

Eternal Earth

A Hound Series Novel

By

Layla J Omorose

Eternal Earth

# Copyright © 2017

Copyright © 2017 by Layla Omorose

Proofreading by Tia Silverthorne Bach

Cover Design by Dark Imaginarium Art & Design

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. This book remains the copyrighted property of the author.

The moral right of Layla J Omorose as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act of 1988.

This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author's imagination and used fictitiously.

Printed in the United States of America.

Thank you to all those who have continued to support me and believe in me, even when I didn't believe in myself.

To my readers and those who have patiently been waiting for Adien and Harmony's story, this one is for you. I write these stories to share with you. Without you and your love and support, I wouldn't be where I am today.

Love and peace to all and always remember...

Oblivion is just the beginning.

~Layla~

# Contents

22

Epilogue

Preview

Copyright

# Chapter 1

It was rare that Adien, Trinity Hound of Earth, one of the most powerful beings in existence and ultimate playboy, let himself become flustered over a woman. An even longer time since he had sulked in his unwanted desire, instead of finding some big-breasted babe to fuck all night long. Yet here he sat, at the bar, in one of the most elegantly decorated ballrooms he had ever seen, brooding over a woman he had sworn to keep his distance from.

The room's long tables were covered with soft cream-colored tablecloths that complimented the professionally polished wooden floors. Softly lit candles stood as centerpieces for each table, and were surrounded by a small bouquet of wild flowers. Scattered about were various drapings and other decorations that not only added to the overly priced feel of the room but also Adien's boredom.

Giving a heavy sigh, he downed the rest of his drink. The dark alcohol burned as it traveled down his throat. Finished, he slammed the glass down on the table with more force than he intended and ignored the bartender's glare as he turned his attention back to his surroundings. Adien's gaze scanned the large crowd of bodies as he tuned out the dull music that played in the background.

_What the hell am I doing here?_ He thought for the hundredth time. Why had he allowed his bastard brother to drag him out from the pair of lean legs that had been wrapped around his waist? He had been in the middle of some serious fondling when Radien and his dark aura showed up. An instant mood killed if he ever saw one. One glance at him and his company was dressed and out the door quicker than Adien could take his next breath.

Damn it and damn him.

His brother had cost him a much-needed release.

Why did they have to bring me here?

Nothing good would come from this... nothing good at all.

Adien spared a quick glance over to the opposite side of the room, wondering just how long it had been since he had last seen her. A year if he wasn't mistaken. Three hundred sixty-five days since he had last seen his golden-eyed obsession. Fifty-two weeks since he had last felt a flutter in his chest or true heat in his veins. From the first moment he had seen her, his life had taken a turn for the worse.

Damn her.

After all this time, thoughts of her still consumed him. The feel of her warm skin against his continued to linger in his senses while her earthy scent remained engraved in his mind. The only time he felt anything like his old self was when he thought of her... of holding her, touching her... fucking her senseless on the ballroom's hardwood floors.

With a heavy groan, Adien turned back towards the bar. He was going to need a few more drinks if he was going to make it through this party. Maybe, if he got wasted enough, he could ignore the thick erection pressing against the fly of his slacks.

"Let me get another round," he told the bartender, who continued to glare at him.

Too distracted to care about the overweight man's unexplained hostility, Adien waited for his drink. His mind wandered back to that night a year ago when he had first seen her... more like stalked her from her closet. Back then he hadn't had time for tact. The life of his brother's mate had been at stake. While he and his brother weren't on the best of terms, Adien couldn't sit back and let an innocent woman suffer. The one time he decided to take the higher road and be the better person, his world was turned upside down.

Beautiful... mine...

That's what he had thought, his hormones consuming him, until her birthmark, several shades darker than her skin tone, caught his attention. Feeling like a pervert but unable to stop himself, Adien had taken a peek under her towel and froze. There, covering her side and twisting down her hips was a mark identical to his. Panic had consumed him, flushing out the desire he had felt.

The Fates had played a cruel prank on them. A mate was not something he wanted. Not after what happened with Persephone, who was not only married to Hades, Lord of the Underworld, but was the reason for the bad blood between the god and Radien.

Sour thoughts continued to consume him. All too clear the images of how she had used him, pretended to care about him only to get to his brother, played in his mind. Like a fool, he had fallen for her lies. Their selfish actions had haunted him for over a millennium.

There was only one person who deserved his trust, and that was his sister-in law and his brother's mate, Melody. She was the only reason the relationship between him and Radien had improved. They no longer wanted to kill each other... just beat each other to a bloody pulp occasionally.

Yet even with all that had occurred, there was a part of Adien, a part of himself that he hated, the part of him that secretly wanted the bond his brother had found with Melody. Adien was tired of the revolving door of women that entered his life. The stream of nameless women that groped and threw themselves at him, claiming to want him when all they wanted was his status, bored him.

But to get what he wanted he would have to open himself up again. He would have to place his heart in the hands of another person, and that was something he was never going to do... ever.

"Here," the bartender's harsh tone drew Adien from his sulking. Giving the man a quick once over as he practically slammed the small glass down on the bar top, Adien was unimpressed with what he saw. Fat and balding, wearing clothes that were too small for him, reminded Adien of some type of nasty goo. However, that did not excuse the fact that the man had pissed Adien off.

Giving the worn man a chilling stare of his own, Adien fought for control over his rising temper. It wouldn't be wise for him to kill the man in such a public place. Although, if he didn't get control over his hostile emotions and do his damn job, Adien couldn't be held accountable for his actions.

"Drink up." The man sneered at him. Before he could think better of it, Adien was reaching across the bar, gripping his hostile host by the collar and pulling him in. Several patrons at the bar turned to see what was happening but quickly went back to their polite conversations and drinks when Adien gave them an angry sneer.

"If you value your life," Adien growled, his powers suddenly coursing through him, begging for release, "you will shut the hell up, control your fucking attitude, and happily serve me my damn drinks." His eyes narrowing dangerously, he dared the man to say something. "If not, you and the glass mirror behind you will have a nice, long, conversation about server hospitality." The man's face drained of color. "Understood?"

The man nodded.

"Good." With that Adien released his hold, watching with dark amusement as the male stumbled to catch his balance. Saying nothing more, the bartender headed over to the other end of the bar, leaving Adien to his thoughts.

It's really been a year...

From his brother's mating to his mortal enemy's release, it felt much longer than a year. Or maybe time seemed to be dragging thanks to the long nights where he woke up in a cold sweat, his body rock hard from having wild dreams of him and his obsession tangled in a ball of sweaty limbs.

Turning back around, Adien once again scanned the crowd, looking for the only thing that would bring him peace. He found her on the far side of the room, surrounded by a small group of suit-wearing men. His gaze focused intently on her, he tried his best to ignore the way his heart skipped a beat from a single glance at her. Breathtakingly beautiful, she shined in her floor-length gown. By the way the dress hugged her toned body, Adien knew it was custom made. The V-cut neckline showed just enough of her pushed-up cleavage to have his mouth watering for a taste. Her once-short hair was cut into a short bob, where the hair in the front was longer than the back. With the hairstyle leaving the sensitive flesh of her neck exposed, he imagined taking his tongue and running it along the length of her slender neck to her collarbone and then even lower to the swells of her breast. Picturing her in his arms again, but conscious this time, made him groan and down another shot to calm his raging hormones.

She must have felt his gaze on her. Slowly, without breaking her conversation, her eyes sought him out. Their gazes locked, and Adien felt his world shift once again. For a long moment, he found it hard to breathe as she continued to hold his stare. Mesmerized, he envied the way she was able to keep her calm while he felt as if he were going to jump out of his skin. When she broke their connection, another guest demanding her attention, the feeling of loss settled in his chest. Despite that, Adien continued to watch her as she greeted those gathered around her. Each time she smiled, even though he somehow knew it was false, desire rocked him. Longing assaulted him as he wondered if she would ever smile at him. Not that fake smile she gave everyone around her, but a real smile that made her eyes sparkle.

Really, Adien... sparkle? This is business...

"Yeah, business... there's nothing business about this," he grumbled, all the while watching her.

"There you are," the familiar voice came from beside him.

Dragging his attention from his obsession, he focused on the woman approaching him. At seeing her, he couldn't help the smile that spread across his face as she navigated her way towards him.

Melody, the Trinitymate of Light and Radien's mate, was beautiful in her midnight-blue gown. With her, now, snow-white hair pulled into a tight bun, she practically glowed. Adien watched her, noting the numerous pairs of male eyes that followed her. The fact that her belly was large and round made no difference to the men that looked over her with hungry eyes.

Their desire angered him. The blatant disregard of the fact that she was clearly with child or the large diamond ring on her finger that indicated she was married made him want to bash them over the head... repeatedly.

"Adien." It was obvious from her labored breathing that her pregnancy was taking its toll on her. "Thanks." She smiled up at him.

"Not a problem." Like always, when he was around her, he found his spirits lifted and he was able to smile easily. "We wouldn't want your oversized protector causing a scene."

Her laugh was filled with warmth and took his thoughts away from his own horrible situation.

It never ceased to amaze him how close the two of them had become within the last year. Melody was the sister he had always wanted. He would gladly trade both his siblings for her if he could.

"Adien." She sighed as she hobbled onto the stool beside him. "You promised to cut back on your drinking."

"And I have." He paused before saying, "For the most part."

She rolled her eyes, and he groaned in defeat. "Cut me some slack, Mel. I'm barely holding on here."

"I can see. Are you drunk?" she asked him just as the bartender returned.

"No," Adien dryly responded.

Drunk? He wasn't drunk, far from it. He was too focused on his obsession as she chatted with the men that hovered around her like vultures. Watching men who weren't in the same league as her laugh and throw flirting smiles her way made Adien more jealous than he cared to admit aloud. Each lustful gaze or subtle touch to her bare shoulder or arm spiked his anger.

"You better get used to that. She gets that kind of attention everywhere she goes." Taking the water she ordered, Melody wobbled her way to her feet.

Quickly, Adien held her steady as she moved from the bar stool.

"You okay?" Her harsh breathing bothered him. Just where the hell was his brother?

"Yeah, thanks." She smiled at him. "If I'd known I'd be this tired, I would have taken up Radien's offer to carry me around. Well, behave yourself. I'm off." With a wave of her hand, she made her way through the crowd of people, leaving him alone with his thoughts and raging libido.

Growling low in his throat, Adien turned away from the sight in front of him and barked at the bartender to fix another drink.

"This is going to be a long night," Adien whispered to himself as he gazed back over his shoulder. His gaze lingering on her, he once again took in her enticing body and felt himself harden even more.

It was going to be an extremely long night.

Harmony Sonders was many things but aloof and naïve was not among them, especially when it came to men. At least she wasn't anymore. That was why she knew the moment his eyes focused on her. From across the room she could feel the heat of his gaze as it traveled along her body. Feeling suddenly exposed, her cheeks flushed a light red as she chatted with the head advertiser of her company. Halfway aware of what he was saying, she watched her admirer from out of the corner of her eye. There was a familiarity about him that she could place. Like she had met him before, not too long ago, but for the life of her, she couldn't figure out where she had seen him. She was sure that she would remember someone whose presence demanded the attention of every woman, and some men, in the room. Even she had snuck a peek at him when he had first arrived.

A brief glimpse at him and her body had come to life. The cool gray three-piece suit he wore had been perfectly tailored to his body. The black shirt and red tie he wore complimented the golden-brown hue of his skin, while the red pocket square added a little touch of sophistication to an already elegant ensemble. Standing out in a sea of black suits and boring smiles, he was by far the most enticing man she had ever seen. Then there were those eyes... those bright-green eyes that were focused so intently on her that it made her weak in the knees.

Absently, Harmony wondered whose guest he was. Her party was invite only, and she had personally sent invitations to every person. She had conducted business with more than half of the people here, and the rest were potential partners. So, to see such a powerful looking man at her party sparked her interest and added some excitement to an otherwise boring party.

"Ms. Sonders?"

Reluctantly, she turned her attention to the gentleman in front of her. "I'm sorry, Jack. My mind wandered off. What were you saying?"

Jack Whitfield, her oldest and most-trusted advisor, smiled at her and continued with what he was saying. "The new line seems to have made a great impression overseas and was well received by the consumers. There's no doubt that we have secured the buyers for our new line."

At the end of his statement, he touched her arm, a light and fleeting touch that meant nothing to her, but she swore she heard a growl echo from the handsome stranger over by the bar... or maybe her mind was playing tricks on her.

_Because what kind of man gets jealous over a woman he doesn't know. Stop being so self-centered and focus._ Harmony chastised herself.

"Did you hear me, Ms. Sonders?" Jack touched her shoulder again, and another growl vibrated through the air around her.

Did she hear him? Was she listening? No, not really. While she loved hearing the good news about her newest line, he wasn't telling her something she didn't already know. The phone call she received that morning told her exactly what she expected to hear.

"Yes, I did. I expected nothing less from your hard work." She smiled sweetly at him. Growing bored with their conversation, Harmony looked for a polite way to end it.

"Harmony!" The familiar call of her name grabbed her attention. Looking past Jack, a wide smile spread across her face as she spotted her youngest sister, Melody. Shock and excitement made its way through Harmony as she excused herself from Jack's presence.

It had been a few months since she had last seen her sister, thanks to the complications of Melody's pregnancy. Although she said she would come, Harmony didn't expect to see Melody. Not when it looked like her sister couldn't walk without the support of her new husband.

"Harmony!" Melody called as she struggled to make her way through the thick crowd of people.

As much as she wanted to run and knock people out of the way and embrace her sibling, Harmony couldn't be that rude. The people here were some of her top benefactors and pissing them off would do nothing but hurt her reputation. Instead she excused herself with a polite smile and carefully made her way to her sister, acknowledging those who waved at her with a smile and a "thank you for coming."

"Melody," Harmony called over the voices of the crowd. Reaching out, she embraced her big-bellied sister, careful not to put too much pressure on her stomach.

"Where have you been?" Harmony asked as they separated. "You look like you're ready to pop. Here"—she grabbed her sister by the hand—"come with me to my private table. We can catch up there while you rest your feet."

"I'm fine," Melody said as she pulled her hand free. "I'm used to it."

Harmony raised a brow, not at all convinced by her sister's words, especially when she looked like she was ready to fall over. But, Harmony wouldn't press the issue. If she had learned one thing about her baby sister, once she made up her mind she rarely changed it.

Sighing, Harmony dropped the topic. "How is everything? I heard you handed your company over to your vice president not too long ago."

"I had no other choice. With the pregnancy, I just couldn't keep up anymore. I figured it would be best for me to step away for a moment." Melody paused.

Harmony frowned, not sure why a sudden flush came to her sister's face.

"Besides, Radien is too much of a distraction at work."

_Ah, so that's the reason._ Harmony shook her head. "It's supposed to be a work place, Mel. Not your own private after hours' spot."

"I know, I know, but... I can't help it." The last part Melody mumbled, and Harmony gave an amused chuckle under her breath.

"Your exhaustion probably has more to do with Radien than the babies." With that, Harmony gave a pointed stare at her sister's outstretched belly, which Melody rubbed a manicured hand over while her face flushed a deeper scarlet.

"Something like that." The smile that spread across her sister's face was one of pure adoration. It was a smile that appeared every time she spoke of Radien.

"So, where is Mister Mom?" Harmony couldn't suppress the laugh that escaped her at her sister's frown.

Teasing Melody was something Harmony had taken a liking to. She couldn't help it. The handful of times she had seen Radien, he had been hovering over his wife like some over-protective parent, which had, she admitted, scared her when she first met him. His presence alone was intimidating, and add to that the fact he was well over six feet tall and had a build that could nearly block out the sun, he was downright frightful.

For a moment, Harmony had questioned her sister's sanity for marrying someone who looked like they could punch an elephant through a wall. But after seeing them together, the way his gray eyes softened when he looked at her and the tender way he held her, catering to her every whim, Harmony had relaxed a little in his presence. She might have even developed a small sisterly bond with him. Although, she was pretty sure if he heard her referring to him as Mister Mom, he would kill her.

"I resent that comment." Harmony jumped at the sound of Radien's voice as it thundered from behind her.

"I—" Turning around, she began to explain herself. Before she could open her mouth further, she was scooped into a bear hug that had her feet dangling in the air.

"Radien... I can't breathe." She coughed.

Laughing, he placed her back on her feet.

"What took you so long?" Melody's voice penetrated through his laughter.

"My beauty." Instantly, Harmony found herself forgotten as Radien turned his attention to his wife. Closing the distance between them, he wrapped her in his arms.

Watching them, Harmony felt a small piece of longing for someone who would look at her as if she were the only one in the world.

_Been there, done that, and what did it get me? A concussion and three weeks in the hospital._ Harmony shook her head, blocking out the unwanted memories. While she was happy for her sister, Harmony knew that type of happiness was out of reach for someone like her. Life had made sure to drill that point into her head after her long years of marriage to her ex.

Again, she shook her head, refusing to go down that road again.

"I've missed you."

Harmony turned away from the couple just before Radien crushed his lips to his wife's.

"I see you two need a moment." Knowing when she was a third wheel, Harmony left the loving pain and headed towards the bar. A hard drink was what she needed to put unwanted thoughts back to the back of her mind where they belonged.

#  Chapter 2

With her drink in her hand, Harmony watched them glide effortlessly across the dance floor. Their movements harmonized, not even her sister's big belly seemed to stop their rhythm. Harmony watched with an annoying ache in her chest that wouldn't go away. The dark memories from the time she had spent with her ex-husband refused to leave her alone. Absently, her hand went to her stomach. Till this day she didn't know when their relationship had turned sour.

Had he always been abusive? A monster lurking behind a beautiful smile?

_No_ , she thought.

There were times in the beginning of their marriage when he was sweet and loving, caring and supportive. At those moments, she truly believed he had loved her, times where he would take hours to make love to her, over and over. There was no part of her body he didn't explore... she had loved him the most then. Yet, before she knew it, tender caresses were replaced with hard punches, while harsh curses took the place of soft whispers, turning the man, she once loved more than anything else in the world into a twisted monster that haunted her dreams and most of her waking moments.

_How about we stop going down this road..._ Harmony took another sip of her drink, the liquor burning her throat as she continued to watch her sister.

"Sickening, isn't it?" The voice came from beside her. Smooth and sensual, it vibrated through her body, making her pulse quicken.

Ignoring the increasing pain from her side and her rapid heart rate, Harmony took another sip of her drink before she spoke, "most days."

Although she hadn't looked at him, she could feel the weight of his stare on her.

He gave a light chuckle that made her heart skip a beat. It was intoxicating as it sent shivers down Harmony's spine, and she wondered what his laugh would sound like.

Would it be smooth like the sound of his voice, capable of conjuring up the most provocative images or a deep and resonating sound from within his chest?

He sighed. "Love, isn't it grand." His sarcastic tone made her smile. He sounded as distrustful with the feeling as she did. Yet, there was no denying the fact that her sister was in love and loved in return.

"I wouldn't know." With a heavy sigh, Harmony finally turned to look at him. When she did, his emerald eyes held her captive. Their intensity made them shine with bits of golden specks. Never had she met a man with such vibrant and richly colored eyes. She had seen green and hazel eyes before, but they were nowhere near as outstanding as the ones that stared at her then. She didn't think the vibrant colors of the coral reef were as beautiful as his eyes. Had she not been leaning against the bar, she was sure her suddenly weak knees would have given out from under her.

"Adien." He extended his hand to her. His smile showed off a pair of perfect teeth that any dentist would be envious of.

"Harmony." She placed her hand in his.

Raising her hand to his lips, he placed a light kiss on the back of her knuckles.

Harmony couldn't lie and say that he wasn't handsome. She had known that from the brief glance she had gotten of him earlier. But up close, dear god, he was gorgeous. In fact, he was the handsomest man she had ever seen, which given her profession said a lot. After dealing with cleanly cut male models, she appreciated his manly handsomeness. Youthful and masculine, he appeared no older than thirty-five, yet the aura that surrounded him said that his appearance was deceiving. That behind those eyes lay a lifetime worth of heartache, which she couldn't begin to understand. His lips, full and plump, made her want to trace the curve of his top lip with her tongue.

When he released her hand and rose back to his full height, Harmony's gaze traveled down his body. The gray suit he wore molded perfectly to his frame, hinting at the toned body hidden underneath. Images of what he looked like naked assaulted her, and she had to look away from him before her wicked thoughts were reflected in her eyes.

"A pleasure." She turned back to see him smiling at her. Breathless, she could do nothing but stare at him, while desire coursed through her. The soft feel of his lips still lingered on her skin as she struggled to form a coherent thought. "I take it you are the hostess of this lovely party." He continued as he waved the bartender down.

"That I am." Harmony returned the smile, and his gaze focused on her lips.

"Sir?" she heard the bartender ask.

"Gin and tonic," Adien answered, without taking his gaze away from her.

Nodding, the bartender turned his attention to her. "Ms. Sonders, would you like another drink?"

"Yes, one more of the same. Thank you." Finished ordering her drink, Harmony turned her attention back to Melody and Radien as they continued to glide across the dance floor, a futile effort to distract herself from both the vibration of her birthmark and the man standing beside her.

Adien stood silently beside her as she watched Radien and Melody. The couple was currently swaying back and forth to the soft music, staring into each other's eyes like they were the only two in the room... it made him sick.

Bored with his brother's happiness, Adien turned his attention back to the woman at his side. He couldn't take his eyes off her for longer than a few seconds. Every time he looked at her, the memory of her in his arms, with nothing but a towel covering her, went through his mind. Remembering the weight of her body in his arms, the warmth of her breath against his neck as he carried her, made him rock hard.

While the memories he had of her was enough to send his body into overdrive, reality was enough to have him going insane. The changing in her breathing when he had kissed her knuckles and the way she smiled at him made him want to take her into his arms and ravage her on top of the bar.

_Damn it._ He scolded himself but he couldn't stop his thoughts.

He needed to focus more than ever. Iraon's release, thanks to Melody's stolen blood, had caused a shift in the balance of power. In the last year, Iraon had been busy trying to find the location of the remaining cages. With the help of the Universe of Death, Thana, it was only a matter of time before the beast found what he was looking for, which led him to the reason he was here. If Iraon wanted to free the next beast, he would need the blood of a trinitymate, the blood of a female who was destined to become a mate of him or one of his brothers. Since Melody's escape from Iraon's lair and her pregnancy, she was never left alone. For a creature like Iraon, it was too much of a hassle to attack her at that moment. Harmony, however, was another matter. She didn't have twenty-four-hour surveillance on her. She was free to come and go as she pleased, making her a very easy target.

Dragging his gaze away from his obsession, Adien looked around the room once again. Nothing seemed out of place, but appearances were deceiving in his world. Recording every face to memory, there was no one that drew his attention. Adien glanced over to a table by the front entrance, where his father and new mother-in-law sat. Although they seemed wrapped up in their own little world, he knew better than anyone that they were more aware of the people in the room than both him and Radien combined.

Confident that the place was secure, he returned his attention to the woman at his side... well, she had been at his side.

Puzzled, Adien scanned the crowd, his gaze frantically searching for her. He found her on the dance floor, in the arms of another man, smiling as she was twirled to the music. Jealously and another, darker emotion, swirled inside him as he watched the pair. Lust shined bright in the human male's eyes as he dipped her and his gaze focused on the cleavage left behind by the low-cut neckline of her dress. Pulling her back to him, he ground a very evident erection against her.

Annoyed, Adien was moving towards them with a deadly purpose. Pushing past the people in his way, he ignored the satisfied smirk on his sister's face and his brother's scowl.

_What do you think you're doing? Now is not the time for this. Calm down and head back to the bar._ His father's voice echoed in Adien's head. If he was in his right frame of mind, he might have listened, but the moment he locked gazes with her from the dance floor and saw the flash of heat in her golden gaze the rest of his common sense when out the window.

_Mine..._ The word echoed loudly in his head as he reached her.

"Can I cut in?" How he managed to keep the venom out of his voice as he spoke to the pair, he didn't know. All he knew was that if the male's hand slid farther down her waist, he was going to rip it off.

"Wait your turn." The little man responded and then turned his back to him as if he was no threat at all.

His anger getting the better of him, Adien grabbed the man by his shoulder, smiling as he winced in pain. Turning the man around, Adien stared him down.

"I wasn't really asking." Adien growled as he pushed the man aside.

Wrapping his arms around his obsession's waist, he possessively pulled her to him. "May I have this dance?" He looked down at her as they began to sway to the music.

"It seems you already have," she said softly as she looked into his eyes.

"Yes, I have." Smiling, he spun her and then brought her back to him. As they danced, the piece of him that constantly screamed in rage and anger quieted down, and all he was left with was the blissful feel of her body as it pressed against his.

#  Chapter 3

It was rare for a man to take Harmony by surprise and spark her interest. It was equally as rare for man to make her feel small and frail. Yet this man was able to do just that. There was no doubt in her mind that he had more strength in his strong hold than most men had in their entire bodies. Not sure if the sudden heat in her body was a good sign or not, she let him lead her in their dance. As they moved, she couldn't tear her eyes away from him. His body, hard muscle under the black tux he wore, moved against her in a sensual rhythm. The warm hand that caressed her bare back made her heart skip a beat.

What was wrong with her?

Her head was going fuzzy as inappropriate thoughts made themselves at home in her imagination. She wanted to melt into him. Mold her body to his and let him have his way with her until the sun rose. Inhaling, his scent wrapped about her. He smelled like the earth, like the wild and beautiful trees of an exotic forest—wild, untamed, powerful, and all male.

He dipped her again, long bangs falling in front of his face. Unable to resist, she pushed the soft locks of hair from his face. Shades of brown and red mixed in his head to form a unique color that enhanced the emerald glow of his eyes.

"Harmony." He pulled her to him. "A beautiful name for a beautiful woman," he whispered into her ear as he brought their bodies closer together.

The heart of his breath against her neck sent shivers down her spine and had her heart pounding against her chest.

"Adien's not too bad either." Smiling at him, she wasn't prepared for his next move.

Adien couldn't stop himself, nor did he want to. She was a tempting vixen, and he was the tempted fox. He had to have a taste of her. His will along with his self-restraint vanished the moment he had taken her in his arms. Thrown out the window the moment she spoke his name in the most seductive voice he had ever heard. All sorts of images of her screaming his name while he drove himself deep inside her consumed him. To make things worse, he was sure she hadn't even noticed the change in her voice, or the way she was staring at him in anticipation. The need to claim her lips had become more than he could bear. Without a second thought, he captured her lips with his. Finding her tongue, he suckled on it.

At first the shock to his aggressive kiss seemed to leave her momentarily stunned, but that evaporated with a sigh as she moved her mouth against his. Instantly, his body hardened even more, making it painful for him to stay in his clothing.

He shouldn't be doing this in public... shit, he shouldn't be doing this period. Yet as her mouth moved against his in a decadent rhythm, he lost all coherent thought, growling into her mouth as he continued to press her body into his.

With his head spinning, there was only one thought that consumed Adien's mind. A thought he was sure would get him slapped if he said it aloud, but he would say it anyway. Just as he began to suggest they move to a more private spot, they were interrupted.

"Adien." On his shoulder, he felt his brother's strong grip.

Adien growled as he broke his life-threatening kiss.

"What!?" Adien snapped, refusing to let go of his obsession's waist.

"Now is not the time. Let her go," Radien told him.

"Adien." Melody called next. "Please, calm down. You have to let her go."

_Never. Mine._ His mind screamed. Shocked by his train of thought, Adien withdrew from her. Slowly coming back to his senses, he looked around. His little display of public affection had gained the attention of the entire room.

"Shit... what the hell am I doing?" He raked a hand through his hair.

"Adien." From behind him, Harmony called out. Once again, the primal part of himself that he kept under strict lock and key fought for control over his body. As much as he wanted to turn and embrace her in his arms, he wouldn't. Not again. He had already dug a hole so deep he didn't think he could get out of it. If he continued, he would lose himself completely.

"Do something about this." His voice raw, Adien pushed past his oversized brother. While he intended to leave, there was something holding him in place, keeping him from vanishing and heading home.

Lost in the fogginess of her mind, the only thing that mattered to Harmony was the man that had set her body on fire. She reached for him, taking a step forward as he walked away from her.

"ADIEN!" she screamed. Through her haze-filled mind, she could make out the wide width of his back as he stood in place. "Don't—" Her voice became stuck in her throat as he turned to face her. Instantly, her need vibrated through her. When their gazes locked, Harmony's breath caught. He took a step towards her, and she stopped breathing altogether.

"Adien... not now," a voice said, a familiar voice that she had heard somewhere before. She just couldn't remember from where. The same way she couldn't remember what she had been doing five minutes ago.

_Adien._ Her mind reached for him again, and her heart called for him even though she hardly knew him. Her body needed him. He took another step towards her. Again, she heard that familiar voice telling him to stop. She growled. It was that voice that was keeping him away from her... she didn't like it.

"Shit," she heard another voice say. This one she had never heard before. She crouched, ready to strike. "Freeze the room." The strange voice ordered.

Harmony's gaze scanned the room, looking for a face to the voice, but all she saw were fuzzy shadows. The only thing she could see clearly was the man she wanted to wrap her body around. Another growl escaped her, and with it, a strange power surged through her. Closing her eyes, she savored its feel. It was a power that would help her reach her goal.

"Damn it let me go to her." Adien's enraged voice vibrated through her body, shaking her down to her marrow.

"No." There was that familiar voice again.

Where were these voices coming from? Who did they belong to? More importantly could she rip them apart with her teeth?

She let loose a howl that echoed through the room.

Where was she anyway?

Her head started to pound. But she didn't flinch. Her attention focused solely on the male in front of her, her desire to have him controlling her every thought, her every move.

Suddenly, Harmony felt the air around her still. Panicking, she tried to move her arms and legs, but she was frozen in place. Her fury latched onto her as more power coursed through her. However, she couldn't enjoy it. It was too much too soon. Her body felt as if it were going to burst apart. Her chest ached. Sweat started to form over her brow as her hands trembled. Gripping her chest, she doubled over in pain. She was dying, and she knew it. A scream ripped from her as she fell to her knees.

"Damn it." She could barely hear the familiar voice now.

"Let me go to her."

_Adien..._ His voice calmed her, easing the pain that coursed through her. _Adien._ She needed him. He was the only one who could save her. On shaking hands and knees, she reached for him, hoping and praying that he would pull her from the darkness that wanted to consume her.

_Adien. Please, help me._ All he needed to do was wrap his arms around her, and she knew her pain would evaporate. Just like when they danced and he had held her possessively in his arms.

We...were dancing?

_That's right._ They had been dancing. Flirting and lost in each other. Everything had seemed so right. So then how had it ended up like this?

"Adien. You know you're just going to make it worse... Melody!" The familiar voice boomed again.

Melody?

Where was her sister? The night's events came to her in bits and pieces. As her memories of the night became clearer, so did her vision, until she was able to make out the large figure standing next to Adien.

Radien?

"Harm..." Instantly Melody was kneeling before her, her large belly resting on her thighs as she gripped Harmony by the face, forcing her to focus.

"Mel...ody." Tired from the pain, Harmony rested against Melody as she pulled her into a tight embrace.

Even thought she was in her sister's arms, Harmony's gaze once again found Adien, who stood next to his brother, silently watching her with an unreadable expression plastered across his face. Once again, the heat and desire, that dark power that had finally started fading as she held on to her sister's round body, came back full force, hitting Harmony so hard and quick she jumped out of Melody's hold and was once again withering on the floor in pain.

Dear god, would it never end?

All Harmony wanted was for the pain to stop.

Adien's first instinct was to rush over and wrap her in his arms, comforting her until those golden eyes once again looked at him in a mix of lust and challenge. Granted, that was how she had ended up in her current condition, withering around on the floor in pain, fighting to beat back a beast she didn't know existed within her. As much as every protective and male instinct in him demanded he go to her, he remained where he was, standing still next to his brother, who watched Melody like a hawk as she tried to calm her sister.

"Adien, don't do it," his brother whispered.

"I don't need you to tell me that." Adien replied.

"Melody, is there anything you can do?" Bion. His father's voice came from nearby.

_No, I'm the only one who can stop her._ Adien gritted his teeth.

The need to go to her was becoming too much for him to ignore. But if he went over there, it would mean nothing but disaster for his current way of life. He could see it clearly in front of him. He would go to her and take her right there on the floor, not caring that his family was watching. In her current state, she would let him, would welcome him with her lean body and take whatever he gave her until neither of them could move. Then she would mark him as hers, and he would do the same. She would tie herself to him without knowing the consequences of her actions or the truth of the man she had just given her life over to. There would be no way he would resist her. She would dominate him with her need to mate, and he would let her because she was marked as his. Then, once they came back to reality, she would hate him.

For reasons that he was not going to entertain, he hated that thought more than anything.

While Adien struggled with himself and the unknown future hovering above him, it took all his willpower to stay in place and not go to her. Though if he had any sense left, he would have just left the room and never looked back. But common sense had left him the moment he first saw her.

"What the hell?" He raked his hand through his damp hair.

"Stay put." Radien clasped Adien's shoulder and pulled him back. Surprised that he hadn't noticed he moved. Adien didn't fight his brother.

"What's wrong with me?" Harmony's horse and cracked voice echoed through her pain. He watched her body tense as another surge of power rocked her body. Again, her agonized scream vibrated through his body.

_Fuck it._ He needed to help her.

Knocking his brother's hold off his shoulder Adien headed towards her. Ignoring Radien and his family's disapproving glares, Adien kneeled beside Harmony.

"Forgive me," he whispered as he clenched his hands at his sides. Reaching out, Adien ran his hands though Harmony's disheveled hair. Her needy moan caused raw desire to rock his body.

Gritting his teeth, he forced back the beast that demanded he claim what was marked as his.

"Harmony, look at me," Adien gently commanded as he noted that not only had her nails grown longer, but her molars were sticking out from under her top lip.

Slowly, Harmony's head rose and her gaze met his. For a brief moment, her golden eyes, bright with power, held Adien paralyzed and he watched with a hungry gaze as she pushed herself up from the floor. On all fours in front of him, with her dress riding up and exposing her lean legs, she gave him a sinful smile and he prayed for strength as the beast inside of him demanded he mount her.

Shaking his head clear, Adien focused back on the task at hand, forcefully reminding himself that this was not Harmony he was dealing with but the _hound_ that was slowly awaking inside of her.

Harmony moaned his name, and his cock twitched.

"I've been waiting for you." She spoke, and the voice that came out of her was not her own. It was a voice so low and seductive that it called forth every wicked desire Adien possessed.

"Harm—" Melody started.

"Shut up, this has nothing to do with you." Harmony's bright gaze shifted to her sister, and then Harmony looked past Melody to Radien, who towered behind her. "Worry about your own mate and not mine." With that Harmony turned her attention back to a shocked Adien.

Again, she moaned his name as she crawled into his lap. "Take me." Leaning her face in, she licked his lips, and he had to bite back a groan. "Right here, right now, in front of everyone."

Someone help him. He wanted to, so bad that he was sure his head would explode from the needy desire coursing through his veins. But, he would not give in. Not when the woman in front of him knew nothing about him or herself. He refused to turn her into something worse than him.

Shoving her from his lap, Adien gave her a cold stare. One that he prayed didn't betray his true feelings as he rose to his feet. With her gaze following his every movement, she licked her lips and spread her legs for him, showing him the skimpy black panties she wore that barely covered her.

Although a large piece of him enjoyed the view, another piece of him found her disgusting in that moment.

Truthfully, while their conversation at the bar had been the first time they had ever spoken, Adien knew that Harmony would be mortified if she could see the way she was exposing herself, not only him but her sister's husband and others as well.

The creature before him might entice him, but it was the woman hidden beneath her desires that he wanted to know and take to his bed. The desire that had waged war against his body and senses immediately died out, and he was able to face her with the cold numbness he was used to.

"Adien." She continued to beckon him. "I know you want me." Crocking a finger at him, the straps of her dress fell from her shoulder, and she bit down on her bottom lip.

"Is that something you're sure of? That I want you?" Adien said coolly.

"Oh, yes. The bulge in your pants told me so. Now come."

"What bulge? Do you see one now?" Adien raised a brow.

He watched as her golden gaze went to his pants.

Frowning, she brought her gaze back up.

"Disgusting." He spat the word, and the way her eyes widened told him she wasn't expecting him to say that. "Disgusting and weak," he continued. "If I wanted a whore, I know where I can go for that." He raked a disgusted gaze over her. "A woman who has no morals and values, who would show herself to the world, has no place in my bed or by my side." Turning from her then, Adien walked back over to his brother and father, who watched him with surprised expressions.

"Adien, you are mine." He heard her voice, sure and positive.

Looking over his shoulder, Adien gave her a smug smile. One that infuriated everyone he knew. "Baby, if you think you can tame the untamable, then you are more than welcome to come and try."

#  Chapter 4

Underworld: Deep in Tartarus

It had been a long time since Azuzela, the Mistress of Temptation and the Fornicator of Damned Souls, had visitors. So long that she had forgotten what it was like to entertain someone other than herself. As she stood staring at a face she hadn't seen in years, she couldn't help but reminisce about the life she had once lived, before heartbreak and darkness had consumed her.

With perfectly created features—lips that weren't too big nor too small, and catlike eyes that demanded the attention of anyone she wanted—she had been the epitome of beauty. Although she was short, barely reaching average height for a human female, she had a toned body that was curved in all the right places. Add to that the long highlighted brown hair that flowed like cascading waterfalls down her back, there wasn't a male—human or otherwise—that she couldn't have. Even the powerful male standing outside her cage had fallen into her bed more times than she could count. Her list of lovers was long and impressive, but there was only one man she still craved above all others.

_Adien..._ His name was a soft whisper along the walls of her mind.

Azuzela remembered all too well the way he had moved against her. Skilled and powerful, she lost count of how many times he had made her orgasm back in the old days. Their time together had been passionate and intimate. Touching her in places no one else had. It wasn't long before she found herself addicted to him... a laughable idea given who and what she was. Yet, it had happened. Before she knew it, he had become the only male her body longed for.

Back in those days, she had been a weak and pathetic excuse for a Trio member and a disappointment to her dark lord. Thinking that she had fallen in love with him and that he had loved her back, she defied her creator and thought she could change...

Another laughable idea, Azuzela soon realized. She would never forget the cold and heartless way Adien had left her... the way he had turned his back on her when she was willing to give up everything for him. She wished she could go back in time and kill him then.

Adien would pay for his betrayal, just like the rest of the mortal world would pay for her imprisonment and the banishment of her dark lord. Just as soon as she was free and regained her power.

After being locked up for so long. her beauty had faded. Her once full and thick hair was now stringy and dull. A body that was once toned and curved had wasted away into nothing. She looked like a ragged old hag. All because there was no one around to feed her powers, to lust and fight over her. To worship her like she should be worshiped. Here in the deep depth of Tartarus, a dark hell that had consumed all her energy, Azuzela was alone. At least for the moment, if the beast in front of her was any indication of what was going on up in the human world, she would be free of her prison soon enough and once again able to bask in the life luxury.

"Hello, Azuzela, you don't look so well."

Stepping closer to the bars, Azuzela turned her attention to the dark male in front of her. Her lover at one point in time, they had been a disastrous pair. Sex and violence had followed them everywhere they went. "Iraon. It has been a long time."

"Indeed, it has," he responded as he stepped closer to the pulsating bars of her prison. "Too long by the looks of it."

A sad smile crossed her face as she spoke to him. Iraon was still as handsome as she remembered. His dark features added to the dangerous aura that surrounded him. The red velvet color of his hair, like always, was at odds with his browned complexion. Yet, it didn't take anything away from him. In fact, it made him appear exotic and forbidden. A tempting sin that you knew you shouldn't commit but did so anyway. Dressed in western-styled clothes that seemed to be tailored to his chiseled and cut body, he seemed a bit too happy at pointing out her current appearance.

"As you can see, without the adoration of my subjects, I am a shadow of my former self. But you look as if you have been enjoying your freedom out in the human world." She responded.

"I have. The world has changed since we roamed free, but the basic construct of humans has stayed the same. They are still the lowly creatures they have always been. It is easy to ignite anger and war between them. They are greedy beings that will commit whatever atrocity to get what they want."

"They have always been like that," Azuzela said dully.

"Yes, but in this new day and age, greed, sex, and violence are rampant. Slowly, they are destroying their futures and covering the world in darkness." Iraon paused. Closing his eyes, he seemed to be savoring something she couldn't feel.

No, she took that back. She could feel it, the decaying world above her that beckoned her return. It was an intoxicating feeling that had become foreign to her during her imprisonment.

Shutting her eyes, Azuzela relished the power coursing through her. For the first time in a long time, she started to feel like her old self as she opened her eyes, her glowing gaze meeting Iraon's black stare.

"You can feel it, can't you? Right now, some pathetic human woman is being raped and murdered by a man who had wanted her since she was little. His anger and rage at her for marring someone other than him, the lust that burned at the pit of his stomach for over twenty years, it all pours out of him, tainting the world as her blood seeps into the ground. This is what you have been missing, Azuzela. The world has missed us. It is time for our return."

_Yes._ It was time that she was freed of this forsaken prison and her powers were returned to her. Chaos and destruction, sex and violence—they all called to her as the world above her spun out of control.

"See, just from that one act, you are already looking better, and that was just a small taste of what is happening now. Imagine what it will feel like once you are free."

It would be her playground, a place where she could be free. "Tell me, Iraon, have you found her, the Trinitymate of Earth? The one whose blood will restore me to my former glory?"

"Yes," was Iraon's reply.

Instantly a dark smile appeared on Azuzela's face. As more dark energy flowed into her, she felt freedom within her gasp.

Iraon had been gone a long time, too long if you asked her. As Thana stood in Gazini, her dark lord's castle in the Neither World, looking out her bedroom window at the dark nothingness around her, she was growing impatient waiting for the beast to return. Not to mention, she had grown sick and tired of babysitting his pets. Between the she-bitch he kept locked in the dungeon and the disgusting half-witted devil that couldn't compete a single mission given to him, she was ready to ram her head into the wall.

She was the Universe of Death. She was supposed to be tormenting humans and other creatures, sitting and savoring their bloody and brutal deaths. Not waiting around in some bedroom for a male to return like some love-struck damsel.

_Gazini, this is all for you._ All her efforts and actions were for the sake of her dark lord, the one male who could make her weak in the knees. It was for his freedom that she endured such boredom and his suck-ass creations. Although, she absently wondered how he would feel once he learned that she had slept with one of his beasts more than once.

Smiling into the darkness, she could easily see him killing Iraon and punishing her in the most sadistic and wicked ways he could imagine. Heat spread through her body. She knew it would be painful, probably making her wish she was dead, but the pleasure... the thought was enough to have her holding back a moan. Her dark lord had not only been her most dangerous lover but also her best. Since his disappearance, her body had not been the same. The little foreplay she did with Iraon served as a temporary fix until she could be with her dark lord again.

_Soon..._ She had waited this long, what were a few more moments.

Turning away from the window, Thana walked towards the bedroom doors and stepped into the dark and quiet hallway. She paid no attention to the castle's cold draft as she made her way down the hall and towards the library. Reaching her destination, she continued to the back of the room, where the most dangerous and darkest of ancient texts awaited her. Taking up her seat at the table, Thana picked up the book she had been reading earlier that day. She had lost track of how much time she had spent over the last few years looking for a way to kill Bion, the Universe of Light, without killing herself in the process. After all this time, she had yet to run across any information that would help her.

"There is nothing—" A loud boom and a hard vibration shook the room.

"Damn devil. What is he doing now?" There was another loud noise and vibration. The books Thana had piled on the table fell to the floor as the table shook. "What the hell! If he keeps this up, he will tear the castle apa—" Another boom and vibration, much stronger than the last, had Thana falling out of her chair and the bookshelves around shaking violently. Ancient texts fell from the shelves above her. Luckily, she moved fast enough to avoid getting hit by the heavy books.

"I am going to kill him." Thana said in an angry whisper as rose to her feet. Before she could make good on her oath, another book fell from the top of the bookshelf, hitting her on the shoulder before dropping to the ground.

As the book opened, its pages flipping as the cold draft went through the room, Thana frowned at the dark aura that seemed to seep from the book's pages. Bending down, she picked it up and briefly skimmed over its contexts. Her flamed-colored gaze widened as she read the ancient text:

"In the time before the awakening of the Dark Lord, whose death scythe sits hidden in the layers of the Dream Keeper's heart, there shall, in the time of chaos and destruction, be born twins, who are conceived from a hound of mixed blood and a mortal blessed by the stream of life.

One born of light, one born of darkness, their powers tip the balance of power. Should they fight as one, darkness shall be defeated, and those who worship the Dark Lord shall be returned to the shadows from which they came.

However, should Fate favor those of the dark, a champion of the dark shall rise. With the ability to l wield the Dark Lord's death scythe. He will shatter all ties to the light. Fate favors the one who possess the Dark Child, for he shall bring forth the wrath of the Dark Lord and the birth of the Chaos Universe."

Eyes wide, Thana reread the passage several times before she closed the book.

_Impossible._ Even as the thought crossed her mind, she knew it was the truth. Her prayers had been answered, and soon all would feel her wrath. Before she could stop herself, hysterical laughter erupted from her. Her salvation and the return of her dark lord were at hand.

#  Chapter 5

He must have lost his damn mind. What the hell was he thinking? Kissing her like that? Touching her like that?

"Come and tame the untamable..."

What the fuck was that, Adien?

He was definitely losing it. As the Hound of Earth paced his over-spacious living room, his hand raking through his hair, he replayed the night's events over in his mind. He knew seeing her again wasn't a good idea, knew that no good could come from being near her, but to let things spin out of control like that so quickly... _that_ he hadn't expected.

Fuck my life.

He knew better.

From the first moment Adien had seen her in that shower, naked and beautiful, he had craved her. Wanted her so bad that he could hardly sleep at night, and when he did sleep, he dreamt of her—of her golden eyes staring at him with challenge and desire, daring him to fall off the edge of the cliff he was standing on and fall face first into his destruction. His longing was a living nightmare and No matter what he did, he couldn't escape from it.

His cock jerked in his pants as his steps began to slow and then stopped altogether. Giving up his feverish pacing, Adien flopped down on the luxurious sofa that had damn near cost him an arm and a leg. The thick erection that strained painfully against the fly of his slacks made it impossible for him to think of anything other than burying himself deep into a female's warm body... A female whose golden eyes had the ability to captivate his soul.

_I'm not doing this._ "I refuse to play this game," Adien said aloud.

Pushing himself from the sofa, he knew the one place he could go to find relief and a welcoming body... even if it was only temporary.

He grabbed the keys for his BMW off the key rack and left his loft. Taking the elevator to the lobby of his complex, after greeting a few of his passing neighbors, Adien exited the building and headed towards the one thing he loved more than women and alcohol. Delilah, the name he had given to his custom built seven series BMW, waited for him across the street in her very own parking space. Sleek and clean, her midnight-blue color shined beautifully under the lights of the surrounding buildings.

As the cool night air whipped around him, Adien opened his car door and got in. Instantly he was greeted with the fresh scent of rainforest trees. He inhaled deeply and felt himself calm down. Taking another deep breath, Adien started his car and pulled off, heading deep downtown to a place that had quickly become his second home.

Harmony took several deep breaths and felt herself slowly coming back to reality. Sitting silently on a cushioned sofa in her private suite, she rubbed her temples as her sister set a small cup of water down on the table. Unsure how she had ended up back in her suite, Harmony struggled to piece together what had happened a few moments before. She remembered making her rounds, talking and mingling with her guests over her latest designs overseas, and enduring Jack's usual flirtations and passes. What she didn't remember was how her dress had gotten ripped and dirtied or why her hair was a mess, or better yet why the throbbing along her side had suddenly increased to an intense vibration that painfully annoyed her.

Taking the cup of water Melody had placed on the table before she took up the seat across from Harmony, she looked to her sister, who seemed entirely to calm as she watched Harmony with intense and curious eyes.

"How are you feeling?" Melody asked as one of her hands rubbed her big belly.

Despite her pain, Harmony couldn't help the small smile that crossed her face. Her little sister, who looked tired and as if she would pop at any moment, glowed from her newfound happiness.

As the vibration of her birthmark slowly dulled to an uncomfortable but manageable throbbing, Harmony found herself wondering if she would ever feel the joy and love that her sister felt. Although, after the abuse and heartache her soon-to-be ex-husband had put her through, Harmony doubted she would let another man close to her, let alone into her heart. Yet that didn't change the fact that she envied her sister.

"Harm, did you hear me? Are you okay?" Melody's concerned voice drew Harmony from her self-loathing.

_Was she okay?_ That had to be a trick question.

Of course, she wasn't.

Harmony felt as if her world had been turned upside down and she had yet to get her balance. "What happened?" She took another sip of her water. Cold and refreshing, it eased her pain.

"Well..." Harmony watched with a raised brow as Melody seemed to struggle with her next words.

"You met Adien." Melody said the man's name like it was supposed to mean something to her.

"Who is Adien?" Harmony asked.

Had she not felt as if there were a vital piece of her memory missing, Harmony would have laughed at the mystified look on her sister's face. For a long moment, neither of them spoke. It wasn't until Melody's facial expression changed, her eyes going wide, as if she had just remembered something important, that the silence between them was broken.

"I see," Melody paused, her hand continually rubbing her belly as she stared at her sister. "With the amount of untapped power flowing through you at the time, and your inner hound taking over as it did, you have no memory of what happened."

Harmony could do nothing but frown at her sister, having no idea what she was talking about.

"Harmony..." Melody continued, and Harmony couldn't shake the feeling that something was seriously wrong. There was a low hum of energy that seemed to circle Melody that hadn't been there moments before. "Adien is your mate, the Trinity Hound of Earth, just like Radien is my mate."

Things just kept getting stranger and stranger. "What the hell are you talking about?"

For a moment Harmony thought she saw a flash of panic cross her sister's face. But as quickly as it came, it was gone. Sudden anxiety began to make its way through Harmony's body as Melody smiled, and Harmony caught a glimpse of large molars sticking out from under her sister's top lip. Quickly pushing away, Harmony nearly fell to the floor as her feet became tangled in her dress. Before she could tumble forward into the table and her sister, Harmony felt a firm, almost hurtful grip on her arm.

She spun around and knocked the hand from her arm as she came face to face with Radien.

Looking up, Harmony was left shocked and speechless as bright glowing eyes focused on her. She stumbled back into the table, once again threatening to fall into her sister. Again, a hand steadied her.

"Harmony, please settle down," Melody said in a too-calm and comforting tone.

"Don't touch me!" Harmony yelled and yanked her arm free. Ignoring the hurt but understanding look on her sister's face, Harmony backed away from both Melody and Radien. Careful this time not to bump into the table and have another pair of hands on her, Harmony's gaze franticly jumped between Radien and Melody.

"Who the hell are you people?" While they looked like her relatives, there was no way— just no way—they were her family.

"Harm," Melody said as she held her hands in the air. "I can explain everything." She took a step forward and wobbled. Instantly Radien was by her side while Harmony continued to back away, heading into the bathroom that was a few spaces behind her. No matter how much Harmony wanted to run to Melody's side, she wouldn't. Not until she knew that the female in front of her was truly her sister.

"My beauty, what's wrong?" The panic in Radien's voice seemed real. The worried look on his face also seemed genuine to Harmony as she watched the pair.

"I think the small amount of power that you gave me finally wore off. The babies are absorbing more power than usual," Melody said.

Harmony had the feeling that wasn't a good thing. Nor was it a good thing the way Melody's skin paled as she straightened herself.

"Take it easy." Radien warned as she took another step forward.

Harmony, as much as she wanted to step away, remained in her spot until her sister stood again, neither speaking as they stared at each other. The longer Harmony stared and took in the pregnant woman the more Harmony felt herself calm down. Finally, she was able to recognize the female as her sister. Harmony would know the tenderness in her sister's brown eyes no matter what happened. She could have grown two heads and a tail, and Harmony still would have known her sister, so long as those brown eyes looked at Harmony in love and sisterly adoration.

"Know me now?" Melody gave a weary smile, one that highlighted her exhaustion.

"Mel," Radien's deep voice came from behind Harmony. She turned to him, noticing he looked more fearful and nervous than he had moments before.

"I am fine." Even as Melody said the words, she didn't look fine. "A dormant part of her has opened. Now she can see, and I can show her what she is missing."

"Mel, don't. You aren't strong enough." Taking long strides, Radien came to stand beside his wife, touching her arm and gently trying to pull her to him, but she refused to budge. "I must show her, just this one night."

Before Harmony could open her mouth to ask what the hell was going on, Melody took her sister's hand. Warmth and a slight hum of power coursed through Harmony, clearing the haziness of her mind. Instantly she remembered everything. She remembered Adien, and the feeling that she had met him somewhere before, of wanting him, of feeling right in his arms as they danced. He was gorgeous, a creature of raw sexuality and power. From the moment she had seen him, she had wanted him.

Adien's touch had sent shivers down her spine and desire pooling between her legs... and then there had been a shift. Something strange happening to her body, a powerful and hungry force surging to the surface to claim what was hers. In that moment, there had been one thought on her mind, and that possessed the man who started it all.

"Adien." She could hear herself, practically moaning his name as if she had had him and was remembering the way he filled her. "Ad—" Abruptly the images were cut off and so was the low hum of power that had coursed through her.

"God damn it." Radien's hard curse broke through her entranced state.

"Wha—" Seeing her sister's limp body being lifted and cradled by Radien left Harmony speechless. Panic—though not from fear, but worry for her sister and her unborn babies—gripped Harmony.

"What happened?" she asked as she rushed towards Radien.

For a second it looked like Radien wasn't going to answer her. With his gazed fixed on her sister's face, he looked as if he was having a deep conversation with her that only the two of them could hear. When Radien finally drew his gaze away from Melody's face, his eyes, their glow dulling, seemed glossed over as if he was fighting back tears.

"My father will take care of you. I must tend to Melody. She must rest." With that, he vanished from Harmony's sight. Just up and disappeared with her sister in his arms.

Not sure what the hell was going on in the world, Harmony was left standing alone in her suite.

_My father will take care of you._ "What the hell does that mean?" She didn't know and she sure as shit didn't want to find out.

