Hades (4 page)

A knock sounded on the door so they rushed to
set their clothes on right. “Hey, I know someone’s in there, hope
I’m not interrupting.” The laughter in Hermes voice told them he
didn’t really care. It was payback for when Zeus had walked in on
him and Cherish in the pantry at the cafeteria. Zeus unlocked the
door that he always locked when he came to Sierra’s office, letting
Hermes in. Cherish followed along after him their hands locked
together.

“So what’s up with Hades’s mission and when
will they be back?” Cherish asked.

“Are you going to bake something special?”
Sierra asked.

“Think we’ll have another mating?” Hermes
wondered.

“Doc is pretty stubborn,” Zeus observed.

“Maybe so, but I’ve found out the tape was a
fake and he was drugged. Nioma ran the tests, there’s no doubt,”
Sierra explained.

“Why?” Cherish asked.

“I can’t be sure but maybe they want to upset
everyone so they’ll make poor decisions. Maybe they hoped Doc would
leave.” Sierra had thought about it so much but she had no way to
be sure.

“I was going to tell you that the word is Doc
is being targeted by Origin. They think she’s their best chance of
breeding more gods with those they still have,” Zeus told his
mate.

“Should we warn them?” Hermes asked.

“They’re headed home now. We’ll tell her when
they arrive.” Zeus knew Hades wouldn’t take the news well.

“I guess I’ll get back to baking,” Cherish
said as she kissed Hermes lightly on the lips before turning to
go.

“Is Cherish in any danger?” Hermes asked.

“No more than the rest of us, as far as I
know, Doc is the only human targeted and I believe they want her
medical knowledge,” Zeus told him with a slap on his back. Origin
wouldn’t give up until a way was found for them to get back into
the game. They intended to profit from the products they had made
and still felt was theirs, the gods and the demons.

Sierra was now alone with her mate once more.
“How do you think they’ll try to get her?”

Zeus considered her question for a moment
before replying. “They’ll probably wait until she’s away from here.
If that takes too long, they’ll attack us to try to get her.”

“My thoughts exactly, should we try to trap
them?”

“Traps can backfire, but waiting for them to
come to us can put everyone, including her, at risk.” They decided
to put off the decision until Hades and Doc were present to consult
which wouldn’t be long.

Hours later, they stood just inside the door
waiting for those on the plane to arrive. Their rescued brothers
and those they had sent to rescue them. Zeus watched as gods came
by him, he slapped their backs welcoming them home. Demons were
mixed in and Lu was there to welcome them. One came in by
stretcher, he was on his way to recovery.

Near him was his mate, Hermes with his mate,
and the other gods and demons in leadership. It was important to
greet their brothers as they came in and to show them the life that
waited for them. Never again would Origin harm them or run their
lives. Someday they would all have mates, children, and they would
live in a family unit if they so desired.

The last of the gods and demons went by with
the stretcher coming in last. Doc followed right behind it with
Hades and the rest of the team following behind her. The news Doc
would get, although it was good, would make her feel guilty for
assuming Hades was in the wrong. It was sad, but it would be the
first step in the healing process. The next step would be Hades’s
forgiveness so they could move on.

“Doc, I’m so glad to see you. I have a lot to
tell you as soon as we can get together,” Sierra said. Doc just
nodded and continued on with her patient.

They followed her to medical where the
patient was placed in one of the beds. “He looks so much better
then he did when we found him, but whatever they gave him has
interfered with his natural healing,” Doc said. She fussed around
him for a little while filling out his chart and ordering food and
drink for him. “I’m ready to go to your office now. Are we all
going?”

“Yes, it’s best if we all go so we can
discuss what we found out,” Sierra agreed.

They walked a short way down the hall to
Sierra’s office. It wasn’t as large as Zeus’s but the four of them
fit easily. “So what’s this about?” Doc asked.

Sierra and Zeus exchanged a look of concern.
“Hades, why didn’t you tell us that you didn’t have sex with Dee?”
Zeus asked.

