The Tiger's Offer: A Reverse Harem Fantasy (The Goddess's Harem Book 1)

by Lila Jean

  Hands behind his back, he stood to Tina’s right as they waited for the kings to arrive. To better protect her should the need arise, the five princes stood with her on the platform rather than on the ground below it. The waterfalls on either side of the throne cast a thin mist through the humid room as their nervous tension built.

  Beside him, Tina shifted anxiously on the balls of her feet. He set a hand on the small of her back to help her stay calm, and she flashed him a grateful little smile.

  The doors swung inward, and the five kings stormed into the throne room. As requested, each of them had come alone to the meeting, though Flynn knew better than to think they had come unaccompanied to the temple. His father likely had a small army stationed nearby, with a much larger one and possibly an entire fleet hidden somewhere in the oceans around Indonesia. The king of the demigods would never go into such a significant meeting without a backup plan in place, and that worried Flynn more than anything else.

  The king of Wolfcrest stood in the middle of the five royals, his arms folded across his chest as he glared up at Tina. It took everything Flynn had to keep from assaulting King William, to rein in the accusation that the old man was behind Damara’s forced return to the world. The wolf king scowled, and Flynn noticed Anthony’s hands ball into fists.

  Instead of remaining with them in the throne room, the high priestess returned to the hallway and closed the doors behind her.

  Such was the plan. Ray would evacuate the temple. The priests and priestesses had spent the last two weeks clearing most of the rooms of anything valuable, hiding it all in various vaults underground. Now that a pending battle was on their doorstep, it was up to Ray to make sure everyone got out safely through the underground tunnels before the bloodshed began.

  Flynn tensed, muscles aching for movement as he prepared for the inevitable fight. Though he hoped their fathers would see reason, he knew far better than to rely on it.

  King James folded his arms over his chest. “Now that you have us in front of you, we are all eager to hear your decision, goddess.”

  Flynn’s father nodded to the line of princes around her. “And I would like to know why my son is standing next to you instead of down here with me.”

  Tina lifted her chin defiantly. “Because I’m not choosing one prince. I’m choosing them all.”

  Flynn set a protective arm around her shoulder, showing that he was in agreement with her.

  A surge of angry voices erupted in the throne room, the sheer volume bouncing off the walls. A few of the kings’ forms shimmered with the threat of a shift.

  Flynn’s jaw twitched. He’d had enough. “Shut up, all of you!”

  His outburst temporarily stemmed their fury, and his father glared at him with disgust. “How can you possibly be okay with this? Sharing your woman? Have you lost your mind?”

  “For the last century, we have been looking for a solid and lasting way to unite the five kingdoms.” Flynn met his father’s glare. “The peace we have has been rocky at best, and we always seem one offense away from an all-out war. This right here is the answer. She is the answer.”

  He nodded toward Tina, and she stiffened as each king’s attention returned to her.

  King Edward grimaced. “These are the crown princes of each of our kingdoms. Each of them has a duty to their people to rule one day, and they cannot share a queen. Draven, you will return to the dragonlands at once, or I will drag you there myself!”

  “Father!” Draven’s form shimmered with the threat of a shift.

  Flynn hoped the shifters could contain themselves, or at least not shift in the throne room. With so much crumbling around them already, he didn’t want to destroy Damara’s temple as well.

  “It’s safe to say we do not accept your decision,” King Alexander said. Though he hadn’t begun to yell, he glared at Tina with a deadly expression that hinted at the full weight of what he could do to those who wronged him.

  Without so much as a whiff of warning, King James threw a dagger at Tina’s heart. The thin sliver of metal glistened as if cut through the air. Flynn couldn’t move fast enough to reach it. He tried anyway, his arm sluggish as he fought to intercept the weapon.

  Mercifully, Anthony got there first. Fast as lightning, he snatched the blade out of the air and threw it against the ground. The metal clattered over the stone, the sound deafening in the suddenly silent space.

  “If you attack her, you’ll answer to us,” Anthony said with a snarl.

  For a painful moment, none of the kings spoke. Their eyes widened in unison, and Flynn tensed as he waited for them to understand what had happened. Slowly, comprehension passed across each of the kings’ faces, and Flynn’s father narrowed his eyes with suspicion.

