Gambling with Time: Orion's Daughter book 3, page 1
Gambling with Time
ORION’S DAUGHTER
A.J. MORAN
Copyright © 2023 by A.J. Moran
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Created with Vellum
For all the woman killing it being a strong bad ass woman, it’s okay to let love in. Xoxo
Content Warnings
Kidnapping, male/male relationships, pregnancy, violence, death, smut, lots and lots of smut.
Contents
1. Samantha
2. Bellamy
3. Samantha
4. Raiden
5. Alastor
6. Samantha
7. Lex
8. Samantha
9. Bellamy
10. Raiden
11. Samantha
12. Lex
13. Samantha
14. Raiden
15. Samantha
16. Bellamy
17. Lex
18. Raiden
19. Samantha
20. Lex
21. Samantha
22. Alastor
23. Samantha
24. Alastor
25. Raiden
26. Samantha
27. Alastor
28. Samantha
29. Bellamy
30. Samantha
31. Alastor
32. Samantha
33. Lex
34. Alastor
35. Samantha
36. Alastor
37. Samatha
38. Bellamy
39. Samantha
40. Alastor
41. Samantha
42. Samantha
43. Samantha
44. Alastor
45. Samantha
46. Raiden
47. Samantha
48. Bellamy
49. Samantha
Epilogue
Afterword
Acknowledgments
Also by A.J. Moran
CHAPTER 1
Samantha
My wrist was raw from tugging on the chain attached to it. If I could break my thumb or dislocate it like I'd seen done in the movies to get out, I would have already. The supe that locked me up here hadn't returned. Alastor. I rolled the name around in my head. It felt familiar. But for the life of me, I couldn't remember from where. It didn't matter. He'd be dead once I got my hands on him.
He ruined my plan with that demon. I was so close to learning the truth, I could feel it. But it wasn't only him that did this to me. My gaze fell to my bindings. Ty. He'd betrayed me. And even that felt familiar. All of this was déjà vu, yet not.
My attention snapped up to the door as I heard the click of the locks releasing, one by one. I stood, my dagger at the ready. I might not get away, but I could fight, even if it was one-handed. As the thick door pushed in to reveal Alastor and his pet, I growled and lunged for him, coming up short.
There was a sadness in the depths of his eyes that didn't make sense, and he held a tray of all of my favorite foods. The animal trotted over to me, even with calls from his master to stop. I backed up three steps as it approached, wary of what it might do. One of its heads licked my chained wrist and whined up at me. While another nudged my leg as if trying to get attention. The last stared up at me, waiting for something.
"Samantha, they want your attention." Souls surrounded Alastor in a tight circle as he stepped closer. I eyed the floor, waiting for him to get to the point I could reach. Not that I could lunge at him again with the large three-head dog sitting at my feet. He seemed to know that too and leaned forward to place the food on a side table I could reach. "You should eat."
"How do I know you didn't poison it?"
"I've discovered recently that I'm similar to my father, so I'm sure poison wouldn't be the route I would take if I were to feed you something that you didn't like."
I took in the food, and he hadn't missed a single item that I loved. I narrowed my eyes when I brought them back to him. "What is that supposed to mean?"
He tugged his fingers through his hair and sighed. "My father is Hades."
I choked on the literal air, coughing hard. "You're a God? That would make this a hellhound." I ran my hand over the head begging for attention, and its tongue lolled out the side of its mouth.
"That is Cer. He loves you too."
"Too?"
He nodded. My gaze dropped to the floor at his feet. He was still within range. If I could keep him talking, maybe I could get close.
A swallow worked his throat. "You have many people that love you, Samantha. You might not believe me right now, but I'm saving you from the Leyak and whatever he has planned. Then we need to save the others."
There was truth to his words again, and it agitated me. I wasn't sure why, but I felt like I should be doing something and I wasn't. It was right at the edge of my memory.
"How do I know you aren't working with the demon? You are both from Tartus. Wouldn't that make sense?"
"The only demon I would work with is Bellamy." Honesty again.
"The False Prince?" I stepped closer, and he backed up immediately.
He pressed his lips together and lifted his gaze from Cer to me. "He isn't a false prince. Is that what the demon is making you believe? Is that his plan? He wants to take over the Horde before he lets Osiris storm the Underworld?"
"I'm not sure who Osiris is, but the rest sounds like what he was trying to convince me of before you showed up and ruined it."
He tilted his head, studying me like I was saying words he didn't understand. "Ruined what?"
I threw up my hands, the chain rattling loudly in the room. "I needed to find out how deep the plan went before I took out the threat. But you somehow convinced my brother to help you kidnap me." I held up my chained wrist as proof.