Hades turned bright red and looked flustered.
“She said she would help me with my relationship with Doc. I went
to her room and we had a drink then I don’t remember anything. I
wasn’t sure what happened or what I’d done and the whole thing was
embarrassing.”

Doc looked horrified and she should. She’d
been punishing him for something he hadn’t done. He was a victim
which he found embarrassing, but he hadn’t done anything to hurt
her.

“Nioma tested his blood, he was drugged. It’s
effects were strong, but she couldn’t tell what the drug was
exactly. She thinks it may be a designer drug Origin made to mess
with the gods and demons.”

“Oh, my God,” Doc said and she fled from the
office. Hades turned to follow her.

“Let her go, big guy. She’s mad at herself
and she needs to come to terms with what’s happened and the choices
she’s made,” Sierra said.

Sierra and Zeus headed back to their room for
the night while Hades headed off by himself. Sierra had hoped the
healing would have begun by now but Doc had turned her anger from
Hades to herself. They entered their suite where Lu was playing
with Athena. “Rough day?” he asked. “I could have kept her at my
place so you two would have some alone time.” He moved his hips in
a simulation of sex not all that different from dancing. Zeus
laughed and Sierra blushed because the thought had occurred to
her.

“Jealous?” Zeus asked.

“Hell, yeah,” Lu answered.

Sierra thought their beautiful Lu would make
a damn good mate for some lucky female someday. She put Athena to
bed as Lu slipped out the door. Emotionally exhausted from all the
turmoil, she and Zeus cuddled in bed taking comfort from each other
and fell into a deep restful sleep only to be woke a few hours
later by alarms. Was it an attack or was Origin testing the alarm
system? It turned out to be neither. An unexpected plane had landed
carrying a very welcome guest.

John Anders had been a vice president of
Origin when the company was disbanded. The gods had sought him for
the information he had on their numbers and on Origin itself. They
had given up trying to find him and now it seemed he had found
them. He was barely thirty years old, young for such a high
position in the company considering he had no relatives or friends
to help him climb the company ladder. Sierra looked at him
dispassionately where he sat in the meeting room across the table
from her and Zeus. He was a handsome man, dark red hair, green
eyes, a healthy tan, tall, and broad shouldered. He seemed likable
but she would wait and see, some people could fool anyone for a
little while.

“I know you will find this hard to believe,
but I only found out about the gods and demons two years ago. Once
you find out, they tell you the only way out of Origin is death. I
immediately started planning my way out and I leaked some
information to the military. I knew they were the only ones who
could free you.”

He talked a good game telling them all the
right things, but there was no way to check on most of the things
he had told them. “You know what we want,” Zeus said.

“I have locations memorized though most will
be abandoned by now. If you hope to free anymore of your people you
will have to act fast.” He went on to give them ten locations that
might hold gods or demons. It was also possible that they were no
longer there. “I didn’t have to come here, I hope you will take it
as a sign of good faith.”

Doc and Hades were at the meeting and Hades
watched her while Doc tried to look everywhere but at him. She
didn’t seem to know how to respond to him or even if he wanted to
be around her anymore. Sierra could see how confused they both were
and as soon as they were through with Anders, they would have
another meeting to decide what to do now.

Anders stood so the rest of them stood as
well. Zeus shook hands with him and Hercules stepped out of the
room behind Anders to select someone to escort him to a guest room.
Hercules was back in a moment and the private meeting began.

“The word is that Doc is on Origin’s
acquisition list. We need to decide how we’re going to deal with
it. It might be best to set a trap and we have a list of ten places
to work from,” Hercules said.

Hades growled, “My mate will not be used as
bait for a trap.” Doc’s mouth fell open as she realized what he
said. “What?” he asked looking at her. “You’re still my mate no
matter what happens or whether you decide to acknowledge it or
not.”

“It’s my decision to make and if they are out
to get me I’d rather lead them in on my terms then get caught on
theirs.”

