by Amy Sumida
A gorgeous dirty-blonde stepped out in front of me from a side room. He was your average hot blonde except for his bright turquoise eyes. Those eyes pushed him right over the edge into Josh Holloway territory. They leaped out of his face like they were trying to make contact, and they made you feel like they wanted that contact with you alone.
Or maybe that was just because he’d been ordered to make contact with me. I stopped short and looked over his wide chest. He was only wearing a pair of jeans, and suddenly I remembered where I’d seen it before… the chest not the jeans.
“You again,” I pointed at him accusingly. He was the jerk who punched me. “It’s not polite to hit ladies.”
“It was either that or rip your throat out,” he said softly and then raised his voice, “I don’t see any ladies here.”
I blinked a couple times and cocked my head to the side. Following his gaze over my shoulder, I saw Nyavirezi getting to her feet as she wiped blood off her face. Holy shit, he didn’t like her. Maybe I had some kind of a chance.
“Alright then,” I smiled, “hitting a bitch may be okay but hitting this one isn’t too smart.”
He chuckled a little before he dove for me. I sidestepped and knocked him with my joined fists in the back of the head. He grunted and fell but with a roll he was on his feet again, grinning.
“Not bad, Godhunter.”
“I get better when I’m bad, Darius is it?”
He bowed quickly before resuming a fighting stance. I watched his muscles bunch and flex under all that golden skin. He wasn’t as big as Trevor or Thor, maybe six-foot-three, but that still made him a foot taller than me and I wasn’t sure I could take him down quickly without my claws. I lowered myself into a crouch and shifted to watch him better. That’s when the second guy grabbed me from behind.
“Fuck,” I cursed under my breath. I’d made a beginner’s mistake. Never lose sight of your surroundings and always be on guard for someone coming up behind you.
I felt hot breath on my neck and looked over my shoulder to see a man who looked remarkably like LL Cool J, smiling at me. The resemblance was so uncanny; I actually looked down to see if one of his pants’ legs was rolled up(yes, he used to do that, google it if you don't believe me). No luck there, just tight jeans all the way down and bare chest behind me. It must’ve been the uniform.
“Boy, you guys don’t come in ugly do you?” I eyed his toned chest.
The man holding me raised an eyebrow over a hazel eye. Okay, he was hotter than LL. There’s nothing quite like a dark-skinned man with light eyes. Darius laughed loudly, drawing my attention away from Mr. Rap-Star-Good-Looks.
“Thank you, Godhunter,” Darius winked at me, “I didn’t know you noticed.”
“Call me Vervain,” I lifted my leg and brought my foot down on LL’s knee. He cried out and let go of me as he went down. “I’m sure we’re going to be the best of friends.”
I saw a flare of admiration light Darius’ eyes before I ran past him and down a corridor to the left. His boots hit the floor hard behind me and then another set joined in. I guess LL was a fast healer or had a high pain tolerance. Then came the worst sound ever. Rising above the pounding footsteps and my pounding heart, was insane feminine laughter. Nyavirezi. I was really starting to dislike that bitch.
The pounding was coming closer, damn lions were fast, faster than wolves I’d wager. As I thought that, the little wolf in me rose up and I found myself skidding and turning into a curve that left me crouched and facing off with my pursuers. I snarled and growled a low warning that stopped the boys in their tracks. They gave each other a quick, shocked glance before looking back at me.
“Surprise, surprise,” I continued to growl, “Red Riding Hood has a little wolf in her.”
“We don’t want to hurt you, Vervain,” Darius whispered. “Please don’t make this difficult.”
“There’s no way out except through the tracing point,” LL was crouched low but held his hands up pleadingly.
“And why would you care about hurting me?” I stared hard at Darius.
“I’ve no quarrel with you,” Darius looked back over his shoulder. “We only carry out her orders.”
“Yeah? Well if you don’t like her so much, why don’t you just leave or revolt or something?” I wasn’t about to buy this crap. “Viva la revolucion!”
“She made us,” he looked cautiously at LL, “she can destroy us.”
