The War Within (Curse of the Gods Book 1) Read online

  “Do you know who I am? I am a woman who hasn’t had a good night’s sleep in months, no coffee, and my Aunt Flow is coming today. You really don’t want to fuck with me.”

  Ares could not believe this little slip of a woman was standing up to him. Her eyes were the color of emeralds and shone with unleashed anger, while her auburn hair was doing its best to escape the confines of the tie she had bound it in. He found himself enjoying the banter with her, even though he knew he was going to get slapped. The thought actually caused his cock to stir in his pants. He hadn’t felt a stir in a good long while.

  “Look here, Ginger,” he snarked back at her, “I’m going first. I’m in a hurry.”

  “I don’t care, Mary Ann,” she said back to him and jacked her thumb behind her. “Back of the line.”

  He couldn’t leave it alone. Just couldn’t. On some level, Ares knew he should be a gentleman and let this lady go first, but that would mean admitting defeat and that was not something the God of War did.

  “Did you just walk off the set of desperate housewives, or do you always rock the stay-at-home mom look?” he tossed back at her.

  As soon as the words left his mouth, her attitude changed. The anger in her eyes retreated and was replaced by something else. Pain. Almost immediately, tears began to form and she sniffed them back.

  “Fuck you,” she whispered.

  The woman left her basket and ran out of the store. Ares had won that argument, but for the first time in all his very long life, victory did not feel right. In fact, he felt a new emotion. Something he hadn’t felt before. It curled up in the pit of his stomach like a ball of lead and left a bad taste in his mouth.

  It was guilt.

  Chapter Three

  Emma burst through her apartment door and slammed it shut behind her.

  "Stupid, stupid fucker," she cursed the man at the store. "Why couldn’t he just get in the back of the line?"

  She marched straight for her bed and flopped her body down on it, smashing her face into the pillow just as the dam broke and the tears ran freely. Her heart broke all over again, and she wished that she had the will to change it. She wished that she had the will to live, or to die, but she just didn't. Every single day was spent in a state of suspended animation, never moving forward with her life. Going through the motions had become normal for her, as did crying. She knew that she needed to get on with her life, needed to get a grip and return to society, but for the life of her, she just couldn't gather the willpower to do it.

  The tears dried up after only a few minutes and Emma rolled to her back to stare at her ceiling. Had that man really done something so bad? Yes, cutting in line was rude, but did he really deserve the reaction she gave him? Probably not, she decided. Forgiveness was something she really needed to work on. Emma pushed herself off her bed and dried her face with the back of her hand. She decided right then that she would not hold a grudge against the rude man for what he said. He couldn’t have known how his words would hurt her. He couldn't have known that his actions would have upset her so badly. It wasn't his fault she was in a chronic funk.

  ***

  Ares paced outside the small apartment complex with the bags in his hands. Her bags. It was beyond him why he even felt the need to purchase that insufferable woman's items, much less why he had followed her home with them, or the fact that he was contemplating bringing those bags to her door.

  That wasn’t exactly true. He had been a dick, and if Hera had been there, she would have delivered a proper smack on the back of his head for his behavior. His mother was all about war and strategies, and she had let him have his way with his powers, but she had also taught him to respect women. He had been free to maim and kill, but never hurt a woman. Even though Ares hadn’t laid a hand on her, he knew that was precisely what he had done. It was obvious by the way her eyes changed and the tears formed. She was strong, though, that one. Ares had witnessed it for himself. Whatever it was that his words triggered was horrible, yet she pushed it down and kept her composure all the way back to her home. He was no imbecile. Immortal women weren’t that different from human women, and both species were stronger than their male counterparts. He had seen many men fight fearlessly in battle, move heavy objects, work tirelessly, and yet, he had seen the same in females. Not only were they blessed with physical strength, like the Amazonians, for example, but they were gifted with emotional strength as well. Ares had seen too many times the burdens that females carry, seen them fight pain that would have brought any man to his knees. And yet, even now, females were considered the weaker sex.

  He shook his head. When would the world catch up? In his experience, females made the fiercest warriors. Something inside him said that this fiery redhead was as fierce as they come, even if she didn’t know it.

  For reasons he could not understand, Ares walked into the building and studied the intercom system on the lowest level. He decided very quickly which belonged to his warrior. Two sixteen. There was no name to go with the apartment number and no way to know that it was the one he sought, and yet, Ares knew in his soul that was where he would find her.

  He pushed his legs up the narrow staircase and turned at the top. It didn’t take him long to spot the door he needed and to knock on it.

  There was no answer.

  He knocked again.

  “Go away,” her voice called from inside. It was a lovely sound, but it was laced with pain. Pain that he had caused.

  Ares shoved his newfound guilt back into his stomach where it belonged. “Please open the door,” he called through the slab of wood. “I have something of yours.”

  “I don’t care,” she answered back.