“Only if I can go as well or I’ll tie you to
my bed and no one will stop me.”

Sierra thought that was likely since everyone
was scared of Hades’s gift and no one would discuss it. It must be
one kickass power to generate that much respect. Doc nodded, she
was willing to let Hades go with her so everyone could relax now.
It looked for a moment like they were going to fight it out.

“Let’s look at these locations and pick one
where you might find some of our brothers,” Zeus decided.

They all looked at the list trying to figure
out the best place to go. They were all remote and had less than
desirable conditions. They decided to go to Canada first, Alert,
Nunavut, Canada to be precise. The facility was located a few miles
from the barely there town which the search engines said had five
residents. It was only five hundred miles below the north pole but
they didn’t expect any Santa sightings. There was, however, a good
chance that they would discover Origin agents dogging their
steps.

Everyone agreed that after the team had time
to sleep, they would head back out on the mission. If this mission
didn’t work, there were nine more chances for them to catch whoever
was sent after Doc. Sierra watched Hades and Doc leave together.
Those two had a lot to talk about and hopefully things would work
out between them.

Chapter 3

Mated

Hades pulled a reluctant Doc into her room
hoping she would be more comfortable there. He had told her she
owed him a conversation at the very least and she couldn’t deny it.
He could see she was agitated and nervous, but she would soon be
even more so. He was tired of waiting and tired of chasing. It was
time for this thing between them to come to a conclusion, he wasn’t
going to wait anymore.

She sat on the couch while he brought her a
glass of wine. She tried to refuse it but he insisted and he gulped
his like it was water. Alcohol had less effect on gods and demons,
but drinking a lot quickly would cause them to get buzzed. She
finally finished hers under his stern gaze. Maybe it would relax
her and make this a little easier. He slid into the seat next to
her putting his arm around her.

“It’s long past time for us to talk. I should
have tried to explain what happened that night regardless of your
refusal to listen. We can share the blame, that’s only fair, but
I’m not willing to wait any longer for us to mate. I know you’ve
had relationship issues in the past, but mating with a god is
different and you are mine!”

She started to say something but he didn’t
want to hear excuses. He pulled her hallway across his lap and
lowered his lips to hers. He brushed them lightly across hers,
feeling her breath against his face. He nibbled on her bottom lip
tasting her sweetness and the wine she had just drank. He nipped
her lip causing her to gasp in surprise. It was the opening he had
waited for and his tongue plunged into her mouth exploring every
part and dueling with her tongue. He had dreamed of kissing her
exactly this way since the first time he had seen her. The reality
of the kiss was so much more than the dream had been.

His hands roamed over her body sliding under
her shirt to squeeze her soft breasts. He plucked at her nipples
making them instantly harden. He leaned back slightly to lift her
shirt over her head tossing it on the floor without a thought. He
unsnapped her bra and slid it off too, before lowering his mouth to
suck a dusky rose nipple into his mouth. He sucked hard making her
moan and squirm as she pressed her breast against his mouth. He
would have her, he sensed her resistance was low and he would take
advantage of her to get what he needed. He would never force her,
but he would use her own desires against her.

He leaned back and she whimpered, but he only
removed his shirt before he moved his mouth back to suck in her
other nipple until it, too was hard. He picked her up carrying her
to the bed, a place he had longed to have her for so long he had
all but given up. He placed her next to the bed, removing the rest
of her clothes as his hands roamed over her sexy curves. He
stripped the rest of his own clothes quickly so he could return his
attention to her completely. This passion between them had hit her
as hard as it had him and she was too overwhelmed with need to
resist him.

He picked her up into his arms and rolled
them both onto the bed. His dreams were all about to come true, he
had never wanted anything more than he wanted her. He kissed her
passionately before he started working down her body. She was so
soft and smelled so sweet his cock was hard and dripping from his
barely controlled desire. He kissed her neck scraping it with his
teeth as he worked his way down to play with her breasts once more.
He continued down to lick her stomach circling her belly button
before moving lower still.