“Made you?” I frowned, “like she’s your mother, ‘I brought you into this world and I can take you out of it’ kind of thing?”
“No,” LL rumbled, “like she’s our goddess and can kill or torture us with a thought.”
“The Intare are made through magic, not birthed like Froekn,” Darius shook his head. “We don’t have time for this, she’s coming.”
I heard the click-clack of heels on the wood floor before Nyavirezi rounded the corner. “What’s taking so damn long? Grab her… now!”
The men shot me an apologetic glance, then leaped forward. I was suddenly off my feet, dangling by the arms, which each man held one of. I fought and kicked but it was useless, they both had a hell of a grip. The wolf rose up along with my Nahual and I felt my body tense in response. All sorts of growling sounds were coming out of my throat. I sounded like a cornered animal, which I guess I kinda was. Well, more like caged.
“Take her into the common room,” Nyavirezi waved her hand down the opposite corridor and then followed after us.
We turned and walked through a doorway, well some of us walked one of us was carried, which opened onto a huge room. It was heaven. Maybe they’d already killed me and I just hadn’t realized I was dead yet.
Gorgeous men were everywhere; the room was filled with them. I could have sworn I heard the Weather Girls singing about ripping the roof off and staying in bed. Then suddenly it made sense. If Nyavirezi turned men into lions, she’d pick the best of course, and wouldn’t you know it, there wasn’t a single female in the lot.
“Hallelujah,” I shook my head. I could still hear the chorus to It’s Raining Men, when what I needed to be singing was I Will Survive. Come on Gloria, do your thing. But Gloria Gaynor wasn’t in the mood to sing. I looked over the man buffet and all I could think was, I’m gonna go out and let myself get, absolutely soaking wet. I would’ve started tapping my toes, except for the whole dangling in mid-air thing.
“Intare,” Nyavirezi called as she came up beside us. “You fought well today and though we lost the battle, we took their Queen. The game can still be ours!”
“Oh good, a chess reference,” I sighed. “How original.”
Nyavirezi shot me a heated look. “Maybe you should have studied the game yourself, Godhunter,” she snapped. “Then you’d know a little about strategy.”
“Oh here we go again,” I groaned. “Can you just do what you’re going to do, without all the stupid babble?” I got a vicious slap for my comment and felt Darius’ hand twitch a little on my arm.
“Fine,” she smiled wide, “you don’t want to hear my babble? I’ll be short and sweet.” She turned back to the men who eyed her warily. “Just this once, my babies, you can have another woman. As your reward, the Godhunter is yours. Just try not to kill her. We have other plans for her.”
Blue had his arms crossed over his chest. I still couldn't see his damn eyes and for some reason, that really bothered me. I should have been able to look him in the eyes while he betrayed me. I think I at least deserved that. He wouldn't even raise his head though, just stared at the floor and then turned away, walking from the room stiffly.
“Nyavirezi,” I called as I felt myself go cold. She turned back to me with an arrogant glare and I met it steadily. “Ever notice how you come across somebody once in awhile you shouldn't have fucked with? That's me.”
“Toss her in,” Nyavirezi shouted.
The men looked at each other and Darius gave me a gentle squeeze before they threw me to the waiting men. I had a brief sensation of weightless
ness and a moment to wonder how bad the sudden stop was going to hurt, and then nothing. I never hit the ground. Big hands grabbed me everywhere and lifted me up. There were so many faces, I couldn’t focus on any single one, but I felt the heat of them closing in. None of them said a word, they just moved me carefully back into the room until I felt myself lowered to the ground.
“Goodbye, Godhunter,” Nyavirezi laughed. “Turns out, I'm not going to be the one fucking with you after all. Have fun. Some of my men haven’t had sex in years. I’m sure they’ll show you a good time. I’ll be back to check on you tomorrow.”
I wouldn’t scream. I wouldn’t scream. I wouldn’t scream.
Darius was gone and so was LL, though I wasn’t sure if either of them would help me anyway. Hell, they might just be getting in line. I almost started laughing hysterically. Instead it came out more like a hiccup. The hands pulled back at the small sound and I was able to sit up and look around me.
