2. Perseus
Perseus
P erseus Gialamas tapped a slow, deliberate rhythm on the polished surface of the large oak desk. The pattern soothed him, letting him to space out for a moment. Zoning out was supposedly good for the brain, allowing it to relax.
However, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d relaxed.
Even as a child, he eschewed playing with his friends and other amusements so he could excel in school, getting straight A’s and graduating top of his class in high school.
He was the same through college, his MBA program, and he worked his ass off at Gialamas Pacific Seafood Imports and Exports until he became its youngest C-level executive at the age of twenty-four.
He never took vacations, sick days, or even holidays off.
And when he wasn’t at the office, he assisted his father and Alpha with pack business.
As a wolf shifter, he not only felt fealty toward his pack, but it was practically ingrained in him.
Whatever they needed, he was always there, available to help, day or night.
No, Perseus did not like being idle. He didn’t just like to keep busy—he needed it. Needed it like he needed air to breathe, and on some level, stopping would make him lose his momentum and the world would stop spinning and he would have to face what he really was .
Pulling himself from his trance, he glanced up at the clock.
In a few minutes, the rest of the team would arrive.
As if he didn’t have enough on his plate, he took on another project, namely, helping his future brother-in-law track down descendants from his family.
But then again, it was difficult to say no.
Not just because said future brother-in-law was a literal god, but the job itself intrigued him.
Truth be told, his job was starting to get boring and stale.
After two years, the East Coast office of the company was up and running, and his brother, Theo, ran it like a well-oiled machine and they were on their way to profitability.
Things with the pack had been relatively peaceful as well.
So, when his sister, Psyche, asked him for help, he didn’t hesitate for this new opportunity.
Indeed, the last year he’d put his skills as a tracker to good use, finding the lost geryons of Vale Crossing. He kept busy, kept his world spinning, preventing it from screeching to a halt. He thought he was doing a good job.
Until she came along.
How the fuck could she know?
In one moment, his deepest, darkest secret had been exposed, laid bare for all to see.
Everyone around him knew him as Leo and Jean Gialamas’s adopted son.
Chief Operating Officer of Gialamas Pacific.
Son to the Alpha of the Vancouver pack. No one knew his secret.
Not even him, until that fateful night he turned eighteen years old.
In a shimmer of light, the figure appeared. A tall, hulking man with golden curls. Eyes of indescribable color.
Do you want to know who you really are, Perseus Gialamas?
The creaking from the door hinges jolted him from his thoughts. His head snapped up toward the intruder standing in the doorway.
Of course, it was her.
“I didn’t realize anyone else would be here.” Though her mirrored aviators covered her eyes and most of her upper face, Perseus could sense the hesitation from her coming off in waves. She was about as happy to see him as he was her. “I could come back?—”
“No need. Come in.” However, he didn’t move a muscle or make any motion that would signify a welcome.
The click-clack of her heels filled the silence of the room as she made her way to the empty seat across from him. Medusa was tall and willowy, with a no-nonsense manner that did not pique his interest.
Okay, so on some deeper, primal level, Medusa did pique his interest. The moment he laid eyes on her when she walked into the room, he felt the attraction, unusual for him as he usually preferred stacked blondes with curvy, swaying hips and inviting smiles.
He ignored that pull, which, in hindsight, had been a good decision.
“Perseus, right?” she said nonchalantly, as if she hadn’t fucking exposed who he was to the god of love and desire of all people. “We weren’t formally introduced. I’m?—”
“I know your name,” he cut off. “No need for introductions.”
Her shoulders fell. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean?—”
“No need for apologies either.” He wouldn’t accept it anyway.
Besides, maybe Eros or Psyche didn’t believe her.
After that meeting last Friday, Perseus made a quick escape back to his condo in the city.
He’d waited for a call or a visit from one of them, or even his parents, but no one contacted him or came to his door.
Perhaps he’d be able to keep his secret after all.
“Good morning,” grumbled Bob as he came in.
Thank fuck. “Morning,” Perseus greeted. From the scowl on his face, it was obvious that Bob hadn’t had his morning coffee—that and the fact that he made a beeline for the machine set up in the corner. Once he poured himself a cup and took a sip, he marched back to the table.
