Nate's POV:

"Wow," I muttered once I stepped outside of the cab with my cheesecake in hand. The sky was filled with a pure white light as the moon peaked out from the sun. Both of them easily took up half the sky together as if they were just outside the realm of where ever we were. "The moon and the sun shine here?"

Peyton glanced over to see what I was asking about. "Not normally. That just means that the moon and sun gods are here."

"Awesome," I whispered gazing up hypnotically at the sight. Peyton grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the huge rectangular building in front of us. What had she called this place? The Hall of the Gods or something?

She dragged me until we had reached the gigantic front doors; they easily toward over me and her combined. Peyton turned sharply to me and took a deep breath.

"Stick with me or you will get lost." I nodded mechanically and watched as she pulled opened the double doors in one fluid motion making it look as if they were made of Styrofoam. She hurried inside and I followed along making sure to keep close.

The place was beautifully crafted. It was easily the size of a small town and with a population to match. Classical music drifted in and out from the noise of the conversation in the room. I tried spotting any sort of familiar face but it was next to impossible with so many people present. From the corner of my eye, I could spot Peyton handing off her jacket to a servent and scanning the crowd along with me.

"This is so amazing," I commented.

"Come on," she commanded simply dashing in through the crowd. I desperately made an attempt to keep up with her. Every person in here was dressed in white and was simply a sea of strangers to me.

Peyton led me over to the refreshment table where she grabbed some things for herself. She offered me a glass of wine and offered it me but I dismissed it to gaze out at the crowd. Geez there were so many people! How could such a chaotic event seem so calm and organized? Who knew this many people to invite anyway? Could there possibly be this many gods in Olympus?

"Set the cheesecake over on the table somewhere."

Glancing down at my creation, I did as I was told and hurriedly set down the cake in the first clear space I could among a tray of veggies and some pigs in a blanket.

"When do I meet people?" I asked hopefully.

Peyton moved off to the side with a glass in each hand and I quickly followed after her while still glancing about. There was no way that all these people could fit into this place. Sure it was huge but there was easily ten times the amount of people that should safely fit inside of here.

"No one in here looks older than 35," I observed after she ignored my first question.

She gave me a long nod. "They're all immortal."

Peyton finished off one of the glasses in her hand then set it down to the ground. She seemed so casual with it all as if this was a usual thing. Surely she wasn't one of those boring party goers? It didn't seem to be her type. And with a face as pretty as hers, people should've flocked over as soon as she stepped foot in the room. Yet, here we both were: alone.

I grew a bit restless at the thought. "I want to meet people not stand here."

She seemed amused by my actions. "Just wait," she assured simply.

About two minutes later, a tall man pushed his way through the crowd and came over to Peyton full of smiles.

Without even a hello, he bitterly pointed in my direction and said, "Who's this?"

Well, he seemed peachy.

"Relax. This is Nate. Eros invited him," Peyton explained shortly. "Nate, this is The God of the East Wind, Eurus."

"Nice to meet you," I greeted holding out my hand. He shook it stiffly obviously uninterested in me. He glared me down before returning his attention to Peyton.

"You're beautiful," he complimented earning a 'thank you' from Peyton. I scoffed and turned away from the whole ordeal. How childish of him to just flirt in front of another guy? He might as well have been claiming his territory… not that it bothered me. He had every right to want Peyton. I had other women in my life that would soon surpass Peyton in importance. I was sure of it.

Suddenly, our party of three was joined by another all of whom looked just as large as our first intruder. They were all clearly related as they began roughhousing one another.

Peyton took care of the introductions again.

"This is Boreas, Notus, and Zephyrus: the Gods of the North, South, and West Wind."

I gave them all stiff handshakes and they turned back toward their brother. After a few words were exchanged, they asked if they could pull this Eurus guy away. I nodded enthusiastically while Peyton only waved them away without care.

"I'll find you again, dear Peyton," Eurus assured before being pulled away. I rolled my eyes at his word. Someone was full of himself.

