I stood up and Lianne managed to stay pasted to my side during the process. She winked at me as she backed away, slightly anyway, and took my hand.

  “Normally I want you to speak up when you have something to say, but I really don’t want them knowing how important you are to me.”

  It was expected we’d all have escorts and guards. The new Thor with Victor, Gopal would probably take the new Shiva, and I had no idea who Isis and Osiris would bring. Maybe Ra, since he’d come in the first new wave as well.

  Anyway, the minute was up, so as soon as Lianne nodded I teleported us to the meeting place. Which was an old mountain in Peru. The Aztec gods wouldn’t mind, they weren’t here yet, and it was far from any of our old places of power, so neutral enough, even if the whole world was kind of neutral now it still had an impact. It was also away from everyone’s hometown and even modern country of birth.

  There was an old Ziggurat at the base of the mountain, and the jungle was in every direction. There were no humans near here either, which had been another reason for my suggestion. If things went really wrong, there was no risk of collateral damage. Well, unless a person was a tree hugger, but I’d rather put trees in danger than people.

  The only ones there before us was Isis and Osiris, and they’d brought the new Anut, a tier three war goddess. Most likely because the new Sekhmet had yet to claim her power.

  I nodded in greeting, “Karim, Layla.”

  Layla smiled, “A pleasure to meet you. I didn’t even know you’d been reborn.”

  Karim wasn’t nearly as welcoming, a wary look on his face, but he did nod in greeting.

  I replied, “Well, I haven’t advertised, and Freda and Teresa do a great job interfacing with the human world. No reason to announce myself and make everyone nervous as to my intentions, when I have no intention of changing anything that way. And by everyone, I mean of course, the paranoid governments.”

  She laughed, “That makes sense. So, should I be worried like Karim here?” she poked her new lover.

  I said, “I’d say between the two of you, you’ll strike the happy medium this calls for.”

  Karim snorted.

  I chuckled, “Rightly so, no reason to trust me, yet. But I’m also a shifter. I may exercise perspicacity, but you won’t catch me lying. Ever. And it’s only my opinion.”

  A green globe of light appeared, and when it fell Gopal and the new Banka Mundi, who was the goddess of fertility and the hunt.

  Gopal bowed, “Greetings, I see we are waiting for Viktor. Figures.”

  We all nodded back in greeting.

  “You’re late too,” I noted in a friendly tone.

  Gopal shrugged, and then waved casually at the goddess at his side in explanation, who immediately blushed and looked at the ground. His face pretty much said, can you blame me for finishing up first? I had to admit, she was quite lovely, and I really couldn’t blame him for it.

  Layla giggled when she cottoned on to that, then blushed as she gave Karim an adoring expression so profound that I felt like a voyeur seeing it.

  Her actions and excitement didn’t make me underestimate her, Isis was a badass, after all. She was just really jazzed, a new goddess, had found new love, and she was meeting other gods she’d probably held in awe her whole human life. I was quite sure she was also prepared for things to go bad, she just really didn’t think they would and her friendliness reflected that.

  In her defense, she’d never met that prick Odin, and my powers were telling me Viktor hadn’t really evolved like I had. More like Nate to Zeus, rather than me. Because honestly, Zeus had been every inch the prick Odin had been.

  I was hoping it wouldn’t come to violence either of course, and I wouldn’t be there if I didn’t think there as some chance at a peaceful resolution. These weren’t just gods, they’d been raised human with modern sensibilities and in societies with much deeper respect for life that hadn’t really existed back then.

  “I’m getting this started, in three, two…” then grinned at the red globe of power that appeared, when it fell Viktor was accompanied by the new Aegir, Norse god of the sea. Which was a subtle threat. He was telling I had no counter to Aegir, but I wasn’t worried about it in the least.

  The others all looked annoyed at him as well, as my little countdown showed the idiot had been watching from a distance, as I knew he had been.

