The report noted that Ms. Artemis’s company employed between twenty and fifty people – on the face of things, itappeared Orion Industries was structured the same as any other company. “So, who is on your management team?” Titus muttered. There was no information in the file. Titus’s eyes gleamed as he noticed a website address. Bingo. Ignoring the paperwork, Titus tapped on his computer keyboard.
The Orion Industries interface was clean-cut and professional. Titus approved. It was also easy to navigate. The “About Us” section was bland and generic. The mission statement spoke about enhancing planet resources, blah, blah. If Titus had been asked to review the mission statement and subsequent commentary, he would have thought it was written by someone in school trying to complete their first business plan for class. Whoever had written it was simply ticking boxes.
Red flags were starting to flutter in the back of Titus’s head. While he found it difficult to believe the woman he’d met for breakfast could be the head of a criminal organization, bland and generic mission statements on the website were screaming “scam site.”
What does this company actually do?Titus found that information on a press release page. It appeared that Orion Industries was involved in financing and project managing global community projects that focused on saving animals and the environment. Some of the projects listed included preventing the deforestation of jungle tracts in South America, the prevention of animal poaching in various parts of Africa, and, strangely, at least to Titus, the funding of various dog shelters around the US. Specifically, hound shelters.
This is definitely weird.Titus didn’t have any issues with private companies funding community initiatives. His own company donated huge amounts of money to the protection of wild wolves and funded organizations whose goals were to stop the hunting of his natural counterparts. It was far too easy for shifters toget caught in the gun sights of a zealous hunter or farmer, and Titus would prefer that the practice be stopped completely.But hounds?
When it clicked, Titus wanted to hit himself on the head. Artemis. Hound. He’d been in the presence of a freaking goddess.No wonder she was glamoured.The ancient goddess Artemis was not specifically associated with wolves – that was Fenrir – so Titus didn’t blame himself for not realizing who she was sooner. It’s not like anyone expected an ancient Greek goddess to own a business in any city in America. Especially one who attended professional meetings herself.
A knock on the door and Regis popped his head around, coming in when he saw Titus wasn’t on the phone. Like Titus, he was a tall alpha wolf, but he was slimmer than Titus’s muscled bulk. Titus and Regis grew up together, and Titus considered him a brother from another mother.
“You’re looking unusually pensive.” Regis settled himself in the chair closest to the desk. “Everything is ticking along the way it should be. I’ve just approved the payroll – we had six of our drivers hit their bonus status this month, and no one has had a crash or breakdown in almost two weeks, knock on wood. By all accounts, you should be celebrating.”
“Hmm. I am. This is my celebratory face.” Titus circled his finger in the general direction of his face before flipping the bird at his friend. “What do you know about the ancient Greek goddess Artemis?”
“Not a lot.” To his credit, Regis didn’t look surprised at the question. But then he often joked over drinks that Titus’s mind was a veritable theme park, often jumping from one ride to the next. Just as Titus expected, Regis pulled out his fold tablet – aprototype model only he and Titus had so far, and swiped and tapped on his screen.
“According to mythology, and we all know how ridiculous most of that is, Artemis is known as the goddess of the hunt. She apparently asked her father, Zeus, for everlasting celibacy and dozens of nymphs, although I’m not sure why.”
Regis looked up and grinned. “No point in setting your sights on her if that’s where you’re going with this. There are some horrific stories here about what she’s done to men who’ve tried to get close to her. Let’s just say they died and leave it at that. You know, looking at this, I can’t see why you’d be interested in knowing anything about her for any reason.”
“Except business. She owns Orion Industries. Ms. Artemis is looking to secure certain elements of her supply chain, although for what hasn’t been discussed yet. She thinks this company would be a good fit for her company’s needs.”
“Orion?” Regis chuckled. “Are you sure it’s the same Artemis? Only Orion is the name, depending on who you read, who was either her hunting companion or the man she loved dearly, even though she remained chaste. Either way, he ended up dead and floating around as the Orion constellation in our night skies.”
“It’s the name of her business, so maybe she did have a soft spot for him.” Titus didn’t really care. “Anything else notable about her?”
“Nothing that us mere mortals need to be bothered with.” Regis chuckled. “There’s clearly no information about her since ancient times, so goodness knows what she’s been doing with herself between now and then. She’s the daughter of Zeus, she has a twin brother Apollo, she is often…”
“Twin. That.” Titus pointed at his friend. “Apollo, he’s a god, too, right?”
“I would imagine so, given he’s Artemis’s twin brother.” Regis shook his head, his fingers flying across his screen. “Apollo is a sun god and also the god of prophecy, music, and healing. Unlike his sister, he’s had many disastrous love affairs, and yeah, there’s not much else written about him either. It is said he and his sister are close, but you have to wonder how much of that shit translates to the modern world.”
“But he is here, listed as a co-owner of Orion Industries with Artemis.” Titus had turned to his computer and was scrolling further down the “About” section. “This bio information is all crap, likely written by some generic idiot who hasn’t even met the man. But yes…” Now Titus was looking at the brother’s picture, he could see the family resemblance. “There is nothing in this bio that suggests he takes any interest in the company at all. It just lists some degrees from Harvard and Yale…”
“You can guarantee that entry will be fake.” Regis laughed. “Can you see a god sitting in classes?”
“I haven’t got a clue what gods do all day.” Titus couldn’t stop looking at the picture. He could imagine Apollo in a white shirt and pants, sitting under a tree, composing poetry or playing some stringed musical instrument. His wolf, who had shown mild interest in Artemis, was positively panting over Apollo, wanting to jump out and strut his stuff in front of the god.
Titus tapped his screen. “Ms. Artemis was not comfortable in my presence, and to be honest, I was thinking we didn’t need to go chasing their business to the point I was going to cancel our meeting. But if her brother is working with her, the situation could be more interesting.”
“What is this? Chase a god week? I didn’t have that on my bingo card of ‘Alpha conquests’ for this year. You usually prefer more submissive bed partners.”
Regis knew him very well. “I’m not sure if that’s it,” Titus said. “Although if the brother was offering, I wouldn’t be saying no. I’m just… I’m following my instincts. There was something about me that botheredher, although I know I behaved as respectably as any other business owner when taking a meeting over breakfast, so why was that? I was dressed, not a hint of fur showing.”
“Well, that was a plus. Most of your bed partners don’t get breakfast.” Regis scratched behind his ear. “The goddess should feel blessed you had your pants zipped. That could’ve been your problem, though.”
“We were in a café, I was hardly going to be naked.”
Regis tapped the screen of his tablet. “Did you miss the bit where I said the goddess Artemis asked her father for celibacy?”
“All the more reason to keep my pants zipped, I’d imagine. If I’d have known that, which I didn’t, but still. We were supposed to be having a business meeting, not a date. I don’t have breakfast dates.” Titus wasn’t sure where Regis was going with his explanations.
“Alpha. Yes, I know, I rarely use that designation in relation to you, but I feel this time you need a reminder of it. What are the main tenets that determine an alpha shifter above others?”
“Is this going to get me any closer to determining why I’m having ‘instincts’ over a pair of ancient gods?” Leaning his elbow on his desk, Titus scratched between his eyes.
