Zeus (Contemporary Mythos Book 6)

She had one thing right. I was a son of a downright bitch. And not my mother—my father. Now there was a real dickwad. We gods aren’t unlike mortals—spending the better part of our lives finding ourselves. How much of our parents will reflect in us? Can we stop it? Do we want to? About the only thing I ever wanted that Kronos possessed was his sheer fucking determination. Too bad I’d inherited more than that.

Groaning, I beat my head against the stone behind me, swigging down my third bottle of ambrosia wine. Like an absolute pussy, I’d ported away in the middle of Keira’s argument. Disappeared to the one place I knew I could go to be alone and—call a meeting of The Brothers. And instead of telling them precisely where I was, I took the opportunity to get piss-assed drunk while waiting for them.

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d drunk this much. It dulled your senses—made you make extraordinary decisions or horribly bad ones, hardly ever in between. The job came first. It always had.

“Tartarus. You look like shit,” Hades said, appearing in front of me in a swirl of black fog. His glowing white eyes radiated from the darkness, and he wiped a hand through his fiery crown, making it fizzle away.

I sat on the ground, not caring that the moist cold from the cave soaked through the ass of my pants. Holding the bottle up to him, I belched. “And I feel like shit. How ironic.”

“How many of those have you had, brother?” Hades swiped some of his long white hair over one pointed ear.

Loosening my tie, I shrugged as I eyed the half-empty bottle. “As reigning sovereign, I pull rank not to answer that question.”

“Of course, you do.” Hades all but rolled his eyes and turned his gaze to the hanging sconces harboring blue flames.

“What the shit?” Poseidon’s voice boomed as he appeared in a flash of sea spray. “I thought you called us because the Titans escaped or something, but I get here to find you wallowing in a corner?”

Groaning, I pressed my skull to the cave wall again and sipped more wine, not bothering to greet the sea god.

“What’s going on, Zeus? We have better things to do than to stand here and watch you look miserable.” Hades folded his arms as both of my brothers loomed over me, their expressions unenthused, borderline agitated.

Closing my eyes, I pressed the bottle against my forehead with a deep sigh. In all the years I’d been my brothers’ king—it took a half-mortal woman for it to come to this. “I need—” A razor tore at my throat, and I gripped the bottle tighter. “—your…help.”

“What the fuck?” Poseidon blurted.

I flew my eyes open to see them both eyeing each other sidelong with raised brows. “You really don’t need to make this into something more than it is.”

“Like Tartarus we don’t.” Poseidon smirked as he leaned against a stone pillar. “Not once have we gotten to be actual big brothers to you since you took the crown. Not that you ever even wanted us to be.”

Nausea coiled in my stomach. I wasn’t sure what was worse—trying to sort out feelings with Keira or getting these asshats to help me with it.

“And say we find it in our good hearts to help you despite your years of mistreatment. What exactly is the problem?” Hades’s brow bobbed, and his black robes shifted as he folded his arms.

“Mistreatment?” I glared at my brother before rising to my feet, the bottle still in hand. “Where do you get off saying I mistreated you? Do you have any idea what I go through on a daily basis? The decisions that fall on my shoulders and mine alone?” Scoffing, I took a sip, standing so close to the Underworld King, our toes touched.

“How could we? All we have to go from are your actions. You never talk about anything.” Hades’s eyes flashed brighter.

My lightning power coursed over my hands as I subdued a snarl, making Hades’s gaze pull into a glare. Forcing it back, I pointed at him with the same hand that held the bottle. “I gave you this kingdom knowing out of all three of us, you had the strongest mind for it. Did you know that, bro?”

Hades stood firm. “How generous of you.”

“Yes, you can’t leave on a fucking whim, but you take the job to heart. It would’ve crumbled within days if either of us would’ve taken the helm.” Nudging my head at Poseidon, I swayed on my heel, gulping more wine and enjoying the liberating feeling of not giving a shit.

“Hey, speak for yourself,” Poseidon grumbled.

“Oh, can it, Flipper. You know as well as I do. Are you telling me you could imagine yourself away from the seas except for two weeks out of the year?” I stuck my chest out, challenging him.

He slow-blinked. “I hate you.”

“There’s the family spirit we’ve been missing.” I threw my hands out at my sides, sending lightning crackling. “Your sacrifice never went unnoticed, Hades. I discreetly did all I could to make you happy. You wanted Persephone?” I snapped my fingers. “I made it happen. She left you, and you were prepared to spend eternity alone. But that’s not you, brother.” I poked him in the chest before lightly beating my fist against it. “You asked for opportunities to surface with your new Queen? To take breaks? I gave you that too. Something I don’t even take for myself.”