  King James was the first to break the silence. “Come to your senses, Killian. She’s controlling you with sex and getting you drunk on power, manipulating you into threatening your own family.”

  Killian shook his head. “Quite the opposite. You’ll notice this time around, you lot are the only ones bickering, not us. She brought us together, and she can bring the kingdoms together if you will just listen. If you just let us, you can all have peace.”

  “Never,” the eagle king said, glaring at Tina.

  With a somber shake of his head, Flynn’s father pinched the bridge of his nose. “You seem to care about her, son, but I have to do this. You’ll thank me, one day. You all will.”

  Throwing stars appeared in his father’s hands, almost from nowhere, and the only reason Flynn could see them materialize from the hidden pockets of his father’s suit was that he had known to look. Few could match Flynn’s father when it came to blades, but Flynn had something better.

  “Killian, now!” Flynn shouted.

  Killian shielded Tina with his body, the shuriken tearing at his clothes but bouncing off his indestructible body. One by one, they clattered harmlessly to the floor.

  Without waiting for his father to react, Flynn dove off the platform and summoned the mightiest bolt of lightning he could muster. It sizzled and snapped in his hands, the hair on his arm standing on end with the building power. When it had fully formed, he hurled the bolt at his father.

  Flynn’s father was a demigod, a descendant of Odin and a powerful king known for his sheer body count in battle. One strike wouldn’t kill him, but it would hurt like hell.

  The bolt hit him square in the chest, launching him backward. He rolled over the floor and skidded along the ground. A flicker of pride briefly crossed his father’s face, but utter disdain soon followed.

  No one disarmed the mighty King Frederick, not even his sons. Flynn knew without a shadow of a doubt that this was a battle that would shake the earth.

  56

  Tina

  In a matter of seconds, Tina’s throne room became a battlefield. Four of her princes jumped from the platform, and only Zane remained by her side. He would guard her while the other princes did their best to get their fathers to back down. This was the plan, but she didn’t like it one bit.

  Her body hummed with energy as she called upon what amount of Damara’s magic she could control. Her princes might have wanted her to let them fight this battle for her, but she refused to sit idly by while they risked their lives.

  With his super speed, Anthony blocked his father from charging the platform and shoved the king against the wall. On the other side of the room, Killian continued to block the daggers his father aimed at Tina’s heart. Zane pulled her behind him, guarding her from his father with his own body. In the middle of it all, Draven and his father circled each other, speaking in hushed tones Tina couldn’t hear.

  Flynn and his father faced off nearby, King Frederick scowling as his fingers twitched by his side. He was probably going for another blade, one possibly meant for Flynn instead of her.

  Tina stretched her hand toward the king of the demigods, summoning as much of her power as she could. She connected only to the king, hearing his heartbeat as it thudded in her ears
. As she had with Flynn in Olympus, she could feel the king’s magic. It swirled within him like a tempest, furious and raging, fueling him forward like an angry sea. As Tina dipped into her magic, she ensnared him and made his heart race faster, threatening to make it explode.

  The king wavered and fell to his knees, gasping as he stared at her with wide eyes, utterly enraptured.

  Flynn tensed and shot her a look of pleading, his eyebrows twisting upward as he silently asked her to back down.

  Her jaw tensed. This was his father, after all. Though the kings had attacked her, they were family about whom her princes cared deeply. She had to walk a fine line, and she didn’t want to kill anyone. Still, Tina refused to rein in her powers when she could help. Before, Tina and Damara both had been too weak, too disconnected to help her men, to wield the power inside her. Now, though, she had the power, and as long as she could make a difference in this fight, she would give it everything she had.

  King Frederick recovered, stumbling to his feet as he held his chest. He positioned himself so that Flynn blocked her view of the king, and she grimaced in annoyance at his cowardice.

  Anger flared within her, hot and feral. With it came the first glimmer of familiar magic pulsating just out of reach, stronger than any she had used before. It simmered and boiled deep within her, morphing each time she tried to summon it, as though it were taunting her.

  Her intuition flared in warning. There was no other choice. No other option. Deep in Tina’s core, her goddess believed their plan would fail, and the princes would never make their fathers see reason. Tina had to access her true potential, her true magic, and she had to do it now. Anything less, and they would all die.

