Chapter Fifteen
Deo
When we approached the castle, all appeared quiet. Draco circled high above the grounds as we looked for anything out of the ordinary. There was nothing out of place—all seemed as it had before the demons had come.
Then I saw them.
Pure white, as white as the snow that covered the ground, the animals stood tied to the iron handles of the doors to the gatehouse. The shimmering pink hue of feathers folded against their sides immediately let one know that these were no ordinary horses. Munching on a bag of oats that had been left for them, they looked very much at home.
Cassandra gave a gasp, before saying, “Are those what I think they are?” followed by the squeal of a twelve-year-old girl seeing a unicorn. “Oh, my God, they are. Pegasus! Deo, look, they have wings!” I had to tighten my grip around her waist when she leaned to the side to point toward the ground far below.
“Careful,” I cautioned, pulling her against me again. I couldn’t help but grin at the unabashed joyful tone in her voice, the way she was practically bouncing as she apologized to the stowaway on her lap when the cat gave an irritated yowl as his nap was disturbed with her exuberance.
“Sorry, kitty,” she said, running her hand along the matted hair of Dirtbag’s back. “Don’t worry, Deo won’t let us tumble off.” She turned her head back to give me a dazzling smile before she looked at the horses again. “Did you know that Pegasus was the winged horse that sprang from the blood of Medusa when Perseus cut off her head? I mean, think about how incredible that is! Medusa was so evil and… well, not to be tacky, but let’s face it, she was really quite unattractive with all those snakes twisting around her head. It’s rather unbelievable that out of that ugliness something so beautiful was born. And they are here in New York! At our castle! Who do they belong to? Oh, I hope whoever owns them will let me ride one!”
Who did they belong to? I didn’t sense danger. Sniffing the air, I took in the familiar scent—wolf had been here. And not from our pack. The hair on the back of my neck bristled.
Draco’s large head turned over his shoulder, his big brown eyes met mine, and wariness flashed within them. He had sensed it as well. I was sure he was deciding, as I was, what the best form in which to greet our guests would be. I had never been faced with this before—we had assumed there were other Ambrosias spread across the world but had not encountered them. I caught a glimpse of Artem, Dolly on his back, loping through the forest behind us. They’d reach the castle not long after we landed and I’d need to be able to warn them if they were coming into danger. The protector in me wanted one thing, but the leader in me demanded I not go off half-cocked. Though I might not be aware of what would be considered the proper protocol, I was pretty damn positive that my shifting in midair would not be the way to go.
“Set us down as quietly as possible. The courtyard of the basilica should do,” I directed, nodding toward the castle.
Cassandra gasped as the horses raised their heads and we watched their wings lift and spread as Draco began to spiral down toward Ravensloft. “They are huge and so beautiful!” Cassandra said, awe in her voice. Despite our situation, I couldn’t help but smile when she immediately leaned forward to pat the opalescent scales of our steed’s neck. “Not anywhere near as big or beautiful as you, of course.” Draco made that deep chuffing sound that told me he found our mate’s unabashed joy as refreshing as I did.
“They are beautiful,” I conceded. “But as we all know, beauty can be misleading. Until we know where they came from and whom they belong to, we need to be cautious.”
Sparkling green eyes met mine as she turned to look at me again. And while I wouldn’t have been surprised to see our sassy mate rolling them, I was surprised to see what appeared to be concern in their depths. “I’ve read about them plenty in my studies of mythology. I can’t believe they are real. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me—but I’ve come to not be surprised by our lives at this point. But… you don’t really think they could belong to demons, do you? My vision… I didn’t see Pegasus, and couldn’t see who was here but I could sense them. And though they were deadly…” Her brow narrowed in frustration, her tone becoming shriller as she continued. “Why would I sense danger if they aren’t deadly? What does this mean? Where are Baal, Alekos, Margaret? Oh, what about Cy and Andrew? Are they in danger? What are we… ow!”
It took me a second to realize that she hadn’t cried out because I’d patted her back too hard in an effort to comfort her, but that Dirtbag evidently employed a different method of curbing her rising panic. “You’re right, sweetie,” Cassandra said as she rubbed at the spot where Margaret’s cat had nipped her. “No use worrying until we find out what we’re up against.”
Sweetie? Had my wife actually called that mangy fleabag sweetie? Cassandra might not have rolled her eyes, but I swear Dirtbag did before he gave me a smirk, uttered a strangled meow, then settled back in as Cassandra rubbed his head lovingly despite her angst.
“But you don’t really think it’s demons, do you?” she asked softly, her brow knit in confusion as she turned to give the Pegasus a last look as Draco began to glide lower and lower. “I just can’t see how something so terrible could be allowed to ride something so beautiful.”
I spoke softly. “We will find out soon enough—I can sense whoever it is—they wait for us in the castle. I smell… wolf. I daresay for the first time in any of our lives, we are about to meet another pack of Ambrosias. And those beautiful horses must be their pets.”
