Nether: Hidden Book Five Read online

  The pack leader glared at me. "Would have been better if you'd left that thing to die. I don't want it nowhere near my pack," he finished, then he slammed the door in my face and turned off the porch light, as if that would stop me if I really wanted to get in and press the issue.

  "Well, you're welcome. Asshole," I muttered, walking down the front walk again. "Fuck."

  I looked down at the tiny, sleeping bundle of warmth in my arms. "Well. You won't be the first kid we've taken in for a while, I suppose," I said, then I rose into the air again, heading toward home.

  When I walked in, awkwardly carrying the baby, Nain, Eunomia, and Brennan were in the kitchen. They stopped talking immediately, their gazes landing on the wriggling bundle in my arms.

  "What the fuck is that?" Nain asked.

  "I'm pretty sure they call them babies," I said. "And this one lost her mother."

  "We're not taking it in. Turn it over to one of the shifter packs or something."

  I stared at him. "Are you serious? I'm not turning her over to anyone. I tried, and they slammed the fucking door in my face. You've taken kids in before." I was surprised by how badly I wanted this already, by how annoyed I was at his automatic rejection.

  "I've never taken in a baby," Nain said. "And that one is bad news."

  "It's a baby, not a nuclear bomb," I said.

  "Sense for her. What is she?" he said, that stubborn look on his face that told me he'd already made up his mind like the cranky old man he is. Brennan and E just watched, both of them tense.

  "I already know what she is. Her mom was a shifter and her father was a demon."

  Brennan nodded then. "Yeah. Demon shifter." The feelings coming off of both Brennan and Nain were anything but good. Discomfort, dislike. E just seemed confused.

  "And you seriously want us to take her in?" Nain asked irritably. "Do you even know what you're asking?"

  "Why don't one of you explain it to me, since all I see is a baby and you're acting like she's a monster?" I said. My eyes were on the baby. She was tiny, delicate. Perfect creamy skin, big emerald-green eyes that seemed to take in everything. A shock of nearly black, soft curls formed a dark halo at the top of her head. She was awake again, and her gaze rested on me, and she stopped kicking, stopped fidgeting in my arms.

  She was mine already. I couldn't explain it, knew it was insane. No matter how many times I'd told myself that it was a good thing nothing would likely ever grow in my womb, I couldn't lie to myself. I wanted a family. I wanted to watch someone grow. I wanted to treasure someone and give him or her the kind of childhood I'd never had.

  "Molly," Nain warned, some of my emotions apparently spilling through our connection.

  "Tell me," I said softly, tearing my eyes away from her.

  He came up to me and gave my hip a squeeze. "Remember what I said about how demon kids are nuts? Full of energy, rage that seems to come out of nowhere? They're impossible. Really it's no surprise that their parents end up killing them," he said. I raised my eyebrows. "I'm not saying it's right. I'm just saying it's not surprising."

  "And you've been around Sean enough to know what shifter kids are like," Brennan said, picking up where Nain had left off. "It's freaking exhausting, trying to keep up with a shifter kid. And it only gets more insane once they start learning how to shift. Hyper as hell," he muttered. "So imagine having all of that hyperactivity in one kid."

  "Except that that's not the worst of it," Nain said. "A demon baby wouldn't naturally look like that kid," he said, nodding toward the baby again, studying her. "Demons don't know how to bring up a glamour until they're old enough to start controlling their powers."

  "Yeah. The shifter side of her blocks her from having a demon form. At least, that's my understanding of it," Brennan said.

  Nain nodded. "Yeah. So think about that. This kid is half demon, half shifter. And its shifter side is keeping the demon side kind of repressed, so it's got all of these demonic urges and no way to get them out. Except that, oh, right, it can turn into an animal. What was Dayna again?"

  I sighed. "Dayna shifted into a tiger," I said, repressing a grimace as Nain swore.

  "Great. So it has these demonic urges, and then it gets to turn into a tiger, and I can tell you right now that she'll be a huge fucking tiger when she shifts, because demon, right? And she's powerful."

  I started talking, and he shook his head a little.

