“We are friends of Cate’s.” The woman nodded as she took in the sight of Gunner.
Gunner’s heart stopped.
“You are friends with Cate?” He repeated the words solidly.
The woman nodded. “I’m Darcy, and this here is…” She looked at the man before answering. “H.”
“That short for something?” Gunner asked as he took a swig of his beer, wondering if his madness had started to cause delusions.
“Hades.” The man Darcy called “H” smiled devilishly.
“Like the—”
“God of the Underworld, yes. We’ve been over this.” Hades rolled his eyes.
“Unconscious, H,” Darcy reminded him.
“Do you….” Gunner swallowed quickly. “Do you know where to find her?” he asked, not one to waste chances. The run through the forest, to find his wolves was a blur. His animal propelled him through, driven him into the company of his fellow wolves.
Though Gunner knew he should be able to find Cate’s cabin easily, it was as if there was something preventing him from doing so. He’d walked the woods tirelessly in search, but every search came up empty. He’d started to wonder if he’d imagined it all, but he knew he hadn’t.
Hades looked at Darcy with worry.
“What do you mean? Surely, you know—”
“I know this is going to sound crazy, but…” Gunner slid his hand in his jeans pocket, pulling out his Diviner. “This rock—”
“That’s the one from the other night!” Darcy plucked the stone clean out of Gunner’s hand. He raised his eyebrow in shock.
“Darcy, don't touch that!” Hades made a beeline for the stone, his fingers brushing it in Darcy’s palm, and the moonstone glowed once more. No one seemed to pass out from contact, so Gunner supposed that was an improvement.
“The Diviner predicts your mate.” Gunner cleared his throat, noting the tendrils that danced between Darcy and Hades. Both looked at him with surprise. “Cate is my mate. She—”
“Say no more.” Hades shook his head.
“Really?” Gunner felt a smile course over his lips.
“I have known Cate since what you humans would call the dawn of time,” Hades pulled a pen from his suit pocket and a Post-It note pad.
“You keep Post-It notes on you?” Darcy raised her eyebrow at him.
“When I come topside, yes. So I can write down all the things I didn’t do. Things I can do next time.”
“Can’t you use a phone like a normal person?” Darcy asked.
“You imply I am a normal person, Darcy. Surely, you know better by now. I am far from normal.”
Gunner stifled a laugh.
“As I was saying before I wasrudelyinterrupted.” Hades smirked. “I have known Cate for quite some time. If what you say is true, you will need to do some worshipping. Cate believes no one can love her, mate or not.”
Darcy frowned.
“It’s the immortality thing,” Darcy chimed in.
Hades perked his head up from his Pos-It.
“What?”