Zeus (Frozen Origin) (7 page)

“You’re smart, I’ll give you that. We just need to be careful when it comes to bringing in reporters of any kind. We’re lucky that we are isolated enough that they’re unlikely to come uninvited. I’ll work on the publicity and request Sierra and her team return, is there anything else you need for now? Maybe food, water, clothing?”

“Women for my males.”

“All o
f your males?”

“
No, Ares, Hades, Apollo, I and one or two others, need no females brought for us.”

“I think I may know a way to raise some money for you while bringing in females. You guys will need some
funds or my government will run all over you. These girls are just for a little fun and games right? Your males aren’t hard on these girls are they?”

“
No, not any more so than human males. What do you have in mind?”

“I want to run a lottery. Sell tickets for
what they will bring, the winners come to a weekend event here with a chance to hook up with a sex god. We can’t call you guys gods all the time, but sex gods fit you well.”

“How about you, Waverly? Are you single?” He noticed she stiffened and her expression wasn’t as friendly. It made him realize she was Sierra’s friend and considered him Sierra’s male. It made him smile before he explained. “I’m not asking for myself, I just wondered if you might enjoy meeting some of my males. Of course if we have an event, you’ll attend as well.” He saw her instantly relax as she understood his words.

“We’ll get to work on this right away. It will help you achieve some status as an independent entity.”

Once he and Waverly were through talking
, he felt better about the future although he did notice she ignored his question about if she was single. He suspected she might be like his mate, Sierra, which was single but not looking for anything permanent. The careers they had chosen probably made relationships hard to manage so they shunned long term males in their lives. He had no doubt that Waverly would have a god in her life, she was too much like his Sierra not to attract one.

He leaned back in his chair thinking about the situation they now found themselves in long after Waverly had left. They were considered free now so they could be the masters of their own destinies, but with it came a whole new set of responsibilities for him. His males lives wouldn’t change as much as his because now he had to make the decisions that would determine how they would live. They needed money to survive, Waverly could help with that but ultimately it would be his decision whether they
went ahead with her ideas or not. He knew that the first two things he had to do was to carve out a place for his males in a world that for the most part didn’t know they existed. The next thing he had to do was get large amounts of money to turn a lab facility into a permanent home that eventually would house not only his males, but mates and children. It seemed that his challenging job had just ramped up in difficulty.

The only thing that would help
ease his stress was to have his mate near him. He needed to see her, hear her, and smell her, even if she wasn’t ready for him to touch her. He hoped Waverly lived up to Sierra’s faith in her because that meant his mate would return to him soon. The first thing he needed to do was to claim the manager’s office as his own. He went there only to find Kyler ensconced in the office with things being moved about. Zeus had never been the type to back down from a confrontation or to wait for someone else to deal with it.

“It’s a good thing I found you before you finished settling in. You have found the wrong space if you are looking for an office, this one is mine. The office you will be assigned is two doors down.” Zeus said with authority.

Kyler stood up stretching to his full height which no matter what he did still fell short of Zeus’ height. He tried to be intimidating but it just didn’t work when dealing with a male that was taller, broader, and had been given more authority in the situation. Zeus bit back the smile that threatened to come to his face knowing there was no need to further alienate the man just because of his past relationship with Sierra, even though a part of him wanted to beat his chest and growl. Instead, he straightened to his full height which was several inches taller and puffed out his chest which was notably larger. He wasn’t sure who was more surprised more, Kyler or him, when Kyler submitted leaving the room after instructing his men to move his things to the room two doors down.

Now that he was alone with all Kyler’s things removed, he looked at the empty room wondering where the original furniture had ended up. He summoned some of his males who appeared so fast he knew they had been staying close to him. They made a search finding and bringing him the things needed to make the office perfect for his needs. He now had a desk to work from, a computer to work on, and chairs for both him and anyone who came in to talk to him. He had all the supplies he needed including a phone that worked both in house and through satellite capabilities around the world. The only thing left to do was to decide what he was going to do with it.

He looked at the clock realizing he needed to go to the meeting room to have his first official sit down with his advocate and Kyler. This would tell him what the outside world expected of them as well as what he might get from them. He made his way down the hall silently greeting those of his males that he saw while receiving their greetings mentally. It felt good to have contact with as many of his males as he could. It helped ease the pains of leadership to see who he was fighting for, his family since they were brothers all. The ties that bound them together were deeper then just blood going beyond shared experiences because they were forged with all that and with the trust they had built by covering each other’s backs during one mission after the other.

Over the years, he had run missions with ever
y god present and a few no longer with them. It had started when he was twelve since gods matured early. At even so young an age there were few men that could match him in any type of combat. His mental abilities were above average for an adult, even at so tender an age. He had been born to lead as were Apollo, Ares, Hades, and Poseidon. That’s why they had been given the names they had and why they had been given the responsibilities they had. He was the leader of all the gods while the others each led an assigned group. He wasn’t the first born, none of them had survived the mistakes that had been made. Eventually, all the problems had been corrected and all the evidence of those problems destroyed. He didn’t like to think about his brothers who had not made it or the suffering they had been through only to find death waiting at the end.

He tried to clear his mind of unpleasant thought
s so he could go into the meeting with a sharp uncluttered mind. He went into the room to find Waverly and Kyler in a bitter and physical disagreement. They didn’t notice him at first so he caught part of their argument. Kyler had Waverly pushed up against the wall with his body in full contact with her while her face was red with anger as her hands pressed against his chest trying to push him away. Had he seen any attempt to hurt her from Kyler, he would have immediately stepped in but under the circumstances he felt it more important to be aware of what was going on between them since he just knew neither would tell him.