Shaking her head, Harmony decided that the best thing for her was return to her party and attended to her guests. Everything else could wait until morning, when she awoke from this crazy dream and her world was back to normal. As she turned to head into the bathroom, Harmony once again walked into a solid wall of chest.

"Dam—" Looking up, Harmony's words where cut off when she laid eyes on a man that looked so similar to Radien they could be twins. With the same strong features and glowing eyes, Harmony couldn't help the renewed panic that consumed her before the male wrapped a large arm around her and pulled her to him.

Struggling against his hold was useless. No matter how hard she pushed or hit at him, his grip held.

She screamed, but no one came.

"Who"—tired from struggling, her words came to her in short and labored bursts—"are you?"

"I'm Bion, Radien and..." He paused as if contemplating his next words. "Adien's father."

Before another wave of shock could course though her, Bion—or whatever his name was—placed a warm palm against Harmony's forehead.

"I apologize in advance for my son's idiocy."

Those were the last words Harmony heard before sudden darkness consumed her and her body went limp in Bion's arms.

#  Chapter 6

Several Days Later

It had been a long and tiring week for Harmony. Between catalogue and boutique deadlines and finding a venue for the gala she was to be hosting in a few months, it had been nearly impossible for her to get any type of sleep. Fatigue was slowly creeping up on her as she placed the documents she had been reading down on her desk. She was tired of reviewing and correcting business proposals and partnership agreements. It was enough to make her want to slit her wrist.

Evil-eyeing the papers scattered across her desk, Harmony reached for the phone on her desk. Needing a distraction from her lackluster day, she dialed the one person who could speed along the time. After three long rings, her sister answered her phone.

"Hey, Mel," Harmony said into the receiver. Propping her feet on her desk, she leaned back comfortably in her chair as she spoke to her baby sister.

"Harmony, are you okay?" Her voice had a strange note to it.

Was she okay? Of course, she was, why wouldn't she be? "A little bored, but otherwise I'm fine."

"That's good." Though the phone, Harmony heard her sister let out a sigh of relief, as if she had expected her to say that something was wrong. "After everything that happened, I wasn't sure if you were all right."

Frowning, Harmony had no idea what Melody was talking about. "After what happened?"

"You don't remember the party?" The surprise in her sister's voice caught Harmony off guard.

"The party? What about the party?"

Heavy silence greeted her. Confused, Harmony thought back to the night of her party. It had been a fuzzy and contorted night, and she damned her lack of memory after one too many drinks. But Melody's questioning had Harmony wondering if she was forgetting something very important.

A slow and painful throb traveled up her spine to the base of her neck, finally spreading to her temples. Twisting in her chair, Harmony tried to ease the pain suddenly traveling along her side.

"Bion must have blocked your memories again," Melody said solemnly.

Bion... Why does that name sound so familiar?

Just as Harmony pushed to remember who he was, a sharp wave of pain cut off her words. Groaning, she could do nothing but let the pain run its course until it either disappeared or eased up a little. It took several minutes before the throbbing in her temples died down to an annoying vibration. "Who the hell is Bion?" she asked once she finally found her voice again.

"He is Radien's father."

Okay, that just solved everything, didn't it? "What do you mean by blocked my memories... again?"

Once again, a thick silence lingered between them, as if her sister was toying with how much to say.

"Harmony, I—" Melody's sudden yell of pain had Harmony grabbing her purse and reaching for her car keys before she could take another breath.

"Melody!" she called to her sister. When Harmony received no answer, only the sudden shuffling of feet echoing through the receiver, her pulse tripled. Fear snaked its way through her body as a dark foreboding settled on her shoulders.

"Melody..."

In the background, Harmony could hear her sister calling for her husband in a pained and strained voice. There was some more feet shuffling and then a loud thud, which signaled that the phone had been dropped.

"Melody... Melody!" Harmony continued to call for her sister over and over.

"I have you." Harmony could hear Radien's deep voice as he spoke to her sister. In a soft and loving tone, he reassured her that she would be okay. Clearly the pregnancy that Harmony thought was going smoothly and without any complications was not going as well as she thought. From the sounds, it seemed as if it was pure hell.

After a few more moments and some more noise in the background, Harmony finally heard footsteps heading towards the abandoned phone.

"Harmony?" Radien's voice echoed through the receiver.

"Radien, what's going on?" She quickly asked him.

"I apologize, but Melody will have to call you back." Even as Radien spoke, reassuring her that her sister was going to be okay and that all she needed was rest, Harmony couldn't shake the feeling that there was something everyone was hiding from her.

"Harmony." Radien's harsh call made her jump.

"Yes," she answered.

"I have to go now." With that, he hung up the phone, leaving Harmony standing in her office half-dressed to head out the door and staring at a dead phone. There was no doubt in her mind that Radien would take excellent care of her sister, probably more so than any hospital. But that didn't ease the nervous panic coursing through her.

There was a soft knock on her office door. Heading back to her seat behind her desk, Harmony took several deep breaths before she told her assistant to come in. Only she would knock that soft and hesitantly on her door, as if Harmony was some type of evil demon that would eat the poor girl alive if she made the wrong move. Again, soft knocking echoed through the room.

"Come in."

Harmony watched as the door slowly opened and in walked her meek and shy assistant clutching a yellow envelope to her chest. Wearing a plain pair of dress pants and a loose red shirt with a blazer the same plan navy blue as her pants, Kathy Simmons had a long way to go if she was ever going to make a name for herself in the fashion world.

"What is it?" Harmony asked in a bored tone. She really didn't have time for this.

"Mrs. MacAvoy, I have brought the samples for you." Her soft voice, hardly audible, irked Harmony's last nerve.

"What samples?" Harmony questioned as the female came to stand in front of her. No older than twenty-five, the young and attractive assistant refused to meet Harmony's gaze, opting to stare at the ground rather than her boss.

"The samples from France are waiting for your approval down in the design studio."

One more time with the shy voice.

Harmony had to fight the urge to roll her eyes. It wasn't that she didn't like the female. Kathy was an excellent worker, never late and always the last one to leave. There was just something about her that rubbed Harmony the wrong way.

"If the samples are in the studio, what is that you have in your hands?" Giving a pointed stare at what Kathy had in her hands, Harmony watched as Kathy gently placed the envelope on her desk.

"Your divorce papers came in over the weekend and need your signature."

Harmony groaned as she felt her headache starting to return.

It was not going to be a good day.

"Mrs. MacAv—"

"It's Ms. Sonders." Harmony snapped at the woman. "How many times must I tell you that?"

"Yes, Mrs.... I mean Ms. Sonders." Harmony watched as the woman fidgeted with the sleeve of her blouse. "Hum."

"What is it, Kathy?" Harmony gave her assistant another hard stare. When she remained quiet, Harmony let out an annoyed sigh. "Is that all? If so, you can leave, unless you like standing there looking at me with that dumb and lost expression on your face."

"There is a gentleman waiting for you in the lobby," Kathy said.

"A visitor?" Harmony asked with a raised brow. "I didn't see any messages scheduled for today."

"That's what I told him, but he was very insistent on seeing you. Should I ask him to leave?"

A weird look went across the female's features, piquing Harmony's interest.

"Yes, reschedule the appointment for some time next week." With her instructions given, Harmony dismissed Kathy. When she didn't move, Harmony's annoyance returned full force.

In a harsher tone than was needed, she asked, "Is there anything else you need from me?"

"No, there's nothing else." Kathy's voice cracked.

_Good grief, is she about to cry?_ Harmony thought.

"Then you can leave." Dismissing Kathy with a wave of her hand, Harmony turned her attention back to the envelope in front of her.

As Harmony opened the envelope, she could hear Kathy's light steps going down the hall and into her small office. Even though a piece of her rubbed Harmony the wrong way, she still felt bad for the poor woman. The fragile creature needed to grow a backbone if she was going to make it in the world. Harmony knew firsthand what the industry did to the weak, chewing them up and spitting them out as if they were nothing but trash. And trash was something Harmony would never allow on her team. Kathy had to either grow a thicker skin or find a new job.

Harmony, shaking her head, emptied the contents of the envelope on top her desk. Dreading what she was about to see, she slowly began to read over the papers. Carefully she read the twenty-page document. By the time she got to the final page, a smile had planted itself on her face. Everything she had bought throughout her short marriage remained in her possession. She would walk away with everything, and he would be left in nothing but the clothes he wore on his back. All that was left to was to sign...

"NO!" Harmony practically jumped out of her seat. "No, no, no, that bastard." She cursed as she pounded her fist on the desk, her anger and frustration mounting by the second. Tossing the papers to the floor, Harmony pushed herself from her seat and began to frantically pace her office. As she combed her hands through her hair, she wanted to scream. But, the last thing she needed was for her employees to see their hard-ass boss having a mental breakdown over her ex.

Instead, Harmony took several deep breaths as she walked around her desk and picked up the discarded papers. Sitting on the edge of her desk, with her divorce papers in one hand, she dialed the one number she hoped she would never have to dial again.

"Hello, beautiful." He answered on the first ring, his smooth-as-velvet voice echoing in her ear, making her cringe.

Harmony remembered a time when that voice used to send her over the edge. Beckoning her with a sweet seduction that made her want him when she knew she shouldn't. But all that was in the past. She would be put in jail if she ever gave into the murderous intentions consuming her mind when she thought of him.

"Why haven't you signed the papers yet?" she barked into the phone.

"Because, I wanted to hear your lovely voice." His mocking tone pissed her off.

"Gabriel, I—" A sudden sharp pain hit her side, making her gasp for air. Tears formed in her eyes as that weird throbbing pain started up again. Dropping her papers to the floor, her hand came to her side, and she could literally feel her birthmark vibrating under her clothes and hand.

What the hell is going on?

"Don't get quiet on me, beautiful. Hearing your voice is the highlight to my otherwise boring day." There was that mocking tone again.

He was playing with her, costing her time she didn't have. Harmony's anger spiked along with her pain, and her hand left her side as she gripped the desk so hard her knuckles turned white. Slowly, her vision began to blur, and a ringing started between her ears, blocking out all other sounds.

Forgetting Gabriel was on the line, Harmony moaned as a new wave of pain hit her. She doubled over, trying her best not to curl into a little ball on the floor. Still, she tried to understand what was happening to her.

"You know..." Gabriel's voice, laced with an undertone of anger, broke through her pain. "If I didn't know any better, I would think that your need to have those papers signed was so you and your new lover could elope behind my back." He paused, his voice suddenly changing from smooth and tempting to the harsh and mean tone she knew so well. "If you are cheating on me, there will be no place you can hide from my wrath."

Hide from his wrath? Cheating?

If she wasn't in so much pain, she would have laughed. He was out of his mind, had always been. It just took her longer than most to realize it. "I'm not scared of you." Her voice cracked as another wave of pain rolled through her. "And we are _not_ together."

His chuckle echoed through the phone and her body. Then he seemed to grow serious. A dark aura washing over him so thick that it emitted through the phone.

"When are you going to realize that if I can't have you no one can?" Gabriel practically growled out the words.

Harmony gave her own growl at the threat she had heard too many times to count. Once again, the angrier she became, the more the pain in her side increased.

"Sign...the...papers." She was done with the conversation. With those grounded out words, she ended their call. Light-headed, she eased off the desk to her feet. She swayed as her vision blackened. There was no way she could stop her fall. She was going to hit the ground hard and fast, and there was nothing she could do about it.

"Whoa." A smooth voice glided into her ears, one that she recognized as familiar yet strange at the same time. Warmth spread through her from where his grip held tight to her arm, preventing her from becoming best friends with floor.

Feeling herself being pulled into a stranger's arms, but powerless to stop it, Harmony let him support her weakened body. As her head rested against his chest, the steady beat of his heart vibrated through her entire being, instantly easing that pain that flowed through her.

"I got you." That smooth and deep voice penetrated her senses. In a daze, she let him lead her to her chair. "Here, sit." Surprised by the gentleness he used, she finally looked at him. Her breath escaped her as her gaze connected with his—eyes that she had seen somewhere before. Once again, as she took in his features, she was struck by a sense of familiarity that left her staring dumbly at him.

_Mine._ The sudden thought shocked her. Blinking several times, she slowly felt herself coming back to reality. When her vision finally cleared and her senses returned to her, Harmony found that he had pulled up a chair and was sitting across from her. One leg crossed over the other, he silently stared at her. His emerald gaze was focused so intently on her that she shifted in her seat.

"Are you all right? Should I call for someone?" he asked her casually.

"No." She paused and then tilted her head to the side. "I'm fine. How did you get in here?"

She was sure she had locked her office door.

Again, she was greeted by his silence and intense stare. Briefly in his gaze, she thought she caught a glimpse of hesitation, as if he wanted to tell her something but couldn't find the words to. But as quickly as it had appeared, it was gone. So quickly that Harmony thought she had imagined it.

"Your secretary let me in," he finally answered. His voice did wicked things to her imagination, creating all types of images of the two of them rolling around on top her office desk, clothes being ripped and tossed to the floor.

_What the hell is wrong with me?_ She didn't have a clue of who this man was or how he had gotten into her office, yet there she was picturing the two of them getting down and dirty in her office. Clearly the time she had spent being neglected by her husband had rubbed off on her, making her desperate for any man in her vicinity.

Although, if she had to be desperate for someone, she didn't mind it being a man that looked like the one sitting across from her. She doubted there was any woman who would turn him down.

Shit, she sure as hell wouldn't.

"Mrs. MacAvoy?" he called to her, and the hint of anger in his tone took her by surprise.

Why he would be angry, she didn't know. This was the first time she was meeting him, so it wasn't as if they had a history or past. At least she didn't think so. There was no way she would forget a man like him, one that oozed primal sexual heat that made her want to strip him of the cool gray designer suit he wore and find out of the body hidden under that put-together image was as sinfully enticing as it appeared.

"Mrs. MacAvoy..." he called to her again. The raised eyebrow he gave her reminded him of her sister's husband. Matter of fact, the more she stared at the stranger, lost in her world of perverted thoughts, she could see more resemblance between him and Radien.

"Mrs. Mac—"

She cut him off. "Just call me Harmony."

Finally coming out of her self-induced trance, she leaned back in her chair as she attempted to appear calmer than she felt. Crossing her legs as tight as she could, in an effort to keep the growing desire coursing through her body at bay, Harmony folded her hands in her lap and leveled a very business-like stare at him. If he noticed the way he affected her or the impure thoughts rolling through her mind, he gave no indication as he gave her a lopsided grin, which only served to cause more inappropriate thoughts. "The name MacAvoy belongs to my ex-husband. You can call me Ms. Sonders or Harmony. Either one is fine."

She thought she saw a flicker of relief in his eyes.

I need to have my head examined.

"Harmony." The way he said her name, as if he were savoring the taste of it in his mouth, should have been a sin.

Shaking her head clear, Harmony got back to the matter at hand—finding out how he got into her office and what he was doing here in the first place. "And your name is?" It came out a little more breathless than she intended.

"Adien Tygerian." He extended his hand across her desk, those gorgeous eyes sparkling with a hidden knowledge that she wanted to milk out of him.

She took his hand. "Nice to meet you."

The moment their hands touched, a smooth vibration moved over her skin and all over her body, like a lover's caressing hands, until it finally settled in the valley between her legs. There was no way she could stop the moan that escaped her. Surprised by the sound, she tried to jerk her hand away, unsure of what was going on with her body. When he wouldn't let go of her hand, her gaze went to his. Any embarrassment she had felt evaporated, replaced by a desire that made a mockery of the need she had felt moments ago.

_Mine_ , the weird voice inside her head said again, telling her to do exactly what she had pictured and more.

_Mine..._ The voice spoke again, louder and somehow a mix between her normal voice and something other.

_Mine... yes, ours_ , she told herself, the voice in her head continually growing louder. It demanded she walk around the desk, straddle his hips, and take what she wanted, not caring if it was something he wanted or not. Before she could act on her idea, he released her hand, and she almost whimpered. Rearranging himself so that the erection that was clearly visible as it pushed against the material of his slacks was hidden, he cleared his throat. In that moment, she found herself drawn from the haze of her mind.

"Yes"—again with the breathlessness— "like I was saying, how did you get into my office?"

"I answered that question already." His snippy reply should have pissed her off. Instead, she was drawn by the rawness of his tone.

"Well, why don't you repeat yourself for me," she said.

"I don't like repeating myself." Even though his tone was still a little harsh, Harmony couldn't help but notice the way the corners of his mouth twitched as he looked at her with amused eyes.

_Glad I amuse you._ "I didn't ask you what you liked. If I wanted to know that, I would ask you over dinner."

"Is that an invitation?" This time he gave a smirk, and it took everything she had not to smile back at him. It was rare for her to find a man she could banter with without them becoming annoyed.

She loved a good tease.

"Not at all. You see, I have this thing for men who answer my questions, and you know, those who can repeat themselves if I didn't hear them. I would hate to make you do something you don't like to do."

That time he did smile. A full-blown smile that showed off his white teeth and made her swoon. It was a beautiful expression that lit up his eyes with amusement. "First off, you can't make me do anything I don't want to do, unless you are packing something under your clothes that I don't know about." He paused, his gaze quickly going over her. While she was unnerved by his measuring gaze, she kept a smile on her face, refusing to let him intimidate her.

"For you, I think I might make an exception. I would just have to clear my schedule and pencil you in." Harmony watched as he withdrew his phone from his pocket.

"What are you doing?" she asked when he took more than several minutes to look up at her.

"What do you think?" he replied, never lifting his head from his phone. "Clearing my schedule." When he looked up at her from under his lashes, she didn't know whether she should kick him out her office or be charmed by his charisma. She took a middle ground.

"Either answer me, or see yourself out of my office."

He raised a challenging brow. "And if I don't?"

"Would you really like to find out?"

He seemed to consider his options, and she had to shake her head. He was definitely off, but she liked it. It livened up her otherwise boring day.

"Your secretary let me in," he finally replied.

"Kathy?"

"Yes, you should be glad I entered the room ahead of her. You wouldn't want your employees to see you in such a state. As the boss, you have an image to uphold, don't you?"

True, she didn't want any of her employees seeing her like that, least of all Kathy, and she was the only one with a key to Harmony's office for emergencies. While his story seemed plausible, it wasn't believable. For one and only one fact... "My secretary would never let anyone in who doesn't have an appointment, much less a random man into my office."

"Are you sure? How would you know if you were doubling over in pain and unaware of your surroundings?"

He had a point... somewhat. But she wasn't going to admit that. Not when she knew he was lying.

"Stop playing with me." Harmony's tone grew serious, and she gave him a hard stare. "What are you doing here?"

"Isn't it obvious?" He shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm here to see you."

"Well, you've seen me. Now please..." Harmony extended her hand towards the door. "Leave."

"No." His indigent tone had Harmony's brows rising in surprise. "You and I have much we need to discuss..." He paused. "You can say potential business opportunities, if you will."

Harmony gave a sarcastic huff before she said, "There's nothing for us to discuss. I have no intention of working with a man such as yourself."

The offended look on his face gave her little satisfaction. In fact, she didn't like it at all. What made it worse was that she had no idea why.

_This is too much. He has to go_ , Harmony told herself.

"I apologize for offending you. However, I don't have time to play games. I'm in the middle of organizing a very important event, and I can't afford to be distracted." She paused, her tone softening a little. "Once I'm done, I'll be more than happy to meet with you."

"I have not begun to play with you yet." There was no missing the double meaning behind his words.

"Is that a threat, or are you propositioning me?"

The smiled he gave didn't reach his eyes. In fact, it gave him a menacing a look that had Harmony reaching for her purse under the desk.

"It's time for you to go, Mr. Tygerian." One last time she motioned towards the doors of her office. "Have a good evening."

"You and I will meet again," he told her.

The sudden excitement that rushed through her caught her by surprise. However, she ignored it and focused on the man that was rising from his seat. Reaching in her purse, she gripped the small handgun she carried around with her for moments such as this.

"Make sure you look after yourself, Ms. Sonders." With that, he turned and headed towards her office door.

For the first time since she had seen him, Harmony realized just how big and tall he was. His body was not bulging with unneeded muscles and leaned more along the tall and athletic build of a sports athlete. He had broad shoulders that looked capable of handling an entire football team effortlessly.

_How is it that all the crazies find me?_ She would have to reevaluate her life later, once her guest had left her office and she could remove her hand from her gun.

He paused at the door. His hand on the knob, he turned to gaze at her from over his shoulder. The way he stared at her, as if she was no threat to him, chilled her to her core.

"Are you going to try and shoot me again? Haven't you learned from the last time that won't work?"

Again? Last time?

Had she met him somewhere before? And why did he know about her gun?

Fear, a feeling she seldom felt, washed over her.

"Have a good evening." With that, he opened the door, the sound of her busy office filling the space around her. Without uttering another word or explaining what he meant, he left her alone in her office, hand on her gun.

What the fuck is going on?

She didn't know. What she did know was that change was coming. She could feel it in the air, and it all began with that man.

Adien Tygerian...

Just who the hell was he? And why couldn't she shake the feeling that her life was intertwined with his.

#  Chapter 7

Gabriel MacAvoy hung up the phone with his estranged wife. Reclining in his oversized black-leather armchair, he couldn't help the wide smile that spread across his face. He wondered how long it would be before his silly wife realized that she could not escape him. A beautiful and useful prize, he would never let her go. No matter where she went or what she did, there was no place she could hide. His reach extended far and wide, and he would have what he wanted... and he still wanted her.

Gabriel gave a low chuckle and leaned forward, his gaze going over the scattered pictures on top of his office desk. Ignoring the hustle and bustle of the outside world, Gabriel picked up his favorite picture.

Beautiful...an absolute beauty.

The way the lighting of the room highlighted her lightly bronzed skin and golden eyes captivated him. Especially those eyes. God, he loved those eyes. The way they sparked with outrage and hate every time she looked at him, the fear and disgust that was reflected in her stare, sent a delectable shiver down his spine. One that had his cock hardening against his slacks.

His long and elegant fingers caressed the surface of the picture. Its glossy and cold feeling felt nothing like her warm and smooth flesh in his hand. He loved her, loved her more than any of his other women. That was why he had chosen her over the rest. Not only was she finest woman he had in his collection, but she added to his wealth and presented well in the public eye. Being the high-profile person he was, Gabriel needed someone who knew how to behave in front of the camera and not like some ill-trained monkey. The media and paparazzi hated her. Never being one to disgrace herself or others in public, she was the one story they could never get.

If only she behaved that obediently behind closed doors, then their marriage wouldn't be in shambles, and she would still be in his bed. His wife's stubborn pursuit of her career and independence had put a rift between them. True, in the beginning he had entertained her little idea of owning her own fashion company, giving her little praises of encouragement, but he never thought she would turn her dreams into reality. Had he known what the future held for him and her, he would have put an end to all her dreaming long before her efforts bore any fruit. Maybe then she would have remembered that her place was in his bed and on his arm when needed.

"Harmony," he whispered her name as he picked up another picture. When he looked at it, instant fury washed over him. "Who the hell is this, and why was he holding his wife so possessively in his arms?"

Never one to be able to handle another person touching something he viewed as his, Gabriel couldn't help the murderous rage that coursed through him. Crumbling the photo in his fist, Gabriel tossed the useless piece of paper in the garbage and pushed himself from his seat. Anger controlling him, he almost pulled his office door off its hinges as he yanked it open.

Grateful that it was lunchtime and the office was relatively empty, Gabriel took several deep breaths before he called for his secretary.

"Guinevere."

As quickly as she could, his young and pretty secretary came rushing to him. With a cup of water in her hand, she usually stayed and ate her lunch at her desk, preferring to eat in solitude than in the company of people she could hardly stand. Or so she had told him.

The truth, he was willing to bet, was that she stayed because of her infatuation with him. Not that he minded, Guinevere's attraction made it very convenient for him in moments like these.

"Yes, Mr. MacAvoy?" Her voice was soft and gentle. Weak and fragile, she was a woman he was sure he would have no problem training.

"Where is Ronald?" he asked in the most soothing voice he could muster.

"He's in Mr. Mandrake's office giving his daily report. Should I get him for you?" As she spoke, her dark eyes took him in from head to toe, and he smiled.

"Would you?" Amused by the sudden flush of her cheeks, Gabriel took her free hand and brought it to his lips. Placing a kiss on the back of her hand, he watched as her pale skin flushed an even deeper red. "Please tell him to come to my office as soon as he can."

"Yes... I will tell him," was her breathless response.

"Thank you." Giving her a soft smile, he released her hand and watched the enticing way her hips swayed as she headed down the hall to fetch Ronald.

Heading back into his office, Gabriel returned to his seat behind his desk, his fury once again surfacing as he picked up another picture of his wife with that man off his desk. In the picture, the pair seemed to be enjoying a nice chitchat at the bar.

"Fucking whore." He would make her pay for embarrassing him. Even if they weren't together, she was still his.

"Is this the reason you want to leave?" The urge to head over to his wife's office and ram her head through a window was almost too much to ignore. Balling his fist on top of his desk, he prayed for the strength not to snap the neck of his informant. It was not his fault that Gabriel's wife had turned into a slut.

_Damn her._ He hit the top of his desk. The black oak desk shook with the weight of his anger.

"I will kill—"

A light knocking on his door drew him from his dark thoughts. Looking up from the pictures, he found Guinevere standing in the doorway.

"What is it?" Gabriel asked in a harsher tone than he intended.

"I've brought Mr. Soyer for you."

Gabriel watched with intense eyes as a man a little shorter than Gabriel stepped into his office. "Thank you, Guin." He offered her a small smile that had her earlier apprehension disappearing as she returned his smile. "You may go now."

"Of course." With that, she headed out his office, closing the door behind her and leaving Gabriel and his rage alone with Soyer.

For a long moment, Gabriel did nothing but stare at the slender male. Average looking and sort of plain, Ronald Soyer could blend into a crowd without any trouble. With thick glasses, he was inconspicuous and had no problem getting in and out of any event with pictures and information that the high-end celebrities didn't want the public knowing about.

On more than one occasion, Gabriel had used Soyer to spy on Harmony and keep track of her movements. So, it was only natural that Gabriel was informed about the party she held several nights before.

"Who is the man in this picture?" He tossed the picture he had been looking at in front of Soyer. Leveling a hard stare on him, Gabriel awaited the man's response.

"If I'm not mistaken, his name is Adien Tygerian," Soyer answered as he picked up the picture. "He's some sort of playboy entrepreneur who has stocks and investments in a number of upscale and corporate businesses."

"Is that so? I've heard of that name, but I've never seen the man behind it."

"Yes." Placing the picture back on the table, Soyer continued, "He doesn't usually show his face to the public. He prefers to let his publicist and business partner handle the media attention." Soyer paused. "It was extremely difficult for me to get that little bit of information on him."

The little hint of awe in Soyer's voice annoyed Gabriel. "Who is his publicist?"

"A woman named Samantha Barrington. She's a hot little number that even I wouldn't mind getting my hands on."

"Really?" The sudden desire that shined in Soyer's dark eyes had Gabriel looking at the male with a raised brow. It was rare that he took an interest in a woman. Even rarer for him to openly admit he wanted her. Too bad Gabriel had already made himself quite familiar with the woman.

"This Adien, who is he to my wife? Why was he at the party?"

"That I'm not sure about. From what I'm told, his brother is married to your wife's sister, and he was there as their guest. That's the way the story was told to me."

_Bullshit. Just a guest, my ass._ The look on the man's face in that picture was more than just the look of an invited guest who saw a beautiful woman. No, his look had been one of possession. That said, the two of them were connected to each in a way Gabriel didn't know about, and it pissed him off. Unable to stay in his seat any longer, Gabriel moved from his desk and walked over to the bookshelf across the room. Between the books, his shelves were lined with awards and plaques for his hard work and achievements from his old job, before he had been handpicked by Mandrake Incorporated to come to the company. Picking up an award he had won years ago for his sizable contribution to cancer research, he struggled to get a grip of his out-of-control emotions.

"Mr. MacAvoy?"

"You may leave now," he said as he placed the award back on the shelf. Gabriel had heard all he wanted to hear. Anything else and he would lash out at the man in front of him. The last thing Gabriel wanted to do was beat his top informant into a bloody pulp before he had worn out his usefulness.

"Yes, sir." With that, Soyer rose from his seat.

"Ronald," Gabriel called out to the man as he reached the office door.

"Yes," he answered.

"Find out more about this Adien. I want to know everything about him." Gabriel paused. "And tell Guin to come here."

Nodding in compliance with Gabriel's orders, Soyer left the office.

_Adien Tygerian..._ Gabriel would destroy the man for daring to touch something that belonged to him.

"She's mine."

#  Chapter 8

This definitely wasn't Harmony's week. Her head was spinning. No, she took that back as she tossed her overly expensive bag on her bed. Her head was pounding. Constantly throbbing in time with the vibration coming from her birthmark. The damn thing wouldn't stop its painful vibrating no matter what she did. In fact, after she thought about it for a while—she took off her blazer and tossed it on to the bed next to her bag—the horrible sensation had only increased since her meeting with Adien Tygerian.

Ever since he had magically appeared in her office, her birthmark hadn't stopped bothering her. Actually, all his presence had done was cause emotions she didn't know she still had to go rushing through, adding to her discomfort. She couldn't remember the last time a man had piqued her interest. After her monstrosity of a marriage, and the divorce battle that had been going on for the past couple of years, she didn't have the time or emotional energy to deal with a man, especially one like Mr. Tygerian, who she was sure had more women then he could count.

Still, there was no denying the fact that she wanted him, which was obviously absurd when she knew nothing of the man other than he looked downright edible in a suit. Even so, she was still drawn to him and unable to shake the persistent feeling she had met him before, maybe even multiple times. If she could just remember, her life would become significantly less complicated.

"Adien," she whispered his name as she stripped herself of her jewelry, placing the precious metals in her hand-crafted jewelry box. It was all too strange, him popping up in her office like that. Surely, she would remember meeting a man as handsome as him. There was no way she would forget those chiseled features and those eyes. Dear god, those eyes, beautiful and intense, taking her in as if he could have devoured her right then and there on top of her office desk. There was just no way she would forget...

"What's happening to me?" Harmony said aloud. Rubbing her still throbbing temples, Harmony headed towards the bathroom connected to her bedroom. The moment she walked into the luxurious washroom, she was grateful she had decided on simple earth tones rather than the loud colors Melody had suggested.

Freshly remodeled, the modernized bathroom was large and spacious. Oversized if you asked Harmony, too big for a woman living alone, but it wasn't like she had fallen in love with the bathroom and brought the house because of that. The large room was just one of the perks. The hot tub that sat in the middle of the bathroom floor, dividing the room evenly, was another perk. It was like having her own personal hot spring in her home.

To the right of the hot tub was a large porcelain tub that was built into the wall with golden faucets. A few feet away was the glass shower she loved just as much as the hot tub. On the opposite side of the room was the toilet, made of the same white porcelain as the tub. And next to the toilet was the sink and several cabinets, all equipped with golden handles and a golden faucet. Imported rugs lay in front of the tub, shower, and hot tub to keep her from slipping on the bathroom tiles as she got out. Their elegant beauty also added to the room, along with the matching towel racks and various plants scattered through the room. Her bathroom looked more like a luxurious spa than a normal bathroom.

Harmony stripped herself of her clothes. Dropping her white blouse to the floor, she stepped out of her confining slacks and headed towards the large vanity that was located at the back of the bathroom. An antique beauty, her vanity was set up separate from the rest of the bathroom. Staring at her reflection, she looked at the woman she knew yet felt strangely detached from. Over the last few days, she had let her hair grow out. It had grown much longer than she thought it would in such a short amount of time. Running her fingers through her hair, she noticed that the back of her hair, which she had always kept shorter than the front, had grown past the nape of her neck and was growing longer with each passing day.

"How is this possible?"

Something was not right.

She could feel it, could see it in the flush of her cheeks, in the way her already uniquely colored eyes seemed brighter than they had been weeks ago. Blinking several times, Harmony decided the hot steam of a fresh shower was just what she needed. She turned on the water and let the shower run as she quickly undressed. Naked and free, Harmony stepped under the stream of hot water. Instant relief washed over her as the soothing vibration of the water relaxed her tense muscles.

_This is exactly what I needed_ , Harmony thought as she ran her hands over her body, letting the warmth of the water consume her. She grabbed the soap from its dish, closed her eyes, and lathered her body. She took her time washing over the birthmark that ran along the side of her body. Each time her fingers brushed across the intricate marking, a dark and sensual feeling made its way up her spine. The feeling traveled through her body and to her core, making her moan deep in the back of her throat.

The water followed the same path as the vibration, and she let herself be carried away. Sultry and erotic fantasies filled her mind, and suddenly she could feel large, warm, and calloused hands roaming over her body, touching her in the most intimate ways so that her mind became fevered and filled with desire.

_Adien..._ His name was a seductive whisper in her mind. One that she longed to say aloud while he was in front of her... or behind her depending on her mood.

Why would he be the first person to pop in my mind at a time like this?

For these fantasies, she often imaged some hot celebrity. Yet, at that moment, it was him she imagined touching her. She didn't care to know the reason why it was him, not when her desire had wrapped around her like a vine and was pulling her deeper into her lustful desire. She pictured him, his handsome face and gorgeous eyes filled with insatiable desire for her, pinning her against the glass door of the shower, trapping her between the hard and heated feel of his body and the cool smoothness of the glass.

Harmony moaned as her hand roamed down the planes of her toned stomach to the juncture between her legs. When she reached the folds of her body, she imagined it was Adien's fingers that penetrated her, toying with her as he moved in and out of her body. His lips against the side of her neck, he nipped the sensitive flesh there. His hard cock pressed against her ass as he commanded her body with his touch.

How large would he be when he was fully aroused? Would he stretch her to the limits, leaving her caught between pleasure and pain, the sensations mixing together in her body until she no longer cared which was which, so long as he blindly drove himself inside of her, claiming, marking her as his own, whispering her name against her ear in a heated breath that drove her mad.

Grinding her hips against her fingers, Harmony used her free arm to brace herself against the wall. Her head bowed under the shower as warm water streamed down her back and between her ass cheeks in a seductive caress, adding another sensation to the ones already rolling through her. Between the water, her fingers, and her fantasy, Harmony found herself lost in her pleasure, oblivious to the pair of aroused eyes that watched her from another world. Nothing mattered to her as her climax took hold of her and sent her over the edge in gushing waves. Her body jerked as she moaned. Pleasure consumed her until her fingers had rung the last of her orgasm from her body.

_I'm going to need a shrink if I keep this up_ , she thought once she was able to come to her senses and form a coherent thought. While her little fantasy had eased her headache, it had done nothing to sate the desire flowing freely though her. Sighing, she lifted her head from the wall. Suddenly drained, she finished her shower, dressed in a pair of loose-fitting sweat pants and a plain T-shirt, and headed down stairs to the kitchen.

Somewhere between her long and exhausting day at work and fanaticizing about Adien, she had forgotten to eat, and she was starving. Hoping she had some type of food in the house, she walked into her kitchen. Just like her bathroom and most of her house, the kitchen was decorated and painted in elegant earth tones. She had also thrown in various shades of green to spice up the color and give the room a more natural and outdoorsy feel. The moment she entered the kitchen, motion activated lights flickered on.

She loved nature and embraced the rainforest's natural scent. It was the only place she felt like herself, wild and free, unchained by responsibility and social expectations. She had done her best to create a similar environment in her home. It was why she had brought this large and secluded house, for its land and the ability to do what she pleased with it. Sometimes it paid to be the boss. If she didn't have a peaceful and sane life at home, she would never be able to function at work.

_Selling my apartment in the city was a great idea_ , she reminded herself. Living out on Long Island, it was quiet and far away from the hustle and bustle of the city along with the sour memories she would never forget. It was something she relished, even though there was a disquiet settling on her shoulders that told her that her soothing home life was about to get a lot less quiet.

Walking around the hand-carved cherry wood and quartz countertop, which gave the kitchen an elegant yet contemporary feel, Harmony searched her cabinets for food. Just like the counter, the cabinets were crafted from the same cherry wood and circled around half of the spacious room, surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows that allowed for a glorious view of the night sky or the perfect view of the sunrise, which she basked in every morning before she left for work. That one room had cost her a pretty little penny. But it was money well spent.

As Harmony continued to make her way through the kitchen, its glazed porcelain tiles were cold under her feet. Ignoring the chill that spread through her, she opened the refrigerator and sighed. There was nothing in her fridge that appealed to her current appetite. She closed the refrigerator and made her way over to one of the kitchen counters. Pulling open the counter's drawers, she flipped through several take-out menus before she decided it was pointless. She wasn't in the mood for overpriced pizza or cheap Chinese food. Her hunger was much more ravenous than that.

She craved meat. Not just any meat, but a nice and juicy steak that she could sink her teeth into. It was odd given the fact that she hadn't eaten red meat in who knew how long. However, over the previous few days—or was it weeks?—she had been craving steaks and burgers. For the most part, she had ignored the urge by eating more chicken and turkey than usual. But since she had missed lunch and was in pain, she didn't have the need to deny her body what it wanted.

Giving up her search for food in her house, Harmony walked out of the kitchen and headed towards the front door to put on her running shoes. Done lacing her shoestrings, she stood and picked up the car keys she had discarded when she first walked into the house. Leaving the house with her stomach rumbling, she made sure to lock the front door as she headed to her car.

A beautiful white Mercedes Benz waited for her in the driveway. Fresh from the wash, the car's white color shined in the darkness. Harmony slid into the driver's seat and turned the key. Excitement and satisfaction washed over her as the car's engine roared to life. Settling in against her butterscotch-colored leather seat, she checked her mirrors and put on her seat belt before she pulled out of the driveway. Her destination was a quiet little twenty-four-hour spot that not only served the best steaks she had ever had, but had plenty of outside seating. On a beautiful night like that night, there was no way she could stay in and eat.

_Just no way..._ she thought as she rolled down her windows and opened the sun roof, loving how the cool night air wrapped around her and cradled her like a baby.

This was becoming a very bad habit of Adien's. Especially in moments like this, when he sat in the throne room of Rasi—the Universe of Dreams, a temple that resided deep in the heart of the _Dreamscape_ —staring into a small mirror the dream keeper had given him to see into the human world, Adien fought hard to regain his composure. A damn near impossible task given what he was currently looking at. There in front of him, enticing him with her beautiful figure, was his naked obsession.

_Beautiful._ It was the only world he could think of to describe what he saw. She was a true work of art. The way the water cascaded down her body, between the valley of her breasts, caressing the most intimate places of her body, was like watching an artist painting a masterpiece. He had looked on with wide and transfixed eyes, all the while picturing his hands cupping her full breasts and sliding down the planes of her toned stomach to the decadent place between her legs.

With a groan, Adien wondered if his torment would ever end. At what point would he be able to bury himself deep inside the warmth of her body? Already it was as if he could feel the damp smoothness of her skin against his palms, could hear her sharp intakes of breath as his hands mapped their way across her body.

More and more, he was tempted to throw caution to the wind and forget about Fate and destiny and go to her.

_Yeah, how about we not do that_ , he told himself firmly even as his body said different.

How long would he allow himself to be a puppet of so-called Fate and used as a pawn in a war he neither wanted nor truly cared about?

Just as the question crossed his mind, a dark sensation washed over him, momentarily drawing him from the exotic scene in the mirror and towards darker thoughts as an all-too-familiar scent drifted into his senses. It was a faint fragrance, so weak that for a moment he thought he had imagined it.

Quickly, Adien scanned the throne room, suddenly on high alert. Yet even after his third scan of the room with both his eyes and powers, he could see nothing and only felt the immense power of Rasi, as he stood far off in the corner of the room staring into space. There was nothing out of the ordinary, yet the dark feeling that was increasing around him suggested otherwise. Not to mention he would know this scent anywhere, as it was one that had been branded into his memory.

_Azuzela..._ Her name was dug up from the deep recesses of his mind and an instant chill consumed him, even while his body felt as if it wanted to jump out of its skin. Husky and seductive mixed with a hint of chocolate it was Azuzela's signature fragrance. As a member of the Trio and the personification of lust and desire, and... his former lover, she had the power to drive men, women, gods, and mortals mad with insatiable appetites. Lost in their desires and sexual cravings, it was all too easy for Azuzela and her brothers to feed off their greed for sex and possessiveness. Filled with uncontrollable wants and needs, tempers would rise, turning the large sexual party into a war zone where blood and death were given by hard cocks and wet cunts.

_Impossible, Iraon couldn't have found her yet._ Not when he had made sure to hide her thalamus deep in the dark pits of Tartarus, far deeper than Iraon's cage. She had been the first member of the Trio to be caught—well, tricked was more like it—so her prison had been placed at the very depths of the Underworld, where not even Hades ventured. Still, there was no denying that it was her scent. With fevered desires threatening to rock his very foundation, an unbidden memory made its way to the forefront of his mind. A long-forgotten memory that he had hoped to forget about...

That scandalous and treacherous bitch, how could she have done this to me! And with my own brother no less... I should go back and kill them both.

It was a tempting thought. Truly tempting given the way his heart was breaking. He had trusted her, had loved her as best he could. Granted, he had never been serious about any female he had met before her, but there had been something special about her... something that had enticed and pulled him in, in a way no other female had.

They deserved a painful death... slow and torturous.

But even as those dark and violent thoughts played in his mind like a broken record, making themselves at home in his chest, replacing any tenderness her had felt, there was no way he would act on those actions. As much as it felt as if his heart had been ripped from his chest and stomped into the ground, he still loved his brother. Even with all the harsh feelings, long before Persephone had come into the picture, Radien had always been the one he looked up to the most. While Jaden would disappear for days at a time, doing whatever he wanted until he left home without a word.

Not even their father, who seemed caught up in his own world, bothered to spend time with him. Other than his older brother, he had no one. No, he took that back, there was Rasi, the ruler of dreams, who was like a second father to him. Yet his duties often kept him secluded in his temple. It was Radien who had shown Adien how to control his growing powers, well that was when he wasn't chasing behind some female or fighting with their father. Adien admired his brother, loved him, and would have done anything for him, and yet... yet...

With a vicious snarl, Adien continued his heartbroken trek through the dark forest of the Nether World. Shifting from his hound to his human form, he embraced the cool wind that wrapped around his naked body. He had no idea how he had gotten there, nor did he think about it for too long. After catching his brother and best friend with the woman he loved, he wanted to put as much distance between them as possible. And he supposed the Nether World was a perfect place to start. Given the fact that it was a realm with more secrets and dimensions than Rasi's dream world, and a home that once belonged to the Dark Lord, Gazini, no one would be looking for Adien here. He was left to wonder aimlessly in the darkness and wallow in his fury for as long as he wanted.

"My, my, my, what do we have here?" The feminine voice echoed around him, startling him. "A lost little puppy," the mocking in her tone did nothing but piss him off. He had had more than enough humiliation for one day, and he would be damned if he let it happen again.

Once again shifting forms, Adien stood in the forest in his hound form. His gaze scanned the forest for a second time, this time three sets of eyes allowed him to get a better idea of his surroundings. Not like it mattered, he still didn't see anything out of the ordinary, but he could feel someone was there. Watching him through the darkness, like a predator stalking its prey. He wouldn't know she was near until it was too late.

That was what he got for not paying attention. He scolded himself as he focused his powers, letting them flow through his body, down his legs to his paw, and outwards as he searched for anything the posed a threat to him. Just like when he first scanned they area, he sensed nothing. Whoever was out there was much better at using their powers than he was.

Going back to his human form, he figured if she wanted him dead, she would have killed him already. Since he was still standing, it was clear she had other intentions. Standing naked in the Nether World forest, he said into the darkness, "Why don't you come out and show me that pretty face of yours." Awaiting her answer, Adien was left with nothing to do but peer into the darkness around him.

"My face...are you sure that's all you want to see?" The female's voice was low and inviting. "I could show you something much better, something that will mend that broken heart of yours."

Taken aback by the female's comment, Adien was caught off guard by her sudden appearance. For the second time in his life, he was left speechless at the sight of a woman. As the wind suddenly whipped around them, the long strands of her dark hair blowing in the breeze, a husky and enticing scent hit him. Captivating his body and commanding his desires. Instantly, Adien's thoughts of his brother and his heartbreak were forgotten and replaced with thoughts of the small but shapely and barefoot female in front of him. The dress she wore, too short to be truly called a dress, left nothing to the imagination. Adien's gaze traveled up her body, appreciating the way the deep neckline of the dress showed off the tops of her perky breasts. His cock hardened, and judging by the way she eyed him, her dark eyes taking him in as she licked her lips, Adien figured she was just as turned on as he was.

"Do you see something you like?" she asked in one of the most inviting tones he had ever heard. Instead of asking him a question, it was as if she had just told him to come and fuck her senseless on the forest floor. "Well?" She prompted when he didn't answer.

Did he see something he liked? Was she serious?

"You tell me," he responded, his voice sounding harsher than usual. "Do I look like I see something I like?"

Once again, she looked him over, her gaze lingering on his erection.

"A silly question, I see," she said, bringing her gaze back to him.

"Now that you have your answer, what are you going to do about it?" Adien's comment earned him a full-blown smile that had his heart pounding in his chest. Clenching his hands at his sides, he prayed for control. The last thing he wanted was to appear as some inexperienced pup that would climax before anything truly started.

What about Persephone and Radien? What about them? They had made their choice, didn't they? They chose to betray and lie to him. To meet in secret without regard to the pain it would cause him.

_Fuck them..._ _he told his conscience as he watched the female walk towards him. With her cat-like eyes and the seductive sway of her hips, she beckoned him._

Reaching for him, she took one of his arms and wrapped it around her slim waist. His free hand found itself stroking the side of her face as she stared up at him.

"Shall I mend your broken heart?" she whispered as she stood on her toes to lick his nipple.

Instant pleasure shot through his body.

With a low growl that vibrated through his body, Adien gripped a handful of her hair. Soft curls wrapped around his fingers as he yanked her head back. As he stared at her, a million incoherent thoughts rushing through his mind, a warning bell went off in his head. Something was not right about this situation. The sudden chill going down his spine told him so. The longer he stood with her in his arms the louder the bells became. Just as he began to pull away from her, she let go of his cock, wrapped her arms around his neck and used his body as an anchor to lift herself to his lips.

As if she could read his thoughts, she kissed him fiercely, her hot tongue darting inside his mouth. Reason and warnings as to why he should push her away faded, and he was consumed by his lust and desire for the woman in his arms. Her legs wrapping around him, Adien walked over to the nearest tree. Still entangled in a kiss that would have had his toes curling if he wasn't moving, one of his hands reached between them and ripped her panties from her.

"Yes, that's it," she moaned in his ear as he freed one of her breasts and suckled the sensitive flesh.

"What..." he said between licks and sucks, "is your name?"

He thought she hadn't heard him between her moans so he repeated himself as he finished lavishing affection on her breast and trailed kisses back up her neck until he was looking into her half-hooded gaze, as he positioned himself to enter her. Wanting nothing more than to drive himself inside of her, he had to know her name. For some nagging reason that he couldn't ignore as much as he could the warning bells, he had to know her name.

"Tell me your name, and I will put us both out of our misery." To make his point, he rubbed the head of his cock against her wet folds.

She moaned.

"Your name," he growled lowly.

For a moment, he thought she would answer, a play at sensual defiance, but when she opened her mouth again, she whispered her name, "Azuzela."

"Good girl." With that, he pressed his lips to hers at the same time he found his way into her body. He caught her moan in his mouth as he begun to move.

He let the warmth of her body wash over him and her seductive scent consume him as a dark weight settled on his shoulders.

_Azuzela..._ _her name was a whisper in his mind. A name that from the moment he heard it he knew would change his life forever..._

She changed his life. She may have been a member of the Trio but she had taught him more about himself than anyone ever had. The years he had spent with Azuzela, before he knew the truth of what he was, what she was, and what it meant for them, had been intense and pure decadence.

That was then, and this is now.

Indeed, it was. They were no longer the creatures they had been the night they met. They were both now something much darker and dangerous. And Adien knew the moment when he would see her again and account for all that he had done was close at hand.

"If you are done, please leave," Rasi's voice came from behind Adien. He turned his head to see that the old male had made his way back to his throne, comfortably seated in the large chair, holding his beautifully crafted staff.

"What's the matter Rasi, don't you want to spend time with me anymore?" Adien said, but even as he taunted the one male who could truly hurt him, Adien went to hand the Universe back his mirror.

"I was tired of you the moment you showed up," was Rasi's snide reply as he took the mirror from Adien. Somewhat hurt by the male's coldness, Adien simply nodded and turned. Why Rasi's hatred still bothered Adien, he didn't know. He should have been over his lingering feelings after all the time that had passed.

_It's Radien's fault._ Adien had been fine before he had run back into his brother. Adien's hate and rage had kept him unfeeling and alone, but things were different. Every day, long buried emotions started to resurface.

_The next thing you know I'll be looking to make up with Persephone_ , Adien grudgingly thought as he vanished from Rasi's temple.

Adien's agitation and annoyance with his own feelings and the way his life had turned out coursing through him, he headed home. Even though he had promised to check in on Melody and the babies, the last thing he wanted was to see his brother or father. In Adien's current mood, there was no way he wouldn't get into a fight with the two of them, and that was the last thing Melody needed.

Truth was, he didn't want to stay home either. The quiet darkness of his house left him alone with his thoughts. He could go to Emerald City, but the thought of bedding some unknown woman appealed to him as much as seeing his brother and father. With all those options being a no, Adien could think of only one place he could go. There was only one person he wanted to see... he just wondered if she wanted to see him.

Outside of her office they had never met. His mood suddenly lifted at the thought of seeing his obsession, and he smiled as he headed to his front door. Briefly, he debated if he was going to drive or just use his powers to take him where he wanted to go. After a few minutes of debate, Adien decided to just use his powers. It was easier and much less time consuming than driving, and the thought of sitting in traffic was extremely discouraging.

Vanishing from his home, he wondered how she would react when she saw him again.

_I'm definitely a stalker_ , Adien told himself as he appeared in a dark spot in the parking lot of the diner, where he was sure no one could see him. Walking through the parking lot, Adien fixed his jacket. Just before he entered the diner, he caught a glimpse of Harmony through the window. Talking to the waitress, he couldn't make out what she was saying as the other waitress led Harmony through the diner and out a side door.

He watched, his stomach suddenly doing flips, as the waitress sat Harmony at an outside table. Once the waitress was back at her station, he took a deep breath. Hoping to gain some composure over his hectic emotions, he walked into the diner.

"Hello, sir, welcome. How many?" the waitress asked with a smile. She gave him a once over and then seemed to dismiss him. Frowning, Adien wasn't exactly sure how he should take that.

Had he met her somewhere before?

"Just one. Do you have any seats available outside?" Adien asked, giving her the usual smile that he used with hostile women. It was a soft smile that usually made women melt, yet this female looked unimpressed as she picked up a menu and quietly led him towards the back of the restaurant, taking him the same way she had taken his obsession. As he neared her, his heart pounded so loudly in his chest that he was sure everyone in the restaurant heard it.

"This way, please," the waitress said with a hit of annoyance in her tone.

This time Adien ignored her and her sour attitude as he walked through the door and stepped onto the outside patio. He found her sitting all the way at the end of the patio, quietly sipping a girly-looking drink and looking over the diner's menu. As if she could sense him, her head snapped up from the menu, and her beautiful golden eyes met with his.

For the first time in his life, his heart stopped beating as his feet, of their own accord, led him to her. As he neared her, he prayed he had enough self-control to keep from attacking her from across the table. Though as he finally reached the table and she smiled at him, his cock jerked against the fly of his pants, and he knew he was fighting a losing battle

.

#  Chapter 9

God must have been playing a trick on Harmony. This had to be some higher power's idea of a twisted and sick joke that served to send her into madness. That had to be it, because there was no way this was happening to her.

"Mind if I join you?" His voice was just as sensual as she remembered.

"It looks like you've already decided for me." She gave a pointed stare at his hand that had pulled out the chair across from her.

"It seems so." He smiled.

_That smile should be a sin._ Shifting in her seat, Harmony pretended to look at the menu in her hands, trying her best to ignore her body's obvious reaction to him. Try as she might, she couldn't take her eyes from him as he removed his jacket and hung it on the back of the chair. The white T-shirt he wore hung loose enough off his body to hint at the lean muscles that were hidden underneath, while fitted denim jeans hugged a perfect ass that had her hand twitching to take a little smack. When he turned back around to take his seat, Harmony's attention turned from inappropriate spankings to a full body tongue bath.

Clearly it didn't matter if the man was in a three-piece suit or a pair of jeans, he still looked delectable.

_Stop it._ Harmony told herself.

Easier said than done when her body was slowly being swallowed by her building desire.

Just how long had it been since she had a decent lay? Someone to screw her brains out until the early morning.

Never.

While she did have a one-night stand with her doctor a while back, it wasn't what she would consider mind blowing. Dr. Chaser had been mediocre at best, and not something she wanted to experience again. Add to that, he had called her non-stop for about a week... yeah, she was not calling him again.

She looked over her menu and saw Adien, who was thankfully too distracted by the drink menu that had been given to him to notice her gawking. If the rumors about him were true, then there was no doubt in Harmony's mind that not only did he have the stamina to give her the long night of lovemaking she wanted, but he could also throw in a good couple of rounds of hardcore fucking in the process.

Biting her bottom lip so hard she almost drew blood, she tried to turn her attention back to her dinner choices. It was useless; she was too distracted to care about her hunger. Instead, she found herself wanting to rake her fingers through his head of full hair. Judging from its full body and freshly washed scent, she could tell the multi-colored brown strands would be soft to the touch.

"If you keep staring at me like that, I'm going to take that as an open invitation," Adien said as he looked up from his menu, pinning her under his intense emerald gaze.

She shivered. Unable to stop herself, Harmony continued to imagine what that gaze of his would look like in the heat of passion.

"You know..." he said as he set his menu to the side.

Transfixed, she watched as he leaned across the table, a large palm caressing her face.

"That stare of yours is going to get you in trouble." He leaned in closer. Cupping her chin, he brought her face to his. With each breath she took, his scent invaded her senses. Wild and dominate, it pulled her in and had her closing her eyes in anticipation of his kiss.

