Hunted (Gods&Monsters Book 1)

Chapter 1

"Serena~"

Muttering several foul curses under her breath, Serena Blackthorn halted in bringing the shot of whiskey to her lips. She would recognize that voice anywhere. The one-man she wished would just leave her the fuck alone already. But he wasn't just a man, he was Death incarnate. Centuries ago, she had turned down his advances and in a petty form of revenge, he cursed her with immortality. A flash of heat surged up her fingers as her magic awakened and begged to be fed. Having the ability to summon the fires of hell could be considered a curse in itself as not always she could control them. Sometimes it seemed as if they had a mind of their own. Raking a hand through her mess of dark red curls. She hissed at him vehemently. "I'm not in the mood Death."

The whole point of her coming to the Siren's Song was to get shit-faced drunk and to possibly get lucky with one of the handsome werewolves currently playing billiards. But now that Death was here with her, she felt her buzz slowly fading away. Shaking her head, she quickly downed the shot and growled low in her throat as it burned on the way down and reignited the fire in her gut. As if he could hear her thoughts Death let out a dark chuckle. He then reached across their bond and brushed his lips against the shell of her ear and purred huskily. "Oh, don't be that way lass. We both know that you enjoy my visits." Rolling her eyes at his antics, she started to reply when she noticed the dark-haired Fae behind the bar tense up considerably.

As Death continued to babble away in her head, Serena motioned for the Fae to pour her another shot. Vibrant blue eyes clashed with her own and she could tell the poor guy was absolutely terrified. She offered him a small reassuring smile and mouthed silently. "Get down." Understanding flashed across his face as he quickly ducked behind the bar, the bottle of whiskey still in his hand. Twirling her empty shot glass in her hand, she growled out harshly to the stranger. "Can't I just have one fucking night to myself, without one of you bastards finding me!?!?" Her flames responded to her anger and she watched as they slowly danced across her fingers and up her arms.

They emitted a vibrant blue glow and chased away any lingering shadows. A metallic tang tickled her nose followed by the scents of pine and mead. Several animalistic growls sounded from the billiards table but she knew that the werewolves weren't stupid enough to attack a God. Let alone the God of Thunder himself, Thor. The crackle of electricity was the only warning she got of the coming attack. Spinning around in her chair, she quickly created a barrier with her flames. A pained grunt shoved its way past her lips as a lightning bolt slammed into it which caused her back to slam against the bar. Serena felt Death's rage as he seethed in her mind. Having enough she growled at him. "Leave Death, I'll deal with you once I'm done with Thor."

A quick flick of her wrists sent the attack slamming into the bar behind her causing several bottles of hard liquor to shatter. She bit back a feral curse as several shards of glass sliced into her face and neck. Blood trickled down her face and stained the white tank top that she was wearing. Swiping the blood away with the back of her hand. She hissed at the blonde-haired man lingering in the doorway of the bar. "Really Thor! You've stooped so low as to attack me when my back is turned." Booming laughter left the God as he stalked further into the room. His golden plaited hair hovered just above his broad shoulders and a thick beard covered his strong jaw.

Lightning danced in his dark blue eyes as he came to a stop just a hair's breadth from her. Serena had to crane her neck up so that she could look him in the eye as he was several inches taller than her. He was dressed simply, a dark grey long-sleeved shirt covered his muscular chest. Dark washed jeans hugged his hips and light grey dress shoes completed his outfit.  Runic tattoos peeked out from beneath his shirt sleeves and she could see several more running up his neck. At one point in time, Serena would have thought him handsome if he hadn't tried to kill her multiple times over the years. Her anger reached a raging boil as his lips lifted up into a Cheshire- Cat-like grin. Followed by the bastard rumbling out. "As long as the flames of Hell answer to your call, you will always have someone coming for your head my lovely..."