  I dove right in, “The purpose in asking you all here is my hope that we can agree to a few rules. Whatever reason we’re back, the world is a new place, and our pantheons all spread around it instead of being isolated on our own territories and cultures. Inevitably, our gods will interact, if only running across each other in the streets of their common hometown.

  “By our mantels, our instincts, none of us here would allow another god to interfere with our own gods with impunity.”

  Viktor sneered, “If you’re done stating the obvious, get to the point.”

  I nodded, “I’ve put down strict rules of engagement to every god in my pantheon, if any of my gods mess with yours, they’ll be punished severely. I would hope the same would be true of you, if any of your gods mess with mine. We all have troublemakers, it’s the nature of our mantels. In short, none of us should punish a god that is not ours, if you have to subdue one, and deliver them to justice, that should be allowable. The last thing we need is a war of pantheons that will turn the humans against us.

  “Honestly, that would be enough for me. Just that, play nice and observe the fence. A second thing to consider would be limited cooperation. One example would be Freda helping out any of yours with contacts and getting set up, as far as human outreach programs and assistance Freda has her fingertips in every country around the world as well as organizations with multiple countries as members, for aid. It would also help avoiding duplicate efforts.

  “Obviously, cooperation would have to be limited to things like that, or it could be perceived as or grow corrupt, and become interference. So all I’m asking is you think about those two things, and get back to me when you decide.”

  Viktor shook his head in disgust, “Keep your gods away from mine, and we’ll be fine. That goes for all of you, I can keep mine in line and won’t tolerate attacks on my own. Period. This new soft and weak version of you doesn’t ring true, Liam. You may have stronger control of your pantheon than ever before, but you had to take out your two top generals to do it. Which leaves you at a bit of a disadvantage, does it not? No wonder you speak softly and urge for peace.”

  I snorted, “As usual you see my truths through your own ambition. This is just modern government and politics, not weakness. I’ve upgraded, while you’re still wallowing in the past where drawing a sword is the first act, not the last. Nate made the same mistake, and we all know what happened to him.

  “The humans in this new world are dangerous, and not to be underestimated. Sure, they couldn’t kill any of us present,” I waved at the powerful group present, “but they could wipe out about ninety percent of our pantheons if they put their mind to it. They could take our money, shut down our businesses, and just in general be a total pain in our asses. Like a shifter with a pack, I choose to protect that pack by not shoving it anyone’s face, which war or even constant skirmishes would do. But god help anyone that attacks my pack, that hasn’t changed a bit. I trust you understand.”

  “A nice bluff, and a decent argument, but I’m not buying it. Your missing your land and sea heavy artillery.”

  I shrugged, “Yes, but then, Zeus never had the primordial god and goddess of darkness and night on his side. They wouldn’t even give him the time of day. I am not in a stronger position, but nor am in the weaker position that you seem to believe.”

  Viktor snorted, “They’re powerful I’ll grant you, but you’re a fool if you think they can replace earth, ocean, death, and storm. How are they going to stop a tidal wave, for instance. Keep your gods away from mine,” he glared at the whole group, “Or else,” then nodded sharply and disappeared in a sphere of white light.

  Gopal quipped, “He’s evolved.”

  I laughed, “Also an idiot, since we share the world now any place that he hits with a tidal wave would affect his people too, and only a few of ours, while turning the humans against us. Earthquakes would be equally as useless.”

  Gopal said, “Well, it seems like a no-brainer, all agree to punish our own severely for interfering with another pantheon, and allow the violence required to subdue the troublemaker if necessary, as long as they’re delivered back to us for justice. I’d also be fine with my gods that show interest in helping the humans with crops, health, and such working with Freda. In a limited fashion, if only to share contacts and agree on a split of the work.

  “Parties too, if we can swing it. Drinking and carousing clearly isn’t interference with our authority over our people.”

  I snorted, “You haven’t evolved either.”

  Layla snickered.

  Gopal nodded, “And you love that fact, so don’t be late when I send out invitations.”