"Harmony," he whispered against her lips, and she moaned. "Your drink is here." With that he released her, taking his seat before she could fully open her eyes.

Confused, Harmony stared at Adien, whose amused smirk irked her, as the waitress sat the drink down.

"Are you ready to order now?" The waitress asked.

Unable to respond because she was still trying to figure out what had just happened, Adien answered for them. "No, give us a few minutes. Thank you."

"Take your time," the waitress replied, and the softening of her tone wasn't lost on Harmony. Turning her gaze to the young female, she noticed the suggestive once over the woman gave Adien before walking off, with a little too much sway in her hips for Harmony's liking, to the next table.

Possessive anger coursed through Harmony as she looked to see if Adien had caught the woman's flirting, but his stare never wavered from her.

"I think she likes you," Harmony said, her tone snottier than she meant for it to be as she took a sip of her drink.

She heard Adien's amused chuckle, before he commented, "Is that so? A lot of women like me." He paused, an arrogant air suddenly surrounding him. "Are you jealous?"

Jealous? Her? Never. Especially not over some playboy like him. "No."

"Uh huh." It was clear he didn't believe her.

Shit, she barely believed herself.

"Too bad for her, I'm interested in someone much more beautiful and interesting than her."

Harmony tried to act like she didn't feel the little flutter her heart did in her chest at his words.

"Mr. Tygerian, are you hitting on me?" she asked, giving him her most flirtatious smile.

"Adien is fine, and you know what I'm doing. I did tell you that I was penciling you in for dinner, didn't I?"

Despite herself, she laughed. "That you did."

"So, let's have dinner." With that, she watched as he waved down the waitress, who all too happily made her way to their table.

"Ladies first," Adien said as he sat back in his chair.

Annoyed that she had to deal with the woman, whose face showed she'd much rather be taking Adien's order than hers, Harmony tried her best to keep a level head as she placed her order. It wasn't like it was her first time dealing with this type of situation. More times that she cared to count, she had been out with her ex and women would ignore her in their pursuit of him. Being the self-centered bastard he was, he had enjoyed every minute of their affections while Harmony grew more and more pissed off.

"Don't make such an ugly face. Here, let's talk about something to distract you from your jealously."

Rolling her eyes, Harmony asked, "What do you want to talk about?"

The question earned her a hard stare that made another one of those decadent little shivers go down her spine. "You."

"What about me?"

"I want to know more about you. Where you grew up, where you went to school..." He paused, and Harmony had a feeling she wasn't going to like the direction of his next statement. "How about you tell me how you ended up married to a guy like that?"

She wasn't surprised that he asked about her ex. Their split had been a very public and nasty one, which most gossip magazines still talked about.

"You're a nosy one, aren't you?" Harmony teased him as she took another sip of her drink.

Truthfully, she didn't want to talk about her ex. In fact, she wanted to push him so far out of her mind that she couldn't remember his name. Something that was nearly impossible to do when she was constantly reminded of him.

"A little." Adien's silky voice continued to wrap around her, coaxing her to give in and reveal a side of herself she preferred to keep hidden from the rest of the world. Given her profession, the last thing she needed was for the dark secrets of her past life and horrid marriage to come up.

No matter how attractive the man in front of her was or how much she might have wanted to rip his shirt from his body and find out just how ripped his body really was, the fact remained she hardly knew Adien Tygerian. And what she did know of him wasn't too flattering.

"I see." She paused. "I'd much rather hear about how you got that nice little reputation of yours." Her question was meant to change the subject, yet Harmony found a piece of herself wanting to know more about the man sitting in front of her. She knew the rumors about him, everyone did, but she could tell there was much more to Adien Tygerian than what he showed to the outside world.

"What reputation is that?" Adien asked with a raised brow.

"Don't play dumb, Casanova. You know your reputation with the women better than anyone else. So, why don't you tell me what really lies behind that devilish smile of yours."

For a moment, his expression changed, going from flirtatious smiles to serious and contemplative.

"If you share, I share," she told him when it looked like he was going to push her away. "Please." She added that last part for effect.

He gave a heavy sigh before saying, "Very well."

A smile spread across her face before she could stop it, and she settled in with her drink to listen to his story.

"There was a"—he hesitated as if he was unsure of how he should go about the next few words that came out of his mouth—"woman I was interested in a long, long time ago. At the time, she had been the most beautiful creature I'd ever seen."

Again, he paused and Harmony noted the change in his voice as if he was revisiting a dark time in his life that he would rather not speak about. Suddenly, feeling bad she had pushed the topic, Harmony opened her mouth to change the subject but he continued.

"A goddess, that's how everyone referred to her. But, to me, she was simply the woman I loved." He gave another heavy sigh. "I wanted her, and I was determined to have her. Only problem was, at the time, how do I put this?"

"You were a virgin, or something like that."

"Not a virgin, but something close to it," was his response.

The way his face reddened with embarrassment had to be the most adorable thing she had ever seen. As much as she wanted to "aw" him, Harmony doubted he would appreciate that. Instead, she continued to indulge in his embarrassment as he started his story once again.

"So, I asked Radien to help me out."

"Melody's Radien?" Harmony asked, her interest continuously piqued. "How do you know him?

_A business partner, maybe_ , she thought as she took another sip of her drink.

"He's my older brother," Adien responded dryly.

His sudden admission had Harmony staring at him in disbelief.

"What? Can't you see the family resemblance?"

Not really, but then again, it wasn't like Harmony spent much time around Radien to begin with. Most times she saw him in passing when he dropped Melody off for a visit. Yet, the more she stared at Adien, the more similar some of their features became.

"A little," Harmony admitted.

"What can I say, our father was a traveling man, so to say."

Harmony noted the sourness in his tone before asking, "What about your mother?"

Again, Adien's expression changed. Sadness briefly crossing his features, he told her, "She died when I was young. After her death, my father took me and my other brother to live with him."

_And his world changed forever..._ Adien didn't say the words, but they lingered unspoken in the air. Not liking the sudden tension between them, Harmony decided to steer the topic away from his mother. "How many siblings do you have?"

"There are three of us. Radien is the eldest, Jaden is the middle child, and then there's me," he told her.

In the back of her mind, Harmony couldn't help but wonder why Melody hadn't told her about Radien's brothers. As much as Melody liked to talk about her husband, it was hard to believe she had forgotten to mention Radien had siblings, which meant she had deliberately kept the information from Harmony.

_But why?_ Harmony thought as she made a mental note to ask her sister about it later. For now, she wanted to continue picking the brain of the man in front of her.

"What happened between you and Radien? I take it things didn't go so well," she said.

Adien gave a bitter laugh. "That's an understatement. Radien seemed to have his own agenda for helping me. It took a little time before my suspicions got the better of me, and I followed him one night as he left the house."

Harmony knew exactly where this was going.

"I found them together, all hugged up, looking like the perfect couple," Adien said.

What else could have happened in that situation?

She looked to Adien, whose gaze was focused on the drink that sat in front of him. It was clear from the expression on his face that what happened had hurt him, probably shaken him to his very foundation.

"After that, I kind of lost it. There was a fight, and then I disappeared for a while."

Frowning, Harmony had the feeling that he had breezed over that part of the story and that there was something more to what he had just told her.

"I left home and wandered around for a while, indulging in my heart's darkest desires. Women, alcohol, drugs... whatever I could do to make the pain go away, I did. To be honest, if it wasn't for Melody, I doubt Radien and I would've made it this far."

Again, she got the feeling he was leaving out a piece of vital information. But, she wouldn't push. He was already sharing more than she thought he would. If he wanted to share more, she would gladly listen. Until then, she would satisfy herself with listening to the sound of his smooth voice as it continued to seduce her ears.

"Do you think he meant to do that to you?" Harmony asked.

"It doesn't matter if he meant it or not. It doesn't change what he did."

"That is true." Harmony conceded. In truth, she was the last one to talk.

"So..." Adien's voice drew her attention. Gone was that solemn face he had used to tell his story, and in its place, was the charming and mischievous expression she had grown so accustomed to. "Tell me about your ex."

"Tell me about your ex-husband," Adien asked as he took another sip of his drink.

From what he had read in the tabloids, it had been a less than ideal separation. Yet, he got the feeling the media had no idea just how dark the truth of the matter was. Given the way her body stiffened, Adien was willing to bet it made a mockery of his shitty little trip down memory lane.

"There's nothing to tell," was her somber response.

He frowned. "Of course, it's something, or else your face wouldn't have changed." He leaned back in his chair, carefully studying her reactions. "That smile was the most beautiful thing I had seen all night, and now it's gone." Leaning forward, he placed his elbows on the table. "How do I get it back?"

"He was a monster, and that's all there is to it," Harmony said, this time her tone taking on a more depressing sound. She refused to meet his gaze. Instead, she decided to focus on the melting ice she was stirring in her glass. "And, thank you." That last part she whispered and he smiled.

"It's the truth." He paused, taking her in for a long moment before he decided to drop the topic. "Melody looks like she's going to pop soon. I bet her babies will be amaz—"

"Excuse me for a moment." She cut him off with the abrupt interruption, her voice cracking as he noted the sudden glazed look in her eyes.

"Of course," he said.

With a whispered thank you, she grabbed her bag and left the table. Adien watched her walk away, her steps brisk as she hurried to the bathroom, the urge to follow her something he couldn't ignore. But, he didn't think following her into the woman's bathroom was such a good idea either.

_No harm in waiting for her outside the bathroom._ That thought in mind, Adien pushed himself from his chair and headed towards the back of the restaurant where the restrooms were, all the while thinking about the haunted expression she had on her face as she excused herself.

He knew that type of expression all too well. It was the look someone got the moment a memory they had buried deep in the darkest parts of their mind resurfaced to wreak havoc on their soul. He had one too many memories like that and knew firsthand how horrible they could be.

Outside the women's restroom, Adien rested casually against the wall and patiently waited for his Obsession to return. It was obvious he didn't know the full story behind her pain. But it was clear that whatever her ex had done scared her, and Adien didn't like that one bit. If anything was going to be engraved into her memory it wouldn't be dark dreams and fevered nightmares. He would carve his touch into her as children carve their names into trees, making him something she would never forget and something she would always yearn for, even when they were separated and living their own lives.

That was what he thought as he waited for her, ignoring the flirtatious stares and the come-hither looks from the women that walked past him. There were even a few that he had taken to his bed once or twice that watched him with a look of contempt and desire.

He gave an amused chuckle. All these women were nothing compared to his Obsession. Compared to her, they were dull imitations that lacked the skills to seduce him past one night.

_What's taking her—_ His thoughts were cut off as her earthly scent wrapped around him. Looking up, he locked gazes with her the moment she stepped out of the bathroom. He hated the way his heart skipped a beat when he saw her, but what he hated more was the red puffiness of her eyes that she tried to hide behind a pile of unnecessary makeup. Anger swelled up inside of him as he contemplated hunting her ex down and beating him until he could do nothing but beg for death.

"What are you doing here?" Her voice was a strained whisper, one that told Adien she was trying her hardest not to crack under the weight of her sorrow.

"What else would I be doing besides waiting for you?" Adien replied as he pushed himself from the wall. Standing in front of her, he asked, "Are you all right?"

"Of course." She brushed past him, refusing to meet his gaze. "I should be leav—"

He couldn't take it anymore; he had to do something. The need to have her consumed him, so he did the only thing he could in the moment. Grabbing her by the arm, Adien pushed her against the wall. Beautifully colored eyes looked at him in shock. Before she could protest, Adien crushed his mouth to hers and captured her mouth for a deliciously mouthwatering kiss. He growled as he pressed his body against hers. For a brief second, her body tensed, but she quickly relaxed under him, moaning into his mouth as their tongues danced with the promise of what was to come.

Adien's hands found their way into her hair. Fisting the newly cut strands, he tilted her head, demanding a deeper access to her. When she nipped him on his bottom lip, it took everything he had not to strip her and fuck her right there against the restaurant wall. He cared nothing for the people that watched them. All that mattered to him was the woman currently melting in his arms.

_Mine._ The hound in him growled as power begun to make its way through him. A sudden need to take claim and mark her as his came alive inside of him. Body suddenly tensing, he broke their kiss. Panting, he stared down at her and froze. From under half-hooded eyes, golden eyes glowed brightly.

"Adien." Harmony purred his name. "Why did you stop?" She ground her hips against him and they both moaned.

"I want you," she told him, the air suddenly alive with new power. "Do not run from _us._ " With that, she grabbed him by the back of the neck and pulled him to her, kissing her with enough heat and passion to make him shiver.

_Mine... ours._ The hound in him came to life, demanding, needing... wanting the one thing that was destined to give him untold pleasure. Her hands found their way into the thickness of his hair, holding him in place as she took control of his mouth.

Caught off guard by her aggressiveness and strength, but turned on nonetheless, he almost gave into the desire consuming them... almost. Quickly coming to his senses, Adien broke their kiss. Unhooking her hands from behind his head, he stepped back and put some much-needed space between them as he straightened his clothes.

"I've told you already," the voice that came out of her was not the voice he knew, but of the creature that had begun to awake inside of her. Just like the night of the dinner party it took hold of her and told him, "You are mine... do not run from me."

Smirking at her, he said in the cockiest tone he could muster while trying to get his own beast to calm down, "And I thought I told you, you cannot tame the untamable."

The smile she gave him was one of challenge. "You're already tamed... you just don't know it yet. In time, you'll see what we already know."

Pissed at her cocky and so-sure attitude, yet painfully turned on, Adien remained quiet as he watched her adjust her clothing and finger comb her hair until it was neat again. Then she walked past him as if he wasn't standing there.

"Later, lover," she whispered with a firm smack to his ass that had him growling a warning as he turned to watch her saunter her way out of the restaurant.

In the background, he could hear the whispers and snickers from those around him. He tuned them out, much more fascinated with the woman who had just left him. The split between her hound and her normal personality was drastic, and something Adien couldn't help but be drawn to.

Making his way outside, Adien wondered just what he had awakened and couldn't help the wide smile that spread across his face.

Did he want a mate?

No.

He wouldn't mate with her, but he couldn't give up their little game of cat and mouse just yet. He was the predator, and she was the prey. The law of nature demanded he capture her and show her just how wild nature could be.

#  Chapter 10

Persephone walked down the crowded block, huddled in her long overcoat, and couldn't believe how cold it was. As she looked around, she couldn't understand how humans lived in such temperatures. As a goddess, calling both Mt. Olympus and the Underworld home, she had grown accustomed to the perfectly sunny skies of Mt. Olympus and the blistering heat of the Underworld flames. The cold was something new to her. Granted, when she had visited the human realm a few times, she had made sure not to spend too much time in the cold weather. But thanks to her adoring husband, she had been tossed into the human world and forced to live in its ever-changing weather pattern. Never in her long life had she worn as many layers of clothing as she wore at that moment.

Long legs were covered by a pair of dark denim jeans. Under the jeans she wore thick leggings to keep the wind from going into inappropriate and uncomfortable places. The heavy turtleneck sweater she wore under her coat kept the top half of her body warm. However, she kept her hair loose, loving the way it blew in the wind despite its frigidness. Each time she walked past a shop mirror, she would blow a kiss at her reflection. She might have been bundled up tighter than a newborn baby coming home from the hospital. She admitted, after looking at all the humans walking past her with their short or light jackets on, that she might have been a tad overdressed, but that didn't mean she couldn't be as fabulous as she always was. Her jeans, even with her leggings underneath, hugged her shapely legs and ass, which had grown a bit thanks to her little weight gain.

Absently she wondered what Hades would say if he saw her. He hadn't visited once since he banished her, which meant she hadn't had the chance to show off her new looks. Especially her hair that, thanks to some human beautician, no longer fell past the back of her knees but was cut into thick layers that stopped just short of her mid-back. She even had bangs that she thought complimented her beautiful face and dark eyes. It simply had been too much of a hassle for her to take care of her hair when it was that unnecessarily long hair. Being a goddess, she had never had to worry about such trifling matters. Her powers had been more than enough to keep her perfectly groomed and maintained... it was a luxury she no longer had.

Stopping at a crosswalk, her feet comfortably warm in the knee-high boots she wore, Persephone thought of Hades and what he might have been doing at the moment. Was he sitting on his throne alone and just a miserable as she was, or was he too busy fucking some forgotten soul in their bed to be bothered about her?

_Hades,_ Persephone called to him, and like always silence greeted her. Not that she blamed him. In fact, if he had done half the things she had done to him, she would have done much worse than stripping him of his powers and tossing him into the human world... and she damn sure wouldn't have placed him in some lofty apartment with enough money to make kings jealous.

_That's because he's a good man..._ Persephone thought as she walked across the street. _He didn't deserve what I did to him._ He truly didn't. As she neared her destination, her stomach grumbling, she was surprised by how much she missed him...

Gods, how she missed him, missed that feel of his embrace, the heat of his body beside her. She wasn't used to sleeping alone, hadn't slept alone in thousands of years... but since her banishment she knew the cold feel of an empty bed, and it was a feeling she wasn't remotely fond of.

_Damn it._ She wished he would just hurry up and forgive her so she could return to her world.

"You really are overreacting," Persephone mumbled as she finally reached the diner she had been looking for, a small twenty-four-hour spot that made some of the best over-easy eggs she had ever tasted. The little slice of heaven was the first place she had eaten at when she had finally realized she needed food in order to sustain her new human body.

"Am I?" The dark voice that she was all too familiar with caressed her ear. Startled, she looked around and found the very male she had been thinking about standing in front of the diner's doors, his handsome face and dark aura drawing the attention of just about every woman that walked past him.

"Hades." Persephone practically jumped with joy. Excitement washed over her and quickly replaced her hunger. With her husband finally in front of her, Persephone wanted nothing more than to run and jump into his arms. And she would if she still didn't get the feeling that he hated her. Matter of fact, the scowl he wore as he stared at her from the front of the diner warned her not to get her hopes up for a happy reconciliation.

"Persephone," his dark gaze went up and down her body, and she couldn't help her subconscious fidgeting. "You're looking well. I see the human world has been good to you." He made sure to give a pointed stare at her fuller hips.

"I guess it has," was her response as she tucked her hair behind her ear. Finally deciding to approach him, Persephone headed towards the diner's entrance. "I was just about to get something to eat." Standing face to face with him, she was once again reminded of how handsome Hades was. In fact, he was dangerously handsome, with his dark and rugged features and lush lips. His usually layered hair was now chopped and spiky and seemed to add to the dangerous aura around him. "Would you like to join me?" she asked, smiling at him.

For a brief moment, Hades looked as if he wanted to refuse, and her heart nearly stopped. Then he gave her a slight nod of his head and, much to her delight, opened the diner's door for her. Walking past him, she muttered a soft thank you and tried not to be intimidated by the way his large body towered over her.

"You're welcome." She tried to pretend that the feel of his palm caressing the small of her back didn't send shivers down her spine.

Just how long had it been since she last craved her husband like this?

Persephone couldn't remember. She had been too caught up in her fantasies of the past that she hadn't looked his way in years. As Persephone made her way towards her favorite corner booth, which had the best view of the full moon, her body tingled from head to toe.

"You can just pick your own seats?" Hades asked as he took off his jacket.

Instantly, Persephone's gaze went to him, and a deep longing spread through her body. If there was one thing she loved, it was a well-dressed man, and her husband—dressed in black slacks that perfectly fit his toned legs, a gray form-fitting turtleneck sweater, and a pair designer shoes—was definitely a well-dressed man.

"No, not really." Setting her own coat aside, she slid into the booth. Hades did the same. "It's just that I'm such a regular here and spend so much money that I have become friends with the manager, and he had ordered the staff to allow me to sit wherever I want."

"I see," was Hades short reply as he sat across from her. His gaze fixed on her, taking her in as if it was the first time he had seen her. Under his heavy gaze, Persephone felt vulnerable, like she was being stripped naked, down to her very essence. It was unsettling and caused her to fidget in her seat. Refusing to make eye contact, Persephone called for the waitress.

Sitting in silence, Hades still staring at her, Persephone watched the waitress saunter over to their table. She was a pretty little thing with short blonde hair and long legs, which were hardly covered by her work uniform, a frilly blue and red maid's outfit that was sure to give the male customers an ample view of her ass should she bend over too far.

"Good evening." The waitress gave a polite smile. "Here are your menus." As the woman placed the two menus on the table, Persephone noted the soft flush on the female's face as she looked to Hades. "I'll give you two a moment to look them over." Pausing, the waitress took out a small pen and pad from her pocket. "In the meantime, what can I get you to drink?"

"I'll take strawberry iced tea," Persephone told the flustered woman.

"Okay, one strawberry iced tea." After quickly jotting down Persephone's order, the waitress turned her attention to Hades.

"For you, sir?" the waitress asked, and Persephone heard the change in her tone, going from polite and business like, to low and seductive in a matter of seconds. Persephone couldn't believe the human woman had the never to openly flirt with Persephone sitting there. Clearly the woman had no sense of common courtesy or respect... it was a lesson Persephone was more than willing to teach the child.

"I'm going to need something a little stronger than a strawberry iced tea," Hades answered with an amused smirk that was probably more directed at the fact the Persephone was fuming with anger than it was for the waitress that was standing over him undressing him with her eyes. "You have something a little stronger?" he asked with a raised brow, his smirk still plastered on his face.

"I have whatever you need."

It was Persephone's turn to raise a brow. A deaf person could have caught the double meaning behind that comment. The only thing that made the situation worse was that her husband, regardless of if they were currently separated by worlds, was acting like his wife wasn't sitting across from him.

"Is that so?" Hades said.

"Hades." Persephone's growl drew her husband's attention. When he looked away from the waitress, the mocking amusement reflected in his dark eyes made her blood boil.

"I'll have a Jack and Coke, double up on the Jack," he told the waitress.

"Of course. I'll be right back to take your order." Without giving Persephone a second glance, the waitress jotted down Hades order and then walked off with a little extra sway in her hips.

"Some things haven't changed, I see," Persephone said grudgingly as she picked up the menu in front of her. "Still keeping company with whores," she said with more spite than she intended.

Hades' obvious disregard for her feelings pissed her off, but Persephone was madder at herself for allowing it to affect her when she knew he was only flirting with the slutty waitress to be spiteful.

_You should be ashamed of yourself... jealous of a human_ , she thought.

Was this how far she had fallen? To being jealous over a human woman that was in no way any competition for a goddess.

If the rage coursing through her was any indication, she had not only fallen but had gone so far as to develop tiresome and petty human traits.

"Are you jealous?" Hades entertained tone was like a punch to the face.

"I am the goddess of the Underworld, your Queen." She gave him a pointed stare, hoping her true emotions were hidden from him. "A human woman is no threat to me."

"Really?"

It was her turn to give him an amused smirk. At that moment, the waitress returned, still smiling and batting her eyes at Hades. Setting their drinks down on the table, she pulled out her little pad, ready to take their orders... or rather, ready to take Hades' order.

The female was truly testing Persephone's patience.

"What would you like to eat, my love?" He gave her a gentle smile that made her both suspicious and wanton. "Since it's been so long since we've last seen each other, I will treat you to whatever you like. So please..." He motioned for her to order, and reluctantly the waitress turned her attention to Persephone.

"What would you like, miss?" the smutty waitress asked with a roll of her eyes. As if taking Persephone's order was such a laborious task that the woman wasn't getting paid to do.

"It's Mrs." Persephone enjoyed the evident annoyance on the woman's face. "And since my _husband_ is treating tonight..." Okay, so maybe Persephone put more emphasis on the word than she needed, but she relished the way the female's eyes sparked with anger. "I will take an order of the prime rib, medium rare, and whatever sides come with it." Forcing a polite smile, Persephone turned her attention to Hades. "What would you like, darling?"

Persephone amused him. Her little antics and jealously over the human female was something he hadn't expected. In fact, when he had finally decided to come and see his wife, he hadn't expected anything. Well, at least not anything like this. Sitting in some empty diner and eating mediocre food as if everything was all right in their relationship, like she hadn't betrayed him and ripped his heart from his chest.

He truly did hate her. A large part of him wanted nothing more than to indulge in her petty emotions and wrap the petite little waitress, who stood in front of him wearing a skirt so short that if the wind blew he was sure every man within the vicinity could see what kind of underwear she wore, in his arms, toss her onto the table, and screw her brains out right in front of his beautiful whore of a wife. Just to remind her of what he truly thought of her.

"Just another one of these." He held up his glass, and the waitress jotted down his order.

"Anything else?" she asked, already having dismissed Persephone with a polite smile that was just as fake as the long eyelashes the female wore.

"No, that's all," he told her, noting the subtle change in her voice as she thanked him for his order, collected the menus, and sauntered off, but not before she made sure to give the back of Hades hand a light caress as she took the menu from him.

He chuckled, entertained by the female's boldness. He made a mental note to come back for her once he was done with his wife.

"She likes you." Persephone's aggravated tone caused a taunting smile to spread across his face.

"I can see that. I might have to come back for her." He smiled fully then. The pure rage burning in his wife's dark gaze made tingles spread through his body. Any bit of hurt he could cause her made his day. "You look different."

"Is that a bad thing?" she asked as took a sip of her drink.

"Not at all." That much was true. Granted he had grown used to her overly grown hair and the way it would cover his body as they lay in bed together, but the shorter cut suited her face and made her appear younger, if that was even possible for a goddess. If things were different between them, Hades was sure he would enjoy running his hands through the thick layers without having to worry about his fingers getting tangled in the dark waves. He could simply focus on the soft and silky feel of her hair against his skin.

_She made her choice_ , he reminded himself.

He had given her a choice between him or her dog, and she had chosen to be with another, forsaking her home and the god who loved her above all else. Despite his obvious flaws, and the fact he might have slept with a damned soul or two, he had never disrespected her and their home the way she had. And he damn sure hadn't chosen those females over her.

Hades would always choose her, and yet... not only had she chosen another man but a creature that had chosen a human female over a goddess. Still, his wife wanted her mutt. The longing in her tone, the look of loneliness on her face even as Hades stood in front of her, damn near begging her to stay with him, killed a piece of his soul. A piece he was sure he would never get back no matter how many years passed.

_"A human, he chose a human over me..."_ That was all that concerned her, her mutt and his mate. She worried more about them than her own crown, no matter how hard Hades fought. The last conversation he had with her poured into his mind...

"You crave to be human?" he asked her. With every passing moment, he felt his heart shattering into a thousand little pieces.

"I crave to be with him..."

Anger had radiated through his body when he heard the longing in her tone. Unapologetic she cared nothing for his feelings and what he had sacrificed for her, the hell he had to endure just to have her. Yet, she had blamed him and accused him of forcing his way into her life.

She had wanted a human life, and he had given it to her, draining her power from her and locking them away within himself until he saw fit to give them back to her. His plan had been to make her suffer in the human world, for her to see that life as a human was nothing compared to the life of a god. She was supposed to be miserable, the longing for him to welcome her back into his arms so strong and unbearable that the moment she saw him she would drop down to her knees begging for forgiveness...

However, it hadn't played out that way. Well, not exactly. What he hadn't expected was to miss her the way he did. With her gone, there was a hole left in his soul bigger than the one created from her infidelity. He missed her, and he hated himself for it. When she called out to him all those times—sometimes crying and other times in anger—it took everything he had not to rush to her and take her in his arms and tell her that it was okay. That he forgave her and she could come back home, but he couldn't do that. He knew his wife and knew how hardheaded she was. She might have missed him then, when she realized that she had taken advantage of the luxuries that she had by being a god, but she hadn't truly missed _him_ , needed _him_. So, he was going to make her wait.

Even tonight, he hadn't intended on seeing her. But as he had listened to her thoughts in the comfort of his shrine, a dark sensation had traveled down his spine. A first he started to ignore it, but the sudden pull—no, he took that back because it wasn't a pull but rather a small drain of his powers—had him disappearing out of his throne room and heading to the deepest parts of Tartarus.

While he feared nothing, and nothing could truly hurt him, the moment he had appeared in front of the Prison Tower, a multi-storied tower created from the Underworld brimstone that held some of the vilest creatures Hades had ever seen, his blood had run cold. The ancient cage held the one creature that could not only destroy him but could shatter the very fabric of the universe had panic and fear sneaking through him. Cautiously, Hades had walked down the hall, past prison after prison, and the amount of dark power that seeped through the prisons' walls was something Hades had only ever felt one time in his immortal life.

_"I have entrusted to you the power needed to hold this barrier in my absence."_ That was what Alrik, the Supreme Being of Light, had said. Unlike his brothers, Hades knew that had it not been for the powerful being standing in front of him, neither he nor his brothers would have existed. Therefore, as Alrik spoke to both Hades and Persephone, they didn't think twice about refusing the weight that was about to be put on their shoulders...

"But, you have watched him for longer than we have been around. Since the beginning it has been you protecting the cage," Hades said as he followed Alrik down the endless darkness that consumed the hallways of the Prison Tower.

"Yes, it has always been you, my lord. Why now, after all this time, would you entrust such a heavy burden to the two of us? Would it not be better to take him somewhere else?" Persephone had asked as she walked beside Hades, the soft clicking of her heels against the stony ground echoing through the halls.

When Alrik remained quiet, simply continuing his way down the dark hall with his burden carried over his shoulder, Hades and Persephone exchanged a wary glance with each other. They followed behind Alrik in silence until they had reached the center of the Prison Tower and located deep in the heart of the tower was a large and imposing cage. One that neither Hades nor Persephone had ever seen before. Crafted from the dead bones of Titans, fallen gods, and goddesses, the amount of power that emitted from the prison made Hades stop dead in his tracks.

"When... when was this built?" In awe, he couldn't tear his gaze away from the monstrous beauty. Power pulsed through the room as the doors of the mausoleum-looking prison opened.

"Long before you were thought of," Alrik replied as he stepped up to the opening doors.

"By the gods," Persephone gasped as she walked up beside Hades. Speechless, they watched as Alrik stepped into the prison, noticing that the body he carried over his shoulder started to stir.

When Alrik looked back at them over his shoulder, his eyes, which usually glowed brightly from the limitless power that coursed through him, seemed to look dull and placid. It was then that Hades realized how worn down and tired Alrik appeared. For the first time, Hades noticed the dark circles under the being's eyes and the stress lines along his forehead.

"For thousands of years, I have used my powers to keep my brother away from the world. But I fear that my powers are no longer enough."

That took Hades by surprise. How could Alrik's power not be enough? He was the one whose power was limitless.

"With each passing moment, Gazini grows stronger from the dark energy in the world, energizing him even when he is in this comatose state." As if to prove Alrik's point, Gazini's body twitched on the being's shoulders, and sudden dark power filled the room. "My creations have been wounded and separated. Therefore, I had this cage built. Locked in here, my brother cannot feed from his beasts." Alrik paused and Hades had a feeling that something wasn't right.

"What are you not telling us?" Persephone asked, taking a step forward.

Alrik held out a hand for her stop. Stopping in her tracks, she stared at him.

"Alrik?" It was Hades turn to question the primordial power.

"As the keepers of the damned, your combined powers have kept the most vile and dangerous creatures at bay. It is that same power that I need now. While this prison is strong, it is incomplete. I need both your powers to seal it for all time."

"But this is Tartarus. All manner of demons call this place home. Dark power was used to create this tower... staying here will only empower Gazini more," Hades argued.

"This place may be created from dark energy, but its buffer is the two of you." Alrik paused, and again Hades felt a chill go down his spine. "With my dwindling powers working from within the cage and yours working from outside, he will never be free."

From within the cage? Had he heard Alrik correctly? "You're not going to..."

"I am," was the resigned response they received. Again, as if more dark energy had flowed into Gazini, his body twitched. The Evil Lord was close to waking up, and if he awoke before he was in the prison, there was nothing anyone could do to stop him.

"Alrik... please," Persephone pleaded. "Don't do this."

"Enough!" While Alrik didn't yell, his voice still thundered through the room. "You will do this because you have a role to play in this as well. Your love will be what fuels my creatures and leads them to their destiny. You have no choice." He paused, a hint of sadness coming to his features as if he was keeping a sad secret from them. "And neither do I." He looked back to them, and for an instant, the glow that his eyes always held came back. "Once these doors are closed, your powers will create a barrier around the prison, sealing off all the leaks from the outside while I work from the inside. For added benefit, this cage will act as a conduit of power for the Prison Tower, enforcing the barriers already in place for the creatures held here, making your world safe from the monsters inside here. However, be warned... should the flow of power be dampened, shifted, or tampered with in any way, the barrier will weaken and..." Alrik's voice trailed off then, leaving them with the heavy weight of his words. He didn't need to finish his sentence. They all knew what destruction awaited them should Gazini ever be freed.

"Very well," both Hades and Persephone answered.

What choice did they really have? They were the keepers of damned souls and demons, and it was their duty to keep the most dangerous and vile creatures away from the worlds. This would be no different.

"It is done then." With that, Alrik turned and walked into the cage as a heavy weight settled on both Persephone's and Hades' shoulders. As the doors of the prison began to close, Hades watched the eyes of the Dark Lord slowly open. They pinned Hades under their dark stare, and a slow and evil smile spread across Gazini's face. When the evil being winked just as the doors closed, dread filled Hades' gut as a dark, foreboding sensation settled over him.

"What have we done?" Persephone whispered.

Silently, Hades looked over to his Queen and then back to the towering prison that contained two of the most powerful beings in existence and wondered the same thing. He just prayed that the day they would find out would never come.

If only it hadn't come. Countless years had passed without incident. Except for the occasional havoc-reeking demon, everything was fine. Then the Trio had happened, and with Iraon's awakening, things had changed. An invisible countdown had started, and Hades feared they were all out of time.

"Why are you here, Hades?" Persephone's annoyed tone dragged him from his worrisome thoughts. He turned his attention to her.

Taking another sip of his drink, hating its water-downed taste, he leveled a hard and serious stare on her. "The souls in Tartarus have become restless. Iraon's release had a ripple effect, and now with you gone, the barriers set in place to keep the cages closed are weakening with each passing second." He paused, letting his words sink in. When her eyes grew big and shock passed over her features, Hades knew she had caught his meaning.

"The cage..." Her hands trembled as she held her half-finished drink. "What have you done?"

Taken aback by her accusatory tone, Hades simply blinked at her in confusion for a moment. "What have _I_ done?"

"Yes," Persephone said louder than necessary. "Had you not taken my powers and kicked me out of my home, this would not be happening."

Balling his hands into fists, Hades struggled to rein in his anger. "Your home? I thought you said I took you from your home and brought you to mine. Now, _my_ world is your home... now that your dog is not around?"

This was not something they had time for. Not when he could feel darkness sneaking up around him. It truly wasn't the time, but he would be dammed if he let her put all the blame on him. "You were the one who wanted to be human, remember?"

That seemed to take all the steam out of her. She gave an exhausted sigh and then looked at him with a look he wasn't sure what to make of. Was she sorry for what she had done? Or was she simply tired of arguing with him and wanted it all to be over?

He couldn't tell.

"What do you propose we do?" she asked as she took another sip of her drink. For an instant, he imagined that her glass was his cock and that she was sucking him deep into the back of her throat.

His cock pressed painfully against the fly of his jeans, a hurtful reminder that he hadn't taken a woman to bed in the last few days and was overdue for a release.

_God damn it! Now is not the time for this._ "The obvious, of course. I am taking you back with me. You do want to come back with me, right?"

For a moment, she just stared at him, looking suspicious as she continued to drink her iced tea. He wondered just how long it would take for her to finish that one cup.

"Besides needing me back for the barrier, have you forgiven me?"

Hades had to give himself credit. He didn't cringe or get angry as images of her and her dog tangled together in the crimson sheets of their bed flashed in his mind. True, he had never caught them together, but he hadn't needed to. His imagination was enough. Anything else and he might have killed her and damned them all.

Instead of giving her a verbal answer, because he didn't trust his mouth not to spit out the truth, Hades moved from his seat and walked to her. He gave her a slight nod and smile before he held out his hand. When her dark gaze went from him to his hand and back again, he said in a low and seductive voice, "I have missed you, my love, much more than you will ever know. Please come home... I love you."

"Always the slick talker." Even as she mumbled the words, Persephone placed her hand in his, and he eased her out the booth and pulled her to her feet. Her body slammed into his, and he couldn't help but wrap his free arm around her fuller waist. Even if he didn't say it aloud, he couldn't deny that the few pounds she had put on suited her. She still had her slim build, but she had filled out in all the right places. "Haven't you missed me? Longed for me... called to me every night?" He paused, dipping his head down so that he could whisper into her ear, "Do not fight me, my love. Come home to me, back to us."

"To us," she whispered.

Looking over his shoulder, he saw the waitress returning with their order, that same flirtatious smile she had earlier still plastered on her face, a clear invitation to her bed that he would have accepted any other time. But right then, he had more pressing matters to attend to.

"Persephone." Turning his attention from the waitress, he reached under his wife's chin and tilted her head. Her confused and mistrusting gaze burned into him and threatened to crumble his resolve as old emotions threatened to overtake him. Conflicted over his sense of duty and wanting revenge, Hades captured her lips for a brutal kiss that had them both craving for more. The taste of her consumed him, making his head spin as he hugged her closer. Her full breasts pressed against his chest while her hands found their way into his hair. Gripping him by the head, she demanded that he give her more and deepened their kiss. And he would have, had another dark sensation not went down his spine, pulling him back to reality and the problem at hand.

Breaking their kiss, he looked down at her. A part of him smiled in triumph at her swollen lips. "Shall we go?"

"Yes," was her breathless reply.

"Then let's go." With that, they vanished from the diner and arrived at their home in the Underworld, not caring that there was a diner full of witnesses or a trashy young waitress watching them that had dropped their freshly made food on the floor.

Right was the only word Persephone could use to describe what it felt like to be back in her husband's arms. So right that she couldn't remember why she had strayed in the first place. Of course, Radien had been a temptation, a forbidden fruit wrapped in an extremely dark, sexy, and dangerous package that no female could resist. But Hades...he was her home.

How could she have forgotten that?

No matter what, it was something that she wouldn't forget ever again.

_I have to make this up to him_ , Persephone thought as the reappeared in a room that she wasn't familiar with. Too dark to see anything with her human eyes, she had no choice but to rely on Hades.

"Hades, I can't see," she said into the darkness.

Sudden light flooded the room. Caught by surprise, Persephone's gaze quickly scanned the room... or rather, she should say, the prison. In front of her lay cell bars that were made from the bones of dead demons and human remains just like every other prison in her world. However, this prison was different. Even without her powers, she could feel it. An undercurrent of electric energy hummed through the room, an all too familiar energy.

"The Prison Tower." There was no mistaking the dark energy that flowed through the very walls of the cell. In that dark power, Persephone felt the subtle feel of her own godly powers that made up the barrier of the prison. It was weak, not nearly as strong as it should have been, but it was still there, along with some other power she hadn't felt in a very long time.

"You remember." Hades voice came from the other side of the bars. When she looked at him, the hate the burned in his gaze ignited her own indignation. "This barrier needs the both of our powers to hold it up."

"I don't have my powers. You took them from me, remember?" Infuriated by her own stupidity, for forgetting the type of being she was dealing with, Persephone crossed her arms over her chest and waited from him to answer.

"I give them back to you now." Hades snapped his fingers, and instantaneously Persephone felt as if something was squeezing the life out of her. Gasping as pain assaulted her body, she dropped to her knees. "You can have them back, but you will never be able to leave this cage."

She barely heard Hades over the rapid pounding of her heart. As quickly as the pain started, it was gone, and she was left feeling better than she had ever felt. Power hummed through her body, energizing her as she rose to her feet.

"You cannot keep me here." With that, she summoned her powers until she could feel them coursing through her veins and went to flash out of the cell.

When nothing happened, she tried again. Still nothing happened.

"Impossible," she whispered and then looked at him, shock and disbelief mixing together with her anger.

"Nothing is impossible for the God of the Underworld, the Keeper of Damned Souls." He motioned for her to come to him. As much as she didn't want to go to him, her body moved of its own accord. He reached a hand through the bars of the cage, gripping her by the back of the neck. "There is only one way for you to be free of this cage. But, I will not take away your powers again and risk letting loose the monster trapped in the center of this tower." His smile widened, and a chill went down her spine. "This is where you belong, to atone for your sins, but don't worry. The best of care will be given to you for the duration of your stay." With that, he kissed her through the bars of the cage and then pushed her away. She stumbled backwards but didn't fall.

"I will make you pay for this," she vowed as she wiped his kiss from her lips.

"I look forward to it." Turning from her, he walked away from her cell. "Until then, make yourself at home," he said as he vanished from her sight.

With Hades gone, Persephone let her anger and sorrow wash over her. What had she done to deserve such treatment from her husband?

Fine, she had slept with another man, but it wasn't like Hades was some saint. She had lost count of how many women, both mortal and goddesses, he had taken to his bed. Looking around, the need to lash out and break something, anything, was an urge she couldn't ignore. As she took in the large cell, Persephone couldn't find anything. All she had was a large mattress for her to sleep on and her own company.

Hopelessness consuming her, Persephone sat down. Dropping her head in her hands, she couldn't stop the tears that freely flowed from her eyes. Sobs rocked her body as she thought about how long she would be forced to call the place home.

Poor child, it's horrible the way your husband treats you.

Her head snapped up, and she looked around her cell, looking for the face to the voice. When she was greeted with nothing but dark silence, she frowned.

"I'm losing my damn mind," she grumbled to herself as she fell back against the mattress. Wiping the stray tears from her eyes, she stared up at the ceiling.

Such a beautiful creature. If you were mine, I would never see you cry, unless it was tears of joy or passion.

There was that voice again, dark and low. It vibrated through her entire being, leaving behind a longing she didn't even know she had... for something deadly and wicked. Clearly, she was losing her mind and she had only been in the cell for about twenty minutes.

Join me, free me, and I will take you to a place where you will never feel pain or sorrow.

Suddenly, Persephone felt warmth spread across her body, running along her arms and body as if a male's hands were touching her. She gasped and rolled off the bed. Darting to the other end of the cell, her eyes wide in panic, she looked around. The voice was one thing, but the feeling of hands touching her was another. Around her, the barrier tugged on her powers with a painful pull that had her wincing.

_Free me, and I will make all those who have hurt you suffer beyond their imagination._ Again, Persephone felt hands caressing her body. This time more forcefully. She tried to run, except she had nowhere to go. Trapped, thanks to Hades, there was nothing she could do.

"Who are you?" she said into the empty cell.

The thing you fear the most but yearn for in your darkest fantasies. I am pleasure, I am pain, I am everything, and I am nothing. I am the darkness that lives in the heart of every living being. I am the monster you were warned about, the evil that runs through murderers' veins...

Cold fear held her paralyzed as the phantom hands wrapped around her and pulled her back into the wall. Persephone expected to hit cold brimstone and was surprised when she encountered warm flesh. But when she turned to look behind her, she saw nothing but the wall.

Free me, and I will give you the thing you want the most.

There was a warm breath across her ear that caused her to shiver. She felt one of the hands travel under her sweater to cup her breast, and she could help the moan that escaped her.

I can give you what you want.

Another hand traveled down her stomach and under the waistband of her pants. A moan escaped her again as she felt the light brush of warm fingertips against her clit.

Freedom from your cage...

A finger slipped inside her, and she bit back a curse as her body jerked.

_Yes, that's it._ The voice purred in her ear as she moved her hips against the fingers inside her. Sensation after sensation rocked her body as her phantom lover toyed with her, pinching her nipples and fondling her breast with one hand, while the other toyed with her clit and finger-fucked her. Dear gods help her, but she loved it. She even ignored the warning bells going off in the back of her head as her orgasm built up.

Moaning, she threw her head back, closed her eyes, and let his hands work their magic. A long lick and then a hard nip to her neck was all it took to send her over the edge. Persephone's climax bubbled out of her in a beautiful display that had her legs weak and wobbly. Had those glorious hands not been holding her, she would have crumbled to the floor.

_Exquisite._ The voice was closer, as if whomever it was sat directly in front of her. When she opened her eyes, she half-expected someone to be standing in front of her, but she was all alone.

_When I take you into my arms, your pleasure will reach new heights. But first_... The voice paused, and for the first time, Persephone noticed the dark energy that surrounded her. Dark and ominous, it made her want to run and hide in the nearest corner. _You will free me from my prison._

"Your... prison?"

Who the hell was she talking to? There was no way some low-level demon or god could get past her barrier, nor possess an aura that dark and evil. "Who are you?" she asked again, this time more firmly. Her mind slowly clearing, Persephone tried to free herself from the voice's hold.

_You will go nowhere until I say so._ With that, the grip around her waist tightened so painfully she let out a short scream of pain. _If you want to know who I am, all you have to do is look below you and into the darkness._

_Below and into the darkness... what the hell was that supposed to mean?_ There was nothing below her. Nothing but the center of the tower and the prison that held the Dark Lord. When the realization hit her of whom had just given her one of the best orgasms of her life, Persephone's blood turned to ice in her veins. Her body went stiff as the dark energy around her intensified to the point she thought she was going to suffocate. Sliding to the floor, since the hands were suddenly gone from around her waist, the urge to run and hide, to curl into a ball and rock herself, was too much to ignore. Once again, tears started to fall from her face.

"Gazini," she whispered his name and felt another pulse of dark energy course through the barrier.

_Bingo. And you, Persephone, will be the key to my escape when the time comes._ A menacing laugh echoed through the cell, one that amplified the horror Persephone felt. _Until that time, I shall have my fun playing with you._ With that, the voice and the darkness disappeared, leaving Persephone alone and frightened in her cell.

She was scared... not only by Gazini's promise, but by the darker side of herself that wanted to give in to the Dark Lord and bask in his corrupted aura until she was devoured by it.

#  Chapter 11

Sitting behind her desk, Harmony skimmed through the stack of winter catalogues for her newest clothing line. After several days of non-stop work, fatigue and exhaustion had set in somewhere around noon. With her day coming to an end, and her workload nowhere close to being finished, Harmony was close to collapsing. Add to that, she was only running on about three hours of sleep per night, she was not in the best of moods... and it was only the middle of the week. If she kept this up, she doubted she would make it to Friday.

Harmony gave a tired sigh as she placed her samples on her desk. Rubbing her temples, she wanted nothing more than to go home, climb into the softness of her bed, and sleep for the next week. But responsibilities kept her planted in her seat.

_I'm never going to get through this..._ At least not that night. Not with the migraine that was trying to sneak up on her. Giving up on getting any more work done, Harmony put her catalogue and samples away, pushed herself from her seat, and opened the windows of her office. She walked back to her desk and sat down. Kicking her feet up, she let the night air wrap around her.

This was one of the times she enjoyed having her office on the top floor. The polluted smell of the city below didn't reach her. Too high up, she could only smell the fresh night air that instantly calmed her.

"I need a vacation." A long one, on a deserted island where she was surrounded by beautiful forest trees and warm weather, where each breath she took was filled with the undulated scent of nature. She could immerse herself in the peaceful solitude the forest provided. Clear blue waters that stretched for miles, where her only worries were making sure a poisonous spider hadn't made itself at home in her shoe...A place where she could run and lose herself in the only place that felt like home to her.

Yeah, that sounded like a great idea. Throw in a handsome man with a body that looked as if it was chiseled from granite with a pair of emerald green eyes that always seemed to devour her and her life would be complete.

Adien...

He was indeed a handsome man, even more so since she had been able to see him outside of his work clothes. While he looked like he had just stepped off the cover of a GQ magazine when he had been in her office, seeing him dressed in casual clothes wreaked havoc on her senses. His smile had taken her breath away, and on more than one occasion while they had sat at that the Diner table, she had the sneaking suspicion that she had met him somewhere before, that she had been held in his arms, had kissed those delectable lips.

Every time that thought crossed her mind, a strange hum of energy would travel through her body. She felt as if something was trying to break free. Something strong and savage, and she feared that if she lost control there would be no turning back.

"Where have I met you before?" she asked aloud. There was just no way she would feel this intensely about a man she had just met.

Had he been one of her potential clients?

She didn't know, and it was irking her.

Yet, that didn't change the fact she wanted to see him. His charm had thrown her off balance so much she was pulled to him even more. Looking over at her cell phone on her desk, she debated whether she should call him or not.

What if he was sleeping? What if he was with another woman?

That last question had her growling as she picked up her phone. Luckily for her, his name was the first to pop up. As she stared at the number, an excitement she hadn't felt in years filled her. It was something she hadn't experienced since her first year in high school, where her stomach fluttered and warmth filled her when she spoke to her first crush. Or the day of her wedding, when she had thought she had finally found her happy ending. However, this time the innocent and naïve feelings she had back then were nothing compared to the adult anticipation that had her squirming in her seat.

"I've lost my damn mind," Harmony told herself with a shake of her head. And yet, that didn't stop her from dialing his number.

Heart feeling as if it was about to burst, she put her phone to her ear. With each ring that passed, the more her hands shook. A part of her secretly hoped he didn't answer, while another part of her craved to hear his voice.

Her prayers were answered as his phone rang out, and she was greeted with a voice that sounded as if it were made from sin. Embarrassed at the tingle between her legs from a voicemail, Harmony hung up the phone. Disappointment taking the place of her desire, she turned her attention back to the scattered papers on her desk. Evil-eyeing the papers, Harmony pulled a large manila envelope from the bottom of the pile.

Her divorce papers...she needed Gabriel to sign them. If she had any chance of being free from him, she needed this divorce.

Absently, her thoughts drifted back to Adien. In truth, the last thing she needed, after that mess she called a marriage, was to get involved with another man who would shatter her heart into a million pieces she could never put back together again. There was no doubt in her mind that Adien could and would likely be the death of her. Men like him couldn't be tamed, and she refused to waste time trying to.

"I have work to do." She looked at her desk and gave a hushed curse at the discarded papers. She was never going to go home. Running her hand through her ever-growing hair, Harmony prayed for strength. At this point, she doubted even her favorite hazelnut coffee could keep her awake.

_Let's get this over with_ , she told herself as she went about reorganizing her papers. One particular sample caught her attention. The moment she saw the raunchy and tacky designs, the migraine she had just gotten rid of came roaring back to life. "What the hell am I supposed to do with this monstrosity?" she said out loud. Her work load had just increased tenfold as she forced herself to look at the sample designs in front of her. The off colors of the sweaters and pants were too hideous to look at, while the floral and checkered patterns looked out of place and confusing.

There was way too much going on in the designs, and they would never make it into her gala no matter how much work she put into correcting it.

"Who would give me such a thing?" Looking on the back page of the design, she read the name scribbled in the top corner of the paper.

Kathy McLane.

"Figures," Harmony grumbled to herself. Her assistant was the only one who would think that something as disgusting as floral and checkered patterns would get a spot in her event. The poor woman didn't have a clue about the fashion world, which was clear by the way she dressed daily for work.

_That's what you get._ Harmony had to scold herself as she rubbed her temples. _This will never make it into my show_.

Because of it, she had two extra spots she needed to fill. Just the thought of having to start over—creating new designs and having them in time for the show—had her wanting to slit her wrist.

"Fuck me." There was no way she was going to get any work done, not when her aggravation added to her fatigue and a migraine that she swore was going to split her head open.

"Time to call it a nigh—" There was a knock on her office door. Frowning, Harmony looked over to the clock on the wall, saw that it was way past seven in the evening, and wondered who was at her door. The knock came again, louder this time. The sound vibrated through her mind, and she groaned as pain assaulted her. The knocking came again and again, a consistent pounding that made her want to run her head through the nearest wall.

"I'm coming, damn it," she called out as she pushed herself from her chair. Staggering towards the office door, it took all her strength to remain upright.

"Stop your damn knocking!" she shouted and then winced as her own voice hurt her. Gripping the door handle, her heart suddenly beating faster, Harmony opened the door. All the color drained from her face as she locked gazes with the one person she never wanted to see again. Fear mixed with her weariness, causing her body to shake despite her orders to remain calm.

"Gabriel."

Standing in front of her, dressed in his usual perfectly tailored suit, he reeked of booze and perfume. Her gave her a chilling, if not evil, smile and then took a step forward. Out of habit, she took a step back, trying to put distance between her and the demon she called a husband. Still smiling, he entered her office. Only when he shut and locked the door did it dawn on her that she was trapped inside her office with the worst type of monster.

"Hello, my beautiful wife." Shocked and unable to move, Harmony couldn't resist him as he wrapped an arm around her waist. Pulling her to him, he looked down at her with cold and mischievous intent. "I have missed you... have you missed me?"

#  Chapter 12

On a normal night, the loud music and flashing lights of Emerald City would lure Adien's gaze to the most provocative woman in the club, the lights highlighting her silhouette as she danced to the hard rhythm of the music. On a normal night, he would take his pick of any woman, take her upstairs, and indulge himself in the wet folds of her body. Depending on how he felt and how long it had been since he had last had a woman, he might take two or three for the night... On any other night, he would be drunk and numb, his hurt and anger buried deep in the bottom of vodka-filled shot glass.

Too bad tonight wasn't a normal night. No matter how much he drank, no matter how many shots he had or bottles he emptied, he couldn't push his thoughts of her from his mind. The warmth of a random female's body lacked any enticement. Compared to the toned and graceful body of his Obsession, all other women were simply lacking.

Sitting in his usual table at the back of the club, Adien downed the contents of his glass. Seemingly relaxed with one of his arms hanging off the back of the lounge chair, his other hand resting on the table, his gaze scanned the large room. Like always there were dancing and gyrating bodies everywhere. Across the room, beyond the dance floor, and behind a thick curtain were the spiraling stairs that led to the private rooms of the club. Rooms Adien was more than familiar with. Sometimes being close friends with the owner paid off.

Bored with the scene in front of him, Adien left his table and headed towards the back of the club. Walking up the stairs, he ignored the lusty looks of the women he passed and headed towards his room. Located at the far end of the hall, it was the biggest room in the place. Designed with multiple rooms, such as a living room and bathroom, it was like a mini apartment. With soundproof walls, the moment he shut the heavy door, the noise from downstairs ended, and he was left with his own loud thoughts. Heading into the master bedroom, he sat down on the bed and scrubbed his hands down his face.

"Adien."

His attention turned towards the doorway, where he found Esmeralda leaning against the wood paneling, watching him with concerned eyes.

