Page 33 of Claimed By Her Monsters

He paused again to stare deeply into my eyes as his voice dipped further in fury.

“You’ll be able to live your new life knowing your Daddy Dearest destroyed them all with a snap of his fingers instead of you getting to deliver their ends like you dreamed of when you were in the midst of those frightening forests filled with traitorous monsters who only sought to devour you?” He stopped stroking my head to gently cup my cheeks as he leaned down to gently press a chilled kiss to my forehead. “If you, my daughter, wish to give me the torch in all your enemies’ destruction, all you have to do is say the word,” he vowed. “But if you wish to seek the vengeance you heartily deserve, say it now, my Morningstar, and I’ll give you all the tools to claim what’s yours and deliver the axe of vengeance to every individual who dared to belittle your worth.”

Being given such a tempting option left me in a silent state of uncertainty as I weighed my options. Should I let him take the torch of destroying all who hurt me or take the privilege to do it myself?

My mind wanted them dead and gone, but my heart wanted exactly what he’d described.

To see them helplessly on the grounds they worshipped, cloaked in blood and in pain while they begged for my mercy. For them to suffer the cycles of agony I had daily and wish for an end that would never be their portion to enjoy.

The sight of Danica tugging the sword out of Athena’s frame nudged at my mind, and the reminder angered my soul and made me hungry to watch her own demise — up close, in person — and force her to acknowledge who I was.

The goddess who took her place.

I wouldn’t be alone either.

She’d be forced to see me with the men she hurt. The men she ridiculed and hoped would die as outcasts in a world that would reject them even as they inched closer to death.

She’d have no choice but to witness my uprising, with the men she thought would never be useful outside of sex.

Then there were my dark gods.

I wanted to let those worshippers see them thriving, for them to witness them at their strongest as they righteously stand at my side. The mere thought gave me an addicting satisfaction that I knew would only grow if I experienced it.

Did I want to lose all of that?

No matter my relationship with Regis, Aloisium, and Fenriz, they deserved to witness their worshippers’ demise. To rub it in their faces that despite years of planning their ends, karma had given them what they earned for being deceitful to the gods who gave them what they needed to thrive.

I allowed myself to really think it over and then returned my gaze to the man who patiently waited for my answer.

My father gave me a choice, knowing exactly what I’d choose at the end of my mental debate.

"I want revenge.” I said the words as slowly as he had spoken to me. “To let my archangels gods…wolf mates…and even my dark gods witness those worshippers’ demise.”

I paused as Athena came to my mind.

“Athena deserves to be avenged. To watch her disciple take the place her archnemesis hoped to destroy,” I declared. “That’s exactly what I want.”

“Then that’s exactly what my child will get,” he assured me with a smile that made his eyes shift to their lavender shade. “And I’ll reward you with a gift in return as long as you help me reach them.”

“A gift?” I pondered as I scrunched my face in confusion.

His grin only widened before he leaned in to whisper, “I’ll bring your mother back if you can convince her to return.”

My eyes widened as he leaned back to see my stunned expression.

“You…” I didn’t want to say he couldn’t, but was that possible?

"Time is rather sluggish in the realms of Hell, Heaven, and Purgatory. However, in comparison to the human world, we’re a tad faster,” he revealed. “If this Danica and the worshippers wish to use Athena’s body for whatever mischievous rituals they need to summon me, they’ll know that the ritual needs to be done in three days.”

“Three days?” I questioned.

“Three is obviously a sacred number,” Atticus spoke up then. “Like the Holy Trinity or the Resurrection of Christ. Three days is used in many witchcraft rituals. It’s not too long and not too short, allowing whatever spell or concoction that’s being created the privilege to marinate and reach the peak of ripeness.”

“So they’re gonna have to maintain Athena’s body for three days,” I whispered, but something didn’t make sense. “How will they do that without Danica having healing magic?”

That left the others stumped, but Lucifer began to chuckle as he very gently stroked my head once more.

“What power source is still in those worshippers’ domain?” he inquired.

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