Hades

Chapter 41

After my episode, I hardly ever wanted to come out of my room. I knew that Sebastian was keeping Ethel away, encouraging her to spend as much time at home as possible, but I still worried. I couldn't believe that I had done that, that I had lunged for my mate's throat. I cared for him so deeply, I could imagine anything hurting him, let alone me. And Ethel, poor, innocent Ethel.

It was all so unbelievable, but I had seen the scratch marks on his arm, I had heard the way he spoke to me after. And the red rings around my wrists showed me just how frightened he had been of me.

The man nicknamed after the god of death was terrified of me.

Even now, he would come to me instead of waiting for me to seek him out. He would ease open my bedroom door and usually offer me food with a tight smile. I would often take the food, but deny the company, worried that if I stayed with him too long I would lose control and attack him again. And, as much as he may have wanted to spend time with me, his shoulders would sag in relief and he would leave without any argument.

But, we couldn't play this game forever and what I had done affected more people than just the two of us. So, when he called for a meeting, I had no choice but to agree. As afraid as I was of the outcome I knew it was for the best.

Seeing Ethel for the first time since the attack was a blow. I felt so awful, knowing that I had done something unforgivable but unable to understand how or why. Then, seeing her sitting at the dining table with a cautious smile on her lips and wary eyes I immediately felt worse. Leave it to Ethel to be the only person in the world to smile at someone who tried to kill her. I must've been some kind of evil straight from hell to want to hurt her.

"Hello, Charlotte, so lovely to see you again," Keiko greeted, watching me with cat-like intensity despite how relaxed she looked sitting between Ethel and Ajax. And behind her stood her loyal and silent guard, Noah.

"Hello," I whispered nervously, not sure what I should do with myself until Sebastian pushed the chair beside him away from the table. I settled by him, shooting him a grateful look before glancing between the visiting party. "Ethel, I never got to tell you-"

"Water under the bridge," she dismissed with a wave of her hand.

"We should get some basic questions aside before we start," Ajax stated, bringing my attention to him. Ethel might've wanted to move on, but the royals certainly didn't.

Sebastian nodded beside me and I just waited.

"Charlotte," Ajax's voice seemed the ripple through the air, almost feeling like a physical impact when it hit my chest, "Do you hold any ill feelings towards Hades?"

The words felt like they were bubbling out of my mouth, beyond my control. Panicking, I grabbed the edge of the table, thinking that I was going to be possessed by the rage again. Instead I spoke truthfully. "No."

"Do you have any ill feelings towards Ethel?"

"No."

"You said you didn't feel like you were in control of your body. Is that true?"

Another pummel of power, right to the chest. "Yes," I blurted.

"Have you ever wanted to kill Hades before?"

"Yes, when we first met." The words stung but came out anyway, it was beyond my power to keep them down.

"The feeling has since left?"

"Yes."

"Do you understand what Hades does?"

"Yes, he removes scum from the werewolf realm."