Hello my children!
I want to take a moment to apologize for the late update. There's been a lot going on concerning my younger sister's health and school, to top it off. Plus friend drama (because naturally, there's always got to be that BS). So, my deepest apologies for the lateness.
To make up for it, not only is this chapter over 4,000 words, what you've all been waiting for...STEAM! Yay! They getting down and dirty, y'all ;)
I won't keep you any longer, just enjoy the rollercoaster!
Enjoy,
Epsilon <3
~
I glowered at the goddess before I realized what I was doing, narrowing my eyes and bunching my fists in my Champion's shirt. I didn't like him looking so happy to see her, not in the slightest. I didn't like that they obviously knew one another from before—and clearly, they had been close. The brief thought flickered through my head that, perhaps, since he was a god now, he'd prefer her, want to be with her. She was so beautiful, so powerful, so...womanly, in a way I simply was not. Looking at her, how could I ever possibly compare? The worst part was that I knew they'd look so good, so right together.
Too bad I wouldn't let that happen. I'd never wished harm upon another, but looking at the goddess Athena right now, that changed. I was suddenly rather willing to use the skills that my father had forced upon me.
And that impulse right there was the first time I'd ever felt like my father's daughter.
As if sensing my ire, Butthena glanced down at me, and instead of threatening or becoming angry, she just quirked a brow and smiled. Not what I expected, but it was smart of her. With me clinging to him like a spider monkey, I'd just like to see her try to get close to him.
I froze as lips brushed the shell of my ear. "Are you getting all possessive of me, babygirl? Because if so, that's beyond adorable."
"I'm not adorable!" I growled back quietly, tightening my fingers in his shirt. "I'm terrifying."
A husky chuckle sent goosebumps flying down my arms. "I'm suitably cowed, sweetheart."
"Chaos save me, if I'd known you two would be so sickening, I would've just kept her!" Hades groaned, flopping into an armchair and pouting. I just stared, wide-eyed.
This particular god of death really wasn't all there.
My Champion growled at his friend's words, his rumble vibrating all around me and distracting me once again. I petted his arm gently, reverently, unable to stop admiring his new form.
It wasn't necessarily that he was more attractive as a god; he was just different. To begin with, he must've grown six inches—now he would stand taller than even Lucifer, who was a veritable giant. Still, he kept that lean muscle, in contrast to the angel's tank-like bulk. His skin had colored to a rich tawny shade, his hair lightening to a shining white-blond. He was different, but his face was the same it had always been. My Marcus.
And yet, I was so much more drawn to him in this form. I had no doubt it was a mixture of my soul recognizing the male as he was, along with his own self settling within him. When I'd said before his soul wasn't confused any longer, I'd meant it. He was at peace in a way I'd never before had the pleasure to witness. This new version of my Champion—both the same and entirely new all at once—called to me at my very core. It was as if a piece missing between the two of us had returned.
And I was unprepared for my primal reaction to him.
Every word from his mouth set my stomach fluttering. Every touch made my core clench in want. Every moment in his presence made the throbbing between my thighs worse and worse.
It was torture. It was bliss.
I needed him.
"Of course, this buffoon didn't plan this. Come now, even in his prime, Hades was no strategist," Athena was saying, not unkindly, but not exactly kindly either.
"Guilty," Hades agreed, throwing up a peace sign. "Can I go now? Eternity won't waste itself."
My mouth fell open, and I felt my mate's visceral sadness at the sight of the god brought so low.
"No, you can't," Athena reminded him patiently. "You need to stay for your reward, remember?"
His eyes lit up, and he nodded excitedly, jumping to stand at his considerable height. "My lotus. Yes, I remember."
Athena smiled encouragingly, like a mother with a son. "Good, Hades, good."
"Just what was your game here, goddess?" Lacedaemon asked, managing to walk the fragile line between respectful and irritated admirably.
Athena turned to him, her posture all offended grace. "Game? Cleaning up the messes of other pantheons is no game, Spartan. I come because Michael's hubris irritates me, and because if Hera will not stand up for the women violated by the recklessness and psychosis of the archangel, then I must."
