The Wolf's Hunt: A Reverse Harem Fantasy (The Goddess's Harem Book 2)

by Lila Jean

  “How goes your research into Venus and Ares?” Flynn asked with a nod toward Zane’s phone, which lay on the table before them.

  “Promising.” Zane managed to smile, authentically pleased with himself, since he had been prying apart every book on the subject since those two had made themselves known. “I’m almost ready to share and will cover everything tomorrow with Tina.” He frowned, tapping his fingers on the wooden surface. “However, this is about something more urgent.”

  “More urgent than gods who want to kill our mate?” Draven snorted impatiently. “Get on with it, Zane, and skip the dramatics.” The dragon shifter lounged in the ornate wooden chair. “I’m tired.”

  “Can’t imagine why,” Flynn said with a smirk, and from the smell of sex radiating from both Tina, Flynn, and Draven earlier, Zane could easily piece together the demigod’s joke. Zane shook his head, grinning, a little jealous and simultaneously excited at the prospect of exploring Tina himself later.

  “Focus, gentlemen,” Zane interjected before the conversation could devolve. “The reason we’re here right now is truly serious.” His exhausted frown returned, and his eyes stung from lack of sleep, but he pressed onward to protect his mate. “The dignitaries are being pulled from the kingdoms.” He grunted, rubbing his temple in frustration. “The war we all worried about isn’t just brewing anymore. It’s here.”

  “Fan-fucking-tastic.” Draven groaned, slumping in his chair.

  “Damn it.” Anthony also leaned back in his chair, the quiet wolf breaking his silence with a long, guttural growl as he rubbed his face in frustration.

  Killian sighed, palms pressed into his eyes as he seemed to hesitate, lingering on the words as if they were confirmation of his failure to hunt down the missing dignitaries.

  “Don’t beat yourself up, Killian.” Zane rapped his knuckles on the table to get the eagle shifter’s attention, and Killian’s weary face peeked over his hands. “Whoever is behind killing the dignitaries is clever. Smart. They’re hiding their tracks better than anyone I’ve ever seen, but we’re close.” Zane nodded reassuringly. “They won’t run for much longer.”

  “Thanks,” the eagle shifter said softly.

  Flynn was the only one who didn’t move, didn’t so much as stir when Zane delivered the news. He tensed, eyes glossing over as his mind worked furiously to piece together a solution.

  “There’s more,” Zane added with a wary look at Draven. “The dragons caught wind of us. They know we’re in the area.”

  This caught Draven’s attention. He sat up straighter, the exhaustion fading from his face as he shifted into attack mode, ready to defend his woman. “Tell me where they are.” His jaw tensed, fist clenching as he prepared for battle. “I’ll send them packing.”

  “Good.” Zane nodded, but he gestured toward Flynn to let the demigod take over.

  “Anthony, Killian,” Flynn gestured to each of them. “Keep Tina occupied as we handle this. Keep her happy and distracted.”

  “With pleasure.” Anthony stood, his chair scraping over the floor as he headed for the stairs, no doubt to join Tina in the elaborate shower on the second floor. Killian followed suit with a subtle nod of his head.

  Once they had left, Flynn leaned his elbows on the table and lowered his voice. “With the war starting, the kings will be after Tina with even more urgency.” Flynn rubbed his beard thoughtfully. “Even kings who had previously vowed to kill her will likely change tactics, choosing to kidnap her instead. They still think she’s brainwashed us, but that’s a trump card.”

  “Unless whoever is trying to frame us wins,” Zane pointed out. “Unless they manage to successfully frame her for the diplomat’s murders, or at least garner suspicion that she’s involved.” He nodded toward the stairs. “They have both her and Anthony’s identities on public record, though it’s being kept quiet as part of an ongoing investigation.”

  “True,” Flynn conceded with a heavy sigh. “We can’t let the kings think she’s involved. As soon as we deal with the gods, we need to hunt down Noxxom and stop them, immediately. Have Anthony or Killian had any luck?”

