Sam exhaled. "I'm going alone."Sam was on his way to 10th avenue.Maks glanced at Artemis. "We can't let him go alone."Artemis scoffed begrudgingly. "Duh.""I think it's best we reach a compromise.""Done." They shook hands.Sam climbed into a car and started the engines. "Sam!" Maks called flying towards him. "You're done fighting?""We've reached a compromise." Artemis said. Natalie Irons and Helen Lightfoot arrived."So, you need us renegades to go after a politician we so desperately fight against?" Natalie asked drily."I love that plan. It's so in over it head that it works." Helen said laughing.She approached Artemis and Nat stopped her. "What's in it for us?"Artemis looked flustered. She had stabbed Helen by accident."Nat."Helen scratched her head. "The past is all behind us, right?""We're not risking our lives for any of you.""I'll pay you." Artemis said."You really think you can bribe me off with money?" Nat said. "I like it."Helen walked over to Maks. "You coul

She had pushed her father away and he crashed in a car and died in the same institute her mother died. A hospital. A place where she aspired to work in."Meg..."She pushed out the door making her way through campus. She took a deep breath and exhaled.The cat she rescued, Nora paid her a visit. She lowered a plate of food."Maks, are you coming over for a study session?"Maks held up the phone. "Actually I'm not really in a good place to bury my head in the books.""Oh yes, your superhero cultivating, monster hunting shenanigans. We have tests and those professors are taking no prisoners."Maks clenched his teeth, finally he succumbed. "I'll be right over."She faced her laptop and Nora made herself comfortable on her laptop meowing."I know you're looking for TLC right now but I really have to study."Nora protested.Maks walked in to see that books had already been scattered around the study table."Dude." He knelt to lift Nora."Oh you couldn't ask your teleporting girlfriend to l

Maks's eyes rounding. Although he tried to look as calm as possible. He took a deep breath, then nodded in agreement. “Yeah, Sam, I totally get where you’re coming from. Meg’s been difficult lately. I’ve tried to give her the benefit of the doubt, but it’s getting to be too much.”Sam looked flustered this time only with embarrassment. "I really used to have a crush on her but...I can't stand her anymore.""I just can't anymore. I'm sick of feeling bad about her problems, she just sucks me into her toxic world and the air is not breathable. In fact it's the opposite of oxygen."He went home for the weekend. His mom Doreen spotted him."Oh Maks.""Mom." He hugged her, eyes shut.Doreen was heady with relief and concern. He made himself at home.His eyes lowered. "How's life treating you?""It will get better." She said."It already is." He told her. "I think it's best if we hold on to this moment."Doreen's eyes crinkled. "What's wrong?""Nothing." His body turned to lead and it wasn't

Maks walked down the stairs, his boots heavy on the wood. The quiet of the house was suffocating, practically screaming that something was wrong. When he stepped into the living room, the tension was thick enough to choke on. Doreen was seated on the sofa, her fingers twisted tightly in her lap. Next to her sat Ares. Despite the mortal gray in his hair and the sunglasses hiding his eyes, the former god looked as youthful and imposing as ever. His brow furrowed into a sharp, judgmental line the second Maks appeared. Harley was seated on the opposite chair, her golden hair slightly messy as she nervously stroked a long strand of it. Maks’s eyes immediately locked onto hers, but the moment their gazes met, she flinched and looked away. Standing behind her was Eric, his face pale. After spending years confined to an enchanted cell, missing her entire childhood, he had finally gotten his daughter back only to watch her face real-world prison time. "Maks," Doreen whispered, her voice tr

He gripped the edge of the table, his knuckles turning white as panic finally mingled with his pride. "If I go up there and claim a girl totally manipulated me and ran circles around my legal team, the press will destroy me. My father will completely disown me from the rest of the estate. This will just dig me in deeper. I’m not admitting she outsmarted me!" The lawyer stared at Dominic, completely recognizing that their client’s terminal vanity was going to be their downfall. "If you won't claim she targeted you, Dominic... then we have zero defense left against the assault charge. You are walking into a felony conviction." Dominic didn't answer. He just stared across the room, his chest heaving under his worn designer shirt. At the defense table, Harley quietly caught Dominic staring. She didn't look away. Instead, she offered him a tiny, almost imperceptible tilt of her head—a cold, knowing look that confirmed she knew exactly what his ego would choose. Beside her, Maks adjusted