The Wolf's Hunt: A Reverse Harem Fantasy (The Goddess's Harem Book 2) Read online
The Wolf’s Hunt
The Goddess’s Harem Book 2
Lila Jean
J. A. Cipriano
Edited by
J. B. Garner
Copyright © 2018 by Lila Jean & J.A. Cipriano
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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Contents
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Also by Lila Jean
Also by J.A. Cipriano
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Thank You for reading!
Author’s Note
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Also by Lila Jean
Billionaire Security Shifters
The Mountain Lion’s Secretary
The Grizzly Bear’s Heiress
The Dragon’s Gym Buddy
Goddess Harem
The Tiger’s Offer
The Wolf’s Hunt
The Dragon’s War
Also by J.A. Cipriano
The Pen is Mightier
The Pen is Mightier: Company Ink
Star Conqueror
Star Conqueror: Recompense
Super Human
King Justice
King of the Gods
World of Ruul
Soulstone: Awakening
Soulstone: The Skeleton King
Soulstone: Oblivion
Bug Wars
Doomed Infinity Marine
Doomed Infinity Marine 2
The Legendary Builder
The Builder’s Sword
The Builder’s Greed
The Builder’s Pride
The Builder’s Wrath
The Builder’s Throne
The Builder’s Conquest
Starcrossed Dragons
Riding Lightning
Grinding Frost
Swallowing Fire
Pounding Earth
The Goddess Harem
The Tiger’s Offer
The Wolf’s Hunt
The Dragon’s War
Justice Squad
Miracle’s Touch
Her Angels
Heaven’s Embrace
Heaven’s A Beach
The FBI Dragon Chronicles
A Ritual of Fire
A Ritual of Death
Elements of Wrath Online
Ring of Promise
The Vale of Three Wolves
Crystalfire Keep
Kingdom of Heaven
The Skull Throne
Escape From Hell
The Thrice Cursed Mage
Cursed
Marked
Burned
Seized
Claimed
Hellbound
The Half-Demon Warlock
Pound of Flesh
Flesh and Blood
Blood and Treasure
The Lillim Callina Chronicles
Wardbreaker
Kill it with Magic
The Hatter is Mad
Fairy Tale
Pursuit
Hardboiled
Mind Games
Fatal Ties
Clans of Shadow
Heart of Gold
Feet of Clay
Fists of Iron
The Spellslinger Chronicles
Throne to the Wolves
Prince of Blood and Thunder
Found Magic
May Contain Magic
The Magic Within
Magic for Hire
Witching on a Starship
Maverick
Planet Breaker
The Shaman Queen's Harem
Ghosts and Grudges
1
Tina
Tina lay sprawled across an elegant bed in one of Zane’s safehouses, an isolated villa that he had assured her was entirely off the grid. A confusing blend of concern and gratitude kept her awake. Despite the danger, her men would never leave her, and she loved them for it. After everything they had been through together, after the death threats and bloody battles they had survived, all five loved her deeply, and she loved them more than anything this world had to offer.
Beside her, Killian nuzzled her side and gently kissed her arm, eyes closed as his fingers explored her body. His soothing touch calmed her racing mind, but not enough to stop her train of thought completely. The odds might have been stacked against the six of them, but she had her magic to even those odds. Damara’s power had finally come to her and let loose a torrent of authority and strength that had ended the battle of Epara definitively. She grinned, running her fingers over the elegant little tattoo on her wrist that had appeared the day Damara fused with her.
Yes, Tina had access to a goddess’s magic, and yes, she loved her new life despite the kings breathing down her neck, but what made it all even better was that she didn’t have to face the world alone.
She had five incredibly powerful, brilliant, and compassionate men on her side. Anthony, her powerful wolf who protected her from any danger, no matter the cost to himself. Flynn, the natural leader who made her feel strong and powerful. Draven, her sexy dragon who made her laugh and brought her joy. Killian, her white knight who soothed her soul. And Zane, her brilliant strategist that made her feel smart and capable. It was the six of them against the world, and nothing could ever stop them.
