Page 7

Audrey

“ N ow, we start preparing for war.” Lucifer shakes his head. “I’ll need to get with the other gods, and we’ll need to come up with a strategy. But that’s not for you to worry about.”

I scoff. “If you think I won’t be fighting in this war, you’re sadly mistaken, Lucifer.”

“Me, too.” Wren nods, hands on her hips as she joins me.

Lucifer’s eyes find my mom. “Do you share their stubbornness with them?”

She grins. “I sure as fuck do. I want to be included in the plans. I know Olympus and the angels better than most of you. You might be gods, but I lived among them my entire life. I know how they work and how they think.”

He doesn’t look happy about it, but he agrees. “Fine. You’ll be an excellent asset for us.”

“We should be there for planning, too,” Wraith says, eyes moving to me.

“You’ll need the horsemen, and you don’t know your daughter well enough yet to know she’ll be at those meetings whether you want her there or not.

It would be easier on everyone if you just allowed them to join us from the start—including all of her mates. ”

I knew I loved him. Plus, he’s right. I’d find a way in, and if Wren wants to join us, I’ll bring her along for the ride.

Then I realize he said all my mates. I don’t want Nex there, but that’s something I can bring up when he’s not in the room.

“I want Celeste and Diana there, too. Probably Melody and Warren as well.” When Lucifer opens his mouth to argue, I cut him off.

“You’re going to need the reapers. Yes, they might be limited in what powers they have, but we’re going to need the numbers, aren’t we?

I don’t know how many angels there are, but based on the stories we were taught earth-side, I’m going to assume gods weren’t great at keeping it in their pants. ”

Lucifer sighs. “There are millions—even if every single angel doesn’t take part, there are millions.

There are more of them than I have demons.

You’re right. Wraith, we’re going to need every last reaper you have to fight, including the ones that join the academy every day.

Your curriculum will need to be adjusted to focus on combat and learning their magic.

If they fight and don’t die, then we’ll make them into reapers once the war is won. ”

“You realize how many reapers that’ll be, right? We’re talking at least a thousand a day. Where are we going to keep them?” Wraith’s eyes widen. “We don’t have enough room on campus.”

“Then we’ll build more dorms. You tell me what you need, and I’ll make it happen.”

Wraith looks bewildered as he nods. “If that’s what you want, but I don’t know what I’m going to do with thirty thousand plus reapers in a month.”

Lucifer waves off his concerns. “Your reapers will just have easier days. Or we can find another use for reapers and allow them to choose between the jobs we can offer them. We’ll figure it out, but that’s a problem for later. ”

None of that sounds like it’s going to be easy, and I don’t like the idea of Wraith having that much pressure on him. I’ll do what I can to help carry that burden, as I’m sure my other mates will as well.

“But before all of that, I’d like to spend some time getting to know my daughters,” Lucifer announces as shadows close around me and Wren.

I hear my mates letting their displeasure be known before all sound disappears. When the shadows lift away, we’re somewhere else—some kind of living or sitting room with wingback chairs and a roaring fire.

“What the fuck?” Wren screeches, eyes flying around the room before landing on Lucifer.

I sigh. My mates are going to be so pissed off. “Where are we?”

“We’re back in the underworld in my home.” Lucifer beams at us.

“And why are we here? My mates will not be very happy about you absconding with me and Wren.”

Lucifer’s smile dims slightly. “I want to get to know the two of you. I’ve missed out on the last almost thirty years of your life, and I don’t want to miss out on any more of it. ”

Wren scoffs. “Maybe ask next time?”

Our dad’s cheeks flush as he nods. “Uh. Yeah. I guess I can do that next time, but since you’re here, maybe we can spend some time together?”

He sounds so hopeful, and I don’t want to burst his bubble—even if I don’t have the bandwidth to do much of anything right now beyond just existing.

“Sure. Since we’re already here.” I force a smile, hoping it doesn’t look too pained. “This is where you live?”

He nods, offering each of us an arm. “Let me show you around the House of Hades.”

“The House of Hades? That’s the name you went with for your palace?” Wren snorts.

“I’m not exactly the one who named it.” His voice is gruff as he scowls. “I tried to get the demons to call it something else, but they wouldn’t. So here we are with a place called the House of Hades.”

I’ll admit that our father isn’t anything like I thought he would be.

When you hear stories about Lucifer, Hades, and pretty much any other underworld god, they’re always talked about with fear.

Usually, they’re cast as the villains of the story.

It’s hard to reconcile the stories I’ve read and heard with the man who wants nothing more than to show his daughters around his home.

Speaking of stories I’ve read…

“I know you said most of the stories told by the mortals are wrong or only partially true, but as Hades, you’ve always been linked with Persephone. If you have a consort, why are you earth-side sleeping with mortals?”

Lucifer chuckles. “There are parts of that story that are accurate. I’ll give the mortals that.

I most certainly didn’t trap her in the underworld.

Why would I when she was here willingly?

Seph and I were together for a long time, and we loved each other.

But eventually, we were nothing more than friends, and neither of us saw a reason to stay together.

We weren’t fated mates or anything. Chosen mates, I think, is the term most commonly used now.

Our children were grown, and we just went our separate ways.

“She was one of the last gods left awake, but she was fading when communication cut off with Olympus. She’s the one who made sure the gates were closed.

She couldn’t prove it, but she was sure it was the angels doing and since no one knew what they were planning, she did what she could.

This was well before I met your mother. I don’t know how much she told you about our meeting. ”

“You mean the fact that you were nothing but a drunken one-night-stand?” Wren grins. “We know all about that. Don’t worry. We don’t think you just abandoned us or anything. She made sure we knew it was a one-time thing and that you never knew about us. How could you when she never saw you again?”

