147 Rushing forward

Russ stared pensively out the upstairs window of the office. "I get why this is necessary, I do, but there has to be another way."

Orion shook his head from behind the desk. "I promise you, there isn't. Fernando is not going to hand over the kingdom to you without a fight. He was the first-born son to your grandfather and incredibly strong even without being an alpha. He has had the power of your kingdom for the past fifteen years along with the loyalty of your people. By law, he does not have to relinquish the throne to you for another two... two and a half years." Ry shrugged, "Even then he wouldn't have to step down immediately. He would only have to take you under his wing... as he has agreed to the council to do now. But I'm telling you now; he'll not follow through with his promises. You will have to physically challenge him for the right as alpha, and you will have to stay in power after to prove your worth to the people. Fern got the people through a difficult time when your parents were killed, many would like to see him stay in power."

Russ rested his forehead against the window. "And if I don't want the throne?"

"Then you give up the financial support that has been provided you all this time, your father's legacy, and any acceptance of your sister with the pack if she were to try returning someday." Ry stood and walked over to the window where Russ stood. "You would also be giving up a hell of an opportunity to use power and influence to help Jos." He cupped his hand over the boy's shoulder. "As long as you petition the courts for leniency of guardian, a care giver if you will, instead of a lover; the courts will honor your wishes as a titled leader."

"But if I petition them as her lover?" He asked pushing for an answer.

Ry let out a heavy sigh. "There's more than one reason the council would rule against that and not all the reasons involve you personally. They wouldn't want the possibility of so much power falling into one kingdom's hands."

Russ arched his brows. "What do you mean?" He asked.

Ry ran his hand through his short hair as he turned and leaned against the window ceil. "There's a lot you don't know about Joslyn. Think about it boy, you've known who her mother was for years and her father. Did you ever think of what that meant exactly? I realize you were unaware of her being the Kraken, but you must have at least pieced together what her lineage alone makes her."

Russ nodded, "Her mother is Calypso, and her father is some old fuck, some other old fuck deemed worthy enough to write a book or two about."

Ry arched his brows. "An old fuck... that another old fuck wrote about... Goddamn, you can't really be so stupid, can you?"

Russ shrugged and turned the chair around to face Ry. "Alright so what? He was so warrior favored by the gods and kidnapped by Calypso. Big deal. I know this already."

Ry rolled his eyes. "Does nothing you've read hold no glimmer of meaning to you? Does nothing jump out at you?" He leaned over the desk and poked the computer screen with his finger. "Why not reading that first fucking line of the article aloud?"

Russ furrowed his brows and turned back to the computer. "You don't have to treat me like a stupid child." Russ began to read. "Odysseus: Legendary Greek King-"

"Apparently I do." Ry growled interrupting him when the obvious information was yet to sink in. He scrolled down the screen until the bold words 'genealogy' was visible, giving Russ time to scan over the words. Ry narrowed his eyes at Russ in stunned irritation. "Still nothing. No light switches flickering on in that pretty little head of yours?"

Russ narrowed his eyes up at Ry. "Just say what it is you want me to know already and stop being an asshole about it."

Ry let out an irritated groan poking the screen again. "1. KING! Her father was known as a king and still held in high regard in Ithaca and some of the surrounding islands. Some even debate and damn near fight over the right of which island his palace was on and which island hold the most of his ancestors. If a daughter of his was to step up today, she would rule damn near the entire area without lifting a finger for the right. 2." He said poking the screen aggressively. "This fucking paragraph flat out proclaims Hermes as his maternal great-grandfather." He could have easily been mistaken for someone trying to land a plane or some other small aircraft with the frantic way he was pointing to the screen now. "And since the name Laertes is obviously not ringing any bells in that empty brain of yours..." He said as he clicked the blue hyperlink of Odysseus's father's name, then poked the screen roughly again. "3. Odysseus's own fucking great-grandfather is Zeus himself! Why the fuck do you think Zeus favored him so greatly?"

