“My love, my love!” I cried. “I thought I lost you.”
I grabbed him to me, kissing him with bruising force, despite the monsters’ blood painting his face and making him the biggest badass monster. He kissed me back with the desperation of a drowning man.
And just like that, lust swirled alive in me, burning in my veins.
I needed to fuck him brutally to make sure he was real. I needed to have his cock deep inside me, filling and stretching me, to be convinced that he had truly returned.
With the last ounce of my will, I tore my lips from his, though I wanted to kiss him to the end of the world. But under the circumstances, if we kept going, we wouldn’t be able to stop. And it wasn’t the right place or time to fuck any of my mates.
Raw need and desire shone through Héctor’s sapphire eyes that held the mystery of the galaxies, even though he’d lost his demigod power.
Pressing my palm against his face, I swept my gaze to my other mates. Hunger and lust burned in their eyes, even though we were still trapped in the cave with our immortal enemies and besieged by monsters.
Our bodies always responded eagerly to each other.
“Miss me, Lamb?” Héctor asked with another smug grin that made me improperly horny, his thumb brushing over my cheek that was still wet from my tears. “I said I’d always return to you. You should have faith that I’ll keep my promise.”
That got me crying again. For how long could he keep his words? I turned my gaze to him, studying his every contour hungrily, and my heart ached at the sight of gray hair dotting his sideburns.
He’d started aging.
Axel stalked to us and patted Héctor on the shoulder, tears sparkling in his hard, amber eyes. “Good to have you back, brother. Just don’t fucking do that again. Our mate wanted to die with you when she saw you didn’t come back.”
Héctor nodded at Axel, Zak, and Paxton with a grateful look. “You took care of her and kept her safe.” Then he turned to me and said sternly. “You won’t be silly again, Lamb. If anything happens to any of us, you’ll continue to live and live well for the rest of your mates.”
Tears filled my eyes again. “Don’t say that. I’m not going to lose any of you. Not again.”
Silently I vowed to find a way to fix Héctor and make him an immortal at all costs.
Axel peeled away to stand guard as Zak and Paxton neared, letting us enjoy the reunion.
“My kin,” Zak choked, clasping Héctor’s hand. “We almost lost you.”
“Nay, stop it,” Héctor said. “We aren’t sappy fools.”
“Brother.” Paxton grinned and gripped Héctor’s shoulder.
Héctor returned the grin, and I wrapped my arms around all three of them.
“What the fuck?” Ares barked in utter bitterness. “I saw you go down, death demigod. The beasts of the Void eat gods and immortals like candy. How could you survive the onslaught? It was impossible!”
Héctor swept his cold, murderous stare toward Ares, his knuckles white on the hilt of his sword. My fingernails cut into his muscled forearm. I wouldn’t let him engage with the God of War in a battle as long as he was mortal.
“You shouldn’t have listened to rumors about the Void, Ares,” Héctor said flatly. “You should try to walk among the beasts. When they get familiar with you as they are with me, they won’t touch you either.” He arched a brow. “Not man enough to do that? Your reputation will never recover if anyone hears that you cowered in a dirty corner, hiding from some wild animals.”
Ares snarled, but he didn’t take Héctor’s bait and walk out of the cave.
“He’s mortal now,” Lucifer said. “That’s why. The beasts of the Void don’t care for a mortal. He won’t satisfy their hunger or boost their energy, unlike us.”
“A mortal?” Ares frowned, then let out a burst of sadistic laughter. “I would have known if I weren’t distracted by a bunch of demigod losers, including my brat. Of course the Void monsters have a taste only for gods and immortals.” He stared at Héctor as if studying a bug. “But how and when was a death demigod turned into a human?”
“Shut your filthy hole,” Axel yelled at his father. “No one wants to hear your voice.” He didn’t call Ares a motherfucker anymore since the shameless, diabolic god had ridiculed him on that name-calling.
“You need more vocabulary, my bastard son,” Ares said. “I taught you better.”
Veins jumped on Axel’s neck, and his hand tightened on the hilt of his sword.
“Axel, don’t pay him any attention,” I said. “He isn’t worthy to lick the dirt under your boots.”