“Apollo was still a no-show and the cabin out in the middle of nowhere had become a god-free zone. A good thing, but I figured one would just pop in, most likely in Deacon's bed or something, where we'd least expect them.”

“Flipping to the front, I caught Aiden's gaze and offered a sympathetic smile."Skittles?""Please."I dumped some into his open palm, then picked out the green ones. Aiden grinned at me."You know I don't like the green ones?"Shrugging, I popped them in my mouth. "The few times I've seen you eat them, you leave the green ones behind."Deacon popped his head between our seats."That's true love right there.""That it is."Aiden's gaze flicked to the road. I flushed like a little schoolgirl and focused on the remaining pieces of candy until Deacon drifted back into his seat. I handed all the red ones to Aiden.”

“You two should really get a room," Apollo said from out of nowhere."My poor eyes..."I groaned. Even in his true identity, he still had impeccable timing."Gods," Aiden spat. He pulled back, casting Apollo a disgusted look over my head. "Do you get off on sneaking up on us?""You probably don't want to know what I get off on.”

“I had no idea what time it was, but I felt boneless and it would take an act of God to get me out of this bed. Or chocolate.”

“She's Awakening,' Aiden said, voice tight.'But the blood...' I heard Marcus move closer. 'Why is she bleeding?'I eased onto my side. 'I'm being tattooed by a giant, mother fu-' Another strangled scream cut of my words as a different type of pain settled in, moving under my skin. It was like lighting racing through my veins, frying every nerve ending.'This is... wow,' Deacon said, and I pried my eyes open. There was a whole audience by the door.'Get them out of here!' I screamed, jackknifing on the floor. 'Gods, this sucks!''Whoa,' I heard Deacon murmur. 'This is like watching a chick give birth or something.''Oh my gods, I'm going to kill him.' I could feel the beads of blood breaking out under my jeans. 'I'm going to punch him-''Everyone leave,' Aiden ground out. 'This isn't a godsdamn show.''And I think he's like the father,' Luke said.Aiden rose to his feet. 'Get. Out.”

“But no matter where I went, what I was running from would still be with me—Kat. She wasn’t just back in the house, in that bed. She was with me now, inside me. And there was no outrunning that.”

“But Apollo told me."The laugh that came out of me sounded incredibly bitter. "Of course he did. And where was Apollo when I was getting my ass handed to me, by the way?"A pained look crossed her face, and I immediately regretted saying that. "I'm sorry," I whispered. "He was probably off doing important god stuff." Or chasing nymphs.”