h4Chapter 229: Reversed Heat(ii)/h4

    strongDamon POV/strong

    Just as I was wing back control—fighting the burn inside me, the way my body still throbbed with the ghost of her skin beneath mine—the doors creaked open.

    I didn’t lift my head. Not at first.

    But the shift in the air told me everything.

    Power.

    Old. Feminine. Arcane.

    Witch.

    iFuck./i

    I gritted my teeth, growled low under my breath.

    I thought those damn hags had left.

    But no.

    I heard the soft shuffle of robes, the pattering of feet, and then—

    "iMaster. Master./i"

    Three voices.

    In perfect unison.

    The three witches circled me like vultures drawn to a dying god. Their bodies knelt in wless synchrony, heads bowed low like disciples at an altar.

    "iI can sense him,/i" the one in the front whispered, her voice reverent, nearly trembling with awe. "iHe is close. Very close./i"

    Her words wrapped around me like smoke.

    iHe./i

    They meant iHades./i

    The dark force inside me—the god still coiled in my chest like a beast in a cage, licking its lips for release.

    "Arise, my sister," the second one said, her voiceced with dark promise. "Let us ease our master’s torment."

    And then—they rose.

    As one.

    In a smooth, deliberate motion.

    And their hoods fell back.

    And ifuck/i.

    They weren’t the shriveled hags I thought they were.

    They weren’t old. Not even close.

    Beneath those cloaks were bodies carved by seduction and shaped in temptation. Curves in all the right ces, skin like polished marble glinting under the dim lighting. One had deep crimson hair cascading down to her waist, eyes the color of molten gold. Another was pale as moonlight, her lips a violet shade that looked sinful on her full mouth. The third—tattooed, wild, eyes ck as void, and a smile that promised sin or salvation, depending on how you begged.

    And they were looking at me like I was the main course they’d waited centuries to devour.

    "Your energy is unstable, my lord," the crimson-haired one purred, stepping closer.

    "You’re fractured," the moonlight-skinned one added, gliding toward me with slow, measured steps. "Pulled tight by hunger, by power, by your mate."

    My jaw clenched. "This isn’t your business."

    "Oh, but it is," the tattooed one said silkily, circling behind me. "We were born for this. To serve you. To help you rise. To bring you back to your full self."

    They moved in unison. Fluid. Like snakes. Like shadows. I felt them before they even touched me—iheat/i, power, their magic like invisible fingertips brushing across my skin.

    "You are suffering, my king," one whispered, now behind me.

    "You are resisting the bond," another said.

    "You are dying your awakening," the third finished.

    They moved closer still.

    I stood to full height, fists clenched, body still humming with the aftershock of lust and rage and something idivine/i. My eyes flicked between them, trying to remember that I was in control.

    But the pull...

    The raw ineed/i surging in my blood, the haze of arousal and dominance—it was back. Stronger. Amplified by the scent of magic and sex in the air.

    "You will burn yourself out," one murmured, gently cing a hand on my chest. "Let us cool the fire, or feed it."

    Another stepped up, her hand skimming down my bare arm. "Let us ease the ache, soothe the fracture. Serve you, as is our oath."

    I hissed between my teeth, trying to hold still. iThis was dangerous./i

    They weren’t trying to seduce me.

    They were trying to iawaken him/i.

    To drag Hades up through my skin, crack me open like a vessel and make way for the god that had waited long enough.

    "Elena—" I growled low, more to myself than them. "She’s mine."

    "Yes," the tattooed one agreed, tracing a rune over her chest. "And we will never challenge her ce."

    "But she isn’t ready to bear you," the redhead added softly. "Not yet."

    "You need bnce before you take her. You need release, power, and full control."

    Their hands were light but everywhere—pressing into pressure points, ancient ces on my body that throbbed with fire at their touch. iWitchcraft. Fucking old magic./i They knew how to stoke the god in me, to call him forward like a prayer.

    I staggered back a step, my breathing ragged.

    I should’ve sent them away.

    I should’ve ripped the floor out from under them with a snarl and amand.

    But gods help me—I was ibreaking/i.

    Torn between the temptation of power, and the girl whose skin was still imprinted on my fingers.

    "My lord..." one whispered, pressing close enough that her lips grazed my jaw. "Let us iserve you/i."

    Their voices rang like a chant.

    Their hands moved like spells.

    And Hades?

    He was iughing./i

    Inside me.

    Dark and triumphant.

    Because he knew.

    They weren’t just here to help me awaken.

    They were here to make damn sure that iI wouldn’t stop it./i

    strong*******/strong

    I should have known better.

    But whatever control I thought I had... shattered.

    The witches were everywhere—skin bare, power humming through every seductive touch. My body was betraying me, heat pouring through my veins like liquid sin. It wasn’t just lust—it was magic. Thick, ancient, consuming.

    One had already peeled away thest barrier between her and my skin, her cloak discarded on the ground like a second skin. Another dropped to her knees, eyes burning with reverence and something darker, more carnal. The third kissed a path up my chest, her lips searing hot against my skin.

    My pants were being unfastened. My head fell back.

    iFuck./i

    I felt a hand slide inside.

    A whisper of a touch that pulled a groan from deep in my chest.

    Another mouth found my jaw, lips tracing the stubble there, trailing lower.

    And then—

    The room cracked.

    Like lightning.

    iBOOM./i

    The door didn’t open—it exploded off its hinges, crashing against the wall with a thunderous bang that shook the floor.

    A snarl split the air.

    Low. Guttural. Deadly.

    I didn’t need to look.

    I iknew/i.

    Elena.