in guilt and gratitude, another thought occurred to me. Axel and Héctor had known all about Zak being intimate with me. How much could they pry into our mating? Had they been present in Zak’s head, just as Paxton had been watching from the sidelines while guarding us?
I swallowed.
While I felt embarrassed, the new Marigold felt thrilled and hot at being watched.
“If you and Axel understood why I had to mate and feed, then why did Axel still fight Zak? I thought they were allies. They got along.”
“We’re demigods,” Héctor said. “Rules and reasons don’t apply to us. We each follow our own code. And no alliance lasts forever.”
He’d broken his alliance with the Demigod of Sea for me.
I clung to him. Now that he’d said he wouldn’t dump me, panic seeped away from me.
“Worry no more, lamb.” He kissed the crown of my head.
“I need to comb my hair, Héctor,” I said. “I want to look good for you. Or you can thread your fingers into my hair and brush it, if you want.”
“You’re forever beautiful to me,” he said.
But he followed my instruction and got his fingers into my hair. I moaned at the tingling, electrifying sensation.
The Demigod of Death gazed down at me with lust.
My heart fluttered and my blood heated. I wanted him more than I wanted anyone.
I wanted to pick up where we had left off in that dream. I wanted his cock inside me.
“It’s nicer to be called beautiful than a crazy bitch or cunt, you know,” I said.
“Who dared call my gentle lamb those bad names?” he snarled.
Well, I was gentle toward him, but I wasn’t exactly meek and sweet to a lot of people, particularly not to assholes and jerks. And I forever had issues with anyone in authority. That was just how I rolled.
Héctor, on the other hand, had shown me respect and consideration right from the beginning. He’d never pulled his demigod rank and shit.
Next thing I knew, I was inside a large cottage in the woods.
“Where are we?” I asked.
With my newly heightened senses, I felt the pulses of a few living beings around the cabin, but I didn’t feel that they were threats.
“We’re in my house just off campus,” he said. “I’m the only one who lives here. The other demigods reside in the poolside apartment we just came from.”
Héctor liked his solitude.
“I sense people around your house,” I said.
“They’re my people,” he said. “You’re growing into your power, lamb, so your senses are probably as sharp as a demigod’s.”
He brought me to his master bedroom, laid me on bed, and pulled the blanket over me.
“Rest, lamb.”
He didn’t need to compel me. I could no longer fight to open my eyelids.
I knew I’d always be safe with Héctor, so I closed my eyes and slept.
Héctor kissed my lips.
Even after he left the room, his sweet, masculine scent stayed with me, curling around me.
CHAPTER 12
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Fire crackled in the next room, probably from the fireplace in the chic living room.
The demigods had something in common: their living spaces were enormous. Lots of space was wasted. I should talk to them about opening some rooms to refugees. There were plenty of misfortunate people in the world, a byproduct of the war between the demons and the demigods.
“I know you two are tight with her.” Zak’s voice drifted to the bedroom, where I was wrapped in a blanket on the satin sheets. “She’d have chosen either of you first, given different circumstances. But we’re still a united front, and she belongs to us all.”
“You two can’t stay mad at Zak,” Paxton chimed in. “Neither can she be mad at me forever.”
Why was the fucker here? Couldn’t he just stay away from me?
“Oh, she’ll stay mad at you forever, swimming boy Pigston,” Axel said. He was using my insult nickname for Paxton. “You have no idea how long my Cookie can hold a grudge. She barely forgave me. As for you, you can wait for another eternity.”
“I don’t have another eternity,” Paxton said in a clipped tone. Obviously, he wanted me, too. But he would never change his asshole manners. “Everyone knows we can’t stand each other most of the time, but we’ve defended Earth together. We can’t have a civil war between us and destroy everything. All four of us must honor the pact, which states that when we find our one true mate, we’ll bond in a forever brotherhood. She’s finally come. I won’t give up my share, no matter how