Zeus (Frozen Origin) Read online

  The morning that would see the arrival of more humans dawned like any usual day. He went in search of Sierra wanting to be with her knowing they would try to send her away today. He dressed before going to the cafeteria which was where he would find Sierra for breakfast. He was there before her but he knew it wouldn’t be long. He wasn’t looking forward to meeting Kyler fearing he would want to kill him for touching his mate even though it was before he had known her. When it came to Sierra, he wasn’t reasonable, he might even be a little crazy. He felt her before he even saw her and as he turned his breath caught in his chest as he reacted to her closeness. Even without the final bonding, he felt totally committed to her to the point that he couldn’t imagine them being any closer.

  She sat down by him with her plate full of food surprising since she rarely ate that much. She must feel the need for strength to handle what the day would bring. They were done eating when she mentioned she wanted to talk to Hades about what had happened to him. He wondered why since she wasn’t intending to stay with him. His intentions were to get her to stay or get her back if that didn’t work but her intentions seemed to be to leave without ever coming back. He tried not to feel rejected even though that was easier said than done.

  “What do you wish to know?” Zeus asked her.

  “I want to ask him why he was being kept below in cages. What was he and the others being punished for?”

  “They refused to kill children. None of my kind would ever do so.” Her com was making sounds.

  She adjusted it before speaking into it then she turned to him. “They are here.”

  He didn’t have to ask who or what their arrival would mean. He followed her to the landing pad to meet the new arrivals. There were four big copters that landed and none of them were theirs making him wonder where Hercules and his team were. He recognized Kyler as soon as he stepped off the copter as if he owned the world. He took an instant dislike to the man beyond that of jealousy from his intimate knowledge of his mate. He examined him trying to figure out what Sierra might see in the man remembering she had never seen a god before she met him. He supposed he was tall for a human at six foot three and his shoulders were fairly broad proportionate to his height. His hair was blond but buzzed so it added little to his looks. His eyes were artic blue, cold with little feeling showing until they lit upon Sierra.

  The heat that filled them made Zeus want to pound him until he no longer moved but he knew he had to hold back. The lack of feeling on Sierra’s face helped him keep control even when Kyler came forward like he was going to hug her. She stepped back keeping him the distance that one might an acquaintance rather than a lover.

  “What’s wrong, Sierra? You’re acting like we don’t even know each other.” He said with a hurt look on his face. “I know I should have tried harder to get you and your team out earlier but it worked out for the best, didn’t it?”

  “It certainly did.” She said sarcastically. Now for the first time he seemed to take notice of Zeus and his men. His eyes narrowed as he looked around then came back to rest on her face.

  “Tell me you didn’t get your funk on with one of these…these guys.” He said clearly remembering himself before he said anything out of line.

  “It would be none of your business, but no, I haven’t got my funk on. Nor do I intend to do so anytime soon.” She said pointedly. He didn’t take it personally since he realized it wasn’t aimed at him, but Kyler didn’t take it well at all.

  “You don’t mean that Sierra. I know we decided not to get serious, but I want to change that. I’ve missed you more than you can imagine.” He stepped forward again as she stepped back and away from him. “Is it one of them, have you become interested in him?” He asked pointing at Zeus.

  “I’ve simply decided to move on Kyler and the fact that you’re doing this here, shows me it’s the right thing to do.”

  “You and your team are leaving within the hour and I’ll see that you never come back here. You’ll come crawling back to me when you realize you can’t have him.”

  “Kyler, you’re a fool. I plan to leave here with the understanding I’m not coming back. That was always the plan but now you’re acting like it’s a punishment? You’re not even my boss and neither I, nor my team, answer to you.” She walked away toward another female who was waiting with her mouth slightly agape.

  “You go girl.” She whispered to Sierra. “Give it to the bastard.” Sierra gave the female a hug.

  “You take care of these males for me. They deserve a break.”

  “You know I always put my clients first. It’ll be okay. I wish you could stay, we have so much catching up to do. Maybe when I take my next vacation we can paint the town red.”

  “You know where I am most of the time. I have to go load up but I’ll find you to say goodbye. Keep an eye on Kyler, he’s an ass.”

  “I remember him from other cases. I’m not likely to forget with some of the things he’s tried to do. Don’t worry, sweetie. He can’t be good enough in bed to make up for all the shit you’d have to put up with.”

  “We didn’t spend any time together except in bed.” Sierra said with a cheeky grin. It hurt Zeus to hear her speak about being with Kyler as if the sex was good. It wouldn’t be anything compared to what he would make her feel. It was time to get the plan going to get his and Ares’ mates back.

  Sierra went past him to get her stuff so he went up to Waverly to talk. “I need to speak to you about what we need if you’re our advocate. I wish to waste no time getting things straightened out.”

  “I assume you’re the leader here and that Sierra gave you a heads up about what to expect?”

  “Yes, she told me a few things to help me. Do I have to deal with that jerk?”

  “I’m afraid so but he doesn’t make the final decisions. If he becomes too much of a problem, we go over his head. He isn’t my boss, you are.”

  He led her away while Kyler just watched them go with a bemused look on his face. Zeus told Ares to assign males to keep an eye on the new humans. There were about twelve of them, three females the rest males only eight plus Kyler would be staying the rest had come to deliver food, water, and equipment. Only Doc and two others that assisted in the lab remained behind. Sierra found them a few moments after they settled in to start their talk. She said goodbye to Waverly emotionally while he and her said an awkward goodbye. He wanted to hold her but knew she wouldn’t allow it so he just shook her hand. That was just wrong to him that he said goodbye to her in such a cool unemotional way. His heart ached as he watched her walk away but he promised himself he would soon get her back.

  “So, Zeus, tell me what you want.” Waverly said with a smirk on her face as she looked to the door Sierra had just exited.

  “I want her back, her and her team, instead of all these new people. Do what you have to but get them back as soon as possible.”

  “You know that’s going to piss her off, right?”

  It was his turn to smirk. “I’m sure there’ll be fireworks and you’ll have to go around that dipshit that came here to take charge. I’m sure it won’t be the last time either. I can tell he thinks he’s going to run things around here but that’s not going to happen. I’ve been watching some news feeds in the ex-manager’s office. I know there are rumors making the rounds about us but no one knows for sure what is going on. Is it in our best interest to offer someone an exclusive to get our story out there the way we want it told? We could just give them enough information to make it worth their while. I understand public opinion can go a long way toward helping us meet our goals.”

  “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 of your mal
es?”

  “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 every 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 thoughts 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 struggled 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 knew 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 a
t 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.”