Page 149 of Seeking Hades' Ember

Shaking him violently, the Helm fell from his feeble head, exposing his fire covered feathers. "Would you look at that," Vulcan spoke from a distance. “It was almost too easy." Kicking the Helm with my hind leg, Vulcan picked it up and handed it to Hecate, who quickly made it vanish to land right where it belonged, behind closed doors of my prized possessions. It would not remain for long; it would be destroyed with Hell's fire and never to be used again.

Dragging Malachi from the flames, his white-covered wings were reduced to nothing but broken feathers, dirt, and grime. Feathers missing, falling to the ground like the useless leaves in the fall.

My Wolf craved the blood from his wings, wanting more than a bite, but this wasn't just my time to torment this soul. I would have him in his afterlife. As much as I wanted to sink my claws in one at a time into his throat, I drug him to Persephone and Gabriel.

Malachi's body, nearly naked, tried to stand, but only his elbows could support him on the ash-ridden ground. Pushing him forward with my snout, I nodded at Gabriel to do what he will. Once he was finished, he would await his fate along with Demeter.

Transforming back into my robes, standing tall, waiting for one of the finest warriors of the Celestial Heavens, I waited to see what he would do. This could be interesting.

"Why?" Gabriel's voice proclaimed as a valiant trumpet. "Why would you agree to take someone else’s' mate? Let alone from the angel that could have your head with just a flick of my finger?"

Malachi leaned back. The front of his chest exposed to the setting sun. Boils and burns littered his body. I wanted nothing more than to rip into them and watch the blood pool to the floor. Ares put his shoulder on me, understanding the anguish.

"It was a proposition proposed by her mother, Demeter." Malachi took in a large breath and held his wounds. "I had often gone to Demeter to help with nymphs that would get too handsy with her foliage on her land. Demeter was funny when growing her own flowers and shrubs, but the nymphs would laugh and make them grow too large or not at all. It irritated her, and she only trusted me to take care of it since I wouldn't harm her plants in the process."

"Yawwwwwn," Ares put his hand up to his mouth. "Hurry up with it," he growled.

"Anyway, Demeter took a liking to me. She asked if I would want Persephone as my mate. Persephone was beautiful, but I knew she wasn't mine. Demeter said she would make it happen if I did what I was asked. I got greedy. I didn't want to wait, and Demeter had always been kind to me. If I stayed in the area which she lived and kept Persephone close, I was allowed to have her. Then, I became obsessed." He chuckled.

Persephone stepped behind Gabriel, who puffed out his chest. His white tunic barely held in his heart while his breathing deepened. Dagger in hand, his knuckles popped in retaliation.

"Persephone, I was a good mate when we were together!" Gabriel bent down and pulled Malachi up by the neck.

"You were never her mate, you fool. Never." Gabriel's grip tightened while his sword pierced between his collar bones. Gabriel sliced through the chest cavity down to his bowels with one swift motion. Blood poured from Malachi's torso, and soon his intestines hit Gabriel's feet.

Malachi's mouth hung open, heart still beating in his chest, falling to the ground, unable to move. "You've caused a lot of headaches, Malachi.” I growled. “For something so stupid as not being patient. You helped kidnap gods, sent my mate into a sex trafficking ring, gave the Helm to a human, and dared try to bond to Persephone. Your punishment is death, given order by the high God Zeus himself. You are in my dominion now, you insufferable being. Be prepared to suffer."

Wielding my sword from beneath my robes, the black iron steamed while it sliced through the air and plummeted into the angel's black heart. Since made from the heavens, Malachi's body disintegrated into a puff of sparkle that immediately descended beneath the ground where he would stay. Straightening my back, hearing it pop a few times, Gabriel lent out his arm. I took his forearm as we both shook as a sign of unity and no hard feelings.

"Phew, glad that's over." Hermes walked up to the group, his vampire mate by his side. Both sporting new marks on their bodies while his smug smile punched the tense ambiance.

"Now we won't have to worry about him crashing the party!" Hermes does a little dance with his mate, being the annoying little fucker he can be, while everyone joins in on the laughter as if they didn't even witness an angel falling to the depths of Hell.

Having Malachi captured and the probable harm of my mate sated my anger, but my body and soul craved Ember. I didn't have the strength in me to stay away. Looking at the burning forest and shrugging my shoulders, I waved my hand to put out the hot flames. "About time," Persephone chirped as she began to regrow the forest.

First, the lush grass sprouted beneath the ash, shrubs, and small trees grew into wide trunks. Vulcan tracked close to a tree and used his power to build a massive three-story treehouse that expanded through ten trees. Rubbing my eyes, grateful to have gods on my side for once, I gave them a genuine smile.

"I did get carried away, didn't I?" I chuckled while the rest joined in agreement. "Just don't piss me off," I grunted, back to the stoic face, and more laughs and cheers exploded while I walked back through the crowd, to where my mate was no doubt still steaming.

"I expect to see everyone at the celebration," I huffed again, only to be pushed to the ground by a heavyweight sitting on my back. Several times I tried to move upwards, only failing.

"Did someone say party!?" The booming voice and joyous cheer could have only come from one person.

"Get the fuck off me!" Igniting my hands, I put it right on the fool's ass, eliciting a scream of pain.

"Dionysus!" Ares cheered. "I was wondering when you would show up! Come here, my man!"

The God of Celebration and Wine. Great.

---