Sobek’s Joy (The Gods Made Me Do It #18)
Chapter One
“You’re insufferable when you pout.”
Sobek glared at Horus, who was sprawled across the velvet settee in his gaudy gold tracksuit, looking like some disco-era cosplayer. The god’s pinched features twisted into what was probably meant to be a regal scowl but looked more like a child being denied dessert.
“I am not pouting. I am expressing my legitimate displeasure that lesser gods - like Seth of all beings - have found their mates while I, the rightful king of Egypt, remain alone.”
“In my opinion, Seth deserved his mate,” Sobek said drily. “His position in this pantheon was won through right of birth and his devotion to Ra over centuries. He’s never tried to be anyone he isn’t, unlike you, who cheated your way onto the throne you cling to.”
“I don’t know why people keep going on about that.
A piffling detail during an event that happened so long ago, no one even remembers it.
” Horus waved a hand dismissively, rings catching the light.
“I was a good king, and that’s what should count.
And I wasn’t even talking about that. My point is that everyone is finding their fated mates except me. It’s unconscionable.”
Sobek’s jaw clenched, and his fingers tightened around the arm of the chair he was using. They’d been having variations of the same conversation for months, ever since Seth had claimed his wolf shifter mate and promptly disappeared into domestic bliss.
Before that, it had been Ra and two mates.
Sobek had to give the Father of All ten points for that - a wolf shifter and a vampire.
Anubis was mated to Loki - another god from another pantheon completely - and so the pattern continued, spreading through pantheons like wildfire, leaving Horus increasingly bitter and Sobek increasingly pissed off with the entire topic.
Everywhere he looked it was mates, mates, mates, and if it wasn’t mates, it was gods having children, as though they hadn’t already had a heap of them a gazillion years ago.
“Perhaps the Fates recognize you’re not ready for a mate,” he suggested for what felt like the hundredth time. “It’s not like you get out much…”
“Not ready? I’ve been alive for millennia. I’ve ruled kingdoms. I have been worshipped for…”
And here we go again, blah, blah, blah. “And yet you’re still wearing crappy clothing and acting like a spoiled child.” Sobek stood, his considerable height and breadth making Horus’s receiving room feel cramped. “I don’t have time for this. I’ve got other things to do.”
“Where are you going?” Was that a spark of excitement in Horus’s eyes? Did he think Sobek would want him to tag along?
“I’m going anywhere you aren’t, and I’m going to stay there until you start doing something positive with your own life, instead of bleating about mates that I have no interest in finding for myself, let alone for you.”
He translocated, disappearing before Horus could launch into yet another tirade.
He genuinely had no time or patience for people who did nothing but complain about their situation.
It’s not like you’re not a god yourself.
You could do whatever you wanted with your life if you’d just get your head out of your ass.
However, Sobek did think it was probably best that Horus stayed away from regular people until he changed his wardrobe. In his gaudy clothes, he was sure to attract attention and probably not the sort of attention he was looking for.
/~/~/~/~/
The Louisiana cabin was blessedly silent.
Moss dripped from old cypress trees, and the humid air pressed against his skin.
Sobek had rented the place because it was remote.
There was a solitary house about a half a mile away, his place was twenty miles from the nearest town, and the cabin itself was only accessible by a dirt road - perfect for discouraging casual visitors or people asking for directions.
The moment he knew he was alone, Sobek allowed his shift to flow through his body. Some might say his crocodile was his natural form, while others said it was a shifter form. To Sobek, his animal side was his true form and part of being the god he was.
Unlike shifters, Sobek didn’t need to strip to turn into a crocodile, and neither did he have to suffer through bones reforming and all that other nonsense that shifters endured.
If he thought he was a crocodile, he was a crocodile, and when he needed two legs, not four, he just thought about that instead and didn’t end up naked with his butt and dick hanging out for all to see.
He really didn’t know how shifters managed to deal with that on a daily basis, but like pretty much anything else in life, in Sobek’s opinion, it wasn’t his concern.
A deep pond waited beyond the trees - the main reason Sobek had rented the house.
It was spring fed, cool, and ringed by water lilies.
Sobek slipped into the water with barely a ripple, the liquid closing over his back as he sank.
His tail swept lazily as he made his way to the muddy bottom, settling into the silt with a satisfied rumble that vibrated through his chest.
This. This was what he needed. No drama about the Fates and what they were doing with mates.
No Horus complaining about his bruised ego.
Honestly, the amount of time Horus spent complaining about Seth when the whole damn pantheon already knew how vindicated Seth had been…
I don’t need that shit in my life. This is all I need.
Peace. Quiet. Solitude. Just water, silence, and the slow passage of time.
A fish darted past, its silver scales flashing in a shaft of sunlight. Sobek’s predator instincts stirred lazily, but he dismissed them. He’d eaten before leaving Horus’s place, and he planned to zap up a meal when he’d had enough of the water.
His third eyelid slid closed, filtering the murky green light. He could stay in the water for days, even weeks if he was so inclined. He was content to let the modern world spin on without him and for the other gods to find their mates and build their perfect little families. Let Horus…
A splash shattered the stillness, and Sobek’s eyes snapped open.