Russ's eyes widened and his complexion paled as realization finally registered. "Her... Her... great-great grandfather is..."

Ry through his hands up in the air, "Holla-fucking-loo-yuh! Give the boy a cookie, he finally figured it out!" He glared down at Russ. "She is not just 'a demi-god' her father was a divine child, born human but with lingering traits of the gods. And since I guarantee you never bothered looking it up, your want to be mother-in-law is a daughter of the titan Atlas. A being much older than Zeus or any of the current ruling gods." His irritation waned and a deep frown curved his lips. "If it were up to the council, Jos would remain imprisoned for all eternity as her mother and maternal grandfather are. They have only ever seen her as a threat... and she has only ever proven them right..."

Russ frowned, "I never thought it was important... I only ever saw her as the girl I grew up with... as the girl I've loved for most of my life."

Ry shook his head. "But you didn't grow up with her, not really." She was already 2,850 years old by the time you were born... give or take..." His expression turned to pity. "You see now? She is to blame for doing you just as my brother and I did her. Lies of omission. How old were you when she told you what she was? How old she really was?" He asked as a new curiosity struck.

Russ arched a brow. "I always knew she was different. I could smell that from a young age. We were in elementary school the first time she shifted into her current adult form to attend a parent teacher meeting on my behalf." Russ smiled, "I remember thinking how beautiful she was then, and how I could always count on her to have my back." He shrugged, "What the two of you did was completely different and on a whole other level of fucked up, especially on twat waffle downstairs part. I'll admit, I didn't know the things you've told me tonight, but that was because I never asked and didn't give a shit enough to look it up." He leaned back in the office chair and crossed his arms over his chest. "Am I surprised to know these things, yes. Some of her hesitation is more understandable now, but it doesn't change the way I feel. I know exactly who she was way before we ever had sex. She's never lied to me or hid anything from me." He laughed, "Hell, I'd say if she thought it would deter my affection in the slightest, she probably would have told me all this herself." He laughed even harder. "Hell, she would have probably she-hulked out on me like she did those vampire assholes."

Ry let out an exasperated sigh. "Alright, suit yourself... but I'm telling you. If you want to help her case, don't push for a relationship in front of the courts. They will see it as more of a threat than saving grace. It would give her too much pull within their system, and right now she is no more than a beast that should have been caged or killed half a millennia ago."

Russ sent him a skeptical glance. "Do you really think Calypso will lift the curse? According to what I've heard from Jos and Raven over the years, she doesn't give two shits about anything that doesn't directly serve her interests, and her daughters wellbeing has never been one of those interests."

Ry let out a long sigh, "Can you blame her? Jos did kill her long-lost lover she'd been waiting to return to her... along with their two sons." he shrugged.

"It was her fucking curse that killed them, not Jos." Russ argued.

Ry shrugged, "Calypso has never seen it that way."

Russ's expression turned to raw anger. "Then you've all but said it, she'll never be willing to lift the curse."

Ry turned toward the door and placed his hand on the handle before answering, "She will for the right price..." He opened the door and turned back to Russ. "Go on I'm sure you're dying to see her, though she's probably asleep by now."

Russ nodded as he pushed himself up from the chair. "And I'll probably have to run both of our siblings out of her room." He said as he lumbered to the door. He stopped and patted Ry's shoulder. "Sorry your history lesson was useless in dissuading me, better luck next time."

Ry arched his brow as irritation returned. "It wasn't meant so much to dissuade you as properly inform you. As you said yourself, at least now you understand her point of view better."

Russ shrugged, "As I've told her, I don't see my people being all that upset that I decided to 'breed' with a demi-god instead of a full-blooded werewolf. And knowing now exactly what her lineage is, I really don't see them resisting the information."

