Hades

Chapter 39

Two days later seducing Sebastian was the least of my worries, though I didn't know it yet. The day started in an average way. I dreamt of the woman with red hair again and was feeling a  little antsy, but otherwise fine. I brushed it off as home sickness and missing my family because thinking of them was stirring up a pretty big ache in my heart. I got ready like I normally would, pulling on jean capris and a tee shirt before pulling my hair into a high ponytail. 

But when I saw him, I realized that it wasn't homesickness at all. 

It was rage.

He was standing in the kitchen slicing a mango. He looked utterly harmless. But I knew. I knew what he had done. I knew who he was. He was a murderer, a killer. No coy act could conceal that.

"Morning Char," he murmured.

"Don't," I spat, feeling my hands curling into fists. God, I wanted to hit something.

"Don't what?" he asked innocently, his amber eyes confused. He could pretend to be whatever he wanted, but those eyes would always reveal the truth. He couldn't escape his sins. 

"Don't call me by cute pet names, you sick fuck," I snarled. 

"Charlotte." His voice shifted. The normal softness was gone. It was that clean cut tone that he gave my father right after he murdered my future alpha and destroyed the hierarchy we so desperately needed. "You need to calm down. I won't talk to you when you're like this. I've explained why I do what I do and if you have more questions there's a proper way to ask them. I am not here to be yelled at in my home."

"I don't have fucking questions," I seethed. I felt like I was possessed, but watching his fingers tighten around the hefty knife gave me a validating rush of adrenaline, a push that let me know what I was doing was right. "I know what you are, Hades."

The knife was set down with too much control, Hades moving slowly as he took a deep breath. The way his features crumpled into an expression of sadness fueled me. I wanted to take on the man who had slaughtered countless people at his own will, deciding who was worthy of staying alive like he was some kind of god. He didn't have that right. No one did.

But his shoulders slumped as he wiped his hands on a dish cloth. Clearly, he wasn't in the mood to challenge me.

"I don't know what has gotten into you, but I won't tolerate it. I've told you before that you are free to go. I would never blame you for hating me, but I will blame you for making me miserable. I'm going to go out for a couple hours and when I come back I hope that you can tell me what's upsetting you so much."

He met my gaze evenly, daring me to say more, but all I could was grind my teeth together. 

As he stepped towards me to get around and go to the front door an intense sound filled my ears, vibrating through my skull with such strength it felt like it was shaking my brain. It was the most blood curdling, shrill womanly scream I had ever heard. The sound alone made me dizzy.

My hands slammed over my ears as my eyes were jammed shut, trying to fend off the mind numbing sound. But the coverage did nothing, almost amplifying it. I was suddenly aware that even if I sprinted for miles I wouldn't be able to get away from this sound.

The screaming was coming from inside my own mind.

When my eyes opened, searching for Hades to see if he could hear the sound, I saw that he was already gone. 

And just like that, the wailing ceased, so quickly I felt as if I had imagined it.

I wanted to do a thousand things in that moment, so driven by rage and hatred I couldn't think straight. I wanted to leave. No, I needed to leave, now.