"What's wrong with you? This is the third day you've come here and not slept with any of my girls." She paused. "People will start talking if my most valued customer is dissatisfied with my services. And you know how much I pride myself on my customer satisfaction. So..." She pushed herself from the paneling, her small frame walking towards him in one of the most seductive walks he had ever seen. Given that she had been born a sexy siren, it was only natural for her to have an aura that enticed ever man who saw her. At one point, Adien had been one of those entranced men; however, that was a long time ago and much had changed between them since then.

"Spill the beans, Hound." She poked him in his shoulder with a manicured nail.

"I'm fine, Esmeralda." Even as he said the words, he knew it was a lie. He hadn't been "fine" since he had first met his Obsession. After being in her presence, he was worse off.

For what seemed like the thousandth time, Adien fanaticized about having Harmony beside him, of having someone there who would love him no matter what, someone he could share his miserable existence with.

I have lost my damn mind.

Hadn't he learned his lesson yet? How long would it be before he realized that there was something lacking in his choice of women, be it a mortal or a goddess?

Persephone had used him to get to his brother. Azuzela was evil incarnate and had used his rage and anger against him, taunting and luring him into destroying towns and cities to spite the gods that mocked him. Then there was Esmeralda. She was another complication that had caused him to sever ties with a being he had looked up to for most of his young life. The day he first bedded her was the day he learned just how powerful the Universe of Dreams was. By the time Rasi had finished pounding on Adien, he had been a bloodied and broken mess. Since then, he had no clue how he survived the powerful male's vicious assault.

"No, you're not," Esmeralda said as she claimed the spot beside him on the bed. Placing a comforting hand against his back, she continued to stare at him with concerned eyes. "We have been friends"—she paused and gave him a small smile—"and lovers for a long time. I know you very well." Her hand moved from his back, and reaching around, she gripped his chin and jerked Adien forward so that he had no other choice but to look at her.

"Now, pup." Smiling at him tenderly, she pushed his long bangs out of his face. "Talk to me, and tell me what has my favorite creature so down in the dumps." Again, Esmeralda paused, her gaze going over his face until a knowing spark lit her eyes. "It's a female, I presume."

When he remained silent, his gaze lowering, she dropped her hand with another one of those smiles that annoyed the hell out of him.

"So, I am right." The amusement Adien heard in her voice continued to irritate him. "My, my, my, how the mighty have fallen. I never thought I would see the day when the Casanova of all Casanovas got his panties in a bunch over one woman." This time she outright laughed, and he turned away.

Annoyed by Esmeralda's entertainment over his suffering, and pissed off that he let her get under his skin, Adien balled his hands into fists to keep from lashing out at the beautiful female beside him.

"It's nothing of the sort," Adien grumbled, and she laughed even harder.

"Of course, it's not," Esmeralda said between laughs. "You amaze me."

He couldn't take it anymore. Turning on her, Adien pinned Esmeralda under him in one swift movement, one of his hands pinning hers above her head while his other caressed her bare thigh. While he hovered over her, fuming with his self-loathing, she stared up at him with amused hazel eyes.

"There is no woman in this world or any other that could tame me." He gave her a wicked smile as his hand traveled farther up her thigh.

"You are such a liar." Again, Esmeralda laughed.

Growling low in his throat, Adien tightened his grip around her wrist.

"Should I prove it to you and find better uses for that mouth of yours?" This time when he smiled at her, the tips of his molars peeked out from under his top lip, and his eyes glowed bright with challenge.

"If you think you can." She taunted.

Challenge accepted.

With another low growl, Adien crushed his lips to hers. Instantly, her back arched as she moaned into his mouth. It still amazed him how after all the time that had passed, and the countless times the two of them had shared a bed, that she still reacted to him, still craved his touch. Granted, he knew he had been used as a substitute for the one she really loved, just as he used her in that moment.

Adien deepened their kiss, his tongue darting inside the wetness of her mouth. Again, she moaned, and he swallowed the sound as he lowered his body to hers. Hundreds of years in Esmeralda's bed had taught him how to touch her, how to tease her and draw out her ultimate satisfaction. Absently, his mind wondered to his Obsession, and he wondered how long it would take for him to learn her body, to know what drove her crazy and how to string her along until he felt she could handle it no more.

There was a pain in his heart, a longing that continually pissed him off. It had taken him thousands of years to get to the point where he no longer craved the heart of another. With one look, all the walls he had built were crumbling down, and there seemed to be nothing he could do about it. Every time he saw her, every time he heard her voice, a piece of his wall cracked, and feelings he never wanted to feel again seeped through the cracks...

Moving his hand from Esmeralda's thigh, Adien's hand traveled up the planes of her stomach, her skin soft and smooth under his touch. Going under the cropped top she wore, he roughly cupped her breast. Toying with her nipple through the soft lace of her bra, he drew out another moan. The moment he released her wrist in favor of toying with her other breast, Esmeralda's hand embedded themselves in his hair, tugging on the soft strands, demanding that he deepen their kiss, that he touch her rougher.

To prove his point that he was still the same man he had always been, Adien intended to give her exactly what she wanted. Breaking their kiss, his lips traveled down the side of her neck, every now and then nipping at the sensitive flesh before he reached the collar of her shirt. Annoyed with the shirt that kept her breasts from him, it took nothing from him to tear the piece of clothing from her body, leaving her in nothing but a black lace bra and a skirt that would join her shirt in a few moments. Much like his Obsession, beautiful sun-kissed skin greeted his hungry gaze. Freeing her breasts from their pretty confinement, he licked his lips and lowered his head.

"Adien..." His name was a soft moan in his ears as his mouth latched on to one of her hardened peaks. He suckled her long and hard, bordering on the line between pleasure and pain.

"Adien..." She ground her hip against him, the scent of her arousal filling the air around them. Normally her soft moans and heady scent would have him ripping the rest of her clothing from her body, but even with her breast in his mouth, her hips rotating under him, his body lacked any reaction.

"Adien?"

It was useless. The damage was already done. Releasing the breast he had been nursing, Adien moved from Esmeralda's wanting body and sat beside her. He gave a sad chuckle and shook his head.

"Is this what I have become?" Adien mumbled as he dropped his head in his hands.

"I've learned a little something about you after all these years." Sitting up beside him and stuffing her breasts back in her bra, she snapped her fingers, and instantly she had changed into a pair of form-fitting jeans and navy blue cropped top.

"Yeah, and what's that?" he asked.

"I'll tell you once you look at me and stop making out with your hands."

Giving a heavy sigh, Adien scrubbed his hands down his face once more. Tired, aggravated, and annoyed by the sudden chill going down his spine, he looked at Esmeralda. As beautiful as ever with her perfect features and soft hazel eyes that had seen more than their fair share of chaos and destruction, she seemed unfazed by the situation going on around them. Her usually straightened hair and bangs were now pulled into a high bun, and idly Adien wondered just when she had pulled her hair up.

She caressed his face, her touch warming and comforting. "You may have the necessary..." She paused, frowning as if she was having a hard time finding the right words to get her point across. "...experiences with women and their bodies, but you have no idea what's in their hearts or what _your_ heart needs, for that matter." Dropping her hand from his face, Esmeralda rose from the bed, the clicking of her high-heeled thigh-high boots echoing through the room.

Adien watched her walk away, admiring the way her jeans perfectly cupped her ass as she sauntered away, even though his world was crumbling around him. He admitted Esmeralda was a temptress, and he understood why Rasi had been so infatuated with her. A rare species of woman that had the ability to steal your heart and your soul with one look, she was the most dangerous type of female.

Stopping at the doorway, Esmeralda turned to him with a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "As the Hound of Earth, a creature that has been empowered with the ability to be one with the world around you, you can feel the life pulse of every living creature in the world, the very heartbeat of the earth, and yet, know nothing of your own heart."

"I know my heart," Adien told her with a hint of anger.

"Of course you do," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand.

"You doubt me?" Not that he blamed her. If he looked at himself, he wouldn't believe it either.

Reclaiming her spot against the panel of the archway, Esmeralda gave him a hard stare, one that he had grown accustomed to over the years. "I pray that one day you will be able to truly let go of the pain you hold so close to your heart, before you find yourself alone." A haunted expression covered her face as she spoke. "Like me."

"You aren't alone." He was right there with her, the both of them locked wallowing in their self-loathing and betrayal.

_You're mine..._ Harmony's words from the night of her party replayed in his mind. She was supposed to be his destined mate, the one woman in the world who could ease his pain and mend his broken heart.

What if she can't? If she didn't want to?

Then he would give into the misery that had followed him all his life and become something worse than any monster, god, or human could think of.

"Esmeralda, I—" A sudden jolt went through his body, hitting him in the back of his head so hard he swayed. Esmeralda's sudden grip on his arm was the only thing keeping him from falling over. Adien groaned as pain coursed through him.

"Adien? What's wrong?"

"Harm—" Before he finished saying her name, he vanished. The need to protect what was his from danger coursed through him, driving him, pulling him towards her. He just prayed he wasn't too late, and if a single hair was harmed on her head, there would be no force of nature that would be able to stop him from destroying whoever had hurt her.

The only that surprised Harmony more than Gabriel showing up in her office in the middle of the night was the brutal kiss he gave her. Stinging pain hit as the metallic taste of blood stained her tongue.

"Hum, tasty," he said, licking his lips.

Inadvertently, she licked hers as well. Again, Harmony tasted blood. The damn bastard had split her lip. Jerking herself free of his grasp, she stumbled backwards. But, Gabriel was relentless in his pursuit, stalking her until she was backed against her desk, his solid body blocking her way.

"I have missed that look of fear on your face." He reached to stroke the side of her face.

Harmony swatted his hand away, defiance coursing through her and radiating in the depths of her golden eyes. Never again would she allow him to touch her. The kiss was bad enough, unexpected and unwanted.

She had never thought he would so brazenly show up at her job, and she cursed herself for her lack of caution.

_I will protect you..._ In the back of her mind, through her own panicked thoughts as she stared at him, was another voice, one that disturbed her more than the man who stood in front of her.

Gabriel reached out to caress the side of her face once more, and again she turned her head. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw his nostrils flare and his eyes narrow, a warning that her face was dangerously close to being the recipient of his frustration.

_Embrace me, and let me help you_ , the voice said again. This time she felt a shift, as if something had just woken up inside of her and wanted out.

"Don't." She winced as Gabriel roughly gripped her by the chin and turned her head to him. "Don't ever turn from me." He growled at her.

Tired of being his slapping toy, Harmony dug deep into the recesses of her soul and searched for that piece of her that wanted out. Just below the surface of her fear was a presence, a dark rage so profound that the moment she took hold of it she was momentarily transported out of her body and into another world, a dark and cold world where she could feel the cold drops of rain against her face. In the background, thunder sounded, and she wondered what the hell was going on...

Harmony...

There was that voice again. No longer a soft whisper, it vibrated through the dark space around her. Looking around, Harmony saw nothing but dark shadows as the thunderstorm continued to rage on.

"Where am I?" she spoke a loud.

With me...

Her gaze focused ahead of her, Harmony watched as a figure drew closer. Frowning, she watched the figure approach. As the figure neared, the hairs on the back of her neck began to rise, and she had to fight the sudden urge to take off and run. The only reason she held her ground was that when the figure finally came to stand before her, she was staring at a copy of herself. A face and body that was familiar and strange at the same time.

The look-alike might have shared her face, but her eyes were hauntingly different. Irises swirled two colors—emerald and gold—giving them a hypnotizing beauty that left Harmony speechless. Her gaze traveled down the woman's naked body, noting that her nails were long and curved like talons. Her gaze went back up the woman's form until Harmony was once again looking into the woman's glowing eyes, noting that she not only had a much more toned body but her features were also sharper, as if she was more beast than human. Long and straight brown hair fell over her shoulders, covering her breasts from Harmony's sight. When the woman smiled at Harmony, she could see the pointed tips of the woman's teeth poking out from under her lips.

"What are you?" Harmony hesitantly asked.

You... was the look-alike's reply, even though her mouth didn't move.

"Impossible." Harmony gasped just before the female suddenly grabbed the sides of Harmony's face.

"Accept me," the woman whispered. Before Harmony could say anything, the look-alike crushed her lips to Harmony's.

Wide-eyed and stunned, Harmony could do nothing as the woman moaned and wrapped her body around Harmony's, all the while the woman's mouth worked so skillfully against Harmony's that she had no choice but to return the kiss. Sharp claw-like nails raked across Harmony's back and she groaned. An odd mix of please and pain coursed through her.

Yes...embrace me, and we will have what we want.

Harmony didn't bother to think about what the woman meant. One moment Harmony was being kissed by some woman that looked just like Harmony, and the next, she was back in front of Gabriel. Blinking several times, she struggled to regain her composure.

"Ignoring me, are we?" Gabriel's tone grew more hostile as he gripped Harmony roughly by the forearm. Surprised that she didn't wince at the pain, she looked him in the eye. Pure fury snaked through her to the point she had to ball her hands into tight fists to keep herself in check. "Is this any way to treat your husband?"

Husband?

They might have been married for a few years, might have shared a bed and a life for a moment but he had never been a husband to her. Only ever condemning her and talking down to her, had it not been for those closest to her, she would have fallen apart years ago. Back then she had been young and dumb, filled with dreams of love and happily ever after. But the man in front of her had made sure to crush any hopes and dreams she had.

At least he damn well tried to. It had taken her years and an unfathomable amount of therapy to get her life back. She had hoped the last time she would be forced to see him was at their divorce proceedings. That day had been the day she could have been free. All he had to do was sign the papers...

But did he do that? No.

He had given her that cocky smile of his and walked out of the room, refusing to sign the papers just to torment her. She had to admit he had done a good job of stressing her out, but she would end it all.

"I'm only going to tell you this one time." Harmony paused, loving the way new energy hummed through her body, revitalizing her and giving her the courage she needed. "Get the fuck out of my office."

Her response earned her a raised brow.

"Someone has grown a backbone since I've been gone." Gabriel paused. When he looked at her again, all amusement had left his expression and was replaced by a violent rage. Jerking her towards him until their noses touched, Harmony stared into a pair of dark eyes that she once adored and felt nothing but the need to ram his head through the wall and watch as pieces of his brain splattered against the wall. "What if I don't?"

Unfazed by his threat, she gave him a small smile. "This." Before he could stop her, she twisted out of his hold and kneed him in the groin, watching with satisfaction as he doubled over. With a well-placed kick, she sent him flying backwards into the closed door behind him.

His body hit the floor, and she couldn't fight the hysterical laugher that bubbled up and spilled out of her.

_A girl could get used to this_ , Harmony mused to herself as she stalked towards Gabriel's unconscious form.

It was intoxicating, the power she felt coursing through her, the presence that now purred in satisfaction in the back of her mind. It empowered her. She could do whatever she wanted, and there was no one who could stop her. Revenge would be hers. Looking down at the demon she had once loved, she felt nothing. There was no tenderness left in her heart for him. All she wanted was to make sure he felt every broken bone, bruise, and cut she had. She wanted him to know what heartbreak felt like, what it felt like to have your other half abuse and misuse you, to watch as the one person who was supposed to love you above all else stripped away your hopes and dreams just because the wind blew the wrong way that day... Yes, she would make him suffer like no man had ever suffered, and she would love it.

As she reached for more power, there was a small piece of her that warned her this was wrong, that she was not the one in control, and if she didn't stop, she would turn into the very monster that tormented her.

She didn't care. If she could make him feel a fraction of her pain, then the fall into hell would be worth it.

"You." She reached out and roughly gripped his chin, jerking his head up so that he could see that she was the one in control. "Have taken away the most vital piece of me, the one piece of myself that I can never get back." She struggled to keep her voice form cracking. While she might have been able to keep her voice level, the tears flowed freely, clouding her vision.

"I hate you," she whispered. "I HATE YOU!" she screamed just before she slapped him hard across the face. "I HATE YOU... I HATE YOU... HATE YOU... WE... HATE... YOU." She repeated over and over, and each time she uttered the words, she would hit him. Her slaps became harder until she had balled her hands into fists and had begun to pound on him as a new wave of hot tears streamed down her face.

Her fury gave way to sorrow and grief as memories from years ago played through her mind. Over and over her heart shattered into a million pieces until she was no longer able to tell the difference between the pain of her past and the present. Lost to the darkness that had haunted her from the first moment Gabriel had laid his hands on her, Harmony hit him, not caring about the blood that covered her knuckles or the fact that his body was no longer slumped against the door but lay in a bloody heap on the floor. None of it matter, if he died she didn't care. Matter of fact, when she thought about it, she should just kill him and get it over with.

_Yes... kill him, make him pay_ , the voice in her head told her, sending more power flowing through her with each punch she continued to deliver. Again, there was that small piece of her that wanted to put a damper on her fun, and still, she ignored it. She would not stop, not when she could feel his life fading with each hit.

"I...hate...you." A sob escaped her as she brought her hand up one more time, for the final blow that would end her suffering.

"Stop." The strong and firm grip was around her wrist before she could react, pulling her to her feet and into a solid wall of flesh that sent a calming vibration along her side and through her body. Strong arms wrapped around her and held tight.

"Stop." The intruder said again as she struggled against his hold. He held her until she slowly came to her senses.

"Don't fight me." The scent of forest trees and untamed male cut through the haze of her mind, and her body instantly relaxed against him.

Closing her eyes, Harmony buried her head in the solid width of his chest and listened to the steady beat of his heart.

"Why?" She sobbed into his chest as the last of her anger subsided, leaving her with nothing but the sorrow she had desperately tried to bury in her work. "Of all things...why? Why her?"

The tears started again, and she gave herself over to her pain. Her legs gave out from under her, and she collapsed against the warm body holding her.

"Shh." He comforted her, one of his hands gently caressing her back. "It will be okay." He reassured her, but she knew it was bullshit. Nothing in her life would ever be okay, and just as she lifted her head to say as much, a sharp pain hit her, traveling along her side and up her spine until it rested right between her eyes. She groaned and went to say something else, but couldn't.

_Come to me._ The dark voice was in her head now, more animalistic than when she faced Gabriel. _We have much to discuss._

With that, she felt herself being dragged down into the darkness. Too weak to fight it, Harmony could do nothing as her body went limp. As she lost herself to the creature inside her, she cursed herself for not listening to the little voice that had told her to stop when she could. Now it was too late, and she had the feeling that when she awoke the world as she knew it would be changed... herself included.

"Now this was not what I was expecting."

Esmeralda took the words right of Adien's mouth. Supporting Harmony in his arms, Adien watched Esmeralda kneel beside the human male.

"What are you doing?" he asked when he saw her reaching for him.

"Checking for a pulse." She pressed two fingers to his neck. "It's low, but there's still a heartbeat," she told him.

Silently, Adien watched her rise to her feet and give the human a disgusted once over before turning her attention back to him.

"You know him?" Adien asked as he continued to cradle Harmony's head to his chest. The warmth of her body, the way her soft curves felt against him, was enough to have his heart rate triple.

"No," Esmeralda said as she came to stand beside him, staring at the bloody man on the floor. "But, he does look a little familiar." She shrugged nonchalantly. "He probably visited Emerald City once or twice." Giving a bored sigh, she turned away and eyed Adien suspiciously, raising a questioning eyebrow when his gaze met hers. "Is that her?"

He opened his mouth to say yes but quickly shut up. If he admitted it, out loud, to another, he would be accepting a fate he didn't want. Instead, Adien turned the conversation back to the unconscious human on the floor. "The scent of his blood will stain the carpet if we don't move him soon."

"Please, Adien, don't try and change the subject on me. I have known you too long for that," she said with more amusement in her tone than Adien cared to hear as she walked a slow circle around him. "You may not tell me everything, but I know"—she gave a pointed stare at Harmony—"she means more to you than what you let on."

"Rel." He nodded towards the human. "The body."

"Yeah, yeah, I've got it", she said dismissively as she went back to the male. Standing beside his body, one hand resting on her cocked hip, she huffed. "Just like the old days, huh? Make sure to take her home and see that she gets some rest." With that, Esmeralda vanished, taking the beaten male with her.

_Yeah, just like the old days._ Except, his entire world rested on the shoulders of the woman resting against his chest.

"Why?" Harmony sobbed once more, and Adien couldn't help but wonder what had caused such a breakdown.

The last thing he expected to see when he had vanished from Emerald City and appeared in her office was to find her covered in blood with a body on the floor. The chill that had run down his spine had sent him in motion. Her fear had called to him like a beacon even though their bond was just beginning. He had expected to find Iraon and his minions attacking her...but this, this was not what he expected. As he used his powers to clean up the blood that had soaked into the carpet and the small spots that stained the wall, he made a mental note to never to piss her off.

#  Chapter 13

What the hell had she gotten herself into this time around?

It was the one question that kept repeating in her mind ever since Esmeralda had left Adien and his woman. She had more than enough problems of her own. She didn't need any more, and she definitely didn't need to be involved in another one of Adien's little love triangles.

Dragging the unconscious human down the alley behind her, Esmeralda searched for the perfect spot to dump his body. While she wasn't the most stand-up person—shit, most days she wasn't a halfway decent person—and she could let a lot of things slide. Cheaters, liars, killers, she knew them all. They were her most loyal customers. However, when it came to women and children, she did not tolerate their abuse and mistreatment. Men who got their laughs from the downfall of their women deserved the harshest of treatments.

_Perfect._ Esmeralda smiled as she spotted a large pile of garbage a few feet away from her. Making her way over to the rotten food and who knew what else, she had no problem tossing the human in the middle of the pile. Mild satisfaction filled her as she watched his body sink into the rank contents of the trash. By the time the male came to, the scent of the garbage would have soaked into his clothes and skin. If he was lucky, the cuts and bruises that covered his face would become infested with maggots and all types of nasty things that loved to call open flesh home.

"Maybe, I sho—" Her words were cut off as a chill ran down her spine. On the heels of the chill was a dark sensation that alerted her that she was no longer alone. As if to confirm the dread building inside her chest, the air stirred. Turning around, her heart pounded in her chest as she laid eyes on the one creature she hoped to never see again.

"Iraon." Esmeralda gasped, both shocked and surprised by his sudden appearance. Although, she knew he had been freed, she had hoped he never turned his gaze back towards her. Till this day, she regretted every moment she had spent with him. The road to her downfall began with him. Her family, her friends... everything she loved, he had taken from her in a matter of moments, laughing while her world fell apart. Suddenly, events that happened thousands of years ago felt as if they had happened just yesterday. Tears she hadn't allowed herself to cry burned the back of her eyes.

"I see you haven't forgotten me." His smile was pure menace, and one she had seen enough to know that nothing good ever came from it.

The human male temporarily forgotten, Esmeralda faced Iraon, trying her best to not show her fear.

"You look well, Esmeralda," he said as he took several steps towards her.

She took ten steps back, not wanting to be anywhere near the Beast of Rage and Hate. Iraon came towards her, backing her into a corner until she tumbled on a trash bag behind her and fell into the lap of the human male. The stench of the garbage assaulted her, causing her to vomit in her mouth as she looked up at Iraon. Beneath her, the male groaned but didn't wake.

"That was very clumsy of you." Iraon's voice was filled with disdain as he looked down at her, his hard features shadowed by the darkness of the alleyway. With his red eyes glowing bright, he looked every bit the monster he was. "What do we have here? A human male... taking out the trash, are we?"

His bad joke had a smile spreading across his face, showing off the tips of his growing molars.

"What do you want, Iraon?" she asked, her voice sounding much stronger than she thought it would.

With his features hardening, Iraon bent down in front of Esmeralda, seemingly unaffected by the horrible smell of the garbage, and told her, "I have come for you and that human."

"What do you need the human for?" she asked, curious yet fearful of the answer.

"He is going to make an excellent addition to our little family, don't you think?" Iraon told her as he gave the human male a quick once over. The beast's nostrils flared as if he was inhaling something other than the rancid smell around them. "A soul as dark as his is exactly what I need to get what I want." Iraon paused, a look Esmeralda couldn't quite place covering his face. Then he asked her, in a soft voice with an extended hand, "Why don't you make this easy on yourself and come with me and get yourself cleaned up?"

"No, I want nothing to do—" Something slimy and fast crawled across Esmeralda's hand and she jumped, her body connecting with Iraon's. Before she could pull away, Iraon had her arms pinned behind her. Esmeralda winced from the painful and awkward position. She struggled to feel herself, but try as she might, Iraon's hold on her held tight.

Unable to escape, the fear and panic she had been battling since Iraon had appeared sprang forward as a wide and triumphant smile spread across his face.

"Let's get going. You and I have a lot to catch up on." With those words whispered into Esmeralda's ear, Iraon whisked her and the human male away. There we no doubt in Esmeralda's mind where they were going. She just prayed she made it back in one piece.

#  Chapter 14

Warmth. That was _what she needed as she stood in the darkness. Certain that she had completely lost her mind, Harmony wandered aimlessly through the darkness until she couldn't anymore. With her legs wanting to give out from under her, she sat down on what she assumed was the ground. Instantly, chills spread through her body, and she shivered._

"Welcome back." That voice, so similar to her own echoed around her. "I'm glad you have decided to come back to us."

Come back?

It wasn't like she chose to come here. After her altercation with Gabriel and the weird power that had coursed through her body had left her drained, she had collapsed. When she opened her eyes again, she was here, lost in some dark world she couldn't find her way out of.

"Where am I?" Harmony asked and pulled her knees closer to her chest as a cold gust of air hit her.

"You look uncomfortable. Here let me help you," The voice said.

Harmony felt the darkness around her shift. Sudden warmth spread up her arms and she sighed. The next time she looked up, Harmony was sitting in a sunny meadow surrounded by the greenest grass she had ever seen.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" The voice said.

"It is..." Harmony paused, letting the meadow's warm breeze caress her most intimate parts. "Where am I?"

"Our home," the voice responded, sounding closer this time.

Looking over her shoulder, Harmony had to do a double take just to make sure she wasn't seeing things. Blinking several times, she wondered just how hard Gabriel must have hit her for her to start hallucinating like this, because there was just no way she could create the massive creature in front of her with just her imagination.

Turning so that she could fully process what she was seeing, Harmony's flight-or-fight sense stared to kick in.

"Wha...what are you?" Voice cracking, Harmony took several steps back. When the creature cocked one of its heads to the side and then smiled, showing a row of very sharp teeth, Harmony turned on her heel and took off. She didn't get far before something long and large slammed down on the ground in front of her, stopping her dead in her tracks.

"You know..." one large head said from Harmony's right side, and she nearly jumped out of her skin. Dark green eyes stared at her with a familiarity she couldn't place.

"That was very rude of you," another head said from her left side, and she damn near fainted as she was once again confronted with a pair of familiar green eyes.

"To ask us a question and then run away..." Another voice came from above. Looking over her head, she locked gazes with a pair of intense golden eyes the same color as hers, and felt a scream well up in her throat.

"There is no need to fear us," one of the voices said from beside her. Had fear not left her immobilized, Harmony would have looked to see which head was talking to her. However, she did feel the heat from their breath against her neck as they came closer to her, entrapping her between them and the giant body of the three-headed creature.

"We will not harm you. That would be like harming ourselves, and we would never do anything to hurt ourselves. Especially when we have yet to claim what is ours." The creature's golden eyes seemed to glow brighter. Daring a glance to her sides, Harmony saw that the other heads green eyes glowed with the same intensity as the golden one.

"What are you going to do with me?" Her body shook from head to toe as several ideas came into her mind, all of which involved her being eaten by the massive creature in front of her.

"We want you to know who you really are." They all spoke in unison as one solid and strong voice that emitted a power that Harmony felt all the way to her soul. "We are one. Us and you, touch us and know that we share the same body..." The creature paused and raised its head. If the creature hadn't intimidated Harmony before, it sure as hell did then. She took a step back, forgetting that the creature's tail still lay on the ground behind her, and fell to the ground.

"I can see that you still don't believe us." The creature looked down at Harmony. "Do not fear what you do not know. Embrace us. Touch me. Deep down, you know that I would never hurt you. Close your eyes and feel us, we are already inside of you."

Left with no other choice, Harmony did as she was told. Closing her eyes, she searched inside herself for something that would confirm what the creature in front of her was saying. When she felt a surge of energy course through her, the same energy that had flowed through her when she stood in front of Gabriel, she focused on it, calling it forth and letting it sooth her worried and fearful mind. As if the world had suddenly been tilted on its, she felt the change in her body. Her racing heartbeat became steadier and stronger, beating loud and proud in her chest. Her vision sharpened, and then she was staring down at herself. Fascinated, she commanded her body to move her hands and was shocked when not only did she move her hands but the creature also moved its large paws. Then she looked to the sky and marveled at how blue it was. Beyond the sky was a dark space filled with beautiful lights of varying greens and blues that swirled together in a beautiful patterned that had her wanting to reach out and touch the mesmerizing swirls.

"What's that?" she said and jumped when her voice echoed from several mouths.

"That is Alur, the Lifestream. The essence of life flows through her, and she has blessed many with amazing gifts. She is the one who guides us all, and the one who leads us towards our destiny and Fated mate," the voice told her, and she swore she sensed awe and adoration in the voice's tone.

"Destiny? Fated mate?" Harmony questioned just as she was pulled back into her body. After blinking several times to get her bearings, she stared up at the creature. Unafraid she finally looked at the beast and could do nothing but openly gap at the creature as it continued to stare into the sky. Beautiful chestnut-colored fur seemed to sparkle under the sun's rays. Staring at the creature's face, she couldn't be sure if it looked more like a wolf or dog, though when she thought about the size of its teeth, it was more wolf than dog. Each head had a long snout with a black nose, pointed ears, long whiskers, and sharp teeth that she was sure could rip a man to shreds. If the teeth didn't do the job, the creature's large paws with their curved nails that seemed more like claws than nails, would have certainly finished the job. When the creature suddenly stood, startling Harmony, she noticed the creature's muscular limbs, powerful front and hind legs that she was sure could carry the creature across the meadow quicker than Harmony could blink.

The creature turned its heads to Harmony, pinning her under its beautiful and hypnotizing gazes. "Our world will change soon."

"What do you mean by change?"

Briefly, the creature fell silent. As Harmony waited for the creature to continue, it felt as if the creature was debating about exactly what it should say. "There are those who hunt us, and soon our enemies will reveal themselves. We must be aware and know that those who wish us harm are closer than we think."

"Is that so?" Harmony wasn't sure how she should take all of this. While she no longer felt like she would be eaten at any moment, she still wasn't sure just how real this all was.

"But do not fear," the creature said, pulling her from her thoughts. "We are protected and blessed with unimaginable power, and should we fall, he will protect us until his last breath. He is ours, and we will lay claim to him and take his heart even if he doesn't want to give it. The creature practically purred, and Harmony raised a brow, wondering what a Fated mate for something like the thing in front of her would look like.

"Who is he?"

The creature gave what Harmony thought was a smirk, the corners of its mouths pulling back to expose long canine teeth. "You will soon find out," was all the creature said, and Harmony wasn't so sure she wanted to meet him. Not if the quickening in her breath, the racing of her heart, or the sudden butterflies were any indication of what was in store for her. Giddy joy and excitement over a man was the last thing she wanted to feel. Those were the types of feelings that had gotten her into trouble the first time around, and she was not ready to go through that again. In truth, she didn't know when she would ever be able to trust a man, but she knew it wasn't anytime soon. There was a piece of her that envied the creature in front of her who still held on to the hope of love.

"It is time for you to leave," the creature said, its ears twitching as if someone had spoken to it. "He calls for us to return. We shouldn't worry him."

Just as Harmony opened her mouth to ask what the creature was talking about, her legs were swept from under her, and she felt herself falling. She screamed, her fear once again sneaking its way through her body. She called for help, for the creature, but she continued falling. Harmony screamed until she couldn't anymore, and still she screamed until she hit the ground. Just like that, she lost consciousness, the warmth of the darkness cradling her in its surpassingly soft and comfortable embrace.

#  Chapter 15

By the time Adien reappeared in front of his bedroom door, he was fuming and seeing red. In an effort to get some of his frustration out of his system, he kicked open the door to his bedroom with more force than necessary. Broken pieces of wood fell to the floor as he stepped over the ruined door and into his bedroom with Harmony tucked safely in his arms. Darkly, he wondered how she would feel if her ex turned up in a ditch somewhere with his insides ripped out and shoved into his mouth... although she would probably thank him.

Looking down at the woman in his arms, Adien just couldn't understand why any man would want to hurt her.

Mortals are stupid.

If he wasn't convinced of the fact before, he was then. For someone as special as her, Adien would spoil her rotten and love her until he not only possessed her heart but her mind as well. Shit, he would walk across the deepest ocean just to see her smile. Her joy would be his only concern, and should anyone try and take that from her, they would answer to him.

As he carried her to his bed, he wondered for the thousandth time if she could really be his and love him the way he needed to be loved. Was she truly the one who could mend his broken heart? There was no doubt that he wanted her. The way he craved her and the way his body hardened just from the mention of her name were proof that his lower half was more than willing to find out.

In truth, she was a beautiful woman, one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen, more so even than Persephone. What bothered Adien the most was the fact he didn't know if he wanted her because he really wanted her, or was it so called "Fate" that pulled him towards her?

Physically, she was just what he liked: long legs, an athletic and slender frame that was toned yet still possessed the feminine curves that a man desired. However, it was the defiant spark in her golden gaze that pulled him in. The way she blushed, her cheeks and the tips of her ears turning a deep scarlet that highlighted the golden tone of her skin, had him wanting to bind her to him in the most decadent ways.

Placing his light load on his bed, Adien was tempted to enact at least several of the images running through his mind. When her blouse rolled up as he withdrew from her, giving him a peek at her caramel-colored flesh, it took all his willpower and a prayer to keep from licking her navel.

Dear gods help me...

Because he didn't know just how long he could keep his hands and other body parts to himself. Already the sight of her nestled in his bed, a sleeping beauty against dark sheets, had his hands twitching to touch her, to wipe the tears from the corner of her eyes and replace the sorrow he had heard in her voice with a sound of pure pleasure and joy...

No, Adien took that back as he sat down on the side of the bed beside her, he wouldn't be satisfied until he had ripped every scream and moan from her. Given the chance, he would leave her breathless and spent, sated and too tired the next morning to open her eyes, let alone make it into work.

He eyed Harmony with desire coursing through his veins as he watched the rise and fall of her chest. Slowly, his gaze traveled to her full lips. The need to feel them against his, to test their softness against the soft sweep of his tongue, was too much to ignore. Before he could think better of it, Adien leaned in, his eyes closing as he licked his lips, moistening them in anticipation.

With his heart hammering in his chest, he pressed his lips to hers. Passion coursed through him, wave after wave until his erection pressed painfully against the fly of his pants. It amazed and baffled him at the same time. Never had his body reacted so violently to something as simple as a kiss, yet he couldn't stop himself as he nestled in to push the kiss further, wondering just how far he could go before she woke up. Just as his tongue slipping past her lips and was inching open her mouth, he felt a subtle shift in the air. His eyes snapped open, and he pulled back to find her golden gaze locked on to him.

Face to face, nose to nose, there was no place for him to run. He had been caught red-handed, stealing kisses like some young pup. So, he was taken by surprise when she purred and hooked one of her arms around his neck and pulled him back to her for an earth-shattering kiss that shook him to his very foundation. The animal that he had fought so hard to control burst free, and he had her pinned beneath him before she could take her next breath.

There were few things that surprised Harmony and very few moments that left her breathless. But when she'd been woken up from one of the weirdest dreams she'd ever had and felt the lips of the man she couldn't get out of her mind against yours, giving her one of the most tantalizing kisses she'd ever had, it threw her world for a loop.

So, when he broke their kiss, his emerald gaze burrowing into hers, looking as if he was ready to bolt, the need to claim him as her own gripped her.

Before she knew it, Harmony had hooked her arm around his neck and pulled him to her. Crushing his lips back to hers, her tongue darted into Adien's mouth. She moaned and moved her arm from his neck as he settled back on top of her. Sure he wasn't going anywhere, Harmony let her hands embed themselves in the thick and soft strands of his hair, something she had been dreaming about doing since she had dinner with him.

What was it about this man that drove her insane? Filled her with a desire so strong that she was surprised she hadn't jumped his bones sooner.

Fuck if she knew.

All Harmony knew was that if she didn't see him, wasn't able to touch him, she wouldn't know what to do with herself. A crazy thought given the fact she hardly knew him.

"God damn it." He broke their kiss with a harsh curse, and she was immediately drawn out of her thoughts.

"Harmony." He groaned her name and once again looked like he was ready to run.

That was something she wouldn't let happen.

Griping the sides of his face, she was desperate to feel his lips against hers. He didn't budge. In fact, he gently removed her hands and began to move away from her. Confused, because she was positive he was feeling the same way she was, Harmony reached from him. He moved out of her reach.

Looking at him with wide eyes as he sat back on his knees, his hands raking through his hair as he mumbled in a language she didn't understand, a mix of emotions went through Harmony, from rage and anger to hurt and confusion at his rejection. No was not a word she heard often, especially when it was clear by the tent in his pants that he wanted her just as much as she wanted him. The way he withdrew into himself, cowering away from her as if she was some type of disease, did nothing to help the situation.

"Adien," Harmony called out to him.

Adien ignored her as he continued to mumble to himself.

_Don't let him run; he is ours..._ the voice in her head told her.

Yes, he was hers, and she would have him.

"We can't do this...you don't know...you don't know." He repeated the words over and over, never noticing that her hand was steadily reaching for him.

Harmony had no idea what he was talking about, or what she didn't know, and she didn't care. Nothing mattered to her in this moment—not her job, not her family, not her ex. All that mattered was capturing the wounded animal in front of her.

"I can't do this again," he said, and her ears twitched.

Did he say again?

Something snapped inside her at his words. A weird surge of possessiveness gripped her. Just as her hand was close enough to grip his collar, Adien noticed her hand and was gradually backing away from her. This time, however, he was too close to the edge of the bed and lost his balance. As much as it would have amused her to see a grown man make a fool out himself, she didn't want to embarrass him any further and kill what was left of the moment. Reaching out, she caught him by the arm, and with a strength that she didn't know she possessed she pulled him back on top of her.

What in the hell was wrong with him? Never in his life had he run from a woman or denied himself the satisfaction of her body. So why was he doing it in that moment?

The hound in him demanded he stake claim on her. As much as he wanted to give into his urges, he couldn't, not then. He had fought long and hard to keep from falling into the same trap as his brother. Yet, no matter how many times he told himself that he didn't want a mate, his body said something else.

"I've got you." Harmony's voice penetrated through the thick fog of his mind, and his attention was on the pair of golden eyes that stared at him with mischievous intent.

"My hero." Her voice suddenly took on a different tone. Dropping an octave, becoming low and sensual, it radiated through his body. Unable to move, he could do nothing as she molded her body to his. "My savior." She gave him a sultry smile as she pulled him closer to her. Once again, they were eye to eye, nose to nose. "Come." She licked the outline of his lips, and his cock twitched. "Let _us_ show you our appreciation."

Before the weird wording of her words could register, Adien was flipped onto his back. The move was so unexpected and happened so quickly that all he could do was stare up at her blankly as she straddled him.

"Touch me," she ordered, and his hand no problem following her command. Reaching for the hem of her shirt, he pulled it free from the waist of her pants.

"Yes," Harmony moaned.

Hands behind her head, she threw her head back and rotated her hips. With the heat of her body seeping through his jeans, Adien fought to keep himself from becoming the newest member of the minute-man club. After his little fall off the bed, the last thing he needed was to come prematurely, like some wet-behind-the-ear virgin.

Something easier said than done. His enticing vixen, she consumed him and dominated him in a way he had never been dominated. A year's worth of need and desire took hold of him, making a mockery of the lust he had felt moments before. Sudden power coursed through him, driving him on, demanding that he do what was in his nature to do. With a growl, he gripped her shirt and ripped it open. His mouth watered for a taste of what lay behind the lace underwear she wore.

"Do you like it?" she asked him with a raised brow.

"Take it off." He growled his command, his voice a mix between the hound and man inside him.

"Say please." Harmony teased him by rubbing against him.

"Take. It. All. Off," he told her, his voice growing deeper and darker as the hound in him began to take him over.

"Say..." She cupped herself through the thin fabric of her bra. "Please."

She wanted him to beg and loved the power she had over him. He could see it in the way she stared down at him, her golden eyes bright and beautiful as she tested his resolve.

"Take—" His demand along with his sanity left him as Adien watched Harmony fondle her breasts. When she freed the soft-looking mounds, lifted one to her mouth and sucked on her nipple, Adien had seen more than enough. The animal in him broke free and demanded he show her just who was boss. In one fluid movement, Adien had Harmony pinned under him. Her breathing heavy, the rise and fall of her chest drew his hungry gaze.

Again, he licked his lips.

"Adien," she called to him, her body withering beneath him as she watched him with half-hooded eyes.

"I told you to take this off," he growled to her just before he savagely ripped the bra from her. Perfectly brown peaks greeted him as he latched on to the first breast he saw. Suckling her until she moaned his name, Adien settled between her legs, his hips grinding against her as he nipped the sensitive flesh.

"Yes." He could hear her moaning over and over. "Touch Us."

He didn't know if it was the sudden change in her voice that caused him to pause, or the subtle shift of his power that had him lifting his gaze to meet hers. What he saw left him speechless. The desire that had raged through him was instantly curbed as he stared at her.

This was not the female that had straddled him a few moments ago, the woman he had longed for. That woman had vanished and in her place, was a presence that called to the darkest and most primitive parts of him. Slowly his gaze scanned her body. When his eyes landed on the trinity mark that called the side of her body home, the same twisted tree as his, there was one thought that crossed his mind.

_Mine, all mine._ It was the lone thought he had in his mind.

"What are you waiting for, Hound of Earth? Claim what it is you want, what you have waited for," she told him in a voice that was not quite her own. "Take what you desire from me." Her tone more demanding, she made it a point to wiggle her hips under him. Once more, desire shot through him. Every nerve ending in his body came alive and demanded he do as she say. That was all it took for him to lose the delicate hold he had regained on his self-control. With a fierce growl, he crushed his lips to hers. Power crackled in the air around them, as hectic and unstable as his own raging emotions, as he swallowed her needy moan. Her hands found their place in his hair, demanding he give her more. That he would devour her, suck the soul out of her body, and swallow it so that she would forever be a part of him...

That was when it happened, a noticeable shift in his power that left his reeling but unable to stop. Those annoying warning bells sounded in his head and he growled. He'd be damned if he stopped when he had his very reason for breathing under him in that moment. With his mind going blank, nothing else mattered, except for the warm feel of Harmony's body. He wanted—no, needed—more, and god damn it, he would have it, come hell and high water.

#  Chapter 16

Yes, this was what she needed. The feel of Adien's warm hands caressing her skin was just what she needed to drive away the painful memories of Gabriel's little office visit. His lithe and powerful body would be the cure she needed.

_Adien..._ like always his name was a seductive whisper against the walls of her mind. Another moan escaped her when one of his arms made its way under her and cradled her body closer to his.

"Adien." Moaning his name, she loved the feel of his soft lips against her skin as he broke their kiss and trailed a hot line of kisses down her neck, nipping the sensitive flesh. Her heart skipped a beat as Harmony tilted her head and allowed him greater access to the sensitive flesh of her neck. Liquid heat pooled between her thighs while tingles and soft vibrations traveled from her head to her toes. When his hands caressed her side, sinfully outlining the twisted and knotted lines of her birthmark, she damn near came. Intense pleasure rippled through her and tore a long and deep groan from her as she squirmed under Adien's touch.

He paused in the exploration of her body, and she whimpered. Looking up at him, Harmony gasped as she was greeted with a bright and beautiful gaze, more vibrant in its color that she swore they were glowing. His gaze devoured her, taking her in before he gave her a lopsided grin that did funny things to her insides.

"Mine." The voice that came out of him wasn't his. It was a much darker and deeper voice, one that contained power and dominance that both enticed and terrified her. Yet, there was no denying the way that one word affected her more than his touch did.

"A—" Before she could get another word out, he crushed his lips to hers, capturing her mouth for a hungry kiss that had her toes curling.

_Yes..._ That voice was in her head again. _This_ _is what we wanted, what we needed._

Harmony couldn't agree more. Wrapping her arms around his neck, her hands found their way back into the soft thickness of his beautifully colored hair. His tongue danced inside her mouth, caressing her tongue in the most tantalizing way. As he pulled his tongue back into his mouth, she caught it between her teeth and gently sucked on the soft flesh.

A sound, more animal like than man, echoed through the room. The sounds of his encouragement and need fueled her, and she deepened their kiss. Again, Harmony rotated her hips under him, a silent urging from him to strip her clothes from her body.

One more time that animalistic sound filled the room and just when she thought she had him, he broke their kiss.

"Shit." He cursed and tore away from her. She whined and started to protest until she saw him gripping at the hem of his shirt. In a flash, he pulled it over his head and tossed it to the floor, all the while growling like some wild and untamed animal.

It was Harmony's turn to drool as she took him in. Never in her life had she seen a man as fine as the one standing before her. A solid six-foot creature dipped in flawless milk chocolate with a pair of emerald green eyes that made her tremble every time they focused on her and a head full of beautifully colored hair that anyone would be jealous of. It didn't take much effort to see why women continuously threw themselves at his feet. His ripped and agile body was sin incarnate as he looked at her like a predator stalking his prey. It was an appetite Harmony was more than willing to satisfy in every type of way.

Yet, it was the birthmark that covered the front of his body that truly drew her. Almost an exact replica of hers, its complicated and twisted branches made their way up the cuts of his stomach. Curling and intertwining in the middle to make the same Celtic looking trinity sigh that covered her body. At the end of the thick base of the tree were curved roots that disappeared below the waistlines of his pants. It was a beautifully creepy marring that added to his already sensual aura.

He must have seen the desire in her eyes because another one of those predatory and dark growls echoed through the room. It delighted her to know that she had driven him to that point. That his lust for her was just as uncontrollable as hers was for him.

Let's play with him...

Yes, she should play with him.

_Lead the way_. She told the voice inside her head and opened herself up to the caged animal that wanted out. Wave after wave of untapped energy flowed through her. Suddenly she was no longer alone in her body.

Harmony looked to Adien and saw that he had stopped midway through the unbuckling of his pants to stare at her. A mix of desire and need was reflected in his gaze.

"Adien." The voice that came out of her was familiar yet foreign and seductive as she called to the man in front of her.

Of their own accord, her hands moved along her body and cupped her breasts. She moaned as she pinched her nipples between her index and forefinger, while intense green eyes locked on to her and didn't let go.

"I want you." Harmony practically purred when his nostrils flared. Scooting back on the bed, she rested against its cool headboard, loving the way his gaze followed her hands as one hand left her breasts and traveled down the planes of her stomach to the waistline of her pants. She paused, thoroughly enjoying the way his eyes widened, and the air rippled with power that sent a decadent vibration down her side.

Unbuttoning her pants, the tips of Harmony's fingers grazed the roots of her birthmark that twisted around her hip. She moaned, as did Adien, his eyes rolling into the back of his head. Her head cocked to the side, intrigued by his reaction. When he looked at her again, his gaze narrowed as his perfectly sculpted chest heaved up and down with each deep breath he took.

"What...do that again." The commanding rawness of his voice had her obeying his command, fingertips running along her side and the thick base of the tree.

"Yes," he growled as she watched him through hooded eyes. "Just like that."

She had to bite back her own groan as she watched him. She swore it made no sense how any man made unbuckling his pants look that enticing, but Adien pulled it off perfectly. When he dropped his pants to the floor and she saw the thick and heavy erection pointed straight at her, she bit her lip and caressed her side, all the while noting the way his cock twitched each time she touched a part of her birthmark.

The wide width and length of him had her salivating.

"Adien." Once more Harmony beckoned him with a crooked finger. "Trinity Hound of Earth." She smirked at the way his eyebrows shot up in surprise. Had it not been for the sudden need to take him and claim him for her own that coursed through her body, she would have enjoyed his shocked expression. "Come and claim what you have wanted for over a thousand years... what you have wanted from the moment we met."

She didn't have to tell him twice. Before she could take her next breath, his hands were wrapped around her ankles and pulling her to the edge of the bed as the animal in her continued to purr in anticipation. Adien's hands gripped the waistline of her pants as she raised her hips off the bed. The look he gave her, as if he couldn't wait to gobble her up, made her shiver.

Powerful energy hummed through her. If he wanted a meal, she would be more than happy to feed him until she had satisfied every appetite he had.

This was wrong, so wrong. He should not be doing this. Yet, with the warmth of her body and the feel of her skin against his, there was no way he could stop. Whatever power had taken a hold of her had him firmly in its grasp. While the man in him might have wanted to slow things down, to stop and focus on the danger that was growing rapidly in the shadows, there was no way the hound in him was going to walk away. Thoughts of anything beyond the woman underneath him had vanished a long time ago, and what remained was the need to obey and pleasure the one woman that could complete him and make him whole.

Desperation coursed through Adien's body. He needed to be inside of her... right then. With a vicious snarl, one that earned him a startled gasp, he inhaled her heady scent.

"Adien." She called to him, and it was the most seductive thing he had ever heard. He groaned, her legs wrapping around his waist, encouraging him on as she whispered, "Come to me." Purring, she raked her nails down the front of his body. Dark energy mixed with desire shot down his spine as he reached between their bodies. He gripped her panties, twisted and ripped the useless and annoying piece of fabric from her body. Tossing the underwear to the floor, Adien gripped his shaft and rubbed the head of his cock against her clit, earning him another moan just before he drove himself into her.

They moaned in unison as he buried himself all the way to the hilt. For a moment he didn't move, shudders going through his body, and he let her moist warmth pull him in. Staring down at her, the way her golden eyes swirled with specks of green, there were a mix of emotions coursing through him. Fear, lust, panic, guilt, desire, but above all else he felt joy and completion. A strange range of feelings that left him paralyzed.

"Adien." Wrapping her arms around his neck, her hands embedding themselves in his hair, she pulled him to her. "Move," she ordered him with a nip on the lip. The stinging pain was just the jump start he needed.

With a growl, Adien withdrew himself from her body until the head of his cock was the only thing that remained. Then he drove himself deep inside her. Back and forth, Adien gave her deep and long strokes, until she matched his rhythm. When the overwhelming need to kiss her consumed him, Adien crushed his lips to hers. Each moan she gave him, in time with his strokes, he swallowed. Need and power coursed through his body, an intense undercurrent that heightened his senses. The scent of her arousal intensified, and the way the curves of her body molded to his threatened to send him over the edge.

"Yes." She broke their kiss. "More." Harmony commanded again, this time raking her nail across his back.

Stinging pain quickly turned into pleasure that rocked Adien's world and had his body begging for release. He increased the speed of his thrusts, going from slow and deep to hard and fast. Lost to the feeling of her body, Adien unhooked Harmony's ankles from around his waist. With her legs on his shoulders, Adien drove himself deep into her. Hitting spots that had her body twitching and jerking under him, spots he was sure no other man—especially not her shitty ex-husband—had ever touched.

Mine... all mine.

The thought was possessive and dark, demanding that he drive out every memory of any man before him and engrave himself so deep into her soul that she never wanted another man after him. He needed more, craved more, and he would have it. After removing her legs from his shoulders, the groan of disappointment she gave him made Adien chuckle.

"I'm not done yet," he told her, pushing her legs as far back as they could go, until her knees touched her forehead. There was no piece of her that he couldn't see.

Beautiful...

Absolutely gorgeous, wet, and inviting, his cock twitched with the need to bury himself back inside her body.

"Hold them," he growled down at her, the hound in him dangerously close to the surface.

She obeyed and Adien was allowed a glorious view of their joining bodies as he slid himself back inside of her. Licking the tip of his thumb and forefinger he flicked her clit, rubbing on the sensitive ball of nerves until she was wiggling and rotating her hips under him, creating her own rhythm that sucked him in.

"Adien." His gaze went to her. The bright two-toned glow of her eyes drew him in, begging him to continue. His body moved of its own accord, and he watched with hungry eyes as her body swallowed him whole, a beautiful and perfect sight that only hardened his cock more.

This moment was something Adien thought he would never see. He had lost count of how many times he had envisioned how she would look in his bed. Finally, after all his suffering, his wish had been granted. She felt better than he ever imagined. Sleek, wet, and warm... she was perfection.

"Adien." There was a new buzz of energy flowing through the room.

Adien stopped mid-stroke as Harmony released her legs, and they once again found their way around his waist. Before he knew it, he was flipped onto his back. Straddling his hips, Harmony lowered herself the rest of the way down his shaft. Sudden sensual vibrations traveled from the tip of his trinity mark to the head of his cock. With each vibration, he drew closer to his orgasm. Judging by the way Harmony's body shuddered, she felt it too. He watched in fascination as she caressed her side. Instantly, another wave of vibrations, more intense than the last, had his back arching and his eyes rolling to the back of his head as he rolled his hips beneath her.

When she opened her mouth to speak, the words that came out of her stilled him. "You are mine." Harmony raked her nails down his flesh, leaving welts down his chest until the tips of her fingers trailed down the top branches of his trinity mark. "Never again will you seek comfort outside my bed. All other women are nothing compared to the warmth of my body. In me you have found your home. The ghosts of your past have no place here." She rotated her hips, and they both moaned. Then his vision faded to black, and all he knew was the voice and the pleasure coming from the woman on top of him. "There is no need to run from me, from us. We belong to you and will always belong to you. We are one, now and forever more."

Buzzing in his ears drew him from the depth of his passion. The thunderous beating of his heart echoed in his ears as he struggled to come back to his senses. His vision slowly returned as his world came back into focus. Her honey-colored skin began to glow as she began her slow and torturous rhythm up and down his shaft.

Really, no woman should be as alluring and beautiful as the one on top of him. From under her top lip, Adien could see the tips of newly formed canines. His cock jerked inside her when he pictured her training the points of her sharp teeth along his body.

"Harmony." Her change caused a change within him, his voice rougher and rawer than it had ever been as the animal in him began to break free.

"Hound of Earth," she continued, and he watched with hungry eyes as she touched herself. One of her hands slowly traveled down her neck and breast while the other found its way around the back of her neck and into her hair.

