Page 128 of Thanatos' Craving

Juniper stepped out of my grasp. I held onto her hand and followed her, not wanting to let go. I still had yet to get over what suffering I had seen from Medusa’s eyes about my mate. She would never leave my side again.

“You didn’t know,” Juniper tried to soothed Hera. “And his cheating track record wasn’t great. You can’t blame yourself. But I think for both of your sakes you should bring this dark secret to light and talk to each other about it. Zeus doesn’t look like he has anybody.”

A tear ran down Hera’s cheek, and her lip quivered. “Zeus said that was the last time he has everlaidwith a woman. And he didn’t even–” Hera sobbed.

Juniper wrapped her arms around Hera, even if she was a head taller than her. Hera took her embrace, her head landing on Juniper’s shoulder. My mate calmed her, petted her hair, and whispered encouragement.

"Even the darkest of secrets will eventually be revealed," said Juniper. “We just needed the right light to find our answers.”

Hera sniffed, tears streaming down her face. “I think part of me knew he didn’t do it. He was so–out of it. He looked like he had just woken up when I stepped into the temple and he looked around like he didn’t know where he was, but–I was so angry. I told him the last time he did this to me it would be over. Zeus told me not to worry and that he swore to Rhea that he never would. Then seeing Medusa with him—”

Juniper hummed, her soul glowing brighter. “But now you have the truth. Medusa concealed it well, portraying herself as a victim, but now that we have lifted the veil, we can all see that Zeus isn't as horrible?” Her voice rose as she said it as in question.

Hera chuckled and pulled away, wiping a tear away from her cheek. “Juniper, you were very brave what you did to find Medusa. Foolish, but brave. I wouldn't be surprised if Thanatos punished you by tanning your backside. She gave a much more cheerful chuckle that I thought she would give.

Juniper stiffened and glanced up at me with a worried gaze.

“Yes, she was foolish.” My shadows engulfed the flickering torches in the dungeon, the air grew heavy with an ominous darkness.

Juniper’s body seemed to shrink to make herself become smaller. Meanwhile, my wings expanded to the length of the dungeon and everyone backed away.

“Thanatos, are you alright?” Hades inquired. My shadows weaved between my mate and I and my rage continued to rise. Becoming nothing but bone only gets me the expansion of a few emotions. I knew love, from a distance I knew it, but the only emotions that I felt were--anger.

What my mate had gone through, what I have seen and heard through Medusa, it was enough to push all aside what Zeus had gone through and see those men that looked at her in want—what her family had done to her. Then, on top of it all, an anger at her not accepting me, not asking to be bonded. Disappointment now turned into--fear.

What was enough for her to say she wanted me--forever?

The velvety darkness of my shadows swirled gracefully, dancing around us. Like a protective embrace, my wings enfolded her, gently constricting, melding with my body.

“Is she gonna be alright?” Ares shouted as the wind roared around us in the once lifeless dungeon.

“He won’t hurt me,” Juniper said and kept her eyes into my boned sockets. “He’s my mate,” she whispered like a prayer.

Instead of satisfying me, it only intensified my fury, the wind howling through the hallways of the darkened dungeon.

She accepts we are mates. Then why were we not bonded?

Juniper reached above her, and I bowed my head. She cupped my boned face and in a blink of an eye I had us transported to the mansion on the top of my brother and I’s mountain.

We arrived directly in the receiving room, a vast space that could have easily served as ballroom had I ever thrown a party. The room, despite its size, seemed strangely cramped as it teemed with men, their presence overwhelming. My reapers and demons stood around, gripping chains that bound the filthy humans, their combined scent filling the air with a pungent mix of sweat and fear.

They all kneeled, their bodies pressed against the cold floor, their heads bowed low in submission. I turned my gaze towards my brother, and he looked at me with caution, his eyes narrowing as he noticed the radiant glow of my skull above the crowd. With a deliberate motion, I unwrapped my wings, feeling the cool air brush against my bones, the sound of fabric unfurling echoing softly in the silence.

If this does not get her approval, I’m not sure what will.

Juniper gasps, seeing the sight before her. If I had my lips, I would smile wildly. I hope to have pleased her.

Each male bore the marks of violence etched onto their flesh - blood, bruises, and cuts marring their bodies. Their garments hung in tatters, barely clinging to their forms, providing minimal protection. Reluctantly, I permitted them to keep what little they possessed to shield their modesty. It was imperative that my mate not catch sight of their diminutive members before they were all disposed of.

Juniper’s long crimson hair flew back as she turned to look at me, a look of not awe, but shock over her face. “What is this?” Juniper asked, her voice filled with disbelief as she surveyed the scene of battered men kneeling before us. I could sense her confusion and concern intertwining within her.

“These are the men responsible for the atrocities committed against you and to other females in that strip club,” I replied, my voice laced with a chilling calmness. “They are the ones who dared to look at you in lust, touch you, want you, pay to watch you demean yourself, to keep yourself living. They funded Medusa and her greed thus also stripping you of your agency. I’ve captured them for you.”

The room, once filled with the haunting clinks of chains, now fell into an eerie silence. The men, their bodies quivering, could not escape my piercing gaze, realizing that the long-awaited retribution had at last found them. Juniper, her focus returning, directed her gaze towards the shattered figures before her, her eyes brimming with a tumultuous blend of fury and grief.

My mate gazed over the males in the room, their chains clinking on the floor. “W-why?”

The ethereal shadows slithered sinuously across the dimly lit room, their inky tendrils coiling and constricting around the chains that bound the helpless men. The air was heavy with the scent of fear, mingling with the metallic tang of blood. The anguished cries of pain reverberated through the chilling silence. With a mere flick of my wrist, I raised my hand, commanding the shadows to cease the men’s pitiful pleas. The shadows, obedient to my will, seeped into the very essence of their beings, infiltrating their souls. Slowly, inexorably, the men’s limbs were drawn inward, crushed mercilessly until their bodies were rendered immobile, their spirits broken.

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