His powerful tail swept once, sending him gliding through the water toward the disturbance.
It was probably a deer, or it could have been one of the local gators, though they typically left him alone.
As far as Sobek was concerned, if he was in a body of water, that made it his territory – even if that was temporary – meaning no one else was welcome.
A small figure bobbed in the water near the shallows. A child. What the fuck?
Sobek surged upward, breaking the surface with enough force to send water cascading in all directions.
The child - a boy, maybe four years old with dark hair plastered to his skull - was treading water, looking perfectly at home.
But what stopped Sobek cold wasn’t the boy’s presence, it was the scales rippling across his small arms. Scales that looked suspiciously like crocodile scales.
What in the name of…
“TIM.”
The sound of crashing came from the shore. Two more children burst through the underbrush - a boy with long dark hair and a girl with wild curls bouncing around her face. Both were soaking wet, with leaves stuck to their clothes.
“Rose, wait.” The older boy tried to grab the girl’s arm, but she’d already launched herself toward the water, claws - actual panther claws - extended from her fingertips. The boy followed, and Sobek caught the unmistakable glint of fur sprouting along his forearms. Wolf fur?
All three children were shifters. All three appeared to be already showing their shifter traits, and yet none of them could have been older than five.
Which was impossible. Shifters didn’t fully manifest until adolescence, and even partial shifts required years of training and control that young children simply didn’t possess. Yet they were in Sobek’s rented quiet space, soaking wet and covered in the telltale signs of an imminent shift.
The crocodile hatchling, Tim, spotted Sobek and froze. His eyes went wide, scales spreading up his neck in what looked like panic. Sobek did the only thing he could think of. He needed to herd them out of the freaking water.
He pushed through the water, creating a wake that in turn pushed the boy toward shore.
The child squeaked - an oddly crocodilian sound - and paddled frantically in the right direction, at least. When the wolf pup tried to dive deeper, Sobek’s tail swept beneath him, gently but firmly redirecting him toward solid ground.
The panther cub attempted to slash at him with her claws, her tiny face scrunched in concentration, but he simply moved out of reach and nudged her along with the others.
Within minutes, all three children stood dripping on the bank, huddled together like a mismatched set of nesting dolls.
That was an interesting moment - three children facing off against the biggest of all crocodiles.
But then, as if they had heard a signal, the kids all tilted their heads, and as quickly as they arrived, they disappeared in a mass of muddy clothes and running feet until only the churned mud and small footprints remained.
Humph. They’re not your problem. The words echoed in his mind as Sobek sank back into the water, letting the coolness close over his head once more.
Whatever situation those children found themselves in, whatever strange magic allowed them to show signs of their shifter sides so young, it had nothing to do with him.
It was his pond for as long as he paid the rent, and he’d come for solitude, not to entangle himself in someone else’s crisis.
Clearly, the Fates were bored and looking for a laugh.
They definitely had a twisted sense of humor, dropping shifter children - including a very rare crocodile hatchling - into his path as though they were his concern.
They’re probably testing me. Perhaps they have it in their heads that I’ll investigate or get myself involved in mortal matters.
I’m not falling for your trap, ladies. I know the non-interference law the same as the rest of my kin. It’s not happening.
Sobek settled back into the silt, willing his muscles to relax. The fish returned, darting around him with increasing confidence. The water lilies swayed in an invisible current. Everything returned to the peaceful stillness he’d sought when he’d left Horus’s dramatic wailing behind.
Except his mind refused to be quiet. He kept seeing the scales on Tim’s arm and neck. The kid was clearly a crocodile hatchling, but Sobek couldn’t remember the last time he’d even heard of one being born. Sometime in the eighteen hundreds, perhaps?
It was definitely more than a hundred years ago.
Crocodiles, especially shifters, were hellishly long-lived and didn’t reproduce easily because of it.
When young were born, the parents guarded them until they reached maturity.
Sobek had never heard of a situation where a hatchling would be allowed to wander in a remote area alone, especially with other shifter types.
Which meant the boy either had no parents, or...It’s. Not. Your. Problem.
The modern world had grated on Sobek’s nerves for decades.
Everything was too loud, too fast, and too full of complications he wanted no part of.
Other gods seemed to get along fine with their little businesses and using apps and social media.
Sobek preferred antiques, traveling, and most of all, his solitude.
He’d existed for a very long time without needing anyone else, and he wasn’t about to start changing his ways now.
Certainly not because three waterlogged children had stumbled into his pond.
Even if one of them was a crocodile hatchling who shouldn’t be running around with only other little ones for company, and even if all three children were showing signs they were already struggling with shifting when they were far too young to even be thinking about it.
Definitely not my problem. Sobek closed his eyes and forced himself to sink deeper into the meditative state he’d perfected over the years.
The water embraced him. Time slowed. His heartbeat dropped to the bare minimum needed to sustain his form, and he was finally at peace…
mostly. Tim? Who calls their hatchling Tim?