Page 9 of Hidden

Chapter Five

Ambrose

My heart rejoiced at Marcus’s acceptance of what I told him and his agreement to follow me into my world. I longed to show him everything, to prove myself as true, and to claim him as my own.

Making love to my mate was the most incredible and important act of my life, but we were not yet bonded. I hadn’t bound our bodies by planting my seed inside him, and therefore hadn’t bound our souls. I would never do so without his consent or knowledge of what it meant. But I hoped that would come soon. The longer I was around Marcus, the deeper my desire grew, and the more restless my soul became.

As we neared the portal, Marcus’s hand trembled in mine. I kicked myself for not thinking of him; passing through realms was second nature to me, but my sweet mate had never experienced anything like this.

“They won’t hurt you,” I told him, nodding towards the flames. Since he was traveling with me, he could pass through without issue. “Trust me.” Marcus gripped my hand tighter and took a step closer to me, but kept moving forward.

We stepped into the mist of the portal and the circle of flames shrank and extinguished behind us. The path was dark, but I knew it well. I confidently led him down a narrow walkway until our surroundings began to take shape.

Stones lined the ground beneath our feet and formed a tall wall beside us, blocking the view of what it guarded. Everything around us was gray, from the rocks to the haze in the sky.

“Holy shit!” Marcus exclaimed before letting loose of my hand and jumping behind me, burying his face in my back.

I dropped into a defensive stance, ready to protect him from whatever had frightened him, until I saw what that thing was, just a few yards ahead of us. Then I couldn’t help but chuckle as Cerberus stood up and stretched as he awakened from his nap.

Granted, a huge three-headed, fire-breathing hellhound would be a jarring sight for a human. That was Cerberus' job; to guard the gates of the underworld, keeping souls inside by means of intimidation, and brute force if necessary. But as long as a person wasn't up to no good, they had nothing to fear from the beast.

"It's okay, my dear," I told Marcus, reaching behind me to pat his sides. "Cerberus won't bother you.” The beast would never harm me or my companion. “Come, I'll show you."

"Hard pass," he answered into my back, making me chuckle.

"Okay, but you have nothing to fear. Watch." I walked towards the beast, looking over my shoulder to find Marcus chewing on his fingernails. I flashed him a smile before turning back to Cerberus, who was now standing at full height. He was a foot taller than I was and at least four times as wide. His shoulders were broad with defined muscle and smoke billowed out of his six nostrils as he breathed.

"Hey there, big guy," I greeted, and Cerberus lowered his head. Marcus whimpered behind me, but I knew not to be afraid. "Did you have a nice nap? Hmm, did you?" I reached up to scratch behind his ears, and the great Cerberus, guardian of the underworld, flopped down and rolled over onto his back so that I could rub his belly.

“Oh, what a good boy you are,” I cooed as I scratched his stomach. His tongue lolled out of his mouth as he thoroughly enjoyed his rubdown.

“He doesn’t look too scary,” Marcus’ voice sounded, and I looked over my shoulder again to find him only a few steps away, studying Cerberus.

“Only when he needs to be. Otherwise, he’s a sweetheart. Would you like to pet him? He’ll love you forever.”

Marcus squished his lips around in thought before finally stepping beside me and squatting down. He slowly reached out a shaky hand and patted the creature’s chest. Cerberus's closest head licked my mate’s face with such force, it knocked him back onto his ass.

I couldn’t help but chuckle while Marcus wiped his face dry with his sweater. I worried that he may be irritated, but he just laughed as well once he was dry. “I’ll take that as a compliment.” He stroked Cerberus’s stomach and smiled. “You are a good boy. My grandma had a Chihuahua when I was younger and that thing was a little asshole. It bit me every chance it got. But you’re a little sweetie, yes you are.” I watched adoringly as Marcus rubbed and received sloppy kisses from the beast.

“You’re going to turn my monster into a teddy bear," a deep voice said from beside me.

Marcus gasped and stood upright when he saw the tall, lanky figure, dressed in black clothing. He had dark eyes like me, but his black hair flowed down to his shoulders. He was an intimidating presence, even with the bouquet of red roses in his hand.

"Oh please," I replied as I stood up as well, "Don't act like you don't spoil him every chance you get."

"Well that's different," he replied, sticking his nose in the air. "He's my baby." He stuck his free hand into his pocket and pulled out what looked like a dead bird. "I brought you a little treat, Cerby-Werby. But first you have to give Daddy kisses to show you missed him." I snorted and rolled my eyes; he was only proving my point.

Cerberus rolled onto his paws and attacked the man with all three tongues. He beamed and ripped the carcass apart, giving a piece to each hungry mouth.

I peeked over at Marcus, who appeared slightly afraid and quite disgusted. I hoped an introduction would help explain a few things, so I told him, "Marcus, I'd like you to meet-"

"No, no, allow me," the man interrupted. He placed the roses on the ground and flipped his hood onto his head, casting a shadow over his eyes. "I am the nightmare of man; the keeper of souls. I am punishment, I am wrath."

"He is a drama queen," I added, and received the stink eye.

He cleared his throat and continued, "I am power. I am fear. I am ruler of the underworld." He gave a slight bow and finished, "I am Hades, at your service." My father was nothing if not an attention hog who loved making an entrance. "And you are?"

I pushed out my chest proudly and announced, "This is Marcus. He is my mate."

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