BENEATH HER DARKNESS: The Alpha’s Little Demon
Chapter 131 – God of the Underworld
LUCY…
My eyes squinted as I stared at Hades in front of me. Looking at him hurt my eyes, but it didn’t take long before my eyes were able to adjust to his features.
He was in his demon form, his ultimate form, I believe.
We kept staring at each other. I was standing directly in front of him, twenty feet from the stone throne on which he was seated.
“Speak, my child.” His voice was deep and gurgling as if it came from the deepest part of hell.
“Are you trying to terrify me with your demon form?” I had no idea why I said that. Sometimes, I really couldn’t stop my mouth.
“Terrify you? Is there anything that scares you, Lucy?” He asked, his gaze fixed on my soul.
But if anything, I was glad that he was addressing me as Lucy and not as Lucija.
“Nothing. Except to be separated from my mate.” I answered.
“I know. I’ve known you since you were a child. I know what’s inside your heart.”
“Why Adan? What do you want from him?”
“You. I want you, Lucy. Not him. But I know he’s the only one that can bring you to me.”
“I am here now. I’m a demon. I can never run away from it. What do you require more of me? I will not abandon my demon side if that’s what you want, just set his soul free.”
“And what will happen to both of you after you have perished? You will choose the moon… Am I right?”
“You’re not fair,” I hissed at him.
“I never said I was.”
“You want to trap us in this realm. Tell me, Hades, does it satisfy you to see lovers being torn apart in hell?”
“Maybe…”
“What do you want in exchange for Adan?”
“I see that you’re carrying a demon.”
“Half-demon. And no, not my child. Ask something else.”
“I always admire your bravery and your determination.”
“Thank you. After all, I am Selene’s daughter.”
Hades hissed, and his eyes glowered red. “I hate it when my demons cross-breed with wolves.”
“Then you should have restrained Lucien from sticking his c*oc*k into my mother’s. Then you won’t be having this problem.”
“Do you know your heart is more of a demon than a wolf?”
“Nice try, Hades.” I smiled mockingly at him. I wanted to berate myself for acting this way with him, but I knew if I wanted to get away unharmed, I had to outsmart him.
How? I had no idea.
“I always knew you were special.”
“And yet I’m not the heir of the Kalmerus.”
“Is that envy I detect?”
“Maybe, maybe not.” I was not sure if going this way would work. Would I ever win against a god?
“Lucius’ fate was written even before you were born. Your birth could have changed it, but Adan got in the way.”
“I don’t understand. How come, up until now, Lucius would tell me my aura was stronger than his? And I knew, even without him saying anything, he feared I could defeat him. So, tell me, Hades, why wasn’t I the rightful heir of Kalmerus?”
“You are stronger than your brother. But it doesn’t mean he’s weak. Lucius is more powerful than your father, just as you are…”
“But my father never felt his aura all these years, decades, centuries… and I never felt it either.”
“I’m feeling generous today, so let me tell you about young Lucius.” He cleared his throat before his gaze met mine. “When he was ten years old, Lucien felt Lucius’ aura getting stronger. Lucien thought that if Lucius became a powerful demon, he needed him on his side. So, he began teaching Lucius personally, letting him know the tricks of the trade. And do you have any idea what Lucius did?”
I shook my head.
“Lucius was overwhelmed by your father’s attention. He has thousands of siblings, and when Lucien’s attention fell on him, it pleased him. Your father began mentoring him personally, and young Lucius a*s*sumed that if he continued to show that he needed guidance, Lucien would pay more attention to him. So, he learned to suppress his aura at a young age without knowing that it was his strong aura that made Lucien notice him. Until Lucius simply became accustomed to suppressing his aura unconsciously over the course of years, decades, and centuries. He was still powerful without letting out his full aura, but not powerful enough to get Lucien’s attention again. He unconsciously buried his aura within him.”
And he let it out at the cave when Patrea was in danger. So, he was strong all along, and my father made a mistake in a*s*suming the heir was me.
“And what did you mean I could have changed his fate when I was born?”
“You were meant to challenge your brother for the throne. But Adan Stone got in the way.”
“Because I met him? Because I don’t want to leave his side? But I never wanted the throne even before I met Adan, so how was this his fault?”
“Adan chose you, to bind his life with you from the moment you were born. It was something I couldn’t change.” He spoke in a calm way this time.
