Page 13 of Whiskey, Thieves, and Bastards
Dionysus grinned like a psychopath, which meant the Mad God had come out to play.
“Well,Ihave millions of followers and go does Benji. I usually hate crossover episodes, but we’re co-mates now. Want to do a video together?”
“Crossover episodes are morally reprehensible. The streams shouldn’t cross. Theonlyexception to this is the Scooby Doo episode of Supernatural. The rest of them epically fail like a shart on a first date. But co-mates shouldtotallydo videos together,” Benji said, holding out his hand.
“What have we done?” I moaned with my face in my hands.
“What? Hannibal had it coming and I’ve never liked that politician,” Kat said.
“I meant Benji and Di together on social media. The internet is not ready for that much hotness or insanity.”
“Benji is half wolf, so when he gets his teeth in something, he doesn’t let go. He’s focused and feral about it, but he’s got his signature humor. I’m betting Dionysus is the same.”
“He is, but my half-brother had his phases before he met Medusa,” Athena said. “He’s been the Mad God and the Partygod. He’s mellowed out a lot, but something tells me if you stick him in front of a camera with a man who is not afraid to callmeSugar Tits, you’re going to see a bit of the Mad God. It’s probably going to be exactly what you need, though.”
I glared at Athena. Did she just make a joke? She wasn’t wrong though. Benji and Dionysus together were going to be a handful.
But if you needed to stir up some controversy towards a Smurf priest, those two were the best for the job.
Iwouldn’t usually leave Medusa alone when she was upset, but I thought she was feeling better and I had the other guys now. I saw how Cas and Pax were with her. They were perfect. I had a feeling Benji, and I were going to be good friends. I could tell we had a lot in common from my research and spending time with him. That, and I wouldn’t have been mated to a woman if I didn’t get along with the men.
He was leading me back to his bedroom. Benji threw both arms out to point to two doors down the hall.
“These are the guest rooms. We each have our own bedroom, but we move to each other’s rooms as the mood hits. Something told Cas to build two of them. One can be for you and one for her. You can pick which one you want. They stuck mine betweeneveryone’s because I’m kind of fucked in the head sometimes,” he said, shooting me this vulnerable look.
“Girl, same. The Coalition fucked you up, but my stepmom did that to me. I’m not always in a good place. We have to be a team on this. If you’re in a dark place, you come to me and I hope if I’m in a dark place, I can come to you.”
“Swear it,” Benji said, holding out his pinky.
“You know pinky swears are sacred to the gods?”
“Iknewit!”
I hooked my pinky with his and we kissed our thumb knuckles. They really weren’t. We operated in blood but I took my vows seriously. If Benji was ever in a dark place, I was going to be there for him. It took a lot to bring me back there, but something told me the Coalition was going to be a trigger for him. So, after we made a pinky swear, I pulled him into a hug.
“Gods give wonderful hugs,” he whispered, nuzzling me with his cheek.
“So do shadow wolves.”
“So, this is my room. Cas made sure I had a giant closet. Sometimes, I do my videos in there and sometimes, I do them in here.”
I looked around. Deep-purple walls, black silk sheets, and a thick fleece blanket. Yeah, another hedonist lived here. I could tell the room was arranged for a polar bear when needed. It was spacious with a plush rug on the floor.
“Girl, your room is amazing. Let’s do this on that amazing loveseat in front of that fantastic piece of art of Rainbow Bright as an Earth goddess.”
“That’s one of the few paintings I commissioned where the artist didn’t up their price after I told them what I wanted. You should wear the fedora and I’ll wear the fez.”
“Excuse me, why are we wearing hats? You’ve seen how fabulous my hair is.”
“Itispretty soft. If you’re moving in and we’re sharing a mate, you’re legally obligated to share haircare tips and products. I don’t make the sacred laws. That’s older than you, Mister big sexy Party God. Okay, you don’t have to wear a hat, but this is serious. I’m wearing the fez.”
“I’m not going to tell you how to do your thing. Do you have a proper set up? I look better lit from the left.”
Benji just snorted.
“What do you take me for, an amateur? I’mneedy,Dionysus. I had my entire childhood taken by the Coalition. Sometimes, I don’t want to put Cas and Pax out, so I amassed a massive social media following to tell me I’m pretty. I tried to learn the names of the people who interact the most, but they all insist on being called Jamina, which is the feminine form of my name. Sometimes, when the health bar on my neediness is full, I think that’s weird, but then it gets low and I post again.”
I shrugged because that wasn’t weird. Igotit. Gods did that too sometimes, just without cell phones.