"I made a promise to the girl I love that I would save you all. And I am going to follow through on that promise."
A pang went through me at the mention of some other girl. It was strange as if I wanted to be whoever he was talking about. He had said he loved me, hadn't he? No. He just said many people loved me. Disappointment settled in my stomach, and I took a step back. It was irrational.
He reached out a hand, as if he could stop me from retreating. "Are you okay? You look unwell."
I pressed my palm to my stomach. I felt sick. But it made little sense. None of this did. Sinking to the bed, I wrapped my chained arm around my waist while my fingers still gripped my dagger with the other hand. Not that I felt like stabbing him now.
"Samantha?"
He was worried. I knew it from how he said my name. But how? When I didn't answer, he closed the distance and dropped to his knees in front of me.
"What is it? Did the gem breaking make you ill?" His fingers glided over my legs and up my arms, checking for injury. I watched him up close. Didn't he know he was in danger being this close to the pointy end of my dagger?
"What gem?"
He reached for something in his back pocket, coming back with a key, and my heart lept into my throat. Then he worked the lock on my binding.
"Fuck," he swore. His fingers ghosted over the damage I'd done trying to get away. "I'm so sorry. I'll get a healing salve. Just stay here. Okay? You don't have a way back to the mortal world without me, and you are safer in this room."
Flowers bloomed in a pot next to the window, and I glanced over at them. Something about that tugged at a lost memory. Did I know this God? Had we been friends before my memory was messed with? Was that why I couldn't remember some things? I thought it was a spell that had failed, but what if it hadn't failed and I had forgotten people?
"What gem?" I gripped his fingers between mine, holding him in place, demanding an answer to the question.
"The red ruby, it was broken by the Leyak. It changed things. People." He swallowed. The sadness was back. I set my dagger next to me and brushed a strand of his dark hair from his forehead. I just wanted to ease it. His eyes dropped shut, and he leaned into my touch as if he were starved for it. My stomach did a strange little flip, and I ran my fingers down the side of his face, over his stubble that felt a little like sandpaper, before dropping my hand. "But I'll fix it, I promise."
I blinked back tears that wanted to fall. I felt sort of trapped inside my head, like there was something just out of my reach, something important.
"Now, stay here."
CHAPTER 2
Bellamy
The Leyak was angry.
That was probably an understatement if the way he was tearing the pawn shop apart was a sign. I leaned against the wall, watching him lose his shit. All over the demon hunter. She was interesting, and I couldn't stop thinking about her icy blue eyes and white hair. Or the way her lips parted when she looked at me. She made me feel like she wanted me, not because of my power, but because she was attracted to me. Of course, my magic slipped its reins and tried to reach for her.
Was she off-limits? Of course. But what demon followed those rules? I could give her pleasure the future king could never give her. Even if I was a false prince.
"I'll find her for you?" I suggested.
The mage glanced at me before dismissing my offer. He looked at the dragon shifter. "You, I want you to track her. Then I want you t o bring her back."
The prick just nodded his head. I should have known he would send his brute after her. He was all muscle and no brain. I glanced over at the Demi-god; he'd been silent, mostly. And his walls were sky high when it came to reading his mind. In fact, most of the demons in this room were unreadable. That was disappointing.
All of this was actually quite boring. I released an exaggerated sigh and slumped back against the wall again. My brother would make this interesting, if he wasn't playing house with Juliana. The memory of him seemed to tug something loose inside me. I could see his girl and her men in a room with the demon hunter, dragon shifter, and Demi-god. I shook my head and narrowed my gaze at the mage.
It was possible he'd done something to my memories. To all of our memories, but there was someone missing. Alastor. My once best friend and secret crush. I had to find him. Maybe he could tell me what was happening, why I had memories that didn't make sense.
"I need to go hunt," I said. Kicking off the wall, I stepped forward. "I'm getting weak."
The mage nodded absently, and I took it to mean whatever, so I slipped out of the building and strode down the street. I just needed a mirror and I could travel to Tartus. A vague feeling of knowing the area poked at me, and I turned down the next street. My feet carried me to a place I was sure had mirrors because it was in my fractured memory. A club, Fantasia. There was a room with almost all mirrors, the one my brother had met us in.
I picked up my speed and was practically running by the time the neon sign came into sight. A large troll stood in front of the door and stepped out of the way with a grunted, “Good evening, Prince".
My tail flicked the ground behind me as my brow furrowed. Did I know him?
"Do you know me?" I turned on him as I passed.
The look of surprise on his face to my question was strange. "Yes." He said it slowly, like it was a trick question. "Lex said you are free to come and go."
"Lex the Demi-god?"
"And the owner of this place. Are you okay tonight, Prince? Did something happen to my boss?"
