Hades [Book Three] ON HOLD

One

"Where do you think you're going?" Adonis' voice appeared to boom down at her, Maia swallowing, wincing as she found her mouth had grown dry as she came to the realisation that Adonis was her mate. 

To say that Cynthia and Morpheus were pleased would be an understatement. It had been a lifetime of wishing that one of their daughters would grow up to be the mate of an Alpha, carrying on the strong genes. But to have both of their daughters mates to two, very strong and well respected males, they received it as a blessing from the Moon Goddess. 

And so, there was no hesitation when it came to sending their daughters away. 

Arriving at Winterstone Pack, it was Leto, once again, who easily accepted her fate and quickly adjusted to life as the Beta's mate. But it was Maia who was reluctant to trust the man that she was destined to spend the rest of her life with. 

For the first few weeks, she remained separate from her new Alpha, locking herself away in a cottage that was on the opposite side of the pack grounds, from the pack house, where he remained. She quickly learnt that the Winterstone Pack's house was quite different from her own; the wolves did not live in the building. They used it as a place to gather for meals, the Alpha banishing them from upstairs, where he resided. Instead, the wolves each had their own homes on the grounds, which Maia chose to use to her own advantage. 

Eventually, Adonis grew tired of her avoiding him, before he forcefully marked her, making her move in with him. She had grown reserved, even her own sister had forgotten her as she moved on with her life, with her mate. 

Maia was miserable in the place where she was supposed to be happy. 

Over time, Adonis began to win her around, and despite his terrible temper and his blood-thirst when it came to battle, Maia began to fall in love with him. And although she made him wait a year, they finally completed the mating bond. 

Five years on, she was sat in the library, watching her two year old son flip through a picture book, a soft smile on her lips as she rubbed her swollen belly. The child before her was intelligent for his age, already taking an interest in literature and nature. But whilst Maia took him on long walks around the pack, she was concerned. 

She would sit for hours, picking a conversation with her eldest son, but Hades refused to say a word in reply. At first, Maia was worried, Perhaps he was affected mentally in the womb and she didn't know? But Adonis would insist that she was overreacting, assuring her that their son would talk when he was ready. 

She watched Hades look up at her, large blue eyes staring as she smiled down at him, gently running her fingers through his soft curls, moving to stroke her thumb against his chubby cheek. His mouth moved to suck his bottom lip into his mouth, his finger pointing at the picture of a woman pushing her child in a pram. 

Maia smiled, speaking softly, "That's a baby." Hades looked down at the picture, before turning his head to look at her again. "Do you know where Mummy's baby is?" She asked him, watching as he stared at her, stoically. He was still for a moment, before he reached out with his hand, pressing his palm flat against her rounded tummy. Maia couldn't help the small giggle of glee that escaped her, "Well done, my clever boy!" She leaned down, pressing a small kiss against his cheek. Although he didn't recognise exactly he'd done to make his mother happy, a goofy grin plastered itself onto Hades' face, his hands moving to flip the book closed as he slid it off of his lap. 

Carefully climbing down from his chair, he began to wander around the library, Maia straining to stand up as she placed a hand on her back, slowly waddling after her son. Being seven months pregnant didn't help with keeping up with her energetic toddler who had a thirst for adventure.