Taylor Shelley was different. She’d made that abundantly clear with her barely veiled disdain. If he hadn’t sensed her fleeting attraction before she’d realized who he was, Hades might’ve been able to leave her alone for the week.
But he
had
sensed it. For a moment, she had wanted him. She had fantasized about stripping him bare. Now he could think of nothing but doing the same to her.
The flash of awareness coupled with her flare of temper intrigued him. Most women fell over themselves to please him in the hopes that he'd make them his Queen or at least bed them, but not Taylor. She wanted nothing to do with him. The question was why?
He knew it wasn't because she'd been forced upon him. He'd read that much from her thoughts. No, something else held her back. Hades immediately strategized, running all the options, evaluating the various outcomes. In the end, the answer was always the same.
He would protect her like he vowed, but Taylor would learn to bow before the Dark King…like all the others who’d come before her. Hades knew his way around a woman's body and took great satisfaction in bringing them pleasure. Taylor would be no different, even if he had to wait for Linx's return to take her.
Who knows
, he thought.
She might even learn to like his touch.
Hades gave her an evil grin infused with sheer determination. Taylor’s full breasts quivered delectably beneath her shirt. She shifted her long, sensuous legs, which appeared to be poured into the thick blue material she wore, and glanced around as if she’d flee given half the chance.
Perhaps she was smart after all.
He inhaled through his nose and mouth. A rich, spicy scent tickled his sensitive nostrils. Hades’ eyes fluttered closed and his head spun as he drank her in. If Taylor tasted half as good as she smelled, she’d be delicious. His tongue darted out over his lips. He could almost taste her. He breathed in again, this time deeper. Now there was nowhere that she could hide that he wouldn’t find her, but it was going to be fun to try.
“Run!” he ordered.
Taylor squeaked and took off in the direction from which she’d come.
Hades watched her go, her full bottom twitching from side to side as she ran. Anticipation rose as he prepared to give chase. His beast prickled beneath his skin, scraping its claws down his spine. He looked forward to giving Taylor her first lesson in obedience. He had no doubt that when he caught her there would be a battle of wills. Hers cast from Earth’s soft soil and his cast from iron.
He might bend to get his way, but the Dark King would never break.
Hades wondered if the same could be said for Taylor Shelley. There was only one way to find out. He surged up from the throne and roared.
***
The ear-shattering roar echoed through the Great Hall. Taylor screamed and ran faster. She should've apologized for insulting the King when she had the chance. She was afraid to look back. Afraid of what she might see.
She'd witnessed Linx and Riot in their Other form. Seen them in action, while they fought the Russian mob. Their physical change had scared her silly, but from the sounds of it, Hades was something
far
worse.
Taylor reached the heavy stone doors and grabbed the carved out handles. Her muscles strained as she pulled on the massive slabs. Linx had made opening the doors look easy. She should've known.
She could feel Hades' heated glare burning through her shirt, searing her back. It scrolled down her body, resting on her ass. The sensation only made her pull harder. The door inched open. She glanced over her shoulder and saw what could only be described as a giant
liger
coming toward her.
Taylor screamed.
She put her hands in the door crack and pried it apart, until she could squeeze her body through. She'd barely made it into the hall and shut the door behind her, when something large hit the stone on the other side and made the rock tremble.
Oh God, she had to hide. But where could she go that he wouldn't find her?
***
"Your Majesty," Opal called out, so she could be heard over the massive claws scratching the Great Hall doors.
She'd watched the flame-haired woman escape the King's grasp and hadn't thought much of it, since Hades was known for having a rather
large
sexual appetite. He'd be bored with her soon enough. She wasn't the type of woman that held the King's attention for long. It was a pattern Opal had seen repeated multiple times over the years.
Hades continued to claw at the doors, his big paws unable to slip into the carved out handles.
The woman must've really gotten under his skin. He rarely put any effort toward pursuit. Hades preferred that women chase him, since it kept misunderstandings from occurring. Opal cleared her throat and raised her voice. "Your Majesty!"
