Oh! In all the excitement, I forgot to tell you Alek’s mother is the one who gave him the coin.”
His mother? Who was his mother, and how had she gotten it?
Destruction supplied the answer, pushing a memory through a dark miasma of rage, blood and death.
A harem took shape in Baden’s mind. In his early days as king, Hades had kept a harem filled with beautiful women, immortals and humans alike. Anyone who’d caught his fancy.
I take what I want. No one stops me.
A blonde woman...one of his favorites, for a while, at least...was an angel who’d fallen for him, literally as well as figuratively, abandoning her home in the sky to live with him. Her wings had been removed by her sister, leaving thick, jagged scars on her back. He’d liked scars, and she’d liked the homage he paid them.
But she hadn’t been content inside the harem, had been insulted every time she’d had to share him with others, and she’d eventually lashed out, killing his other women in cold blood. He’d come close to killing her in turn, but in a rare moment of mercy, he’d exiled her to the earth instead.
Soon after, he’d learned the coin he’d kept under heavy guard had gone missing. He’d known instantly who’d taken it. Her only means of vengeance.
He’d gone after her. No one he’d marked could hide from him. Ever.
That day, she’d laughed at him.
You want the coin? Too bad. You’ll never find it. Especially if you kill me. The moment I die, it will be delivered to Lucifer.
He’d left her, then, sending one of his spies to remain near her at all times. Over the years, she’d married a human male and bore him a son—Aleksander—and by all accounts, the son who loved her had been the one who’d savagely torn out her insides. But, being only half immortal rather than fully, Aleksander would never have had the strength to overpower her. Which meant she’d allowed him to kill her.
Later that same day, Aleksander had cornered Hades’s spy and told him to deliver a message: I have the coin. I have no plans to use it—presently. But I, like my mother, have taken measures to ensure it’s delivered to Lucifer upon my death.
You should have told me sooner, Baden snapped at Destruction.
Sharing secrets is as new to me as it is to you.
In the present, Katarina climbed to her knees and wound her arms around his neck. “Where did you go, drahý?”
He loved when she called him darling. Even Destruction approved. The nickname told nothing of their strength but everything about the softening of their woman.
“I was right. Aleksander isn’t human,” he said. “His mother was a fallen angel.”
“How do you know this?”
“Everything is here, thanks to Hades.” He tapped his temple. “Sometimes I must dig. Sometimes the beast willingly offers.”
She pressed her perfect breasts against his chest, and he lamented the shirt that prevented the skin-to-skin contact he now craved more than breath. “Again I wonder how I missed my husband’s—”
He nipped at her lips. “That word is forbidden to you.”
She smiled slowly at him. “Because you’re jealous?”
More than he’d ever dreamed possible.
“Well, you basically have a husband, too,” she pointed out. “You’re bound to Hades.”
Baden shuddered, and she laughed.
So beautiful...so bright. “Katarina,” he said and cupped the back of her neck. His chest constricted. “Tell me you need me.”
Her good humor faded, and she licked her lips. “No way. I won’t lie.”
“Tell me,” he insisted.
“Never! I’ve trained dogs that would make you piss your pants in fear. I became their leader, the one they relied on for protection. I’ve spearheaded a business, taking it from a moderate success to an international phenomenon. And just so you know, showing mercy requires more strength than doling out vengeance. One fights an urge, the other indulges it.”
He called himself a thousand kinds of fool for placing her in a defensive position. He eased off—for now—but he needed her admission like he needed the bands: both were crucial to his survival.
“Pandora has Aleksander. I’ll resist the urge to hurt her. I’ll even be gentle with her. Will that make you happy?”
“Yes.” Katarina softened as she toyed with the ends of his hair. “But be careful out there. She’s one wily bitch.”
“You’re beginning to sound as if you like me.”
She pursed her beautiful lips before saying, “I...might.”
A very Katarina answer. Stubborn while remaining mysterious.
“I’ll return to you. Nothing in this world or any other can stop me.” He placed a hard, swift