Once they were safely mingled into the crowd once again, I said, "They were cool but I was hoping to meet someone a little more…"

"Famous?" Peyton guessed after I had drifted off. I nodded sheepishly. Did that make me shallow? It seemed to be the same idea that if a normal person was a movie premiere and all the stars where just inches away but the extras were the ones that they could meet.

"Wait," Peyton requested.

After another three minutes, Peyton's grandfather found her and reintroduced himself to me. A beautiful redhead was following closely behind him and my eyes widened as she smiled. She introduced herself as Psyche and shook my head enthusiastically. She was genuinely pleased to meet me as if I were the celebrity.

"Wow," I gushed gazing at her unbelievably. "I see where Peyton gets her red hair."

Psyche nodded and began playing with a loose piece of her hair. "The real resemblance is in her mother. Speaking of which Peyton, have you seen her yet?"

Peyton shoulders slouched suddenly as she shook her head. I raised my eyebrows in mild concern. "We just arrived a few minutes ago."

"I have your next date ready Peyton but we will discuss it later," Cupid, er, well Eros said out of nowhere. Peyton gave him an incredulous look. I, too, was confused at the suddenly topic change, but Eros quickly excused himself and mentioned something about refreshments.

Peyton turned toward me after they had left. "How was that?"

"Cool but I was still hoping for better," I said with a shrug.

Peyton understood my point and then inspected the room. The green specks in her hazel eyes really lit up once she widened her eyes.

"Stay here," she said suddenly before disappearing into the sea of white. I frowned at the suggested but slumped against the wall and accepted what she had said.

I wondered to myself why I even listened to her in the first place. I was my own man and completely capable of handling myself. With my moment of motivation, I decided to try and follow after Peyton. Blending into the crowd was easy enough but once I turned back around to see where I had come from, I couldn't see it through the mess of people.

Panicking, I desperately turned around and tried to find my way back. Forcing myself away from the strong hold of the crowd, I found my way back and was surprised that in the few seconds that I had been gone, so was Peyton's empty wine glass.

Sighing, I slumped against the wall and stuffed my hands into my pockets. I would just have to wait…

Although it wasn't long until some blonde woman sauntered over and slumped along the wall next to me.

"Well, hello Handsome," she greeted with a playful smile. "Who are you here with?"

"Peyton," I supplied unsure of her title.

The girl, much to my surprise knew who I was talking about.

"Figures," she said. "A man like you would never come here alone. You know, Peyton is my great niece. We're so close that we're practically sisters."

Somehow, I found that unlikely considering this blonde haired curvy woman didn't resemble Peyton in the slightest. Yet, even with her obvious lie of their closeness, I found her alluring. She certainly had my attention.

"Perhaps you've heard of me," she suggested with a smirk. "My name is-"

She was cut short by the sound of someone clearing their throat. Both of us glanced over only to find Peyton glaring at the two of us. I hadn't expected her to come to soon and I bashfully looked away. This must have seemed to be something more than it was… not that I cared what Peyton thought.

"This girl says she is related to you," I defended quickly.

Peyton shot the girl a glare but she only rolled her eyes before stepping away from me.

"Mother," the girl next to me said suddenly.

My eyes snapped up in interest as a woman appeared behind Peyton. Her hair fell in golden ringlets and it framed a perfect heartshaped face that had the most attractive smile that lit up ocean blue eyes. My attraction to her was obvious the moment I laid eyes on her.

"Daughter," the woman replied to the girl who was slowly shrinking away from the situation. Then she turned her eyes over in my direction and gave me a dazzlingly smile. I practically fell myself sliding down on the wall. I was melting at the sight of her. Who knew a woman could be so beautiful?

"Nate," Peyton called suddenly snapping me out of the trace momentarily. "This is my-"

The woman gave a warning look over to Peyton as she cleared her throat.

"-family member," Peyton settled on. "The Goddess of Love and Beauty herself. Aphrodite, this is Nathaniel or Nate."

"Aphrodite," I whispered in astonishment gazing back toward her. She smiled approvingly making a warm feeling spread through my body. She took a few steps and approached me slowly as if to allow for more time to gaze at her.