My mate snorted. "Hera would be of little help regardless, Athena. You are the asset we needed." He tightened his grip around me when the goddess went to speak again, "however, right now is not the time for strategizing and plans. Currently, I have some business to attend to with my Kaiah." He sent a stern look to each of the other Greeks in turn. "I expect to see you both in the Hell dimension of Christ in a few days' time."
Frustrated, Athena snapped, "Thanatos! We don't have time for you to be fraternizing needlessly! We need to be ready—"
"And we will be," my Champion promised, his manner uncompromising. "But Michael is obviously in no hurry to make an offensive attack, so for once we have the luxury of time. Give me a few days to warm Lucifer up to having two unfamiliar and," he glanced quickly to Hades, "somewhat volatile gods in his realm and around his mate. Alright?"
"Fine," Athena spat from between grit teeth. Choosing to ignore her tone, my Greek grinned.
"Buh-bye!"
And we were thrust through the void.
We reappeared in the middle of what appeared bafflingly to be an apple orchard, heavy red fruits weighing down the dew-dappled green leaves of tree boughs, sunlight speckling through them to strike the grassy ground in a brilliant show of light. White, four-petaled flowers grew around the base of each one, seeming to glow under the ethereal lighting. A gentle breeze occasionally rustled the branches around us, the trees whispering to each other in a language forgotten by all but them. I gaped as a sleek gray-golden bird lit atop a tree near us, instantly recognizable as a turtledove.
"Are we still in the Underworld?" I asked, the heady scent of plant life and apples swirling in my nose.
Marcus chuckled. "Yes, babygirl. The Underworld is a vast dimension, and unlike Hell, it wasn't created solely to punish those who've done wrong. This," he gestured at the lush paradise surrounding us, "is one of the Fields of Elysian. The place of heroes and good souls. There's one for each god, and when souls come here they go to the field of the god they worshiped."
"This one almost looks...Biblical," I marveled, listening to the sounds of the doves cooing in the trees.
He shook his head, chucking me under the chin. "You Christians. You think you invented everything? The apple was holy in Greece too, you know."
"I didn't," I replied, smiling. "And what about the doves?"
He frowned. "Well, this here is Aphrodite's Elysium. Turtledoves are a symbol of love." The look he sent me was heated and full of raw passion. "It seemed an appropriate place for what I plan to do."
I blushed. I loved that he'd thought of me in that way—for it was clear to both of us what would soon happen. I needed him, and I knew he needed me. He'd needed me for far longer than he'd even known I existed.
I had killed for so long, caused so much pain and suffering. My Champion would fight in the colosseum that was my life in my stead—being strong for someone would give him a purpose he so needed. In return, I would bring life and light into his existence and remind myself that I was more than merely a bringer of death and destruction.
Still, something wasn't right.
"Do you have a field here, Champ?" I asked hopefully.
He frowned, looking almost embarrassed. "There were supposed to be twelve fields of Elysium, but since we were friends, Hades added one for me," he reached out to wrap a lock of my hair around his finger. "But mine is not exactly...a fun place to be. It's empty and depressing as fuck."
I rolled my eyes. "Why do I get the feeling that's exactly what you'd say about yourself, too?"
He was silent.
"You're mine now. And I happen to think your worth everything I have to give. And if you think that's just because you're a god now, well," I turned in his arms, facing him, standing on my tiptoes to press a hand to his cheek. "That's bull poop."
He blinked for a moment, staring as he processed my words. Then, he threw his head back and laughed uproariously, his massive form quaking with each breath. My grin of satisfaction became more strained with every moment as a knot in my middle tied tighter and tighter—Creation, I needed—I didn't even know what I needed. I just knew he could give it to me.
Sobering up, he looked down at me, preparing to sweep me up into his arms.
"Alright, babygirl, we'll go to my field. But it's nothing much to look at, and I warned you."
I backed out of his hold. "How far is it?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at him.
Confused, he replied, "Not far, why?"
I planted my hands on my hips. "You're getting lazy. We're walking—we don't need to zap everywhere, you know?"
"But I like zapping everywhere," he pouted, but held a hand out for me regardless. "Though, I must admit, I enjoy spending more time with you."