His eyes panned to my hand before returning to my face, curiosity, and astonishment flooding his expression.

“I didn’t force Stephanie into anything. I disguised what I did as meddling but what you both need to realize—” I caught Poseidon’s gaze as I held up a single finger and looked between the two of them. “—none of them can see me as soft. Do you understand?”

Hades clenched his jaw. “I—appreciate you saying all of this, brother.”

Nodding, I turned my attention to Poseidon. “And you, Fishsticks—” I rubbed my chin, thinking, contemplating. “—nah. You’re still a prick.”

Poseidon chuckled and punched me in the shoulder. “Love you too, Bolt.”

“What? You fight with a giant fork. It’s hard to take you seriously at times.” I bit back a smile and hid my mouth with the bottle.

“Spar with me some day and I’ll show you what that giant fork can do, little bro.” Poseidon shook his head with a smirk.

“You’re on.” Sighing, I let the bottle fall limp in my hand. “Considering word travels so swiftly through Olympus, I’m sure you both know of Hera’s departure?” I finished the bottle of wine before chucking it over my shoulder, making it disappear before shattering to the ground.

“Wait. Have you not elected a new Queen yet?” Poseidon’s eyes widened as he took a step forward, the three of us now standing in a triangle.

Shock morphed over Hades’s features, his lips parting. “Brother, the expiration is—”

“Tomorrow. I know.” I held my head low, rubbing furiously at my temples.

Poseidon gripped my shoulder. “You’ve fallen for someone, haven’t you?”

Was that what it was? Had I somehow fallen for a woman I’d only known for a matter of weeks?

“Shit.” Poseidon laughed before slapping me on the back. “Another thousand years could’ve passed, and I still would’ve never thought I’d see the day.”

Exhaustion pulled at my brain like melting caramel. “Not helping.”

“Cutting it kind of close, aren’t you? Why not select any mortal? Why not—” Hades started, but I cut him off with a flick of my hand, silencing him.

“We’re fated.” Unable to meet their gazes at first, I kept mine focused on the ground.

“Olympus,” Poseidon breathed out.

“It has to be her. And even if I could find some way to coerce her beyond her own thinking, I wouldn’t.” I lifted my eyes to my brothers. “Because I want her to want this. Want her to want me. All of it.”

Poseidon gripped Hades’s shoulders, and they both stared at me as if I were a younger version of myself and just told them I’d lost my virginity. Jostling my shoulders, I waited for one of them to respond. Anything would do. Even laughing in my godsdamned face would’ve been better than this torturous silence.

“There’s something else.” I cracked my knuckles. “She’s a demigod.”

A single brow rose on Poseidon’s face.

“Who’s the god?” Hades asked.

“The goddess is Oizys.” I cut my gaze to the god of the Underworld.

“Oizys? I barely even see her. When would she have had time to—”

I cut him off. “It was before she secluded herself to the Underworld. Is she accessible? I’d imagine Keira might wish to meet her at some point.”

Hades rubbed his chin. “I couldn’t say. She hardly has connections with people—deity or otherwise—except those souls she tortures in Tartarus.”

“What a lovely woman.” I quirked a brow.

Hades smirked. “Who are you telling?”

Pinching my lips, I let my gaze drop to my feet with a sigh.

“You wish to know how to win her favor,” Hades whispered.

Rubbing the back of my neck, I let out a deep sigh. “I suppose that’s what I’m asking, yes.”

“And you’re willing to potentially lose your crown if she doesn’t decide in time?” Hades canted his head to the side while Poseidon shook his shoulders with a wide shit-eating grin.

It didn’t register in me until Hades said the words aloud. What had this woman done to me? Was she an enchantress?

“Yes,” I pushed out, my voice gravelly.

“This is serious,” Hades mumbled before swirling his arm, making us all appear in his fire-lit Gothic-themed living room.

I sat alone in a black lounge chair and instantly slumped in it, resting my head on my hand as my brothers loomed over me like investigators ready to interrogate.

“Why do you like this woman?” Hades asked, clasping his hands behind his back.

I’d never had a mortal headache, but somehow, I felt this conversation was bound to give me one. “What do you mean why? She…intrigues me.”

Fucking Tartarus. The same damn answer I’d given her, and it went so well the first time.

Poseidon made an obnoxious buzzer sound. “Wrong. Clearly, she intrigues you if you’re into her; you need to answer the true ‘why.’”