Ry shook his head. "You just don't understand do ya, kid..." He pulled the door closed as they both moved out into the hall. "But I guess you'll have to learn the hard way. I just hope your hardheaded shit doesn't negatively affect Jos and Shelly."

Russ turned back on Ry quickly. "Why would any of this affect Shelly?"

Ry arched a brow. "You really have to ask? She's carrying the child of her deceased Gin husband... a marriage they may not even choose to recognize considering it's short duration."

Russ frowned as the possibility of Shelly and her baby being shunned invaded his mind for the first time. "I hadn't really given that much thought..."

Ry rolled his eyes. "Not even surprising..."

Russ pushed open the door to Jos's bedroom as he rapped lightly on it. He wasn't surprised to find the mirror image of the man he'd spent the last several hours arguing with sitting by the fire, a drink in hand.

"Come in." Arei's voice boomed through the quiet room even though it was meant to be a whisper. "She's asleep, but I figured you'd come in at some point."

Russ nodded. His eyes trailed over to the bed where Jos was snuggled to the large wolf that was his sister as he shut the door behind him.

"Might as well pull up a seat. I doubt either of them will be waking up tonight." Arei stated as he continued to stare into the flickering flames of the fire and swirl the whiskey distractedly in his glass.

Russ did as the man said, sitting in the armchair across from him. This was the first time he'd been alone with the man since their car ride here several weeks ago. He glanced back at the bed, not taking his attention from Jos's sleeping face until a cold glass brushed his hand.

"Here, you probably need this after spending nearly three hours holed up with my brother." Arei said. His voice was stoic despite the stab at Ry. He waited for Russ to take the glass. He lifted his own glass for a long drink as Russ did the same. Arei trailed his every move from above the brim of the glass, his gaze not wavering even after the drink was lowered. "Fair warning, treat her right from here on out. I'll not step down again." With that he went back to watching the flicker of flames not acknowledging Russ's presents.

Russ finished off his drink and set the glass beside Arei on the table leaning down close to the other man. "I'm not afraid of you." He growled before standing and walking back toward the door. "I'm going to go shower. I'm sleeping here tonight so unless you want to be little spoon I suggest being gone before I get back."

Arei narrowed his eyes at the flames not giving the kid the satisfaction of knowing how angry his words were making him. He let out a heavy sigh as the door shut quietly, Jos's words from earlier replaying in his head.

"I know you'll leave, whether it's what I want or not."

Her tear-filled words tore at his aching heart. No doubt there was still a part of her that loved him after all this time. He hadn't let himself consider the possibility before... hadn't wanted to relive the pain that was losing her again, but it was way too late for that now. Only thing left to do was wait out the kid, whether that meant the next time he physically or emotionally abused Jos or another 500 years down the road when the boy was long past gone. He'd waited this long after all, what would another 500 years hurt. His eyes moved back to the bed and another painful thought hit him. In another 500 years the sweet wolf on the bed with Jos would also be gone. The thought pained him more than he ever would have expected. Somehow, in the past weeks, the girl had worked her way into her own small chunk of his heart. Granted he could never love her the way he did Jos or as anything remotely romantic... he did love the girl. The corner of his mouth lifted. Jos's influence was evident in the girl even in her wolf form.

Remembering what Russ had said, Arei set his glass down and walked over to the bed. He brushed the hair back from Jos's face and bent to kiss her exposed cheek before gently shaking Shelly awake. "Your brother will be back in here in a few minutes. I wasn't sure if you wanted to stick around for that, I know I don't." When the wolf made a groggy but disgusted face, he laughed and held his arms out for her. "Come on, wanna keep me company? We can binge some anime and eat weird ass pregnancy foods, what do ya say?" The wolf nodded and he helped her down from the bed. "After you." He said holding the door open for her.

An hour later Arei, Shelly, Raven, and Ry were piled up in the spacious reclining chairs of the home theater. Raven, Arei, and Ry were taking turns abridging an anime they'd found, making it as funny and dirty as possible.