  We both looked at Karim and Layla.

  Layla bit her lip and looked at Karim, obviously on board with it all, even the parties, but not wanting to speak for him or their pantheon alone.

  Karim sighed, “Fine. I agree. I don’t trust you, but I’ll extend the rope required for you to either prove trustworthy or hang yourself. Your proposal makes too much sense not to give it a try.”

  He also probably didn’t feel strongly enough about it to fight Layla on the idea, who was clearly taking my and Gopal’s word at face value.

  I nodded, “That’s good enough.”

  Layla sighed, “It’s not going to be enough though, is it? Not without Viktor’s agreement to a shared rules of engagement between our pantheons.”

  She wasn’t wrong, I was counting on Mark to prevent the troublemakers that wouldn’t restrain themselves from attacking other pantheon’s gods. But I couldn’t offer that option for them, it would be interfering, and an offer of help would be seen as an insult to their ability to rule besides.

  They all had their own seers of course, but they hadn’t reached twenty-one yet.

  In short, I feared war was inevitable anyway. The four of us, three pantheons, might play nice with good intentions, but if Viktor caught one of our troublemakers, he’d deliver punishment to our gods in an act of retaliation. Likely torture and kill the god, then send a video of it along with the head, or something equally gruesome and pointed.

  Which of course, none of us could afford to let go unanswered, and it’d all snowball from there and escalate into war.

  All it took was one jackass in power to start a war, after all.

  Even if I could keep my gods out of it, with Mark’s help, the backlash from the humans would paint my pantheon along with Viktor’s and whoever he’d gone to war with. I wasn’t worried about me, not really, but I worried and was responsible for my pack. I had to protect them, and in this case that was my gods.

  Humans generalized as a rule, especially when they were scared and acted on emotions, and they would fear all of us, not just Viktor and the Norse gods. They also attacked what they feared. The world had come a long way in accepting the supernatural the last sixty years, forty years or so with gods in it, but all it would take was one war between pantheons to reignite those fears, especially if there was a large amount of collateral damage in lives and property.

  Which really, would happen. We were powerful beings.

  On the good side, Sara told me I could avoid the mess, if I was in power. On the bad side, in that moment I had no idea how. This meeting was surely a step in the right direction, but it also wasn’t enough.

  On another note, I couldn’t entirely blame Karim for his skepticism, I doubted I’d be taking them all at their appearance and word if it wasn’t for my shifter advantage. My nose didn’t lie, I’d know if they were playing me falsely. My mantle of rule was telling me I couldn’t trust them either, but of course my nose countered that to a great degree, was my point.

  Gopal shrugged, “It could be worse. Even just the three of us getting along, would be… well, really new.”

  Layla snickered, “Good point.”

  Karim said, “We need to get going, lay down the laws and rules of engagement for our people.”

  I nodded, and we all teleported out.

  They wouldn’t have nearly an easy time of it as I had. When our pantheon first appeared, there was a lot of chaos and uncertainty. It didn’t help that Nate was an idiot, but it also wasn’t all his fault. It took time to build a government framework, and to get the people in line and onboard.

  As annoying as the council had been in the beginning, they did have our people mostly behaving save for those that literally couldn’t. Taking over hadn’t changed that, and the small tweaks I’d made just improved it that way.

  Lianne had a needy and wild look in her eyes, as she pushed me down on the couch and fell to her knees. Her hands fumbled to get my pants open as she stared into my eyes with a manic lust and with the promise of great pleasure in my immediate future. I didn’t know what triggered her manic libido reaction, but nor did I care. I just let her take care of me, since it was what she needed.

  She awed me still, every day.

  Plus, it was an amazing amount of pleasure.

  Chapter Eight

  The mansion outside Portland in the sticks had finally closed, and it was officially mine. The ladies had gone on a self-guided tour of the place, while I put up the same complex ward structure that was on the Brownstone in Manhattan.