“Good morning, Medusa, I trust you had a good weekend?”
“I did,” she said. “Lord Eros and Psyche set me up with one of the guest cabins overlooking the ocean. I woke up to sss uch a lovely view this morning. And the commute here to the main house is so easy.”
When his parents had heard about the search for the descendants from Eros’s family tree, they not only suggested bringing Perseus in but also offered their home as a base for their activities.
It made sense, and so they set up an office in one of the studies on the lower level of the house.
Leo and Jean had always been generous, but Perseus had a feeling that they made the offer so as to once again have two of their children back home.
“Oh, sorry,” Bob said as he took another sip. “I should have gotten one for you.”
“No, need, I can manage.” Getting up, she headed over to the coffee station and picked up the pot. “Perseus, would you?—”
“No.”
She stiffened for a moment, then proceeded to pour herself a cup before returning to her seat. “When will we?—”
Eros materialized in one of the chairs. “Begin? How about now?”
To her credit, Medusa didn’t flinch at the god’s sudden appearance. But then again, as a monster from Vale Crossing, she was probably used to such things.
“Damn it!” Bob cursed as he spilled some coffee on his shirt. “Can’t you walk in like a normal person?”
“I’m not a normal person,” the god reminded him. “Medusa, how is your cabin?”
“Excellent, Lord Eros.”
“Good. Do let me or any of the staff know if you need anything.”
“Thank you, Lord Eros, I will.” She gave him a reverent nod. “After a relaxing weekend, however, I am eager to get to work.”
“Excellent, I knew you were the right person for the job,” he said with a bright smile. “I’m glad we came to an agreement on your contract and fee.”
“It was a very generous fee,” she said. “And thank you for agreeing to my one stipulation.”
“Stipulation?” The words came out of Perseus’s mouth before he could stop them. He knew he shouldn’t care, nor did he have any say in who Bob hired or how much money he wanted to waste, but he couldn’t help himself. “What stipulation?”
“Medusa asked for some time off in a couple of days,” Eros explained.
“I have an important personal matter to attend to, and it was pre- sss cheduled, even before Lord Eros contacted me.” She patted the side of her head with one elegant, perfectly-manicured hand.
“I offered to begin right after, but he insisted I come this last weekend. He said it was urgent that I at least be on-boarded before today.”
Perseus frowned. “Why the rush? We know this project is going to take a long time.”
“I’ll explain later.” Eros dismissed the topic with a wave of his hand. “Shall we begin, Bob?”
Bob pulled a laptop out of his briefcase. “Medusa, have you been briefed on our mission?”
“Once I signed the contracts, Lord Eros gave me the files. I read through them over the weekend.” Placing her cup down on the table, she took a folder out of her purse.
“You are trying to locate the descendants of Cyncus, a former geryon leader from Vale Crossing, on the Upperworld. Once you have gathered them all, you plan to release the magic trapped in a pyxis without exposing them to mortals who have no idea about the existence of supernatural or divine beings. Is that all?”
“That’s about it,” Eros said. “Sounds simple, right?”
The corner of her mouth tugged up. “So simple.”
Perseus found himself fixating on that lush mouth of hers, painted scarlet red, the top lip a perfect bow shape.
“We’ve found everyone in Vale Crossing,” Bob continued. “However, some of Cyncus’s descendants, having lost their wings and magic, fled to the Upperworld. They intermarried with the humans, and now their descendants have no idea who they are. Which is why it’s so hard to find them all.”
“Like a needle in a haystack,” Eros added. “But, that’s why we called on you.”
“You’ll be our metal detector, searching for those needles,” Bob said.
“But the Upperworld is so big,” she said. “We could spend years, even decades trying to locate them all.”
Perseus groaned to himself. He sure hoped not.
“Not necessarily.” Bob connected his laptop to the projector on the table, then switched it on.
“Thankfully, the remaining geryons of Vale Crossing were able to keep records of some of their family members who ventured into the Upperworld. They call it the Book of Geryons .” The projector screen blinked, and a family tree with various branches appeared.
“It’s been helpful in narrowing down our research. ”
“And this book tells you the location of all the geryon descendants on the Upperworld?”