Page 129 of Thanatos' Craving

“To let you witness their demise. When I entered your mind and Medusa’s, I saw their faces. The lust, the greed. I could see what they wanted to do to you, Juniper. And no one gets to think about my mate that way, ever.” I snarled. “My reapers are excellent at their jobs and brought them here.”

Juniper barely breathed. “You can’t just--they thought they were at a normal strip club,” Juniper tried to reason.

I reared my head back, my boned hand tightening on my shadows to suffocate them, slowly.

“Is that what you think?” I lowered my mouth to her ear. “They are innocent? Think again, my mate. Medusa's club was available on the dark web for both humans and supernaturals. The most evil of men, women, deities, angels, and demons spread it widely. Medusa had it all planned. No one in this room is innocent,” I yelled. “And soon, so soon, I will have my reapers hunt every single damn supernatural, deity, demon, angel and whatever the fuck else is out there! This is just the start.”

Juniper’s lips parted and stepped toward me. Her gaze never leaving mine. She reached up and gently stroked the side of my skull, her fingers tracing the ridges of my bones. “What’s happened to you, Thanatos?” she whispered, her voice trembling with emotion. “What happened to my sweet god that barely knew how to embrace me? Why are you showing me all this, why not keep it hidden from me like you normally do?”

Agonizing pain coursed through her heart, like searing flames engulfing her. I could vividly sense it through the unbreakable bond we shared, as if her anguish had been etched into my very being. Though our connection had not been formally sealed, its strength surpassed any physical limitations. Even with my boned form, I could feel the intensity of her emotions resonating within me.

“I’m here to show you--that I will make all pay for their transgressions, against you against all that have wronged--.”

Juniper shook her head. “No, that isn’t it. It’s something deeper. Bring me your secret.”

I growled, my eyes growing a bright blue against her golden soul that gleamed back at me. “I don’t know what you want from me!” I roared, my voice echoing over the battered bodies. “I have tried to give you everything, show and tell you what type of mate I would be for you, and yet you have not given me the one thingI desire most. I am here, I am Thanatos, I am not the best of the gods. I do not understand many things about the world above, but I can learn.”

My mate stared at me, while she fisted my robes.

“I cannot bring life, but you bring it in me. I am here, at your feet, begging you to accept me and bring to you not a ring to place on your finger, but give you what I can provide. The souls of all your enemies at your feet, yet you do not-- “

Juniper shook her head, and tears streamed down her face. “I want you to bond with me!” She yelled.

Chapter Forty-Three

Thanatos

My shoulders slumped, and I grabbed her arm to pull her toward me. “Don’t toy with me. Don’t say you will now just because I’m demanding it.”

Juniper rolled her eyes and groaned. “You can read my soul right now. Go ahead, jump in my head. Do that little walk-through if you want. I decided I wanted to bond with you long before you got your panties in a twist. I just wanted to prove to myself, as a human, that I wouldn’t just sit back and let life pass me by. Now that I did something, proved to myself that I didn’t always let life pass me by--I’m ready. And really,” Juniper blushed, “I think I’ve always been ready, Bone Daddy. It’s been foolish to wait. It’s not normal to fall for someone this fast. Forever is a long time. We are still getting to know each other.”

Her words penetrated my hardened heart like an arrow to the bone, and I couldn’t help but feel a flicker of warmth within me. The human woman who dared to reach into my cold, unyielding soul, offering me something I never thought I would find - hope. With a sigh, I lowered my head, allowing my boned hand to cradle her face gently.

“You’ve said it, there’s no going back,” was all I said.

Juniper’s eyes widened, and a small, reassuring smile tugged at her lips. With a deep breath, she nodded. The air was thick with the weight of our bond, and with a thought, I brought forth the energy that would connect us forever.

My boned fingers clinked together when I wrapped around my mate’s throat. She groaned her thighs tightened. I could almost smell her, taste her as my chest vibrated with fucking want.

Hypnos cleared his throat from the base of the platform, his head tilting to the prisoners below.

“Let them listen,” I growled at him. My shadows pushed everyone’s heads forward to the ground, even my reapers and demons bowed their heads while I pushed Juniper backward until the back of her knees hit the opulent, padded chair.

She squeaked when she fell, her glittering green eyes wide with wonder when I kneeled before her and pulled off my hood. My skull reflected in her eyes, and still there was no fear radiating from her.

Damn, she was perfect. She could accept all my forms.

“Thanatos?” She gazed around the room with the males all chained to the floor, the reapers, demons, and my brother all standing guard, looking away. “What are you doing?”

My boned fingers ran up her thigh and pushed away the fabric of her dress. Her breath hitched as I brushed my thumb against her underwear, hiding her lower lips. Juniper whimpered, her hand slapping over her mouth. “Shh, my love. There is no need for words now.” With a dark chuckle, I leaned in closer, mybreath chilling her warm skin. “I am claiming what is rightfully mine. Giving you the eternity you have longed for - with me.”

Juniper’s eyes widened in a mixture of shock and desire, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she gazed at me with a newfound intensity. There was a primal hunger in her gaze that matched my own, igniting a fire within me that threatened to consume us both.

As I conjured my tongue, I let it slip past my teeth and let it brush her thigh, trailing a line of icy licks toward her covered cunt. Juniper gasped in pleasure, her fingers scratching in my ivory skull. The surrounding room faded away, leaving only the two of us locked in our own world of darkness and desire.

I reached between her legs and pulled on the miniscule fabric hiding her pussy and pulled it away. She gasped, loud enough for it to echo into the room. This broke the spell and her hand pushed at my head.

“There are people in here,” she whispered harshly. “We can’t do this.”

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