  They found me in the kitchen when I was done, and I loved that they all touched me and moved close, all of them were touchers to an extent or other, and I’d have hated it if they weren’t. Shifter thing, clingy was good.

  Lianne said, “We need to decorate, this place is great. Bigger than the Brownstone, newer too.”

  I nodded, “You three have my approval to do anything you want that way, it’s your home too. Decoration and furniture, but if pink curtains show up in the living room, I don’t promise to let them live.”

  They all giggled. They also looked really happy to have carte blanche in decorating our new home, and I was a guy so didn’t really care as long as it wasn’t cloyingly feminine.

  Faith said, “We won’t let you down. What will you be doing?”

  I replied, “I’m going to create a second master load room for our business. Not necessarily to increase our throughput to two million a day, but more for a backup in case the current room is… harmed in an attack, or something goes wrong there. It’ll only take me a few hours, and it’s worth having a backup site to remove the single point of failure in our supply chain. That said, it’ll be used if we’ve seriously underestimated the daily demand.

  “I’ll have Misty write the code to keep them perfectly synced, but I want you to verify it after your done with the current project.”

  My gorgeous buttery blonde kissed me softly, and whispered seductively, “Yes, sir.”

  Lianne looked at me hesitantly, as Faith and Cerise started to plan out rooms, paint colors, furniture, and themes, with sparkling eyes.

  I waved, “I won’t leave the house until you’re back, go shopping with them. If it makes you feel better,” I turned to Misty, “Notify Lianne immediately at the first sign I’m in danger or under attack.”

  Misty winked, “She’ll know before you do, sir.”

  Lianne obviously heard Misty’s reply, and she smiled. She kissed me long and deeply, and then left with the others. It would probably take a while before they’d be satisfied with it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they finished furnishing at least the basics tonight. Any furniture could be teleported straight to the spot for it, right from the showroom floor, after all.

  As for me, I got to work on that datacenter room.

  While I was doing that, I also asked myself the usual questions. No plotting going on internally, against me specifically or the members of the council, or my mates and lovers. No plotting at all from the other pantheons either.

  Except of course for Viktor. He didn’t have an active plot, but the king of the Norse pantheon clearly couldn’t wait to embarrass me. I supposed that was one nice thing I could say for Viktor, he wouldn’t attack me or mine without an excuse. He was just bloodthirsty enough to really enjoy the idea of taking out one of mine if they crossed over into his backyard.

  It wasn’t just me either, he’d kill anyone that crossed that line, and wanted to be left alone.

  The only other thing I got from my questions was someone was hunting me. Just… not in a bad way, even if it was a surprise. It took me a few more self-reflective questions and answers from the universe to figure out what was going on, and I planned to tell the others when they got back.

  Then I got down to work.

  It was several hours later, and we were back at the Brownstone in bed. The ladies had furnished the place, but they still had to buy all the linens from curtains and sheets to towels. Personal products and kitchenware, so it wasn’t really livable yet. The offices were done though, so we could do our work out of it if we wanted to.

  Regardless, when they’d gotten back Faith had seduced the hell out of me with an innocent look on her face while her lush sinful body was covered in nothing but a powder blue mostly transparent silk negligee. She driven me crazy, with a mix of coy and seductiveness in her every movement, her every expression, and her every word.

  I don’t know who enjoyed it more, when she drove me out of my mind and I took her harshly up against the wall, while our other mates watched. Then we’d all gone home, and that had been about three hours ago. In the moment, we were all extremely sated and content, cuddled up on the bed.

  Which was when I finally remembered I was being hunted. I mean, Faith’s seduction had totally driven it from my mind.

  “We need to talk. A shifter from my old pack is looking for me, Aubrey. It turns out breaking the mating with Raelyn and rendering her infertile led to the dissolution of the pack over the last few weeks. Pablo lost his control over the pack, and they split up. Most have already found other packs, but some few are still wandering, and Aubrey is one of them.