  "What?"

  "Demon and shifter were never, ever meant to mix. They usually don't. The cost of having its demonic side constantly repressed by its shifter side will drive that kid nuts eventually, and then we'll have a raging demon tiger on the loose."

  "We've seen this shit before, Molly. It's not good," Brennan said gently.

  Nain nodded in agreement. "Luckily that one only shifted into a fox. It was easy enough to overpower it. A tiger, though?" He shook his head in disgust. "Everyone would have been better off if you'd been too late to save her."

  I stared at him in shock, then started to leave the room with the baby. He put his hand around my biceps, pulling me close to him.

  "This baby is going to have a miserable life. Death would have been merciful," he said softly. "Okay?"

  I glared at him, but stopped trying to fight my way out of his embrace.

  "I'm guessing none of the shifters will take her in anyway, if they know all of that," I said.

  "They know better," Brennan said.

  "You mean you agree with Nain about this?" I asked him.

  He shook his head again. "I don't know. All I do know is that we've seen what happens. And you have more than enough to worry about already, right?"

  "I'll decide how much I can take, thanks," I said icily.

  Brennan rolled his eyes and looked away from me.

  "And what do you think of this, E?" I asked.

  She gave a small smile. "I think you've made up your mind already, my friend."

  I turned my gaze to Nain, and I knew, because Nain knew me, that he could guess exactly what I wanted.

  He groaned. "Don't look at me like that, baby."

  I tilted my head, just a little, and he groaned again.

  "You have no idea what you'd be getting into," he said.

  "I want to think about it, at least," I said softly. "We can't just turn away from her, Nain."

  He didn't answer, but he didn't argue either.

  Brennan crossed his arms over his chest, irritation rolling off of him in hot waves. "Don't you have enough to do, between insane Titans destroying shit and crazy-ass immortals everywhere? You really need this now?"

  I took a breath. This was a big reason why Bren and I never would have lasted. His version of taking care of me would have driven me up the wall eventually. "Well, if anyone can handle it, I can," I said, trying very hard to keep my voice calm.

  I looked back at the baby. She was starting to doze off, and I felt a little tug at my heart.

  "I'll talk to you tomorrow, Brennan," Nain said. "Later, E," he added, and I was very aware of his eyes on me. Brennan got up without another word and walked out behind Eunomia, irritation still rolling off of him. I heard her say something to him as they walked away, but I didn't catch the words.

  Nain sat back down, and I took the baby into our room and settled her in the center of the bed. I watched her for a moment, then went back to the kitchen. Once she woke up and ate again, I'd attempt to clean her up.

  I went over to Nain and sat, straddling his lap, pressing myself against him. I smiled a little. He responded to me immediately.

  "You're all stressed out again," he said, voice low, eyes already starting to glow.

  "I am," I said, tracing my hands down his stomach, toward his waistband. I felt the tremor run through him, as it did so often when I touched him. "Want to help take the edge off?"

  He picked me up and carried me over to the living room couch.

  "Don't start thinking you're gonna win me over with sex, woman," he grunted. Then he lowered me to the cus
hions, and there was no need for words.

  Afterward, we sprawled on the living room floor, letting our breathing come back to normal, our heart rates slow. Sweat gleamed on his body. I was lying on his chest, listening to his heartbeat, loving the feel of his skin against mine. I raised my head so I could look at him.

  "We could do that all day, every day of our lives, and it still wouldn't be enough," he said, a satisfied smile on his face.

  I grinned, nipped at his shoulder, and he grunted. I rested my chin on my hands so I could look at him.

  "Are you in a better mood now?" I asked him.

  "I'm not in that good of a mood," he said. "We can't do that, Molly. I know what you want, but…"

  "But, what?"

  He sat up and I sat on his lap, straddling his thighs. He wrapped his arms around me. "Did you not hear what I said about demon shifters? She's going to lose her mind. Her life is going to be one long struggle to relieve the rage inside of her. And anyone who loves her is in for heartbreak, because they'll have to watch it happen." He paused. "Brennan is worried about your ability to deal with hyperactivity. I know you can do that. You know what I can't handle, though? Seeing you heartbroken. And I can't think of any situation in which this won't end up breaking your heart, Molls." He paused. "If you want a baby, we'll start looking into adopting. There are plenty of supernatural kids out there who aren't wanted. We can adopt a whole football team of kids if you want them."

