Page 83 of Leashed

Persephone’s jeweled feet appeared in his sight, her hand twirling through his hair. “Go prepare,” she sighed. “We will see you off from here.”

*

Ryan lengthened thestraps of a satchel and passed it to him, his silence worse than Alex’s curse-laden mutterings. Swinging the bag onto his back, Bo took a final scan of the room. “I’m probably going to regret not getting a decent sleep last night, aren’t I?”

Alex stopped pacing the floor. “You get that you could die out there, right?”

He shook his head. “I already requested Atropos cut my lifeline and Lach shut that idea down. She wants her revenge too much to let me die, and there’s no way she wants to be shackled with me if I’m disfigured. So she showed her hand. Worst thing that’ll happen is she snaps a collar and leash on me and forces me to her feet for eternity. Barring those few nights a century when Hades yanks the lead.”

His twin ran his hands through his hair in frustration. “Who is this woman?”

Checking his split lip over in the mirror, he shrugged. “That doesn’t matter unless I succeed and she chooses me,” he said, unwilling to put Sage on the radar of the immortals, save Dio who had apparently kept the intel tight to his chest. “If I fail, her life progresses exactly as it would have had I not tried. But if I make it back, the interference in her lifeline ends and she’ll be free to—” He poked at the bruise on his jaw. “Free to do whatever.” When Alex opened his mouth to respond, he leveled him with a stare. “If Lach was messing with Charlotte, you would do the same.”

Silenced, Alex nodded reluctantly. “I have to head topside until tomorrow night, but I’ll be back and we’ll be waiting down here for word until this is done.”

“A lifeline can’t be replaced,” Ryan said quietly. “Nor can the knots be cut out. If Lachesis has wound a cursed love thread to you, it can’t be undone.”

His jaw twitched and he rolled out his shoulders. “That’ll be Lach’s problem when I arrive at her door to collect my prize, won’t it?”

*

Bo strode intothe reception room, Alex and Ryan flanking him. He eyed Philochorus, a seer plucked from the shades population whenever Hades and Seph needed to witness events in a realm they were forbidden to enter.

The fire in Hades’s eyes was gone, a resignation having taken hold. “Take a knee, Bo.”

He dropped down without hesitation, tracking the seer as he and Seph prepared the bowl.

“The lake’s waters contain a hallucinogen, so regardless of the temptation, do not drink from it. And once you breach the lake, it is likely you will be unable to shift into hound form. She’ll want you as weak as she can make you.” Hades cautioned him, arching his neck to see the satchel on Bo’s back. “By signing the scroll, you agreed to arrive at the banks without weapons or defenses. As per the contract, Lachesis may not interfere directly once you begin, but her thumb remains on your thread at all times. Be wary of it, expect it.”

Nodding, he shrugged his bag off, opening it to prove it was empty. “I’ll hound it to the lake, but I’m not risking losing my dick by doing this naked.”

There was a glimmer of humor on Hades’s lips before he leaned forward. “I’m forbidden to intervene. We all are. This is entirely on you.”

Seph’s face crumpled. “You’ve never had to do anything on your own,” she said, her eyes tearing up as she turned to her husband. “Honey, he’s not ready to be on his own.”

Alex snickered and Bo flipped him off, rising to his feet. “Anyone who doesn’t want to see my ass should probably leave for a minute.” He pulled his shirt over his head, jumping back as Dionysus approached him. “No way, Dio.”

The god stopped on the spot, confused.

“If you lay a hand on me, I’m done,” he stated, inching backward. “I can push back against the fibers binding me to you, but I can’t do that and survive this under your influence, Dio.”

Dionysus clasped his hands behind his back with a flourish. “Upon your return, then.”

Acknowledging the gift of freedom the god was giving him, he nodded and continued to strip, tossing his clothes into his bag and hefting it onto his back before he dropped to all fours.

He padded to the banks of the river, chuffing at the scent of misery wafting from the water. Alex and Ryan joined him in hound form, butting their heads against his ribs as he passed them.

Alex’s low howl was first to start while he broke into a run, Ryan’s blending in to create a wail heard for miles amid the rocky underground.

He tossed in his own gravelly voice until his was the only one left echoing against the stone.

*

Sage dropped offthe last round of drinks on her tray, slipping the cash into her caddy and thanking the group when they waved off the change. She returned to the bar, her tray clattering on the counter as it dropped from her hands.

“You okay?”

Looking up at her manager, she nodded. “Just a little shaky,” she muttered, clenching her hands a few times until the tingling disappeared and the tightness in her chest eased.

He waved her off toward an empty table and filled a glass of water. “Sit for a few,” he ordered, setting the cup in front of her. “You look a little pale.”

Taking care to tug the hem of her skirt down, she sat and massaged the building pressure in her temples, working out whatever tension had a vice grip on her head.

The sensation lasted a few minutes, a peculiar feeling of unease and uncertainty traveling between her head, her arms, and her chest. When it finally passed, she took a deep breath and rose to her feet, the event floating away from her mind as she got back to work.

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