"That's the spirit!" I beamed at him, taking his hand. "And this way I get to see more of the fields."
He still looked concerned. Likely about his field, but I wasn't worried. It might be sad and lonely, like Marcus used to be, but it was my job to make him see that he was worth more than he thought. That he was loved, and he deserved it.
"Do you feel different now?" I asked as we walked, hand in hand, the turtledoves fluttering around us.
He thought for a moment. "No, I really don't. The thing is, I don't feel exactly like Thanatos. But I know I'm not Marcus anymore either. I'm not a daemon or a god."
I eyed him. "Did you have horns as a god before?"
He glanced down, his hand flying to his head. "Fuck, how did I not notice that? What in Chaos' name..."
I giggled, "I'm going to guess that's a 'no'."
"Definitely a no," he agreed, shaking his head in confusion. "What the fuck am I supposed to be now?"
I hugged his arm, looking up at him. "Well, you're mine of course."
His eyes darkened, almost absorbing the light. "Of course. What a silly question."
We walked like that, hand in hand, the tension and need swirling around us—but, for the moment, it wasn't pressing. We were allowed to simply walk and banter and enjoy the company of one another in peace...for the first time since we'd met. There was nothing in pursuit, no one putting demands on us. We just existed and were happy to do so. It was a pure moment of happiness, and I made sure to feel and enjoy every minute of it. We, of all people, knew the value of such moments.
"We're almost to my field," he told me after a while. "My field borders this one—love and death are neighbors."
"I'm glad. I don't like this field," I told him. "It's happy and beautiful, but it doesn't feel real. It's a farce."
My Champion glanced at me. "I suppose this is line-order beauty. But many don't care."
I shrugged. "I've been fed too many lies to enjoy even the pretty ones."
Abruptly, we stopped, a wavy wall in front of us like a road on a hot day. Except I could see nothing beyond it, nothing but more apple trees and little white flowers.
"No more lies now, babygirl," he promised. "We're at the border."
I tugged on his hand before he could ask me if I was sure about this. We didn't need questions like that. I'd never been surer in my life. "Then let's go."
We stepped forward, a wave of coolness combatting the previous warm glow of Aphrodite's field.
In front of us, a seemingly endless span of nighttime desert rolling out in front of us. Dried riverbeds crossed in front of it like broken stitches on a worn piece of clothing, the sand piled in smooth dunes in the distance. There were no creatures, no predators, no souls. We were utterly alone in a field devoid of life.
"It's beautiful," I managed, choked up. "You know that, right?"
"How?" My Champion asked, his voice dull and tired in a way that broke a tiny piece off of my heart. "There is nothing beautiful here."
"Look up," I whispered, tightening my hand in his.
We did so together, losing our breaths at the blanket of stars that draped themselves over us and the horizon it it's indescribable beauty. Countless blinking balls of fire twinkling so serenely—and inexplicably—overhead, yet another phenomenon unexplained in the world of mythos, uncaring and yet gorgeous in its divinity. Like the chaos my mate so often invoked, it was disorganized, wild, untamed, and yet it held a specific beauty that only some could see and appreciate. I did see it, and it filled my heart with joy unlike anything else.
It was exactly like my Champion, so I loved it unconditionally.
One moment, I was staring up at the Underworld's inexplicable universe above us, my heart full and content, and the next I was on the ground, my Champion propped over me and blotting out the view with something far more impressive and even more appealing.
"You're fucking perfect, Kaiah," he growled. "My mate. My other half. My babygirl." Twining a hand in the hair at the back of my head, he tilted my chin up and devoured my mouth with his, seeking and demanding my submission and acceptance in one intimate movement.
I gasped against his lips, throwing my arms over his shoulders and drawing him closer as his other hand drifted down to hitch my hips up against his in an embrace that breathed life into my lungs. The cool roughness of the sand of the barren riverbed against my back was an almost pleasant contrast to the fire of our passion, but my mate wouldn't have me anything less than comfortable.
