Marked by Death (The Godhunter, Book 4) (32 page)

“
I apologize,” she chuckled. “I just wanted to let you know how things are going with the drug clean up.”

“
Oh yeah,” I hadn't even thought of all that. “Did you find all the stashes?”

“
I believe so,” she nodded grimly. “I burned them all. I'm sure there will be others trying to fill the void but now they will not have the protection of a god to creep under. The police will have a much easier time doing their job and that greasy little leech won't be taking from my people anymore. I am at peace.”

“
Good for you,” I grinned. “I'm feeling a little peaceful myself.”

“
Yes, I heard about your visit to Duat.”

“
You did?”

“
I am old friends with Ma'at,” Pele grinned and pulled a cigarette out of thin air. “Do you mind?”

“
Not at all,” like I was going to tell the Fire Goddess she couldn't smoke in my car.

“
Mahalo,” she started to inhale and the cigarette lit itself.

“
Ma'at saved my life.”

“
Well, she certainly changed it for the better,” she mused before taking another drag. “She thinks very highly of you, as do I.”

“
Wow,” I gave a surprised huff. “Thank you. You guys aren't so bad yourselves.”

She chuckled and it was a sensuous sound. “So you must tell me. How was Anubis?”

“What?” I gave her a horrified glance.

“
Come now,” she tsked. “I've been dying to know. That boy looks like such a prude but I bet it's the opposite. Am I right?”

“
He's definitely not a prude,” I swallowed hard as a string of images bombarded me.

“
I knew it,” she flicked some ash out the window. “Maybe I should go visit Ma'at.”

“
Yes!” I cleared my throat. “I mean, that's a fantastic idea. You two would be great together.”

“
Really?” She raised a perfectly shaped brow. “You wouldn't mind?”

“
Why would I mind?” Oh please, take him, get his mind off me.

“
Well, you were lovers, yeah?”

“
Not exactly,” I frowned. “What did Ma'at tell you?”

“
Only that you and he had a disagreement and he took you to Duat to wreck vengeance on you but then he fell for you.”

“
That's really oversimplified,” I shook my head. “Let's just say, the relationship was one-sided. I don't want Anubis. Please feel free.”

“
Ah, excellent,” she smiled. “Oh, speaking of gorgeous men. How is that Kirill?”

“
Now him, I want,” I looked over to her as I pulled into my garage. “We have progressed in our relationship.”

“
Oh, really?” Her eyes sparkled. “Do tell.”

“
It's the lioness magic,” I turned off the engine. “I've discovered that I need to take numerous lovers. Trevor has accepted it and Kirill is our first addition.”

“
Hot damn,” she laughed. “You're one lucky lady.”

I looked over as Kirill came out of the house to check on me.

“I sure am,” when I looked back at Pele, she was gone.

Chapter Forty

The God Squad was waiting when I walked in the door. I stopped and stared for a second, a little surprised by the entire group being in my living room… again. My eyes skimmed over Pan, Horus, Mr. T and Mrs. E, Finn, Teharon, Brahma, and Hades. I was glad to see all of them, even Horus. When I got to Persephone, I gave her a reassuring wink and she smiled in relief. I knew she viewed her mother as an enemy now but hating someone and wanting them dead were two different things.

Trevor and Kirill both looked relieved as well and I felt myself soften under their warmth. So I was totally unprepared for the anger I encountered when I met Thor’s gaze. It was the first time I'd seen him since we had our big fight and there he was, practically snarling at me. I could only blink in confusion. What the hell had I done to him now? What was he even doing there?  Then I looked over at Ull, Vidar, Vali, and lastly Odin. Their hesitant and guilty gazes told me everything… just as they had told Thor. Thor knew about the lioness magic. Shit.

Instead of confronting the situation in front of all my friends, I decided to ignore it. Wouldn’t you? I walked over to Kirill and crouched down in front of his seat.

“When the hand is cut, the heart also bleeds,” I pulled a length of blonde braid out of my purse and laid it on his lap. “You may be my Ganza, the hand of the Pride and my protector, but I am your Tima, your heart, and any injury to you is a blow to me as well. So I took our revenge and have brought you a warrior’s trophy. Keep it or destroy it but let it be a symbol of love not anger… the love of the heart for the hand.”

Kirill’s hands fastened on Demeter’s hair and tightened before he raised his gaze to me. I thought for a moment that he’d cry or shout, something, anything other than what he did. He laughed.

He laughed long and hard as he held onto that braid. Everyone around us was silent at first but slowly we all started to join in and soon the room was overflowing with laughter. Nicholas came out to investigate, gave us all
You crazy humans
stares, and padded away. We laughed harder.

“
So I take it Mom is alive but very unhappy right about now,” Persephone was still giggling.

“
She passed out when I went for her hair,” I chuckled. “You should have seen her face. I think she might have preferred death.”

“
I’m still not happy about you facing her alone,” Kirill took my hand. “But zank you, Tima. I just vish I could have seen her face as vell.”

And just like that, the haunted look disappeared from Kirill’s eyes. I smiled and stuck my hand in my pocket to finger the length of hair that I'd pulled out of the braid. That was for Trevor and when I looked at him and smiled grimly, he smiled back, knowing exactly what was in my pocket. The Froekn had been hunting Demeter awhile without success but with a lock of her hair, things were about to get interesting.

