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The Moirai/Moirae were the three goddesses of fate,
They created the inescapable destiny of men,
And assigned to every person his or her beloved.
They spun the thread of life,
And only listened to the commands of Zeus.
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Liam's heat enveloped me as his arms tightened around my midriff. He stared at Zeus with rage lurking in his green depths. The god smiled back, enjoying whatever pain he was inflicting on the sin. "I'll be taking my leave now. Holding Zion back is getting really tiring."
I could sense the mirth in his tone. He wanted Zion to gain consciousness. And he'll enjoy watching Zion come to terms with what had happened. Giving one last wink, the god retreated. His white eyes dimmed down to two brown irises.
Zion stumbled a bit, his hands touched his knees as he bowed. After taking a few deep breaths, he looked around, trying to get his bearings. He first noticed Pharoah standing a few meters to his side. Zion frowned at the sin, probably remembering their first encounter. He then turned his attention to Liam, Raph, and me.
The three sins stared daggers at him. And it didn't take a genius to guess that something bad had happened. Zion sighed. "What did Zeus do now?"
"Do you feel any weird emotions?" Liam went straight to the point.
Zion frowned. "What the fuck are you talking about?"
"Emotions that oddly aren't yours. Can you sense them?"
Zion furrowed his eyebrows in thought. And like clockwork, his eyes widened in alarm before they landed on me. "Fear."
I swallowed not surprised by how he hit the nail right on the head. Every time Zeus appears, something bad happens. And now, I was scared that Zeus could resurface at any time without warning. And with Zion struggling to keep him down, he is close to his ascension. Not only that, but I'm wondering how Zion will act after he finds out I'm bonded to him.
Scales expanded over Liam's skin. His claws jutted out and judging from the animalistic aura he exhumed, I knew his sin was out. But he wasn't the only one -- Raph eyes glowed yellow as he sneered at the triplet. He sat on his heels, burning wings spread out like he was seconds away from attacking.
I needed to stop them before things get worse. "Zion, you need to leave, now!"
The triplet grunted. "Why will I do that? I need answers. What the fuck happened?"
"I'll tell you everything you need to know." Pharoah stepped in. He stood with his hands in his pockets. A few strands escaped his braid as an upcoming storm rolled in. Even though he remained calm, his eyes kept switching as he fought to contain his sin. "But if you stay any second longer, whatever truce we had will end the moment they attack. Zeus had planned it out perfectly and the best way to solve it is to leave. They'll barely listen to anything you say once their sins are out."
Zion gritted his teeth as he battled with the idea of retreating. After a moment he cursed. "Fine! But don't keep me waiting."
Releasing a disapproving grunt, Zion took to the air in a burst of whirlwinds before heading in the direction of the club. Liam's wing unfolded, ready to launch.
"No!" I touched his cheek. "Zion isn't the enemy. You know that."
That only earned me a deep growl. Lust was now conscious as he stared at me with hard unforgiving eyes. "As far as I know, Zeus forcefully made you his beloved. And the only way to break that is to kill him."
I glared at him. "You can't kill Zion. There has to be another way."
"Actually, there is." Pharoah carelessly waved his hand at a streetlight. It immediately squashed to the ground like an invisible weight suddenly fell on it. His upturned eyes focused on Liam, Raph, and me. "Zeus can form, manipulate and break bonds. We just need Zion to either break whatever bond he has with you or manipulate it back to the original."
The original?
My hands fisted, wanting to grab Liam's shirt. Then I realized he wasn't wearing any. None of the sins had a shirt on. "But can't you steal the bond the same way you wanted to steal it from Liam?"
Pharoah scoffed. The numerous zip handles on his biker jeans clinked as he tapped his huge black boot. "I'm flattered you think I can steal a bond from Zeus, but that's not how it works hun. I can only steal a bond made for a Sin. Zeus changed the bond to a godly one, so I can't do much about it. Making another similar bond won't work either. It'll nullify and dissolve within seconds."
Liam's clawed hand slipped down my arm to my wrist. He exposed the mark, displaying the full lettering Pandora in greek. A sign that the bond was complete.
Πανδώρα
Pharoah took to the roof and landed beside us. He closed the distance and I had to press into Liam. The sin of pride grabbed my wrist and scrutinized it. For a second a noticed something skitter across his eyes. "Having a complete bond will leave an effect on you. And it can only be regulated by the person who caused the bond. I'm not sure what it can do. But since it was manipulated from Liam's bond, It's bound to have lustful properties."
His yellow cat eyes turned to Liam. "And now that she is Zion's beloved, he could easily make her his sealed pair."
Liam snarled in response.
What is Pharoah talking about?