  "I want this one," I said softly.

  He rested his forehead against mine.

  "She's going to be crazy. You get that, right?"

  "Who's better equipped to handle crazy than us?" He grunted in response, and I started running my hands over his shoulders, loving the way they felt under my hands. "Think about it, Nain. She has nobody. No one will even take a chance on her. She's creeping people out, and she hasn't even done anything yet. Sound familiar?"

  He sighed, and I knew I had him. He knew my past, my childhood. In our time together, I'd shown him scenes from my lonely, loveless childhood, and he'd shared his own memories with me.

  "You are a stubborn pain in the ass, you know that?" he asked, his voice rumbling in the darkening room, the sound of it warming me, just as it always did.

  "Takes one to know one," I murmured.

  "I want you to think about something else," he said.

  "Okay." I rubbed slow circles over his shoulders, and he practically purred in response.

  "Stop trying to distract me," he said.

  "Sorry, dear."

  "Liar."

  I laughed, and got a grin in response. "One: everyone will realize that this isn't just another random freak we're bringing in. You're terrible at hiding your feelings, baby. Everyone will know you love her. Think of all the enemies we have. This kid is going to be a target for every sick fuck we've ever crossed."

  "Then we'll just have to be scarier," I said.

  "You know it makes me hot when you say shit like that."

  "I know," I said, leaning forward and nibbling the side of his neck. He growled. "But continue. What were you saying?"

  "And two: who's gonna watch her while we're off saving the world?" he asked, then groaned as I bit him harder. "I can't see you retiring to stay home and bake cookies."

  "I'll bake cookies and kick ass. My parents will help. So will E."

  "I can't see Hades babysitting, somehow," he grumbled. It was an act at this point, and we both knew it. He didn't bend often, but when it mattered, I knew I could count on him to meet me halfway. It was why we worked. I took his earlobe between my teeth and gently nipped it.

  "We'll work it out," I said softly.

  He held me tighter. He was silent for several long moments, and I could feel the emotions flowing through him. Irritation, worry, that ever-present anger. Love. Then, finally, he muttered, "You want it this bad, we'll do what it takes to make it work."

  "I love you, Bael," I whispered, endlessly grateful that I had him in my life.

  He kissed the side of my neck, held me tighter. "I love you too. If you ever doubt how completely fucking out of my mind I am for you, remember this day."

  "I will."

  And, just then, the baby started crying from our bedroom, and I disentangled myself from Nain's arms. He muttered something about how we better get used to having quickies and I flipped him the bird as I pulled my shirt over my head and walked toward the room. He laughed, and as I bent over the baby to change her diaper (really grateful now that I'd changed a few of Sean's diapers so I wasn't totally clueless) I heard him in the kitchen, going through the bags I'd brought home. When I brought the baby out to the kitchen, he was shaking a bottle of formula. He handed it to me wordlessly.

  "There you go, mama," he said, and I smiled. We went back into the living room and he sat on the end of the couch, pulled me down onto his lap, and I held the baby, watching her as she took her bottle.

  "Isn't she beautiful?" I murmured.

  "Babies are weird," Nain said, and I rolled my eyes. His hand was rubbing up and down my back, and his other hand was cradling the baby's tiny feet. "And formula smells gross."

  "Shut up, you crabby old man," I said, laughing. Just then, my dad let himself in (because of all the immortals, he had refused to learn the importance of boundaries and privacy) and his gaze landed on the three of us.

  "What's that?" he asked, sitting on the other end of the couch.

  "Baby. She's gonna call you Grandpa," I said.

  He looked at her again. "Demon shifter?"

  I nodded, waiting for the onslaught of, "That's nuts. You can't keep her."

  "She'll be vicious someday," he said in approval. "What's her name?"

