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•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

In Greek mythology,

She was the youngest daughter of Cadmus and Harmonia,

And the mother of Dionysus

Her mate being Zeus.

She's Semele.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

I shifted on the red velvet sofa. "Can you give me a phone now?"

Aaron laughed under his breath and reached for his pocket. "Sorry. I forgot the other part of our deal."

He pulled out an iPhone and handed it to me. I took it, dialing Pedro's number. After three tries, it went to voice mail. Please be okay.

Blaze's friends are out on revenge and the sooner I get to Pedro, the better. I dialed Zion's number but he wasn't picking either. Something feels very wrong.

"Can't reach your friends?" Aaron interlaced his hands between his knees and smiled. I narrowed my eyes at him. Something was definitely wrong.

I tossed his phone and he caught it. "So you're the god of some kind of emotion? Like Liam?" He half shrugged, pocketing his red iPhone. "Liam is a god right?" I persisted.

He bit his lip and leaned against the sofa. "God-ish."

What's that supposed to mean?

He didn't seem to go any further so I tried another approach. "So harpies eat humans?"

Aaron observed his nails and smiled. "Nah. She's like that because of Liam. Always trying to find the human that tastes better for him. Too bad she doesn't know the tastes are not in the flesh but the emotions. We can feed and control humans with a significant amount of it."

The last sentence made me tense. If he could feed on me then that means...

Aaron reached for his other pocket and pulled out a knife. "Nah." He muttered to himself, tossing it on the glass table before him. He searched his pocket again and pulled out a nail filer. "Bingo!"

He started sharpening his nails and I stared uncertainly at him. "What about the weird gas that seems to be everywhere?"

He brought his nails close to his face, inspecting his manicure. "Only aids our abilities. A lot of things happen at the club. The gas helps keep the order by giving us control at a wider range."

Right then the door clicked open and I half expected it to be Liam but instead, it was a short man.

A dwarf.

He strode in, primed with a dark office suit and tiny feet covered in polished leather shoes. He paused beside us. "Sir."

Aaron looked up and smiled. "Torrent! My man."

The little man hugged a clipboard to his chest. "It's Trent, Sir."

He sounds like a butler.

"Whatever." Aaron shrugged. "What brings you here?"

The dwarf looked perfectly calm, but when I looked closer, I could tell he was shaking. He's afraid.

Aaron flashed a smile and the dwarf straightened his clipboard like he was sucking up the courage. "Two young adults have been caught in a brawl on the second floor..."

He rumbled on.

I turned to Aaron. He was busy sharpening his nails with acute concentration and for a second, I wondered if he was listening. He kept saying 'ahuh' every now and then. After a few seconds, he looked up. "Pause for a sec would'ya?"

"Sure Sir."

"Can you move over here so I can see you better?" Aaron pointed at one of the white tiles before him. Trent timidly moved and begun speaking. He was cut off once again by Aaron. "Shift a bit to the left. Yeah, that's good. A little to the right. Perfect!"

The little man began speaking when Aaron pulled out his phone and begun tapping his screen. The dwarf noticed his movement and panicked. "No sir, wait!"

Immediately the ground dropped from under Trent's feet, hurling him down into a hidden room below. His scream echoed, then a thud, followed by the sound of his clipboard hitting a cement ground. My jaw dropped as I watched the missing tile shifted back into place. Like it was never there.

"So where were we?" Aaron turned to me with a smile. Like he hadn't just thrown someone down a pit hole.

I stuttered. What did he just do!?

Aaron threw his hands in a careless gesture. "Please. This isn't his first time. He knew what was coming. All conflicts should be resolved by my bouncers, not me."

I bit my lip. "So you have booby traps in this place."

He gave a soft laugh. "I wouldn't say 'booby traps'. But certainly, this place isn't just a building for clubbing."

Somehow I had a feeling he was saying something important. I nodded. If this isn't Trent's first time then, he survived. Right?

I faced him. "You said something about controlling people you can feed on, and the gas helps you do it at a wide range?"

Aaron nodded absentmindedly while focusing on his nails. I remembered Zion and how he left suddenly without a comment. I had to ask...

"Where you the one controlling my friend?"

Aaron looked up at me. His eyes were steady and observant like he was trying to figure where I was heading with this.

"Yes." He said carefully. "I told you I needed to speak to you. To do that, I needed him out of the way."

It means Zion had an emotion Aaron could use to control.

"So what do you want to talk about?"

Aaron arched an eyebrow and smiled. He fully faced me, placing a hand behind the sofa. He spoke in a low soft voice. "I saw you guys walk into the club. And honestly, Liam never brings a girl through the front door, let alone a whole group of friends. It was interesting, so I watched as all five of you roamed aimlessly around. And then I saw something."

His heterochromatic eyes bore into mine and somehow I couldn't look away. I remembered Liam calling him tricky, but at this moment, he was trying to figure something out.

"It got me thinking." He continued and glanced at the ceiling before his eyes met mine with a smirk. "One thing you should know; this place is more of a fate sealer in order words, a match-making institution. Hence the name Star-crossed inc.

"People destined to be mates come here to seal their love forever, heightening a small attraction to undying love. The gas helps accomplish this. The scent also creates an euphoric feeling for the couples. Making it hard to resist each other and people love it. It was made by Liam if I might add."

I processed what he just said. So this place seals couples destined to be together...forever.

"You speak like you own this place."

"That's because I do. Well, Liam and I that is."

My head snapped towards him. "You and Liam own the whole star-crossed inc!"

He shrugged and my jaw dropped. I always thought there were in the VIP section or something. It explains the free smoothie and clothes. Liam's words finally made sense.

I'm more of a face they can't forget.

He was the fucking co-owner! No wonder why the lady at the boutique gave a light bow and the bouncers let us in without so much as an ID card. Liam was effing rich! But why act like he was just an average guy?

If I had that money I would certainly flaunt it. But If he owns the place, why come all the way to ask for a place to train?

Probably because he wanted to know if Aaron, his partner, was cool with it. Aaron grabbed my chin and Leaned close. A tingling sensation shot out from his bare fingertips and I was suddenly ensnared.

Transfixed.

The only thing I could do was stare and listen. His rose scent invaded my nostrils and his face was drained with all sense of humor as he watched me with something else. "Liam brought you here to heighten an attraction you might have."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "What?"

"He wants you to fall in love." His eyes were probing, figuring out what's so special about me.

Fall in love?

"Don't speak of things you have no clue about."

He smiled like he knew a silent joke. "Oh but I do. It's my domain after all."

My mind whirled at his statement, trying to find out what he meant. I sucked in a breath when I realized. "You mean..."

"That's right Poppy, I'm the god of love."

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