  “None.” Zane sighed heavily, clearly frustrated with all the dead ends. “They tell me lead after lead keeps going dry. We’re all giving it everything we have, and we’re close. I know it.”

  “Good.” Flynn nodded. “Stay focused. No one can hunt like Anthony, especially when you have his back, buddy.” Flynn shot him a reassuring smile, and Zane’s mouth tilted slightly upward in thanks.

  “You think she can handle the god?” Draven asked, changing the subject as he leaned toward them, his voice lowering as well.

  “I do,” Flynn said, though his jaw twitched ever so slightly, and Zane wasn’t sure if that was from nerves or if it was an outright lie. “She’s working hard to make the final connections to Damara, and when she does, she’ll win.”

  “And if she doesn’t?” Draven pressed.

  For a moment, none of them spoke. They stared at their hands in the silence, and Zane supposed each of them were as deathly afraid to voice their concerns as he was.

  “If it seems like she may lose,” Flynn finally said, “we finish it for her.” He sighed, shoulders slumping at the implication, since killing a god was high treason among his people. “If it looks like he’s going to strike the final blow, we defy her, save her, and hope to all that’s holy that she forgives us someday.”

  “Agreed,” Draven said with a somber nod, shifting his attention toward Zane, waiting for him to join their pact.

  “Agreed,” he eventually said, begrudgingly, knowing full well that if they did such a thing, Tina may in fact never forgive them, but just like the other princes, Zane would do anything to protect his mate, even if his actions drew her eternal scorn.

  “I’ll brief Killian and Anthony later,” Flynn said quietly with a nod to the front door. “For now, we need to see to the kidnappers your father sent, Draven.”

  “Of course.” The dragon prince nodded, cracking his neck in anticipation. “Lead the way, but once we’re there, step aside.” Draven sneered. “These assholes are mine.”

  30

  Draven

  In a forest not far from Epara, Draven waited for his prey.

  He coiled, sitting on a thick tree branch, muscles taught and ready for war as his ears strained in the darkness. The shrill sound of bugs singing in the night offered a soothing baseline to the forest noise, and through the racket, Draven heard the occasional crunch of a twig or rustle of a fern. Draven looked at Zane, who sat crouched in a nearby tree, and nodded once to signal he had heard the encroaching dragon shifters on their way to Epara. He tilted his head a bit further to get sight of Flynn and repeated the gesture to let Flynn know they were coming. From the information Zane had shared, it seemed like this was nothing more than a scouting party that had received word of a sighting in Bali, and Draven figured they were setting out to get intel on whether or not Tina had actually returned to her temple.

  Several shadows appeared around a clump of trees, their stealthy movements leading them directly beneath Draven’s strategically selected hideout. It was the clearest path through the forest, and he’d anticipated their desire to make as little noise as possible by following a clear route.

  He dropped down from the tree and landed in the path before them. In seconds, all five of the dragon soldiers had drawn weapons, mostly daggers, and several bodies were shimmering with the threat of a shift.

  “Gentlemen,” Draven said with a smirk and a slight tilt of his head in welcome. “Fine night for a stroll, don’t you think?”

  “Prince Draven!” the scout in front’s eyes widened, and the sound of his grip tightening against the leather hilt of his dagger made Draven realize just how nervous this man was to see him in person.

  Good. Any smart man would have been scared to fight him, especially if they were foolish enough to go after his mate.

  “This is how it’s going to work, guys.” Draven stretched his a
rms lazily, as if warming up for a sparring match. “You’re going to sheathe those weapons, turn tail, and run away.”

  “We have orders,” one of the men in the back said, though he gulped loudly afterward. “We can’t leave until those are fulfilled.”

  “I couldn’t care less.” Draven laughed. “Seriously, not my problem.” He cracked his neck and shook out his hands, warmed up and ready to go. “If you like life, you’ll run away.”