Pulling her a little closer, I watched as the ground rushed toward us. Winged horses aside, the true wonder was how a beast the size of a house could land so gently that not a single pebble shifted beneath clawed feet. The moment we were safely stopped, Draco’s huge wings folded in to his sides and he lowered his immense body as close to the ground as possible. I slid off and turned to help Cassandra down.
* * *
We opted for greeting our visitors in our human form. Draco on one side of Cassandra, me on the other. Both of us with a protective arm around her, we waited for the arrival of Artem and Dolly. Soon enough Dolly appeared from the edge of the forest, a smile spread across her face, holding the hand of her love. Artem, with an arm around Dolly’s waist, gave a wave as they approached. His features looked pinched and tired from the shift and the journey. Had we less going on, I would have worried over his appearance, but unfortunately, we didn’t have the time for such things.
After a brief reunion, we five, plus one purring feline—Dirtbag seemingly perfectly content to remained cradled in Cassandra’s arms—climbed the stone stairs to our family’s castle.
Oak doors flung open, our pack swarming out to surround us, each one reaching out to hug, touch, speak words of comfort and love as we made our way into the foyer of the castle. The welcome was far more physical and emotional than others I’d experienced and I realized that Cassandra was a huge part of that change. She’d won the hearts of my entire family and watching her among them made me even more determined to protect her from any and all harm.
Dirtbag flew from Cassandra’s arms and ran to Margaret, and I had to bite back a grin as the older woman swept him up, covering his furry face with kisses as if she’d not seen the cat in years. Cassandra and Cynthia had a similar reunion, though there was no kissing involved. Instead, each had tears on their cheeks, speaking over one another, hands linked together as they danced in a circle. When they came to a stop, Andrew reached out to drop his arm around Cassandra’s shoulders, and gave me a nod. I returned it, glad that the man I had first considered nothing more than a boy had not only saved my life in the last battle, he had become my friend.
Xander stepped forward and I reached out to grip his arm. “Thank you.”
“For what?” he asked. “I didn’t sense them… not in time—”
“Your arrival was enough to force the demons’ hand before they had what they wanted. So, yes, I thank you.” The stress in his body relaxed and I hugged him. “But, we are going to change some things. No more patrolling twenty-four/seven—”
“But that’s my duty!”
“One you’ll share,” I said. “I need you healthy. We’ll work out a rotation, but you will sleep and eat regularly.”
He might not have been happy about the decree, but he knew better than to argue with his leader. He stepped away and Alekos took his place. I hugged my baby brother, slapping him on the back and then taking a good look at him, a bit surprised to see tears in his eyes. His hand went to my scar. Alekos spoke, his voice thick with emotion. “Deo…we should have come after you and Aunt Margaret sooner…we had no idea you had been taken. I was just sitting there—like a fool—eating my dinner and laughing. As soon as we realized something was off, we chased them down but,” Alekos voice cracked with emotion, “I should have been—”
I shook my head as I cut him off. “No. You did exactly what you should have done. Ran the demons off and protected your mankind. That is your job. And you did it well.” My arm waved over the humans in the room. “Look. They are all still standing.” Alekos gave me a grateful smile. Stepping back, he allowed Baal to join my side.
Balthazar’s eyes were tortured as they met mine. When he spoke, his voice was strained. “Deo. That was the hardest thing I have ever had to do… to drive them off, not knowing where you were. To hear from Margaret that they attacked you and I was not by your side to protect you. That I failed so miserably at my most important job. It was like I was torn in two when I heard they had cut you.” Baal, whom I have never seen shed a tear, had his hands up to his eyes, covering them and rubbing them, hard. I embraced my protector. My right-hand man.
“Baal, you have never failed me. Never.” When he looked like he didn’t believe me, I said, “Of course, if it would make you feel better, I can have Cassandra tell you how incredibly sexy she finds my new battle scar.”
It was with relief that I watched the pain leave his expression as he shook his head. With his own slight smile, he pulled me to him and hugged me hard, thumping me on the back.
With all members of our pack reassured that all was well, my attention moved to the strangers who stood silently before the gold-leafed fireplace in the great hall. There were four of them total: three men and a woman. They were tall, with broad shoulders and round muscles. Their skin was tanned dark, as if they had spent many hours in the sun. Despite the season, the men were bare chested, wearing nothing but black jeans. Their woman looked to be with child. Her long white-blonde hair tumbled to her waist in loose curls. She wore a white linen dress, the straps at her shoulders fastened with what I was positive was pure gold in the shape of seashells. The gown was far more suitable for a beach wedding than a cold winter’s day. Though the men looked nothing like my pack, there was no mistake—the Ambrosia blood ran strong through them.
My arm tightening around Cassandra, I whispered in her ear, “Do you think these are the ones you sensed in your vision?” Her eyes were as wide as teacup saucers, but there was no fear in them as she smiled and gave a small nod.
