Worth It - Lisa Oliver Page 0,12
at Ra’s suggestion this time. “This one is not destined for an early death,” he said, stubbornly. “I ensured he could have everything a shifter of his age could want – a place to stay, a chance at a solid education, a life and the funds to live it until he could stand on his own feet. What’s he upset about now? Can’t he live his new life without unlimited Wi-Fi…? A fancy car…?”
“He begged us not to take his bed away from him!” Cass took a step forward, flames covering his eyes, his horns emerging, his fists clenched. “He doesn’t feel safe, my lord. He’s terrified all he’s been given will be taken away if he makes one teeny tiny mistake, my lord. Because for someone who was kicked out by his own mother at thirteen years old and told to fend for himself, that bed my mate laid him in, sobbing as though his heart would break, is the closest thing to security Paulie’s got, my fucking lord.”
Zeus turned to face the demon, the curse taking him by surprise.
“Paulie’s an innocent in every sense, but he’s struggling.” Cass’s lips curled showing his elongated teeth. “He knows he doesn’t fit in to college life. He’s a tiger shifter for fuck’s sake. He’ll be solitary by nature until he finds his mate. Instead of having fun over summer break, he got a job, because he’s terrified the small amount of security he was given will be taken away from him. You sent him a normal fucking life when nothing in his life before that moment had been remotely normal. Respectfully, what the hell were you thinking, Lord Zeus?”
Confusion wasn’t something Zeus felt very often, and he wasn’t keen on how it was making him feel now. “I did the research. Young men in their early twenties work towards careers – that means having a college degree. Another researcher found empirical evidence that the contacts a young person make in college can be really useful in future life and can last for years.”
“He’s a tiger shifter,” Cass growled. “A tiger shifter with an apparent love for art if the drawings in his apartment are any indication. But you enrolled him in a business major degree. He’s managed a B plus average on his papers, but his heart’s not in it.
“The ‘incident’ you sent us to intervene with today was clearly one of many, because he has no idea how to behave like a normal young man. Paulie doesn’t drink, he doesn’t fuck around, he doesn’t touch drugs, and it’s not like he can talk to any of his privileged classmates about his life on the streets. I feel guilty.” Cass pounded his chest with a hefty fist. “Me and Wes feel guilty that we followed your orders, gave him the case, got him on the bus to his new life and left him. We might just have well dropped him in the Underworld, or on Jupiter or somewhere, for all that he’s coping.”
“Tut, tut, tut.” Ra shook his head. “Zeus, baby, you really have been interfering.”
“I’ve got my reasons,” Zeus snapped, thinking quickly. “He can change his major, change it to art, or whatever he likes. I’ll increase the money in his account, and buy the building he’s in, in his name, so he won’t ever be homeless. I can…”
“He wouldn’t take it,” Cass roared. “We had to convince him to buy the fucking case you gave us for him. He’s not looking for a fucking handout. He needs to feel safe. It’s simple. It’s really simple.” Cass visibly calmed himself. “I’m here because we want you to go to the Fates on Paulie’s behalf. He needs his mate, like now. I would’ve asked Lord Hades to intercede, but you are the one who wanted him helped. Wes and I hoped if you went and talked to them, explained the situation and how Paulie needs someone in his corner to protect him from the evils of the world…”
“No!” Zeus roared back, thunder rattling across the desert sands. “You forget yourself and you ask too much. No one will go to the Fates on Paulie’s behalf. No one!” Unable to withstand the maelstrom of emotions raging through his body, Zeus gave himself over to the wind, disappearing in a hail of sand and particles. He fucking knew going riding with Ra was a bad idea. That damn demon couldn’t have gotten to him if he’d stayed in his domain.
/~/~/~/~/
“Well, fuck.” Cass stomped