DEEP-END

Chapter 2

The face of the single person I am most afraid of.

Ares.

Chapter 2

Ares

I could feel it. I could feel her.

Her presence was near and the beast inside me ached to hold her but also to ravage her, to tear her down and make her feel the pain I felt when she disappeared on me. I spent a century trying to find her and the century after, I spent it on trying to forget her and now she was here. In my territory.

I wasn’t sure why she ran from me, but once I was freed, I sought my revenge and murdered every single one of those human beings that tortured me and yet I wasn’t satisfied, I have not been satisfied ever since, all I wanted was to set eyes on that beautiful girl, her mesmerising silver orbs, I wanted her, no, I needed her.

Though she knew she was my mate, she had left me. Once a siren finds their mate, they never leave them and here she was, going against the law and rejecting me. Me? Who would dare reject me? She did and she would suffer for it. I didn’t want to hurt her, no, but I needed to remind her of exactly who I am. Should she dare try to test me again, it will be the last of her.

It was late and the moon had cascaded over the sky, the clouds cried out in agony while they emptied their wrath onto the world. The thunder and lightning was no match for my desperate urge of finding the girl I had long yearned for, I would get to her, I would find her, she was here.

Dazed, following the warm feeling of her presence, I didn’t realise when I ended up by the ocean, the waves screamed into the silence, yelling out their desperation as they each tried to reach the land while I walked against the sand, I could feel my legs tingle as they felt the presence of the water but I was able to control them, I would not turn. It took a long time for me to control the ability of turning whenever I wanted, I could swim in the ocean as a human and I could stay on land as a siren if I wanted, though the urge to turn was strong, I was able to hold back. To fight it. The only urge I couldn’t fight was the cravings of the one girl who had ever rejected me. Her.

Lost deep in my thoughts, I almost didn’t notice the unconscious form of a siren by the beach. Every muscle in my body tensed up as I realised who this siren was. My mate.

Rushing towards her, I picked her limp body in my arms but not after I stared at her a long while, taking in her beauty once more, she really was enchanting, magical. I couldn’t seem to stop staring at her but I had to pull myself together, I had to get her to safety, to take care of her until she awoke, I would make sure her every need was met, I didn’t search for her a century just to give up on her now, I’d make her okay and I’d make her mine.

Whether she was willing or not, she would be my bride.

******************************************

It had been almost a day before the beauty before me opened her eyes, inviting me into her soul with every blink that she took. I wanted to possess her, to consume her but I controlled my urges, waiting for her to get a grip of her reality and come to her senses, I brushed my fingers through her soft platinum locks.

“I… uh”

She tried to talk, her voice as elegant and soft as I remember, it made the crimson in my veins pump harder than they should’ve. I wanted to tell her to shhhhh, to relax until she felt better but I also wanted to hear her voice, the sweet sound that made my heart crumble on my chest.

“You.”

She whispered, I could see the conflict behind her eyes, she wasn’t sure if she was dreaming or if this really was me. I assumed the latter was the worst outcome for her. She knew she had crossed a line when she abandoned her mate and now that she was at my mercy, I’d remind her exactly what the laws were. If only she knew what the storm had in for her, she would’ve happily accepted death within the ocean before she reached my territory.

“Yeah, me.”

I kept her gaze prisoner, I could almost hear the pounding of her heart as she watched my concerned expression be replaced by malice. She was awake now, I didn’t need to worry, she would heal… eventually. Right now, I planned on breaking every inch of her soul and then possess everything that made her, her.

Gently running my fingers through her hair, I grabbed a handful of her silver locks and pulled her head towards my face, making sure she could see the fire burning beneath my eyes, the fire that would soon burn her.

Startled by my sudden violence, she bit down on her bottom lip as she stared into my soul. She knew better than to beg for mercy, there was no room for mercy in my world, she humiliated me by rejecting me and now I’d humiliate her, only difference was, I would do it better.

“Care to explain your disappearance?”

My voice came out angry, matching exactly how I felt. Wrapping my free hand around her throat, I squeezed, a part of me enjoying seeing her gasp for air, another part of me wanting to obstruct her airflow completely.

Digging her nails into my hand, she tried her best to set her throat free, earning herself even a tighter grip of my fingers, I placed myself above her, holding her captive between me and the bed.

“I am only taking back what is mine.”