As the King's Righthand, a position she fought tooth and claw to reach, it was her duty to give him a daily report on happenings within the Walled City. It also gave her a chance to be alone with Hades. Opal cherished those moments, even though they passed quickly.
Normally, other than minor disputes, there wasn't much to report. Hades didn't tolerate rebellion and most warriors were smart enough not to challenge him in the Pit for the throne. Today was different. A slaver ship had been spotted doing a reconnaissance flight over the area.
Neither the Atlanteans nor the Phantoms could afford to lose any of their women to the Slavers. The fact that the Slavers sometimes sold the women for their 'body parts' only made the situation graver. And if that weren't bad enough, Perseus was up to his old tricks. He'd always been a discontent, but now he was rallying men to stand with him. It wouldn't be long before he presented Hades with a formal challenge.
Opal shook her head. Perseus was a fool. A fool that would get himself killed if he kept up his machinations. He misjudged Hades' tolerance for weakness. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Her gaze narrowed as she focused on the closed door. Was there a connection between the mysterious woman, Perseus' sudden move to take the throne, and the appearance of the Slavers?
For the woman's sake, there better not be. Opal didn't tolerate disloyalty any more than Hades did. And since she intended to be Queen one day, she took all threats to the kingdom personally.
A large paw hit the stone door, sending shards of rock crumbling onto the floor. Even in his half-turned form, Hades was magnificent. Opal had thought so the moment she had laid eyes on him. Five years later, her feelings hadn't changed. If anything, they'd intensified.
Opal loved Hades. She loved him with both her hearts and knew eventually, if she waited long enough that he would discover that he loved her, too. Or at least respected her enough to make her his Queen. Either way worked for Opal, as long as it ended with her on the throne.
Like all men, Hades was stubborn and blind to what was right in front of him. Opal however was not. She'd worked hard to put herself in her current position. And she'd work even harder to land on the throne. Failure wasn't an option. It's why she let Hades take her body whenever he wanted and why she looked the other way when he bedded other women. A good Queen knew when to overlook a King's indiscretions.
She watched the muscles in Hades' back bunch, rippling the pale yellow fur with light black stripes. Opal had felt that fur beneath her fingertips and beneath her claws. It was deceptively soft, not at all like the power lurking behind it.
Hades was a ferocious lover, passionate, talented, and giving, but he also demanded the same back from his partners. It had been no hardship to spread her thighs for the King. She'd spread her legs for his entire army if it guaranteed her a position at his side.
What was it going to take to get him to mark her? She'd done everything she could think of short of stripping naked in the Pit and challenging him. If Opal knew for certain that he wouldn't kill her, then she'd have done it already. But, the King was unpredictable. Like other Phantoms, she blamed his mixed bloodline, his
handicap
.
The giant cat let out a loud yowl and tried a final time to open the door. If the King shifted, it would be no problem to open, but that would be too easy. Hades was a big cat through and through. Opal waited patiently for him to give up.
When he didn't succeed on his final try, Hades slowly turned to face her. His massive erection filled the front of his pants, threatening to burst the seams. Her mouth watered as she recalled the feel of that rigid shaft filling her, stretching her to the point of breaking.
Hades' chest heaved with exertion as he fought back his beast. He rumbled deep in his throat and his odd blue eyes flashed in frustration as he glanced at the door one last time. The change in color was a quick, but efficient reminder that he was half Atlantean. Not that his thought-reading abilities mattered to Opal. She'd learned to shield herself as a child from all Atlanteans, the King included.
"What is it?" Hades bellowed. "Can't you see that I'm busy?"
"Do you want me to go after her? I could bring her back so that you could fuck her on the throne," Opal said dryly.
Since when was chasing new
tail
so important that he'd willingly set aside duty to do so? She frowned. The woman's pussy must be lined with space blossoms to drive the feline King so crazy. Opal almost laughed aloud, but she didn't think that Hades would appreciate the humor.
His shocked expression was almost comical as he glared at her, then his face closed down. "That won't be necessary."