Sighing, I leaned forward, pressing my steepled fingers to my lips. “I don’t know. She—” I gripped my hair, ruffling it before falling against the back of the seat with a snarl. “She’s a damn good lawyer. Better than me if you take the fact she’s doing it with a half-godly brain. She’s stubborn. Quick-witted. Bold. Works herself to the bone.” I paused as flashes of her mouth around my cock as she held my hands captive in my own damn tie coursed through my brain. “And fucking hot as Olympus forges.”

“Have you told her any of this? Any at all?” Hades raised a brow.

Grumbling, I folded my arms. “Whatever happened to actions speak louder than words?”

“For shit’s sake, Z. You think a woman doesn’t want to hear things every once in a while?” Poseidon interlaced his fingers behind his head, shaking it.

Tension built in my shoulders. “Fine. I’ll craft a speech. What else do I need to do?”

“You said she’s a lawyer. Are you both working on the same case?” Hades paced in front of me, rubbing his chin.

“Opposing counsel.”

Poseidon snatched a silver unlit candlestick holder from the mantle and tossed it in his palms. “Is your client guilty?”

“As sin.” I ground my molars, knowing full well exactly where they were going with this.

“You say she’s good. I assume she knows who and what you are now. Can’t imagine she’d take it too lightly if you still used your powers of persuasion to work the trial in your favor.” Hades took the candlestick from Poseidon and placed it back on the mantel.

I gripped the armrests. “Yes, but—”

“She wins the case fair and square, brother,” Hades interrupted.

Growling, I replied, “Fine. What else?”

“It’s going to take more than a speech. You need what’s called a ‘grand gesture,’” Poseidon muttered, scratching the full beard on his chin.

I furiously rubbed my face. “And just what the shit would that be?”

“That has to come entirely from you. Sweep her off her feet. And we don’t mean into bed. You’re a natural seducer—a charmer. Use it for something else besides sex for once. You might surprise yourself.” Hades opened his palm toward the fireplace, making the flames roar.

A grand gesture. Her birthday. New York City. Huh.

“You obviously had a blowup to drive you to come down here of all places. To seek our help. What happened, Z?” Poseidon dragged a hand through his long hair, genuine concern for my well-being playing in his gaze.

It made my neck stiffen.

“She thinks she’ll be another Hera. That the passion will fizzle, and we’ll end up married but not together as she and I had. She also said I was treating the whole arrangement like a business transaction.” I beat my knuckles against my knee, recalling the fury coiling from her—but most of all…the hurt.

“And what did you say to that?” Hades winced.

“The truth. It is a business transaction. Offers and reasons for both parties to form an alliance. What the fuck else was I supposed to say?” Pushing to my feet, I raked a hand through my hair and moved to the fire.

Poseidon groaned and patted my shoulders from behind before leaning on one, staring at the fire with me. “Not that, bro. Not that.”

“I think…” Hades started as he moved beside us, all three of us gazing at the flickering flames like they were the sparks of life itself. “You need to realize what you want before you can recognize what she wants. So, Zeus, King of the Gods, our brother, what do you want?”

Extending my hand, I struck lightning within the fire, making a mesmerizing fire-lit show within the hearth. “A partner. A friend. Someone who’s going to understand the job at times must come first. We’d fuck like damn rabbits, and maybe, just maybe, she’d occasionally let me fall asleep using her tits as a pillow while she scratches my scalp with her nails.”

“Perhaps not put quite as elegantly, but something tells me, brother—” Hades squeezed my shoulder. “She seeks the same things.”

Poseidon stood on one side of me, Hades on the other, and for the first time since I dragged them out of our father’s stomach, I felt truly part of a brotherhood again.

“I know what I need to do,” I muttered, closing my hand, dousing the lightning with it.

“I feel like hugging you right now. You know that, right?” Poseidon nudged me.

“Please don’t.”

“Nope. It’s happening, little bro. Hades, you too, come on.” Poseidon pulled us both in for a hug.

Stiffly, Hades and I landed reluctant pats on Poseidon’s back.

“The first group hug in almost a thousand years. Unreal. I definitely need to meet this chick soon.” Poseidon pulled away with a wide grin.

I adjusted my jacket, redoing the buttons, tightening my tie, and fixing my ruffled hair. “With any luck, it’ll happen sooner rather than later. But if not—there’s someone I need to talk to.”

Bowing my head to my king brothers, I took a step back. “Brothers.”

“Good luck, shithead,” Poseidon scoffed before I disappeared.

My son Ares seemed to spend more time in his gym than anywhere else. Undoubtedly, the sparring which inevitably led to other activities with his warrior goddess played a huge part. I waited in a darkened corner near the lockers, only emerging from the shadows when he neared.