Wrapping his thick arms around my waist, he flipped us over in one smooth, coordinated movement so I straddled him, my thighs spread wide and bracketing his broad chest, my hands planted on his wide shoulders for support. In response, my hips grew a mind of their own and danced on top of him in a way I didn't know I knew how. I let out a tiny gasp when I felt a fissure of pleasure ignite every nerve ending in my body, radiating out from the friction between my thighs and his hard, corrugated stomach.
"You're so beautiful," he hissed, truth ringing in his every syllable as he gripped my hips to encourage my instinctive movements with a more experienced air. "I love watching you move like that on me." He tightened his hold, baring his teeth like a crazed beast, "I'll be the only male who ever sees this, won't I?"
"Marcus, please," I whimpered, dragging my hands further down on his chest. "I need you."
His eyes darkened yet again, and he tensed. "Was that an order, babygirl?" His words were sharp, but I could've sworn I heard an undercurrent of pleasure.
I shook my head, frantically backtracking, "I—"
His hand crashed down on my bottom with surprising, yet not excessive force, sending me jolting forward on him and igniting a confusing blend of pleasure and pain in me. Every part of my body lit up, and something deep inside of me clenched tightly, like a fist in my belly.
"I know what you need, little girl." His voice was all raw, casual power. Like it came naturally to him. Like he didn't have to work for it. "And right now, I'm going to help you rub your sweet little pussy on me until I see you come. I want to see." He growled ferally, "I'm fucking tired of waiting to watch you fall into pieces for me."
The hands on my hips tightened and before I could respond he was moving me again, and I was consumed with passion and need and pure, primal pleasure. My world narrowed down to just him and me; we were in our own little bubble and no one could touch us. No one could touch me. I knew my Champion would protect me.
Though something instinctive inside of me wanted to obey my mate, I wanted more. And not just that, I needed him to feel something, too. I wanted him to be there with me. And, from what little I knew of sex and pleasure (which really wasn't much), the male's center of pleasure was further down. The place that would make him ignite like me was just a bit back, and I was determined to reach it.
That resolution in my mind, I attempted to wiggle further backwards, towards the special place that would make him feel good like me, when again a firm spank landed on my other bottom cheek. I yipped and lurched up once more at the sharp, oddly pleasant sting, my eyes squeezing shut as my body melted into him like butter on chocolate chip pancakes. It felt so right to let him order me as he wished—it made us both so happy. So content. And also so freaking needy and hungry for one another.
"Don't you dare move. Stay here, babygirl," he growled, "I want you to come right fucking here, where I fucking put you. There'll be more than enough time for that later."
"But I want you to feel good too," I whimpered as the speed of or movements increased, as the fire reached an inferno in my core that was bordering on unbearable, and at the same time I never wanted to end.
His jaw clenched and he groaned, the guttural sound rippling out from deep in his chest. His fingers dug into my flesh so hard they would bruise as his large hands engulfed the curves of my hips completely—and I loved it. Knowing his mark would be on me, however fleeting it may be.
"Don't earn yourself an actual punishment, little girl," he warned. "You'll come for me the way I want, when I want you to. Understood?"
Creation, if that didn't make me grind down even harder against him. He hissed sharply at whatever he saw in my expression, his dark, intense gaze never leaving my face as he guided me. The way he took control made my anxiety melt and drift into the cracks of the broken riverbed beneath us. I was utterly in the hands of the only male I had ever trusted, and it freed me. I felt like if he released his hold on me, I'd float away.
But I didn't want him to let me go, because despite the unfamiliarity of this, I had the feeling that if he kept hold of me, instead of floating, I'd fly.
"There we go, that's it," my mate ground out through grit teeth. "Chaos, I can feel your heat. So fucking needy—just a bit of grinding and you're ready to come all over me. Your pussy needed this, didn't it babygirl? You needed to come for me."
"I did," I whispered, digging my fingers into his shirt. "I need you."
His face flared with pure passion and possession. "You'll always need me, my Kaiah. Only me. That won't ever change."
"Never!" I cried as I began to twitch and tremble on top of him. It was like my body wasn't mine to control, like I was teetering on the edge of a precipice and I couldn't stop myself from jumping straight into it. And he was the only one who could decide that for me.
I wouldn't have it any other way.