They were all crouched in a circle, all those hotties that were about to rape me… probably repeatedly. One or two of them, I might have stood a chance, but even if they were gentle, I wouldn’t live through what must’ve been close to eighty men. One woman can only take so much. I jumped up in a crouch and they leaned back, wariness fighting with eagerness in their expressions.
“Okay boys,” I smiled humorlessly as I settled into a fighting stance. “Who wants to be first?”
They watched me hungrily like, well, like lions hunting antelope. Or men watching strippers. Either way, it didn’t bode well. Fucked to death. I looked around at the wide chests and gorgeous faces. What a way to go. I chuckled a little at the horrifying ridiculousness of my life, which seemed to make the men even more cautious.
“Don’t be afraid,” a dark haired one said gently. “We’ll be careful with you. We won’t hurt you.”
“My body won’t be able to handle all of you,” my smile twisted, “no matter how careful you are.” I couldn’t believe I was having a pre-rape polite conversation. My hands started to shake.
“We won’t all take you today,” he reached out a hand and I promptly slapped it away. “It could be enjoyable if you let it.”
“Sure, honey,” I laughed. “One on one with you would be great, no doubt, but being gang banged is not on my top ten list of things to do before I die… or how to die.” There was a shuffling among them and they pressed in a little closer. “Look, I appreciate that it’s be awhile for some of you but come on, I went five years once and I wasn’t even remotely thinking about raping anyone.”
“I’m sorry, Godhunter,” the black-haired one lowered his face, shame heating his cheeks. “We never get to be with any woman but her. Even then, it’s only when the mood strikes her and her idea of making love is not always pleasant. It’s been so long since I’ve even touched a woman and, well… we’re all really just animals at heart.”
The men around him rumbled in agreement.
“That sucks,” I nodded, “and believe me, I’d love to help you out but I’ve got a really jealous boyfriend and I don’t think he’d go for it.”
“The Wolf Prince isn’t here,” Mr. black-hair moved forward so fast, I barely saw it. I was on the floor in a second, legs spread with the lion between them. “Please,” he whispered as he kissed my neck. It might have felt pretty good if I hadn’t been rigid with rage. Fear mixed with adrenaline was one hell of a mood breaker… even with a hard appendage placed strategically against me.
“Get off her, Aidan,” Darius’ voice flowed over us like cold water, shocking to Aidan but a cool relief to me.
“Wait your turn,” Aidan growled over his shoulder before returning his attentions to my cleavage. A moment later he was hanging mid-air, in Darius’ grip. “What the fuck, D? The Goddess told us to, even if I didn’t want to fuck her, I still have to.”
“Don’t use that as an excuse to become a rapist,” Darius put Aidan down gently. “We don’t have to behave like animals just because she made us into them. We’re still men.”
“Maybe you are,” a large man with a shaved head pushed forward, “but I’m past acting human. I’m Intare and I just got an order from my Tima. An order I fully intend to make use of since it’s rare that her demands give me any pleasure.”
The other men pressed in closer, nodding and muttering encouragement to Baldie. I saw LL standing off to the side, arms crossed and face filled with disapproval. I felt awful about kicking his knee when I saw that. Sure he was standing on the side, not helping defend me in the least, but he wasn’t actively plotting my rape either.
I stood up and set my back to the wall, scanning the men and looking for any possible escape routes. I was just about to make a break for it when the crowd lurched forward and Darius shimmered out of focus. His form blurred and was replaced by a lion. A really big lion. He roared and I was tempted to cover my ears, the strength of it left my head a little numb.
The men backed up, eying him warily and each other in confusion. They outnumbered him, like eighty to one, but they were afraid to go up against him. I was impressed.
He stalked back and forth in front of me, low sounds of menace coming from him. Then he turned toward me and it was all I could do to not drop into a battle stance.
He padded over and rubbed his body along mine as he circled me once. The sexy sensation of warm fur stroking my arm was actually soothing. It was almost as soothing as the sight of him dropping to the ground in front of me to lie there casually, as if it was something he did every day. Good kitty.
