Page 3 of Hateful Prince

They fell to the floor, smoke curling from every orifice and nothing but charred holes for eyes.

“Sorry, fellas. Nothing personal.” Then I turned back to the little nurse who’d started all this. “Now, tell me where my wife is before you meet the same fate as those two.”

She gaped at me, little squeaks of fright coming from her as she shook her head.

I sighed. I didn’t want to send her to the underworld too, but she’d seen too much, and honestly, I may have broken her mind already.

“You should have just let me see her,” I said, quite reasonably, if I do say so myself.

“What’s all this?”

I turned my head to the left, where a blond man in a white coat had just arrived.

“Dr. Temperance, I presume.”

He took in the slaughter at my feet and the shadow flames licking up my fingers.

Before the doctor could answer me, pressure and a stinging sensation radiated from my neck. Cold spread through my veins, and I turned a shocked gaze to the nurse, who was now standing, an empty syringe in her shaking hand.

There was no room for emotion other than shock. Had this mortal truly bested me? How?

My knees gave way, my limbs going numb.

Fuck. They would pay for this. I’d see them all burn and then be there to greet their souls when they washed up in my realm. Trust me when I tell you no one wanted Hades’s personal attention.

As the world around me dimmed, Temperance’s voice filtered into my ears. “Call Masterson. I’ve got another one for her.”

Chapter

Two

DAHLIA

“Ifound you. Persephone.”

Cain was still inside me, his cock pulsing his release as he called me another woman’s name.

“I’m sorry, I must be sex deaf. What did you just call me?”

If I thought his eyes had held burning intensity before, they were searing now.

“I can’t believe it’s you. You were right here the whole time?” The awe in his voice, pure reverence, brought me up short. “When I sensed you in LA, I thought... fuck, I don’t know what I thought. That I’d take you back with me and we could pick up right where we left off. Only this time, things would be different. I would be different. I’ve had lifetimes to reflect on the error of my ways.”

“Cain, what the hell are you talking about?”

He blinked and cradled my face, dipping down to steal a kiss before breathing that goddamn name against my lips again.

“Persephone . . .”

I shoved him off me. “That is not my name.”

Pure disbelief washed away the adoration in his eyes. “Yes, it is. It’s you. My goddess. My wife.”

“Wife? Hold on just a second. I’m no one’s wife. This is crazy.”

“You are. You’re mine. I’ve been searching for you since you left me.”

Sitting up, I pulled the sheets to my chin, hiding my body for the first time in a long while. I was entirely too vulnerable sprawled out with his skin pressed against mine and his cum dripping down my thighs. This felt like a conversation that required... protection. Even if it was an illusion.

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