Adien groaned, his hands balling into tight fists, as he prayed for some measure of self-discipline. If he touched her at that moment, there would be no stopping him from completing their bond. "Harmony, we have to stop."

Instantly her glowing gaze snapped to him, narrowing on him with a heated intensity that made him shiver. "No, we will not stop." She raked long nails down his chest, leaving violent whelps and drawing a little blood. "We have waited years for you. Now that we have you, we will never let go."

Shit...

Things were not going the way he intended.

"You will accept us," Harmony growled.

Like hell he would, not like this. Not when Harmony knew nothing of the world she was about to enter. The danger she would constantly be in. Then there was this bond, this forever connection that he wasn't ready for. A mate for all eternity, one woman for the rest of his life... no, he was not signing up for that. It didn't matter how complete he felt with her in his arms or the way his heart raced when he saw her smile. He would never trust another woman, goddess or mortal, mate or no mate, ever again.

"Do not doubt us. We will lov—"

Adien had heard enough. It was time he took control of this situation. With quick movements, he had not only flipped her onto her stomach, but he had positioned her on all fours. Before she could regain her senses, Adien entered her from behind. Thrusting deep inside her while her moan of deep satisfaction echoed around them.

Sliding in and out of her in a ravenous rhythm that walked the line of pleasure and pain, Adien lost himself inside her. The thought that she had sought to dominate him hit him, and he looked down at his blood-stained chest. She had left marks on him, and he would make sure he returned the favor.

Wrapping her hair in a tight fist, Adien jerked her body upward. "I told you, didn't I? You cannot tame the untamable." With that, he bit down hard on the side of her neck, loving the way she cried out in a mix of pain and pleasure as she was sent over the edge. Male satisfaction coursed through him while she cried out his name and tightened around him.

Thrown into a hazy fog of pleasure, he increased the speed of his thrusts, letting go of her hair in favor of her hips. Around him, Adien felt the sleek and wet walls of her body once again tightening as another orgasm rolled through her.

Adien growled as his own climax took hold of him. Traveling from the tips of his toes to the top of his head, he let out his own roar of release as his world shattered around him in a blinding light.

Drained and exhausted, they collapsed on the bed. Rolling off Harmony, Adien lay beside her. The moment he relaxed next to her, she searched him out and nestled her head against his chest. For a moment, Adien's body tensed.

"You belong to us, Adien," she mumbled sleepily. "No matter how much you deny it. You and I both know it's the truth." She yawned, her body relaxing against him with one leg draped over his waist and one of her arms falling across his chest. "I have already tamed you." With that, she drifted off into a much-needed rest, leaving Adien alone with his dark thoughts and one inescapable truth that he refused to admit.

"Fuck me," he whispered aloud. There was no doubt in his mind that he had just crossed a line that shouldn't have been crossed, and there was no way of turning back. Sparing a glance down, he sighed.

He was not looking forward to what tomorrow would bring.

#  Chapter 17

The last place Gabriel expected to find himself when he finally regained consciousness was on a plush sofa, his beaten body resting against the most comfortable seats he had ever felt. Groaning, he lifted his heavy head and then cursed when it felt like the back of his skull was being hit with a hammer. Rubbing his temples, he lifted his heavy lids. Instantly he was hit with a wave of dizziness that had him struggling to stay upright. Once again, he closed his eyes and took several deep breaths.

"Well." The feminine voice caught his attention. Opening his eyes, his dark gaze was instantly drawn to the tall and seductive beauty that had suddenly appeared before him. Frowning, he watched her watch him from her position at the doorway.

Was she the one who had brought him here?

No, he gave a slight shake of his head; there was no way the slender woman in front of him could move his limp body. His dead weight would have been a struggle for a man to lift, let alone a woman. She had to have had help... a boyfriend? Husband, maybe?

Although the longer he looked at her, the less he could picture her with a husband. The dark vibe that radiated off her as she watched him said she would rather kill herself than settle down with someone. Dangerous, wild, and untamable, had he not been in so much pain he would've loved to break her in and give her a comfortable spot beneath his feet.

"Look who's finally awake." She pushed herself from the wall and headed towards him. As he watched the sway of her hips, the silky stride of her tight leather-covered legs, his pain slowly faded to the back of his mind, taking a backseat to his growing desire. Again, he wondered how long it would take to break a woman like her, to have that lithe- and agile-looking body bending to his every will.

Flame-colored hair flowed from top of her head to the middle of her back and swayed with the rhythm of her hips as she walked over to him. He shifted his body and bit back a curse as pain shot along his spine. He didn't know what was worse, the steady sting of pain coursing through his body or the painful hard on that pressed very painfully against the fly of his pants, adding to the misery he was already in.

"Do you like what you see?" She baited him with a seductive smile. Quickly his gaze roamed over her body. Granted, she was way too pale for his usual taste, but the way the black leather pants she wore clung to her hips and long legs, something like a second skin that he couldn't wait to peel her out of, had him reconsidering his preference in women. Add to that the black mesh top and crimson-colored bar she wore that not only lifted her supple breasts but added the extra cleavage that had his mouth watering for a taste, he was more than willing to cross over to the lighter side of the world. He would dare say that her beauty surpassed that of his deceitful wife... almost.

"I asked you a question, Gabriel McAvoy," she said as she towered above him. Her hip cocked to one side, a hand on her hip while the other rested at her side.

"Who are you?" Gabriel asked her in a strained and raw voice that caught him off guard.

Had he really gotten his ass kicked so bad that he couldn't speak? Hot rage coursed through him. Gritting his teeth, he vowed he would make his wife and her little boy toy pay for making him look like a fool.

"Hey." He felt a soft and cool hand grip his chin and lift his head. "When I am talking, you pay attention." As she spoke, Gabriel found himself being pulled into the depths of her strange-colored eyes. "Do you understand me?"

Absently, Gabriel nodded his head up and down.

"Good boy." She smiled and released her hold on him.

His body sagged against the sofa as his rage grew. If there was one thing he hated, it was a woman who thought she could control him.

"Who are you?" he asked again, his voice stronger.

"Who am I?" Before he could react, she placed a high-heeled foot on the cushion of the sofa. Leaning in, she encaged him with her body as the waves of her hair fell to the side. For a brief moment, panic consumed him as he felt a cold chill creep across his body. "For you...I am a means to an end."

"What do you want from me?"

Leaning into his ear, she whispered, "everything."

With that, she pressed a cool palm to his forehead. One moment Gabriel was upright, and the next, he felt himself hit the cushions of the sofa. His vision failing, he felt the cold as it crept along his body.

"Your soul is exactly what we need."

Through blurred vision, Gabriel made out her face and the chilling smile. "You will be magnificent and my slave for all of eternity."

Her words were the last things he heard as he fell through the darkness of his mind.

As he fell, he was assaulted by the screams and voices of his past. Memory after memory, every battered face and each black eye was replayed before him... Still he felt nothing. Each and every one of those women had been weak and fragile, too easily broken for him to spare an ounce of sympathy for. With each relationship, shorter than the last, he had quickly grown tired of them... all except for one. In the back of his mind, he promised that whenever he saw her again, be it in this life or the next, he would teach her a very valuable lesson in obedience.

With his energy slowly fading away, his hatred left a burning hole in his chest. He couldn't remember when his love turned into such a dark and violent feeling, nor did he care. For as long as he could remember, from the moment his father had shown him a woman's true place, he had lived to dominate the women in his life. The same way his father had done to his mother. There was no room for the sappy feelings of love in his life. All he cared for was the sound of their pain... his wife's cries for mercy. Nothing excited him more than the sight of blood splattered across a beautiful face.

Coward...

His wife had called him that more times than he could count. It amused him really. She seemed to have this misconception that not only was he a monster, but an inadequate and incapable monster that felt fear at the sight of another man.

The thought was laughable. There was no part of his life that he did not have under his complete control. He simply took joy in reminding her that no matter how popular or how big her name became, she would never be more than what he said she was.

He had no idea how long he fell. What he did know was the pain that coursed through him as his body hit the ground. His head bounced against the ground so hard there was no doubt he had cracked his skull. The way his vision blurred and the sudden pounding at his temples told him if he didn't black out in the next few moments, he would pass out later from a concussion.

Dazed, Gabriel lay motionless, collecting himself. When he was sure he could stand without collapsing, he rolled over and staggered his way to his feet.

"Gabriel."

Jumping at the sound of the dark and sinister voice, Gabriel looked around him, his eyes darting around in the darkness. What he expected to find in a darkness that left him blind, he didn't know. All he knew was that while he couldn't see anything there was definitely something in the dark with him.

Something touched his shoulder. Quickly he moved out of the way, eyes once again scanning the darkness. Still he saw nothing. Fear snaked its way through him. Suddenly his heart was racing, and he found it hard to breathe.

_Calm down... calm down..._ _he told himself._

Closing his eyes, he focused on calming his rapid heartbeat. When he opened his eyes again, he almost screamed. At his feet lay his wife, her body a bloodied and broken mess that had him reaching out his hand to see if she was real. His fingertips brushed against soft flesh. Her body twitched and she jumped back, caught off guard not only by the warmth of her body but its sudden movement as well.

Inching closer to her, Gabriel took her in. Blood covered the white T-shirt and gray sweat pants she wore. The arm she had draped across her forehead kept her face hidden from him, while her other arm was wrapped around a very large and swollen belly. In that instant, his eyes grew wide as recognition dawned on him.

This was a scene he had replaced over and over in his mind. He remembered all too clearly how she had pleaded—no, begged him through busted lips—that he stop. For him to have mercy on her for the sake of the life growing inside her... mercy he didn't show that night or any other night that followed. In fact, when he thought about it, he might have been harsher than usual.

"Do you remember her crises?" The voice was in his ear. "Her begging." The voice purred as if it enjoyed her suffering the same way Gabriel did.

"It was her fault," the voice continued. "Smiling at other men, yet refusing to bend to your will."

Suddenly Gabriel felt a hand on him. Looking down at his arm, he saw a large black claw wrapped around his forearm. He winced as sharp nails dug past the sleeves of his shirt and into his skin. He thought he had felt pain before... he was wrong.

He had never felt anything like the burning pain that traveled through his veins then. Had it not been for the claw holding him up, he would have collapsed right beside his wife.

Refusing to cry out, he gritted his teeth so hard he was surprised he didn't break his jaw. But all too soon the pain became too much, and a horrifying scream was ripped from him. He swore he could hear the voice chuckle its amusement at his pain. Just as another scream began to bubble up inside him, and the thought that some part of his body would be seared off, the pain receded and was quickly replaced by a dark pleasure that caught him so off guard he couldn't stop the moan that escaped him. Decadent and enticing, it was like nothing he had ever felt, and it called to the darkest part of his soul, awakening and seducing a beast he hadn't seen in years.

"Finish it." The voice coaxed him.

In his hand suddenly appeared a beautifully jeweled dagger. Transfixed, he stared at the weapon. Precious red rubies were set in an eloquently polished black onyx handle. The blade that he was sure was made of some rare metal was long, sharp, and sparkled in the darkness. Its weight was odd, too heavy for a weapon of its size, yet he was perfectly able to move and balance the dagger from one hand to the next.

"Accept me," the voice whispered.

Before he knew it, Gabriel had dropped to his knees, clutching the blade in a firm grasp.

Teach her who controls the Fate of her world. Gabriel's grip on the blade tightened.

"I... hate... you." Her voice weak and harsh drifted up to him. "We hate you."

She hated him?

That he already knew. She hated him, and he loved her to the point of insanity.

"Kill her."

Of its own accord, he raised his hand. Once again, the steel blade of the dagger glistened in the darkness as he used his free hand to push her onto her back.

Golden eyes stared up at him in a mix of pain, anguish, and rage. And even a small spark of defiance sparked in her gaze that sent his temper through the roof. His dark gaze went to her large belly.

For a moment, he felt a trickle of remorse, and regret momentarily filled his chest...

There was no turning back. The pieces of their violent and broken past could never be pieced together gain... and he was just fine with that. So long as he was forever branded into her memory, he was fine with anything.

"But I love you."

Cold spit hit him in the eye. "Go to hell," she told him, and he smiled.

"I'm already there." He laughed. Before she could take her next breath, he plunged the dagger's blade deep into her stomach. The horrifying scream that filled the air was music to his ears, an agonized sympathy that echoed in his ears and gave him chills. When warm blood splattered across his face, he chuckled with delight.

"All you had to do was submit to me." He licked his lips. The metallic taste of her blood filled his mouth. "Worship me, and everything would have been perfect." For one final time, he locked gazes with her. Blood tears streamed down her face, and his smile widened. It didn't matter that she still glared at him with lingering hate... he had already won.

Leaning in, he withdrew the dagger and gripped her chin with his free hand. Her head lulled to the side and his grip tightened.

"I will take away what you love the most." With that, he sealed their Fate with a harsh and bloody kiss and another stab to her womb. He swallowed her cries and devoured her pain. Only when her cries died out and her body went limp did he let her go, watching as her limp body fell back to the ground.

"Finish it," the voice was whispering again. "Finish what you started all those years ago."

Yes, he would finish it before she could humiliate him once again, before she could ever reach her dreams and do the very things he forbid her to do.

"You can never escape me." In one fluid movement, he slit her throat in a flawless slice. Sitting on his heels, arms going limp at his sides as the dagger fell to the ground, Gabriel dropped his head and deeply inhaled as pure rapture coursed through him. Deliciously seductive, it was like nothing he ever felt before. Better than sex. Better than pain. It was pure euphoria, and he quickly realized what he wanted. No, what he needed.

"Perfect." Just as quickly as her body appeared before him, it was gone, and the heavy weight of disappointment fell on his shoulders as he realized none of this was real. His wife had not crumbled beneath him but had flourished and prospered in ways he never imagined.

"It was all a lie," he mumbled.

"Yes," was the reply he received, and with it, the sudden presence of something dark and evil.

Looking up, Gabriel found himself starring at a more casual dressed version of himself. Aside from the red eyes that blazed in the darkness, there was an even darker aura that surrounded them.

"Who are you?" Gabriel asked, rising to his feet.

"The very thing you want to be,"

Gabriel raised a brow at the response.

"Accept me." The look-alike took a step forward, and the ground shook beneath his feet. "Accept me, and I will show you pleasures that will last a lifetime." He took another step forward. Once again, the ground shook beneath their feet.

Gabriel watched him with intense eyes as the look-alike circled around him. Red eyes gave him a quick once over.

"Sex and power, pain and pleasure." When the look-alike came to stand in front of him, the red eyes that had slowly appraised him just moments before were the same dark color as the ones that stared out at him from the mirror every day. "Whatever you want is yours. All you have to do is accept me."

"There is only one thing I want."

The look-alike smiled and responded, "She will be yours."

It was Gabriel's turn to smile. "Then we have a deal."

"You must say you accept me."

Huffing, Gabriel said, "I accept you and all that you have promised."

The look-alike's smile widened, and Gabriel would have sworn he saw fangs peeking out from under his lips. Before Gabriel could start to question what he saw, the very fangs he had just seen sank deep into his neck. Pain struck him, and he cried out. Suddenly he felt as if he was on fire, as if his insides were being slowly roasted until they were nothing but ash.

"What...the..." Instantly his mind went blank while his legs turned to Jell-O. When the look-alike finally released him, Gabriel fell to the ground in a motionless heap.

"Drink from me."

Staring up at the look-alike, Gabriel watched through blurred vision as two long fangs pierced the look-alike's wrist. If he hadn't been on the drink of death, his heart rate slowing with each passing moment, he was sure a small thread of panic would have him close to shitting on himself. As it was, he couldn't bring himself to move as the look-alike brought his wrist to Gabriel's lips.

"Drink." The look-alike ordered, and of their own accord, his lips parted.

"Yes," it purred in satisfaction as warm and thick blood flowed down Gabriel's throat.

The taste was disgusting, and he gagged a few times trying to keep it down. But, before long, he had grown used to the blood's sour taste. In fact, as his pulse became stronger, the more of the look-alike's blood he wanted. With a savagery that his ex was only able to bring out of him, he latched on to the dark creature's wrist. Taking strong pulls, he became lost in a violent and angry storm of power. He drank until all he knew was the power from the blood, until every drop of blood that was taken from him was replaced by something much darker.

"Your soul belongs to me for all eternity." It was the last thing Gabriel heard before a surge of power hit him so hard he was tossed backwards into another void of darkness. As he drifted through the darkness of his soul, he was vaguely aware of the female voice calling out to him...

Gabriel was jerked back into his body. His chest heaving up and down, he struggled to drag air into his lungs. His face in the carpet, he groaned in pain as his entire body suddenly felt as if it was on fire. Taking several deep breaths, Gabriel slowly pushed himself from the floor. Staggering to his feet, it took several minutes for him to stop feeling as if he was going to throw up every meal he had over the last week.

"Now, isn't that much better?" A voice came from behind him. Blinking several times to get his vision to focus, Gabriel turned around and laid eyes on the same red-headed female that had kissed him and sent him spiraling into the dark depths of his mind.

"You look much better." She smiled at him from her relaxed position on the sofa. "The horns suit you very nicely."

Horns? What the hell is she talking about?

Gabriel reached for the top of his head, only to catch sight of two large black claws. Once again blinking several times to make sure he hadn't lost his mind, Gabriel brought his newly transformed hands closer to his face.

"Now, do you believe me?" His gaze darted back and forth between the woman and his hands.

This has got to be some twisted joke.

"Oh, no, honey. This is no joke." The woman moved from the sofa, walking over to him with the grace of a lethal predator. "This is very much real. Here, have a look." With a wave of her hand, a large mirror appeared before him.

The moment he caught sight of his reflection, he took a step back. Shock wasn't the word to describe what he felt. Fear, panic, and disbelief flooded him.

"What the fuck—"

"No need to panic." She walked up behind him. "You accepted him."

"How do you know about that?" Even the voice that came out of him wasn't his own.

"Because," she whispered into his ear, "I sent him." When she licked the inside of his ear, he groaned.

"Look at yourself. You are magnificent." Their gazes locked through the mirror. He watched as her pale hand seemed to glow against the pure black of his skin. No longer the perfect shade of rich brown he had once been, he was covered from head to toe in skin the same color as charcoal and looked to be as tough as leather.

"You are by far my favorite creation." She placed a kiss against his neck and stepped away from him. "Yes, you are much more beautiful than Aprophis and much more..." She paused and raked a meaningful stare down his body. "...endowed than my current toy."

"Is that so?" His own gaze took in his body. He no longer had feet and legs; they were replaced by large hooves and long and powerful legs that supported his wider and larger body frame. No doubt he was well over seven feet tall, probably taller if someone counted the horns.

"A magnificent creature." Again, she was whispering into his pointed hears. That was when he noticed just how tall she was by being able to reach his ears without standing on the tips of her toes.

It seemed she was the touchy-feely kind, because she hadn't stopped touching him since she had walked up behind him. Not that Gabriel minded. In fact, the way the cool tips of her fingers traveled along the curve of his spine, across his back and shoulders, had him losing all coherent thought as he bit back a groan.

"Tempting sin." She reached up and wrapped her hands around the base of his horns. Instant pleasure shot through him with each caress, and before he knew it, he had turned on her and pinned her to the sofa.

Forcibly holding her hands above her head, he stared down at her. Beautiful in the darkest ways, she was the type of woman who could handle whatever he gave her.

"Gabriel." She moved under him, rubbing the length of her body against him.

Gabriel shivered.

"I am your mistress," she told him.

He snorted.

"I amuse you?" she asked with a raised brow.

"No woman will ever be my mistress." He smiled as if his words amused him. "You are all weak and beneath me." His grip around her wrists tightened, and he relished the way she winced in pain.

"You will all bow before me."

"Is that so?"

Just like that he was on is back on the floor with her straddling his hips. Shocked, he moved to throw her off, but the strong and powerful grip around his neck forced him back down.

"Don't forget your place. I am not your pathetic wife," She told him in the sweetest and scariest voice he had ever heard.

Raising her free hand, she summoned something that looked a lot like a jeweled collar. In the time it took him to blink, the collar was around his neck. A sickening pressure settled against his temples before slowly fading as she got off his lap. With her standing above him, he could do nothing but stare up at her in bewilderment.

"I am Thana, Universe of Death." She paused, a dark and deadly glint coming into her flame-orange gaze. "And you will bring me what I desire most."

#  Chapter 18

Harmony awoke from her sleep with the worst headache she had ever had. Lifting heavy lids, she took in her surroundings. One glance around the spacious room and she knew she wasn't in her home. Everything about the décor of the room oozed the word bachelor.

Taking a deep breath in an effort to keep her composure, the scent of dark spices, wild forest trees, and sex filled her senses. The tingles that suddenly spread across her body were annoying and unwanted. She gave another tired groan as she sat up and rubbed her temples, struggling to remember just what she had gotten herself into the night before to cause her to end up in some stranger's bed naked with a weird ache between her legs.

When Harmony thought back, she remembered doing another late night at work, her mind distracted by unnecessary thoughts, when Gabriel had showed up uninvited at her office. In his usual fashion, he tried to control her, using promises of violence and intimation like the old days. There had been an exchange between them, she knew that much, but after that things got a little fuzzy as painful memories began to rear their ugly heads.

While she couldn't remember what he had said, she did remember the fury, the dark and violent rage that had rolled through her and the need to punish that had consumed her. A feeling she was more than happy to embrace as the urge to hit him—no, not just hit him—she wanted to hurt him, make him less of a man than he already was, to take away the part of him he needed the most to feel whole.

A voice had whispered to her, in a sinfully sweet manner, telling her that it was okay to do what she wanted and that he deserved everything that was coming to him and she would be the one to deliver retribution. The feeling of his jaw connecting with her fist was something she would relish for the rest of her life... if only she could remember what happened after that, she was sure her joy would last her several life times.

"You look like shit." Adien's crude words caught her off guard, startling her and at the same time managing to be a soothing caress that eased her headache.

With the throbbing in her temples gradually subsiding, Harmony was able to focus on him as he watched her from the bedroom door. His alluring, almost provocative gaze, pulling her in more than the hard muscles of his bare chest or his narrowed waist that held up a pair of loosely fitting Batman pajama pants, which gave a very nice indication of what was hidden behind the thin bottoms.

For whatever reason, when she was around him, a calmness settled over her that was exhilarating but also scared her shitless. She hardly knew him, yet it felt like she had known him for ages. He was the one thing both her mind and body could agree on, if the aching between her legs was any indication.

She wanted him in a way she had never wanted another, not even her ex-husband during the good years of their marriage. She needed Adien in a way that not only did she think it not possible, but something that she felt to her very foundation. In the back of her mind, another part of her came to life, continuously demanding she take what she knew was hers and damn the consequences.

In the back of her mind, Harmony got the feeling that she had already tried that and it hadn't gone the way she thought it would. Matter of fact, given the way anger suddenly flared up inside her, she was sure she had been flatly rejected.

"We need to talk," he told her, and given his tone, whatever they were about to talk about wasn't something he wanted to discuss.

"About what? And why are you standing by the door?" she asked him with a raised brow. "Afraid I am going to attack you or something?"

The look he gave her said he thought just that. "I don't trust myself around you."

It seemed she wasn't the only one thrown off balance by their whirlwind romance. "What is it that we have to talk about? Last night?"

Adien's eyes narrowed as he answered, "Yes, about last night, the night before, and the night before that... and even further back."

Confused, Harmony sat in silence. Her gaze followed Adien as he pushed himself from the door frame and made his way over to her. He came to stand in front of the bed but made no move to come any closer.

"How much do you know about Melody and Radien's... marriage?" Adien suddenly asked.

His questions caught her off guard, and she couldn't help but wonder why he was asking her that and what it had to do with what he wanted to talk to her about.

"They met through a mutual friend and sparks flew; that was pretty much it." She paused. "At least that's the story I got. But, since your face is all screwed up, I'm going to say that's not how it happened."

"I can't believe she told you that." Adien shook his head and then gave a bitter laugh that unnerved Harmony.

"Why don't you tell me the truth then? And, while you're at it, why don't you explain that..." Harmony pointed to the birthmark that covered the front of his body. "Clearly, you were born with the same birthmark as me. So..." She let her words trail off as she watched a wide range of emotions play out across his face, as if he was struggling with how much to tell her.

"Very well," Adien finally said with a snap of his fingers. A chair instantly appeared behind him, and he sat down.

Disbelief washed over Harmony, and she quickly dismissed what she had seen, rationalizing that the chair had been there from the very beginning.

"You're a trinitymate, a Fated partner of one of the Hounds of Trinity," he told her.

Not sure if he had spoken English or cursed at her in some foreign language, Harmony asked, "You care to repeat that?"

Adien had the nerve to huff as if he was annoyed by her confusion about what he was telling her.

_Too bad..._ Harmony thought as she crossed her legs under the covers of the sheets and waited for him to continue.

"Our matching markings are trinity marks. They are basically birthmarks that single out a mate to one of the hounds, which happen to be me and my brothers." He paused, the silence giving Harmony time to try and process what he was saying before he continued.

"Melody and Radien have matching birthmarks, making her his Fated mate. They met through her travels through the _Dreamscape_. From—"

Harmony interrupted him with a raise of her hand. "Excuse me, what is a Dreamscape?"

"It's the realm of dreams and nightmares that is ruled over by the Universe of Dreams, Rasi," Adien told her in a matter-of-fact tone.

_Well, that just explained it all_ , Harmony thought sourly. "Carry on."

"Anyway, that's not the important part." Adien said.

"So, what's the important part?"

"Us." While his face expression remained stoic, the tone of his voice hardened.

"Us? What about us?" Again, Harmony got the feeling she wasn't going to like the direction of this conversation. "Are you telling me you are my soul mate?"

"According to our markings... yes," he told her flatly. "Last night was evidence of that."

"Last night? What happened last night?" she asked. There was no doubt in her mind that they had sex, but given Adien's tense posture, there clearly was a piece of the night she was missing.

"You attempted to make a soul bond with me."

As he spoke, the hazy fog that had cast itself over her mind began to fade.

"Inside you lives your hound. Until the day you and your mate cross paths, it remains dormant, sleeping peacefully as you go about your daily life. However, once a hound has crossed paths with its destined mate, the powerful creature is awakened and often consumes the human side of you... when I met you a year ago, I woke the hound sleeping inside you. Now, every time we are in the same area, we are drawn to each other."

"Uh huh," was all Harmony could say as she started to seriously question her taste in men. With each passing moment, it became clearer and clearer that she was only attracted to the crazy ones.

"Don't believe me? Fine, I'll prove it." With that, Adien rose from his seat.

Harmony's gaze followed him as he headed over to her. Her heart beat rapidly in her chest the closer he came.

_Mine... mine... mine..._ The one word repeated itself over and over in Harmony's mind.

"The way you stare at me," he said to her, his voice huskier than it had been before. "You are inviting trouble." He sat on the edge of the bed beside her, his deep green eyes staring into her. "Trouble that you cannot possibly handle." Reaching for her, Adien caressed the side of her face.

His fingertips trailed down the side of her next. With each caress, Harmony's breathing became harder and her body hotter as the need to have him consumed her.

_We want him_ , the voice in her head demanded.

"The thoughts of your hound..." He leaned in, his lips brushing against her ear as he spoke to her. "They show on your face. I can see every dirty thought in your mind, and it's driving me crazy." He nipped her ear, and she moaned.

Unable to stop herself, and not truly wanting to stop herself, Harmony reached for him. Her body a slave to her wants, the voice in her head purring in satisfaction, she ran her hands down his exposed chest.

"There's a voice inside your head telling you that you want me... that I am yours." His hand pulled at the covers that covered her breasts. Exposing the round mounds, he palmed them.

"How do you know that?" Harmony asked him in ragged breaths.

"Because, I hear a voice too..." As Adien spoke to her, he guided her body backwards into the bed. "It demands its mate," he growled in her ear, and she nearly came. "It tells me to take you and show you the depths of pleasure like you've never known."

She purred an encouragement for him to do just that.

"Can you feel it? The pull between us." His hand roamed down her stomach and underneath the sheets. "The need." His grew low and enticing as the tips of his fingers brushed against her clit.

Harmony moaned, her legs spreading to give him better access to her.

"Mine, over and over. That's all that replays in my mind." He growled as he pulled away just far enough to watch her as he toyed with her body.

"Everything in me says you belong to me," he told her with heavy breaths. "Your body..." Again, his finger rubbed against her clit before he inserted one finger inside her.

Desire flooded her body as her senses spun out of control.

"Your heart... your soul... it was all meant for me." He paused. Through the haze of her passion, Harmony made out his troubled expression. "But, I don't believe in Fate." He slid another finger inside her, skillfully controlling her pleasure to his satisfaction.

"And yet..." Harmony managed to get out the words past her moaning. "You are here with me."

"You cannot tame me," he told her.

With her climax creeping up on her as she rode his fingers, Harmony had no idea how she continued to speak to him when all she wanted to do was lose herself to her desires. "You're already tamed."

His kiss was unexpected and brutal, but one she welcomed as her climax consumed her in gushing waves. Adien might not believe in destiny, and she might not believe half of what he just told her, but there was no denying the chemistry between them. Call it Fate, lust, or the beginnings of love, whatever it was had its claws in them and refused to let go.

When he pulled away from her, his face was a mask of emotions. Unable to form words due to her hard panting, she watched him as he brought his fingers, coated in her juices, to his mouth and licked his fingers clean.

His gaze turned back to hers, and his next question not only caught her off guard but killed her buzz, and she instantly wanted to kick him out of the room.

"Tell me the truth about your ex-husband." He put a little space between them.

Sitting up, Harmony tried not to notice the obvious erection he had as she gathered the covers around her once again.

"Why do you want to know about him now?" she asked.

"Because you almost killed him last night as you screamed how much you hated him." He paused, his expression softening as he lifted her chin. "That type of emotion doesn't just appear out of thin air... trust me I know. Tell me the truth of your story, and I will tell you the rest of mine. Deal?"

Did she really have a choice?

Taking a deep breath, Harmony began her story, a trip down memory lane that she seemed to be taking more and more these days.

"Gabriel and I have known each other for a long time." She began her story, and Adien gave her his undivided attention. He could tell from the hurt on her face that he was forcing her to relive horrible moments in her past, and he felt like shit for making her do it. But, it needed to be done. He had to know the depths of her pain so he could figure out the best way to repair it.

"We first met when I was first starting my company. It was at a party, if I remember correctly. He was charming, a real smooth talker, and much like you, his reputation with the ladies was in very good standing," she said, and he couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed that she knew about his sleazy affairs.

"He introduced himself, and we instantly hit it off." As Harmony paused, Adien noticed her nervous fidgeting and placed his hand over hers as a silent encouragement for her to continue.

"We dated for a long time, and everything seemed to be fine. Of course, every now and then we would argue, but it was nothing serious." She paused, and Adien knew this was where the story turned nasty. "We got married after a lengthy engagement. For the first few years, it seemed like I was in a dream."

From out the corner of her eye, he caught a glimpse of a lonely tear. Using his thumb, Adien wiped the tear away.

Harmony continued, "Soon everything fell apart. I don't know when he began to change or why. All I knew was that the man I had married vanished, and I was left with some strange monster. Suddenly, we argued over the smallest things. Nasty and vicious arguments that often ended with bloodied fist fights."

_Did she just say fist fights?_ Adien thought, his anger steadily on the rise as he continued to listen to Harmony's story.

"It seemed the longer we were married, the more violent he became until the point he snapped." Harmony refused to meet his stare. Instead, she seemed to be more interested in toying with the bed sheets.

When she opened her mouth to speak again, her voice cracked in sorrow. "The beatings became worse and more frequent, so I left him. At eight months pregnant, I packed as many things as I could and left."

"What happened after that?" Adien asked because he knew this wasn't all there was to their story.

"It took little to no time for him to track down, and he showed up at my new apartment drunk and filled with hate." Harmony paused, her hands fisting the sheets as tears streamed down her face. Unsure of what to do to close the flood gates, he just opened, Adien gathered Harmony into his arms, holding her shaking body until her sobs slowed and she could speak without chocking on her own spit.

"He broke into my house. To this day, I have no idea how he found me. I had taken care not to tell anyone about my whereabouts. So, when Gabriel showed up in my kitchen, I froze. My first thought was for my unborn child. Whatever happened to me, I didn't want to happen to her."

"Harmony, it's okay. You can stop now." Adien gently told her as he held her, more so for himself than for her. Listening to her, to hear the pain in her voice was almost too much for Adien to handle, and he regretted he ever forced her to tell him.

"I... couldn't... oh god." Her voice cracked as the tears she had been holding back sprung free. Hard sobs rocked her body, and all Adien could do was hold her close to him. Her tears stained his shirt, but he didn't care.

"It's okay." He tried to comfort her and let his presence sooth her, all the while knowing nothing could stop the pain she felt now.

"The baby... he..." Between her sobs and cries she couldn't finish her sentence, but she didn't have to. Matter of fact, Adien didn't want her to. He knew exactly where this was heading, and he didn't like it. He was caught between wanting to kill her ex and consoling Harmony, and he choose the later of the two.

"He took her from me. He took everything from me... my life, my baby... my womanhood."

"Your womanhood?" Adien asked.

Lifting her head from his chest, Harmony looked at Adien with red and puffy eyes. In a dead and detached tone that was worse than her crying, she told him, "I can't have children."

It was his turn to have tears stinging the back of his eyes as a piece of his heart broke. Not because he wanted children, but because he knew what it meant to a woman to be able to give birth. She was a creator of life and a nurturer. It was part of her genetic makeup and to be missing that would make any woman feel incomplete.

"No matter what I did, or how many doctors I saw, there was nothing they could do for me... what man would want a woman like me?" she muttered that last part, but Adien heard it loud and clear.

His response was simple. Tilting her chin, he stared deep into her eyes so that when he spoke to her, she would know it was the truth. "I would." To prove his point, he kissed her. Not a rough and wild kiss but a soft and affectionate kiss that expressed his genuine feelings.

For a moment, Harmony froze, and Adien got the feeling if he stopped she would only run away from him. He wouldn't let her do that. Not at that moment. She couldn't run from her fears, and she couldn't escape him.

He deepened their kiss, taking control over her mouth as he demanded she give her pain over to him. When he broke their kiss, they were both panting.

"I'm going to make us some breakfast, so come in the kitchen when you're ready." Giving her another quick peck, Adien moved from the bed and headed out of the room.

Space was exactly what he needed, and lots of it if he was going to calm his raging temper. If he was going to maintain any semblance of his sanity, he needed to calm down before he did something reckless.

Something that would be hard, if not impossible, to do given the fact that Harmony's tear-stained face was engraved into his memory.

Trying his best not to fester in his outrage, Adien made his way into the kitchen. The rumbling of his stomach a much-needed distraction from the weight of his heavy rummaging through the refrigerator, where he found his leftovers from the night before. Finding the plate in the back of the fridge, he pulled out the cold tray of food.

Eyeing it, he decided the days-old food looked less appealing than he thought it would. Although truthfully, he wanted something more than a half-eaten chicken breast and a few dried-out potatoes. Thanks to the woman in his bed and their little tumble in the sheets the previous night, he was in the mood for something more filling.

Tossing the food in the garbage, Adien pulled out several steaks. Prime-cut meats that had cost him a pretty penny were ripped from their packaging and tossed onto a large plate.

"I would like a piece of that."

Despite his troubles, Adien smiled at the sound of his sister's voice. As quick as his smile came, it was gone the moment he turned around and locked gazes with his brother.

"Adien." Radien's clipped tone did nothing to ease his anger. All too well Adien remembered the nasty fight they had gotten into in this very kitchen because of his brother's paranoia and awkward misunderstanding.

"What? Not going to say hi?"

Adien ignored his eldest sibling and turned his attention back to Melody, who had been silently sitting on one of the counter stools, her gaze going between them as a bored expression called itself home on her face.

"How many do you want?" Adien asked.

"As many as you can spare." She paused, and he had the weird feeling she was watching his every move.

Feeling the weight of Melody's intense stare, Adien went about seasoning his meat. Once the meat was tender, he set it aside. Turning on the stove, he waited until the pot was hot enough before adding his steaks.

"You're acting like a child," he heard Radien say. "Throw me in a few as well."

Was he for real?

Melody, Adien didn't mind feeding, but his brother... he could starve to death as far as Adien was concerned. His temper flaring, he contemplated tossing the steak knife sitting on the counter into Radien's forehead. Adien's hand twitched to follow through with his thoughts. If it hadn't been for Melody, he would have gladly embedded the sharp blade into his brother's skull. Instead, he reluctantly prepared several more steaks, mindful not to take away from Harmony's portion.

"So, where is she?" Radien asked, just as Adien turned to face his uninvited guest.

Leaving the food to cook, Adien crossed his arms across his chest while leaning against the counter top.

"Who?' was Adien's response, and he relished the way Radien's eye twitched, a telltale sign that his patience was wearing thin.

Adien understood his brother's feelings very well. As much as Adien loved spending time with Melody, although he could do without her personal escort, he had something much more interesting waiting for him in his bedroom.

"Don't play with me, Adien," Radien growled.

"Radien, calm down," Melody said, giving her husband a soft pat on the hand. Instantly, his brother seemed to relax, the harsh lines of his face softening as he looked at his wife.

Watching the small but intimate moment sickened Adien. Yet there was a part of him that continued to envy his brother and his newfound happiness.

Annoyed with all the mushy feelings that seemed to surround him constantly, he turned his attention back to the food, flipping the steaks while his mind wondered off to places it had no business going. Thoughts of last night—the rightness of how she felt in his arms, her heat wrapped around him, and the fact they had almost mated and made the worst mistake of their lives—tormented him. Add to that the way she was acting this morning, and it had taken every ounce of his willpower to walk out of that room. And it was taking everything he had in his soul to remain where he was.

"Adien." Melody's concerned voice penetrated his thoughts.

Refusing to turn and meet her worried gaze, afraid that she would see straight through him, Adien pulled another large plate from the overhead cabinet and placed the cooked steaks on it, before responding with a dull, "What is it, Mel?"

"Are you okay?"

Was he okay?

Fuck no, he wasn't okay. He was slowly losing his mind.

"I'm fine," he mumbled, all too aware of his brother's silent gaze burning a hole in his back. "Food's ready." Grabbing the hot plate, Adien finally turned around and instantly wished he hadn't. One pair of eyes seeing through him he could handle. But when both his brother's and Melody's gazes sparked with unspoken knowledge, he wanted to jump out the nearest window.

"You're a terrible liar." Giving him a tender smile, Melody took the plate from him.

"Only you—" He felt her the moment she decided to step out the bedroom. Her earthy scent drifting down the hall into the kitchen and straight into his senses. He gave a low groan as his body instantly reacted. The erection he had struggled to get rid of the first time around came back in full force. Harder than a rock, it demanded he give into his desires.

_Mine... ours..._ his hound growled.

_Never_ , Adien retorted, but it was useless. The animal inside of him was awake and wanted its mate.

When she finally made it into the kitchen, his world shifted. The control he thought he had evaporated as soon as he laid eyes on her. Bed-tousled hair demanded he comb his fingers through it. With beautiful golden eyes, no longer red and puffy, she stared at him with a mix of vulnerability and desire that put a dampen on his troubled emotions.

"Harmony!" Melody's shout of joy broke Adien from his thoughts, and he watched Harmony close the distance between them as Melody wobbled her way off her stool to embrace her older sister.

It was then he realized Harmony was wearing one of his T-shirts. Long enough to cover her ass but short enough to tease at what was underneath, and it had Adien's imagination running wild. Easily he could picture bending her over the counter and fucking her senseless with long and deep strokes that would have her calling his name over and over.

_As much as I enjoy your suffering, your thoughts are making me sick_ , Radien's voice echoed in Adien's head. Cutting his eyes to his eldest brother, who watched the females embrace and chatter with a tender expression, the urge to close the distance between them and punch Radien square in the face was almost too much to ignore. If it hadn't been for the fact he didn't want to ruin the mood, he would have.

"When are you going to give me my god-babies?" Adien heard Harmony ask, and he had to admit he was glad to see the smile returned to her face.

With his attention drawn back to her, Adien watched as she helped her sister back on her stool before taking her own seat. As if it was an everyday occurrence, the two of them chatted as they waited to be served. It was a surreal sight.

Just as he began to relax and enjoy the moment, a horrible feeling consumed him. Suddenly, Adien felt lightheaded and nauseated. Closing his eyes, he rubbed his temples as he struggled to get himself together. The moment he closed his eyes, the sight of Esmeralda's bloodied and beaten face flashed in his mind.

_Adien!_ Her voice was in her head, a loud and fearful sound that unnerved him and had him reaching for her. When he felt nothing from her, his panic rose.

_What's wrong?_ Radien asked.

Instead of answering, Adien said, "I'm going to head out for a moment. I have to take care of something at the company." Several pair of eyes focused on him. "You guys have fun."

His obvious lie got a huff out of his brother, a puzzled look from Melody, and an arched brow from the cause of all Adien's turmoil. When she folded her arms across her chest, her shirt pulling up enough to have his mouth watering for another taste, his heart did a weird flutter in his chest, and he knew it was time for him to get the hell out of there.

"Adien, wha—"

Before Radien could finish his sentence, Adien vanished from their sight. He would explain himself to Harmony once he returned. Until then, he had to make sure the dark feeling he had, which kept growing by the minute, was not what he thought it was, because the last thing Adien wanted was for someone close to him to get hurt because his enemies decided to use them as a pawn.

As he appeared in front of the doors of Emerald City, Adien instantly knew he wouldn't be that lucky.

#  Chapter 19

Life had a weird way of playing tricks on her. For instance, making her see things that couldn't possibly happen, such as people disappearing into thin air right in front of her eyes. Yet, no matter how long she stared at the spot Adien had just been standing in, there was no denying that he did just that. One moment he was there, looking all delicious and mouthwatering, and the next... he was gone.

"He is such an ass." Radien huffed.

Turning her attention to her sister and her husband, Harmony stared at them in bewilderment. Acting as if this was a normal thing for them, they went about having their own conversation about why Adien was an ass.

"Radien." Melody chastised Radien as if she was talking to a spoiled child. "Don't say that. He's under a lot of pressure right now. Remember how you were when you first found out about me?"

"So, it is true," Harmony said aloud.

Two sets of eyes focused on her as she gained the attention of both her pregnant sister and her new brother-in-law, whose eyes, she noted, seemed to glow with an eerie white light. As much as she was unnerved by their sudden change, she was more concerned about the normal way Melody and Radien were acting.

"All of it. You, Radien... everything Adien told me is real, isn't it?" Hysteria beginning to set in, Harmony's gaze went back and forth between Melody and Radien.

"Harm, I wanted to tell you before all of this happened." Melody reached for Harmony, but she moved out of reach and pretended that the hurt expression on Melody's face didn't bother her.

"Adien should be the one dealing with this," Radien said as he casually leaned back against the wall.

"Harmony, please sit down," Melody said in one of those keep-calm tones that irked Harmony the moment she heard it.

"No." she couldn't hide her annoyance as she stared at her younger sister. Harmony had her hands on her hips as she said, "I will _not_ sit down. You lied to me." Harmony's voice began to crack as she suddenly realized the fool she must have looked like to them. "I asked you, Melody, over and over was there something you needed to tell me, and you told me no. You sat..." Her voice rose as she stepped closer to her sister. "You sat there and pretended you knew nothing about the gaps in my memory, and come to find out, not only do you know about it, but you are one of the reasons behind it."

"Harmony, please... I didn't mean for this to ha—" Melody started, and Harmony held up a hand, stopping her sister.

Harmony's fear and humiliation morphing into anger, she cared nothing for her sister's saddened expression.

"Harmony, plea—"

Everything happened in an instant. One minute they were talking, and the next, she was watching in horror as her sister screamed, her legs giving out on her; she was falling to the floor before Harmony could move. But it seemed she didn't have to. Before Melody could hit the ground, Radien was there, his hulking form not only catching her but lifting her into his arms in the next instant. If Harmony thought his eyes were bright before, it was nothing compared to that moment, where they were shining so bright they illuminated the entire kitchen.

"I'm fine." The weak and exasperated way Melody spoke and the way she curled into Radien's arms, like a newborn baby, said otherwise.

"No, you're not," Radien snapped, and Harmony flinched. Never, and she meant never, had she heard Radien speak to her sister like that. He usually spoke in a calm and mild-mannered tone, this... this Radien Harmony didn't know. "I'm taking you home."

"Harmony." He turned his glowing gaze to her. "Understand that we did what we had to in order to protect the ones we love the most. Your sister never meant to harm you." He paused, a somber expression coming to his face as Melody groaned in his arms. "I am sorry." Just like that, he was gone, leaving Harmony to stare dumbly at the blank space Radien and Melody had occupied.

With her mind racing, Harmony suddenly felt as if the world were closing in around her. She could breathe. It was all too much too soon, and she couldn't handle it. Fresh air... that was what she needed, to get out of the twilight zone she had fallen into and back to the world she knew.

Quickly making her way towards the front door, Harmony looked for her car keys. When she didn't see them, she frowned and then remembered Adien had brought her here, which meant she didn't have her car keys or her purse.

But she did have her phone. Hastily making her way back to the bedroom, trying her best to ignore the sudden rush of heat coursing through her body, Harmony grabbed her phone off the nightstand and left Adien's apartment as fast as she could. Dialing for a taxi as she stepped into the elevator, Harmony couldn't shake the feeling that her nightmares were just beginning.

#  Chapter 20

Something was off. That was the one thought Adien couldn't shake as he made his way into Emerald City. As usual, the place was filled with needful bodies looking for their next fix, be it drugs, alcohol, or sex. Looking at the place's patrons, it seemed he wasn't the only one who felt the disturbance. Several others also seemed tense and overly alert to their surroundings. Walking up the wide staircase that led to the private rooms upstairs, Adien's weary feelings grew stronger.

"Esmeralda," Adien called for his old friend as he cautiously made his way down the dimly lit hall that was lined with numerous bedroom doors. When he received no answer, he called for her again, this time reaching out with his powers, searching for where she might be.

There was nothing. No matter how much he focused his powers on her, he couldn't feel her presence. Frowning as an ominous feeling settled over him, Adien began to check each bedroom. With each empty room, the dark feeling around him increased.

"Where the hell are you?" Mumbling under his breath, Adien made his way towards the end of the hallway and up another set of grand staircases that led to the room reserved just for him. Normally, Esmeralda didn't go into his room unless he was there, but there had been a few occasions where he would find her curled in a tight little ball, fast asleep and with tears falling from the corners of her eyes. In those moments, he wondered what she was dreaming about, but he knew better than to ask. While they might have been close, sometimes closer than they should, and he might have known more about her than most others, there was still a boundary they didn't cross.

"Rel." Calling her name, Adien opened the door to his room.

He didn't know what to expect when he opened the door; he could find her in the middle of some deviant sexual act or discover her throat had been slit while she had been sleeping. In their world of dark pleasures and chaos, anything was possible. So when he opened the door and found the room empty, spotless and everything in its place, disappointment mixed in with his growing concern. If she wasn't here, he had no idea where she could be. Never—and he meant, never—had he called for her and she had not come to where he was or been where he expected her to be.

_Just where the hell was—_ Adien's thoughts were cut off as the air whipped around him.

He felt her presence the same moment she appeared before him. Before, Adien could ask her where she had been and where she was going, her legs gave out from under her, and she dropped to the ground. Adien caught Esmeralda before she could crack her head against the hardwood of the floor. Lifting her into his arms, concerned about how light she was, he laid her on the bed.

"Rel." He called to her as he pushed a piece of hair from her face. His blood boiled as he spotted the fresh droplets of blood under her nose, some of which had managed to find its way onto her busted and bloodied lip.

"Adien." Her voice was a strained whisper that did nothing to calm the rage he felt swelling inside him.

Just what the hell had she gotten herself into this time around?

"He..." Esmeralda gasped for air, and that was when he took his gaze away from her face to examine the rest of her body. With her clothes ripped nearly off her body, she was covered in cuts and bruises. But, it was the deep claw marks that called themselves home across her stomach that caused him to really worry. The angry and violent wound steadily leaked blood.

"I'm going to have to stop this bleeding," he told her, and she gave a weak nod of her head.

Holding his hand above her nasty wound, Adien closed his eyes. Summoning his powers, he let it flow through him and into Esmeralda in a steady stream. She groaned and began to toss and turn as the pain of her healing flesh coursed through her. Placing his free hand on her hips, he held her still to keep her from making her injuries worse.

"You will be fine in a minute," Adien told her as he opened his eyes to watch her skin knot itself back together. Only when the healing skin covered the wounds did he release her.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Adien waited for Esmeralda to sit up and get herself together. As he waited silently, a thousand questions ran through his mind. Who had done this to her? What was she involved in to have been injured like that?

What bugged him the most was the fact that she hadn't healed herself. Her wounds had been nasty, but they were by no means life threatening, at least not to someone like her. It should have been effortless for her to heal herself.

So, why hadn't she?

Instead, she had allowed it to fester and bleed, causing her to lose more blood than she had to. If she had waited any longer, there was no telling what could have happened.

Just what the hell is she thinking?

He didn't know, but he damn sure intended to find out.

"You have to get out of here." She suddenly coughed.

"Excuse me?" He looked at her with a raised brow. "You're the one with the hole in your stomach that I just healed, and you're telling me to get out?" He paused, trying his best to control his anger. "What the hell is going on? Who did this to you?"

The look of fear that quickly went across her face caused him to raise his brow again. After the life they had lived, there were very few things, and he meant very few, that put fear into their hearts. So, whatever had Esmeralda's eyes darting back and forth around the room as if she was waiting for something to pop in on them must have been something extremely dangerous.

"Adien." She reached for him, her hands scarred from her fight with whatever creature she had escaped from, and took hold of his hand. "Please, listen to me. You have to—"

She stopped mid-sentence, the color suddenly draining from her face as her body went stiff. The look of horror returned to her face at the same time a dark sensation traveled down his spine.

_What is going on?_ Adien thought as his senses went on high alert, the hound in him suddenly coming to life as the feeling of impending doom surrounded him.

One moment it was just the two of them in the room, and the next, he was staring at the face of Harmony's ex-husband. Instantly, Adien got to his feet, wrapping his powers around him as he placed himself between the human and Esmeralda.

Looking at the low life, it was clear that the human had gone through a very empowering transformation. Power and newfound arrogance radiated off the male in sickening waves.

So, this was what Iraon has been doing in his free time, creating more of his abominations.

But, who would have thought the Beast would have turned her ex. A clever little decision, Adien admitted, but one that he would make the Beast of Rage regret.

"You," the former human growled, his eyes glowing with a strange light. "I've been looking for you." A wide smile spread across the male's face, as if he was already picturing Adien's dead body resting at his feet.

Huffing, unimpressed with the man, Adien said, "And you've found me."

Adien's next words were directed at Esmeralda, who had pulled her knees to her chest, her fear covering her like a second skin. "Is he the one who did this to you?"

"I did," the male commented, and Adien felt his face twitch.

Before the day was out, he would make sure to wipe that smug smile off the man's face.

"You have something that belongs to me," he said in a voice that was not quite human but more demonic. "I want it back."

Raising a brow, mocking the devil, Adien said, "She is mine. If you want her..." His power flowed through him, energizing him and crackling in the air as he continued to speak to their uninvited guest. "Come and take her."

The invitation was all it took to have the male lunging at Adien, changing from human to devil in midair. The creature was faster than he looked, and Adien narrowly avoided a swipe of the creature's sharp claws. Grabbing the devil by the hand, ignoring the disgusting feel of its cold and clammy skin, Adien gave it a hard punch to the gut. As the devil stumbled back in pain, Adien turned his attention to Esmeralda. While he was sure he could take care of this creature with no problem, it would be better for Adien if Esmeralda wasn't around from him to worry about.

"Get out of here," Adien told Esmeralda just at the devil shot a ball of fire out of its hand. Seeing the attack, Adien caught the fireball in his hand. Searing pain traveled up his arm, but he pretended it was nothing as he shot the blast back at the creature, hitting it square in the chest, sending it flying out the door and into the hallway. The smell of burning flesh filled the air.

"Adien, you have to listen to—"

Annoyed that she was still there, Adien snapped, "Get the fuck out of here."

He got the feeling she wanted to argue with him but thought better of it.

"Very well." He noted the hint of hesitation in her tone but was relieved when he felt the air stir and her presence fade. Without any other distractions, Adien was free to focus on the black creature currently stalking its way back into the room, smoke rising from his chest.

"You cannot save her from her Fate," the creature said in its monstrous voice.

"Maybe not, but if you want her, you have to go through me." With that, Adien shot a blast of his own at the devil. Thankful that the creature was either too stupid to move or so arrogant as to think he could withstand the force of the hit, Adien watched with amusement as the creature was once again sent to the ground.

Nowhere near done with his entertainment, Adien summoned another orb.

"If this is all Iraon has to offer," Adien taunted the creature as he walked to where its body lay, "then he should have stayed in his cage, and you should have died in a back alley."

With that, he let loose they orb he had been toying with. Much to his surprise, the devil managed to roll out of the way, letting the orb shatter the wall behind him.

"They are both mine," the devil growled as it got to its feet. Holding out one of its large claws, it summoned its weapon of choice in its hand.

After one look at the long and spiked sword whip, Adien knew whose weapon it was. The _Lagneia Whip_ was one of the _Minori Weapons_ , horrible and dangerous tools used by the members of the Trio to cause untold pain and suffering to its victims. A beautiful masterpiece, it was crafted from the black fires of Gazini's old temples. Its handle was crafted from the bones of ancient Titians and carved in to the semblance of a beautiful siren. The base was made up of a solid and strong sword-whip that split into several smaller whips with sharp blades attached at the ends, while curved spikes covered the length of the whip.

"A beauty, isn't she?" The devil gave a diabolical laugh that chilled Adien as the creature swung the whip. Its blades sung through the air in a terrifying melody, promising to skin Adien if they connected with his flesh.

The first time he rolled out of the way, the blades missing him and cutting through the floor of the room, but the second swing had him diving across the bed as it cut through the mattress and into the floor. All the while the devil's laughter echoed in Adien's head. Just as Adien rolled to his feet, the blades were coming at him again. Narrowly missing him, they sliced the front of his shirt open.

