing heels in snowy climates. “Where’s the date?”

  “Hopefully, Tartarus,” Styx replied sarcastically.

  Olivia met his retort with one of her own. “At least it’s warmer than Canada.”

  ~*~

  Forest of Hecate

  “You still love me, Basilius,” Hecate whispered into Balor’s ear. He placed his hand on her hip, feeling the warmth of her curves beneath his palm as her muscles flexed with each step she took closer towards him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and brushed her lips along the curve of his jaw. Balor trembled with a fierce need. Hecate flicked her tongue against his earlobe. Warm breaths rolled over his skin, causing the small hairs on his arms to stand. “I can sense it in you as clear
as the day you promised yourself to me.”

  “You know as well as I do that the fates have chosen a mate for me, Hecate. If I am to give myself to the one that will bear my children, I have to be released from our bond.”

  Her arms dropped, and Hecate stepped out of his grasp. Already he missed the touch of her bare skin. Those violet eyes flickered over his expression. “Release you? You promised me two hundred years as my concubine, Basilius, and you have only served eighty.”

  “I am grateful for your mercy—”

  “Mercy?” Hecate chuckled. “It was charity, my pet.” She lifted her hand to his face and slid her fingers along the faint scar beneath his eye. “And yet I have fueled your magic through the ages as I promised. For you to be free of our arrangement, you will need to pay your debt.”

  “My mate could be dead before the debt is repaid.”

  “You’re a smart little mortal, Basilius. After all, you found me, didn’t you? I’m sure you’ll come up with something.” The seductive grin on Hecate’s lips beckoned him forward. Balor claimed her mouth with a biting kiss. Their teeth clashed, but neither of them slowed down the momentum. His hands tore open her robes. The fabric floated to the blades of grass beneath his boots, and he lowered her to the ground. Hecate arched beneath him, rolling her hips in a way that drove him mad. “Just give in…”

  He threw his head back and roared. Hecate toyed with the power of the bear inside of him, and he was helpless to resist her power. She coaxed out his baser instincts as if he were a puppet on a string. Balor bit down on her shoulder, sinking his teeth into the muscle until he nearly broke through her skin. She tasted like spring water and the herbs he smoked in his cigarettes—Deadly Nightshade and Elfroot wrapped in fire. Hecate scraped her nails down his back. Blood flowed like a river along the curve of his spine before it soaked into the waistband of his jeans. Her hands scrambled to unbuckle his belt.