Dark Hunter 00 - Dark Bites (Novellas) by Sherrilyn Kenyon Read Free Book Online

He’d long ago ceased seeing her as anything other than his heart.
    Even now, all he wanted to do was pull her close and hold her like he did whenever they met at the stream to fish. And when she stepped into his arms and placed her head against his shoulder, he melted. Closing his eyes, he inhaled her precious scent and wished they could be like this forever.
    All too soon, the song ended and he was forced to release her from his embrace.
    He opened his eyes and caught Galen’s glower of consternation, which he knew he deserved. He had no right to lust after a goddess. No right to be so familiar with the one they served.
    Yet his brain was as deaf as his heart. Neither listened to common sense. His entire body betrayed him with wants, needs, and dreams he knew he shouldn’t feel.
    Bathymaas stood up on her tiptoes and placed a chaste kiss to his cheek. “Thank you for humoring me.”
    He inclined his head to her and did his best to ignore his brother as Galen continued to glare at him.
    Hours later, after they’d returned to their island barracks, Galen cornered him in the back hallway.
    “What is going on with you and the goddess?”
    Aricles kept his tone level and his expression blank. “I don’t know what you mean.”
    “Yes, you do. You love her.”
    “Of course, I do. I love all the gods.”
    “Yes, but not like you do her. I’m not stupid, Ari. And I know what I saw.”
    He shrugged Galen’s anger away. “I am nothing more than her soldier. The same as you and the others.”
    “And if I don’t believe you?”
    “You’re a fool.”
    Galen cursed him under his breath. “Fine, but if I’m right, brother, be careful. Love never works out between mortals and gods. If something were to happen to you…” Tears welled in his eyes before he quickly blinked them away. “I’d have to grow up and that’s the last thing I want to do.”
    Smiling, Aricles hugged him close then kissed his head. “Fear not, little brother. I shall be here for quite some time to annoy you.”
    “You better be. Otherwise, I’ll have to follow you to Kalosis and beat the shit out of you.”

February 8, 12,250 BC
     
    Tomorrow Bathymaas would have to send her Ēperon out to battle. The Greek gods had been overstepping their bounds for weeks now, and their forces would have to be quelled. This was what her team had been trained for.
    Yet…
    Over and over, she tried to think of some reason to keep Aricles out of the fight.
    Unfortunately, there wasn’t a logical one.
    She shouldn’t care. She shouldn’t. It wasn’t her place to have feelings for anyone. But as she contemplated the thought of his being injured, she couldn’t breathe for the ferocious pain inside her. No wonder he’d told her he could do without love.
    It was agony.
    And it was something she couldn’t tell anyone that she felt.
    Not even Aricles.
    To do so would only cause him to be harmed. She was never to know emotion and yet he’d managed to make her feel when nothing and no one else ever had.
    Her gaze went to Malphas who was formulating their battlefield strategy over a map table. He’d lost his love a long time ago. There was a permanent darkness in his eyes from it and she’d seen him break down into tears from time to time when he thought he was alone… all the times when he’d reach for the locket he wore that contained a bit of hair from his love.
    She’d never understood that until now.
    “Perhaps we should let the Greeks fight this out for themselves.”
    Malphas looked up at her with a stern frown. “Who are you?”
    “Bathymaas.”
    He laughed. “There’s the goddess I know. The one a second ago… never met her before.”
    Ah, now she understood why he’d asked that question.
    Sighing, she closed the distance between them so that she could look over his plans. “Are you sure they’re ready?”
    “I wouldn’t send them into battle if I wasn’t. They’ve learned to be a team and have bonded well. They no longer see themselves