Hades Titans {BOOK 2}

VII. The Chase

His office smelt of freshly printed paper and aftershave. It soothed my rushing mind instantly. I hadn't been to his office in a week, working mostly on Penelope's wedding. He laid me down on the brown couch that had been in his office for as long as I could remember. I could remember the first time I sat on it on my first day. He knelt down on the floor leaning towards my face. His expression was soft and caring. His eyes still and empty. I could see the pain inside him, despite him trying to hide it.  He looked completely different than the night I saw him. He was back to himself.

"I'll get Phoenix to drive you home." He spoke, his voice unsteady. He kissed the top of my head, his hot lips still lingering as he made his way out of his office. All of the strength I had gained from Penelope was gone and I was exhausted. The image of the bloody walls and Mihai's bloody fur was circling inside my head. Who would do this? Why Mihai? Mihai seemed like a small baby to me. He had become one of my safest sanctuaries in the Underworld. I knew that if I were ever afraid, I could go over there, and he would always protect me. He made me feel safe. He saved my life. I couldn't imagine the pain it had caused Hayden to find Mihai like that. Hayden had him his whole life. It felt like losing a family member. I wrapped my arm around my belly, thinking back to when I considered for a split second to get rid of the pregnancy. The pain inside my chest increased instantly. I knew that stressing was only going to make my pregnancy worse. The Underworld was never a safe place. I had begun to wonder if moving back to Earth for the remainder of the pregnancy was for the best. Somewhere safe, where I could be at peace. Being away from everyone I had come to love would be heartbreaking, but my baby was in my best interest. Whatever was best for it was what I was going to do. Tears continued to collect in my eyes. Poor Mihai.

A light knock landed on the door before Phoenix walked in. I had hardly seen Phoenix. We tended to stay out of each other's way. He hadn't remembered any of our memories, which made it easier for us to return to our friend – ish status. But we didn't want to make Hayden uncomfortable, so we didn't spend any time together. His hair had grown out and was tied at the back of his head. He wore a blue button-up shirt, which reminded me of the first time I met him in the Underworld. His face was soft and empathetic. His eyes were bright and darting right for me as he approached closer.

"Hey," His smile was supportive. He sat down on the edge of the couch, placing his warm hand on top of mine. "I'm sorry about Mihai. You shouldn't have seen that." He shook his head, his thumb softly rubbing the top of my palm. Though all of my feelings for him were gone, in fact, I had never recovered them, to begin with, I still felt something inside me that felt like I was doing something wrong. Like I shouldn't be so intimate with Phoenix. I had felt guilty for using him and leading him on when I was still in love with Hayden. That dreadful feeling had made me extra cautious about our friendship. "We'll find the titan that did this and make sure they are punished accordingly." He spoke softly. His eyes gazing into mine like they did when we first began to date on Earth. A titan? I slowly sat up beside him.

"You think it was a titan?" I asked concerned. Are they back? Are they looking for me? "I thought they weren't allowed to travel, why would they do this? Why would they come back here after everything that happened?" I was terrified of the titans before, but now, with a little baby inside me, I was mortified. I was going to do anything to keep this baby safe. I knew what the titans were capable of and that I would never be safe as long as they were anywhere near me or my family.

"Hey, it's okay. Don't worry. We will catch him. Nothing will happen to you. We're more prepared for them than ever before and after everything that happened, all of the gods will be willing to lay their whole world down to protect you." Phoenix wrapped his long arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him. "You're one of us now." The warmth of his body was comforting. I leaned against his shoulder, feeling somewhat comforted. I looked down at his arms that had set in goosebumps. I quickly pulled away with a smile, as my cheeks began to heat up.

"Thank you." I smiled, getting up, ready to leave. My heart began to sink into my stomach. Does he remember? I'd remembered the prickly feeling of the goosebumps on his skin when we first kissed. It was something that was planted inside my head and now the flashbacks of our steamy nights were resurfacing. Why wouldn't he tell me if he remembered? I could feel the thick fog of awkwardness cover the space between us. The last thing I wanted was to hurt him and if he still had feelings for me, I knew that he would be heartbroken once the news of this baby spread.

We hadn't said a word to each other as we got into the car. My mind was occupied by the bloody scenes of Mihai intertwined with the worry that Phoenix could remember our entire relationship until I began to drift.

I had no recollection of how I ended up in my bed. I felt a little better, but the haunting images still ran like a river inside my head. Consumed with the fear of the titans returning, Mihai's murder, and Phoenix potentially remembering our time together, my sleep was filled with nightmares and I felt even more afraid than before. The room was dim, the setting sun was still keeping enough light in the room to see my surroundings. Hayden hadn't returned yet and I was all alone. Exactly how I had felt for the last couple of days. All alone. I was already vulnerable being a human in the Underworld and now I was a pregnant, fragile little being, carrying another little – human? No. A little demigod or goddess. A little prince or princess of the Underworld. I wasn't just carrying our little baby, our first child, I was carrying a potential new King or Queen for the Underworld. My head was spinning. I reached for my phone, which was placed by the table light, turning on the light before bringing my phone to my chest. I had a missed call from Hayden and Penelope and a text telling me Hayden was on his way home. As I clicked to reply, I noticed something move in my peripheral vision. I quickly glanced up, my breath hitching in my throat.

"Chase-"

Chase P.O.V.

Like I had predicted, I couldn't find a place to settle. I was a threat. I could have saved the world a hundred times and I would still be a threat as long as I was a titan. There was nothing I could do to be accepted, to have a happy ending. I was made to suffer. To rob and kill and spread fear everywhere I went. A monster. Most people's nightmare. I might as well just stayed where I was and waited for Teo to come after me.

I moved into Stars apartment on Earth. She certainly won't be using it. I began to dress like humans do and searched for a menial job to make my story convincing. For a second I thought I was going to be able to settle and live as I had always wished. It didn't take long for U.O.G. to find me. I awoke to my door crashing to the floor. Several large men in uniforms came crashing into my home. I jumped out of my bed, reaching for my sword. It was to no use as they threw a large net onto me, electrocuting me until my vision became blurry and I had given in.

"You're not welcome here, parasite." A large soldier, wearing a black uniform was standing in front of me. My whole body had gone numb and I was paralyzed. I was thrown into the alleyway, by the gate. Three soldiers were standing behind me, waiting for me to exit Earth. I had nowhere else to go.

Evelyn had returned to the Underworld, so my next stop and the only stop was the Underworld. Being one of the main populations of titans, I knew it would be a little harder for the U.O.G. to find me again. Passing the beast by the gate was my only obstacle. I had dressed in human clothes and wore a mask to trick the beast into allowing me in, but as I approached the gate, there was no beast to be found. Darkness was the only thing in front of me until I heard a couple of Gods talking in the corner. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I realised there was blood spatter everywhere. The beast had been slaughtered and pinned to the wall in the corner. I felt my hands tremble. That was one of the titan signs. Exposing the body as vulgarly as possible to invoke more fear in the finder. The only titan that had any business murdering on Hayden's land to invoke fear was Teo. I moved from corner to corner as I tried to avoid stepping into the blood as well as being seen by the gods. I had to see Evelyn and warn her about Teo. With Hayden stuck cleaning up Teo's mess, it was the perfect opportunity to find her. In the corner of my eye, I realised I could see another pair of eyes coming towards me. I felt my heart tremble as I realised it was Evelyn.