  “I wish to,” he started. What did he want? He wasn’t sure. He wanted to rid himself of that horrible feeling that had taken over his body. He wanted her to feel better. He wanted her in general. He wanted her much smaller body under his and writhing in pleasure. Wanted her screaming his name. Whoa, where had that come from? No, Ares just needed to apologize, soothe his soul, and go on his way. He had never apologized to another soul in his entire life and wasn’t even sure how to go about it. The fact that he even cared was a surprise to him. “I wish to apologize,” he finally said, bristling just at the word.

  He could hear the sounds of her moving about in her apartment. There was some banging and then he could hear her footsteps approaching the door. She yanked it open so fast that Ares almost didn’t see the heavy cast iron skillet coming for his head.

  “What the hell?” he barked as he jumped back out of the way.

  His warrior stepped out into the hallway and swung again. “You followed me?” she shrieked. “What kind of wacked out stalker are you? Get out of here!” She kept swinging that pan until finally, she connected with the ball of his shoulder.

  Ares had fought many a battle in his time, been injured more often than not, but he was not prepared for the sharp pain that exploded in his left side as the warrior woman hit her mark. Perhaps living on this plane and not having his full powers had made him weak. Yes, that must have been the explanation because he should have been angry with her, should have wanted to seek retaliation. But he did not. In fact, Ares found that he was quite proud of her.

  On her next swing, Ares shot his hand out and grabbed the handle of the heavy pan, stopping her assault. He pulled it from her hands and tossed it aside, making a loud clatter in the hallway. “I said, I wanted to apologize,” he repeated for her.

  Her eyes became round with fear before she covered it. Of course she would fear him. Everyone feared Ares, God of War. There were none who could stand to him. None who dared challenge him. That was just about the time he realized that he did not want this woman to fear him. The reasoning was anything but rational, and yet, there it was. He opened his mouth to tell her as much when she kicked him in the groin. Hard. Her foot had come up, introduced itself properly to his nuts, and sent them sailing right up into his throat.

  Ares doubled over as pain like
he had never felt before radiated through his entire body. It was like little electric currents skating over his skin while his intestines tied themselves up in knots. Sweat broke out all over his body and he contemplated the merits of vomiting. It was all he could do just to breathe. As he forced air in and out of his lungs, the warrior woman, who had earned the title in spades, grabbed her groceries and ran inside her apartment and slammed the door.

  “I’m calling the police!” she shouted from inside.

  Ares straightened his spine and raised a brow at the door. Yes, she was a warrior. She had stood up to him, despite her fear. She had defended herself and her home and had taken the spoils of war with her. The groceries were now in her possession. The corner of his mouth twitched and lifted into something that even resembled a smile as he limped away from her home.

  ***

  Emma’s chest heaved as she locked her door. What the hell was that man thinking? He had followed her to her home! He also brought her much needed coffee and supplies that she had left at the store. He said he wanted to apologize, but damn, it was just creepy! What did he think was going to happen? That she would invite him in and have coffee with him? Hell no. This was New York. Most people didn’t bother to open their doors at all.

  If it weren’t for the promise of coffee, she wouldn’t have. She had looked through the peephole and saw that he had bags with him. She didn’t know where the courage to assault him came from, but it was there. Oh no! She had assaulted him! She attacked this man, who was built like freight train, had the looks of a god, and had brought her coffee to her. But he was a dick at the store, she reminded herself, and he followed you. Hello, stalker! Damn. Was she going to have to move now? Should she really call the police?

  Yes, she decided, she should. Emma picked up the phone and dialed 911. It rang for a full minute before the operator picked up. It was a good thing she wasn’t bleeding to death or anything. Gotta love that New York response time. “Yeah, there is some freaking weirdo at my door. He followed me home,” she said into the receiver.

  Fifteen minutes later the man was gone and the police were at her door. Emma let them in and stuck her head out into the hallway to be certain the stalker was gone.

  “Ma’am can you describe what the man looked like?” One of the officers asked her.

  “Yes,” Emma told him. “He was tall. Taller than you are, maybe six foot six? And wide. His shoulders were probably twice as wide as anyone I have ever seen. He had sandy brown hair, curly, and eyes as dark as coal. There is a little line at the corner of his left eye, like a scar. There’s a scar that runs from his right temple to the underside of his jawline too. His nose is straight and his chin is squared. He has dark eyebrows. He was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans, and work boots. He was wearing a necklace on a black cord. It was the Omega symbol.”

  “Omega symbol,” the officer repeated.

  “Yeah, you know, looks like an upside down U?” she said with a roll of her eyes.

  The police officer raised a brow at her. “That’s a pretty good description,” he remarked.

  Emma could feel her cheeks getting hot. She wasn’t about to tell the cops that she would remember every detail about the way this particular man looked for the rest of her life. Not because he was scary as hell, which he was, but because he woke something up in her. Something that she thought she had lost long ago. Her passion. Not just for sex either. She was fairly certain that if they had met under better conditions and he just didn’t talk, she would be all up for a night of wild sex. But that wasn’t the part she was referring to. It was her passion for life. She felt alive.

  “I’m observant,” she finally answered the officer.

  “And you hit him with a pan?” the other officer asked.

  Emma nodded. “And kicked him in the balls.”