"Tell me Nathaniel," Aphrodite began slowly. As she neared, it became increasingly harder to breathe. "How many other women have you seen as beautiful as me?"

Peyton kicked back the last of her wine glass and turned away from me. Turning back toward the goddess in front of me, I commanded my brain to think.

"Uh…" I muttered incoherently. What did you say to someone who was so breathtakingly beautiful? "No one. Even your paintings don't do you justice."

Peyton seemed to approve of that answer. I mentally high-five myself for coming up with an answer at all.

The goddess's eyes even seemed shocked by my compliment. It must have been one she hadn't heard before or one she wasn't expecting.

She turned to Peyton and asked, "Has he met your grandmother?"

"Yes," she answered in a bored tone while staring into her empty glass.

"I like you," Aphrodite announced suddenly while drawing closer to me. She drew her finger lazily along my shoulder making me feel suddenly uncomfortable.

"Grandma!" Peyton called out coming to my rescue. Aphrodite groaned and moved to share a sharp glance with her great-granddaughter. "Your husband and lover are both here."

This had never even occurred to me. Oh the trouble I would be in if the God of War saw what was going on over here. My head would be ripped from my body without a moment's notice.

My to my surprise, the goddess simply said, "He can be another one."

I swallowed hard completely unsure of what to do.

"No," Peyton insisted turning a few heads our way. I was so thankful she had spoken up. A few more minutes stuck in this position and I would've gone crazy.

Aphrodite glanced back my way and stroked my cheek softly. "Oh I see," she said. "You want him for yourself."

Peyton laughed harshly partially offending me when she said, "No."

"Hm," Aphrodite said looking back my way lovingly. She shook her head disapprovingly. "Such a pretty face, at least it's being put to use."

My expression shared my confusion at her words but Peyton spoke up before I could ask Aphrodite to clarify.

"I heard someone say that Athena was looking especially beautiful tonight."

The goddess's face almost visibly reddened before she declared, "Well, I will just pay her a visit."

She gave a light wave before gliding away into the crowd in a very determined manner. Peyton came over and joined me against the wall after setting down her now empty wine glass.

"How was that for famous?" she asked with neither of us looking at the other.

There was nothing to say other than, "Whoa."

Peyton nodded, as I saw from the corner of my eye, and mumbled something under her breath.

"Do you remember when I asked you why you were abnormally pretty?" I brought up suddenly finally glancing over at her. She nodded once again. "I suddenly understand."

"I'm sure you do. I'm going to get another drink. You can either come with or stay but you are going to have to watch out for the leeches that find you."

Well, it didn't seem like a hard decision but I was still stunned from the previous encounter. My brain was overwhelmed with everything that had just happened. Moving didn't seem appealing, but staying wasn't an option either.

"Let's go," I suggested letting her led the way. She quickly took off to head for the refreshment table nearby. She grabbed another glass of wine and I stood nearby but glanced back out at the crowd. I tried to spot Aphrodite again to see if her appearance could affect me from here. It was nearly impossible with all thousands or possibly tens of thousands of people in that room.

Defeated, I turned back around to the table and grabbed a small paper plate and began gathering a few finger foods.

"Nate," Peyton's voiced called out. "Come over here."

I grabbed a few cookies and then did as I was told only to find a very tall man standing in front of Peyton. He seemed very fatherly and was easily the oldest person in this room, appearance wise.

I began to snack on the items on my plate starting with the cookie.

"Nate, this is Zeus. Zeus, this is Nathaniel," Peyton introduced suddenly. The cookie in my mouth suddenly went down the wrong tube and I patted my chest to get myself under control. Peyton helped by patting my back and she was suppressing a giggle.

Finally, after the chunk in my throat went down, I took a couple of deep breaths in attempt to find something or anything to say. Luckily, this extremely important man humbly covered the awkwardness.

"Well, my boy, is Peyton a handful for ya?"

Well, that question hadn't been one I was expecting. I shook my head in reply but the big guy only nudged my knowingly.

"I bet she's a wildcat in bed."