  “Prince Draven, please,” the man in front lowered his weapon and took a tentative step forward. “Please, sir. Come home.”

  “Don’t even start with me.” Draven rolled his eyes, though he kept careful tabs on how close the man was getting. Another step or two, and Draven would have to land a few powerful and well-placed blows to remind the scout who he was up against.

  “She has brainwashed you, my liege,” the scout said softly, apparently unaware of the other two princes still hiding in the canopy. “You are too wise, too intelligent not to see this.”

  “Don’t you dare insult your future queen,” Draven snapped, pissed off, a puff of black smoke shooting through his nose as his anger boiled in his chest.

  “The goddess is no queen of ours,” one of the soldiers in the back said, lifting his chin. “We will not share our queen with any other kingdom, much less all of them.”

  “That’s hardly your choice.” Draven’s body hummed with the desire to shift, and inwardly, his dragon coiled with rage at these insults against its mate. “Father’s twisting your minds, conning you all into using a beautiful goddess as nothing more than a weapon, and I won’t have it.”

  “She is a weapon!” The smaller man in front seemed to have found his courage, and he scowled at Draven, his body shimmering as well as he neared his own shift. “If she can grant her lovers power, she should give the dragons her magic, and no one else.” His lip twitched with barely contained lust, and Draven seethed at the implication that this nobody guard would dare think he had access to Draven’s mate. The soldier spat on the ground. “I will see her in chains, serving Mersarth and our king, before I will bow to her!” He sneered. “She’s a tool, Prince Draven, not a mate.”

  “I’ll kill you for that.” Furious at the nerve of this lowly soldier, Draven lost the last shred of his control. He roared, his body shifting as he let his dragon take over. Trees buckled around him, snapping and toppling, dispelling birds and other small creatures that had taken refuge in the falling branches. To protect his friends still hidden in the trees, Draven took a few threatening steps toward the scouting party, ushering them away so that they wouldn’t shift close to his brothers, his feet thundering against the forest floor in challenge.

  Draven roared again, the sound ripping through the night like a bonfire, scattering any forest creature that could hear it. When he finished, the panicked cries of birds and monkeys filled the air. Ribbons of smoke plumed from his nose as he stared down the five guards, unfazed, knowing he could take each of them by himself easily.

  No one threatens my mate.

  He snorted, blowing smoke across their faces, making a powerful command no one could ignore.

  Leave, or die.

  The men scattered, some running into the forest, others hovering nearby, but one shifted into a small green dragon with spikes along his spine and a spiked tail. His sharp teeth gnashed at the air, receiving the challenge, and Draven let out a few huffs of breath, the closest he could get to laughing in his dragon form. Truthfully, a smaller dragon with that much armor could cause him serious damage, so he wanted to mess with the shifter’s mind first, dismiss him, make him think he was puny and insignificant in an effort to push his buttons, make him mad, and throw him off his game.

  It worked.

  The smaller green dragon charged, roaring in indignation, claws out as he swiped for Draven’s face. Draven kept his wings tight around his body, not wanting them to get caught underneath those razor-sharp claws, and instead swiped his tail at the dragon’s body. His tail crashed through a dozen trees, his powerful body breaking them in half like they were nothing more than twigs in the dirt and smashed into the dragon’s flank. The green dragon roared in pain and fury, eyes narrowed, fire burning in his mouth.

  Inwardly, Draven frowned with disappointment. Sure, with the mystical flames Tina and Damara had given him, he could easily set this dragon on fire and roast him to ash. Unfortunately, it would also set Tina’s beloved forest on fire, taking out entire acres before anyone could stop it. Yet again, he had to choose between an easy victory and making his woman happy.

  Easy choice.

  He bit into his opponent’s neck, shaking his head violently, the warm rush of blood filling his mouth and dripping down the few teeth not embedded in his opponent’s hide. The dragon roared in agony, swiping at Draven in desperation, but Draven wouldn’t have it. He tossed the dragon aside, the green dragon barreling through a dozen more tree trunks before he landed in a crater a few dozen feet away.