"Let's just take Penny and get away from here. At least she wouldn't need to see Zion again." Raph, the sin of greed puffed out hot air from his nostrils. He sat on his heels with elbows to his knees.
I shook my head. "No. I'm not leaving until I know Pedro is safe."
We've finally found Pedro's location. There's no way I'm ditching him, especially to a titan like Epimetheus. Seeing my resolve, Raph moaned in frustration. The piercing on his ears and nose glittered underneath the stars. "I can't believe you're choosing a god over us."
Did I just notice a piercing on his tongue?
I faced Pharoah. "What's a sealed pair?"
His eyes brows furrowed in puzzlement before turning to Liam. "Are you kidding me!? You kept blabbering about making her your permanent one and yet she doesn't know a thing about beloveds?"
Liam's chest rumbled as he growled. "Eros and I told her the basics. Time didn't allow us to have an entire freaking lecture."
"You need to tell her now before she experiences it firsthand with Zion--"
"Shut it." Liam placed a hand beneath my knees before picking me up bridal style. He walked towards the edge of the roof with wings spread out. "I'll deal with this. Just go talk with Zion already."
Pharoah stared at him with half-lidded eyes. "You've got to be joking. After losing the bond, being around her in your sinful form won't bode well. Let Raph join you."
We all looked at the sin of greed. He traced a letter 'Z' on a roofing tile with his claw. After adding a few perfections, he palmed it and I watched as the brick melted like his skin was made of lava. The sin smiled like he loved the idea of burning anything with the letter 'Z'.
Liam scoffed. "Raph is just as fucked up as I am. Let me handle it. Don't follow me unless you want to break whatever alliance we have."
Pharoah went silent as he watched him with a blank expression. After a moment he turned to Raph. "Let's go."
With that, he took to the air. Raph followed after him and I observed as their forms diminished with every growing distance. Whatever alliance Liam had with those two, Pharoah wasn't willing to put it in jeopardy. It made me question why they were suddenly interacting like family.
Liam soared into the air and I yelped from the sudden leap. But he wasn't headed for the main building in Starcrossed inc. Instead, he landed before a boutique. He strutted straight through the automatic glass doors, making people turn their heads. An animalistic sound vibrated through his chest. "Everybody out!"
The whole place scattered as everyone headed through the door without touching Liam or me. Even the store attendant followed after the clients, her heels clicking. Soon, the entire place fell silent. Liam walked ahead. The claws outline his bare feet tacked against the tiled floor.
I kept still and held my breath. Fidgeting will only bring attention to me. He walked through a secluded door at the staff's wing and was immediately greeted by a sweet aroma.
The room was lined by black sofas with a massive ottoman at its center. It held a huge vase with flowers. Bookshelves covered one side of the wall and the entire room had a dim purplish glow. Swiping the vase to the ground, Liam dumped me unto the plush ottoman. I landed with an oomph. My hair sprawled across my face.
I struggled to rearrange myself as the sin stepped back and turned away, his back to me. He forcefully tried to withdraw his wings, scales, and tails, but they seemed adamant about retreating. His body contorted as he wrestled with himself, trying to suppress his sinful side.
"Liam?" I rose to my elbows, wanting to comfort him.
"Don't fucking move, Gem."
His snarl made me freeze in place. My heart sped from the sudden warning. The sin turned to the side, his eyes were now cat-like but his tails, wings, and claws were still pretty much prominent.
"It's quiet." He whispered so low under his breath that I almost missed it. He roared with rage, grabbing a bookshelf and tossing it across the room. I squeaked as the wood shattered against the wall. He kept mumbling to himself as he ran his hands through his hair. "I can't feel your emotions, Penny. It's like a gaping hole...so quiet."
I shifted towards the edge of the bed, wanting to place my feet on the carpet.
"I told you to not fucking move."
Losing the bond had made Liam unstable. And between the two of us, I was the only one with a level head. That didn't mean I wasn't affected. Losing the bond had impacted me just as it had with Liam. And it's funny realizing how much I had wanted it now that it's gone. "Will it help if I tell you my emotions right now?"
Liam scoffed. "You're probably scared of me."
I hummed. "It's more of worry."
Liam leaned his hands against the wall and bowed his head. His claws chipped the paint as his wings kept twitching. I furrowed my eyebrows. "What's going on with you?"
"You don't want to know."
A shiver rolled down my spine, and
goosebumps spread across my body like the Black Plague. "Lust wants to do something, doesn't he?"
It's probably an irrational one.
Liam grumbled in a low tone. "I can't let him touch you until I get the bond back.
Touch me?
"Why are you waiting for the bond?"
