Emma let her legs dangle off the dock while Guy, her nickname for Votan, climbed to the edge of the thick branch. She loved how he was seventy thousand years old but still loved to play. He also loved his cars. The faster, the more expensive, the better.
She felt a little pinch on her ankle. “Ow.” She pulled her leg from the water and itched the spot. Dang mosquitos.
When she looked back up at the tree, Guy was gone.
“Guy?” She stood up and peered into the dark water. “Guy!” But there was no sign of him anywhere. She ran inside and got a flashlight, but she already knew. She could feel it in her gut and deep in her soul. The connection, their mate’s bond, was gone.
Ohmygod…What just happened?
Roberto was so excited to finally meet his five new offspring. He cared not if they were tiny bloodsucking demons or, worse, if they ended up being nice ordinary people. After everything he and Cimil had gone through—apocalypses, her going to merman jail, him not believing she was pregnant, and the plague—the only thing that mattered now was that they were together. Here in their Hollywood hills home.
With a cup of ice chips in hand, he sifted back to their bedroom. He had no clue why or how he’d suddenly been able to use his gift of teleportation again, but it had certainly come in handy.
“Honey, I brought you some…” He looked around the all-hot-pink room, but Cimil was nowhere to be found. “Cimil! Cimil!” Five newborn redheaded baby girls lay on the bed, blinking up at him.
Dear gods. His wife was gone, but the children in her belly had been left behind.
Fina felt like her skin was on fire. The heat had started from the top of her head and worked its way down to the tips of her toes. Whatever was happening, she couldn’t move.
“Fina!” Brutus hovered over her, his blue eyes shimmering with relief. “Thank the gods you’re all right.”
Suddenly, whatever had a hold of her let go. She heaved out a breath. “What happened?” She felt like she’d had the wind knocked out of her.
Brutus helped her sit up. All around them, others were lying on the ground, too, and waking up.
“I do not know,” he said. “You were possessed one second, fighting in the circle, and then there was an explosion.”
He brushed his large hand through her hair. “How do you feel?”
“Good. I guess. A little weak though.” Her muscles felt softer and heavier. “But I think there’s something wrong with my vision. Your eyes look powder blue.” He normally had striking turquoise eyes, the telltale sign of the light of the gods coursing through his veins.
Brutus frowned and looked around at the few hundred people waking up. Several were groaning and rubbing their heads.
“I’m human again!” one of the vampires called out.
What the what? Fina looked up at Brutus. “What’s going on?”
“I do not know, my love, but you are not the only one who feels strange.” He helped her to her feet.
A small meow off in the distance rang out.
She and Brutus exchanged glances. “Señor Gato! Niccolo!” Brutus moved toward the sound, stepping over sleeping people.
A man with clean tanned skin, long black dreads, wearing a suede thong, had the two animals snuggled to his chest.
“There you are,” Brutus said.
Fina crouched down to pick the kitten up, noting the human teeth in the man’s hair. “Is that a Maaskab?”
“Was a Maaskab.” Brutus picked up his dog. “He looks normal now.”
“What is going on?” Fina asked just as Señor Gato scratched her arm. “Ouch!” Blood trickled out of the tiny gash. Normally she wouldn’t react to a minor wound. “Brutus, I think we’ve all turned human. And look, everyone is calm and doesn’t have that angry constipated expression.”
Brutus raised a dark brow. “Then the plague is truly over, just as Cimil said, but I think it took all of our supernatural energy with it.” He scratched the back of his head. “Because I feel mortal now, too.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Brutus wanted nothing more than to take Fina to his place, bend her over his kitchen counter, and pound his cock into her. Yes, he was romantic like that. And the wait to be with her felt like torture.
Unfortunately, something big had happened, and no one knew why or what to do. Was it the result of Minky and Mittens’s exploding fireball of love? Was it the Universe’s way of putting an end to a plague that was never meant to be, as he suspected?
Brutus didn’t know, but reports from all over the world had started coming in to the base’s command center: The vampires, demigods, and were-creatures were now human. Any full-blooded supernatural beings were simply gone. Poof! No more incubi. Poof! No more sex fairies.
“I have some disturbing news.” Andrus, once a demigod, entered the command center stadium room, where every abled body, including Fina’s sisters, was helping assess the situation by taking calls and gathering information. The chief, Gabrán, was in his office at the end of the hall, trying to contact the various Uchben bases and determine who might still be alive.
Andrus groaned and ran his hand through his dark hair. “Dammit. Would you look at this?” He held out his hand. Two black hairs were stuck to his finger. “I’m already going bald. Being mortal sucks. And did you know my half-incubus wife is now completely human?”
Brutus could think of worse things, to be honest. “I’m sure she’s still the same lovely woman you fell for.”
“Yeah, but she’s not nearly as horny. She just told me she was too tired for sex in the janitor closet. Can you believe that?”
Brutus didn’t have time for this. “Andrus,” he growled, “what is your news?”
“Ah. Okay, so I was able to get a hold of most of the gods’ mates—who are all on their way here to help, by the way—but they all said the exact same thing: The gods are missing. They disappeared about the same time Minky exploded.”
Brutus couldn’t believe this. “The gods are missing?” But how? But why?
“And so is anything supernatural, Brutus. Everyone who was once human is now human again. Even Roberto, Cimil’s husband, says he’s back to his old pharaoh self, and his kids are well-behaved.”
Dear gods. This really was strange. But what could they do? There was no game plan, contingencies or history of such events to guide them.
Brutus felt an odd sensation wash over him. His eyes were closing, and his stomach hurt like hell. He pushed his hand to his abs.
“I know, right?” Andrus said. “I can’t make it stop either. I’m so hungry.”
Brutus couldn’t believe it, but he had to make the call. “Everyone! May I have your attention, please?”
The room of literal people stopped their activities and listened.
He continued, “It’s been a very long and trying night, but I think everyone needs to call it a day. There are plenty of beds in the barracks. If you are hungry, there are sandwiches down in the food court.” Thanks to some of Fina’s people who’d volunteered to make coffee and snacks. “We will reconvene at eight a.m. No. Wait. Make that eleven. I think we could all use the extra sleep.” Andrus was right! Being mortal sucked. He felt so…normal and human and tired.