“It’s all right, baby. We will get through this. Now, why don’t I go with Hephaestus and see what’s happening back in Alaska? Or would you rather I stay here, and we wait for an update?”
She shook her head. “No, no, you should definitely go. There’s no use being stuck here like me. Besides, if the pack needs help—”
“I’ll be on it, of course. Whatever they need.” He gathered her in his arms and kissed her forehead. “It’ll be all right, baby.”
Arms wound around his torso. “I know it will.” Releasing him, she glanced up. “Hephaestus is waiting. You should go.”
“All right.” Leaning down, he kissed her on the mouth. “I’ll be back.”
She smiled. “I know you will.”
*****
Apollo had barely finished materializing back home when Geri pounced on him.
“Well?” Her nails dug into his biceps like talons. “Tell me what happened!”
Gently, he pried her hands off him. “It’s all over, Geri. Arcane will pay for what they did.”
His mate’s face crumpled in relief. “Oh, thank fuck! I hope those assholes get what they deserve.”
“They will.”
“And Cade? Is he okay?”
“Yeah, he’s great. I was all ready to heal him, but Artemis beat me to it. He was only in a healing coma for one night, apparently.”
Geri breathed out a sigh of relief. “I was worried he’d be under for a few weeks. But, tell me about Arcane. Are the authorities getting involved?”
“Yes. Not initially, but now they have no choice.”
“No choice?”
“Yeah.” Apollo grinned, then told her about how Hephaestus had gathered all the evidence of Arcane’s shady dealings and outright crimes as they sought to expand their business and increase their stock value. “And then Hephaestus released it to the public. It’s all over the news now, and Arcane won’t be able to hide.”
Geri’s jaw dropped. “That’s actually genius! The authorities have to investigate them now.”
“Exactly.”
“We should thank Hephaestus.”
“And Artemis,” he added. “It was her idea to release the data.”
“Ah, yes, of course, she did get the brains,” Geri said with a cheeky laugh.
“Hey now!” Apollo pretended to be offended, but truth be told, he was relieved. If it were in his power, he would absolutely make sure Geri never ever felt anything but happiness for the rest of their immortal lives. “Feel better now?” He didn’t haveto ask, of course—he could feel the sense of relief from his mate through their bond.
She sank back down on the couch. “Yes, so much better.”
He sat down next to her and put an arm around her. “I’m glad. Now, there’s something else.”
“Something else?” Alarm rang through their bond. “Is anyone else hurt? Did they—”
“No, no, baby, nothing about that.” Getting to his feet, he pulled her up. “While I was away, I did some thinking. About what you said.”
“What I said?”
“Yeah, about being bored and having nothing to do. And well…it’s partly my fault, as I didn’t even think about what you’d be doing for an entire year up here. Like, for me, a year really goes by in a flash, so I hadn’t thought about how much time that is for you.”