  57

  Killian

  Every time Killian’s father tried to throw another knife, Killian intercepted it, deflecting it off his invulnerable body before it could harm anyone.

  A war raged within him. He had gone his entire life doing what he was told, doing everything in his power to impress his father and make the man proud. Now, Killian had to fight the very person who had raised him to save the woman he loved.

  Though the throne room was massive, the five separate battles quickly consumed every ounce of free space. Anthony and Flynn dueled their fathers nearby, while Zane stood on the raised platform with Tina as his own father slowly marched up the steps. By the door, Draven slowly inched toward the outside hall, following their plan and doing his best to lead the man outside to avoid the terrible destruction that would follow a dragon shifting indoors.

  Killian deflected another blade, still not able to bring himself to land a blow against his father’s chest. “Why won’t you see reason?”

  “She will destroy everything and everyone,” the old man seethed.

  The old man suddenly faltered, his daggers tumbling to the ground, and he did a double take at something behind Killian as his shoulders relaxed. It was as if a spell had come over him, and he did his best to fight it. His eyes shifted to the platform, and Killian nervously followed his gaze to find Tina, with one arm stretched toward the Killian’s father. Her eyes glowed white, and her veins shimmered with magic. She looked for all the world like a vengeful siren, ready to destroy anyone who harmed what she loved.

  She had enthralled the old man, used her magic to distract the king, and this was Killian’s chance to make him see reason.

  “Tina won’t destroy anything!” Killian pleaded. “This is your chance to bring the kingdoms together, not rip them apart. To create lasting peace.”

  “There won’t be lasting peace as long as she exists,” the eagle king interrupted. His jaw was tense as he fought her magic, still glaring at the platform.

  As suddenly as the spell had hit him, it faded. He breathed a deep sigh of relief, staggering backward, reaching into his belt for more daggers even as he caught his breath. Killian turned fearfully toward the platform to find Zane and his father in a deep conversation, Zane urging Tina backward, stealing her attention from Killian as the king of the cat shifters slowly removed a knife hidden in the back of his belt.

  Torn between keeping his father in check and helping, Killian ran to the platform to help Zane and Tina. He made it a few steps before his father grabbed his shoulder, wheeling him around.

  “She can’t be trusted!” the eagle king shouted.

  “Of course—”

  “Snap out of it!” Killian’s father aimed another dagger at the woman he loved, and deep down, something finally snapped within Killian.

  “Father, listen to me for once in your life!” Killian shoved his father in the chest, knocking the man backward and finally stemming the flow of daggers.

  “Her outlandish choice broke the rules of the agreement, and that voids any obligations we ever had to her or the other kings.” Chest heaving, the king took a tentative step forward. “She had her choice, and now you have yours. It’s her or me, son.” He lowered his voice, his gaze locked on Killian. “This is your chance to make a lasting decision, and you need to choose now. What will it be?”

  Killian bristled at the sheer gall of such an ultimatum. Deep within him, his eagle scratched to be let free, feathers ruffling with anger and resentment, eager to make his choice plainly known.

  He had spent his life ignoring his own desires for the sake of his kingdom and what his father had told him was the greater good. Now that Tina had lit the fires of passion within him, Killian would never let the flame go out.

  “I choose her,” he said. “I will always choose her.”

  58

  Draven

  Draven had seconds before his father shifted, and he had to get the dragon king out of the temple before he sprouted horns and roasted everyone nearby.

  With full confidence that Zane would protect Tina in his absence, Draven lunged toward his father and landed a solid kick against the man’s chest. The dragon king sailed backward, rolling over the stone. It wouldn’t hurt his father, of course, just annoy the ever-living crap out of him. Never one to be fazed, King Edward was up in seconds, eyes flashing red with warning.

  Draven winked. “Why don’t we talk outside?”

  He threw open the doors into the hallway with his father hot on his heels and jumped through one of the windows into the garden. He shifted in mid-leap, gritting his teeth through the pain, knowing full well he would have only seconds before his father’s claws dug into his back.

  His dragon roared with the thrill of a fight as his body changed. The moment his wings sprouted, he soared into the air. The rough beat of leathery wings followed, and he tilted his head to find his father’s massive black dragon trailing him. Golden fire burned in the back of the immense dragon’s throat, majestic and powerful.

  No one fought the king and lived. