Page 138 of G.O.D.S Omnibus

My head is extremely fuzzy, but I remember Creed being balls deep inside me and then... Laughn sliding out of a morgue fridge. There’s no way; I must have been high. Do dead bodies release toxic gas to humans? Because that’s the only explanation I have. I open my eyes and blink a few times to clear the haze. Creed is kneeling in front of me, a look of worry etched on his face.

“Are you okay, Tenshi?”

Nodding, I rub my head. “I... I thought Laughn was alive. I’m going batshit crazy.”

“I, for one, like your brand of crazy, baby.”

Screaming at the top of my lungs, I sit up ramrod straight. The sheet I’m covered with falls to my waist—my nipples pebbling from the cold—reminding me I was naked before I passed out. Guess I wasn’t going crazy every time I could sense them; I thought I was just imagining it. Marlow’s shirt that hefirst gave me, I couldn’t find it for a few days and then it turned up folded on my bed. I figured that someone had done my laundry, but it smelled heavily of sandalwood and an awful lot like him.

As I look around the room, not only is Laughn standing there, but Case, Boston, Marlow, and Davis—with his signature scowl—are all watching me and waiting for me to explode. I grab the sheet and cover my chest as I stand on shaky legs. Creed tries to help steady me, but I swat his hand away. Tears form in my eyes as I look at the guys that I thought were dead and buried, gone from my life forever. There is no way they’re standing before me now—I have to be dreaming.

I stumble my way over and come to a complete stop a foot from them.

“No. No. No.” I cry, shaking my head. I’m going crazy. It was only a matter of time and here I am. “I fucking lost you, you’re not here. Somebody pinch me, I must be dreaming.”

Laughn leans forward and pinches my skin between his fingers, my hand coming up to rub over the spot that stings. “You’re really here,” I breathe in awe.

“We’re really here, Wildflower,” Case whispers with a smile on his all-too-handsome face.

“You’re really here!” Launching myself forward, I beat my fists against Boston’s chest. He pulls me into his arms as I yell and scream, tears spilling down my face and wetting his shirt.

Creed pulls me from Boston’s hold and steps in front of me for protection. I know he can feel the hurt, pain, and confusion rolling off me in spades. Exhaustion takes over. Losing my grip on the sheet, it falls from my body, and I follow it—slumping to the floor, pulling my legs up, and wrapping my arms around them.

Marlow pushes past Creed, who growls in warning.

“Don’t cry, Petal. We’ll explain everything.”

He removes his shirt and kneels in front of me, pulling the material over my head and helping me slip my arms in. Covering me up with his shirt, similar to the first night we met.

“What the fuck is going on here?” Chester demands as he enters the room. He stalks his way over to me and a vein protrudes from his forehead as he looks at my tear-streaked face. Creed picks me up and cradles me in his arms; sensing the danger in the room, he moves me away. “Someone better explain why the fuck she knows about them!”

The murderous glint in his eye is one I don’t want to be on the receiving end of, but I have to try to calm him down. Creed explained to me the dangers of crossing the line with Chester; I unleashed the beast he’s been keeping locked away. Now that it’s been set free, I have a feeling there’s no going back.

Tapping Creed’s arm so he lets me down, I walk over to Chester. Brennan and Trace enter the room and shock washes over both their faces, but they remain quiet and watch the scene unfold.

Chester’s chest is heaving in anger as he stares down the five men standing in front of him; the same men who only a short time ago I thought were dead. I place my hand on his abs, scrunching his shirt in my hand.

“Little Angel, I need you to move away.”

“Chester, look at me.”

He ignores me, his sight locked on them. My tears released the beast from his cage and now he’s out for blood. I remember now, always running to Team Zeus every time I had a fight with Hades. Chester would always leave me with Creed to calm me down while he stormed off.

“Chester,” I snap, grabbing his face and forcing him to look at me. His whiskey eyes lock with mine as the smell of bourbon and sex invades my senses.

“I’m okay, but I need you to calm down. Just listen to the sound of my voice.” I take a deep breath. “Please don’t kill them. I can’t go through that again; I barely survived the first time.”

He nods. “You need to get dressed.”

I would hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I’ve fucked almost every man in this room. While I have no regrets about that, maybe now is not a great time to argue with him that it’s not necessary. The words of one of my old foster mothers filter through my head.Why would they buy the cow if they can get the milk for free?Well, bitch, at least no one’s thirsty.

“I’ll get dressed, but you have to come with me. When I return, I want to talk to everyone. So if any of you,” I say, turning my head to look at each of them, “need to get changed or have a weak bladder, take care of it now. You all have some explaining to do. I am not okay right now.”

I take Chester’s hand and pull him from the room. He trails behind me, walking silently from the morgue and through the house until we are in my room. Standing at the corner of my bed, he watches me gather some clothes before I head into the bathroom. Chester follows me to the door, then leans against the door frame, watching as I strip his brother’s shirt from my body. Neither of us says a word as I turn the shower taps on, stepping in when the water is at the right temperature—not blistering hot, but hot enough to turn my skin pink. Chester also strips off his clothes and dumps them in a pile on the floor.

I lather a loofah with my body wash as Chester steps into the shower behind me. His muscled arms come around my waist, and he takes the loofah, drawing a circle on my stomach.

“I feel like we finally had our chance to get to know you and now they’re back. They’re going to take you away from us,” he mumbles into my hair.

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