Free Demigod Down by Kim Schubert

he asked,
worried.
    “Yeah,” I answered, slouching in my seat,
“Today isn’t going exactly to plan.” I hadn’t let him know about
the arbitration I had signed up for.
    “Are you almost done?” he asked, rustling
papers in the background.
    “Probably a few more hours. We haven’t even
begun on the Logan and Lorraine wedding nightmare.” I answered,
smiling at Logan who was scowling at me.
    “What a cluster fuck that is going to be,
you’ll have to explain how you got roped into it,” he muttered.
“The politics of the shifter nation is a train wreck right now and
all the high and mighty pair do is more damage. It’s a damn miracle
Logan hasn’t been challenged for the title.”
    “I know. I was actually thinking the same
thing,” I answered thoughtfully. Logan shifted in his seat, arms
crossed over his chest.
    “Probably has something to do with Kass and
Darren getting married. You, my dear, are viewed as aligning with
them and you are a powerful threat,” Blake said as a door opened in
the background.
    “That’s a vicious rumor,” I muttered. “I have
not aligned myself with the shifters, just Darren.”
    Blake laughed, “You know it doesn’t work like
that.”
    I groaned. He was right. “A girl can
dream.”
    “Yes, she can,” he said with a sigh. “I gotta
go sweetie, not sure when I’ll be back.”
    “No worries,” I said with false nonchalance
as the call ended.
    “He sounds busy,” Logan commented.
    “He is, Logan, just as I am, babysitting your
ass, in case you hadn’t noticed,” I informed him, pulling onto the
highway.
    “I noticed,” He growled.
    “Anytime you feel like correcting that, be my
guest,” I told him forcefully.
    “It’s complicated,” He growled, sinking lower
in his seat.
    “No, it’s not. You got to the top because you
were the most powerful, just, and deadliest shifter there was. A
stupid human does not change your roll, no matter how you wish you
were different. We are the creatures that go bump in the night,
that seek justice and create it in bloody ways when necessary. Do
not forget that,” I informed him, hissing out a breath.
    We rode back to the hotel in painful
silence.
    Neither of us could get out of the SUV fast
enough once we were back in the underground parking lot, stomping
our way back to the conference room.
    Logan opened the cream doors pausing a moment
before moving aside to let me through. “Thanks,” I muttered at him,
not sure what caused the sudden chivalry.
    Laughter greeted my ears as I jerked my head
up from the carpet seeing Darren and Kass sitting at the end with
glorious food spread out.
    “Hey,” I said, my voice betraying how
relieved I was to see them.
    Darren smiled, standing to embrace me
breathing in the scent of the graveyard and death as he pulled
back, a question in his eyes before he turned to shake hands with
his brother.
    “Thought you guys might be hungry,” he said
as I grabbed a cheese sandwich and pickle.
    “Famished,” I answered, stuffing my face.
    Logan scooped up what appeared to be a turkey
club sliding me a napkin and plate before setting himself next to
Kass.
    We sat in companionable silence, Ali and
Grant sliding in to get something to eat as well and hand out water
bottles. The peaceful sound of our chewing was interrupted by
Lorraine barging through the doors. I felt her hot hatred and
irritation before I even turned to see who it was.
    Exhaling, she said nothing as she sat down
next to me. Her arms locked across her chest, glaring daggers into
Logan.
    “Would you like something to eat?” Kass
attempted politely.
    “Not that crap. I do have a wedding dress to
fit into,” Lorraine scolded as Kass pushed her plate back, fleeing
from the room and Lorraine’s cruel words.
    Tendrils of pure hatred wove under my skin as
I turned to her. “Insult her again and I will make you bleed,” I
whispered softly.
    She scoffed, not believing my threat, “You
can’t touch me. I am his fiancé,” she