ZEUS

CHAPTER 38

Zeus stood there fuming. He did not move to come near me and I didn't move to go near him. 

"Explain." He demanded with a low growl. 

"Zeus, I had no choice."

He scoffs, "No choice my ass. You chose not to tell me. That's a choice, Lily."

I looked down at my the ground, "Look, I'm sorry you're hurt, but I had to do this."

"I wasn't hurt...I'm not hurt," He said, "I was worried out of my fucking mind. I was scared because I thought I lost you. I thought he took you from me."

I could see the bags underneath his eyes. His face showed the turmoil he had been through.

"I'm sorry, Zeus," I apologised, "I truly am."

"No you're not." He growls. He sighs harshly, "You're stupid if you think that you had to do this. You didn't. And even if you did, I could've done it with you. Do you realise what could've happened if Nikolai caught you? Do you realise what he would've done?"

I stayed silent, but my nerves spiked as I saw Zeus take slowly steps forward like a predator, "He would've taken you as his own. Touched you. Make you his. Force a pregnancy. And you would be nothing to him, but a piece of meat he plays with."

I gulped as a sick and uncomfortable, disturbing feeling rested on my shoulders, "Stop," I growled, "You don't have to be so vulgar about it."

He laughs without humor, "It's the raw reality of what we are in, Lily! He would do all of that knowing it would torture me, kill me inside." He stops right in front of me. He grips my chin a little more firm than I was expecting to make sure I didn't, or more like couldn't look away, and then he growls, "Last night I pledged myself to you. I promised to earn your trust in me...but maybe you're the one who needs to earn my trust now."

"Zeus," I said in a breathless whimper, "I wanted to tell you. I didn't want to do this alone. You have no idea of the burden that I have to carry."

He frowns, "What're you talking about?"

"The Moon Goddess, she came to me in a dream, she told me to find the flower."

Zeus stood in a silence for only a moment, processing the information, "Esme's flower." He stated. 

I nodded my head, "I was afraid that telling you would disturb the course of fate that the Moon Goddess has set out. I couldn't tell you even if I wanted to."

"Why has the goddess chosen you?"

"She said only I could find it and that it would somehow help us with this war."

Zeus yells in frustration and turns around. He grips his hair, "I don't care about the Moon Goddess, she has done nothing for me. She has more power than one could ever imagine and yet look at the mess we are in. We cannot reply on her."

I took a step forward, "She is not the only god, Zeus, she needs to keep the harmony throughout the cosmos or else there would be chaos in the heavens."

"Chaos?" He said with a laugh, "They will not know of havoc and chaos until they see me in this war."

I frowned, "Zeus, don't turn into-"

"What?" He growled, "A Hellhound? We are not getting into that right now."

Zeus marches toward me and said,  "How long has this been going on for, Lily?" Zeus says in a calm voice, but even though it was calm...it scared me. 

"A couple of weeks, possibly more." I said reluctantly. 

His shoulders tensed, "Weeks?" He turns around his face still cemented into a scowl, "Weeks?" He repeated.