“I still don’t understand. You’re talking in riddles.”
“When a child makes a request directly to the gods, the possibility of it becoming a reality is high.”
My eyes squinted. I was already losing my patience waiting for a direct answer, but I remained quiet this time. Hades’ looked like he lost a battle.
His form changed right before my very eyes. He looked more human to me now, with sad eyes. He leaned his back against his throne, hands stretched out, holding on to his armrest.
“Adan was eight years old when I first met him. He was running away from his training camp with broken bones. His left shoulder had been dislocated for over a day already. Someone hit him hard, and he didn’t tell anyone. He was afraid that if he talked about his pain to someone, they would think he was weak. He already knew by that time that he was not the rightful Alpha of his pack.”
My eyes watered as my heart bled for Adan. At eight, he was already burdened with the thought that he was not the rightful heir.
And was this the reason he never allowed anyone to touch his shoulders? Maybe it reminded him of the days he was all alone, carrying his own pain.
“He came across me in the creek. Do not ask what I was doing there.” He hissed, and I never bothered to ask. I remained silent as he continued. “I saw the way his eyes sparkled when I told him I was a demon. He never once questioned my words, and he let me heal his shoulder. He thanked me and asked if he could come with me and leave this realm. Adan offered himself to me at a young age. I could, of course, take him and make him my own demon without violating any rules of the realms. But he added something more. Something that changed both his fate and yours.”
His eyes met mine as I swallowed hard, waiting for him to continue.
“He wished he would be mated to a demon so she could make the bad people leave him alone.”
My mouth opened as tears fell from my eyes. He wished on a god.
“When a child makes a request directly to the gods, the possibility of it becoming a reality is high.”
Hades repeated the words he said earlier before he added, “The exact moment he wished to be mated to a demon was the same moment you were born. I felt a new demon soul. Every time a demon is born, I feel it, but I’ve filtered it so that I only feel the powerful ones. And I felt you that day, and I knew his wish went directly to you. He was the first one that bound you together.”
It was the reason he was drawn to me as I was to him when we saw each other when I was eleven and then at the Omega Feast, nine years later.
“I’m not sure if your goddess shared with anyone how she paired up mates. But you were mated with Adan even before Selene could decide. With Adan’s wish, she was left with no choice but to summon the wolf fated to Adan’s Beast. But Selene surely took her time sending your wolf to you, as she made your wolf powerful and resilient to counter your demon side.”
“And Selene is winning. So now you’re using Adan, so I would choose you. I still don’t know what you exactly want from me, Hades.”
“I’ve been alone all my life.” He answered almost immediately.
“No!” My hands flew to my stomach as tears poured down my face. I stepped back as I kept shaking my head. “Adan is my only king.”
“What are you thinking, my child?” Hades’ laughter echoed around us, and it made the hair on my skin rise. “I never meant to imply that I would make you my queen or anything like that… “
I let out the breath I was holding as my eyes watered in relief.
“But yes, I am tired of being alone and ruling this realm. Maybe it needed a new queen…”
“I knew nothing of the underworld.”
“The offer is not now. It can be decades or centuries from today. I had never seen anyone as powerful as you, and with Adan beside you, your power will just keep getting stronger. I want you to welcome your demon side with open arms and learn what you can in your lifetime.”
“And if I say no?”
“His soul is mine to take…”
“That is not fair…”
“You don’t have to decide now. We have a lifetime for you to think about it. But I want your son to grow up knowing the ways of the demon realm.”
“Son?”
“Yes, a son. He’s more of a demon than a wolf. Him knowing the demon world is part of the conditions I was offering.”
“I didn’t agree yet.”
“I know you would, just not now.”
I was about to say something when lightning struck the space beside Hades, and I found myself face to face with the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.
Goosebumps rose from my skin as a smile curled on my lips while my heart was beating too loudly in my chest. It had been far too long since I had seen her.
Did she come for me?
She smiled warmly at me but raised her hand as if to tell me to wait before shifting her gaze to the god staring at him.
“How could you offer power and threats in exchange for loyalty? Lucy is also my child, and I will not let you treat her this way. You can’t make her choose under the circumstances you put her in. ” She began berating Hades, and despite the anger in her words, her voice came out soft as a lullaby.
“I don’t remember inviting you into my realm, Selene…”