"Do you miss me, Milena? Step out so I can see you. We were made for each other, you know, or rather you were made for me, for us... Do you feel my calling? Your skin is thirsting for my warmth, my touch; your eyes are missing my gaze, my light. Admit it finally. Come to me!"

And it was indeed that Mila's skin was ablaze under the covers and there was an undeniable urge in her to step outside into the sunlight. There were also flashes of strange memories that were disturbing and unsettling her.

"It was not me that was made for you, it was Selene! Leave me alone!"

"Yes, but she is inside you and you are her, and by that you are mine."

"I don't belong to anybody but myself, and I will never be with you! Get over it!" she screamed out loud.

"Never!"

"You delusional idiot, not even Selene wanted to be with you. Why do you think she left? Because you were suffocating her. Love is the only damn thing that cannot be forced."

Mila woke up screaming. Again. It wasn't quite sleep though, it was that strange kind of half-slumber you sometimes have when you are still aware of things, but since that day, that was the only sleep she got. And even then she couldn't stop hearing all kinds of voices in her head all over, Selene, Helios, even the embryo was something she could listen to and sense somehow even if it was only a bud of a consciousness.

To a certain point, she even wished to hear Kiril just for it to be something familiar and not so frightening.

When on earth did Kiril become the less frightening option?

That dreadful day after Dasha left, there was Helios again invading her mind and calling for her, and to say she was afraid of him was an understatement.

The begging of her relationship with Erik had been, let's say rocky, with the kidnapping and all but they got to like each other in the end, so much it came with consequences. The point was, werewolf mate bonds were on the passionate side but whatever Helios thought he was feeling for her or Selene, Mila wasn't even certain who, was clear, creepy obsession.

After Selene's power seeped into her body she had flown to heaven, or space, out of instinct. She had opened the interdimensional gate and found herself in the realm of gods. She didn't know how she did that and at this point, she couldn't do it on a whim.

But she had not been quite herself then and begining with that moment she was never again only herself. Selene was always there in the corner of her mind, watching her, judging her, hating her but still watching out she stayed alive because their lives were intertwined now.

So Selene also guided her to appease the unruly matter of the universe so that it wouldn't collapse. It was just that Mila was not a born god, she was made, she was different and everything she was doing, even quieting the plea of the cosmos was hard and heavy on her. It felt like chaffing her very soul and she felt weak. She was weak. She was like a twig trying to hold open a much too heavy door.

And in that realm of gods, even the air to breathe was burning and heavy and she was dizzy all the time. Time itself was strange; she didn't know how it worked and how fast it passed. She had the feeling of having been there days only when on earth it turned out to have been months.

And her encounter with Helios was nothing she could ever forget.

There in the realm of gods that was only energy and swirling matter, there was he suddenly, materialized into a man, in something she knew, not only aura anymore, a man of frightening perfection. He was of course beautiful, but that beauty that unsettles, similar to the one of wolf people but much intenser so that it became overbearing and almost painful to watch.

Please stop smiling, it frightens me.

"What is your name, creature?" he asked, Mila was not sure in what language; it didn't sound like any she knew and still she understood everything.

"Milena," she whispered.

"You are here to spend eternity with me, Milena."

"No, I am not. I want to return to Earth I just don't know how."

"That was not a question."

And that made Mila shudder.

"I and the moon goddess are ... Complementary. We cannot be without the other so now I cannot be without you and you without me," he said and moved abruptly grabbing her shoulders and pressing a kiss on her lips. That kiss took her breath away and not in the metaphorical sense. Mila's body was suddenly crossed by an intense bolt of energy, so strong she felt he heart was about to burst with the strength of the beats, so strong Selene's consciousness awoke like struck by lightning and took control of her body making chaos and darkness surge from her palms and push Helios away.

"My love..."

"You are killing the host," said Selene.

"And what happens if I do?" he asked maliciously.

"I am gone. Forever. In the underworld where not even you can reach me. So suit yourself."

He wasn't expecting the answer somehow but it took him only brief seconds to compose himself. In the end, it forced him to reconsider. The human girl could be interesting after all. Nothing humans possessed was a match to a god though.

"Wake up, Milena," he said smirking again and Selene's consciousness was pushed into the dark. "I want to talk to you."

That wasn't good, that wasn't good at all and Mila was well aware.

"Please send me back to Earth. You can keep her power and do with it as you please. I just want to go home."

"That would be a marvelous idea, were it not impossible. We were conceived to never be able to do that, to absorb each other's power or to kill each other. That's why Selene needed Lucius. Interesting right? I thought you are an insipid human but you are in fact far more interesting than I thought. Come closer," he said stretching out his hand.

"No."

"I will not hurt you. I will damper my power so I don't. Come!" he said more imperatively.

"No. I don't want to. You frighten me. Send me back to Earth."

"Come!" he said again and his voice was like thunder and Mila's body just moved on its own and sat down on his lap. She just looked at him, unable to look away, at the golden hair and bronze eyes, the ironically sunkissed skin. He was not wearing any clothes at all, just his shining, godly skin over an unearthly, mesmerizing body. His finger moved over the marking on her arm and he smirked.

"A marking. And not any marking but that of a wannabe god killer."