He swallowed as seconds passed. It took a while for him to break the silence. "Zeus wasn't joking when he spoke about testing the limits of the bond. Zion can sense your emotions, meaning whatever you feel right now goes straight to him. Zion will be witnessing, firsthand, what's going on. And if it goes overboard, it'll cause hatred and pain."
I pondered over the words, letting them sink in. "What'll happen now that I'm his beloved?"
"Beings beloved means that you are approved by the fates to be together. Every situation and circumstance will bring the two of you closer -- almost like magic. There are two types of beloveds; a true beloved and a potential beloved. Whiles a true beloved is acknowledged by the fates -- like Zion is to Helena -- potential beloveds are not.
"Potential beloveds are formed when a person has a close relationship with someone. Being a potential beloved means you have the probability of becoming someone's beloved. And that can only be done through a specific bond. A bond that steers emotions; either love or lust.
"This means, before the bond was made, you were Zion's potential beloved. The only downside of this is that a person can have two or more beloveds at the same time, making it problematic. Are you following?"
I nodded. "I think so."
Liam sighed and leaned against the wall with his hands deep in his pockets. "Us sins do not have beloveds. And the only potential beloved we have is Pandora. It's mostly seen as an abomination to even form that sort of relationship with her. In Pandora's eyes, we are only her subordinates -- dogs created to do her bidding. Even monsters have their beloveds but we are the only exception.
"After the gods were trapped within humans, it spurred something even stronger than beloveds; A sealed pair. Having a beloved is equivalent to marriage. But a sealed pair is stronger. It's the one thing that can get rid of multiple beloveds. Meaning that you'll be permanently stuck with one person forever. A sealed pair can only happen after you've made that person your beloved. And it can be triggered when the two partners engage in intimacy."
"I don't understand..."
"It's sex, Penny. The two should have sexual intercourse. Again, it can only happen when that person is already your beloved. Having a sealed pair immediately destroys current and future beloveds. And the only way Zion can get rid of Helena is by having a sealed pair with someone else."
My eyes widened. "You mean...
Liam nodded. "Zion has to do one thing to make you his sealed pair...permanently."
But then...Epimetheus would no longer be my beloved.
The thought was oddly satisfying. But it was under the wrong circumstances. I shook my head in denial. "Zion won't do that. He doesn't even know much about sealed pairs. He isn't even interested in anything concerning beloveds."
"I bet Zeus will tell him everything he needs to know. And he'll be interested once it has something to do with you."
"But--"
"You're giving Zion way too much credit, Gem. He can easily be swayed, especially with Zeus constantly talking in his head. He's becoming more and more like Zeus by the day. And if he wants you as his sealed pair, I can bet he'll take it forcefully. It's what Zeus always does."
Liam left the wall and walked towards me. "Before you place a bond on someone, you usually seek consent. And that's mainly because it has the potential to sway emotions towards the person that inflicted the bond. It means Zion can use the bond to get away with subtle things like lowering your guard."
I frowned in thought. "You claim a bond is made with consent. And yet you bonded with me without my knowledge."
"Like I said. At that time I was supposed to bring you to the other sins. That bond could help Pandora ascend before her time. And if that happens, she'll have the power to make us ascend. But when I got to know you, my goals changed. I furthered the bond, intending to have you as my beloved when the time was right.
"And after you agreed to be my girlfriend, it increased my motivation tenfold. I planned on proposing we become a sealed pair and Eros was supporting the idea. But It'll be a hassle trying to create a bond all over again after you said 'yes.' I wouldn't have to wait months before I get to fuck you... officially."
I pressed my thighs together in weird anticipation. What was wrong with me?
"You were going to propose? To me?"
He tilted his head. "Why so surprised?"
"I mean, all this time, I thought you were..."
"Hesitating?"
I nodded.
He hummed. "I was...at the beginning. But after I realized that whatever I felt wasn't one-sided, I had hope. I never actually thought I'd have a beloved. So having this opportunity, is something I'm not willing to let go so easily."
He ran a hand through his hair as his chest heaved. His eyes were still switching. "It's getting harder to keep Lust down." He relaxed against a bookshelf, eyes now on the led light. "He'll shut up once he feeds."
His scales began to reappear as his claws elongated an inch longer. He released a heavy breath, eyes still stuck on the ceiling. His adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed. "Take off your clothes, Gem."
I feel like this chapter has a lot of info so I made this little equation to make it simpler.
•Beloved = Married couple
•Potential Beloved + Bond = Beloved.
•Beloved + 💕 💏 = Sealed Pair
So the upcoming message is for silent readers. I just want to get to know you guys😭
So if you're a silent reader just comment a 'hi.' I'll reply as soon as I can.💜💜💜
That's all for now. Please take care of yourself and stay safe💜💜💜