“Ares.” I lifted my chin, fully prepared for a verbal slapping.

Ares threw his gloves to the floor, his bare chest heaving as he walked up to me. “What do you want, maláka?”

“Honestly, I thought you’d calmed down since bonding with Harmony. No?”

Harmony approached us with her arms folded, clad in only a sports bra and skin-tight shorts. It took everything in my power not to scan her body. “He has calmed down. Funny how any mention of you or your presence gets him riled up.”

Cracking my neck, I shot my gaze to Harmony’s. “You’re a good woman, Harmony. An amazing war goddess. But I need a moment alone with my son. I can assure you it won’t involve punches and clashes of lightning.”

Harm stole a glance with her war god, who gave her a curt nod before slicing a glare aimed at me. “It better not.”

Such fire that one. Huh.

“What is this all about, old man? You need me to do your bidding? Came to blow smoke up my ass again?” Ares clenched his fists at his sides.

“I always thought kicking you from Olympus was the best thing for you. The best way for you to channel your anger and use it in other ways.” I jingled the keys in my pocket, shocked he hadn’t interrupted me already or told me to go to Tartarus. “I still believe it to be partially true but I wasn’t entirely honest with you about the largest reason I did it.”

“This ought to be good.” Ares crossed his arms after freeing his hair from the rubber band holding it in a bun.

“I’d like to think I inherited nothing from my father, but it simply wouldn’t be true. Much like he cowardly tried to destroy his children for fear of them overtaking his throne…I did the same thing.” Sneering at the ground, I clenched my jaw.

“What are you trying to say?”

Forcing myself to meet his gaze, I took a quick breath. “I kicked you from Olympus because you had and still have the power to overthrow me. But I realized recently, you would’ve never done it—out of respect.”

Ares’s nose twitched, and he scratched it with a thumb. “You’re right. I wouldn’t have. Not to mention I want nothing to do with fucking Olympus.”

“You’ve become a better god than I could’ve ever predicted, Ares.” I smirked, playing with the hair below my lip. “And Olympus is precisely what I’ve come to talk to you about.”

“You don’t sound like yourself. What the hell is going on?”

“This first bit should amuse you. Your mother left me.”

Ares half-smiled, snorted and then frowned. “Wait, what? How’s that possible?”

“It’s not as if I held her captive, Ares. She’s always had the choice, and she made it. Which has left Olympus without a Queen and with a clause to be upheld…by tomorrow.” I’d never been nervous about one godsdamned thing in my divine existence but this—fuck.

“So you find another Queen. What does this have to do with me?” Ares poked himself in the chest, the armor full sleeve tattoo tightening.

“As we continue to have more things in common than I’m sure you’d like to admit, I also have what you share with Harmony.” Scratching the back of my neck, I waited for my words to sink into my son’s thick head.

“You—have a fated bond with someone?”

“Her name is Keira. I believe you, of all people, will understand when I say, it can’t be anyone but her. If I settled for someone else, it’d be like removing two of my limbs and giving them to Keira to keep for all of eternity.” My lightning crackled in my eyes, my palms. The thought alone made me want to destroy mountains.

Ares took a step closer. “I do understand.”

“I’m going to try everything in my power to win her over, but son, if this goes south—” Taking a deep breath, I closed the distance between us and squeezed his shoulder. “Olympus is yours.”

He shook his head and batted my arm away. “No. Why would she refuse you?”

The irony of that statement. Laughing, I tilted my head to the side. “Moments ago, you were ready to tear my head off with your teeth as your only blade. And now you compliment me by saying there’s no way she wouldn’t want me?”

“Maláka, no. I figured you’d have used your powers or—”

“They don’t work on her, son. And even if they did, she’s different. Would take all of the fun away.” A weak smile pulled at my lips. “I need you to agree to this. I don’t trust anyone else with the reins. No one. Else.”

Ares growled and turned away, dragging a hand over his beard and shaking his head. Returning to stand in front of me, he held out his hand. “Alright. But you better have a hell of a plan, old man. Because—” He paused, his teeth grinding together. “I can’t see anyone else ruling Olympus besides you.”

If that were the one good thing my son ever said to me for the rest of eternity, I’d store it in a fucking mason jar with the date labeled on it.

“I’m going to deploy everything in my godly arsenal.” We locked forearms, my white lightning sparking against his red sparks, sealing the deal. “I hope we can spend more time together.”

Ares sniffed once, nodding as he backpedaled. “Yeah. We’ll uh—we’ll see.”

Nodding, I stepped away, making myself reappear outside the courthouse, staring up at the office light I knew belonged to Keira.

Time to perform the seduction of a lifetime.