Worth It - Lisa Oliver Page 0,45
nearest worker out of his seat, waving over the screen. Paulie.
“Page Not Found.” A robotic voice was added after the ding this time.
“You there, search for Paulie, tiger shifter.” Zeus yelled at the man sitting in the cubicle next to him.
“Page Not Found.”
The man shrank in his chair as Zeus roared. “All of you, search, Paulie, tiger shifter, NOW!”
“Page Not Found.” “Page Not Found.” “Page Not Found.” “Page Not Found.” “Page Not Found.” “Page Not...”
“Something has hacked our system,” Zeus snarled through bared teeth. “Find the breach and fix it. NOW!”
“My lord…”
“NOW!” Swirling out of his chair, Zeus ran with the speed of a cheetah through the outer office, past his private quarters and up the stairs to the viewing window. Panting hard, he stood looking at the clouds swirling below him. “Reveal, Paulie, tiger shifter.”
The clouds thickened, their swirling growing in intensity, but when they finally cleared, all they revealed was a black void. Throwing his head back, Zeus screamed at the heavens, sending lightening bolts and thunder crashing around the peaceful skies of Olympus. Another fucking god has taken Paulie and when I find him, I’ll annihilate the bastard.
“Zeus!” Hera’s calm voice had him turning in fury. “Really, dear, do you have to have a tantrum over the slightest little thing? I was getting my nails done and your yelling frightened the young girl so badly she dropped a spot of polish on my fresh gown.” She pointed to a tiny speck of red on an otherwise spotless white floor length dress.
“You did this. You’re responsible.” Zeus’s eyes flashed with anger. “I remember what you did to Ganymede, Io, Callisto and Semele. You can’t stand it when I find someone to care for. Where is he? What have you done with him?”
“Aww, have you got a missing plaything?” Hera grinned. “How sad for you, but there’s no point in asking me about it. I thought Ganymede had taken your dick with him when he left more than a hundred years ago, because honestly you live like a eunuch most days. But you’ll have to find another scapegoat this time, brother dear. I can swear, hand on heart, it wasn’t me.”
Hand on heart. Hera wasn’t lying. Zeus thought about who else had a beef with him – unfortunately, that was a long list. Demeter. I’ll try her next.
Chapter Fifteen
“How are you doing? Are you feeling okay? You’re rubbing your stomach.”
Paulie glanced up at the sound of Ali’s voice. He and the chipmunk shifter had become good friends over the five days he’d been staying as a guest of the Underworld. While Hades could be quiet and reserved at times, Ali was like a breath of fresh air and always seemed to have a smile on his face. The demons clearly adored the happy man and the hell hounds would follow him around like puppies whenever Ali left their residence.
The Underworld itself had been a bit of a surprise to Paulie. Sure, there were punishments for the damned, and Ali told him repeatedly he should never go near the pits, but the demon villages contained warm, dry homes, that were filled with laughter. Paulie thought the little demon children were adorable in their demon forms. He’d even met Cass’s Mama, who made a point of telling everyone who was listening how it was her boy and his wonderful mate that had saved Paulie from a fate worse than death.
Ali, whether purposefully, or accidentally, seemed hell bent on keeping Paulie busy. Finding time to just stop and think was virtually impossible, and Paulie’s best chance at finding that time was after lunch, when Ali insisted his mate have a nap. But he’d been found… again… and he managed to raise a smile for his friend.
“I think Zeus is still angry about something.” Paulie rubbed his stomach. “My guts feel like they’re tied up in knots, and there’s a lump in my heart that’s hard to shake.”
Ali came over, sitting beside him, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. “That’s one of the downsides of being mated, I’m afraid. It means we’re always impacted by our other half’s intense emotions which can be uncomfortable. Unfortunately, my brother-in-law has got it in his head that one of the gods is hiding you, to get at him for some past misunderstanding. He’s not thinking very rationally about anything at the moment.”
“What will happen when he finds out I’m down here?” Paulie half dreaded, half wished it would happen. His tiger side was only happy when