He groans. “That doesn’t really make it sound any better, does it?

It is what it is. If Seph and I had still been together then, I never would’ve slept with your mother.

I might have loose morals compared to some, but I would never cheat on a partner.

When I make a commitment, I stand by it.

If I had known about the two of you, I would’ve been there for you.

But there’s nothing any of us can do to change the past. So from here on out, I’ll be here for you. ”

I consider that as he leads us down the hall, pointing out each room as we pass it.

“I don’t know that I need a father,” I admit.

His face falls, but he nods. “I understand. Then maybe I can be your friend.”

I don’t like how I feel about seeing his disappointment .

“We can start there and see how it goes.” I hesitate. “This is probably the worst time you could’ve come into my life.”

“The damned rejected mate syndrome.” Lucifer shakes his head. “You should just let me kill him. It would fix the issue.”

My heart drops into my stomach as I shake my head. “No. I don’t want him dead.”

I don’t think…

“Then what do you want?”

I can feel both his and Wren’s eyes on me as I stare forward. I don’t know how to answer that because I have no idea what I want, so I choose to remain silent.

Eventually, he leads us into the massive kitchen with its top-of-the-line appliances.

Wren lets out an excited squeal as she rushes ahead to check everything out.

She loves cooking, whereas I prefer not to.

It was great when we lived together because she’s an amazing cook.

When I had to rely on myself to be fed, well, let’s just say I ended up eating out or at my mom’s a lot.

“I know you don’t know me,” Lucifer begins, and I snort.

“Meeting your father as a grown woman can’t be easy—especially not for you, since you’re already going through something difficult—but I just want to help.

You’re going to need to make a decision about Nex—and soon.

You don’t want to go into a battle with this hanging over your head. You don’t want to fight like this.

“The apathy you’re feeling will be a detriment. It’ll make you put yourself into dangerous situations without thinking about the possible consequences. I just found you, and I’m not ready to lose you. Think of your other mates and what it would do to them if they lost you.”

“So, what? I should just forgive him or let you kill him? Neither of those options sound like ones I want to choose.”

He nods. “Of course not. I want to offer you another option. You can complete the mate bond with him without forgiving him. It might be hard to live with being bonded to someone you can’t trust, but it’s better than the alternatives.

I’m not saying you need to make a decision now, but I wanted to make sure you had all the options available to you. ”

“Please tell me we can cook something,” Wren begs as she rushes over to join us. “I’m starving, and I have to cook in this kitchen. And don’t tell me it sits here and is never used, or you’ll break my heart. ”

Lucifer chuckles. “I enjoy cooking from time to time, and my chef uses it when I’m not. I promise I didn’t add it just to look good. Why don’t we cook something together?”

When his questioning gaze lands on me, Wren laughs. “Yeah, it’s probably better if Audrey just watches. She doesn’t have the patience to cook.”

“It’s true.” I shrug. It’s not like I have a problem admitting to my faults. Or at least some of them.

I don’t mind waiting for someone else to cook me a delicious meal, but I hate having to be patient while being the one doing the cooking. I can pop something pre-made into the oven and warm it up with no problems, but if I have to stand in the kitchen waiting for something to sauté?

Yeah, it’s probably going to end up burned because I bumped up the heat and scorched it.

“Well, that’s just fine. You can sit at the island, and we can chat while Wren and I do the cooking.”

And that’s exactly what we do. The two of them have a blast, and I can see the two of them growing closer in front of my eyes. Part of me is jealous, but as with every other emotion beyond the despair of the rejected bond, it doesn’t last long.

They put together a garlicky pasta that’s divine, and at least my appetite isn’t affected by the damn rejected mate syndrome.

Once we’re done eating, Lucifer glances at the time and groans. “I guess I should get you back to the academy. I’m surprised your mates haven’t come crashing through my front door yet.”

I try to cover up my yawn as I nod. “That sounds good. I think I need some sleep, anyway.”

“Then, off we go.”

Shadows wrap around me, and a moment later, I’m standing in my living room with my glaring mates. Not that they’re glaring at me but at Lucifer.

“Thank you for showing us your home and cooking with me,” Wren says as she wraps her arms around Lucifer, who looks shocked before he hugs her close.

His eyes meet mine over her shoulder. I can see he knows I won’t be giving him a hug, which is good. I don’t know how differently I would react to getting to know him if I was myself, and I wish things could be different .

Just because I don’t need a dad doesn’t mean I don’t want one.

I just can’t right now. Something I think he understands.

“I brought my daughters back in one piece.” Lucifer smirks as his eyes rove over my mates—including Nex.

Ugh. Why is he still here? Can’t he get a hint?

“I appreciate you not breaking down my front door to find her,” he continues.

Wraith nods. “If you’d kept her much longer, I don’t think I could’ve held them back. You’ll let us know when you’ll be meeting with the others?”

“I will. Good night.”

Just like that, he’s gone.

I turn to Wren with a tired sigh. “Do you want me to shadow walk you back to your dorm?”

“No, I could use the fresh air.” She starts for the door, hesitating. “I guess I won’t be staying in the dorms anymore since I graduated.”

Wraith’s smile is tight. “Usually, you’d be given a week off and moved into one of the reaper buildings.

I’m not sure how we’re going to handle everything, but for now, stay in your dorm.

We’ll worry about that tomorrow or the day after.

There are a lot of changes coming, and I need to figure out how to make it work before worrying about where graduates are going to stay. ”

“Perfect. Thank you, Wraith. I’ll see all of you tomorrow.”

Then it’s just me and my mates—including the unwanted one.

Fuck. I really just want to go to bed.