Page 122 of Thanatos' Craving

Medusa was indeed the matchmaker, the owner of the strip club and the human trafficking bitch that would answer to all of us. The more she talked, the more she spilled, and we couldn’t capture her, not yet. Not when she continued to give out more information than we could ever have fathomed.

“How the hell did you get a seer?” Loki’s brow rose in surprise.

Medusa cackled and tucked a strand of hair behind Juniper’s ear.

I swear to Rhea if she draws blood —

“It was quite simple, really. Seers really like stones, really shiny ones. All I had to do was get a warlock to cast a capturing spell on it and when they touched it— “she smiled “—it trapped them within the stone. They will do just about anything to be released.”

Loki’s fists tightened. I felt sorry for the bastard. Even his parents were fucking disappointed in him. Their own son didn’t feel like they could go to them for help, but this bitch somehow got to Loki. Got under his skin, got word to him that she would take his future mate away from him.

How did this woman do it, and what the hell were her motives?

“Be a good birdie and leave. And remember our agreement, Loki. Otherwise, I will go back on mine.”

My mate appeared to be hovering mid-air but now that I know it is Medusa, she was most likely coiled with in her tail. Medusa slithered further back of the room, my mate still wrapped in her coil.

“Loki don’t let her do this! You’re better than this,” Juniper pleaded.

Loki clears his throat. “What are you planning on doing to her?”

Medusa turned and gave a menacing smile. “Send her to another auction across the country, of course. Let Thanatos have to hunt her down again. First, I’ll have someone wipe her memory though. Can’t have her remembering anything.” She patted Juniper’s head.

“You said you wouldn’t hurt her!” Loki shouted.

Medusa giggled. “I know, I said I wouldn’t. I didn’t promise someone else wouldn’t, though.”

Loki’s eyes blazed with fury as he lunged forward, his powers surging through him. But before he could reach Medusa, Hades, Ember, and I materialized in the room, our presence finally revealed to the mortal world.

“Enough,” Hades growled, his voice resonating with an otherworldly weight. The air in the room grew suffocatingly hot, as wisps of smoke curled from the melting wax, cascading down the candles and leaving a pungent scent of scorched wood into the air. The molten wax dripped relentlessly, creating sizzling sounds as it splattered onto the floors, staining them with dark, glistening trails.

Juniper whimpered and my shadows immediately went around her exposed neck and cheek to calm her.

Medusa’s eyes widened in fear and whatever camouflages she had hidden herself with fell. It must have been the fear or shock of all the gods in the room who were much more powerful than a minor deity surrounding her knocked her off guard.

As the camouflage fell, her legs formed together, deep green scales appeared on her body and she slithered across the floor and tightened around the invisible barrier that originally looked like magic holding my mate in an odd ramrod straight angle.

Fucking Tartarus, my mate was tightly coiled in the snakes’ body.

Medusa’s shock caused her to stumble backward, her snakes hissing and writhing in alarm beneath her wig. “Hades—Thanatos—What are you doing here? This is impossible. I should have known you were coming!” she hissed.

“Funny about seers,” I said. “They cannot see death coming when they hide beneath its veil.”

Ember stepped forward, a snarl of her wolf coming to the surface as she shifted into a large alpha form and stood in front of her son.

“We’ve been watching, Medusa,” I said, my voice dripping with menace. “And we won’t let you take Juniper. Not now, not ever.”

Medusa’s bravado faltered as she glanced between us and Loki. She realized her plan had backfired spectacularly; she had underestimated the power and determination of the gods. Panic welled up within her as her breathing grew rapid, and she stumbled backward, trying to distance herself from the wrathful figures before her.

Loki, his eyes blazed with fury, stepped forward again. “You can’t hurt Juniper, and neither my future mate nor anyone else,” he growled, his voice a low, dangerous snarl. “Where is the seer stone?”

Hades’ gaze narrowed on Medusa, his voice icy as he spoke. “Your crimes will not go unpunished. You have violated the sacred bonds of the gods and threatened the safety if humans, supernaturals, future mate of a god, and took the life of a seer. All punishable by death.”

Ember, in her wolf form, prowled closer to Medusa, her hackles raised. She let out a low warning growl that reverberated through the room, causing Medusa’s snakes to writhe and her snakes hiss in fear beneath her wig.

I stepped forward, my scythe gleamed with deadly intent. “You will release Juniper immediately,” I commanded, my voice laced with an otherworldly chill. My shadows crept around Medusa, her wig tilting, finally tipping on the side of her head and falling off her shoulders.

The black and green snakes on her head reared back, opening their mouths, hissing with fear. The hold on Juniper lessened. It was so tight that I failed to see that it was squeezing the life out of her and she barely could breathe.

---