Adien ducked again. He would have to find a way to get closer to the devil. There wasn't much separating them, so if he could manage to dodge a few more swipes, he could grab the devil.

_Let's do this._ Giving himself a much-needed pep talk, Adien moved. Rolling and ducking, little by little, he closed the space between them without the devil knowing. In mid-swing, Adien grabbed the creature by the hand. Surprise filled the devil's face before Adien snapped its wrist. It jumped back, somehow managing to keep a hold on his weapon the entire time. The creature's pain-filled scream was music to Adien's ears, and he wanted to hear more of it.

"I don't have time for this," the devil suddenly said. "I have somewhere else to be."

Confused as to what just happened, Adien watched the devil disappear, his last words not sitting well with Adien.

Just where is he go—

Realization dawned on him, and he wished he could kick his own ass. Following behind the devil, Adien said a silent prayer for courage and strength, because there was no doubt in his mind where the creature was going.

_Fuck me... Can things get any worse?_ He was about to find out.

Thanking the cab driver for the pleasant ride, Harmony shut the care door and made her way towards her home. Somehow her mind had finally stopped racing over what happened at Adien's place. If what he told her was the truth about her being his mate, and in her gut, she knew it was, then she would deal with it the same way she did all the other major changes in her life, with her head high and determination in her gaze.

Besides, it wasn't like she didn't like Adien. Matter of fact, when she thought about it, the more time she spent with him, the more she wanted to be around him. Every time he frowned, she wanted to be the reason he smiled. The thought of him spending time with another woman upset her more than she cared to admit. With that thought in mind, she promised herself she'd give him a call once she settled in. Their parting hadn't been the best, and she was sure he needed some space just like she did. Walking up her walkway, she pulled her keys out of her pocket and opened her front door.

The moment Harmony stepped foot into her house, she froze. Her birthmark suddenly created strong and powerful vibrations along her side. Trying her best to ignore the pain, she headed upstairs to her bedroom. By the time she reached her bedroom door, the vibrations had turned into a stinging pain that had her convinced her side would tear open at any moment. Head pounding, Harmony staggered her way into the room, tossed what she had in her hand on the bed, and headed straight for the bathroom medicine cabinet. Opening the cabinet, she rummaged through its contents, looking for something to get rid of the pain. Finding a bottle of oxycodone she kept reserved for special occasions, she popped it open and tossed a pill into her mouth.

One should have been enough, and usually it was when her pain was this bad. But after several minutes of bracing herself against the bathroom sink to keep her legs from giving out from under her, the pain not only persisting but continuing to increase, Harmony took several more pills. After taking four of the strong narcotic, she was sure she would either be a zombie in a few moments or OD. Either way she wouldn't feel anything, and that was all that mattered at that moment.

_Stupid, woman... we must be... prepared_ , the voice in her head said, but as all the pills took effect at once, it was drowned out by the numbing feeling coming over her. Stumbling back into her bedroom, too drugged up to pay attention to the warning bells going off in the back of her mind, Harmony collapsed onto her bed. Letting the soft mattress cradle her body like a lover, she began to drift off into oblivion, until she heard glass shattering downstairs. Lethargic, she had to literally roll off her bed to get to her feet. With her body feeling as if it weighed two tons, she dragged her lagging limbs to the bedroom door.

When she laid eyes on Gabriel staring at her with a wide smile on his face, she knew she had to be dreaming, a hallucination thanks to all the pills she took.

"Hello, beautiful."

Not only was she seeing things, but she was hearing things as well. The voice that came out of the man standing before her was not one of his many voices she had grown to know and _love_ so much.

No, it one was something almost demon like and had her shaking off some of the effects of the drugs. She could hear the voice in her head loud and clear as it screamed for her to get away from him... that something was not right about the Gabriel that was standing in front of her.

With her heart beating so fast she was surprised she didn't go into cardiac arrest, Harmony scrambled away from him. Her earlier haze gone, she was suddenly very aware of the situation she was in. An all-too-familiar situation that had her staring at him with wide eyes as fear, grief, and hurt mixed inside of her. Unbidden images of the last time they were inside a room together assaulted her.

All too clearly, as if the volume of her mind had been turned up to the max, she could hear wails of pain. Tears burned the back of her eyes as her screams echoed in her ears. Over and over, she had begged for him to stop, just to let her go, and she would leave him alone. But that wouldn't do for the monster he had become. No, he wanted to hurt her, hurt her in a way she would never truly recover from. Another unbidden and painful memory consumed Harmony.

The hit came from out of nowhere. One minute she was struggling to put the groceries on the table, trying her best not to knock anything over with her large belly, and the next, she was lying on the floor, blood gushing from her split lip. The fresh vegetables and beautiful new set of kitchen knives she had just brought fell to the floor.

Holding her face, Harmony looked up to find her estranged husband standing over her, a look on his face she had never seen before.

Just how did he find her?

She had taken all the necessary steps to keep him from finding her. Going so far as to temporarily rent an apartment until her new house was finished being built. Yet, here he was, in the middle of her newly remolded kitchen, looking as if he hadn't slept in the months since she left him.

Fear ran along her spine, and she was scrambling away from him as fast as she could. She didn't make it far before her back hit a wall.

"Where the hell have you been?" he asked her in a deadpan tone. "You've kept me waiting a long time."

As much as she wanted to tell him to look at the table and figure it out, her common sense told her to keep her mouth shut. Clearly, with the way the scent of whiskey filled her nose, his drinking had already gotten him riled up. The best thing for her to do was to calm him down until she could make her escape.

"Bitch," he cursed, his anger bubbling to the surface. "I asked you where the fuck you've been." He smacked her again, a hard-left hand across the face that had her world spinning. Pain exploded across her face as her head wiped to the side.

"You think that just because your little company is doing well that you can do whatever you want?" he continued, never raising his voice, but it still felt as if he was screaming at her. "Do you think you're better than me?" This time he backhanded her, and a whimper escaped her as her head cracked against the kitchen wall.

"I will show you." He grabbed her by the ankle. Turning, he dragged her towards the center of the kitchen.

Survival instincts kicking in, Harmony reached for one of the kitchen knives that had fallen on to the floor. Grabbing the sharp blade, she wasted no time slicing into the hand that was wrapped tightly around her ankle. His yelp of pain was music to her ears, but she would have to relish it later as she scrambled to her feet. Doing her best not to trip over her own feet, she made a mad dash out of the kitchen towards the front door of her apartment. Just as she reached the door, the heel on her shoe broke and she tumbled forward, her arms instantly covering her belly to keep her unborn baby safe. She hit the floor hard but was getting to her feet without a moment's hesitation. The moment she opened the front door and went to run out, her legs gave out from under her as something slammed into her spine. Screaming as she fell, she prayed someone heard her before it was too late.

"Scream all you want," Gabriel said as he once again grabbed her by the ankle. "No one will come." He looked at her from over his shoulder, his features turning up to make him look like the monster he was. "You forget who I am and what I control."

Harmony was dragged back into the kitchen. Pain racked her with each breath she took, and she wanted nothing more than to give up. But the instinct to protect the little girl growing inside of her had her fighting past her pain to curl into a ball, her body becoming a shield for her baby.

"Do you really think that will save you?"

The kick to her stomach was hard and swift. A painful, almost horrific sound came out of her, something that was a mix between a scream and a wail. Coughing up blood, hot tears flowed freely down her face as hate filled her. The feeling consumed her, covering her like a blanket until it was all she knew.

With her vision going in and out, her voice cracking, she said to him, "I hate you... we...hate you." With what little strength she had, she spat at him.

"But, I love you."

Everything after that happened too fast, a blur of movement, pain, and darkness. All she remembered before she felt the cooling warmth of her blood as it seeped out of her was the piercing pain of the blade he embedded directly into her stomach...

By the time, Harmony had woken up in the hospital several days later, the life she had known was over. The worst part of it all was that while Gabriel was forced to give up his position in his old firm, he hadn't suffered enough. Even when brought up on heavy charges, he somehow managed to not only hire the best and brightest attorneys, who got him off due to some weak technicality, but he had managed to worm his way into the judge's good graces.

_I've had enough..._ she told herself as the hate she kept buried deep inside her reared its ugly and nasty head.

_We have had enough..._ the voice in her head corrected her as the wonderful buzz of energy she had grown to love coursed through her.

_Yes... we have had enough..._ Harmony agreed as she gave herself over to the power coursing through her. _We will take care of this._

When she spoke again, the voice that came out of her wasn't her own. "Get out."

Gabriel's smile widened as he said, "No can do, sweetie. You and I have unfinished business." He began to close the distance between them. The closer he came, the more power coursed through her. He stopped when he was a few feet away from her, his head cocking to the side as if someone was talking to him.

"It seems I have to make this quick; we will have a guest soon," he said.

One minute she was staring at her deranged ex, and the next, he had turned into some creature, covered head to toe in black leathery-looking skin. On top of his head sat large curved horns, and his body was supported by a pair of goat-like legs while his hands had turned into large claws, a wicked looking whip manifested in his hand.

"Come to me, my beautiful wife." Gabriel spread his arms wide. "Let us embrace once more."

Materializing in front of Harmony's house, Adien reached out for her with his powers, praying that he wasn't too late. Feeling her hound's presence in the house, he vanished. His destination was her bedroom. He reappeared just in time to catch her flying body before it could go through the window.

"Adien Tygerian," the devil called out to him. "Trinity Hound of Earth." It raked its tongue over one of its large fangs. "It's about time you showed up. I was just getting to the best part." The devil swung its whip. Sharp blades sliced through the air, intent on taking a chunk out of Adien's flesh.

Holding Harmony tightly, Adien dodged the attack. Getting his footing on the opposite side of the room, he had no time to recover as he was forced to jump over the bed to keep from having one of the whip's blades embedded into his skull. Once again, he was standing in front of the window. Huffing as he continued to hold Harmony in his arms.

"Come, mutt," the devil spoke, foam forming at the corners of its mouth. "Show me your true power... there is no place for you to run."

As much as he would love to send the creature back to the Underworld where it belonged, Adien was no fool. With Harmony in his arms and the devil having control over the whip, Adien was outmatched for the moment.

"Scared?" The devil mocked Adien, flicking the whip. "Why don't you put that bitch down and the two of us can have it out to see who is truly worthy of her."

"Worthy of her?" Adien huffed. "Don't make me laugh." With that, he walked over to the bed and gently placed his light load on the soft carpet between the bed and the nightstand, acutely aware of the devil's crimson gaze on him. Until he was finished with the monster behind him, this would be the safest place for her.

"I'll be back," he whispered to her, gently caressing the side of her face. It was then he noted her busted lip, swollen cheek, and the gash at the top of her head. His gaze did a quick once over of her body. Claws had shredded the shirt she wore, tearing away fabric and leaving angry and deep cuts along her abdomen, while blood stained the denim jeans she wore.

Rage, potent and violent, consumed him. Turning on the creature, who still wore an overly confident smile on his face, Adien summoned his powers. Earthly energy hummed through him as he faced off with the devil.

"Houn—"

Adien hit the devil with an Earth orb before it could finish its sentence. The creature was blasted through the bedroom wall and into the hallway. He didn't wait for the devil to get back to its feet before he hit him with another blast of power, this time sending him over the railing and crashing to the ground below them.

Walking through the hole he created, crushing debris under his feet, Adien stood over the ruined railing. Expecting to see the creature flat on its back, he was shocked to find the devil gone.

"Behind you!" Harmony's yelled warning had him turning around just in time to avoid being sliced in half by the sharp blades of the Lagneia Whip, moving out of the way as blades tore apart cherry-wood flooring, Small bits of wood flew into the air as the devil pulled the whip free, taking the rest of the wooden floor with it.

Getting to his feet once more, Adien faced off with the devil. Again, the creature let the whip fly though the air. He rolled out of the way. Pissed, Adien ducked a sideways blade and planted his hand on the ground. Power flowed from him into the floorboards as he called to the world around him, commanding the element he controlled.

Thick and sharp vines sprouted up from the carpet between the devil's hoofed feet, wrapping tightly around the creature as more vines crawled up its body. Adien relished the look of surprise on the beast's face as he struggled against the vines, hacking and slashing at them in futile desperation. But it was useless. The more he cut the vines, the more they grew in their place until he was covered in them, his arms locked at his sides as he was pulled to his knees.

Straightening himself, Adien walked towards the devil, a condescending smile on his face as he looked down at the creature, who still struggled against his hold. He spared a glance to Harmony, but it wasn't his woman that watched him from the bed but the hound the called itself home inside her. With bright eyes, she took Adien in with a mix of awe and desire that had a shiver going down his spine.

_Focus._ Dragging his gaze away from her, he focused back on the devil.

"You should have given up when you had the chance."

The devil stopped his struggling and did nothing but stare at Adien through narrowed eyes.

"I am tired of seeing your face."

Raising his hand, Adien commanded more of his power. All around him vines sprouted from his feet, twisting and turning to form a single massive vine needle that hovered above his palm.

"I won." With that, Adien let loose the vine weapon, shooting it straight into the devil's skull. The force of the impact was enough to rip the creature from its confinement and pin it to the wall. Black blood stained what was left of the bedroom floor. The look of horror that was plastered across the creature's face was enough to almost give Adien an orgasm.

"That was excessive, don't you think?"

He looked to Harmony, and a single thought consumed him. The need to mate stormed through his body and had him closing the distance between them.

"How are you feeling?" he asked as he reached for her. Taking her by the chin, Adien gently turned her head back and forth to see just how bad her injuries were. Like he expected, she had already begun to heal. The busted lip she had a moment ago was gone as the rest of her wounds knotted themselves back together.

"I'm fine," she told him.

The moment Adien locked gazes with her, he instantly wished he hadn't. Feelings he refused to name swirled inside him like a raging storm. In his mind, his hound continued to roar its impatience, wanting its mate.

"Are you sure?" Blocking out unnecessary thoughts, he looked to the scars she had on her abdomen. Pink, newly healed skin showed through her torn clothing.

"Told you so. Now, can we get out of here."

Good idea, there was no telling what kind of nasty creature could pop up next. Grabbing her by the wrist, he pulled her to him. Her body pressed against his caused a weird vibration to course through him. She must have felt it too, given her sudden intake of breath and flushed cheeks. Her arousal filled his senses as images of the two of them together slammed into him. The need to find his way back inside her had him tugging her behind him as they headed out of the bedroom.

"Why are we walking? Can't we just poof out of here like you did back at your place?"

"Good point," he mumbled under his breath, stopping just as they would have walked through the ruined bedroom door. Adien turned to her and said, "Grab—"

In an instant, Harmony was snatched out of his hold, her agonized scream echoing through the air. Wide eyes, his gaze locked on to the devil, who had somehow managed to not only still be alive but to make it back to its feet. Black blood fell from its mouth as it staggered to its feet.

Again, Adien called forth his power. Summoning an Earthly orb in his palm, he went to shoot at the creature, only to have the cowardly creature place a screaming Harmony in front of him.

"Fucking dog," the creature spat, but Adien couldn't hear him past the buzzing in his ears.

The sight before him was one he never hoped to see. Hovering a few inches off the floor was Harmony, wrapped in the clutches of the Lagneia Whip. The scent of blood penetrated the space between them as the enchanted weapon took what it wanted, pulsating as it performed its main duty of draining the life blood from a trinitymate.

"Harmony." In a raw voice, he called to her. Dull eyes looked at him in sorrow and pain as her screams slowly died out and turned into soft wails the broke Adien's heart.

She was slipping away from him; he could feel it, her life draining away with each passing moment. He turned his gaze back to the creature hiding behind its ex like the coward it was.

"That will not save you, monster." With that, Adien stomped his foot. Instantly, a vine erupted from the wall, cutting through the air and the creature's clawed hand that held the whip. The beast's roar of pain echoed around them as Adien made a mad dash towards Harmony. Just before he could reach her, the devil was on its feet again. Giving a hard yank, he tossed Harmony across the room. The sharp blades tearing away from her flesh caused blood to splatter along the walls. One more time, Adien dove after Harmony, catching her before she could hit the wall. Adien's spine cracked against the wall. Pain shot through him as he dropped to the ground.

"Nice catch," he heard the devil say.

He watched through a narrowed and angry gaze as Gabriel staggered over to where its cut-off claw lay and picked it up. "I'll be seeing you again." With that, the creature vanished with its claw and the whip, leaving Adien alone with a dying Harmony.

Vowing that he would skin the male alive, Adien laid Harmony on the floor. Other than a slight wince of pain every few seconds, she remained unresponsive. Blood seeped out from the numerous cuts covering her body. While the whip's smaller blade cuts bothered him, it was the deep wounds from the larger blades that had his hands shaking and threatening to send him into cardiac arrest.

He needed to do something... and fast.

Sitting on his knees, Adien held out his hands and closed his eyes. Saying a silent prayer to whatever being was listening, he called to the deepest parts of his powers. In his mind, his hound whimpered its concern. Tuning out the creature's cries, he focused on the only thing that mattered. Reaching out with his powers, he let the pulse of the Earth flow through him and into her. Every creature, every insect that called the world home, from the top of the forest canopy to the depths of the darkest oceans, he let their energy fill him.

Ancient words spilled from his lips as he forced his powers inside her. Words he once heard his father speak enhanced his powers. When he felt a spark of life from her, hope blossomed in his chest.

_More..._ He needed more power. Digging deeper, he searched for a power greater than his. He found it in the halls of Oblivion. His father's limitless power was like a homing beacon, and he latched on to them, taking all he needed to save the one woman he couldn't imagine his world without.

Never had he felt such power, it was overwhelming and all consuming. His eyes snapped open, his chant growing in crescendo as the glow from his eyes bathed the room in an emerald light.

He had no clue how long he sat there; all he knew was that with each passing moment he could feel her growing stronger. Sweat beads gathered at his brows while his arms shook from exhaustion, but he would not stop until she looked at him, eyes like the sun once again shining bright. Looking down at her body, he watched as her wounds finally begun to heal themselves. Skin knotted back together as her shallow breathes became stronger.

Despite the situation, Adien smiled. He wasn't losing her that day or any other day. When she finally lifted her heavy lids, golden eyes, although dull, looked up at him, and his smile widened.

"I thought I lost you," he whispered, trying his hardest to keep his voice from cracking as he drew back his power.

She gave him a weak smile. "You almost did." Her voice was barely above a strained whisper.

"Rest," he told her. "I'm taking you some place safe for a while."

She gave him a weak nod before her eyes closed. Scooping her into his arms, Adien got to his feet and gave another look to the woman who rested in his arms like a newborn baby. In that moment, it hit him, like a boulder had been thrown at the back of his head, and he knew he couldn't run from the truth of things anymore. All it did was cause them more trouble than it was worth.

_Let's get going._ Vanishing from Harmony's demolished bedroom, Adien headed for Oblivion. Not only did she need a safe place to rest, but he also had to inform his father of what just happened. It was only a matter of time before the Underworld cracked open and spit its demons free.

#  Chapter 21

Radien appeared in his bedroom in Oblivion with his semi-conscience mate in his arms. Holding her as tightly as he could without putting pressure on her enlarged stomach, he hurried towards the bed they shared, his mind in a whirlwind as he struggled to keep his sanity.

"You're going to be the death of me, woman."

_That's an understatement_ Radien thought as he laid his mate on the bed. He wasn't sure just how much more he could take. Panic and worry had become his constant companions, and with each passing day, they grew closer. Soon they would be bosom buddies.

"But... you love me," he heard her whisper.

The weak smile she gave him as he rested her worn-down body against the mattress did nothing to ease his concern. In fact, it only made it worse. The more he looked at her, watched the color drain from her face, heard her struggle with each intake of breath, the more his world spun out of control.

If she had just listened to him and rested at home, none of this would have happened. Radien lost count of how many times he had tried to convince her to stay in bed while he checked on her sister. But, she had insisted—no, demanded—that she come with him. After an hour of going back and forth, even when he knew her body couldn't take it, he had given in and taken her to his brother's home. For a while he had enjoyed watching the smile on her face as she spoke with her sister.

Radien was so used to seeing her in pain that he had almost forgotten how beautiful she was when she smiled, or how her eyes would sparkle with light each time she laughed... he was reminded just how infectious she was to his soul.

Yet, behind her smile and laughter, was a world of pain. By their mating and marriage, they were connected in the most intimate of ways. Her joy, her sorrow... her pain, he could feel it all as if it were his own. Even then, although she was barely moving, their link sparked with spikes of pain.

Doing what his mother had instructed him to do when the pain became too much for his wife, he placed a pillow on the side of her, and as gently as he could, Radien rolled her onto her side. Then he grabbed another pillow from his side of the bed. Lifting one of her thick legs, he placed the pillow between them. For a moment, he envied the pillow as longing filled him. It had been such a long time since he had last felt those thick legs wrapped around his waist as he found pleasure in the heat of her body, the sounds of her moans in his ear, that he couldn't help but give the pillow the side eye.

_Not now._ He gave himself a hard-mental shake, reminding himself that it was not the time for such thoughts. Not when his world lay before him with pain radiating through her entire body.

Adjusting her so that she was as comfortable as she could be, Radien sat down beside her. Noting the way her breathing improved, a small piece of him sighed in relief.

"Radien," Melody softly called out for him.

Stroking the top of her head, Radien said to her, "I am here."

The small smile she gave, and the way her body seemed to relax even more against the mattress, had tears burning the back of his eyes.

He hated this, loathed that he could do nothing more than give her reassuring praises as comfort. For the hundredth time since he first saw the side effects of her pregnancy, he wished he could go back in time. While the thought of having two little ones of his own running around was something he had been excited about at first, he could do without them if he had known this was what his mate would go through. His mother had warned that it was going to be hard on her, and he had done his own research on how hard human pregnancies could be on the female, but he had never expected this. Once again, no matter how he looked at it, if it came down to the life of the only woman he truly loved or his unborn babies, he would choose her each and every time without hesitation.

She might hate him, but he would die without her. She was not something Radien was willing to sacrifice. He didn't care what destiny or the Fates had decided.

Her sudden groan of pain caught his attention just as their link sparked with suffering as another pain, what he assumed was a contraction, hit her. Instantly, Radien wrapped her in his arms, careful not to move her too much as he did so. Holding her, he became her pillow, which was all he able to do.

He whispered to her, "My beauty, I'm right here." He petted her, noting the way her sweat kept her thinning hair stuck to her forehead.

Another groan from her had his heart breaking inside his chest. With each cry of pain Melody gave, Radien's hopelessness turned into a dark and fearful sorrow that made him want to cry out to the gods he didn't believe in because this time he didn't know if they could come back from this... if she would come back from this.

Radien looked down at her, trying his hardest to keep the tears that burned the back of his eyes from falling, something nearly impossible to do when he took in the way her face twisted and contorted in pain as their children continued to drain the life from their mother.

Kissing the top of her head, a single tear managed to fall from his face as he summoned his powers. They wrapped around them like a thick blanket before Radien channeled them into her.

"My beauty." Again, he softly called to her. She gave a fading moan in answer. Trying his hardest to keep his voice from cracking, he told her, "Take from me. Take what you can of my powers... I need you to get better." Try as he might, he couldn't keep his voice lever, it cracked the moment he felt another wave of pain consume her.

"Please." Hot tears fell from his face as he continued to whisper to her. In the back of his mind, he could hardly feel her presence. Closing his eyes, trying his best to keep it together, Radien pleaded, "I need you... I can't lose you, not now."

When he felt her tug on his powers, he couldn't help the smile that spread across his face.

"That's it," he encouraged her.

At first her pulls on his powers were weak and slow, but soon enough they gradually grew stronger. With each strong pull she gave, Radien couldn't help his body's reaction. He hardened behind the fly of his jeans and instantly hated himself. Yet, he couldn't help it as decadent shivers spread across his body. While she was only drawing on his powers, it felt the same as when they first mated and every other time he gave her his energy.

Lust pulsed through his veins, but it was nothing compared to the joy that flowed through him as he heard her breathing grow stronger with each passing moment. Opening his eyes, looking past his blurred vision, he saw the color gradually return to her face.

"That's it, take—" The intense and sudden pain that radiated through his body caught Radien off guard, and he almost cried out in pain. Yet, that was nothing compared to the violent way Melody's body suddenly jerked in his arms. Wave after wave of her pain slammed into her, and he had no choice but to absorb it all with a groan as he held her tighter in his arms to keep her from hurting herself.

"Mel."

When she screamed, a terrifying and terrible sound that shook him to his very core, Radien's world shifted. His head spun, and he suddenly felt as if he had been beat in the skull with a bat.

Another scream, and a piece of his soul died.

His panic turned into a fear so potent he was paralyzed by it.

What the hell was he supposed to do? How did he help her? How could he save her?

"Radien." The sound of his mother's voice drew his fearful gaze. Standing on the opposite side of the bed, her expression one of concern with an underlying calmness that instantly eased him. "Give her to me," his mother told him as she walked over to the bed.

Sitting on the bed beside him, dressed casually in a pair of dark denim jeans and sweater, she told him once more, her tone hardening when he made no move to hand over Melody, who had stopped her screaming but was currently trembling uncontrollably in his arms.

"Radien. I need you to give her to me," his mother said.

Still, Radien hesitated. The fear that he would never get her back kept him from giving her over to the one being who could probably save her.

"RADIEN! If you do not hand her over now, she will die." His mother's gray eyes, much like his, narrowed on him. "Do you want that?"

No, he didn't, and she knew that better than anyone else. Handing his heavy load over to his mother's waiting arms, Radien watched helplessly as his mother cradled Melody close, softly humming and stroking his wife's head.

Power crackled in the air around them, making the hairs on the back of Radien's neck rise. As always, when he felt his mother's powers, he was reminded of just how powerful she really was.

Amazed, Radien watched as she did what he couldn't. Almost instantly, Melody's body relaxed, her breathing easing as a painful expression faded from her face.

"Your negative emotions"—he turned his attention to his mother, who looked at him in a mix of sympathy and anger—"come through your connection and infect her like a plague. Your children can feel the weight of your judgment, and in turn, they rebel against it. Hurting both themselves and your mate."

If his mother didn't do anything else, she could always kick him when he was down, making him feel more like shit than he already did.

"Shh." She comforted Melody when she began to stir again and then turned her attention back to Radien. "These are your children. Your offspring." She paused again, her gaze continuing to show her growing disappointment in him. "They will be hunted by your enemies all their lives. The last thing they need is for their father to hate them as well. Now, get out. You have done enough damage." With that, she dismissed him, closing her eyes as she continued to hum and rock Melody in her arms.

For a second, Radien hated his mother, hated her for the truth she spoke and the facts she laid before him. He knew what his children would be up against, knew that they would need his undying support and protection... and yet, the life of his mate... his wife... the only woman he had ever truly loved, would always be his first priority.

_I love you, my beauty._ He felt her in the back of his mind, a gentle and soft caress that kept him from falling apart.

Adien appeared in his father's throne room cradling Harmony's unconscious body, trying his best to ignore her warmth or the perfect way she felt in his arms. Giving a quick gaze around the room, and seeing that his father wasn't there, Adien reached out with his powers to locate him. He didn't have the time or the luxury to wander all over Oblivion looking for his father.

Locking on to him, Adien vanished from the throne room and reappeared in his brother's bedroom. The moment he fully materialized in the room, he was brought to a halt at the sight before him. Disbelief crept along his spine as he stared at Melody's unmoving form. Her breathing was so shallow he had a hard time telling if she was breathing or not. Beside her was Anima, who cradled her daughter's head and hummed a familiar song to the trinitymate.

He looked to his father, who kneeled beside the bed. With his head bowed, Adien couldn't see his father's expression. But he could feel the immense power that filled the room. For a moment, he stood in awe but quickly shook it off as another feeling crawled along his spine. It was one of dark foreboding and hopelessness... the first warning that disaster and chaos were quickly approaching them.

Suddenly Adien felt the weight of his brother's sorrow. Adien's worried gaze quickly scanned the room, searching for Radien. But, he was nowhere to be found. Yet, his hurt, his anger... and his fear radiated through their connection as if he was standing beside him. It was a crippling and suffocating feeling that had Adien's vision suddenly blurring. As hard as it was, he pushed his brother's stifling emotions away, focusing elsewhere. Looking down at the woman he held in his arms, he knew he couldn't be sidetracked from what he had to do.

Their enemies were on the move, and Azuzela would be free in a matter of moments. Harmony, while breathing steadily, was unresponsive, and the birth of two of the most powerful beings in creation hovered over it all.

"She is stable." His father's voice broke the heavy silence of the room. "For the moment."

Adien watched the expression on Anima's face change as she looked to his father. The look of despair that took over her features broke Adien's heart. Tears stung the back of Adien's eyes as he held Harmony closer to him.

"You should tell Radien," Anima said to Bion and then her gaze turned to Adien. She offered him a weak smile before turning her attention to the woman he carried in his arms.

Following her gaze, his father turned to him. For the first time, Adien saw the turmoil that lived within his father. The powerful being looked drained and exhausted, as if he could sleep for a hundred years and it still wouldn't be enough.

"What happened?" His father asked as he pushed himself to his feet and headed towards Adien.

"We were attacked," was Adien's response as he gave his father a quick rundown of what happened at Harmony's house and how Iraon had turned her ex-husband into a puppet.

For a long moment, the room was filled with silence. Before Bion spoke, his tone much calmer than Adien thought it would be. "We need to move. Our enemies are already ahead of us."

Adien remained quiet as the weight of his inadequacies settled on his shoulders. If he hadn't been so busy denying his Fate, he could have prevented this from happening. Had he been smarter about his actions... maybe, just maybe, he could have done something different.

"Adien," his father called. Locking gazes with the one being Adien feared could kill him, he waited for his father's reproach. "It's not your fault. This is the way things must go." He paused, worry consuming his features. "The balance of good and evil are slowly tipping. We have no time to wallow in regrets. There is only now."

Shocked that his father would offer him comfort, Adien could do nothing but stare blankly at the man.

"Lay your mate beside her sister. Her outside wounds may have healed, but the ones on the inside will need more time. That fight took a lot of energy from her." His father's gaze went to Melody. "With the twins' birth near, Melody is overflowing with power. Their connection will allow them to feed off each other's energy, leveling them out. Place her on the bed." With that, his father began to walk past.

"You..." his father said as he came to stand beside Adien. "Have done well." He clasped him on the shoulder. "Once you are done here, find your brother and bring him here."

"Radien is—"

His father's sudden scowl had Adien closing his mouth before he could finish his sentence.

"I don't mean Radien. It's Jaden I need you to find."

"Jaden?" Was his father for real? He hadn't seen Jaden in... god, Adien couldn't count the years. His older brother had made it very clear what his feelings were towards his family a long time ago. At first Adien had thought his animosity and hatred towards Radien had been strong, but Adien quickly found out that it was nothing compared to their middle sibling. As passionate and unstable as the elements he controlled, his rage was like a festering disease waiting for the right time to infect its host. There was no doubt in Adien's mind that the moment Radien and Jaden were in the same room together, a violent and bloody fight would break out, despite all that was going on around them.

"Father," Adien started.

His father's scowl deepened, and once again Adien shut his mouth.

Taking a deep breath to get his thoughts together, Adien asked, "How am I supposed to find him?"

"You can manipulate nature, can't you?"

He didn't bother to give his father an answer. Instead, he opted for a peeved stare.

"Then use your millions of eyes to see. All you have to do is follow the trail of fire, and you will find him." His father paused, a brighter glow coming to his eyes. "He might be easier to find than you think." With that, his father walked away from him.

"And where are you going?" Adien shouted.

Without turning around, his father responded, "To find Rasi. Meet me in the throne room once you have your brothers."

Bewildered and somewhat annoyed by his father's demands, Adien watched the man vanish before Adien turned his attention towards Anima, who quietly watched them from her position beside Melody. As always when she stared at him, he swore she was looking into his soul. The knowing that seemed to always stare back at him made him feel naked and exposed. Even as he walked around to the other side of the bed, he felt as if every horrible thing he had done was visible to her.

Thankful that she remained silent as he laid Harmony on the bed, Adien tried his best to pretend Anima wasn't there for the moment, focusing instead on the woman who had come to mean so much to him in a short time.

_Harmony..._ His soul called to her, the hound in him demanding she return to them. Before he pulled away, he studied the lines of her face and the curve of her lips, which made him lick his own as the need to kiss her consumed him. At one point, he would have denied himself the pleasure, but with their world potentially about to end, he would no longer deny himself. Leaning in, he pressed his lips to hers, loving their softness but wishing she was awake to kiss him back.

"Adien," Anima called to him, and he pulled away from her. "You need to go."

"I know," was his response as he continued to study her face. Pushing back the short strands of her hair that had fallen into her face, he kissed her forehead, lingering longer than he should have as emotions consumed him.

"I must go," he whispered to her. Caught up in his own little world, Anima and even Melody faded into the background. "But I will come back for you, and when you awake, there is much we need to discuss." Again, he placed another light kiss to her forehead before straightening.

Briefly his gaze went to Anime, whose proud smile embarrassed him more than the words he had just said. Breaking eye contact, Adien nodded his goodbye before disappearing from her sight, on the hunt for a brother that he hoped would listen to reason. But given who their father was, it was not something that was likely to happen.

#  Chapter 22

The Lagneia Whip was a thing of vicious enchantment, much like the beast that commanded the deadly weapon. As the whip-like sword pulsed with life in his lap, the sacred blood of a trinitymate coursing through it, Iraon practically purred with delight. Leaning back against the sofa, he marveled at how perfectly the pieces to his plan were fitting together.

One cage... that was all that was left.

Iraon turned his attention to his newest creation, a devil made from the remains of a soul as dark as his, and smiled. In the matter of a few short hours, the creature had proven himself more valuable and competent than Aprophis ever did.

"You have done well, Gabriel," Iraon told the bloodied and wounded creature kneeling before him, undoubtedly impressed that the devil was able to take a spike through the head and still complete his mission. He was so impressed, in fact, that he didn't mind the blood that continued to seep into his newly purchased Italian carpet. If it had been, Aprophis, Iraon was sure that stupid creature would have gotten itself killed or worse, come back empty-handed.

"It was nothing, Great Beast," the creature responded as his body slowly changed back into its human form. "It was my pleasure." The male looked up at Iraon then, a smirk on the edge of his lips. "Truly, a pleasure." With that, Gabriel rose to his feet.

Iraon had to admit he really liked this devil so much so that he would offer an award for such hard work and dedication. "You have done what I asked of you." Iraon petted the living weapon in his lap as he spoke. "For that, your reward awaits you in the cellar."

"A reward?" The male practically salivated on himself. "Is it beautiful?"

Iraon gave his own smile. "Indeed, very beautiful." He paused. "A bitch in need of taming."

The devil grinned from ear to ear at the prospect of inflicting pain on another. Amused, Iraon thought about Sofaria, the female hound he kept locked away. A beautiful and fierce creature, it was almost a shame to keep her chained, but she had betrayed him one too many times. For that, she would spend the rest of her days as a plaything for two devils whose twisted concept of pain and pleasure knew no bounds.

"Great Beast."

Speak of the devil.

Turning his attention from one monster to the next, Iraon found Aprophis standing in the doorway, thankfully in his human form. The creature cut a side eye at their new team member before turning his attention back to Iraon.

Annoyed and somewhat entertained by Aprophis's obvious animosity, Iraon asked, "What is it? I don't believe I sent for you."

"No," the creature responded, his gaze still wandering over to Gabriel, who Iraon noted watched Aprophis with the same harsh intensity.

Sudden power hummed through Iraon's body, and he almost purred. Their instant hatred towards each other was something he expected given the nature of devils, but this bloodlust and the sudden need for violence that radiated in the space between them was a decadence Iraon wished he could feast on for eternity. However, he had wasted enough time with the base creatures. He had a date with a lusty little hellhound that was patiently waiting for him in the dark depths of the Underworld.

"Aprophis," he called to the devil. Regaining the creature's attention, Iraon continued, "You have somewhere you need to be, don't you?"

Reluctantly the devil nodded.

"So get going and take Gabriel with you."

For a moment, Aprophis looked like he wanted to protest. Much to his credit, the creature remained silent, only giving a slight shake of his head in submission before he exited the room.

"I'll be coming back for that prize, Great Beast." With that, Gabriel bowed and followed Aprophis out of the room.

"Aren't you supposed to be going with them?" Iraon asked as Thana appeared.

His gaze taking her in, he wasn't fooled by the stoic expression she wore.

"I haven't seen you around lately." He crossed one leg over the other as he asked her, "What have you been up to?"

The smirk the Universe of Death gave him was enough to solidify his suspicions that she was up to no good.

"Something interesting came up," Thana said as she stood over him. She tried her best to intimidate him, and he admitted her powers were strong and menacing. However, so were his, and she no longer had the power to dominate him the way she had when he was first released.

"Something interesting, you don't say." Iraon cocked his head to the side, giving her a questioning look.

"It's just taking longer than I expected to collect all the pieces I need." She paused, and Iraon felt an uncomfortable shiver go down his spine.

He didn't like it. "I don't care what you do, just don't forget our original goal."

Thana's eye gave a subtle twitch, a sign her patience was wearing thin.

"Of course, but don't you forget." She closed the small space between them and grabbed him roughly by the collar.

Unimpressed, Iraon raised a brow as he met her gaze.

"If it wasn't for me, you would still be locked in that cage of yours. You should show a little more respect."

Her words fell on deaf ears as she shoved Iraon away from her.

"I'll hold up my end of the bargain." Thana turned from him. "Make sure you do what you are supposed to." With that, Thana vanished, leaving Iraon to stare at the space she had just occupied.

_Oh, I will_ , Iraon darkly mused to himself.

Done wasting time, Iraon made his way to his feet. With the Lagneia Whip in his hand, pulsing and radiating a beautiful crimson glow, he vanished. His destination was the darkest depths of the Underworld to reunite with a monster who reveled in chaos and despair of others more than he did.

Appearing before Azuzela's cage with the familiar screams of tormented souls echoing around him, Iraon stared into the darkness of her prison, knowing that she watched him from the shadows, the same way he had watched Aprophis when the devil had come to free him.

Gripping the whip, he cracked it once. Its sharp blades sliced through the air, and with it, power swirled around him. From the darkness, several pair of red eyes focused on him as he called out to her.

"Azuzela, Mistress of Seduction, Eater of Lustful Souls and Fornicator of the Damned, I summon you before me." Iraon paused as his body absorbed the rising dark power around him. He cracked the whip once more, and then he continued, "Come forth and claim the freedom that is yours."

As power coursed through his body, Iraon released the whip and let it hover over his palm, the tips of its long blades scrapping the ground.

"I free you." With those final words, he watched the whip fly out of his hands. As the living weapon wrapped itself around the bars of its master's cage, Iraon felt the world around him shift. New power filled the space, shaking the ground beneath his feet. Behind him, thunder and lightning split the Underworld's sky, drowning out the screaming of the damned.

"Yes." Azuzela's moan of satisfaction washed over him, sending shivers down his spine.

Soon a thick black fog enveloped the cage, hiding the red eyes that had watched him with dark anticipation. Then the world fell silent, as if mourning for the destruction that was about to be unleashed, the thousands of lives that would soon be ruined.

Before him, the whip glowed a deep crimson as the bars cracked. Between each crack flowed the blood of the trinitymate until a blood-filled trinity mark appeared within the cracks.

"Come to me, my seductress," Iraon whispered as the world around him began to tremble until the bars of the cage began to crumble. Crimson light flooded Iraon's gaze a moment before the bars of the cage shattered, the sound vibrating through all of Tartarus.

A wide smile spread across Iraon's face as debris and bone covered the ground. Dark matter was alive in the air, pulsing with a forbidding vitality that practically had him salivating.

"It has been a long time," Iraon said as he watched the feminine figure emerge from the rubble.

Stepping over broken bone, Azuzela appeared from the darkness with her whip in her hand. Iraon watched her approach him. With each step she took, the more powerful she became, and the more her looks returned to her. No longer did she appear as some starved and ragged old hag. As the world's lust and vanity filled her veins, Azuzela's once brittle and think hair came back to life as wave after wave of thick auburn hair cascaded down her back and to the floor. Her body, which had been deprived for centuries of its most needed nourishment, absorbed the base desires of man, causing her frame to fill out and giving her the tempting curves that all men, no matter their race or divinity, drooled over.

"It has been a very long time." Her voice was something like sin, a forbidden sound that entranced all those who heard it. Red eyes slowly turned the color of blue topaz, sparkling like diamonds in the midst of the decay and ruin around them.

"I am famished." She smiled at him, full lips parting to show the tips of her growing canines.

Iraon gave her a smile of his own before he replied, "I have a decadent feast prepared for you." He extended his hand to her. "Shall we?"

"Of course." With that, she placed her hand in his. "It has been a long time since our last date." She looked up at him, red slowly mixing with the blue of her eyes. "Let's make memories that last for all of eternity."

Pulling her to him, he stared at her in a mix of lust and anticipation. "Eternity is just the beginning."

#  Chapter 23

Gulf of Naples, Italy

Standing on top of the summit of Mt. Vesuvius, one of the world's most dangerous volcanoes, Jaden stared out at the beautiful city of Naples. With its bustling neighborhoods and cities, its people were completely unaware of the danger that continually lived around them. Beneath his feet, he could feel the dormant lava that smoldered under Earth's surface, patiently waiting for the chance to destroy the cities that formed not too far from the volcano's base.

He remembered, all too clearly, the devastation the volcano had caused back when the ancient cities of Rome thrived. He had watched as the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum were covered in ash, burying the cities and destroying thousands of lives. Men, women, children, and animals all fell victims to the dark winds of Fate that day.

A Fate that he dared say the people brought upon themselves as they indulged in their desires. Greed had fueled lustful ambitions and murderous rampages, and the Trio did what they did best. Yet, he wouldn't deny the fact that he had indulged himself many nights in one of the many brothels that lined the ancient city streets.

"The good ol' days," Jaden whispered as he turned his thoughts from the past to the present. As much as he didn't care about what happened to the human world, there were a few things he still needed to protect.

"I've found you," the voice of his baby brother echoed from behind him.

Turning, he found Adien standing on the other side of the summit, his dark green eyes, so much like their mother's, intensely focused on Jaden. Like any other time when he looked at his brother, Jaden was reminded of the painful events of his past that he wished would stay buried deep inside him.

Unbidden images of the last moments he had spent with his mother flashed into his mind, and he was teleported back to the one moment in time he wished he could forget. Once again, he felt the heat of the fire against his back as he cradled his mother's head in his lap. Tears fell freely from his eyes as green eyes stared at him in sadness and pain as she lifted a weak and bloodied hand to caress his face.

_Protect your brother... your family._ Those were her last words to him before her body shuttered, and she expelled her last breath. In that moment, he could hear his heart breaking in his chest, the sound mixing with his infant brother's wails from the floor beside him as his world burned. As much as he wanted to curl into the ball beside his mother and join her in the afterlife, he couldn't. Not then... and not in that moment.

"Baby brother, how long has it been?" Jaden asked, forcing unwanted memories deep into the back of his mind where they belonged.

"Too long," was Adien's response, and Jaden gave a slight nod in agreement.

Although, he had an old and sour score to settle with their eldest brother, Adien had always been the only one Jaden considered family. Matter of fact, it was Jaden who had warned his darling little brother that Radien couldn't be trusted when Adien had first told Jaden about his little goddess problem.

But did his brother listen?

No, not at all.

Instead, he had ignored Jaden's warning along with his hurt feelings and did exactly what he had warned him not to do. When things blew up, and their loving brother not only betrayed Adien but stole the very goddess he claimed to have no attraction to, it had taken every ounce of Jaden's self-control, which he had little of to begin with, not to go after Radien.

After that, Jaden had watched his brother's downward spiral and occasionally joined the ride. Guess, Jaden would say it was what put him in the predicament he was in.

"What are you doing here?" Jaden asked, but he already knew the answer to that question.

"You know why I am here. Father sent me to get you."

Giving a bitter chuckle under his breath, Jaden replied, "Of course he did."

Jaden knew it was only a matter of time before his old man demanded he come home for a little family reunion. Granted, he thought Bion would get them together for their little powwow before the beasts of the Trio were freed. With the ripple of power that vibrated through Jaden, strong enough to almost bring him to his knees, there was no doubt in his mind that the last cage had been opened.

"So then you know you have no choice. You must come with me."

"Since when did the great Hound of Earth take orders from others? Is this what your newly found family had reduced you to?"

Emerald eyes narrowed on him and much to Jaden's surprise, his brother didn't lash out. Instead, his next words told Jaden all he needed to know.

"Things have changed. There is someone waiting for me."

Despite the jealously that began to swell in his chest, Jaden gave his brother a small smile, "I see."

"Jaden."

"I know. I'm going," was Jaden's dry response as he vanished from the summit of the volcano, his brother following close behind.

Well, that went better than he thought it would. While Adien appreciated his brother's cooperation, he couldn't shake the feeling that it had been almost too easy to convince Jaden to come with him. He knew his brother, knew him better than most, and he knew when the male was up to something. Adien just prayed it was something that would help them more than harm them.

"Have you and your woman completed your mating yet?"

Caught off guard by his brother's question, all Adien could respond with as they materialized in front of their father's throne room was a confused, "What?"

"I'll take that as a no."

Frowning, Adien tried to figure out just when he had told his brother about Harmony.

Had Adien let it slip in their brief conversation?

He didn't remember bringing her up. Eyeing his brother suspiciously as they searched for their father, Adien couldn't help but wonder just what Jaden was up to.

"You should hurry and complete the mating," Jaden paused. "It is a beautiful thing... or so I've been told."

Adien heard the sarcasm in Jaden's tone but pretended to ignore it. There would be plenty of time for him to question his brother later. Right then, they had bigger things to worry about.

"It has been a long time, brother."

_Speaking of worries_ , Adien thought as Radien appeared before them, wearing a pissed-off expression that said he would happily beat them to pulp if the mood struck him.

"Radien," Jaden's growl echoed through the air. "I see you have healed quite nicely since the last time I saw you."

_When did they run into each other?_ Adien thought as he looked between them.

"I have." Glowing gaze narrowing on them, Radien began to close the distance between them. "It seems I should thank you for your help."

"Trust me, the pleasure was all mine."

Confused and in need of some clarity, Adien spoke up, "Mind filling me in on what you two are talking about?"

Two sets of eyes narrowed on him, and he got the feeling he was stepping on landmines.

"How long has it been now since Iraon almost killed you with that hammer? A year or so?"

"Say what?" Shocked, Adien looked to Radien, who continued to stare dangerously at Jaden.

"You were there?" Adien asked, his gaze turning back to Jaden. When all he did was cut his eyes at Adien, before turning his attention back to Radien, Adien let out a harsh curse. "Why the hell wouldn't you say something sooner?"

Giving a nonchalant shrug, Jaden replied, "Didn't seem like the right time. Anyway, where is dear old dad? I thought he would be the one to greet me. What a letdown."

"Sorry to be such a disappointment. I'll try to work harder on that for the next time around." The sarcasm that oozed from Radien's tone couldn't be missed.

"Next time, why don't you send that beautiful wife of yours to greet me? She's an acquaintance I would love to me—"

Before Jaden could finish his taunt, Radien punched him square in the jaw.

_Oh, fuck me_ , Adien thought as he watched Jaden's head snap back. Power and tension mixed in the air as his brothers summoned their powers. Suddenly, Adien felt like he was in his adolescent years all over again, stuck in the middle as his brothers had it out with each other over the pettiest of reasons.

"That," Jaden groaned as he rubbed his jaw, "was a cheap shot."

One minute Jaden was in front of them, and the next, he was behind Radien, giving him a hard kick to the spine that sent him crashing into the wall across the room.

"Now, we're even."

"You really want to do this now?" Adien asked Jaden, whose satisfied smirk said it all. "We don't have time for this."

"I didn't start this." Jaden motioned towards Radien, who was making his way back to his feet. "He did."

"And, I will finish it." That was all the warning Adien received before his eldest brother shot a stream of energy at them. Noticing the attack just in time, Adien was able to move out the way before he could be hit. Jaden on the other hand was hit full force.

Much to Adien's surprise, Jaden remained on his feet, absorbing the hit before sending his own stream of fire in retaliation.

Watching them, Adien threw in the towel. It was useless to try and talk some sense into them. Deciding it was best to let them blow off a decade's worth of steam, Adien moved out of the way. Finding a somewhat safe corner in the room, he watched the two of them have it out.

_Really, what was Bion thinking?_ Adien thought as he watched Jaden go flying through the air, landing in their father's throne, before him and the heavy chair fell backwards. His father must have known this was going to happen, so why would he send Radien instead of coming himself?

Although, Adien couldn't say he wasn't enjoying this. He watched as Jaden got to his feet, seemingly unaffected by the cuts and bruises that so obviously covered his body.

"You cannot win against me, Jaden." With his voice radiating with power, Radien stalked towards their brother. "You never could."

"Shut up," Jaden growled before he once again vanished. "I've had enough of you." He reappeared behind Radien, hitting him with a fire orb that sent him face first into the stairs.

"We reall—" Adien's words were cut off by the sharp pain that traveled along his spine. Groaning, he staggered on his feet, using the wall behind him to keep his balance. He waited for the pain to subside.

_What the hell was that?_ He had no clue, but he didn't like it. The same way he didn't like the sudden sense of urgency that filled him. Looking at his brothers, who continued to pound on each other, he could tell he was the only one who felt anything.

_Adien..._ The sound of Azuzela's voice in his head had his body tensing as his gaze darted around the room. While apart of him knew she wasn't there, he could still feel her presence as if she was standing right beside him.

Cursing, he turned his attention to his brothers. It was time they refocused. Moving from his hidden position, Adien called out to his brothers. Both ignored him, too caught up in their battle and destroying their father's throne to pay attention to him. With his annoyance bordering on anger, Adien stomped his foot. Instantly, thick vines sprouted up between his brothers, creating a thorny wall that ceased their fighting... for the moment.

"Do not interfere, Adien," Radien warned as he summoned his powers, manifesting them into a ball of light.

"We will be finished soon," Jaden said from the other side of the wall, his hands covered in fire.

"We need to go," Adien told them.

As if he hadn't spoken, his brothers shot their powers into his wall. Full-blown anger consumed him as he watched his vine wall crumble.

"I have had enough of this shit," he angrily whispered. Summoning his powers, Adien snapped his fingers. All around the room vines sprouted from the walls and the floors, wrecking what was left of the throne room but capturing his brothers.

Cursing rang out as they tried to free themselves, but no matter how many vines they cut, more sprouted, until they were wrapped securely in their thorny confines.

"Let me go," they said in unison.

"Have you gotten it out of your systems yet? If so, then I will release you. If not, I will leave you here while I find our father."

"Adien," Radien growled, "let go of me."

He cut his eyes at his eldest brother and said in a harsh tone, "Have you forgotten about your mate, your wife? Who is on the brink of death because she is carrying your children?"

The sudden sense of guilt that flowed through their connection was almost crippling. As much as he hated taking a jab like that at Radien, Adien would not apologize for it.

"No," Radien whispered, defeat clear in his tone.

"Good." With that, Adien released Radien, no longer concerned about him attacking Jaden.

"And you?" Adien turned his attention to Jade, who silently watched them. "Is this why you came? Do you not care about the future of this world... the future of your mate... wherever she may be?"

An emotion passed over Jaden's face that Adien couldn't quite get. As quickly as it came, it was gone.

Giving a heavy sigh, Jaden conceded. "Fine."

Satisfied, Adien released Jaden before asking Radien, "Where is father?"

"At Rasi's temple," Radien answered, and Adien let out another curse. It seemed he couldn't win for losing.

"I'll meet you there." Those were Radien's last words before he disappeared.

"He hasn't changed." Jaden chuckled as he wiped the blood from his mouth. "Let's get going." With that, Jaden followed behind Radien, leaving Adien staring at the space they had just occupied.

Shaking his head at his brothers and their twisted yet all-too-similar personalities, Adien vanished, heading for the one place it seemed he couldn't stay away from no matter how hard he tried.

#  Chapter 24

No matter how she looked at it, Anima couldn't remember her pregnancy being as bad or as complicated as Melody's. Sure, Anima had moments of pain and sickness, but it was nothing like what she was watching the trinitymate go through. Even with Bion's powers and Melody's connection to her sister, Melody's face remained riddled with pain. Often, she would cry out from her suffering, and her hands would curl into tight fists beside her until whatever pain she was feeling subsided.

Watching her, Anima wondered if the twins Melody carried were really that powerful or if something else was at work. Anima had been around long enough to know not to rule out the suspicion. Yes, Melody was pregnant with twins. And, yes, they were the first of their kind, but so was Radien, and his birth hadn't caused Anima a fraction of the pain. In fact, her true torment had come from the end of Zeus's thunderbolts.

Sitting beside Melody, Anima took the woman's hand. Streaming healing power into her, Anima hoped to comfort Melody as best she could.

"Adien," the soft whisper of Adien's name drew Anima's attention to the woman lying beside Melody.

Although, Anima had never personally met the female, she remembered her clearly. One look at the beautiful woman, and Anima knew why Adien had fallen for the woman. Strong and resilient, her golden eyes had sparkled with courage and determination from the first time Anima had seen Harmony. It as a trait and a necessity that was sure to keep her alive throughout the upcoming war.

And a war was coming. It was inevitable. Anima could feel it brewing just under the surface of her skin. The freeing of the Trio was just the calm before the storm... a storm that without a doubt would turn all the worlds upside down should they lose to Gazini and his dark forces.

"I'm going to need for you two to pull through," Anima told the sisters, who she knew could hear her despite the fact they were both unconscious. Their reply came in simultaneous grunts that had a small smile spreading across Anima's face.

"How sweet." Anima would know Aprophis's snake-like voice anywhere. Her body tensed as she looked over to the devil that stood in front of the bedroom door. One look at the disgusting creature made her want to gouge out her eyes.

Getting to her feet, Anima walked around the bed, putting herself between the creature and the trinitymates. She didn't bother asking how he had gotten into her home without her sensing his presence, not when she already knew the power behind it.

"Where is your mistress, monster?" Anima would not waste her time with such a lowly creature, not when she had an old score to settle with the bitch that had brought him here.

"She's a little busy at the moment. But, she sent us to keep you entertained." The smile that spread across the devil's face showed off rows of jagged teeth, which made Anima cringe just as his words registered in her mind.