Peyton pinched the bridge of her nose and turned away from the situation with a slight pink coming to her cheeks. I smirked at her expression.

"We aren't dating," Peyton corrected the situation. "Eros invited him."

"Good guy, that Eros," Zeus continued trying to change the subject.

"Yes. We're going to go find him now," Peyton announced pushing me away. We waved to Zeus and I quickly tossed out my plate of food. The choking hazard really threw my appetite off. Peyton sighed in annoyance and I grimaced at her expression. This was all my fault.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?" Peyton asked surprised. "I should be sorry for having everyone think you're dating me."

That was the least of my worries. I shrugged in reply and looked back over to where we had left Zeus. "He's…cool."

"Normally, when he doesn't comment on my sex skills, I would agree with you. I don't know how much more embarrassment I can take before I crack."

I placed a gently hand on Peyton's shoulder in attempt to be comforting when a girl clumsily approached the both of us. She looked eerily familiar with ruby red hair and soft brown eyes.

She called out Peyton's name and attacked her with a hug before claiming she missed her so much. This girl had to be family.

"Mother," Peyton greeted her, answering my unasked question.

"Don't call me that," the girl slurred and laughed at something she must have thought was funny. "You call me V and I will call you P because they rhyme!"

"You're drunk," Peyton pointed out.

"You're not drunk," her mother shot back as she took a step away from her daughter and tried to stand. I moved to stand next to Peyton and look at this mysterious girl. Was this really the person responsible for Peyton? She looked like she was still a teenager.

"How old are you?" The words came out of my mind before I could stop them.

Suddenly, the girl swerved over to my voice. She seemed pleased to see me and practically fell onto me. She placed one of her arms around my shoulders to keep herself steady.

"Oh, who's this?"

"Her outer appearance is 21," Peyton whispered looking extremely uncomfortable.

"I'm Nate," I introduced holding out a hand. She glanced at it wearily and I dropped it quickly.

"Hedone, but sometimes I like to go by Voluptas. It's Roman and cooler sounding but whatever's easier to say. I'm the Goddess of Sensual Pleasures."

I nodded in understand.

Peyton groaned before asking, "Mom, why have you been drinking?"

"Because I just turned 21," she said before pausing and laughing hysterically. Without even a word of goodbye, she left us for the refreshment table. I watched her go with a confused expression.

"Wow she-"

"Don't even start."

I dropped the subject as Hedone came back with a glass of red wine and a bubbly expression. She seemed even more wobbly than before.

She pushed passed Peyton and slumped against me once again. After taking a sip from her glass, she asked, "So Nate, what are you doing with my darling little Peyton here?"

"Nothing," I replied simply.

"Great!" She squealed happily "That means I can have you then."

I looked to Peyton for an explanation as to what she was talking about. Before she could do anything though, Hedone wrapped her free arm around my neck and pulled me down into a sloppy and wet kiss. I raised my hands in surrender in surprise and squeezed my eyes shut in distaste. I could taste the alcohol from this woman's lips and it was extremely unappealing. As I pulled back, the girl's grip only grew stronger and I felt completely helpless.

Suddenly, she was pulled away from me and I graciously wiped my mouth hoping to get rid of the awful taste. Peyton had been the one who had pulled this woman away and unfortunately got caught in the crossfire of Hedone's drink. Hedone had essentially thrown her red wine onto Peyton's white dress.

"Oopsies," Hedone mumbled with a shrug. She tossed down the empty glass and wandered off in search in more alcohol. This woman was intolerable. She was completely awful to her own daughter. Peyton didn't deserve a mother like that at all.

Peyton glanced down at the mess and everything just seemed to slowly set in. All the embarrassment of her night had led up to this one moment. I watched her face break down as one tear slid down her cheek, and then another and another. She covered her face in shame and began to run out of the room. I reached out to stop and grab her so I could just hold her close while she cried. She needed someone, and no one was around.

I followed after without a moment to spare and found her openly crying outside and slumped against the wall.

"Peyton," I called softly as I joined her on the ground. She immediately turned away from me while shaking her head. She covered her face in shame once again.