  The policeman pressed his lips together, obviously holding in a laugh. “I’m not sure why you called us. Looks like you took care of the problem.”

  “I don’t want him to come back,” she answered.

  “We’ll make a report and if he comes back, call us immediately,” they told her just before they left her apartment.

  Emma closed the door and locked it behind them. She hoped the man didn’t come back. Didn’t she?

  Chapter Four

  Athena gently closed the laptop she was working on and smiled. Humans had come so far in the centuries that she had been banished from this plane. It hadn’t taken her long to integrate herself within the highest of powers in this new Earth. Learning to use the computer had taken some time, but it was well worth the effort now that she had a comfortable position within the United States Department of Defense. Lord knew those humans needed her there. Their war strategies had previously been more in line with her brother’s thinking than her own. Now, they were one of the most fearsome world powers.

  Speaking of her brother, Athena decided it was time to check on the man. It had been years since she had seen him, from a distance of course. She pulled on her jacket and left her office. It was a short walk to the parking garage where her Humvee awaited her. It was a vehicle that was worthy of her power, or what was left of it anyway.

  The drive from Washington, D.C. to New York was faster than it should have been for anyone but her. Athena didn’t worry about speeding or getting a ticket. She was still able to influence humans to her will if the need arose.

  Finding Ares had also been a piece of cake. Athena could feel him. She wondered if he could sense her as well, but if he could, he never made any notion of it. She found him in a grocery store, doing what he did best. Being an ass. There was something different about him, she noticed. Something she couldn’t quite put her finger on. She watched from a safe distance as he paid for a woman’s groceries and followed her home. Athena had never seen her brother do that before. He had never made any attempt to smooth over a conflict he had caused. This was interesting, to say the least.

  Athena watched as the woman stood up to him. An effect of his powers, she was sure. Just being in Ares’ presence made humans want to fight. But when he left with a confused, yet happy look on his face, it all fell together for the war goddess.

  The human woman was the key to unlocking Ares’ curse.

  Oh hell no, that wasn’t happening. Athena tried to be fair and just, but to allow her brother to reign free on Earth with all his powers before she figured out how to break her own curse? No. Athena narrowed her eyes and pressed her lips together as the hatred for her sibling rose to the surface. Planning was what she was good at, and a plan was what she needed. Ares would not be free. Not now, not ever.

  ***

  Ares looked out over the water from the Statue of Liberty’s torch. The night sky was clear and a blanket of stars twinkled in the darkness. The water below had become black in the dark, but it was no matter. Ares could see each and every ripple clearly. This was his favorite place to clear his head and it really needed clearing. The woman was still on his mind. She was such a warrior, and yet, she had no idea. Ares didn’t even know her name. The image of her porcelain skin against the red of her hair flashed through his mind. Those eyes. Piercing, yet kind. But even he, a war-scarred brute, could see that she held an enormous burden within her.

  It surprised Ares that he wanted to know what it was. He wanted to know her secrets. He wanted her underneath him, writing in passion and crying out his name. He wanted her, in general. He wanted to spar with her and teach her to fight like the Amazonian women did. Oh, to go to the Amazon again. It had been far too long since he partook in the women there. A sigh escaped his lips as he thought again of his warrior.

  “You’re getting soft in your old age,” a deep, familiar voice said from behind him. Ares spun to see the face of his nemesis, Poseidon.

  “What do you want?” Ares barked at him, already reaching for his sword that was not there. He had no reason to carry his weapons in this new world. “And how the hell are you out of the water?”

  Poseidon had b
een cursed, the same as the others, only his curse condemned him to live under the waves. Which he was not, currently.

  A smile spread across the Sea God’s face. “Let’s just say I finally broke my curse,” he answered.

  “So you’ve come to flaunt it in my face?” Ares snarled. “To show how you have bested me in some fashion?”

  “No, I came to talk.”

  “I don’t want to talk to you,” Ares shot back at him.

  “Seems to me that you have fallen off your lofty perch and are having a hard time finding your way,” Poseidon told him, leaning back against the wall and crossing his massive arms over his chest. “This is a whole new ball game, here on Earth. Either adapt or die.”

  Ares growled and fisted his hands in front of him. What the fuck was he even talking about? Of course this new world was different. Ares had adapted, hadn’t he?

  Poseidon shook his head. “Calm, brother. I hold no grudge against you.”

  Ares raised a skeptical brow. Surely the Sea God was lying. After all, Ares had slept with his woman many eons ago. Poseidon vowed to kill Ares then, so what was different now?

  “Is that a fact?” he finally asked, taking a step back and spreading his feet in preparation of the fight that was sure to come. Ares felt his heart pick up a notch and the adrenaline was already coursing through his veins. The feeling was invigorating, soothing, like coming home. He hadn’t had a good fight in far too long.

  Poseidon held one hand up. “That is true. I have learned to forgive and I have forgiven you.”

  “Forgiveness? An Olympian that has embraced forgiveness? Have you lost your mind?” Ares couldn’t believe the words he was hearing. Forgiveness equaled weakness. Olympians were many things, but weak was not one of them. “Maybe you have been around humans too long,” he said with disdain.