With a rush of sudden and painful cold, a shiver snaked up her spine, violent and foreign. This was no mere chill, not even a rush of excitement or fear. It just happened, as though someone else had forced the sensation into her body. She bolted upright, rubbing her arms as the bone-deep cold penetrated her very soul, goosebumps blistering over her skin. Her mind went blank, and a subtle itching feeling crawled through her, setting her nerves on fire. She clawed at her skin, trying to make it stop.
In an abrupt rush, every vein in her body glowed white. She gasped, eyes wide as she stared at her hands, her arms, her legs, her chest. Her body began to hum, vibrating as though it were about to explode.
“What’s going on?�
�� Killian snapped to attention, bolting upright and holding her close, his concerned expression raking her body as he searched her for answers.
“I … I don’t …” For a moment, Tina couldn’t speak, because she was just too confused. Maybe this was nothing. After all, her magic operated with a will of its own half the time since she and Damara were still getting to know each other. She loved the goddess that shared her body, adored her like a sister or best friend, but fuck did she sometimes do the weirdest shit.
No, wait, this … this isn’t Damara. Deep down, Tina could tell something was wrong. This magic, this darkness, it was something else, and that worried her greatly.
“What—”
Before Tina could finish her thought, light drained from the room around her, throwing her into sudden darkness. Her eyes were open, she could still feel her body and the sheets beneath her bare legs, but all light faded completely as if she had gone blind.
Confused, her heart thudded faster with each passing second. The sensation of being in her own body faded as if her soul was being pulled from her chest, and the shivering cold became a numbing chill.
In a flash of red and gold blistering through the darkness, a man’s face appeared.
“Good,” she said, her voice echoing in the shadows. “At least I didn’t go blind.” She sighed with relief, her head in her hands as she momentarily enjoyed the sensation of seeing anything at all. “Jesus, that was intense.”
The man’s face popped in and out of focus, the color not quite right, the shapes and sizes distorted. Confused, frustrated, and a little pissed off at the idea that this man had done something to her, pulled her in here against her will, Tina had no choice but to wait. She didn’t know how to leave this shadowy place, and she had no idea what was happening.
The longer she watched the image of his face looming in the darkness, the clearer it got. It was like she was waiting to watch a movie, and a projector was taking its sweet time focusing the picture. Color slowly seeped into his face, and when the image finally sharpened, he turned to look directly at her. His intense gaze narrowed on her like she had done something wrong, but his windswept hair, angled eyebrows, and a nibble-worthy beard drew her in and sparked her curiosity. His eyes glowed white, like the center of a blazing fire, and he focused his full rage on her.
He was angry…
And familiar. The longer Tina stared at him, the more a vague sense of nostalgia burned through her. No, not nostalgia … concern. Then, it hit her like a ton of bricks.
This man was a god, like Damara. Another god had come to Earth, and he had already found her. By the looks of it, his discovering her was not a good thing, and she was determined to find out what he was up to.
“I’m coming for you,” he said, his echoing voice tinted with an accent she couldn’t quite place.
“Me, or Damara?” Tina balled her hand into a fist, though her heart thudded against her ribcage with nerves and anger. “Because whoever you’re coming for, you can’t threaten either of us.”
He smirked. Smirked. A flicker of rage simmered in Tina’s gut, and she let it burn. Without another word, his face began to melt into the blackness, and Tina felt a sudden and foreign urge to punch his teeth in. That was probably Damara, ready to rip this man a new hole for coming after them.
As quickly as the connection between her and the god had appeared, it began to fade. Tina wasn’t sure why, or who was doing it, whether it was her, Damara, or the other god, but the shadows slowly overtook every glimmer of golden light. As the golden lines comprising his face began to fade, the mysterious god frowned.
“You can’t keep me out forever, little human,” he snapped. “You can’t hide.”
“I won’t need to,” Tina said, scowling at the god. As the last of the strange god’s face faded into the shadows, Damara’s anger grew stronger, and Tina couldn’t help but feel his words were a threat not just on her, but on them both.
2
Killian
“Tina!” Killian held the love of his life by her shoulders, trying his best to shake her gently in an effort to make her snap out of whatever the hell was happening. “Darling, you have to wake up!”