  Before his opponent could so much as stir, Draven charged once more and bit the green dragon’s shoulder, tensing his jaws so that the dragon couldn’t escape as it wriggled and screamed beneath him. He dug his claws into the dragon’s soft underbelly and spread his majestic wings, soaring upward and crashing through the canopy as he lifted the dragon into the sky. His wings beat the air, powerful and strong, taking him hundreds of feet in seconds.

  When the forest was no more than a green smear far below him, Draven tucked his wings in tight and soared once more to the ground, fast as a bullet, his claws and teeth still tightly embedded in his opponent, dragging the other dragon to his doom. As the trees came into focus, he released his hold on the green dragon and spread his wings to slow his own descent while his opponent crashed into the forest below, unmoving.

  Draven landed beside the dragon, the impact shaking the ground once more, blood in his teeth, victorious without so much as a single burst of flame required. He roared at the remaining four shifters as their comrade’s breath stilled, and the shifter, now dead, changed back to his human form.

  Challenge me and die, his roar said. Leave or feel my wrath.

  The remaining soldiers fled, and the fire deep in Draven’s core raged with triumph. No one would so much as threaten his mate and live to brag about it. No one.

  31

  Tina

  Tina sighed deeply, blissfully relaxed as she sat in the mansion’s hot tub, her bare skin soothed by the bubbles beneath the warm water as the current of the jets brushed past her naked body. She didn’t have a bathing suit, so her birthday suit would have to do for this little soak, and she grinned mischievously as she wondered how Killian and Anthony would react when they joined her. They had gone to make some food, since it had been awhile since they’d all eaten, and she was famished.

  As the steam rising off the dimly lit water melted away into the dark sky above, the infinity pool below was lit by glimmering blue light below the surface of the water, the effect giving the backyard an otherworldly glow that made Tina feel utterly and completely at peace. Even if the world beyond their hideout was going nuts, at least she could have a moment of joy and serenity amidst it all.

  Roughly an hour ago, Tina had used her magic to connect with the heartbeats of her princes and felt three of them bolt away from the safehouse under the cover of darkness, no doubt under the belief that she was unaware they had left. She would give them a piece of her mind when they returned, since she needed to be aware of threats and hated the way they kept secrets from her, but for now, she just wanted a moment of quiet. The chaos could wait.

  The sound of the sliding glass door opening caught her attention, and she peeked through one eye to see Anthony and Killian join her on the back porch, Killian sporting a plate of strawberries and kiwi, while Anthony held champagne and glasses. She smiled warmly, even though she could easily guess these two were supposed to distract her from whatever Draven, Flynn, and Zane were up to.

  For the moment, she would allow it.
>
  “How’s the water?” Killian’s eyes scanned her body, no doubt catching glimpses of her breasts below the frothing bubbles on the surface, and he grinned playfully.

  “Delightful,” she said with a coy smile. “And very hot.”

  “I’ll say.” Anthony quickly set down the champagne, tugged off his clothes, and her eyes lingered on his pecs, on the gorgeous muscles in his arms and abdomen, before her gaze drifted to his glorious cock, which was already hard. Before she could say a thing, however, he slipped into the water and took his place beside her. His powerful body pressed against hers, delightfully close, sending shockwaves of excitement through her. She chuckled as he leaned in, brushing his lips across her neck, nibbling here and there.

  “Tsk. So forward, Anthony,” she said feverishly, trying to feign chastising him and failing dismally because of the breathless little moans that escaped her mouth each time he playfully nipped her skin. “At least pour your lady a drink first.”

  “Anything you ask, darling.” Anthony pulled away, his lips hovering over her neck, teasing her with the possibility that he may simply launch once more into his feral kisses, but he ultimately leaned over the side of the tub and grabbed the champagne. The bottle popped as he opened it, a thin stream of foam bursting from the top with the force of the bubbly inside.