“You aren’t good enough to lick her boots.” Waverly screeched at him.

“Maybe not, but I’ve done more than that and I will again.” Kyler said sounding more like a promise than anything else. “She is mine whether she knows it or not. You could be as well, Way, if you want to.”

“You couldn’t handle one of us much less two and you know how I feel about you. It seems Sierra feels the same way now that she’s had a little taste of the true you.”

Kyler moved forward as if to force a kiss on her. “Am I interrupting something?” Zeus asked ready to get involved if Kyler didn’t back off.

Kyler stepped back instantly but seemed at a loss for words as he struggle
d to regain control. “Kyler was just making a pass at me in typical Neanderthal style which I, of course, declined.” Waverly said with disdain. “Why don’t we get down to business, gentlemen. I use that term loosely in your case, Kyler.”

Zeus saw the strain between the two of them wishing he kn
ew more about what was going on especially since it involved Sierra somehow. They each moved to a chair sitting down where they could face each other.

“Way has brought up the first request that you have. I’m afraid I have to deny it because Sierra and her team are military resources which have to be used in the best interest of my government.”

Zeus looked at Kyler seeing the jealousy and resentment that he tried to hide. It told him what Kyler and Way had been fighting about. Now he would let Way handle how to go about getting Sierra back without Kyler’s approval. He had no doubt Kyler would do all he could to keep Zeus from her, that was simply not acceptable. He would push as much as he could finding out just how much power he had and how much Kyler had without delay. The struggle for dominance between Kyler and him would begin now and Zeus had the feeling he would win given time. Zeus had five hundred plus men now that Hades and what was left of his team had been returned and would have more once Hercules and his team came back. He doubted Kyler had that kind of support but he would test him at every turn. Zeus turned to look at Way letting her answer for him which was not an easy thing for a dominant male such as he was.

“That is unacceptable and if you can’t grant that, there is nothing to talk about.” Way said firmly.

The pure rage on Kyler’s face was something to see as he turned it all on Way. Zeus rarely saw strong emotions since he and his males had rigid control instilled at an early age. There was no room for a loss of control when you were a soldier but it seemed worse in a negotiator. Kyler had personal interests at stake which made him a poor choice for a representative, worse when you added his feelings of inferiority to the gods.

“You can’t do that, Way.”

“Watch us.” She said as she started to stand until Kyler spoke.

“I will consider it and see what my boss says.”

Zeus was pretty sure Kyler’s boss wouldn’t give a damn since he had no personal involvement with Sierra or her team. Kyler’s rage and his willingness to give in even though he clearly didn’t want to, brought to mind that Sierra had said her people wanted something from his. It was clear that this wasn’t just about saving his males, but more about saving them for reasons that weren’t all political. They started discussing things again. Kyler’s people wanted a small military presence among the gods making him wonder why and what would they give in return for it. He had never had the commercial bent that Apollo had which made him sure that Apollo would eventually be the one in charge of these negotiations in the future. The talk today was just to lay a foundation that would tell each side what the other wanted and help set expectations.

Kyler had been a poor negotiator and the longer they spoke the more certain Zeus was that Kyler’s people were hoping his people would do certain jobs for them including training special ops. Kyler hated the idea of Zeus training teams which had previously fallen under his prevue and he didn’t attempt to hide it. Zeus wanted to get the man in the training room where he could teach Kyler a little about what a true predator could do. The thought made him smile inside because he refused to show emotion that Kyler might take advantage of. Way did well hiding her feelings too now that she was in professional mode. The female might be a professional advocate, but she reminded Zeus a great deal of Sierra. He instinctively knew this female could rip someone’s throat out and she had restrained herself with Kyler because she didn’t want him to know her true abilities. Once the ground rules were laid, Kyler left which allowed hi
m and Way to speak.

“You can call me Way if you would like.” She said with a friendly smile. “I know Kyler is an ass but Sierra thought they were only using each other for physical release. That’s something I’m sure you would understand.”

It was something he understood but her attempt to reassure him made him worry that he hadn’t hid his emotions as well as he’d thought. “I do understand and I know that you’re aware of my interest in your friend, but why do you think I would care about a relationship she had before I even knew her that she has ended?”

“Don’t kid a kidder, Zeus. I’m trained to pick up on the slightest sign from body language to expression that tells me disinterest or excessive interest. I already knew your interest so it made it easier to see the level of that interest. Don’t worry, Kyler has no clue nor will he ever
, based on the way he reads you. He, on the other hand, is nearly transparent when it comes to his feelings. I think he intended to marry her and couldn’t imagine she didn’t feel the same way because he usually gets whatever he wants. The problem for him is he doesn’t usually deal with alpha types so this has been a hard lesson for him. I spoke to Sierra early this morning and her team is between assignments so they are available. Even if they go out on assignment, they are usually gone a week or less.”

“I understand, how soon can we get them back?”

“Tell me which ones you want back the most in case it comes down to pick and choose. Sierra’s team are all specialists so they may not want them all tied up indefinitely.”

“Sierra and Brandie are essential, the other women would be good, the men can stay or go. My men respond better to females since those are mostly what we worked closely with.
”