Page 33

Several hours later, as predicted, we finally left the bed. I showered with my mates, still reveling in what we were to each other and what it meant. I was immortal now. Immortal. And I didn't even have to kill people or drink blood. I had so many questions, but I was so happy that it was difficult to remember them. I just kept smiling—throughout the sexy shower as my mates bathed me, through the drying process that they also took control of, and then all the way down the stairs to the kitchen.

We were hungry.

“No pancakes,” I declared as I broke from the pack to go to the fridge. “I'll make us something.”

“Pancakes are fast,” Gage said.

“I can make something savory in the same amount of time.” I pulled out some veggies and chicken. “How about a stir fry?”

The men grinned and nodded.

Dressed only in Garret's T-shirt, I gathered the seasonings I'd need while I directed the men on chopping the vegetables. They didn't have a wok, but a big pan worked fine. The dish came together in a few minutes, and then we were sitting at the kitchen island, eating steaming stir fry and grinning at each other.

“Good, that's settled,” a deep, resonant voice said. “You've finally bonded.”

I jerked in fear and looked up to see a gigantic man with dark hair, fair skin, and golden-brown eyes standing before us. He was muscular, but not overly so, and something about him reminded me of my mates. Speaking of the hounds, they jumped off their stools and bent their heads.

“Hades,” Garret said reverently. “You honor us with your presence.”

Hades, Lord of the Underworld, Greek God of Death and whatever else, snorted. “Sit down, cubs. I came to bless your mating and congratulate you.”

“Holy shit,” I whispered as I stared at him. “Holy. Fucking. Shit.”

“Yes, I know,” Hades drawled and smirked in a very Gage way. “It's overwhelming.” He waved at himself. “Take it all in. You'll be fine in a moment.”

I let out a surprised bark of laughter.

Hades winked at me. “There you go, Indigo Darling. I knew you were made of sterner stuff.”

“Thank you for your blessing,” Gideon said. “Uh, would you like some stir fry?”

“Stir. Fry,” Hades repeated the words as if they were foreign, then he peered at our plates. “A dish obviously named by an American.”

“I'll take that as a yes,” I said as I got up to make Hades a plate.

Gage got his boss a fork while I scooped up the food, and then I set the plate before Hades. A god was about to eat my cooking. Why did I have to make a simple stir fry?

Hades lifted the plate, sniffed it, then took a bite. He chewed thoughtfully, swallowed, and said, “Delicious.”

“Thank you!” I beamed at him.

Hades sat down on a stool and ate while the rest of us watched.

“Don't just stare. Finish your meal.” Hades waved at our plates with his fork.

We started eating again, but I couldn't stop staring at Hades.

“I'm happy for you,” Hades finally said. “But I need to cut the honeymoon short. If you don't strike soon, Silas could escape.”

“Silas?” Gage asked. “What about Michael?”

“Michael has become—what's the term?—small potatoes. It's Silas who I want. I need you to contain him, and then I'll take him to face the Olympians.”

“We'll attack today,” Gideon said.

“Be careful,” Hades warned. “You know I can't interfere until you have Silas. If he runs, you'll deny me my prey.”

“We understand,” Gage said.

“Can't you just teleport to wherever Silas is and figure out who he is?” I asked.

“No, I cannot,” Hades said crisply and stood up. “Thank you for the meal, Indigo. And welcome to the family. As mate to one of my Cerberuses, you now may summon me.” He hardened his stare and added, “In an emergency.”

“Yes, sir,” I said. “Thank you.”

“Take care of my boys.” And then he vanished.

“Holy fuck,” Gage said and looked at the other two.

“He must be feeling anxious to come here like that,” Garret said.

“He said it was to congratulate us,” I said.

The men shared a look, and I felt their meaning through our bond. They didn't believe for one second that Hades had come merely to congratulate us on bonding.

“We'd better get moving,” Gideon said. “If Hades is worried, it means Silas is probably on the verge of flight. We've got to go back as soon as possible.”

“Um, will you . . .” I bit my lip. “Don't take this the wrong way, but please try to save Jake. He's a good guy.”

“We know, Indie,” Garret said. “And part of our mission is to free Jake by taking Michael back to the Underworld. If all goes well, Jake will be fine. Better than fine.”

“Okay,” I said. “I don't suppose you'll let me tag along?”

All three of them leveled hard stares at me.

I held up my hands in surrender. “I get it. But I'm going to worry until you get back.”

“I'm sorry, sweetheart, but you can't come. We just got you out of there,” Garret said. “We're not risking you getting taken again. And Michael could use you against us.”

“I know. I get it.”

“If we weren't sneaking in, probably going spectral, we could wear body cameras,” Gideon said. “But as it is, we'll lose them with our first shift.”

Then a chiming went off.

Garret left the room but returned seconds later with his cell phone, scowling at the screen. “Shit. Jackie's on the move.”

“Jackie?” I asked. “She's still in Helena?”

“Yes, and we've been monitoring her. The tracker I put on her car shows her heading toward the Host.”

“Maybe this is a good thing,” Gage said. “We can use her as a distraction and sneak in.”

“Yeah, the whole 'burst in, guns blazing' thing didn't work out well for us last time,” Gideon said.

“That's because Michael possessed Indie,” Gage said. “They don't have anyone to threaten now.”

“What about Jake?” I asked.

“They won't think to use him,” Garret said. “They'll probably assume we want him dead. Less competition. They don't know that we're mated now and there is no competition.”

“Come on, let's go,” Gage said. “We've got an opportunity that we shouldn't waste.”

We headed upstairs and into the office—all of us. I stood to the side as they opened the panel that hid their weapons. Seeing that, I knew there would be no secrets between us now. The men started filling duffel bags with weapons. Mostly modern ones, but I noticed Gage grabbing a sword.

“This won't take long,” Garret said as he came over to me, carrying a duffel. He set it down and kissed me.

That's when I remembered they had only gotten partially dressed.

“Um, are you guys going to put on some shirts?” I asked.

Even as I spoke, they pushed down their pants. Garret winked at me as he dropped trou. I widened my eyes at that, but then Gage pulled open a drawer at the bottom of the weapons stash. Out came some folded clothes that he tossed at the other two men. Sweatpants and T-shirts.

“Oh, I see,” I murmured.

“If we shift, we'll either ruin these clothes or, if we go ghost, end up leaving them behind,” Gideon confirmed. “And we don't want to waste good clothing.”

“Be careful,” I said. “Silas is tricky.”

“We know,” Garret said as they headed for the door. “We've been studying him and Michael, remember? It will be all right, Indigo Darling.”

I followed them down to the garage entrance and watched as they got into Garret's truck. As the garage door opened, I closed the house door and went to the front living room to watch as they drove down the driveway.

“My men,” I murmured. “Going to war. How positively medieval.”