His hand descended to the other mark on her abdomen. She couldn't move away, it was similar to what Kiril could do to one's mind just that it was more subtle; she felt she didn't want to anymore, that her willpower was disappearing slowly.

"And another one, and something far more interesting. You are carrying a child, a child with titan blood and something more, something rather rare. I have changed my mind. You are precious, Milena."

"I don't care what you think. Let me go," she said but the tone was monotonous and placid.

"What do you want to do on earth, that you are so eager to get there?"

"I want to find Erik," she said truthfully. It was as if there were no filters in her mind anymore.

"And who is Erik?"

"My love."

"Ah, the father of your child? Though your child..." Helios couldn't help to smirk.

"Yes."

"Are you sure you love him?"

"Yes. Our relationship is complicated and needs some work but I think I do."

"You think? Ah, you are so sweet. Kiss me," he said and this time Mila complied without questioning. She wanted to.

"Deeper. Is it only Erik that you love right now?"

"Hmm. I don't think I love Kiril, but I got to like him.here is something about him that is magnetic between us, even if he frightens me sometimes, just like you. I guess it's the mate bond but usually, only they feel it but with him, I seem to feel something too. It's odd."

Helios smiled again and Mila fell silent.

"I wasn't talking about Kiril, I was talking about me. You should love me, Milena. But let's start with you loving me too. You have a big heart, don't you? So big there is room in it for more than one creature. And in the end, it will be all mine."

"Yes. Ah... I don't know what your name is."

"Helios, but call me beloved."

"Yes, beloved Helios," answered Mila understanding less and less what was going on.

Helios kissed her again and she opened her mouth voluntarily for him, that time without understanding why or how.

What am I doing?

"Take this garment off, Milena."

She should say no. She wanted to say no. Or did she? She didn't know.

"Yes, beloved," she answered and complied, unzipping the red dress Kiril had bought her, the one he had chosen so Erik could see the mark, so he would remember. Kiril. She had to get back to them. But somehow the thought disappeared just as easily as it came and she remembered Helios kissing her again and touching her skin and she enjoyed it and slowly everything seeped into darkness and she didn't remember anything anymore just darkness and how she woke up naked, confused and still very tired.

That wasn't good, that wasn't good at all. She likely had had sex with him. Out of her own will and she didn't remember anything anymore. Out of her own will. How?

Fuck? How in God's name?! I have to get away from here.

He wasn't there anymore. That was her chance so she just slipped into the dress again without bothering with underwear and screamed for Selene in her mind.

Selene, we have to get away from here! Selene!? You brought me up here, now get me down. I will slowly disappear here and so will you. Selene!

"You are unfortunately right. We have to go. Try to think of where you want to be on earth."

Mila did just that until she felt a hand on her forearm and Helios materializing in front of her.

"Where are you going, Milena?"

"Back. Let go!"

"No. You stay."

"Yes, beloved."

But her gaze fell on the arm he was grabbing and on the marking in dark blue ink. Kiril. She had to get back to earth and find Erik, she had to get away from there.

"Let me go!" she screamed and pulled her arm away. With that gesture, she felt Selene budding again in the back of her mind and for once it wasn't bad.

Take us away from here!

"Never!" screamed Helios back and grabbed her shoulders with the same intensity as the first time and she felt how the destructive energy entered her body and how he heart was again about to burst.

I will die and he will not notice. I cannot!

She had a child above everything and she had to get back to Erik. Black matter suddenly exploded from her body and swapped Helios away. He screamed excruciatingly. That matter was burning him.

How? She heard Selene in her head and understood it had not been her and got to know a new type of fear.

Hurry up, take us away from here!

For the first time, Selene complied and she felt her body dissolving.

"You need to think about an anchor on Earth something I can hold on to, to not lose my way in the universe."

"Erik!" answered Mila in return.

"Erik is too far away gone. Something real and present. Now, silly girl!"

"Aaah, Dasha! bring me to Dasha, wherever Dasha is"

And Selene did quite so.

Mila didn't feel Helios when she was on earth and she was tremendously happy about it, though she knew he would find her if she stepped into the sun. Even without a plan, she knew for sure she didn't want to be found by him. But that dreadful night he appeared into her dream and even a fraction of his compulsion did. Why was he suddenly that strong? Her gaze fell on the date on her phone. It was June twenty-first, the longest day of the year and seemingly a really bad day for her because a few minutes after that realization unknown men entered the room.

All of them were dressed like monks in long black robes. There was no possibility that could mean anything good.

"Ahem... gentlemen? Who are you? What do you want? Where is Michael? And where are the girls that patrolled in front of my door?"

She was afraid and she felt the fetus getting agitated too. That wasn't bad, her child was a mini-nuke that would most likely be able to take their breath away for a few seconds so she could run.

"Don't get too close or you will die!" she said trying to seem menacing. Then she felt a sting in her arm and in her thigh.

"Oh shit are these... tranquilizers for animals? They surely look like such..." And they made her sleep just like those.

____________________________________

Ok so it was forseeable this will happen in the end, right?

And we got a glimpse of all the gods now. What are your thoughts on Helios?  I was thinking these days that I kept the Greek names because lazy :D.

And finally a chapert from Mila's pov. 😂. Now back to Kiril.