As she opened her mouth to question the creature as to what he meant by "us," a dark chill went down her spine the same moment the air shifted, and another creature appeared in the room. Its large black body took up one of the chairs beside the bed while eyes that looked more human than monster stared at her.

Replaying Adien's encounter with the devil in her mind, Anima knew she would have to be careful of this creature. This former man named, Gabriel. Although Aprophis was dangerous, he was a simple-minded creature, his motives and intentions obvious and easily distracted. Dealing with him would be easy enough. However, a devil formed from the twisted soul of a dying human was unpredictable, cunning, and most likely more powerful than his comrade. Given the nonchalant way the creature sat with his goat-like legs crossed in the chair, he was arrogant enough to think he was untouchable, which made him even more dangerous. The moment he realized he was not the indestructible power he thought he was, he would become desperate, his thinking irrational, putting the lives of the two women in the room in even greater danger.

"Give us the trinitymates," Aprophis hissed.

"You want them." Channeling her powers, she let them fill her. "Come and get them."

The new devil laughed as it rose to its hoofed feet. With its eyes changing colors, it said, "With pleasure."

With that, the creature came at her, its clawed hands swiping wildly at her. Dodging his aggressive assault, Anima was forced away from the bed. Gabriel moved faster than she thought he could, and his claws managed to tear through the blouse she wore as she continued to evade his attack. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Aprophis heading for the trinitymates.

Rolling out of the way of another claw attack, Anima vanished. Reappearing in front of Aprophis, she once again placed herself between the devil and the trinitymates. A swift kick to the side sent the devil flying into the large dresser on the other side of the room. She didn't have time to enjoy the creature's pain, not when she had another evil attacking her. Blocking a powerful kick from Gabriel, Anima staggered but kept from falling on to the bed. A black fist sailed towards her, intent on knocking her out.

But, Anima had no plans of being bested by abominations like the ones she was fighting. Catching the devil's black claw, she gave him a quick but powerful kick to the stomach. She watched as Gabriel's body went through the bedroom door before hitting the ground like the pile of trash he was.

"Bitch."

Anima turned her attention to Aprophis.

"I will rip your head from your body." The creature promised as saliva dripped from its mouth, its red eyes glowing with rage.

"Of course, you wi—"

The hit came fast and hard. One moment she was preparing to do a decapitation of her own, and the next, she was crashing into the vanity on the other side of the room. Pain slammed into her as she dropped to the ground, glass and broken wood covering her while Aprophis's hissing laugher echoed in her head. Before she could make her way to her feet, she felt something warm and wet wrapping around her throat. Instantly, her hands came to her neck. Struggling to free herself, Anima was lifted into the air. Through a narrowed gaze, she locked on to the devils.

"Is that all you have?" Gabriel asked, his voice much easier on her ears than Aprophis's.

With the hold around her neck tightening, it was hard enough for her to breathe, let alone talk.

"I thought you would be a challenge." Gabriel had the nerve to look disgusted. "I should have known Thana was lying about your powers." With that, the devil turned his back to her and left her to stare at the tips of his black horns as he turned his attention to the women on the bed.

Her vision slowly darkening, Anima watched the devil as he walked over to Harmony's side of the bed. Something passed across the creature's features but quickly vanished as he stroked the side of her cheek.

"I told you, didn't I?" Gabriel whispered. "You can never escape me."

_I can't... let... him take her._ As her world began to fade, the beating of her heart slowing to a dangerous pace, Anima summoned the rest of her powers. She had spent way too much time toying with these creatures, and she was paying the price. She should have killed them the moment they had appeared in her home.

It was a mistake she would rectify momentarily. Letting her hound's spirit fill her, she took hold of the disgusting tongue wrapped around her throat. Pissed that she had allowed Aprophis to touch her in the first place, Anima ripped the nasty appendage from her throat. Blood splattered across her face, but she didn't care. She was shifting forms before her feet could hit the ground, all the while relishing the sound of Aprophis's pain.

Paws hitting the ground, Anima focused her attention on Gabriel, who stared at her with wide eyes. Using his distraction against him, her tail shot out and wrapped around the devil.

"I will kill you both and send your bones back to your master," Anima growled, her voice more animal than woman as it bounced off the walls of the bedroom. Her tail kept Gabriel confined as she stalked towards Aprophis, who, like the coward he was, trembled before her while his hands covered his mouth, his blood staining the floor.

Taking one of her large paws, Anima hit the devil. Moving with the speed that she was born with, she caught the devil in her jaws before he could hit the wall. The taste of his flesh made her want to vomit, but she would hold it down if it meant ripping him to shreds. Large claws gripped her snout in an effort to keep her from snapping him in half.

"Bitch," Gabriel snarled as he struggled to free himself.

Flicking her tail, Anima slammed the devil into the ground several times before holding him there. All the while her mouth inched closer to a much unwanted meal.

"I should have known better." Thana's voice had Anima whipping her head around so fast, she was surprised her neck didn't snap.

She found the Universe of Death standing beside the bed, an amused smirk on her face as she stroked the top of Melody's head. Rage, pure and hot, coursed through Anima and she spit Aprophis out of her mouth and then tossed Gabriel to the side.

"These two are useless. Hello, Anima." Flame-colored eyes looked Anima up and down. "Looks like you gained some weight."

Growling low and threatening, Anima started for the Universe only to stop the moment she grabbed hold of Melody, effortlessly, pulling the unresponsive trinitymate from the bed. Thana held up Melody's large body as Anima stared at her, the promise of death clearly reflected in her gaze.

"I'm going to take this." Thana motioned towards Melody and then nodded towards Harmony. "And that too... unless you think you can stop me."

As much as Anima wanted to lash out and bite Thana's head off, she couldn't. Pushing the urge to the back of her mind, but promising to revisit it once the girls were safe, Anima shifted back to her human form.

If she wanted to get Melody and Harmony away from Thana, Anima needed to be able to move fast enough so the Universe of Death couldn't see it coming.

"I owe you," Anima said as she waved her hand in the air. Instantly, she was covered in a pair of loose-fitting jeans and a new blouse.

The Universe cocked her head to the side as if a thought struck her and then said, "No, actually, if I were to count, you owe me several," Thana said as she held up her free hand.

Frowning, Anima listened as the woman rattled off the number of times she had nearly killed her family. As much as it infuriated Anima, she wouldn't react. Not yet. Using the Universe's arrogant attitude to her advantage, Anima vanished, hoping to grab Melody before Thana could notice. Her plans were foiled when she reappeared to find out not only had Thana moved across the room, but she had also managed to grab Harmony in the process.

"Did you really think that was going to work?" More with the mocking that fueled Anima's rage. "Pathetic."

The sly smirk Thana had been wearing the entire time finally faded as she told Anima, "I have what I came for. I will let them finish you off."

Them...?

In her anger, Anima had forgotten about the devils. Quickly, her gaze scanned the room.

"Wher—" Her words were cut off as pain sliced into her. Looking over her shoulder, she found Gabriel behind her, his claw buried deep into her back. Turning back around as her legs began to go numb, Anima looked down to find the rips of his claws sticking out of her stomach.

"I win," Thana whispered.

Horrified, Anima could do nothing but watch the Universe vanish with a trinitymate in each arm.

_NO!_ Anima's mind screamed.

"Payback"—she felt the heat of the devil's breath against her neck—"is a bitch, bitch." With that, Gabriel snatched his claw free from her body.

A scream ripped from her throat as she felt the warmth of her blood flow down her back. Legs giving out, Anima dropped to her knees. In the back of her mind, she called to Bion, hoping that he could hear her before the darkness that clouded her vision claimed her.

Blood pooling around her, Anima dragged her gaze to the devil that looked down on her.

"Kill"—coughing, she could taste the blood running down her throat—"you."

Laughing, the devil said, "How?"

"This." Using the very little energy she had left, she took a piece of broken wood from the vanity and plunged it into the devil's back.

The creature's surprised expression made a bloody smile spread across her face just before her body gave out. As she collapsed to the floor, the sight of Gabriel staggering away from her, his black blood dripping to the floor before he vanished was the last thing she would remember as darkness claimed her.

The moment Bion entered the _Dreamscape_ , he headed straight for Rasi's temple where he found the Universe of Dreams standing before his wall of mirrors. With his attention focused on the mirrors, he didn't notice Bion's presence as he walked up behind him.

Curious as to what could have his old friend so distracted, Bion turned his focus to the dream in the mirror Rasi was so engrossed in. Seeing the tangled ball of limbs in the mirror, Bion raised a brow but otherwise remained quiet, his glowing gaze going from the mirror to Rasi and back again. It wasn't until the grunted sounds and moans of pleasure became too intense that Bion made his presence known.

"I see." His old friend jumped at the sound of his voice. Biting back a laugh, Bion said, "This is what you do when you're alone."

"Bion." Rasi didn't seem as amused as Bion, as the Keep of Dreams turned to face him. "How long have you been here?"

"Long enough," was Bion's reply. Nodding towards the dream mirror, he said, "I take it that is Esmeralda's mirror. I would recognize that head full of dark hair anywhere."

Blushing, Rasi answered with a low and embarrassed, "Yes."

_Of course it is_ , Bion thought.

Who else could it have been?

Other than Esmeralda, Rasi had never shown much interest in anyone else. Matter of fact, Bion would dare say his old friend had loved her once upon a time, maybe still did if Bion went by the way the man watched the mirror, as if he was memorizing every detail of their time together.

"How is she?" Bion asked.

"The same as always."

Bion didn't miss the sour note in his friend's tone as the mirror behind him vanished.

"Why have you come?" the Dream Keeper asked as he walked past Bion and towards his throne. "What's happened?"

"Iraon has freed another beast. With this, Gazini's powers will continue to grow at a rapid rate. I fear the worst is yet to come."

For a while Rasi was silent, and Bion wondered what was going through Rasi's head.

"What do you suppose we do?" the Dream Keeper asked.

"What we must," Bion replied. "I have sent word for my sons to meet me here while Anima watches over their mates."

"What about Thana? She is the reason Iraon has come this far. We must do something about her." Rasi paused, his scowl deepening. "Or all our efforts will be for nothing. If she manages to kill you..." Rasi's voice trailed off. There was no need for him to finish his words; they both knew what would happen if he should fall.

"She cannot harm me, do not worry."

"Let's hope she does not find a way." With that, Rasi fell silent again, his facial expression one of worry.

Just as Bion was about to ask what weighed so heavily on Rasi's mind, Bion felt the air stir. Both he and Rasi's gazes went to the entrance doors in time to watch all three off his offspring materialize in the room.

It had been a long time since Bion last saw all his children in one place, and even longer since they were able to be around each other without fighting or throwing childish insults at each other. Looking at faces that resembled his, pride swelled in his chest. Despite all the challenges they had been through, they somehow managed to pull it together when needed, proving their bonds were thicker than even they knew.

As always Radien was the first to break the silence. "As you can see, we're all here. Can we make this quick? Melody is waiting for me."

"I would prefer to make this quick as well," Adien responded, his gaze locked on Rasi, who, much to Bion's credit, did not attack his son the moment he stepped foot inside his temple like he usually did.

But then again, Rasi knew not to take out his hurt feelings on Bion's youngest son when Bion was around. The result would not be something any of them liked.

"I really don't have anywhere to go," Jaden piped in. "I just don't want to be here."

Shaking his head, Bion tuned out his sons' snarky attitudes. "This is some—"

Pain shot along his body, cutting off his words as dread planted itself in his heart. Groaning as the pain intensified, Bion's mind struggled to process what was happening. Suddenly, his legs gave out from under him. If it hadn't been for Rasi, he would have split his head open on the temple floor.

In the background, he could hear the shouts and curses of his children. His vision hazy, he watched as Radien doubled over with his own pain.

_Bion..._ Anima's voice was a pained whisper in his mind, her conscience briefly sparking before fading into nothing.

As quickly as his pain came, it was gone, and he was making his way back to his feet. From across the room, Radien groaned, shaking his head clear before locking gazes with Bion. Without a word Bion vanished, hoping what awaited him at his home was not the end of his world.

#  Chapter 25

Following his brother and father, Adien vanished from Rasi's temple. Something was terribly wrong. His connection to Radien radiated with panic and fear as they all raced back to Radien's bedroom. So much so that Adien's own worries became muted.

_This is not good_ , Adien thought and he was right. He just didn't know how right he was until he materialized alongside Jaden in the bedroom. Instantly, his senses were assaulted. The scent of spilled blood mixed with the putrid stench of Aprophis's devil form.

"What..." His words trailed off as he took in the destroyed room. A large hole replaced the bedroom's double doors while broken pieces of wood and glass covered the bedroom floor. Furniture was stained with blood along with the walls and floors. But it was the empty bed, and the body lying on the floor that caused Adien's heart to stop.

"Anima?" Disbelief consumed him as he walked up behind his father, who had dropped to his knees and gathered his dying wife into his arms, his large body trembling. And there was no doubt in Adien's mind that the Queen of the Hounds was dying. Death hung over them, lurking, waiting for its chance to take what it thought belonged to it.

One look at Anima was enough to have tears stinging the back of Adien's eyes. While Anima wasn't his mother, she had become the closet thing he had to a mother over the last year or so. She was kind, disciplined, and had a welcoming embrace that he had grown rather fond of. The thought of losing her was something he couldn't cope with. Just like he couldn't deal with seeing her covered in blood, most of it hers and some of the devil's. Around her neck was an ugly bruise, evidence that Aprophis had done his best to snap her neck with his tongue. Judging from the piece of the creature's appendage Adien spotted under some debris, the devil hadn't been too lucky that time around.

"I won't lose you again," Adien heard his father whisper as he hugged Anima's limp body closer to him. Her head fell to the side, a sure sign that she was nearly gone, and if his father was going to save her, he would have to do it quickly.

"I am going to kill them all." Adien turned his attention to Radien, who stared at the space his wife had occupied moments ago. Once again, his brother's emotions overwhelmed Adien, but this time around, Radien's feelings matched Adien's own.

But first, they would have to find out where Melody and Harmony had been taken. For that, he turned his attention to Rasi, who had moved from his shadowed position by the wall to stand beside Bion. As much as he hated to ask Rasi for anything, he had no choice. Their mates' lives hung in the balance.

"Ra—" Adien started only to have Jaden grab Adien's shoulder. Frowning, he looked back at his brother, who gave a subtle shake of his head before motioning for Adien to pay attention to what was going on around him.

Confused, Adien looked back to his father and Rasi, trying his best to push Radien's impending breakdown to the back of his mind for the moment.

Around Adien, the air began to crackle with power.

"Rasi." Through the sudden ringing in his ears, Adien could hear the desperate plea in his father's voice. "Help me."

"It will be all right," Rasi responded as their combined powers surged through the room like an electrical pulse. "Focus."

Silently, Adien watched as his father dropped his head. With his forehead resting against Anima's, he began to rock back and forth. Out of the corner of his eye, Adien caught sight of Radien as he moved from the bed to his father's side. Kneeling beside their father, Radien placed a hand on Bion's back as he bowed his head.

_She is alive, but barely._ Jaden's voice echoed in Adien's head, thankfully tuning out the loud buzzing in his ears. _I don't know why, but father's powers seem to have been drained so much that he can't heal her, at least not on his own... Do you know what could have done that to him?_

Of course, Adien knew the reason for his father's lack of power. Adien just hadn't realized how much it had taken out of their father to help Melody.

_Just what was she giving birth to?_ Adien thought as he continued to watch the three of them. Powerful energy swirled around them, disheveling hair and clothing while effortlessly lifting debris off the floor and allowing it to levitate in the air.

_Adien._ Jaden called to Adien, and he once again looked over his shoulder at his brother. _You need to finish your mating._

_What_? Caught off guard by his brother's words, Adien could do nothing but stare at his older sibling.

Jaden gave Adien a peeved stare before continuing. _Don't what me. You and I both know we are walking into a trap. Two of the Trio have been freed, the Universe of Death is conspiring against you, and they have two devils in the palm of their hands... that we know about. We're going to need all the help we can get. If her power has not been unlocked yet, you must finish the mating._

_You think I don't already know that_ , Adien responded, his tone harsh even in his mind. _But, just how do you suggest I do that, Captain Obvious?_

Jaden growled, a signal that his patience was wearing thing, before giving a pointed stare to Rasi.

Not sure what his brother was trying to imply, Adien asked, _what is Rasi supposed to do? I'm the last person he would be willing to help._

Another growl, and Adien noted the way Jaden's hold on Adien's shoulder tightened. _Weren't you planning on asking him to use the dream mirrors to locate the two women? Use the mirrors to not only find her but connect with her. Isn't that how Radien found Melody?_ Jaden paused. _A mating done through the dream mirror is just as valid as one done in the flesh._

_How do you know that?_ Adien asked, raising an eyebrow.

Just as he suspected, Jaden was hiding something. How else would he know about Radien and Melody, when Jaden wasn't around? Shit, Adien had been there and only knew about their first meeting in the dream realm because Melody had told him in one of their hangout sessions.

Adien, we don't have time for this. Just do as I say, I'll tell you everything later.

Eying Jaden, Adien gave a defeated sigh before saying, _Fine, but you and I will be having a long conversation once this is over, brother._

_Very well_ , Jaden responded dryly.

Staring at his brother, Adien realized he no longer knew the man. Sure, he looked like Adien's brother, but on the inside, something had changed. Something was off, and Adien would find out what it was if it was the last thing he did.

There was a sharp intake of breath that had Adien turning his attention to his father. As the power in the room subsided, relief flooded Adien's connection with Radien, and Adien couldn't help but smile. When he saw his father's body slump and delicate arms wrapped around him, Adien gave a relieved sigh of his own.

"All is well," Rasi said with a comforting pat to Bion's back before looking up and focusing on Adien. For the briefest second, hate flooded Rasi's gaze, but as quickly as it came, it was gone. Then, Rasi dismissed Adien and returned his attention to Bion and Anima.

"Told you so," Adien grumbled, and then shook his head when he heard Jaden's chuckle.

But, do you really need him to help? You know your way inside the temple, right?

Adien nodded.

There you go. I'll take care of things here. But, you need to find your mate.

Adien gave Jaden a skeptical look.

_What? You don't trust me?_ It was Jaden's turn to give Adien a skeptical look. _Have I ever betrayed you? Or let you down?_

_No_ , Adien replied.

Exactly. So get going before Rasi notices you're gone.

Adien looked to his father, Radien, and Rasi and then back to Jaden. Adien's mind made up, he nodded at his older brother before disappearing.

Adien appeared a few short moments later inside Rasi's temple. Heading straight for the dream mirrors, Adien's gaze quickly scanned the countless mirrors, looking for his Obsession.

"Her mirror is here." Adien nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of Rasi's voice.

_So much for keeping him distracted_ , Adien thought sourly as he looked to the Universe of Dreams standing a few feet away with Harmony's mirror hovering beside him.

The last encounter Adien had with Rasi never too far from Adien mind, so he hesitated in approaching the mirror.

"I have decided, for the moment, to let bygones be bygones." While Rasi said the words, the look on his face showed an entirely different feeling. "Do not make me regret my decision." With that, Rasi vanished, most likely back to Oblivion to be at his friend's side.

Alone, Adien made his way towards the mirror. For a moment, he paused to watch his Obsession as she raced through the forest her mind had created. As beautiful as ever, her golden eyes, while focused on her destination, sparked with the best kind of joy... freedom. And he hated the world he was about to wake her up to, but it needed to be done. Despite the situation, his body reacted, and the need to claim what was his consumed him.

He took a step forward, his heart suddenly racing as he lifted his hand to the surface of the mirror.

_Mine... all mine._ And he would make her so. Growling his anticipation, Adien touched the mirror. _I'm coming for you, my beautiful obsession._

#  Chapter 26

Stretching as the _meadow's soft grass tickled her toes, Harmony let the peaceful existence of the forest consume her. Tranquility filled her and gave her the calming energy she so desperately needed to get her thoughts in order. It seemed that lately nightmares had plagued her. Every time Harmony closed her eyes, dark creatures and the horrors of her past haunted her. She no longer knew what was real and what was her imagination._

Taking a deep breath, she inhaled the fresh air before turning her face towards the sky. The warmth of the sun's rays caressed her face like a lover's impassioned touch, and she sighed.

"It looks like you're having fun." The sudden sound of his voice should have startled her; instead, it sent a decadent shiver down her spine as she turned her attention to him. The moment their gazes locked, her tranquil world titled on its axis, and her darker half came alive as her senses drank him in.

Dressed in a very nicely fitting short-sleeve blue athletic shirt that hugged every muscle of his torso as if it was a second skin, showing off a pair of cut arms that made her mouth water, Adien was definitely a sight for sore eyes. But, it was his black shorts that sat on his narrow waist that showed off a pair of legs that would make the most famous track star jealous that truly fed her fantasies.

"I've told you before"—he started towards her, a smile playing at the edge of his lips—"if you wanted me to strip, all you had to do was ask."

Giving a flirtatious smile of her own, Harmony said, "If I wanted you naked"—coming to stand before him, less than an arm's length away, she continued—"I would undress you myself."

"Oh, yeah?" He raised a brow as he continued to watch her with the gaze of a predator.

Their teasing entertained her, but more than that, it made her feel alive again... desirable and wanted. But then again, when she thought about it, from the moment she first met him and his gaze devoured her, the part of her she thought Gabriel had snuffed out years ago came roaring back to life.

Closing the small gap between them, Harmony slowly ran her hand down the center of his body, loving the way his muscles flexed under her touch as she said, "Yeah."

"You shouldn't do that." He warned her in a low voice that made her insides quiver.

"Oh, and why is that?"

His low and predatory growl was the only warning she got before he grabbed her by the hand, interlocking their fingers, and pulled her close to him. Her body pressed flush against him, he told her, "You're going to get yourself in trouble."

And that was a bad thing, because...? "Maybe, I want to get into trouble."

His response was a low rumble in his throat as he leaned his head in. Close enough but not touching her lips while be brushed the tips of his fingers along her spine causing her body to instantly curve into him.

It seemed that even in her dreams she couldn't resist him. As much as she wanted to give in to his charms, she wouldn't. At least not that easily.

"But..." She brushed the tip of his nose with hers and noted the low growls that came from him. "You have to catch me first." With that, she gave him a quick peck on the lips before pushing him away from her. Turning on her heels, Harmony took off into the surrounding forest.

Running, she ducked low-hanging tree branches and leapt over tree stumps and ditches, all the while acutely aware of him a few strides behind her. If she kept this up, he would catch her in no time, and what fun would that be for her?

In the distance, she could hear the rushing water of a nearby waterfall. Pushing her legs faster, she headed for the waterfall. It wasn't long before she saw the break in the trees. The scent of fresh water filled her lungs, causing a huge smile to spread across her face. When she broke through the trees, it was the best type of freedom she had ever felt. For a moment, she stood in awe of the massive waterfall. But, it wasn't long before the need to run consumed her. From behind her, she could hear Adien closing in, could feel his presence as if he was standing next to her.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a narrow trail that led to the top of the waterfall. She didn't think twice before she was stripping off her clothing and running up the trail. By the time she reached the top, she was completely naked.

Looking down, she spotted Adien. Her breath caught as she watched him. With his multi-colored hair shining beautifully against the sun's rays and his skin glowing like the purest honey, he was almost too beautiful to look at. For a moment, that felt like it stretched for an eternity, Harmony felt his desire as if it was her own. It vibrated through her, causing her birthmark and other womanly parts to ache for his touch.

_Mine..._ _His thoughts echoed in her head._

Feminine anticipation filled her as she yelled out to him, "If you want me, come and get me."

He wasted no time accepting her challenge. With a growl that reached her at the top of the waterfall, he took off up the trail.

There was no doubt in her mind he was going to catch her, but she intended to make him work for it. Taking a deep breath, just as the sound of his footsteps grew closer, Harmony dove off the cliff. She hit the water hard and fast. While her initial impact stung, her body quickly adjusted to the coldness of the water. With a gasp, Harmony broke the water's surface a few feet away from the bottom of the waterfall. Above her, another one of those promising growls echoed, and she looked up just in time to see Adien's form get swallowed by the cascading water. Giddy excitement consumed her as she swam towards the lake's edge. Just as she reached the grassy piece of land, she felt a firm grip around her ankle.

Looking over her shoulder, she watched Adien's head pop up out the water. A wide smile spread across his face as he mouthed, "I got you."

One forceful jerk and Harmony was pulled back into him. Suppressing her laughter, she turned in his arms.

"You're mi—" Before he could finish his sentence, she kissed him, a sensual kiss that was meant to distract him and allow her to make her escape. While she managed to get herself free, thoughts of escape slowly began to fade into the background of her mind as her body came to life. Underneath the water, the tips of his fingers brushed against her birthmark, and she moaned into his mouth. Her legs wrapped around his body as she tried to mold herself to him, until she could no longer tell where she ended and where he began.

He deepened their kiss, demanding more of her as he pressed her against the lake's edge. Bringing her hands up, she embedded them in his wet hair. The warmth of his body, the hard muscles pressed against her, his rugged breathing... it all over-stimulated her senses and called forth the animal in her.

When he suddenly broke their kiss, she growled.

"I need to be inside of you," he told her, his breathing ragged. "I'm claiming my prize." With that, Adien was making his way out of the lake.

How he managed to get them both out of the water at the same time, she had no idea, nor did she care. All that mattered to her was the look of desire that blazed in his eyes as he eased her to the ground.

For a long while, he stared at her, an emotion playing on his face that she couldn't quite figure out.

"Adien," she called to him, frowning as she cupped his face.

As if she had pulled him from some self-induced trance, he blinked several times before turning his head and kissing the inside of her palm.

In a rough voice, he asked her, "Do you think you have tamed me?"

She couldn't help the smirk that spread across her face, as the creature inside her reared its ugly head. "I told you before." Her voice barely recognizable, she continued, "You were always mine." With that, she locked her legs around his waist and rolled him onto his back. His look of surprise was priceless.

Gaze roaming over his body, Harmony bit her bottom lip. As much as she enjoyed the sight of him at her mercy, it would be much better if he was naked.

Growling, she told him, "Get rid of the clothes."

His response was quick and simple. With a raised brow, he snapped his fingers and his clothes vanished. Instantly, she felt the length of his cock as it rubbed between her ass cheeks.

"I have tamed the untamable... I have done the impossible."

The impossible... _Adien thought as he stared up at Harmony. A beautiful sight if he ever saw one, he couldn't deny that she had in fact done the unimaginable. Somehow, she had managed to worm her way into his heart and slowly fill the empty void that called itself home inside him. She was all he could think about... all he wanted to think about. Her smile, those eyes, her touch... everything about her was engraved into him. It didn't matter how far away he was from her, the scent of her skin followed him._

"Adien Tygerian." The change in her voice drew him from his thoughts. Locking gazes with her, Adien could do nothing as she took control over him, keeping him pinned where she wanted with the soft heat of her body. Although, it wasn't like he had any plans to go anywhere. He was exactly where he needed to be... wanted to be.

"Trinity Hound of Earth," she continued, her golden eyes glowing brighter by the moment. "I have taken you up on your challenge and won. I have tamed the untamable." Her words vibrated through him. While a piece of him knew this was not how it should be done, he wasn't going to stop.

Later, when they had time, he would properly mate with her, but for that moment this was enough. Through hooded eyes, his own beast coming to the forefront of his mind, Adien continued to watch her. When her fingers lightly caressed his trinity mark, he groaned. Pleasure shot through his body, making it nearly impossible for him to keep still.

"My beautiful hound." Slowly she leaned forward, lifting her hips up. "You belong to me. Heart, body... and soul, I claim it all. All that you are, what you will be... your past, present, and future." She leaned in, nuzzling the sides of his face. "It's all mine. I will not share you with the ghosts of your past. They have no place in our world." She gave him a wicked smile that showed off the tips of her growing canines.

The sudden thought of having her bite him while she took over his body had the tip of his cock leaking. The more she spoke, the more the hound in him demanded to be set free. Under his gums, he could feel his own canines starting to grow.

"I'll make sure to thoroughly erase them from your mind." With those last words, she sealed their Fate with a mind-blowing kiss that shattered his world and pieced it back together again. Catching his tongue, she sucked on it as she rubbed her body against his, mercilessly teasing him with the wet heat of her body.

A groan escaped Adien as he grabbed Harmony by the waist and eased her down on top of him, her body slowly taking him in until he was settled tightly inside her body. His hands made their way up her sides, caressing her trinity mark. Her moans vibrated through him. But it was not enough. The same way she took him over, he would make sure he returned the favor in kind. Without a word, he rolled them over.

Adien settled between her legs.

Once again locking gazes with her, Adien spoke, his voice no longer his own as his hound took the reins. "Harmony Sonders, Trinitymate of Earth, my beautiful obsession, be prepared to take responsibility for the heart you claim as yours. I have watched you from the shadows for a very long time. Dreamed of you, before I knew your face... Now that I finally have you, there's no going back, no running away. You belong to me," he told her and had to bite back a groan as she rotated her hips beneath him.

"You no longer have to fear the monsters from your nightmares. I will protect you until my dying breath, and even then, I'll still be there." He leaned in, and mimicking her actions from earlier, Adien buried his head in the crook of her neck. Inhaling her scent, he let her fill him until all he could smell was her. Before pulling back, he gave her a quick nip on the ear and then continued. "All that you are... what you will be, your past, present and future... is mine and no one else's. The scars on your soul... I will make them all disappear until all you know is the taste of my kiss..."

Again, he leaned in, whispering in her ear as her ragged breathing echoed around him. "The touch of my hands." He licked the inside of her ear. "The feel of my body." He rotated his hips, and they both groaned. "I look forward to you thoroughly erasing these ghosts from my mind."

It was his turn to seal their deal, capturing her lips at the same time he pulled out of her body until only the tip of his cock remained. With a low growl, he drove himself deep inside of her, both of their bodies shuttering as their worlds shifted.

There was a sharp and painful pull on his powers. Just as quick as the feeling came, it was gone, replaced by a pleasure so intoxicating Aiden wanted to cry out as he once again withdrew from her body and slowly made his way back inside of her.

Under him, Adien could feel Harmony tremble uncontrollably as their souls began to bond. Suddenly, her pleasure became his, and he groaned. Yet, beneath her desire and passion was warmth and love, feelings that wrapped around him as he lost himself to the feel of her body.

Her nails dug into his back and created a stinging pleasure that had him shuddering with his approaching orgasm. Around his cock, her walls constricted around him. Within tingles spreading through him, Adien withdrew from her warmth of her body.

"Adien, wha—" Before Harmony could finish her question, he turned her over, positioned her on all fours, and was buried deep inside of her. Briefly, he paused, letting the powerful bond between them consume him. Then he was moving, giving her strong and commanding thrusts that rocked their worlds.

"More." He heard her moan as her body moved in time with his. "Harder."

Intent on giving her what she needed, Adien reached for her. Gabbing hold of a fist full of her hair, he arched her back and gained deeper access to her.

"Adien." Over and over she moaned his name as her body constricted around him. "I'm coming."

He was too, but he would make sure she was satisfied before he gave in to his pleasure.

Her climax came hard and fast, her walls clutching him, demanding that he join her over the edge, which he did a few short moments later as his world exploded. Cursing, Adien could do nothing but ride out his release as her body milked him for all he had.

Exhausted, Adien fell to the side. Taking Harmony with him, he pulled her into his arms as he waited for the buzzing in his ears to fade. As he lay with his mate in his arms, kissing the back of her neck as she snuggled closer to him, a calm peace washed over him, and he couldn't help but think that if this was what mating felt like in a dream, he couldn't wait to see what it felt like in real life.

_Real life..._ _the thought had him quickly sobering up, his small moment of peace shattered as he remembered his reason for the mating in the first place. His gaze went to the dark head of hair in front of him, and desperation suddenly washed over him._

"Adien." She turned in his arms.

He locked gazes with her, and her concern for him flooded their connection.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing," he told her. "Rest."

She looked as if she wanted to say more, but decided against it. Instead, she gave him a smile that made his heart flutter before nestling herself back into his body.

"I love you." Those three little words, whispered so softly, were enough to bring tears to Adien's eyes. No, he took that back, it wasn't just the words but the feeling. He could feel her love for him, and that was enough to have him holding her tight against him as he savored this moment.

"I love you, my beautiful obsession."

#  Chapter 27

Screaming was how Melody was awoken, to the sound of her own horrific screaming as her contractions hit her. One after the other, they attacked her with no break in between. Her back arched as each breath became harder than the last. Her body strained against the prolonged torment as her children began to demand their entry into the world. With another torturous contraction washing over her, ripping another scream from her sore throat, she was convinced her children were going to kill her.

She just knew it.

Her babies were going to tear her open, and there was nothing she could do about it. As her latest contraction faded, she dropped her head back. Expecting to find the softness of the pillows that covered her bed, Melody was caught off guard when her head banged against the hard stone of a wall. Groaning as the beginnings of a migraine began to appear, she lifted her heavy lids.

It took a moment for her tear-stained vision to clear. When she could see again, Melody was shocked to find himself once again confined to a dark cell. Old memories resurfaced of the time she had been imprisoned by Iraon, her life slowly fading so the beast could mercilessly torment her husband. After Adien had rescued her, she never thought she would see the inside of another one of these cells again.

Seemed she was wrong.

Feeling the oncoming pain of another contraction, Melody struggled to figure out just how she had gotten into her current predicament. The last thing she remembered was being carried in Radien's strong arms to their bed as his worried emotions washed over her. After that, things got hazy.

Looking around the dark cell, Melody wondered just how long she had been locked. Long enough to have her ass going numb from sitting on the ground it seemed. Shifting, she tried to get in a more comfortable position, something nearly impossible to do when her hands were chained above her head. Her arms stretched in a painful and awkward angle, but somehow, she managed to shift her large body into a slightly more comfortable position.

Melody sighed as the pressure eased off her tailbone. However, her relief was sort lived as a vicious contraction consumed her. Biting down on her lip hard enough to draw blood, she endured her agony with miserable whimpers and hot tears.

_Radien!_ Her mind screamed for him. With her powers concentrated on protecting her children, she had no way of knowing if her cry had reached him. Granted, given the way her body was riddled with pain, she doubted she could feel her face, let alone Radien's presence in her mind.

Riding out another bout of pain, Melody's heavy body slumped against her chains.

She was tired—so, so tired—both mentally and physically. All she wanted was for the pain to stop. For one moment, she wanted to be able to take a breath without her body being consumed with pain. One night, that was all she wanted... one night where she could peacefully sleep in the strong arms of her husband and be able to enjoy his presence once more.

God, she missed him, missed his touch, his kiss... his body. Although he was always by her side, a distance had developed between them that couldn't be helped. To be in his presence physically hurt her. The touch that had once brought life to her desires caused her so much pain she had begun to turn away from him. Every time Melody shunned him, a piece of her died.

Tears freely fell from her face.

There was no doubt in her mind that she loved her unborn children, but she was miserable. Had she known it would be like this, she might have thought twice about it.

_No, you wouldn't_ , Melody told herself as she gained enough energy to lift her head. She knew full well that she would have walked this path regardless. She wanted this, to be a mother... to finally have a family of her own.

So, no, she knew there was no chance she would turn back if she could. No matter the cost, she would happily pay it if it gave her the chance to bring life into the world.

"Good, you're awake." The dark voice washed over her like silk, and she cringed.

Turning her attention to the shadowed figure leaning against the door of the cell, Melody growled, "Iraon."

"I am honored you remember me." Iraon pushed himself away from the steel door. Closing the space between them, he towered over her. The beast gave her a hard once over, his gaze lingering just a little too long on her stomach. Raising her legs, she tried her best to protect her babies from the monster before her.

"Who would have thought it was possible." As he crouched down in front of her, a wide smile spread across his face. "You just keep on surprising me, Trinitymate of Light."

"Do not touch me," Melody growled as she noted Iraon's hand coming towards her. She tried to avoid his touch, but it was useless. She was chained, her body drained, and too pregnant to do anything but growl threateningly at him.

"Or what?" the Beast of Rage and Hatred asked with a raised brow. "In this state, there is nothing you can do to me."

The tips of his fingers caressed her cheek in a surprisingly tender way. Suspicious of his motives, Melody watched Iraon through narrowed eyes. The expression on his face was hard to read. A look of longing mixed with dark intentions unnerved her more than the fact he was still stroking the side of her face.

"I have always thought you to be the most beautiful when your face is filled with suffering." Strong fingers gripped her chin as he continued, "I can make it all stop. The pain... the suffering... just give into me."

Give into him? Was he for real?

With another contraction creeping up on her, Melody couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Come to me, you and"—Iraon's gaze went to her stomach—"your twins and I can show you a world of the darkest pleasures you have ever seen. The pain... it will stop. The look on your face says you don't believe me. Here, let me show you."

She couldn't help but flinch as he rested his hand on her protruding stomach.

Melody could feel the beginnings of her next contraction, and then it was gone. Taking her first breath without feeling as if her chest would cave in, she was both amazed and horrified. Wide-eyed, Melody stared at Iraon in a mix of panic and disbelief. "What have you done to me? To my babies?"

"Nothing, they are fine. I simply"—his head titled to the side as if he was trying to find the right word to say—"put them to sleep... Do you believe me now?"

"How?" was the only word that escaped Melody's mouth.

"It's simple." The beast gave her a smile that was meant to be charming. Instead, it put Melody more on edge than she already was. "I hold no hostility towards your children, so they have no reason to repel me. In fact, unlike Radien, I would welcome them with open arms." He paused. "Do you have any idea how much he hates his own children, how he wishes—"

Melody had heard enough. Using Iraon's powers to her advantage, she head-butted him as hard as she could. Caught off guard, he fell backwards. With his control over her gone, the agony and misery she had experienced moments ago slammed into her and ripped another terrifying scream from her throat.

Vision blurring, she made out Iraon's shadowed form as he made his way to his feet. Panting, she struggled to drag air into her failing lungs as he once again approached her.

"You still have some fight in you, I see," Melody heard him say through the increasing ringing in her ears. "I am going to enjoy breaking you. But first..." He fisted a hand full of her hair. Yanking the fragile strands by the roots, he viciously jerked her forward.

Melody refused to cry out as her arms pulled at the sockets.

With a nasty snarl, he told her, "I will rip those precious babies from your body." He paused.

In the silence that followed, and through the haze of her fading mind, Melody could feel something reaching for her. A small piece of her sparked with energy but not enough to keep her awake. She was drowning in her torment and her only reprieve were her short moments of unconsciousness.

"It appears your mate is on his way." Iraon's crimson-colored eyes glowed with excitement. "Let's make sure we give him a warm welcome, shall we?"

#  Chapter 28

Smack!

The hit to Harmony's face was enough to jolt her awake. Pulled from her dream and the warmth of Adien's embrace, she was dropped back into the harsh reality of her world. Cheek stinging, she pried open her eyes to find herself awkwardly chained to a dungeon wall. She didn't want to think about why the room smelled like a mix between death and despair, or why, from what she could see through her half-opened eyes, there was a broken piece of skull sitting a few inches away from her.

What concerned her the most was the uncomfortable and painful way her hands were chained above her head. Looking up, she found heavy iron shackles locked around her wrist that cut painfully into her skin. The wall's hard and jagged stones pressed harshly into her back, causing pain to radiate alone her spine.

Turning her attention to her surroundings, her gaze quickly scanned the area as she did her best to ignore her discomfort and figure out just how she had gotten here. Easier said than done when she was sure the pounding in her head was going to split her skull open. When all that greeted her was a dark and empty room, she frowned.

She hadn't imagined that hit... had she?

Again, her gaze scanned the darkness. Other than the light coming from the dungeon door there was nothing in the room with her. Even so, she wasn't fooled. The residing sting of her cheek told her she wasn't alone, and whoever was in the dungeon with her was doing a damn good job at hiding.

"Hello, beautiful." From the shadows stepped Gabriel, or rather the creature that he had turned into. He towered over her, his skin blending in with the darkness. "You don't look too happy to see me." He smiled at her and showed off a pair of fangs that had tried to take a bite out of her not too long ago.

"I thought you were dead."

Her comment earned her an amused chuckle from the creature. "Far from it, are you disappointed?"

"Not at all, it just means I get the pleasure of killing you a second time."

Gabriel gave a snort before kneeling and asking, "And just how do you plan on doing that?" He reached out, roughly grabbing her by the chin and yanked her forward.

Harmony winced as her arms pulled painfully against her chains.

"You realize you're currently chained to a wall?" With the amusement fading from his features, red eyes narrowed on her as the tips of his claws dug into her cheeks. "You can't hurt me. You never could. Without me, you are nothing. Haven't you realized that by now? Or"—his hold tightened, cutting into her skin until he drew blood—"should I give you another reminder?"

"Trust me," Harmony growled. "I never forgot."

And she would make sure he paid for what he did. Taking one of her legs, Harmony kneed him in the groin as hard as she could and watched in satisfaction as his twisted body doubled over in pain. Nowhere near satisfied, Harmony kicked him again, this time in the top of his head, right between his horns. The kick was hard enough to put some distance between them. With his hold on her gone, Harmony focused her attention on freeing herself.

She pulled at the chains, pushing her pain to the back of her mind, as she tried to free them from the wall. When the chains wouldn't budge, Harmony gave a harsh curse. Her gaze went to Gabriel, who was still squirming on the floor, cupping his groin. It wouldn't be long before he was back on his feet, and if she hadn't freed herself by then, getting out of the cell would be the least of her problems.

_Fuck... come on._ Harmony pulled harder against the chains. Her arms burning, she was sure if she pulled any harder, she would dislocate both her arms. But that didn't matter. As she watched Gabriel make his way back to his feet, she would do what she had to do to make sure she made it out alive.

_Trust us... we are stronger now._ The voice in her head suddenly spoke. Energy, the same strong power she had felt in her dream, swarmed around her. The pain she felt subsided, almost fading into nothing as Gabriel started to make his way towards her. With his claws extended at his sides, it didn't take much for her to imagine what he intended to do to her.

Harmony gave one final yank on the chains. She groaned as pain vibrated through her body, but endured it as the chains finally pulled free of the stone wall. She didn't have time to wallow in her pain as she rolled to the side just in time to avoid taking a hoof to the face.

"Bitch." Gabriel turned on her just as she got to her feet, his red eyes glowing bright with murderous intent. "I will tear you to shreds."

_We will kill him..._ The voice in her head growled as a hot rage consumed her, mixing in with the power building inside of her. Memories, dark and bloody filled her mind as she looked at him. Years of pain and sorrow consumed her, strengthening her resolve that one of them would not be walking out of the dungeon alive.

Her voice stronger as she rotated her arms, she worked out her pain and said, "You and I have unfinished business."

"Indeed." With that, Gabriel came at her, claws and all, intent on slicing her body in half.

Once again, she rolled out of the way. Power coursed through her as she dodged swipe after swipe of his massive claws. She came to her feet a few feet away from him. She didn't have long before Gabriel was attacking her again, this time summoning a large ball of fire. Wide-eyed, Harmony dodged the fireball coming at her. She managed to move out of the way before she could be burned to a crisp. Heat caressed the side of her face as the dungeon wall was obliterated. Stone and debris flying out in every direction, several times she had to jump out of the way to avoid being squished under heavy stones. By the time the debris had settled, Harmony was gasping for breath as her gazed scanned the dungeon for Gabriel.

Too late she realized she had been tricked. A scream was ripped from her as pain exploded throughout her body. Looking down, she saw the tips of his claws sticking out of her stomach. She coughed, blood filling her mouth as her vision blurred.

"I won't give you to anyone else." His voice was in her ear, his breath hot against her neck as she felt the warmth of her blood flow down her body. "You belong to me." He violently snatched his claw free of her body.

This time she didn't have the energy to scream. Not when she couldn't feel her legs anymore. Dropping to her knees, Harmony's mind struggled to process what happened. As Gabriel's hoofed feet came into her line of sight, Harmony felt the rest of her body begin to go numb. With blood pooling at her knees, the shirt she was wearing sticking to her body as she continued to bleed out.

"Finally, you know your place before me."

_Let me in... let us end this_ , the voice in her head demanded as a new buzz of power coursed through her. Giving herself over to the voice inside her, Harmony let her anger and fury wash over her. Using it as a crutch, she empowered herself.

_We will kill him._ With that, her world exploded. Her body twisted and contorted with unimaginable pain as she began to change. One moment she was lying on the floor, sure that she was going to die, and the next, the room exploded in a blinding light, and she was one her feet. Or should she say paws?

Stepping forward, the ground shook under the weight of her paw.

"Now, I will show you your place." The voice that came out of her was not her own but that of the voice that had been inside her head.

_We are one now. Let me take care of this._ Left with no other choice, Harmony gave herself over to her darker side. Turning her attention to Gabriel, who was slowly making his way to his feet, she relished the look of surprise and fear on his face.

Intent on making him feel the same pain she had, Harmony took one of her paws and slapped him into the wall, anger turning her vision red as images from their past flashed before her. Before she knew it, she had snatched Gabriel in her jaws and tossed his limp body around like a rag doll. Just as she was about to swallow one of the nastiest things she was sure she'd ever taste, pain sliced through her. She dropped Gabriel and turned on the source of her pain.

Surprised to see a beautiful, petite, but deadly-looking woman walking through the hole in the wall, Harmony froze, instantly leery of the woman as she picked up the discarded whip and approached Harmony.

"Well, hello, Harmony, Trinitymate of Earth," the woman said, her voice sounding like sex incarnate. "My name is Azuzela, and you and I have much to discuss."

#  Chapter 29

A setup, that was what this was, and with each step Adien took deeper into the dark passageways, he couldn't shake the feeling that he and his brothers had played right into Iraon's hands.

There was no doubt the beast knew they would come for their mates. Iraon most likely planned this all out with the hopes of cornering them and using their weaknesses against them so he could get his hands on the twins. That was the only conclusion Adien could come up with. It was the only one that made sense. The beast had achieved his goal of freeing another one of his Trio members. Iraon should be searching for the last cage. Instead, the beast had suddenly turned his attention to Melody and the twins. Or, maybe, Iraon had always wanted the twins and knew that so long as Melody was near Radien there was no way he could take the pregnant trinitymate.

Adien didn't know, and really didn't care, what Iraon's true intentions were. All that concerned Adien was getting his woman back and making sure Melody and the babies were safe.

_Mate..._ The word still didn't sit right with him, but there was no denying, given the way his heart did an embarrassing little patter in his chest, that he was indeed mated. The bond between him and Harmony drew him to her like a moth to a flame, guiding him down the seemingly endless passageway.

A sudden chill traveling down his spine had Adien frowning as his gaze did another quick sweep of the area. Other than the shadows of the flames from the torches that lined the dungeon walls, there was nothing out of the ordinary. Not visibly anyway. The feeling that they were being carefully watched clawed at the put of his stomach.

"It's pretty quiet down here," Jaden said.

Turning his attention to his elder brother, Adien watched the male run a finger along one of the many empty dungeon doors before saying, "And dirty too."

"It's a dungeon, Jaden," Radien started, his annoyance and frustration evident in his tone. "What else is it supposed to be?" Glowing eyes focused on them from over Radien's large shoulder. "If you're not going to help, then fucking leave." With that, their eldest brother dismissed them and picked up his pace.

"Nice going," Adien told Jaden when they locked gazes.

"You were thinking the same thing," Jaden snapped, and Adien shook his head. Their bickering wasn't going to get them anywhere.

"You know this is a trap, right?" Jaden continued.

Of course he knew. They all knew it was a trap, but it was one they didn't think twice about walking into when their women were in danger. "I know."

With his gaze going to Radien, whose figure was getting smaller and smaller as he walked ahead of them, Adien said in a somber voice, "But we have no choice... we can't turn back now."

For a while Jaden was silent as they caught up to Radien, who had stopped as he came to a large dungeon passage that split into several different halls.

"Isn't this just great?" Jaden groaned as he came to stand beside Adien. "Which way are they?"

"Knowing Iraon and Azuzela, I'm willing to bet they split them up so they could separate us," Adien told his brother.

"Divide and conquer was always their preference," Jaden responded as they continued to stare down the dimly lit halls.

"Melody." Radien might have whispered his mate's name, but there was no denying the longing in his voice.

From behind Radien, Adien watched Radien's head tilt to the side as if someone was speaking to him. When his large body tensed, Adien instantly knew that whatever Radien heard was not good for any of them.

"Wha—" Adien's words were cut off as Radien took off down the hall to the left without saying a word to either him or Jaden.

Giving a harsh curse, Adien started after Radien, only to have Jaden grab him by the arm. Turning on his brother, he started to ask him what the hell he was thinking but quickly shut his mouth when he saw Jaden's hardened expression.

"Go and find your mate. I will follow, Radien." Just like their eldest brother, Jaden took off down the hall before Adien could say another word.

As Adien watched his brothers' receding figures, he prayed they reached Melody in time. However, given the wave of frantic panic and fear coursing through their bond, he feared the worse for Radien.

For the moment, he would have to push his concerns for Melody and his brothers to the back of his mind. There was something much more important that needed his attention.

_Harmony..._ Adien called out to her, searching for her presence in the back of his mind. Their linked connection was still new, and in truth, with their mating happening in the dream, he had no clue how strong it would be. He just hoped it was enough to find her.

_Harmony..._ He reached for her again. Their link sparked with a fearful desperation that sent him into a world of panic. Locking on to her erratic energy, Adien took off down the hall to his right.

The farther he raced down the hall, the more uneasy he became. Passing empty cell after empty cell, Adien wondered just how long he was going to have to run until he reached his destination. As if to answer his question, the sound of approaching footsteps echoed down the passageway and, with it, the earthy scent of his woman.

_Harmony..._ He called to her again as he picked up his pace.

"Adien." His name echoed down the halls the same time her shadowed figured emerged from the shadows. Hobbling out of the darkness, she used the stone wall for support.

That was when it hit him, the scent of her blood. Thick and heavy, it penetrated his senses with the horrible feeling that he was too late, a feeling that was only reinforced as he watched her legs give out from under her. Giving another hard curse, Adien rushed to her and managed to catch Harmony just before she could hit the ground. His arms quickly wrapping her in their embrace as dull golden eyes stared up at him.

"Adien." It was all she managed to say before her body went slack against him.

Fear and worry mixed with his bubbling rage as he eased her to the ground. Careful not to hurt her any more than she already was, Adien cradled her in his arms. Tears he hadn't cried in a very long time burned the back of his eyes as he took in her battered condition. Small cuts and bruises covered her face while a giant gash on her forehead dyed her hair with blood. And yet, it was the blood that soaked into his clothes that truly scared him. As gently as he could, he sat her up. One look at her back and his vision turned red. It was obvious the blades of Azuzela's whip had ripped the flesh from Harmony's back.

"Well, well, well..." The all-too-familiar voice had Adien turning his attention back down the hall. "Look at what we have here."

Getting to his feet with his mate in his arms, Adien watched Azuzela step from darkness of the dungeon, a wide smile plastered across her face. As beautiful as ever, she stood before him dressed in a simple pair of ripped jeans and a T-shirt. She was sin incarnate, and there was one point in time when Adien would have enjoyed the warmth of her body. But when he spared a quick glance to Harmony, he knew things were different. He was different.

"Adien," the Mistress of Lust said as she came to stand a few feet away from him. "It has been a very long time. I have missed you." She motioned her head towards Harmony. "How about you put her down and come play with me for a bit?" She purred at him, her weight shifting from leg to leg as she bit her bottom lip.

"Very well," was Adien's dry response. Turning, he placed Harmony on the ground behind him before focusing his attention back to Azuzela.

"Do you remember?" She stalked towards him. "The feel of my lips." The air hummed as she began to draw her power. "The taste of my body."

"Of course." Calling forth his own power, Adien let it fill his body. "This will not end well for you."

Azuzela's smile widened as she said, "I agree, this won't end well... for _you_. It is time to face the sins of your past, my handsome lover." With that, she attacked, her powerful blast of energy coming straight for him.

Unable to roll out of the way with Harmony lying on the ground a few feet away from him, Adien took the full force of the hit. His forearms burned as the power slammed into him, but he wouldn't waver. Straining against the force of the blast, Adien summoned his powers.

"Foolish boy, you will always belong to me." He could hear Azuzela even if he couldn't see past her attack. Using her voice to pinpoint her location, Adien made his move. The thick roots of the Neither World trees sprouted from the walls, trapping Azuzela in an earthly prison that gave him the reprieve he needed to get Harmony out of harm's way. With the skin of his arms feeling as if it was going to melt off, Adien lifted Harmony into his arms.

His gaze quickly scanning the area, Adien looked for a safe place to put her. Spotting a nearby empty cell, Adien hurried over. Kicking the rusted metal door open, he rushed inside and made quick work of tucking Harmony away. In the background, he could hear Azuzela as she clawed her way out of her confinement.

Stepping back into the hallway, he readied himself for the fight of his life, but not before he piled a thick layer of stone in front of Harmony's dungeon door. Confident she would be safe until he returned, he turned his attention back to Azuzela, who burst free of his makeshift cage at the same time. The she-beast wasted no time in her next attack, coming at him with swift punches and kicks that he barely managed to dodge. It took him several moments, but he managed to catch one of her kicks aimed for his head. With a tight hold on her ankle he tossed her back down the dungeon hall.

Before she could get to her feet, Adien was on her again. Grabbing her by the hair, he flung her into the nearest wall. The sound of her body cracking the stone surface was music to his ears. But it wasn't enough. It was nowhere near enough when he thought about the pain his mate was in. He would make sure Azuzela felt the same agony she had caused Harmony. Once again grabbing her, he pulled her to her feet. Drawing back, he aimed his punch for her face, only to have his arm freeze mid-strike.

Piercing blue eyes stared at him in amusement a moment before another one of her powerful blasts sent him flying across the hall. Newfound pain shot along Adien's spine as he hit the wall, his breath leaving him in a "whoosh." The next thing he felt was a swift kick to his ribs. Strong and precise, the hit had Adien doubling over as another kick was aimed straight for his head. Unable to move out of the way fast enough, Azuzela's foot connected with Adien's temple, sending him sailing farther down the dungeon hall until he hit another stone, wall.