Another shimmer heralded the change of a possible adversary but Darius barely twitched. It wasn’t till the lion got within range that he finally reacted, swiping at the other beast almost playfully. The challenger yelped and backed away, melting into the wall of men.
I sat down behind my defender and watched the man-tide recede. His big, lion head turned slowly to look at me and I felt my heart speed up under his glowing gaze. Thick muscles moved beneath golden fur, reminding me of the way they had moved beneath his skin earlier, just as striking but in a completely different way. He was magnificent and terrifying.
“Thanks,” I said, feeling like it was completely inadequate.
I would swear he smiled but I wouldn’t know a lion’s smile from a bear’s grimace so I couldn’t be sure. He did however, nudge his head into my stomach in a distinctly friendly manner. I stoked the thick mane of hair around his face and was shocked at how silky it was. Not like I'd had a lot of experience touching lions before but I always thought their manes would be coarse. I was even more shocked when he laid his head in my lap, coiling his body around me protectively.
“Um, okay,” He’d saved me from certain rape. If he wanted a little scratch behind the ears and a cuddle, it was a small enough price to pay. I continued to stroke his mane and his claws began to knead the thick tan carpeting while a rumbling sound vibrated out of his chest. Strange, lions weren't supposed to be able to purr. Silky manes and purring, I guess magic lions were different.
“Nicely done,” LL strode through the men, who had drawn back and were amusing themselves with the pool table and video games sprinkled around the room. I'd failed to notice all the other sources of entertainment in my preoccupation with potential rape scenarios.
Darius lifted his head, sniffed, and nodded before dropping it back into my lap. I grunted from the weight, a lion’s head is heavy. LL sat down next to us and surveyed the room like a weathered soldier. The lions, or Intare as they evidently called themselves, were all trying to look at ease and completely unaware that I was still there.
They sucked at it.
“You gonna guard her all night?” LL leaned back on one arm and Darius huffed. I assumed that was a yes because LL nodded. Oh hell, I’d had enough with calling him that.
“What’s your name?” I glanced at him before going back to watching the others.
He hesitated a second too long, so I looked back at him again. Flashing, sharp eyes met mine with confused surprise. “Fallo
n,” he said finally. “Sorry, it’s just been a long time since someone asked me that.”
“Don’t get out a lot, huh?” I went back to my guard duty.
“The only time we leave is when the Goddess takes us out,” he shrugged, “usually it involves hurting someone. We don’t get to socialize much and when she does bring someone here, they couldn’t care less about us. We’re scenery, bodyguards, or even worse… toys.”
“Well at least you’re not bitter,” I smiled sympathetically and he laughed.
“I’ve forgotten how wonderful women can be,” his eyes crinkled at the corners as he looked at me.
“Naw, it’s not women, just me,” I flipped my hair over my shoulder dramatically. “I’m fabulous… and modest too.”
Fallon laughed hard enough to lose balance and fall back. The rest of the men looked over, shock evident in their stances. I saw Aidan lose interest in his pool game as he stared at us. He threw his cue on the table and wandered over cautiously. Fallon and I watched but Darius rumbled out a low warning before the black-haired eye-candy got too close.
“I just want to talk to her,” Aidan got down on the floor and crept forward on his hands and knees. “You’re lying in her lap but I can’t talk to her?” Darius lifted his head off my lap to give me a look that clearly said it was up to me.
“Have a seat,” I waved to a spot on my left, opposite Fallon. Darius immediately lowered his head back to my lap.
Surprisingly, I didn’t hold a grudge against Aidan. In fact, the love and sex magics were swirling together in excitement now that mass rape had been avoided. My magic wanted to reach out and touch those boys, help them, save them. I frowned at that thought but it was true, they needed saving. Too bad I couldn’t save them without their help. All Nyavirezi had to do was order them to attack me and I was done for, they couldn’t refuse her. What had Darius said about that?
“Fallon,” I turned back to him. “What did Darius mean when he said Nyavirezi could destroy you?”
“It’s one of her powers,” Fallon frowned. “You know nothing of us then?”