Hades shifted back to his human form. Muscles appeared to fold and shrink before her eyes. It took but a second or two for his fur to fade. When the shift to his humanoid six foot four frame was complete, he was dressed once more in his black Phantom Warriors' uniform. "What do you need?"
He made no apologies for his behavior and Opal hadn't expected any. It would have been more of a shock if he had. "I have the daily report ready for you to go over." She didn't wait for him to respond. She pressed a button on her wristband and a holographic screen appeared in front of her, displaying Hades' kingdom.
"Can't it wait?" He glanced back at the door and rubbed his clawless hand over the furrows he'd carved into the rock. When he turned back toward her, there was a frown on his face.
Opal shook her head. "Not today. One of the guards spotted a Slaver ship in the area and Perseus has started to rumble again. I believe this time his vocal disgruntlement will end with a bid for your throne."
Hades' body stiffened and all sense of playfulness disappeared. "Where? Why wasn't I informed about the ship immediately?" He pushed away from the door and strode down the aisle toward her.
"I came to you the second I received the report," she said. He'd ignored the news about Perseus like she'd expected.
Hades reached her side and dropped onto the throne. "Show me where the ship was spotted."
Opal put her finger on the hologram and the view changed, zooming into a remote mountainous location. She knew the area well, since it was where she'd been born. She pointed to the ship's last known position. "The scout who spotted the Slavers said that the ship was flying low over the trees, keeping to the valleys between the mountains. It was as if they were searching for something."
“Are we missing any craft?” he asked.
“I thought of that, so I checked,” she said. “All ships have been accounted for.”
"Did he notice any other Slavers on the ground?" he asked.
Opal shook her head. "No, only the one. But there could be more. Slavers are like Zaronian spores. You spot one, the next thing you know you have an infestation. Thanks to their advanced shielding tech, they slipped into the atmosphere without detection. Do you want me to alert New Atlantis and King Eros?"
"I can take care of any threats to
my
Kingdom," Hades said. "Or do you suddenly doubt my abilities?"
"No, Sire. Never." She dropped her gaze momentarily. "I was simply concerned that the Slavers might enter Atlantean airspace."
His lips thinned. "We'll notify Eros if, and only if, it becomes necessary. I want to know what we're dealing with first."
"What about Perseus?" she asked.
Hades appeared confused. "What about him?"
"I believe he's going to send forth another formal challenge for your throne.”
Hades scowled.
“This one you cannot ignore, Sire. You've already passed on his first two challenges. There is talk—I'm sure instigated by Perseus himself—that insinuates that the reason you have declined up to this point is because you believe that you will lose."
Another rumble came from his chest. "This wouldn't be happening if I were a pureblood," he said in disgust. "It's only because I'm a Half-being."
She stared at him. It was the truth, but there was no sense in confirming the obvious. So instead Opal said, "What would you like me to do about him?"
Hades glowered. "Nothing. We must await his challenge, and then I will decide what to do. You and I both know this won't end until one of us leaves our blood in the Pit."
Opal reached out and gently touched his arm. "Do not fear, Sire. Perseus is a fool. He cannot defeat you."
Hades bristled beneath her hand and pulled his arm away. "I do not
fear
Perseus. I am the Dark King." He slammed his fist onto his wide chest. There was a thick thud as bone met slabs of muscle. "It is my birthright to sit on this throne. Half-being or not, I will hold what is mine."
"I never doubted you, Sire. You just need to know that there are those who do." Opal glanced at the door, staring at the claw marks, her earlier concerns rushing back. Was it a coincidence that the Slavers appeared at the same time as the unknown female? She didn't believe in coincidences. The King couldn't afford any distractions, not when his throne was being threatened. "Who was that woman? I didn't recognize her."
Hades stared at the map, studying the terrain. "Have the scouts check out these two areas." He pointed to a couple of ravines. "Those locations would be easy spots to hide a ship the size of the Slavers' craft. Make sure at least one of the scouts is from the Tooth Clan. Use a member of the Claw Clan as backup."