“Well I’m glad worrying all of us was worth getting your revenge,” Thor’s voice was bitter and it hit me that it may be more than the magic upsetting him. It may be the lack of magic. We weren’t bonded anymore. His oath to me was gone now that the Grayel had washed the slate clean.

“
Loving Vervain requires patience,” Odin’s voice held a lot of weight for such a quiet tone. “You have to be prepared for a lot of pain, a good dose of frustration, and a whole shitload of worry. But I’ve found her love to be worth it.”

“
Maybe,” Thor shot his father a heated look, “when you have it.”

“
Let it go, Son,” Odin’s eye sparked.

“
Oh, like you did?”

“
That is more than enough!” I stood up and ran my fingers through my hair in frustration. “This was not about either of you. It was about Kirill. Trevor. Al. It was even a little about Hades,  though I'm gonna let Sephy decide what to do about that. But most of all, it was about me… period. I am so tired of worrying about how my every little action is going to affect someone else. This was my choice.”

“
Of course, Vervain,” Odin’s voice gentled. “I never thought otherwise.”

“
Oh, stop,” Thor rolled his eyes. “You’d be saying the same things as I if you weren’t scared to lose your new status.”

There was an uncomfortable silence.

“Status?” Brahma looked from Thor, to Odin, and then to me. “What does that mean?”

“
Oh Dad,” Ull groaned.

I was staring at Thor. He was staring back at me with a partly shocked and partly self-righteous expression.

I wasn’t ashamed of the way my life was changing and my friends would have to know eventually but this wasn’t the way I wanted to tell them. I stared harder at Thor and he got the message.

I wasn’t pleased.

“My lioness magic has taken on a new twist,” I finally released Thor’s gaze to look at the others. “I’m the heart of the Pride. In nature my role would normally be held by a male and he would be mate to all the females in his pride. Well, it turns out that even though the sexes are reversed, the instincts are still there.”

“
Are you trying to say that your magic is pressuring you to mate with all the lions?” Horus looked fascinated.

“
It’s urging me to take on more lovers,” I sighed. “This is not the way I wanted to tell everyone. The situation is complicated, to say the least.”

“
So have you chosen any new men?” Pan’s eyes were a little too eager for my comfort. I wasn't sure if he was going to ask if he could join us or film us, he did make porn for a living.

“
I have the final say,” Trevor growled at him.

“
As my alpha,” I waved Trevor down, “Trevor has to accept any possible choices for the magic to bond us and I want him to be happy. It’s essentially up to Trevor, he’s my first concern.”

Thor snorted.

“As if you could share her at all, Thunderer,” Trevor leapt to his feet. “If our rolls were reversed, you would rant and rage. There’s no way you’d share her, no matter what the cost to her. You’d leave her first.”

“
That’s not true,” Thor stood to face off with Trevor.

“
You only say that now because you’ve lost her already.” Trevor was stalking closer to Thor and Kirill was carefully taking up a spot at his back. They really were a lot closer now. My gaze widened as I saw the potential of the lioness magic. A whole Pride of men, bonded by the love of one woman, working together to protect her and each other. It really was about strength and family. So much more than sex. It shouldn't have surprised me though, Nature always had a reason.

“
I loved Vervain before any of you,” Thor looked at me with a breaking heart in his eyes and for the first time, I wasn't moved by it. I was just so over this.

“
No, you didn't,” Odin’s voice fell between the circling men. They frowned and turned as one, to stare at him. “If you really want to play this game,
boy
, you need to deal me in.
I
loved her first. I married her. We made a child together. She raised Vali, even though she did not birth him. We made a life together. I watched her grow old. I watched her
die
,” his voice broke a little bit and he took a breath to steady it. “And I mourned her but I have never stopped being faithful to her and our love. It’s been over five hundred years since I’ve known the touch of another woman and even if Vervain never touches me again, I never shall. In my heart she is and will always be my wife.”

Odin stood and looked around at all the stunned faces before looking back at Thor.

“Now you stand here and have the nerve to tell me you loved her
first
?” He shook his head. “You don’t even know the first thing about loving her. I gave up my eye to bring her back!”

Everyone gasped and I looked to Trevor immediately. I didn't want him to know about that, that I really was Sabine in her entirety, born with a lifetime of knowledge and memories available to me, not just a reincarnated soul. Trevor was already threatened by my bond to Odin, I didn't want him to know it was more than a past life thing but then, how many times do we ever get what we want?

Trevor looked confused and I rushed over and took his hand. “This changes nothing. I love you,” I whispered to him.

“Yes,” Odin continued with an apologetic look at me. “She was the reason I gave Mimir my eye, so I could gain the knowledge to bring her back. I put her soul into her mother's womb but then the magic turned on me and I was prevented from finding her mother. I lost her until the day you walked in with her on your arm,” he pointed at Thor. “You have no idea how that felt. You sit here pining for her like you were the victim of some cosmic joke, when you know nothing of true heartache. Try watching your son walk into your home with the woman you love on his arm, impotent to do anything to win her back. Unable to even tell her who she really is.” Thor looked horrified but Odin just continued. “Even then, I
rejoiced
. It didn't matter who she was with or what path her new life had taken her on. She was back. She stands here before me again and I’m thankful everyday for it. To see her, to speak with her, to touch her hand, these are all gifts for me. Do you think that a love like that cares for one second that it has to share her? Let me assure you, it does not.”