His head cracked against a misplaced stone and his vision went black for a moment as his body hit the ground. Groaning, Adien shook off his distorted vision just in time to see the tips of the Lagneia Whip coming towards him. Having no intention of being beheaded, Adien rolled out of the way of the sharp blades. As quickly as the blades were retracted, they were once again coming towards him. Once more, Adien managed to move out of the way, causing the whip to get momentarily stuck in the wall behind him. By the time he made it to his feet, Azuzela had pulled her weapon free of the wall.

"What's the matter, pup?" Azuzela mocked, her tongue licking the blood from her busted lip. "Have you forgotten what I taught you?"

Had he forgotten what she taught him? Of course not. He would never forget. As Adien squared off with his old lover, he promised to teach her a lesson she would never forget.

#  Chapter 30

Radien!

Melody's scream thundered in Radien's mind, causing him to stumble over his own feet in his hurried pace down the dungeon hall. Briefly, their connection had been restored. As much as Radien wanted to rejoice, he didn't have time to as pain radiated through their link.

"Radien." He could barely hear Jaden yell through the persistent screaming that filled Radien's head.

Radien groaned as his wife's suffering became his. Bracing himself against the wall, he took several deep breaths as he struggled to keep himself upright. Even so, each breath he took became harder than the last. Just when he thought he couldn't take it anymore, sure that his brain was going to explode, their connection was cut. The screams of pain rapidly vanishing, Radien dragged himself from the wall.

"Ra—" Jaden's words we cut off by soft whimpers suddenly echoing through the hall.

Ignoring Jaden and his shout to wait, Radien took off down the hall. He followed the cries until they became loud sobs that originated from a cell a few feet to the right of him.

_Melody..._ His heart pounding in his chest, Radien reached the cellar door. One swift kick to the old and rusted door had it falling off its hinges. Rushing into the room, he came up short as he laid eyes on Melody. One glance at her was all it took to have his world spinning on its axis. Without a second thought to what might await him in the dark corners of the dungeon's cell, Radien hurried over to her. Dropping to his knees in front of her, Radien's first thought was to pull her into his arms. Instead, he turned his attention to the chains that held her. Surprised that Iraon would use ordinary chains instead of enchanted ones, Radien got to his feet and made quick work of ripping the chains from the wall. Like a rag doll, her arms fell limply on her stomach.

"This is almost too easy," Jaden said as he made his way over to Radien.

Radien wouldn't argue with that. As he lifted his unconscious mate into his arms, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched. Around him the walls of the dungeon shook as the sounds of a fight echoed through the cracks in the wall. From the sounds he heard, there was no doubt in his mind Adien had not only found Harmony but had also run into Azuzela in the process, which meant Radien had to get Melody back to Oblivion before Iraon made his appearance.

"Looking for me?"

_Speak of the devil..._ Radien thought as Iraon materialized by the dungeon opening. Clutching Melody closer to him, Radien cautiously eyed the beast before him, watching Iraon's every move as he stalked around the dungeon.

"And where do you think you're going?" Iraon asked.

From beside him, Radien could feel Jaden as he readied himself for a fight as he placed himself between Radien and Iraon. While Jaden's outside demeanor might have appeared calm and collected, Radien knew his sibling well enough to know that under that calm exterior he was a live wire, ready to go toe to toe with the beast in front of them at a moment's notice.

"I wondered just how long it—" Jaden's words were cut off as one of Iraon's daggers embedded itself in Jaden's shoulder blade and then another in his thigh, dropping him to one knee.

"I don't believe I was talking to you," Iraon snarled and then turned his attention to Radien. "Sorry, but I can't let you leave yet. The fun is just beginning."

It had been ages since one of Iraon's nasty little daggers had made itself home inside Jaden's body. So long, in fact, that he had forgotten just how painful it was to have one of the sharp blades cut through his flesh.

"Motherfuc—" Grinding his teeth against the pain, Jaden gripped the handle of the dagger nestled in his shoulder, yanked it free, and then did the same to the one in his thigh. Blood flowed from his wounds while the blood left on the blades was absorbed into the ancient weapon.

"I'll have that back if you don't mind," Iraon said.

When Jaden lifted his head, he found Iraon's stare fixed on him. The small smirk on his face was evidence enough that the beast was thoroughly enjoying the little game he was playing. From behind, Jaden could feel Radien's erratic energy. Jaden turned his attention to his brother, knowing he was caught between a rock and a hard place. It was clear from the look on Radien's face that he would love nothing more than to bash Iraon's head against the nearest wall, and the fact that Radien couldn't, only served to piss him off more.

Jaden's gaze quickly went to the woman that was softly moaning in Radien's arm. One look at the trinitymate and it was clear that they had run out of time. With the scent of fresh blood suddenly filling the air, it was only a matter of time before Melody gave birth. Although the last thing Jaden wanted to do was sacrifice himself for his bastard older brother, he wouldn't let Melody give birth here.

"You want your dagger back," Jaden growled. Annoyed at the smirk that still played on Iraon's face, he told the beast, "Then take it." With that, Jaden tossed the daggers he had been palming at Iraon.

The blades sliced through the darkness, their planned destination the center of Iraon's chest. However, just as Jaden knew Iraon would, he caught the blades of the daggers between his fingers, giving Jaden the perfect opportunity to shoot a fireball at Iraon before he could react and watch as his body crashed into the hallway wall. His body then hit the ground in a smoky heap.

Ignoring the pain radiating through his body from the dagger's wounds, Jaden began to make his way towards Iraon, who was making his way to his feet.

Opening a connection Jaden hadn't used in years, he called to his brother. _I'll provide the distraction. Those babies aren't going to wait much longer._

Are you sure you want to do this?

Jaden gave a huff as he came to stand at the center of the dungeon and watched Iraon dust himself off before locking gazes with each other.

Why are you still here?

_Make sure you get your ass back when you are done._ Just like that, his brother vanished, leaving Jaden to focus on the challenge in front of him. Just as he began to summon another fireball, Iraon charged. Jaden ditched his plan to blast the creature through the dungeon wall, and using his body to create a new passageway, he summoned a wall of fire. Flames born from the darkest pits of the Underworld erupted from the ground and stretched from floor to ceiling. With debris and ash falling on top of his head, Jaden summoned more of his power, channeling the chaotic element he controlled as several blades emerged from the fire, aimed straight for the vital points of the body. Conjuring up a stream of thick fire, he deflected the blades but was not prepared for the kick to his side that sent him barreling into the closest wall.

Pain exploded throughout Jaden's body, even more so once he cracked his head on the ground. Vision blurring, he had no time to recover as Iraon attacked, throwing powerful kicks to Jaden's midsection and head, most of which Jaden managed to block.

"Do you really think," Iraon snarled between blows, "that will make a difference?" Another hard kick to the stomach had Jaden coughing up blood. At that point, he was pretty sure several of his ribs were broken and he had a fracture somewhere along his left side.

"Haven't you learned by now?" Iraon continued to taunt as he wrapped a hand around Jaden's neck. "We will always win."

With Iraon's tight hold cutting off Jaden's circulation, there wasn't much Jaden could do other than hold the other man's hands in an effort to keep himself from being strangled.

"After all these years..." Through his hazy vision, Jaden could see Iraon's eyes glow a bright red as his features became twisted by the beast that lived beneath the surface of his skin. "I will never understand why Ividian didn't kill you when he had the chance. Guess I'll have to do it and create a new balance in the world."

With his air supply continually being cut off, it was becoming harder and harder to stay awake. Having heard enough of Iraon's trip down memory lane, and having had enough of his mocking, Jaden focused his powers. Instantly, Iraon's body was covered in Underworld flames. Hotter than any other flame, it seared the beast's arm so that he had no other choice but to drop Jaden to tend to his flayed hand.

With his power burning through his body, Jaden blocked out his screams of pain as he held up a fire-covered arm.

"After all these years..." Jaden mocked Iraon as the flames surrounding him became larger and more crazed, circling him in a wild frenzy. "Haven't you realized, _Great Beast of Hatred,_ I don't give a shit about half the shit you say?" With that, Jaden let loose a wave of fire and watched with dark satisfaction as Iraon's body was tossed into the hallway and consumed by fire. Still, Jaden didn't stop. Directing the fire down the dungeon hall, he marveled at the destruction and carnage it left in its wake. Stone walls were turned to crumbling rubble from the heat of the flames while anything on the ground was turned to ash.

Only when his need for chaos was satisfied did he call back his firestorm. His powers draining from his body, Jaden willed his legs to support his weight as he slowly made his way down the demolished hall. His crimson gaze scanning the debris for Iraon's remains, but much to Jaden's disappointment, there was nothing of the beast to be found under the soot. Somehow Iraon had managed to escape the worst of Jaden's attack _._

Although Jaden would have preferred his flames to incinerate the beast, Jaden would take what he could get. Iraon might have survived their little run in, but there was no doubt in Jaden's mind the beast had been badly injured. Healing from Jaden's flames would take longer than normal, providing them with the reprieve they needed to prepare for the war that was on the horizon and give Jaden just a little more time with the family he didn't deserve.

#  Chapter 31

A pounding headache woke Harmony from her sleep. Lifting her heavy lids, she was once again greeted by the darkness of a dungeon cell. Confusion washing over her, Harmony made her way to her feet as her eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness of the room. Ignoring the way her arms screamed in pain as she pushed herself up and the bucking of her weary knees, Harmony scrambled to keep her balance. Once she was sure her legs wouldn't give out from under her, she stumbled her way towards the cellar door. Trying the handle, she wasn't surprised when the door didn't budge.

Pressing her ear against the rusted metal, Harmony could hear the faint sounds of fighting. In the back of her mind, she felt Adien's presence. Immediately she reached for him. The moment they were connected, short and sporadic tremors of pain coursed through her.

How do I get out of here?

She had to get to him. With each spark of pain that flowed through their bond, she could feel him growing weaker. Taking several steps away from the door, Harmony closed her eyes and let her power consume her the same way she had when she fought Gabriel moments before. The warmth of her power blanketed her, revitalizing her. She no longer felt as if she would collapse at any moment.

_Let's do this_ , she told herself as she extended a shaky arm. Mimicking what she had seen Adien do back in her home, Harmony watched as thick roots broke through the ceiling. The roots turned and twisted around each other until they had formed a massive ball that dropped from the ceiling. Its weight cracked the ground, and a smile appeared across Harmony's face.

_I can get used to this_ , Harmony thought as she eyed her creation. _Let's see what this thing can do._ With that thought, she focused her power and pushed the dense mass of roots forward with enough force to send it barreling through the cellar door and whatever else might have been blocking her escape. She covered her eyes as debris and stone flew past her. Just before the ball could demolish another wall, the roots untangled and dissolved into the ground. Dust settling, Harmony hastily made her way out the cell. Following the sounds of fighting and her connection to Adien, she navigated her way down the dungeon passageways.

Harmony had no idea what awaited her as she reached the heart of the battle. If she did, she might have rethought her plan. Ducking a large rock, almost the size of a boulder, that came speeding at her out the darkness, she rounded the corner and came up short when she laid eyes on the scene in front of her.

Caught between screaming, running for her life, or marveling in fascination, Harmony could only stare wide-eyed at a creature she had only seen in the movies. Terrifying disbelief filled her as the creature turned its attention towards her.

Harmony stepped back.

Staring at the wolf-like creature, her body trembled with fear. The wide width of its massive body consumed the passageway as two of the creature's three heads focused on her; the third's attention remained fixated ahead of it.

"Well, well, well," the familiar voice cut through Harmony's fearful trance. "Look who decided to come out of hiding and face her death like a woman."

Turning her head in the direction of the voice, Harmony watched Azuzela step from the shadows. Her face was a mask of enraged amusement as she stalked towards Harmony with a long triple bladed whip. As a new wave of panic consumed Harmony, her senses went into overload, her reality and the world around her changing at such a rapid rate her mind was beginning to crack.

"Adien, it looks like your little mate fears us." A wide and somewhat deranged smile spread across her face. "Didn't you show her your true form? Didn't you let her see the beast that lurks behind that handsome face of yours?" The female gave a chilling laugh that had chills spreading across Harmony's arms before Azuzela's icy eyes narrowed dangerously. "Let me show you the world you have stepped into... something for you to truly fear."

One moment the beautiful but crazed female was approaching, and the next, Azuzela was sent crashing into the wall behind her. From above, Harmony a long and thick tail dropped down around her, confining her as she was confronted by several sets of eyes. Inside, her fear and panic whirled like a raging storm, making it impossible for her to run away.

"Harmony." Her name echoed all around her. Startled, she tripped over her feet. Falling backwards, Harmony braced herself to hit the ground. When her fall was cushioned by the soft firmness of the creature's tail, Harmony stared up at the creature in bewilderment.

"I won't hurt you," the creature told her. "I would never hurt you." Its tail pushed her to her feet, subtly caressing her legs as he continued to speak. "Can't you recognize me?" He leaned in closer to her, surrounding her with his body. With a head taking up a side of her, she was dominated by his familiar presence. "Can you not recognize the man you claimed to have tamed?" The continuous sound of his voice, along with his words, had recognition slamming into her.

With an unbelieving gasp, Harmony said, "Adien."

The massive animal growled in response, the sound echoing from all around her. Reaching a shaky hand out, Harmony patted the top of his head, amazed by how soft the rich browns of his fur were. In the scarce light of the ruined hall, she could make out the golden highlights in his fur. But it was the sparkling deep green of his eyes that held her captive and pulled her into a world where only the two of them existed.

"Harmony." He did a half-growl-half-purr thing that had taboo thoughts swarming in her head. "Stop staring at me like that. We hav—"

Adien was yanked away from her so quickly she didn't know what happened. However, Harmony quickly realized her mistake of forgetting where they were and what they were there for. Too caught up in the scandals of her fantasies, thoughts of her enemy had quickly faded to the back of her mind. Azuzela used her whips to wrap around Adien's neck and send his large body down another passageway.

"Now..." the female said as she turned her attention back to Harmony. Cracking her whip, she growled, "Let's have a little girls' chat, shall we?"

With the hound in Harmony springing to life, recharged from her last fight with Gabriel, she didn't back down as Azuzela attacked. The blades of her whip cut through the air and would have sliced Harmony in three if she didn't roll out of the way. On her feet in an instant, Harmony let her hound take over as she charged Azuzela. Shifting forms midway, Harmony collided with the woman, and the two of them rolled into the nearest wall.

Before Harmony could make it to her feet and shake off her daze, a swift and hard kick to the side sent her across the room. She hit the ground hard enough to hear something crack. But she wouldn't worry about that. Ignoring her pain, Harmony pushed herself to her feet and looked just in time to see Azuzela making her way towards her whip.

Surging forward, Harmony knew she couldn't let Azuzela get her hands on that weapon again. Without a thought to a plan, Harmony opened her mouth. Just as she was about to attack, and before Azuzela could get her hands on her whip, Adien's tail shot from the darkness. While Azuzela managed to intercept Adien's attack, she couldn't protect herself from Harmony's attack. The earthly ball hit Azuzela square in the chest, dropping her to the ground. Wasting no time, Harmony shifted back to her human form as she dashed towards Azuzela's weapon.

From the darkness of another hall, she caught a glimpse of Adien as he rushed towards her, changing from hound to human mid-stride. As much as she wanted to embrace him, Harmony knew she needed to get that whip. Yet, just as she reached for it, something stopped her hand. Eyes growing wide once more, Harmony turned her head in time to see that not only was she froze in place by some unseen force, but Adien was also held in place.

"That..." As if she were the phoenix rising from the fire, Azuzela rose from the debris. This time, however, she was staggering to wobbly feet as blood tricked from a deep gash on her forehead. "Hurt."

Suddenly, Harmony found herself slammed into the ground. Her head hitting the hard surface caused her vision to turn black for several seconds. When she looked again, Harmony found herself watching Azuzela make her way towards Adien. Harmony tried to push herself to her feet, and she groaned as pain shot through her leg and side. She cursed as she continued to will her body to move. Nothing happened, and she was forced to watch as Azuzela grabbed Adien by the throat, his body dangling limply in the air.

Dragging herself across the ground, the lower half of her body going numb, Harmony opened her mouth to scream and get Azuzela's attention, but no sound came out. Exhaustion began to overtake Harmony.

_I have to do something_ , she thought as her gaze quickly scanned her surroundings. She spotted Azuzela's bloodied whip on the ground a few feet away. With what little energy Harmony had left, she crawled her way to the discarded weapon. Searing pain consumed her as the rough ground tore at the open wounds along her side. Still, she kept moving as the air around her buzzed with sinister power. With the hairs on the back of her neck prickling with menacing foreboding, Harmony wrapped her hand around the whip's handle. With no time to waste, she gathered herself, drawing power from the hound that lurked inside her. Straining, Harmony used the dungeon wall's uneven stones to make her way to her feet. The instant she was upright, the whip's blades snapped together. Its pieces fitting perfectly together to create one of the most beautiful yet terrifying swords she had ever seen.

Equipped with her weapon, Harmony willed her body into motion. At first, her steps were clumsy and shaky, but soon enough adrenaline flowed through her veins. Pushing her fatigue to the back of her mind, her limping gait turned into a full-on charge. As if she were some ancient warrior, Harmony let out a loud battle cry as she surged forward with her sword drawn.

Azuzela turned to Harmony too late as she jammed the sword into her enemy's back. Effortlessly, the blade cut through flesh and bone as blood splattered across Harmony's face.

"Die, bitch," Harmony growled as she yanked the blade free from Azuzela's body. The look of shock and disbelief etched across the female's face made all the pain worth it. She felt even better as she watched the beast release Adien and drop to her knees. Azuzela's body hit the ground like a ton of bricks. Breathing heavily, Harmony tossed the blood-covered weapon to the side and rushed over to Adien.

She paid no mind to her body's protest as she dropped to her knees and gathered Adien's head in her lap. Fighting back tears, Harmony pushed Adien's dirty and matted hair from his face.

"Adien," she softly called to him while keeping a close eye on Azuzela. Harmony felt nothing as she watched the female struggle to pull herself across the ground, dark streaks of blood trailing behind her as she sought an escape.

The thought of taking the sword and finishing what she had started consumed Harmony. If it hadn't been for the sudden jerk in her arms as Adien began to stir, she would have given in to the impulse. Focusing her attention back on the man in her arms, Harmony looked down to find his emerald gaze fixed on her through half-hooded lids.

She couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. When he lifted his arm and his hand caressed her face, Harmony's eyes drifted close to savor his touch. A mistake she quickly realized as her body swayed. The exhaustion she had ignored moments before suddenly overwhelmed her. Before she knew it, she was toppling over. The last thing she heard was Adien's concerned shout a moment before she was lost to darkness. She just prayed the next time she opened her eyes she was greeted with the warmth of her bed and not the cold inside of another dark dungeon.

Adien managed to catch Harmony before she could collapse on top of him. Taking his unconscious mate into his arm, he paid no attention to his own pain as he enjoyed the warmth of her body. His gaze scanned the ruined dungeon halls. There were holes through dungeon cells while pieces of stone fell from the ceiling, but it was the sight of Azuzela's motionless form that demanded his attention. The scent of fresh blood filled the air as it continued to pool under her. A few feet away from him was the Lagneia Whip, covered in the blood of its owner.

Pride swelled in Adien's chest as he pieced together the events that happened while he was knocked out.

_That's my girl_ , he thought.

As much as he wanted to stare, gloat, and wallow in Azuzela's suffering, his top priority was getting Harmony safely home before he passed out. With the pounding of an impending headache forming at his temples, Adien figured it would be sooner rather than later. Looking at Harmony, with his strength fading, he knew he couldn't lift her in the state he was in. He decided to lay her gently on the ground and then staggered his way to his feet. Only when he was positive his legs wouldn't cave under him did he retrieve Harmony. Several harsh curses flew from his mouth as he lifted her into his arms. Instantly pain slammed into him, his body warning him not to overdo it.

Just when he began to vanish from the dungeon and make his way to his father's place, a sickening feeling traveled down his spine.

"I swear." He heard Thana's voice long before he saw her. His body tensing, Adien watched Thana materialize in front of him.

Dressed in her usual leather and mesh, she watched him with an all-too-calm expression that rattled Adien's nerves. It was obvious the Universe of Death was plotting something, and whatever it was spelled more trouble for him and his family.

"These creations are such disappointments. I will never understand what he was thinking when he demanded their creation." Her flame-colored gaze lingered on Azuzela. The look of hate Adien saw on her face was one he was all too familiar with—the look when one woman found out about the other yet there was nothing either one of them could do about it.

"Don't you agree, Hound of Earth?" Thana turned her attention to Adien. Like every other time he was in her presence, there was a piece of him that wanted to run and hide under the nearest bed in fear of her power. As frightening as she was, Adien stood his ground, refusing to give in to the fear she provoked in those around her. Instead, he watched her, curious as to what she was up to.

"You can relax, Hound. I have no intention of killing you," she told him, but they both knew there would be a _yet_ tacked on to the end of her statement. "Besides, haven't you and your mate been through enough for today? Is fighting me really something you want to do?"

Not if he could avoid it, but that didn't mean he would relax around her. "So what is it you want?"

Thana gave a dark chuckle as turned her back to Adien. "What I want..." She headed towards Azuzela's weapon. "Is for you to give your father a message for me." She picked up the whip.

Adien continued to silently observe the Supreme Being as she leisurely turned and made her way over to Azuzela. She fisted a hand full of Azuzela's hair and continued, "Tell him that his time is running out, and soon he will feel the wrath of those who call the darkness their home." With those ominous words lingering in the air, Thana vanished, taking Azuzela and the Lagneia Whip with her.

_The wrath of those who call the darkness their home..._ He had no clue what Thana was hinting at or why she was so intent on destroying his father, but once he had patched himself up and Harmony had rested, he would tell his father and brother about Thana. Until then, Adien would spend time with the one person that meant the world to him.

#  Chapter 32

Harmony felt the soft touch of fingertips against her skin, accompanied by gentle vibrations that soothed her aching muscles. Moaning as the touch continued to travel down her side, Harmony tucked herself into the warmth of the body next to her. Nestled against the hard muscles of his body, she was content to stay there forever. If only she could. As Harmony slowly came to, she couldn't ignore the sense of urgency coursing through her.

"You're awake." Adien's voice washed over her and drew her attention to his awaiting gaze.

Her heart did an embarrassing patter in her chest that had her cheeks flushing as she lost herself in the depths of his emerald gaze.

"We have a lot we need to talk about," he told her as he ran his thumb across her cheek.

"A lot doesn't quite cover it," Harmony remarked as she brought her hand up between them. Resting it against his bare chest, she felt the ridges of one of his many scars and frowned.

"I'll be fine." Whispering in her ear, Adien pulled her flush against his body, leaving her little room to argue. "I'm just glad I reached you in time."

She was too. There was no telling what would have happened to her if he hadn't showed up when he did. Between her fight with Gabriel and running into Adien's monster ex, Harmony knew she had been outmatched and overpowered despite the fact that she had awakened to a new power within herself. Although, that didn't change the fact she intended to make Azuzela pay for the misery she had caused.

"How is Melody?" Harmony asked, switching her attention to something much more important. There was no doubt in her mind that if Adien had managed to find her that Radien had undoubtedly made it to Melody on time. If not, Harmony was sure she wouldn't be lying comfortably in Adien's arms. But rather, she would be awakening to a new kind of hell.

"She is stabilized.... for the moment. But it's only a matter of time before she gives birth."

"Then what are we doing here? I need to get to her." Harmony went to sit up, only to have Adien's arms lock around her. Giving him a puzzled yet pissed-off look, she said, "Let me go."

"Don't blame me. Anima was the one who ran me off insisting that you rest. Harmony, please..." His pleading fell on deaf ears. She didn't want to hear what he had to say or about who had told him what.

"Let me go." This time she growled impatiently at him. He gave a defeated sigh but wisely let her go. Tossing the covers from her body, Harmony was on her feet in an instant.

"Harmony," Adien called after her, but she ignored him as she rushed towards the bedroom door. Gripping the brass handle, she tried to yank the door open. When it didn't move, she turned around to find Adien standing behind her, dressed in nothing but a pair of boxers that did nothing to hide the erection pointed at her.

It was nearly impossible for her not to be distracted by him. Even when he was covered in angry-looking cuts and bruises, the sight of him did wicked things to her body, especially the sight of his birthmark. She remembered all too clearly his reaction when she had stroked its twisted branches.

_Fuck... now is not the time for this._ Shaking her head clear, Harmony crossed her arms over her chest and did her best to ignore the subtle throbs of pain spreading through her, reminding her of her own injuries that had yet to heal.

"I am not wa—" Harmony's words trailed off as her nipple rubbed against her forearm. Looking down at herself, her eyes went wide.

"That's why I told you to wait." The amusement reflected in Adien's stare irked her as she brought her gaze to his. "I had to clean you up once we got back. What's left of your clothing is in the trash." The enjoyment faded from his face as he closed the small distance between them.

Pinned between his body and the door, Harmony couldn't help the desire that consumed her. With his dark scent invading her senses, his presence took her hostage and refused to let go.

He gripped her by the chin. His gaze intense, he demanded she focus on him and not the depraved thoughts swimming in her head. Something that was easy to do given the hardened expression he wore and the solemn emotions that drifted through their bonded connection.

When he opened his mouth to speak again, his voice was laced with a sad desperation that had tears burning the back of her eyes. "For a moment, I thought I had lost you." He released his hold on her chin in favor of running the backs of his knuckles across her cheek.

"You're not getting rid of me that easily," Harmony told him, her arms coming up to around his neck as her hands found their way into the thick strands of his hair. The growl that echoed from him was low and promising, and Harmony had a hard time keeping herself from climbing on top of him and taking what she wanted.

"I—" Adien's words were cut off as a loud scream echoed around them, and with it, a pulse of power that shook the room.

"Was that Mel—" This time it was Harmony's words that were cut off as another powerful surge of power shook the room.

"Let's go." With a snap of his fingers, they were dressed and racing out the bedroom door and down the hall towards the room Melody and Radien shared.

Harmony had no idea what awaited her as she neared the room's large double doors, but she would make sure she stayed by her sister's side until the very end.

With Adien close by, Harmony pushed opened the doors, stepped into the room, and instantly froze. She was not prepared for what awaited her in that room. Nor was she ready for the sight of her sister's body being torn open as she gave birth. Blood, so thick and dark it was almost black, covered the sheets underneath Melody. Her screams, which would chill the devil's soul, filled the room, unbearable sounds that had hopeless and desperate tears stinging Harmony's eyes as the thought of losing her sister left her shaken.

"My beauty." Harmony's wide gaze went to Radien, who sat with his wife between his legs, unable to do anything other than offer his support and little comfort as their children entered the world.

Low murmuring drew Harmony's gaze to Bion, who stood over Melody with his eyes closed and shaky hands extended over her stomach. While she saw his lips moving, she couldn't hear what he was saying over her sister's screams.

"Here they come!" Anima shouted over all the chaotic noise. Seated between Melody's legs with water and towels, and the only calm demeanor in the room, it was obvious Anima had been through this before. "I can see on—"

Anima's words were cut off by a scream so terrifying it made Harmony shrink back for a second. She quickly recovered and rushed to her sister's side. Climbing on to the empty side of the bed, Harmony took Melody's hand, trying to offer her comfort.

For a brief moment, her tear-stained face and red eyes locked with Harmony's. She gave her sister a reassuring smile that Melody might have returned if another scream hadn't been ripped from her throat.

"Melody!" Anima continued to shout over the screaming. "I'm going to need you to start pushing. Okay?"

Melody's only reply was a pain-filled grunt.

"Good, now push," Anima ordered, and Melody complied.

_Harmony..._ the sudden sound of Radien's voice in Harmony's head startled her.

Cutting him a side glance, Harmony responded, _what is it?_

_I need you to help her... please._ His voice cracked. _I can't lose her... not now, not ever._

_How am I supposed to help?_ She asked him.

"That's it Melody. The head is almost free," Anima yelled.

_Harmony... please..._ Radien's voice was back in her head, adding more pressure on top of what she was already feeling.

She wanted to help. But how? How could she help her sister when Harmony had no idea what she was doing? In the face of her naiveté of the world around her, she realized just how powerless she really was.

_Don't make such a worrisome face._ This time it was Adien's dark rumble of a voice she heard in her head. _I'm right here with you._ He touched her shoulder, and she let his presence sooth her and wash away her worries. _Now, I want you to listen to me and do exactly as I tell you, okay?_

Harmony nodded.

Leaning in, he whispered. "Good, close your eyes and focus your energy. Give yourself over to the world around you. Open your mind and your senses, and you will be able to feel the power of everyone in this room."

Following Adien's instructions, Harmony closed her eyes and focused. Just like Adien said she would, she felt the unimaginable powers of those around her, all except for one. There buried under all the strength and power filling the room was a small spark of energy struggling to hold on to its last remaining moments.

_Melody..._ The tears Harmony fought to keep from falling flowed freely from her face as she focused on her sister's fading life force.

_What do I do now?_ Determined to save her sister, Harmony waited for her next instruction.

I want you to latch on to her power like you do with me. Good, just like that. Next, wrap your energy around her. Yeah, just like that. As my mate, you can harness the world's energy. Let that power fill you until it is all you know.

As Adien spoke, his voice warm and soothing, power flowed through her veins. Pure and potent, it was like noting she'd ever felt before. Even the power she had fought with in the dungeon paled in comparison to what she felt in that moment.

Once you're ready, I want you to let go and channel your powers into Melody.

Continuing to do as she was told, Harmony's power spilled out of her. It overflowed in marvelous waves and absorbed itself into her sister's body. Almost instantly, Melody's breaths and voice became stronger, until her screams turned into strong yells of defiance as she gave a hard push and gave birth to the first of her children.

"It's a girl." Harmony heard Anima shout excitedly before she had Radien cut the umbilical cord.

Too caught up in the lesson with Adien and trying to save Melody, Harmony had no clue when Radien moved from his wife's side. But it was a beautiful sight to watch as he cradled his infant daughter in his arms. For a moment, little drops of sadness fell on her as she was reminded of the life she lost and could never create again.

_Harmony._ She heard Adien's concerned call and gave a soft shake of her head, dragging herself from hurtful memories and back into the present moment.

"Okay, Melody, one more to go."

Melody gave a nod before she once again bore down.

Continuing to feed power into her sister was taking more out of Harmony than she thought it would. Although she was more than happy that her sister's life was no longer in danger, Harmony, on the other hand, felt like she was going to pass out.

She swayed, her strength rapidly fading. Just as the pull on her powers became too much, a strong hand was pressed against her back, steadying her and giving her the support she needed to stay upright.

_Adien..._ She reached for him though their connection.

"I've got you," he whispered in her ear. The next second she felt his strength wrap around her, cradling her as if she was wrapped inside of his arms.

Harmony had no clue just how long she stayed at her sister's side, channeling energy into her. All Harmony knew were the loud screams that echoed around her and the powerful force of a new power as it filled the room. It was overpowering and downright frightening.

"It's a boy!" Anima excitedly shouted.

Strong cries filled the room, and despite her growing fatigue, a wide smile spread across Harmony's face.

_Thank you._ Radien's voice drew her half-hooded gaze to the new father as he cradled both his children in his arms. With a proud smile that only a new father could muster, Radien walked past Bion who was slumped against the dresser, to his wife's side.

Too drained to speak, Harmony managed a slight nod before her body finally gave out, and she fell backwards into Adien's awaiting arms. Refusing to close her eyes until the last possible moment, Harmony watched Radien present their children to Melody, whose smile was radiant as she took her children into her arms.

Again a sense of loss threatened to consume Harmony, but she pushed the negative emotion aside. There was no way she was going to let anything ruin something she was sure she would only see once in her life time.

"You've done well," Adien said as darkness began to overtake her. "Rest." His voice was gentle, yet commanding, as he cradled her in his arms. As much as she would have loved to hold her niece and nephew, her body wouldn't allow it.

Comfortable in her mate's arms, Harmony finally gave in to the peaceful darkness that wanted her. After she gave an exhausted sigh, her lids drifted shut, and she succumbed to a deep sleep.

#  Chapter 33

For two days, Harmony didn't stir from her sleep. Her body was so still that if Adien hadn't felt her sleeping presence in the back of his mind, he would have thrown himself into a blind panic from worrying if he had pushed her too hard and put her into a coma.

Moving her ever-growing hair away from her face, Adien's looked at her. Her features relaxed, and she looked every part the blessing she was. No matter how many times Adien felt their bond, he couldn't help but feel as if he was still in a dream.

Love. He never thought he'd be in it again. No, he took that back. After meeting Harmony, he knew the feelings he had for Persephone were not love. At least, not true love. What he had with Harmony was his real first love.

All the women he had been with, the fake smiles and saying, "I love you" too many times, his relationships with Azuzela and Esmeralda, it had all been to prepare him for Harmony. Each heartbreak washed away his naiveté about love and allowed him to become the man she needed him to be.

No, he took that back. The things that happened to him didn't shape him to be the man she needed him to be. Rather, they turned him into the man he needed to be for himself, so that when he finally stood before her, he would be worthy of her.

"I'm going to need you to wake up soon," Adien whispered into her ear and smiled when she softly moaned and turned into him.

Interlocking their fingers, Adien lifted her hand, placing a tender kiss to the back of her knuckles. Another soft moan escaped her as she inched closer to him.

"Make sure you're awake by the time I come back," he told her with another kiss to her hand before pulling the covers back over her and rising from the bed.

Sure that Harmony was comfortably tucked in, Adien left her to rest in peace. While he might have told her to hurry and wake up, if she needed to sleep for a week, he would let her. It was the least he could do after all she had done. In the meantime, however, he had a message to relay to his father.

With Thana's words replaying over and over in his mind, Adien continued to struggle to make sense of what the Supreme Being meant as Adien walked down the corridor towards his father's bedroom. Giving the courtesy of knocking instead of popping in like his father and Radien loved to do, Adien waited for someone to open the door. The last thing he wanted to do was to pop into his father's room and be scarred for life if the man was in the middle of enjoying his wife. It didn't take long for the double doors of the bedroom to part.

Anima greeted him at the door with a warm smile on her face.

"How are you feeling?" Adien asked.

"Much better now, come in." Stepping to the side, Anima welcomed him into the room.

"You look much better." In truth, that was an understatement. She looked a hell of a lot better. Especially since one of the last times he had seen her, she had been covered in her own blood. "The scars are healing well. Is he here?"

"He is in the bed, resting. Healing me and helping with Melody took a lot out of him." She spoke as she led him to his father. "He collapsed right after the twins were born... ouch."

Reaching for her, Adien asked, "Are you okay?"

Waving off his concern, Anima told him, "Still healing, but I'll be fine." With that, she straightened and led him to the bedchambers.

When he entered the room, Adien was surprised to find his father sitting up and cradling his granddaughter in his arms.

"Adien," Radien called from his seated position across the room. In his arms was his sleeping son.

An odd sight if Adien ever saw one. If you had asked him if this scene was possible a few years ago, he would have laughed at the absurdity of the idea. In that moment, however, it was a clear sign of just how far they had come and how much they had changed. Granted, Adien hadn't resolved all his negative feelings towards his eldest brother, but he had begun to enjoy Radien's brooding presence, even if he wouldn't admit it aloud.

"Good, both of you are here. It saves me time," Adien said as two sets of glowing eyes focused on him. Walking deeper into the room, Adien replayed Thana's message to his father and Radien. By the time Adien finished, Radien's facial expression was just as confused as Adien's, while his father's expression washed over with anger.

"So, what does she mean?" Radien asked.

His father's gaze went between the two of them as if he was trying to find the right words.

"Spit it out," Radien snapped, causing the baby in his arms to start crying. Instantly, Radien reined in his anger. Adien watched in shock and awe as his brother cooed the infant back to sleep. "What?" his brother asked with an annoyed raised eye brow.

Blinking several times, Adien shook off his shock and said, "Nothing." He then turned his attention to his father, who was also cooing and... blowing kisses at the baby?

Surreal was the only way Adien could describe it. And if he wasn't still feeling the subtle pain of his fight with Azuzela, he would have sworn he was in some type of twisted dream.

"I'm not sure what she is planning. But, Thana's main objectives are to free Gazini and kill me. For now, that's all I can tell you. Where is Jaden?"

"I don't know," Adien responded. He hadn't seen or heard from his brother since the split down in the dungeon.

"It doesn't matter. He'll be back," Radien said dismissively.

For a moment, the three of them fell quiet.

"I have something to take care of." His father was the one to break the silence. "Here, hold your niece." With that, his father handed over the little bundle he had been holding. As if they weren't talking about the future of the world, Bion broke away from their little group and walked out of the room.

"He's clearly not telling us something," Radien said. "She likes you." He motioned his head towards his daughter.

Adien looked down into a pair of dark gray eyes and instantly fell in love. "She's beautiful."

"Just like her mother. Here, take them to see Harmony. I'll go and check on Melody." With that, Radien placed his son in Adien's free arm. Dark eyes much like Melody's started at him, and another piece of his heart was stolen.

"Enjoy, Uncle Adien." Radien clasped Adien on the shoulder before vanishing.

"My, my, my." Adien looked over his shoulder to Anima, who leaned against the door frame, watching him with that all-too-knowing gaze of hers. "Look how things have changed." Pushing herself away from the wall, she headed over to him and placed a gentle hand on the side of his face. "I'm proud of you."

Embarrassment heating his cheeks, Adien could do anything but hold his niece and nephew and try not to humiliate himself any further.

"Now, get going." She gave him a quick kiss on his cheek before stepping away from him.

Nodding, Adien vanished. Between his mating and everything in between, Anima's praise was almost too much for him to handle. As he reappeared in his bedroom, his arms full of babies, Adien was greeted by the soft giggles of Melody and Harmony.

"My brother is looking for you, Melody." Adien's voice drew Harmony away from the light-hearted conversation with her sister.

Her gaze locking on Adien, she watched him head over to them, a baby in each of his arms. Joy and sadness mixed inside her as she watched him. He would have been a perfect father, and a piece of her mourned she couldn't give that to him. But as his gaze zeroed in on her, heat sparked in his eyes, and she knew no matter what he would love her, even when she didn't love herself.

"I bet he is," Melody replied just as the air stirred and Radien appeared in the room.

"You are supposed to be resting. How did you get in here?" Radien asked as he came to stand beside Adien.

To be honest, looking at the two of them together was almost too much for Harmony to endure. The brothers had truly been blessed with the looks of superstars.

"They're a sight to see, aren't they?" Melody whispered under her breath, and Harmony smirked.

"Indeed," was Harmony's response as her gaze continued to devour Adien.

_How many times do I have to tell you not to look at me like that?_ Adien's smooth voice echoed in her head.

"Come, my beauty." Radien drew Harmony's attention as he walked over to Melody. "It has been a long time since I enjoyed the warmth of your embrace." Her sister's excited giggles were loud as Radien lifted her into his arms. "We have babysitters, so we don't have to rush."

"But she has been through a lot, Radien. I can't do that," Melody protested.

"Harmony," Radien said. "You don't mind, do you?"

Giving an amused chuckle at the pair, Harmony gave the only answer she could. "Not at all."

"Adien is here too," Melody told him in between nuzzling Radien's neck.

Again, Harmony laughed. It was clear that even if she or Adien said no, they would still end up with the babies.

Not that Harmony minded, but just like her sister, Harmony wanted to spend time with her man. So if Adien said no, she would support him.

Looking to her mate, Harmony gave him a questioning brow.

"It's fine with me," he said.

Adien barely finished his sentence before Radien opened his mouth. "There you have it."

Faster than Harmony could blink, Radien disappeared with his wife, leaving Harmony and Adien to bond with their newest family members.

"You know, you would make a great father," Harmony told him as he walked over to her.

"Yeah, I'd much rather be the fun uncle," he told her as he passed her off her nephew. Taking the small boy in her arms, Harmony instantly knew what unconditional love was.

The smile that spread across her face was one she hadn't smiled since she first found out about her pregnancy many years ago.

"Hi little guy," Harmony whispered.

Placing her nephew's hand in hers, she marveled at how tiny it was in her palm. From beside her, she felt the heat of Adien's stare. It made her both uncomfortable and needy as she wondered what he was thinking.

"I love you," Adien suddenly confessed.

"Ad—" His lips were on her before she could get out her words. When he kissed her, it was tender, one that reflected the love she felt flowing through their connection and felt it all the way to her soul. In their arms the babies stirred, forcing them to break their kiss.

Pressing her forehead against his, she whispered, "I love you too."

#  Epilogue

Harmony was never going to get used to this. She would much rather be wrapped in the arms of her mate, enjoying the heat of his body, than circling a crowded room filled with people she barely knew. If it hadn't been for the fact that she had put so much time and effort into the Gala, Harmony would have gladly spent the night indulging her newly heightened senses and bonding with her niece and nephew.

Sitting at her table, watching her guests mix and mingle, Harmony's gaze sought Adien out. Not that it was hard to find him. Her connection to him made it almost too easy for her to find him over by the bar. Surrounded by elite businessmen and women, she watched as he wooed his small crowd with a charm that was uniquely his. Watching him, she was reminded that while he was a powerful creature straight from Greek mythology, he was also an influential businessman, who was just as powerful as he was beautiful. As handsome as ever, dressed in his usual tailored three-piece suit, it was easy for her to think everything they had been through over the last few months was a dream. Yet, the steady stream of calm and peaceful energy flowing between them was a quiet reminder that the last few months hadn't been a dream, and her life, while on the outside looked the same, had fundamentally changed.

Your staring is making it very hard for me to focus. Harmony jumped as Adien voice suddenly echoed in her head. She looked up to find his gaze focused on her through the crowd. If you want me to strip, it will have to wait until later. Unless you don't mind the audience... It doesn't really bother me. I'm sure there are quite a few women and men who would enjoy the show.

His teasing earned him a low warning growl. The laugh that echoed in her head was a rich sound that had her swooning in her seat. Before turning his attention back to his audience, Adien offered her a promising smile and a few images through their connection of what he had planned for her once they were alone.

Harmony bit back a moan as she pushed herself from her chair. Grateful she had listened to Anima and Melody and worn a long overflowing gown that covered her feet, Harmony made her way through the crowd. Barefoot and comfortable, she spoke with a few of her colleagues about the upcoming spring catalogue set to be released overseas.

In the background, lively music began to play, coaxing several couples to the center of the large dance floor.

It wasn't long before she was once again bored with business discussions that turned into subtle flirtations. Excusing herself from the group, Harmony made her way to the bar. Adien and his little group had dispersed by then, and she had visually lost track of him. She didn't worry too much about where he was as she called for the bartender. She could feel his presence in the room, and that was enough for her. After placing her order for a hard margarita, Harmony turned her attention back towards the crowd, her gaze focusing on the bodies that moved on the dance floor. Memories of when she first met Adien flooded her mind, and she couldn't help but smile.

She should have known then that they were destined for each other. From the first moment she had spotted him, she had been drawn to him, wanted him in a way that had proven to be bad for her health, but she loved it and him all the same.

"Sickening, isn't it?" His words caressed her ear the same time she felt his touch on her bare shoulder.

"Most days," was her reply as she looked at him from out the corner of her eyes. Drinking in the sight of him, she was continually tempted to blow off her overly expensive party and head for the nearest empty room. As his fingers continued to stroke her skin, it became harder and harder for her to rationalize staying at her gala.

He leaned in, the warmth of his breath against her neck, and whispered, "You look good enough to eat." She didn't miss the double meaning behind his words.

Turning her head to his, Harmony responded, "Thank you. I'll make sure to tell Anima and Melody you like it." She paused, her nostrils flaring as she inhaled his scent. "You don't look so bad yourself."

With their lips inches apart, it would be all too easy for her to close the gap between them and capture his lips for a decadent kiss. But she didn't. She knew once they started there would be no stopping until one of them was under the other and he was buried deep inside her body.

Just a little while longer, Harmony told herself.

She only had to suffer through this party for a while longer, and then she would be able to enjoy the man before her to her heart's content. She just prayed she lasted that long. With the way the hound in her was prowling the walls of her mind, demanding she fulfill her need, Harmony doubted she could make it another half hour, let alone to the end of the party.

It didn't take much to figure out what was on his woman's mind. The heat reflected in her golden eyes gave away her every intention. Her uneven breaths as he drew closer to her told him exactly where her thoughts were, and he couldn't blame her. Adien wanted—no, he needed—her as much as she did him, and it was taking every shred of willpower he possessed not to whisk her to his condo and have his way with her, taking care of both their needs until the early hours in the morning and then some.

However, he also knew how important this party was for her. Every big wig in the fashion industry and entertainment world was gathered at this event, making it the perfect place to build old relationships and create new ones. Business was business, and this type of social event was business. He wouldn't make a mess of this no matter how loud the hound in him screamed for its mate.

We have more than enough time for that, he reminded himself, but it did nothing to soften the erection that strained against his pants.

"Your drink, Ms. Sonders," the bartender said as he placed the colorful drink on the counter beside Harmony. Briefly turning his attention to the bartender, Adien was surprised to find it was the same pudgy man who had served Adien at her first party. When the balding man eyed Adien with the same contempt as before, Adien gave a light chuckle under his breath. Unfazed by the man's hostility, Adien returned his attention to the only person that truly mattered to him.

His gaze traveled down her body. For the thousandth time that night, Adien couldn't help but marvel at how stunning she was. Anima and Melody had done well in picking out the off-the-shoulder corset-styled gown. It did an excellent job at pushing up Harmony's breasts, giving his greedy gaze more than enough of an ample bosom to stare at. The two-toned dress hugged her figure perfectly, as the changing shades of green sparkled with the subtle specks of gold, highlighting the glow of her skin. And the curves of her face, which were accented by the fancy pinned-up hairstyle she wore, held him captive.

Reaching out, Adien caressed Harmony's face. Somehow, he had done it. She was no longer some far-off dream but a very tangible reality that belonged to him. The strength she had to overcome all that had been put before her, plus the ability she had to prosper and take hold of her dreams, turned him on just as much as her beauty.

"Adien," she whispered his name and brushed her lips lightly against his. As much as he wanted to give in, he wouldn't. Not in that moment.

He pulled away from her and chuckled at the frustrated growl she gave him, before grabbing her by the hand. Without a word, he led her to the center of the dance floor. Taking her into his arms, he let her warmth seep into him as her body molded to his. The soft curves of her body fit perfectly against his as they began to gently sway. Unconcerned about the lively music that filled the room, they embraced each other as if the world had stopped and they were the only two people left.

"I never thought I would be here," Adien said softly to her, his voice low enough so that she was the only one who could hear him.

"What do you mean?" Harmony asked, her head resting against his chest.

As embarrassing as it was to have her hear the erratic beating of his heart, he couldn't help it. Just like he couldn't help the effect she had on him.

"I mean here, with you, like this." He pulled her closer to his body. "You have no idea how long I've waited for you. How long I stalked you from the shadows."

"You could've said something before, you know," she told him.

"I wanted you, but I wasn't ready for what I was asking for." That Adien meant.

He might have watched his brother and his wife, listened to the tales his father told and had Fate watching him with a close eye, but he had no clue just what it meant to be mated to your destined mate. Not until that very moment.

"Are you ever really ready?" she asked him.

Taking a moment to think about her question, he spun her once again and then pulled her back to him. "I guess not." He paused. "But I didn't want to be a slave to Fate, and I didn't want my mate to be with me out of some so-called destined obligation."

"I can see how that would be a problem." Her gaze drilled into him, but it was her next question that left him too stunned to speak. "But isn't that what you did with me?"

"Is that what you think?" he asked her with a questioning look. While their mating might not have been ideal, and technically not fully completed as they hadn't said their words yet in the real world, Adien knew just like she did that there was no way she would have said the words and gone through what she had if her feelings for him had wavered.

"What I think"—her arms came up to wrap around his neck—"is that you better make it all worth it. What is the point of taming something that ends up being useless?" With that, she gave him a sultry smile that played havoc on his emotions.

Giving in to the desire coursing through him, he pressed his forehead against hers, his voice a mix of the hound and man in him. "I promise you I am well worth it, my beautiful obsession, and I'll make sure I prove it to you every day for the rest of our lives and past eternity."

Her soft giggle was pure temptation as she said, "I can't wait," before pulling him in for a kiss that blew his mind. As her tongue slipped into his mouth, her emotions overflowed their connection, mixing until he couldn't tell what belonged to her and what was his. The hand he had wrapped around her waist cupped her ass, pushing her into his straining erection. She purred in his mouth, and he groaned as her hands pulled at the strands of his hair.

In the back of his mind, he was well aware of the eyes on them, but he no longer cared. All that mattered was getting out of there, and getting his woman undressed and under him in the quickest possible way. And that meant, much to his dismay, they had to walk out of the gala. The last thing he needed was to expose himself and Harmony to a room full of people. Although if she kept kissing him like she wanted to swallow him whole, he just might fuck her right then and there on the dance floor.

Trying his best to come to his senses, Adien broke their kiss. One look at her and he knew the hound in her had come alive just like his did, mixing with the woman until they were one. Golden eyes hidden under low lids watched him. She licked her lips, and he licked his.

"How about we get out of here?" Her suggestion was the best thing he had heard all day.

"Gladly," was all he said as he finished palming her ass. Taking her by the hand, Adien quickly led her through the staring crowd, out of the room's large double doors, down the hall, and outside. The moment they stepped onto the deserted street, the night air doing nothing to cool the heat in his veins, Adien pulled her to him. Capturing her lips with his, Adien vanished to his condo. Reappearing in his bedroom, he wasted no time undoing her corset, stripping her of her gown, and peeling out of his suit.

Tackling his naked mate to the bed, they tumbled onto the sheets in a naked embrace. They rolled across the large bed, stopping just short of falling off. Adien found himself pinned beneath Harmony, her gaze focused intently on him as her nails raked down his chest.

"Adien Tygerian, Trinity Hound of Earth." Lifting her hips, she hovered herself over him. The heat of her core caused his cock to twitch in anticipation as she continued to speak, "This time is for real, and there's no turning back."

She said that like he had any intention of going anywhere. She was the only place he wanted to be. He watched her, power building in the air between them, as his hound came forward.

Just like when they were in the Dreamscape, her voice resonated with her power. "I have said this once, but let me make it clear to you. The ghosts of your past no longer exist. There is no place for them here. Your heart, your soul, everything you are belongs only to me, and I will make sure to erase all those before me from your memory. I claim you as mine, and I am yours, from now and past eternity." With that, she slid down on his cock.

A moan escaped him before he could stop it as the wet heat of her body encased him. She rotated her hips once, and it took all he had not to come that instant. But their mating was not over until he spoke his truth, his bond. Opening his mouth, he let the words of his soul pour out of him.

"Harmony Sonders, Trinitymate of Earth, my beautiful obsession, there is no place I'd rather be than with you. I have stalked you from the shadows, craved you from the darkest parts of my soul, and now that I have you there is no escaping from me. The scars of your past, the nightmares of an old life, have no place here, and I will make sure my essence is so deeply embedded in you that all you know is my touch, my kiss. Everything you are, were, and will be are all mine and no one else's. I claim you as mine, and I'm yours from now and past eternity."

It was his turn to have her moaning as he gripped her by the neck and pulled her to him for another kiss. Sealing the deal on their mating, they moaned in unison as electric power overflowed inside of them. When she began to move on top of him, dominating him in a way he didn't think was possible, Adien knew what bliss truly was.

Breaking their kiss for the last time, he cupped her face. His emotions getting the better of him, his voice cracked as he said, "I love you."

The smile she gave him was almost blinding and melted his heart just as much as her happily cried response. "I love you, too." With that, she reclaimed his lips, and they got to work on erasing memories they had clung on to for far too long.

#  Next, a sneak peak of the next installment in the Hound Series...

Eternal Fire

Coming 2018

Events were happening much faster than he had anticipated. Judging by the dark sensation that went done his spine, it was only a matter of time before his carefully hidden world was discovered. Right along with every other dark secret he had managed to keep under wraps for the last few years.

Walking through the thick trees of the jungle that surrounded his home, Jaden, Trinity Hound of Fire, contemplated his next move. For the second time in his life, he had struck a deal with the devil and there was no turning back.

Many times over the years Jaden wondered if he would've done things differently. But when he thought about what awaited him at home, the life he had saved and how close he had come to losing it all, the answer was "no" every time. The die had been cast and he had no choice but to walk down the path he chose.

_Nothing else matters._ Jaden thought.

None of it. Not his brothers, his father, nor their mates. All that matter to him was keeping the things he treasured most safe and sound. They were his only weakness and he couldn't afford for them to be put in harm's way.

Reaching the clearing that was hidden deep within the heart of the jungle, his home a few feet away from him, Jaden headed towards the ranch style house that sat in its center. His hearing picked up on the littlest thing. From the birds in the trees to the approaching footsteps coming from behind him.

"Hello, Rajah," Jaden said as he turned his attention towards the large black tiger that was slowly stalking towards him. "Have you been keeping an eye on things for me?"

The big and majestic cat gave a loud roar in response.

"Good," Jaden said as Rajah rubbed against his leg like an oversized house cat. Jaden patted the tiger on the side. "I'll take it from here." He gave Rajah another pat to the side and a nice rub behind the ears before the large cat made its way back into the jungle.

Jaden continued to the front door of his house. The moment he entered the doorway, the wild and spicy scent of the female that awaited him upstairs, slammed into Jaden. His body reacted and he growled low in his throat. Fevered heat rushed through Jaden's veins as he took the steps two at a time. Hitting the top of the stairs, Jaden spared a brief glance down the hall. Seeing that all the doors were still closed, he headed to his bedroom.

With each step he took closer to the bedroom door, the stronger the tug on his powers became. A wicked smile played on the edge of his lips as he gripped the door handle. Enraged emotions radiated through him and a small piece of himself acknowledged that he was the cause of the hateful feelings. But a larger part of him loved the chaos and the madness.

Walking into the room, locking the door behind him, Jaden's gaze instantly zeroed in on the source of all his pain and pleasure. Dressed in the skimpy red lace lingerie he had made her change into earlier that day, she was as beautiful as ever. When she looked at him, the promise of vengeance in her dark gaze, Jaden shivered.

Heading towards the bed she was chained to, Jaden smiled as he said, "hello, beautiful. Have you missed me?"