This was another piece of the puzzle. A confirmation that my memories were altered. All of them were. If the dragon and the Demi-god were still with the mage, then their memories were too.
"I'm going to find out," I murmured, finally answering him, and entered the familiar club. Knowing exactly where the keys were kept for the VIP rooms, I circled the bar and snagged one. The vampire that was bartending nodded at me like I belonged and went about his business.
In seconds, I was in the room and in front of the swirling mirror. Without hesitation, I stepped through into a place I used to know well, Alastor's tower room. A startled gasp filled my ears moments before I was pressed into the now solid mirror at my back, a dagger at my throat.
"What are you doing here?" the demon hunter hissed, and it disorientated me.
What was I doing here? I shook my head as I met her fierce glare. It was familiar, and my body did not react the way I expected. What was she doing here? Why would she be in Alastor's rooms? Did she know what happened to our memories?
When I didn't respond, she pressed the dagger harder into my skin. "You should answer me."
"I came to see Alastor," I admitted. "What are you doing here? The mage is looking everywhere for you."
"The mage." Her lip curled in disgust. "He altered my memories."
If he was here right now, I imagined he would face the pointy end of her knife instead of me. "That is why I came to see Alastor."
She dropped her hand but didn't step back, which really just had her pinning me to the mirror with her body instead. We were barely separated, and each breath we took was felt by the other. My scent filled the space involuntarily as my cock twitched in my pants. Then she was kissing me, her weapon clanging to the ground before her hands threaded into my hair at the base of my neck.
And I was weak, because I gave in, kissing her back. Flashes of what felt like memories shot through me, of her in my arms, of being inside her memories and knowing her as well as I knew myself. I groaned and deepened our kiss, letting the barrier I always held in place drop between us. Brushing against her mind with mine, she gasped, and I caught the sound with my lips. Then I trailed hot, open-mouthed kisses along her jaw to her throat. She arched her neck for me, and I nuzzled against her familiar scent.
Mine, everything in me whispered. And it felt like she had heard me because she pressed fully against me with a whimper.
The urge to sink my teeth into her skin rode me hard, but I resisted. However, I wasn't strong enough not to touch her. My hands ghosted over her curves before settling on her ass and pulling her closer. My head swam at the sensations.
Vaguely, the sound of the door opening snagged my attention, but not enough for me to stop this madness. It was Cer's nose on my hand that snapped me back into myself. I lifted my head to see Alastor leaning against the closed door behind him, his arms crossed, watching us. A slight smile tugged at his lips, and he pushed off of the door as soon as he had my attention. Spirits flowed around him, and I watched him warily. He hadn't had the ability to control spirits the last time I saw him.
"Bellamy," he greeted. "I see you two can't resist each other even without your memories intact."
"What do you know about it?"
Sam stepped back, putting much-needed distance between us as she dropped to the bed. Although, joining her there sounded like a great option. Alastor crossed the room and knelt in front of her, taking her wrist in his hand. She was hurt. Who hurt her?
"The mage, he changed what you remember and what you don't. But it seems it didn't erase me completely. What do you remember of me?"
"You're a prick. But I need help and you have answers."
He nodded absently and spread a slave onto her wound. "I see."
"Who hurt her?"
"She did it herself, trying to get free. Our girl is determined and strong-willed. So it shouldn't be a surprise that she would practically gnaw off her own hand to be free."
"I didn't try to do that," she replied.
He chuckled. "But you would have, eventually."
She shrugged like he was right.
Familiar. Everything felt familiar or as if I was finally losing my mind.
"Do you know how to fix what is wrong with me?" I asked.
He shook his head and glanced over at me. "Not yet."
"I think I have some fragments of memories. I can remember five of us in the club, and my brother was there. And I feel connected to you and her and even that Demi-god and the dragon. Did I?”
"Claim us?" His tongue swiped over his lower lip, wetting it, and I tracked the movement. "Yes. It is a pity you don't remember forcing yourself on me."
His smile made me question if he was joking or not. I had wanted him when I was younger. I remembered that. "I don't force myself on anyone. I have no need."
"No, you're right, it was more of a cat-and-mouse game we played."
"Wait," Samantha said, interrupting our back and forth. "You need to back up a few steps. Our girl? And claimed us? What were we to each other?"
Her cheeks were pink and flushed, her lips still appeared well-kissed. And those combined made me want to finish what we started. Instead, I looked to Alastor for his answer, because I wanted to know too.
He released an exaggerated sigh. "Beautiful girl," he brushed her hair from her face, "we are all in love with you, and most of us are free with each other too. Bellamy marks people with his bite. At least he can if he has potent feelings for them. It is a link of sorts that he said can track any of us. Does it still feel the same?"