There was a small hint of a smile in my words, I knew I had her cornered and I couldn’t help but feel satisfied, I wanted to watch the defeat take over her existence until she had nothing left but me.

“Don’t you think I deserve it? Afterall, you are mine.”

I whispered into her ear, watching goosebumps take over her skin, leaving her bare and vulnerable in my hands.

A soft whimper escaped its prison in her throat as I squeezed her neck harder, looking deep into her eyes, I could see my monstrous reflection, no wonder she was afraid of me. But I liked that, her fear made it all the more fun. Leaning into her, I took a whiff of her sweet scent.

“Tell me you’re mine.”

I growled in her ear, enjoying the shiver that ran up her spine.

With hesitance in her eyes and fear in her heart, she parted her lips and said.

“I am yours”

Chapter 3

Aphrodite

My words somehow make the fire in his eyes roar even bigger, louder, and more terrifying. I’m ready to pass out from fear, but I don’t know what he’ll do while I’m unconscious. I don’t know what he’s already done.

The Athenians are barbaric. Abusive. The only other species really able to keep up with them are the werewolves--who are also malicious by nature.

“You’re right, little girl. You’re mine,” he growls, tightening the grip around my throat until it almost cuts off my airflow.

I know better than to beg with any Athenian, let alone their king. Mercy isn’t in his nature.

But, maybe if I remind him that I saved his life, he’ll go a bit lighter on me? He must have some form of gratitude, right?

“Please don’t hurt me,” I whimper. “I saved you.”

The words that I had hoped would calm him only serve to anger him more.

“Yes, little girl. You saved my life--only to tear my soul from my body as you fled. I would rather have died in that goddamn cell than have had you run. Do you know how long I’ve been looking for you?”

Over two centuries.

When a Siren finds their soulmate, the male is instantly more possessive and attached than the female. Aphrodite has always had a thing for having guys chase her, and I guess she passed that along to her species.

So for me, I’ve been fine without him. On occasion I’ll feel lonely or get an ache in my core that only he would be able to satiate--but it’s controllable. But for him?

It must’ve been torture.

I realize that he’s right to be angry. My little snippets of need were a joke in comparison to what he’s most likely been feeling for 200 years.

“I’ve been looking for you for over 200 f*****g years, little girl,” he growls. I squirm underneath him, trying to get him to loosen his grip.

It doesn’t work.

The scariest part is I can see how much he enjoys this. I can feel through the bond that he’s reveling in my helplessness, adoring my submissive position.

“If you’d have come with me I would have been so good to you,” he murmurs, his voice suddenly softening.

“I would have treated you like a queen.”

He shakes his head, before leaning down and resting his forehead against mine. His grip on my neck loosens slightly.

“You are a queen,” he whispers, and I can hear the affection in his voice. But then he seems to remember himself. His anger. He lifts his head away from me and tightens his grip on my neck until it cuts off airflow.

“But you broke the laws of our kind. Not only that, you rejected me. Me. And you’ll pay for it dearly.”

His tone drops at least an octave when he speaks again.

“I’m going to make you wish you had never left me.”

I claw at his hands, feeling my fingernails draw blood, but it doesn’t phase him. Of course it wouldn’t phase him--he’s the king of Athens.

“I want your blood, tears, sweat, and juices soaking these sheets,” he growls, ripping off the thin sheet that covers my body. The lower half of me is naked, my upper half only being covered by my bikini.

I start shaking my head from side to side as much as I can in his grip. If he has his way with me, he’ll probably split me in two.

Although Aphrodite went easy on the girls in the case of not yearning for our mate, she also gave us a curse. Once we meet our mate, they are the only ones who can sexually satisfy us. So there’s no real point getting with anyone else.

When I met Ares, I was a virgin.

And in 200 years, I haven’t had the urge to touch anyone. Whenever I had cravings, they were always towards him.

I’m still a virgin.

And I don’t want my first time to be with my blood thirsty mate.

“Please don’t do this,” I manage to wheeze out, succumbing to my primal urge of begging him. But my words only bring a smile to his face. A sick, sadistic, twisted, evil smile that causes my empty stomach to churn.

“You don’t even have the slightest idea of what I’m going to do,” he responds, placing his hand on my uncovered core.

“For two centuries I’ve come up with different ways to punish you. Invented new ways of torture. Tested them on anyone who was unfortunate enough to stumble on my land--or anyone who betrayed me.”

He finally releases his grip on my neck, allowing me to gulp in much needed oxygen.