Page 46 of Whiskey, Thieves, and Bastards
It was adorable. When Dionysus and Benji got to the diner with Rose and Aidan, he had about a million questions about supernaturals. Rose followed Benji and Dionysus but she thought Aidan was human and didn’t really have any reason to discuss supernaturals with him. They only went over that in certain kinds of schools that Rose had no idea that Aidan needed to be in. Some of his classmates were probably getting that kind of education at home because they didn’t live close enough to one of those schools.
“Aidan is so stinking cute,” Benji said. “We had to explain to him why I couldn’t have my horns and wolf ears out in the diner without scaring the shit out of him about the Coalition. If we can pull this off, Aidan and other kids like him will never have to worry with them again.”
Dionysus explained what they did with the substitute teacher’s not boyfriend. It was a good start. But I wanted something and maybe I was being selfish this early on. We were all going to eventually ask for this and weneededit. She needed it.
“Medusa, can I steal you tonight?”
“Sure, if that’s okay with everyone?”
I already knew it was. Dionysus was new to us, too. Benji had a crush. Cas and Benji were going to have the conversation we couldn’t really have with everything going on and when we needed to seal our bond. They were going to get to know him better. And if I knew Benji, he was going to end up with someone’s dick in his mouth while someone else spanked him.
They’d be well taken care of and could amuse themselves. Weallneeded time one on one with her and Dionysus since we were bonded now. Supernaturals did things differently than humans most of the time. We knew we were fated. We could feel it. The urge to complete the bond was unreal.
Sometimes, we could fight it long enough to learn more about each other and sometimes we didn’t. We bonded and got to know each other later. Our whole group was one giant extenuating circumstance because of the Coalition and then Poseidon with Medusa and Dionysus.
Cas waited until Benji and I were ready and I knew Dionysus did the same with Medusa. We would have waited as long as she needed, but the furies said it needed to happen soon. We were bonded, but now we needed to get to know each other.
Medusa wrapped herself around me and we walked to my bedroom. I didn’t know what it looked like, but I knew my way around it. Cas knew I couldn’t see it, but he asked me what I wanted and made sure it was accessible.
“Cas made all of your rooms to fit your personalities and you have the best beds. Come snuggle with me.”
She didn’t have to ask me twice. I jumped in bed and she nestled into my chest. I liked how she molded to me perfectly. I didn’t know what to ask her first. She wasmucholder than me and there were probably some things that were off limits. I didn’t particularly want to talk about certain things, either.
“So, I know Cas’s dad originated this village and got run off, Benji’s parents got taken by the Coalition with him and we’re trying to find out what happened to them, but what about yours? I went no contact with mine because of how they acted after what happened with Poseidon and Athena.
“I didn’t see them face to face because I didn’t want to hurt them. I tried talking to them crouched by the window. I just needed my parents to have my back, and they didn’t. We lived in Athens. Everyone was big Athena fans. Everyone assumed I deserved it. I don’t really miss them. It was that one thing that ruined our entire relationship. I’dneverdo that to my kids.”
“Do you have any? Kids that is.”
Because she might. She might have had to keep her distance because of her gaze and worrying about the glasses.
“Just one and you’ve probably heard that story. Poseidon got me pregnant. There were ways to get rid of unwanted pregnancies back then, but they didn’t work on demigods. Plus, some people thought it was a blessing to get violated by a god. Perseus came after me when I was about six months.
“I don’t know if this was Athena or the Fates, but when he cut me, the baby that was inside me transferred to my blood and became Pegasus and Chrysaor. I’ve never given birth the traditional way, though.”
“Your kid is Pegasus? That’s badass.”
“He’s not a shifter. He’s always a flying horse. Pegasus likes working with Athena’s heroes, but if he doesn’t feel like working with someone, he bites. His father tried to force him to work with Bellerophon, so he flew him in the air, bucked him off, and faked his death at Zeus’s hands.”
“None of us have kids that we know of. We’re pretty careful about that. And about my parents, I don’t speak to them anymore. They were harsh people who didn’t like kids. My mom had kids with her entire coven because they all thought they were supposed to.
“They fed us, clothed us, and put a roof over our heads, but that was about it. They kicked us all out of the house as soon as we turned sixteen because it was different times then. They didn’t give a shit and all we could take with us was what we could carry because they could use the clothes for the rest of the family.
“A lot of us did stupid shit to get by so we didn’t starve to death. Some of us did stupid shit trying to get them out of that situation. My sistershouldhave sought out her mates, but she took up with this abusive human son of a bitch because the world wasn’t fair to women back then. I got caught bythe Coalition because I was using magic trying to help her. Thankfully, no one knew I was her brother, so she didn’t get caught, too.”
“Do you at least still talk to your siblings?”
“Yeah, Once the internet happened, tracking them down became easier. They’re all happy and well adjusted, despite our parents. My sister said she tried to find me after I got taken. While she was looking, she met one of her mates and he stole her from that human. Some of my siblings haven’t met their center, but they’ve all met at least one mate. That hasn’t stopped them from having kids, despite our parents. I don’t know where my parents are either and frankly, I don’t care.”
“Is Benji the only one of us that doesn’t have a fucked-up relationship with his parents? Dionysus adored his mother, but Hera murdered her when he was young. Zeus only stepped in when she killed Dionysus. She could do everything to him but that.”
“Benji had a great relationship with his parents. It was just the two of them because they hadn’t met the rest of their pack, but from what he says, they were present, adoring parents who spoiled him whenever they could. They were taking Benji out for his birthday when they got snatched. It’s why he always has such a shit time on that day.”
“I want to help find them.”
“We all do, but even if they kept their patient records online where Father Nathan could get to them, it wouldn’t help. Cas and I got into them. Not only do they not have our names on the files, they have our races completely wrong.”
“How does one manage to get that wrong?”
