The Hybrid [malexmale]

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Two

Ares was fucking crazy if he thought for one second I was going to go back to Menoetius.

And he was pissing me off because he refused to train me further until I accepted the fact that I was scared of Menoetius and his feelings, and that they were real and that I had to "get over it".

Yeah, easy for him to say. He was the Menoetius in his relationship with Hesphaestus. Even then, Ares could never be as cruel as Menoetius had been. Every time I started to force myself to accept it, I was reminded by yet another dark nightmare why I loathed Menoetius to the core of my soul. I wasn't scared of him. I was angry!

There was no way Menoetius could look at me and tell me that all those years he tormented me, that he actually loved me and was just trying to put on a show so as to impress Iapetus, or some bullshit like that. I'd seen better lies come out of a toddler. There was no way in hell I was going to fall for that.

Accepting Akin had been hard enough, and his love was real and true and perfect. Raven's was honest and close-knit and I'd been hesitant, because come on, two people who liked me? That was pushing it. Then along comes Lea? That had been hard enough and it was only due to a series of unfortunate events that I had begun to slowly accept her, and even now, I hadn't completely opened up my arms to her because I expected her to lash out any day now when she found out that I was like the monster that attacked her.

Menoetius?

Yeah, no, impossible.

The day Atlan got down on one knee and kissed my ass was the day I'd believed something that fucking ludicrous.

I sat on the windowsill, staring out at the vast churning black ocean that surrounded the strange ancient castle Ares had made his home. I had no idea what this place where, where it was, if it was Ares's home or a vanishing isle, or how about I get really creative and suggest a new beta version of Disney land?

The cold winds snatched at my clothes, but it wasn't nearly powerful enough to drag me off the sill and to the jagged rocks below that threatened to puncture every major organ in my body. A temptation though it was, the collar I put back around my neck was enough to heel me.

Subconsciously, I reached up to stroke the dog tags where Akin's name was engraved with our address... and the message that claimed me as his. I shut my eyes tightly as pain assaulted me.

What would happen if, by some miracle, I passed Ares's tests and was suddenly masterfully cured? Would I be able to go back and see Akin? Would he even want to see me? From Ares's memory, it looked like Akin wanted me back, but... how could he? So what if it was just a kiss? It could've gotten worse. I could've done to him what I did to...

I curled up tightly, burying my face against my knees, my teeth grinding together so hard it was shocking they didn't break.

I wouldn't know what to do with myself if it had gone further than that. I was the one that deserved to be in Tartarus... I was just as bad as Menoetius, if not worse. At least everyone knew Menoetius was a monster. But me... I tried to masquerade as a normal person. I was...

A wolf among sheep.

I covered my ears in distress, shutting my eyes tightly. Why did Hades even bother to do this? Why didn't he just throw me in Tartarus where I belonged? Or killed me like he killed Rhea and Cronus? He hated me badly enough, so why was I here?

A knock came at the door to my room and I looked up with a frown as it creaked open and Dionysus came in with a smile that never ceased to aggravate me. He wheeled in a large cart, carrying with it the scent of rich foods that made my stomach cramp up. He pushed it over to the small pair of arm chairs in the corner of the room, but I made no move to go to it.