"No," I began unable to deal with her dismissing my help. I stood and moved to her other side so she was force to look at me.

God, I was a terrible person. Everything as completely my fault. If I hadn't of come tonight, then none of this would've happened. Peyton's life was fine until I came along and ruined it by making out with her mother. It wasn't even an enjoyable experience.

"I'm super sorry," I began. Peyton only faced forward and kept her face in her hands.

Faintly, she mumbled, "I know."

"I really am!" I replied defensively. I was no good for Peyton. She would be so much better off once she was rid of me. "I have no idea what happened in there."

She wiped away her tears and collected herself. "It's not your fault. It's hers."

That wasn't any way for her to think. That was her mother for goodness sake! Even though it wasn't quite a great relationship. Peyton didn't deserve to hate her mother. She could hate me, after all, I wouldn't be around her all that long for her to me hate forever.

"It takes two to tango," I found myself arguing.

"Are you saying that I should be mad at you?"

"No," I found myself replying. "But you shouldn't be mad at her. She's your mother."

"She's a slut," Peyton spat.

God, her mother didn't seem like the best person but surely she couldn't be that bad.

"I'm sure you don't mean that."

"I was an accident! She hooked up with my dad and I don't know why he was the lucky guy, but he got her pregnant. She didn't want me. She wants to be young and party and have sex. She shipped me off to my grandparents the first chance she got. I've barely seen here. When I turned 21, she wanted to go out and party with me! Can you believe that? She's never been the mom I've wanted to take me shopping or tuck me in at night." Peyton paused suddenly and began frantically wiping her eyes. "You wonder why I don't talk about my mother. It's because I'm embarrassed by her. She thinks life is a party and when I came along, she thought I was going to be her party partner. She thought that we would be BFF's and go out drinking and whoring around."

This didn't seem the least bit fair. How did a girl so wonderful end up with a mother so terrible? The world didn't make sense to me.

I stood suddenly as Peyton tried to regain control of her emotions. She was vulnerable and unsure of how to handle losing it in front of someone. Offering my hand down to her, she reluctantly took it after a moment.

Pulling her up from the ground, I pulled her to my chest and wrapped my arms around her. She seemed surprised at first but slowly melted into the embrace. There was a warmth from between us that surely spread throughout my body. Though, I wasn't sure if she felt it or if it was even significant. Her slender arms snaked around my waste and her warm tears stained my shirt. There was a warmth from between us that surely spread throughout my body. Though, I wasn't sure if she felt it or if it was even significant.

Peyton's arms squeezed me tighter as she took a few deep breaths. I rested my cheek on her head breathing in the fresh scent of her shampoo. She needed this break and I was willing to stand there with her all night until she felt better.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered into her hair.

Her crying picked up again with the reminder of the situation and my grip only tightened. After a few more moments, her grip finally loosened and I pulled back to inspect her face. Everything was still in place. Everything was still perfect.

She vigorously wiped away any trace of her weakness which only irritated her skin. I pulled her hand away.

"You're more beautiful than any girl in that room right now," I assured in all seriousness.

Peyton met my eyes and we both paused. Our faces were only inches apart. Her lips were right there. I eyed them cautiously before averting my eyes.

Peyton coughed and pulled away.

"I want to go," she announced suddenly.

I untangled myself from her. "Want me to go and get your jacket?"

Peyton nodded stiffly and I left her alone to go and get her jacket from the servants inside the Hall of the Gods. Glancing back over my shoulder before going inside, I spied Peyton hugging herself. For some reason, I was deeply upset that it still wasn't me holding her close.

Goodness, it's been a while, hasn't it? Well, HBA has been finished (as in I've finished writing it, I'm still in the middle of posting it) so here I am again. I'm hoping to be able to keep CC Sunday going for a while, but college finals are approaching so if I take another week off or so, don't be surprised. I apologize in advance.

So here is the last chapter (which is chapter 12 in Cupid's Granddaughter) in Nate's point of view.

I hope you like it and hopefully it was worth the wait!

~GermanSam