  I shrugged. "I have no idea. Any suggestions?"

  "Hades," Hades said, and I rolled my eyes.

  "I am not naming our daughter Hades," I said.

  "Fine. Her loss. If I had had my way, I would have named you Zoe," he said.

  "Oh, yeah? Why?" I asked.

  "Zoe means 'alive.' And there's nothing more alive, nothing with more potential for greatness, than a newborn baby. A whole life of possibility before her. Your mother overruled me, though," he said, shrugging.

  I exchanged a glance with Nain, and he gave a small nod.

  I looked down at the baby. "Zoe… Brooks, I guess? You have no last name," I said to Nain.

  "Neither do you, really, unless 'Eth-Hades' counts. Brooks will work," he said.

  "Welcome to the family, Zoe Brooks," I said softly to the dozing baby in my arms.

  "Welcome to the nuthouse," Nain said. "You'll be a fine addition."

  I elbowed him, and he laughed and put his arms around us. I sat there in our rented living room with my husband, my father, and this child who was now my daughter, and tried not to dwell on hoping that I was enough to keep us all safe.

  It was a long night. It was going to be an adjustment getting used to a newborn's feeding schedule. It felt like I had just fallen asleep after her four o'clock feeding when I was awakened again.

  It wasn't Zoe's crying that woke me up, for once.

  It wasn't Nain's hands on me, ready for his morning lay.

  No. It was Gaia and Hephaestus standing beside our bed, Gaia shaking my arm wildly.

  "Gah!" I said, pulling the sheet up to my chin. Nain sat up, shooting a glare at Hephaestus. Our room was still dim, and a glance at the digital clock on my nightstand showed that it was just after six. My first thought, right after "what are they doing in our bedroom?" was "if they wake Zoe, I'm going to kill them."

  Nain pulled another blanket up over me, glaring at Hephaestus and Gaia as he did. "If I don't get a good explanation for why you two are standing in our fucking bedroom, someone's gonna be bleeding," he growled.

  "Apollo is dead," Hephaestus said, voice low. I sensed for him, and caught not just sadness, but, more, rage and worry.

  I stared at him, then at Gaia, who only nodded sadly.

  "Nether?" I asked.

  Heph sho
ok his head. "It was Hyperion. Gaia told us she knew who it was and told you. He got him when Apollo was leaving our house this morning." He shook his head. "He stayed late last night and he put away so much whiskey he could barely move. He ended up passing out on the couch. Gaia and Meaghan were up early like they always are, and he got up and headed out. Hyperion got him just as he was leaving."

  Hephaestus's rage level had shot up, and I cringed.

  "I'm sorry, Heph. I should have moved faster trying to find him. I—"

  "I'm not pissed at you, Queenie," he said. "This all happened fast and it's not like you don't have shit going on."

  I studied him. His entire body was tense, and his barely-restrained rage surprised me.

  "I didn't know you and Apollo were that close," I said.

  "We're not," he said, letting out a frustrated breath. "Not really. He's all right to play cards with once in a while, which is why he was over last night." He shook his head. "I can't have this shit around my home. Not now."

  "Is Meaghan okay?" I asked, and he gave a short nod. "She's with Demeter and Persephone. Neither of them are leaving her side, and I'm grateful."

  I watched him. His anger was very un-Heph-like. "I swear we won't let anything happen to her."

  "I know, Queenie," he said. He raked his fingers through his unruly hair. "She's pregnant," he said, voice low. "And I will do whatever it takes to protect her and our child."

  Nain and I exchanged a look.

  He recovered faster than I did.

  "Congratulations, man," he said, sticking his hand out. Heph shook it, a happy, somewhat sheepish look on his face.

  "Thanks," he said.

  "Congrats," I said, still holding the sheet up over my body. "I'll take care of this. All right?"

  He nodded, and I felt him relax, just a little. He always had more faith in me than I did.

  "There's one other thing," he said.

  "What?" Nain asked.

  "Who's going to break it to Artemis?" Heph asked, and we all looked in the direction of Brennan, Artemis, and Sean's apartment.