"Then come for me, now," he ordered.
As if his words were the magical key to my lock, I threw my head back and released a sound I hadn't known I was capable of making as I shattered for him. My body tightened everywhere, stiffening as my body lit up around me like little fireworks of pleasure were going off inside of me. Waves of pure, potent energy shot out of me as I came apart for him. I couldn't take it—it was too much. But paradoxically, I also wanted it to go on forever.
Not that I got a choice in the matter. As per usual, my mate took what he wanted, and he wanted me to feel everything. His demanding hands kept my hips moving ceaselessly as I rode through the barrage of unfamiliar, yet glorious sensations.
I barely registered when Marcus' hands clenched, his face drawn in awe and worry. Somehow, despite the light show happening inside of me, I managed to force my head up, and I let out a gasp—this time not of pleasure—at what I saw. The sand around us was floating...because now it was little more than dust. Each grain of sand had been torn apart until barely anything remained. The ground beneath us was now bare soil, the haze around us barely recognizable as matter. I began to freeze, to fight back the pleasure and focus on the buildup of power in my gut, but my mate grabbed my chin and forced my face back to his in an all-consuming kiss.
My mind fragmented and I forgot about the haze, riding out my orgasm with my Champion until my body went limp and I slumped down on top of his hard form, my head tucked under his chin and one of my hands brushing the earth beneath us. Before I could stop it, another wave of energy, this one calm and soothing, drifted out of me like a calm, tranquil river.
One of his hands brushed up and down my spine as I calmed and I felt the energy cease to a small trickle of power, until I began to register a new feeling beneath my outstretched fingertips. I sat myself upwards despite my sudden sated bliss and gasped at the sight before me. Marcus sat up as well, clutching me to him and looking around with a grim expression on his face.
"Did I—" I whispered, stunned.
"Well I sure as fuck didn't," Marcus grunted, tightening his arms around me. "And I think I'm beginning to understand why Michael thought you could kill Lucifer."
The haze around us had begun to drift away, carried by the breeze. And, as far as the eye could see, the desert that had once been was gone, replaced by a rolling, wild, beautiful forest. Countless fully-grown trees stretched up into that glorious night sky, wildflowers and shrubs and plants of every imaginable species thrived, spots of vibrant color and healthy green encompassing the once bleak terrain.
Suddenly, Marcus jolted upwards, still clutching me, as the dry riverbed beneath us filled with water once more, the placid flow reaching his thighs and soaking his clothing.
"I—I've never done something on this scale before," I whispered, almost to myself. "And I've never been...destructive. I've only ever created."
"You haven't?"
"No, I—" I paused, turning my head suddenly to look up at my mate. "Is that freaking smugness I hear in your voice?!"
"I'm not smug," he replied, smugly. "I just made my mate come so hard she turned a desert into a forest. Why would I be smug?"
I blinked at him. "You aren't...scared of me?"
He paused, before stalking to the edge of the river, setting me on my feet, and cupping my cheeks with both hands. "Babygirl, if I wanted to, I could destroy everything living in every single one of these fields with a flick of my finger. It wouldn't even be difficult for me. I could take millions of human lives at once without reason or thought. Nothing you could ever do, purposefully or not, would ever drive me away or make me fear you. I only fear for you, do you hear me?"
I nodded wordlessly, tears welling in my eyes at the gravity of his statement.
He made a deep sound of distress. "Please don't fucking cry, Chaos, I couldn't handle it. It would break me." He enveloped me in a firm embrace. "We'll figure this out, Kaiah, I swear to you. This doesn't change a damn thing."
But even as he said it, I thought of the Greek gods. I thought of Lucifer. Raphael. God himself. And I knew that I was dangerous. And I knew how dangerous creatures were treated. I was a living weapon, whether I'd decided it or not. Whether I'd been given a choice or not. It didn't matter, and it wouldn't matter to them. My father had created me, and I wasn't so sure they wouldn't decide to destroy me.
~
So, what did y'all think of that??
I know that might not have been exactly what you expected...any thoughts?
What do you think of Kaiah's newfound abilities? Why would Michael keep them from her?
Until the next time!
Epsilon <3