Page 42 of Goddess of Storms

“Ifucking should’ve known it was you!” I spit at him. “I will never be yours, why all the theatrics?”

“What better way to get your attention?”

The smirk on his lips makes me want to hurl. A shiver of disgust rolls through me as I swallow the bile threatening to rise in my throat.

“What part of no don’t you understand? I have my soulmate, you can’t worm your way in, it doesn’t work that way. Beside you’re my half brother, what kind of sick fuck wants to mate with their sister?”

“I guess I get it from dear old dad. Maybe the apple doesn’t fall from the tree.” Hermes shrugs as he steps towards me.

I don’t back up. He doesn’t scare me, and I won’t back down. “Brother, if you love me as you claim, let me go. Stone and I belong together, the fates have intertwined our strings, they can’t be cut.”

I don’t say anything about Nile or Phoenix, not to give away something he may not know.

He throws his head back and barks out a laugh, “Those old biddies have no idea what they are doing. You really think that you and Stone are fated? Soulmates are not a real thing, not for us gods and goddesses. Why else is our father a playboy? Fucking anything and everything?”

A rumble of thunder warns us that our conversation is not our own. “That is his choice, if you want to follow in his footsteps, be my guest. I won’t be a pawn or conquest, I have my happily ever after. There have to be a few dozen women here in this little town of yours eager to bed you. Go play with them and let me go,” I tell him.

“I, for one, like the cat and mouse game. Why else do you think we are here?” He steps up to me, face to face.

“Because you’re a dumbass. You really think that I will bow to you? I have no intention of playing childish games. Stone will come for me, and once my powers are restored, I will burn your ass to a crisp.”

He taps on the pendant around my necklace. “This was made especially for you, you really think you can get it off. I’d like to see you try.” The smirk returns to his lips.

Not tipping my hand, I frown, playing along until I find the opening I need. Controlling my temper, so I don’t zap his ass here and now. The smile on his face widens.

My stomach betrays me and growls.

“Hungry?”

“I’d rather starve than break bread with you,” I reply, standing my ground.

“Come now, a little hunger strike isn’t going to do you any good. I promise to be on my best behavior.”

“I’ll eat, but only if you stop talking, you sound just like our father.” I gag.

Stone

“Are you sure that is the right address?” I ask, staring at the small blip on the screen. “It will be nightfall when we reach it. I don’t even want to think about what they are doing to her.”

“Harper can take care of herself. The cult wants her powers, but it’s not something they can just take. I’m more afraid that they will try and brainwash her into some kind of weapon. We have no idea what they really want her for,” Nile reminds me.

“Step on the gas and let’s get her our girl back,” Phoenix pipes up from where he is laying in the backseat. Out of the three of us, the impact of the wreck was centered on his seat. They had to cut me out, but my injuries were minor compared to his. Lacerations on his chest and arms, they hospital did a great job of fixing him up. “How is it that you two hate each other and yet, at the same time, you two are a team?”

“Easy. Harper. We don’t have to like each other, but all of our petty differences were put to the wayside for her. It’s the bond and she is our center,” Nile says.

I turn to face him, “When she said that wouldn’t force you, she won’t. She did the same for me, then Nile. It's not something that any of us have control over, but if you pick a different path, she will not stop you. The fates are cruel, this is just one more example of their power over not only our lives but goddesses as well.”

“To be honest, I still don’t know what I want, I have a pull to be near her. But at the same time, I don’t want to get in the way of what you three have.” He shrugs.

“Don’t let us stop you, I tried to stop Nile and you see how well that worked for me.” I wink.

“So, you two don’t hate each other?” he asks.

“No, we do, but for her, we make it work. You don’t have to decide anything right now, just think about it, for her,” I tell him. “But for now, you are one of us, and you will fight to get her back for us. In that, you have no choice.”

He nods, “I’m up for kicking some cult ass.”

“Good, we’ll most likely be outnumbered, so there’ll be a lot of ass to kick. Why don’t you kick back and take a nap?”

---