Her eyes glowed white. White. Her beautiful hazel irises were gone, engulfed by a blazing inferno of white light that seeped into her every vein. It was as though something had taken her over, consumed her, stolen her away. She stared at the ceiling, unblinking, her hands gripping the sheets as though they were lifelines to this world. Her body hummed with dangerous levels of energy, and most horrifying of all, she gaped as though she were trying to scream. Killian needed to do something, but he had no idea what was going on and even less of an idea of how to stop it.
The door flew open, and a blur of dark hair and fury bolted into the room. Anthony, thanks to the super speed he had acquired from Tina’s goddess magic, was the first of the brotherhood to arrive. Killian sighed with relief, grateful that his brothers in arms would always come to Tina’s aid.
“What’s going on?” The wolf shifter paused by the edge of the bed, eyes wide as he stared at Tina, his brow wrinkled with worry and anger. “Who did this to her?!”
“I don’t know!” Killian gently tucked a lock of hair behind Tina’s ear, desperately stroking his thumb along her jaw in a quiet plea for her to come back to them. “I was about to fall asleep and heard her gasp.” He wrapped his arms around her, concerned. “I don’t know what’s happening.”
Anthony tenderly ran his hand along her jaw, his eyes scanning her face as if searching for an answer in her pained expression.
In the doorway, Draven appeared, his all-consuming magical fire already engulfing his hands as he scanned the room for threats. His eyes fell instantly on Tina, and the flames dissolved with a puff of smoke. He took a position next to Anthony and held Tina’s limp hand. “What—”
“We don’t know, damn it!” Killian interrupted, worry goring more intense with every passing second. “Get Zane in here!” The tiger prince would know what to do since that shifter knew pretty much everything.
Seconds later, Flynn and Zane bolted into the room. While the demigod reached for Tina’s face, Zane froze in the doorway.
“Zane, good, thank the gods,” Killian said with a rush of relief. “What the hell is—”
“No, wait,” Flynn interrupted. Though his brow wrinkled with worry, he nodded toward Draven and Anthony. “We need to keep an eye on the perimeter.” He nervously rubbed his beard, looking at Tina with longing as she glowed. “We have to keep Tina safe, especially right now. She’s vulnerable.”
“I’m not leaving her,” Anthony growled.
“I don’t want to leave her, either!” Flynn frowned, glaring at the wolf shifter as Tina’s back arched even more. “Anthony, don’t—”
“Focus,” Killian snapped at them, his patience wearing thin. “We need to heal her, snap her out of it, do something.” His jaw tensed as he scanned her face, feeling helpless and hating the sensation. “We have to stop this!”
“Does anyone know what ‘this’ is?” Draven’s grip tightened on Tina’s hand. “Flynn, you’re a demigod. You’ve probably seen this before, right?” Draven looked up at their leader hopefully. “Do you know what’s happening?”
Flynn gritted his teeth and shook his head. “I’ve never encountered something like this before.”
“I’ve read about it,” Zane finally said, still tense as he neared the bed. “It’s a god connection.” The tiger shifter hesitantly reached out for Tina, but couldn’t seem to bring himself to touch her, as if afraid doing so would set something off. “Another god or goddess has entered our world, gentlemen, and they already know Damara’s here.” He and Killian shared a nervous look.
“What?” Killian grimaced. “How is that possible?”
“The gods are all connected.” Zane ran his hands nervously through his hair. “When in our world, their magic bonds them, all of them.” He began to pace beside the bed, his terrified eyes never once leav
ing Tina. “They can sometimes speak to each other, but usually not until they’ve been here for a few years. Either a god has secretly been here for a long time, or a new one has arrived who somehow retained all his power.”
The tiger prince groaned and set his hands on his head, squeezing his eyes shut. “Either way, this is bad, gentlemen. This is very, very bad. Whatever their reason or motivation, this god wants something from her.”
For a moment, everyone simply stared at Zane. The weight of what he’d said settled hard on Killian’s shoulders, and a flood of adrenaline coursed through him as he tried to figure out how he was going to protect his mate.
With a shrill gasp, Tina stirred and blinked away the white light from her eyes. She slowly returned to them, looking around as if confused as to where they were. Her elegant fingers found their way to Killian’s body, her nails dragging gently along his abdomen, awakening his deep-seated desire for her as sparks of need trailed along his skin under her fingertips. His grip on her shoulders tightened, and as a wave of relief shot through him, he pulled her close before she had the chance to even breathe.