I spoke first. “Greetings. Welcome to Ravensloft Castle. I am Deo Ambrosia. I see you have met most our pack.” I turned to gesture toward the couple behind me. “These are my… parents, Artem and Dolly.” How could I introduce them as anything other than what they were to me? They’d stepped in without hesitating when my parents had been killed in an accident. Though neither Alekos nor I had been born from them, we were honored to call them our parents. From behind me, Artem placed a heavy hand on my shoulder and Dolly gave our guests a huge smile. I turned again, gesturing for my co-mates to join me. “And these are my mates, Cassandra and Draco.”
The largest of the three men spoke. “I am Constantine Ambrosia. This is my brother, Pavlos, and our mate, Calypsa.” Pointing to the third man—looking to be the youngest of the three with his shaggy golden hair and amused grin—Constantine said, “This is our cousin, Nikolaos. But he prefers to be called ‘Nick’. Such a waste of a strong Greek name, but what are we to do? Kids these days.”
“If twenty-seven is considered ‘kids these days,’ guilty as charged. Nick Ambrosia, pleasure to make your acquaintance,” Nick replied smoothly. Though he spoke to the group, his hand reaching out to shake mine, his eyes never left Cynthia. I felt Balthazar bristle by my side.
Calypsa spoke, her voice high and clear like the tinkle of a bell. “We got word of your vows and we brought a gift. The unity of the trinity is our highest honor. Our society is based around such marriages.”
An intriguing conversation—for another time. “But what brings you here now?” I asked.
Constantine, the obvious leader of their pack, spoke. “We have ignored your pack in the past, keeping tabs on you now and again, but not taking you seriously as your pack mates with only one, or not at all.” He gave a sidelong glance to our single young men—Alekos, Xander, and Baal.
“We too are Ambrosia, but a branch of the family who left Greece long ago. Our ancestors made their home on some islands among those of Palau. While we enjoy the isolation our own group of islands offer, we aren’t totally cut off from civilization.” He smiled and I watched as he drew his mate closer to his side. “In fact, that’s how we met Calypsa.”
The beautiful woman nodded, picking up the conversation. “Yes, and good thing too. I was on vacation and decided to make a day trip and sail over to explore a group of islands that were supposedly deserted. It was all going great until a storm came out of nowhere. Before I knew it, I was not only off-course, I was struggling to keep the boat afloat. Next thing I knew, I was waking up, sure I was in heaven because these two gorgeous men were standing over me… buck ass naked, I might add.”
“Cali,” the one named Pavlos said, but his smile and tone belied the reprimand, reminding me of how Draco found our own mate amusing.
“It’s the truth,” Calypsa said, tossing her hair. “Anyway, to make a long story short, I didn’t return to my home in Australia because look at these two,” she said, reaching up to pat the bare chests of both of her men. “I mean, who could choose, right?”
“Right,” both Cy and Cassandra said in response, making everyone smile with the enthusiasm in which the word had been spoken.
“Exactly,” Calypsa agreed. “It was love at first sight for all three of us and now we have a little one on the way.”
Constantine bent to kiss the top of her head and then returned the conversation to the present. “We keep tabs on our family no matter the distance. One of our scouts found out about your troubles with the darkness. We four volunteered to come and assist you. After conferring with your pack, we found that we were just hours behind another attack. We apologize our timing had not been better and we were not here to help you defeat them this time.”
“Why place your lives on the line for us? A pack you have never met?” I asked.
“I am afraid our journey was not prompted by altruism alone. We want to help—in exchange for access to the extensive documentation we have heard your family possesses. While the generations before us were content to hide from the world, in fear of the demons, the majority of us aren’t satisfied with that life. Our wife is with child. We want to help you break the curse, so our sons and daughters will not have to face the challenges we have. Our hope is that you’ll allow us to join you until all Ambrosias can live in peace.”
Cassandra chimed in eagerly, “Of course we will. You are welcome here… you are family.”
While I didn’t argue their relation, I wasn’t as quick to welcome them… not when I knew the danger we’d be facing and hearing that they had been living in isolation. I was about to speak when Constantine spoke again.
“Family or not, I don’t want you to fear that we will be a burden,” he said, meeting my gaze. “We wouldn’t come and add to your worries unless we felt prepared to be of help. We may live in paradise on our islands, but I assure you, we have been training for years in preparation of rejoining the battle when it was time.”
I wanted nothing more than to win this battle. To break the curse. To make the world safe should Cassandra one day stand between Draco and me, her belly round and firm with our child. I took another moment, considering both his words and the men who stood before me. There was no denying their bodies showed the truth of his words. Not only were these Greeks huge, every muscle was defined, not an ounce of fat on any of them. From the corner of my eye I could see Artem giving a slight nod, as if to give his blessing of the newcomers. Perhaps there was strength in unifying. Tightening my arm around Cassandra’s waist, I spoke. “They are many more in number this time. We would certainly be grateful if you would stay. We can battle as one.” Smiling, I nodded and finally held out my hand. “I wish it was under better circumstances, but welcome to our home.”
“Then if the two alphas agree, it is decided.” Constantine reached out his hand. I took it in mine and our grips melded in a shake between leaders. The pact was struck.