Worth It - Lisa Oliver Page 0,61
think about when you were homeless...”
“It was the worst experience of my life.” Paulie shuddered. “I’ll never take a warm bed or a hot meal for granted again.”
“But you survived and at the time you had no idea you were a demigod, and had the power to change your situation.”
“I’m not so sure I’m keen on being one now.” Paulie glanced up and Zeus could see a wealth of emotion in his eyes. “Don’t you see how weird this all is?” He waved his hands at their dining table. “Almost ten months ago, I was homeless, about to be raped and left for dead in a dark alley, and then, all of a sudden, a demon and a wolf came into my life. They brought a case with them, that I now know came from you, but in that case was a whole new life for me. Everything all laid out in a neat display – keys to an apartment, papers for my enrollment at college, bank cards that applied to bank accounts with actual money in them, driver’s license, birth certificate… everything a homeless person dreams of. I felt like I’d won the lottery.”
“It might not have been strictly what you wanted, but it got you off the streets.” Zeus still kicked himself about not knowing Paulie didn’t go to high school.
“No, no, you don’t understand, it was amazing. Truly it was. And if that’s all that had been given to me, then wow, I was still the luckiest guy alive. And okay, I did struggle a bit, but Wes and Cass caught me on a bad day when they came to me the second time. But look what happened then. I meet a god, Ra. I get taken to his domain. Then I meet you, and oh, my gods, double wow, I find out you’re my mate. I’ve been to the Underworld, and made friends with a pregnant male god, and his wonderful consort, and now I’m here, on Olympus…”
Paulie looked around. “…And I condemned three people who’s only crime was being rude, to lives I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. That’s not who I am. It doesn’t feel right. It isn’t right. Maybe I’m not really here. Maybe I’m in some mucked up view of heaven, or I’m in a coma in hospital somewhere.”
Zeus wasn’t going to have Paulie thinking like that. He reached over and pinched his mate on the arm hard enough the shifter yelped. “You’re here, and you’re awake. And you’re forgetting the two most important things.”
“What?” Paulie rubbed his arm.
“That you have claimed the all-powerful Zeus as your fated mate, and you’re carrying our child in your belly.” Zeus eyed his young mate seriously. “Do you really want Hera’s brand of negativity around our baby?”
“No.”
“You’re immortal now, babe. In fact, you always were, but you know it for sure now you’ve claimed me.” Leaning his elbows on the table, Zeus tried to get Paulie to understand. “Hera and Demeter have never once tried to adapt to the changing times on earth. You mentioned their pristine gowns. I’ve never seen them in a pair of jeans, or boots, or even a coat. That’s because here on Olympus, life for most of the Olympians hasn’t changed since this realm came into being. You should’ve heard the rows that went on when I installed computers, and a communications center. Hundreds of gods use the services I offer, but to hear Hera go on about it, it was as though I’d defiled the sacred mother herself.”
“Maybe she thinks of change as a scary thing,” Paulie suggested and Zeus had to give his mate ten points for trying to justify Hera’s often wild behavior.
“I’m not sure it’s change she fears, but she has a mean streak a mile wide. I could tell you stories…” Zeus stopped himself. He really didn’t need to remind his unsure mate of what a philanderer he’d been. “Suffice to say, once people stopped worshipping us, she spent most of her time working out how to come between me and people I might care about. With some pretty creative ways of doing it, I might add.”
“But if Hera really doesn’t like change, then what I sentenced her too, my goodness, she’ll be so scared.” Paulie looked as though he was going to cry, and Zeus cursed his sister all over again. She did not deserve Paulie’s brand of caring.
“She’ll be running that homeless center in a week, you wait and see. I mean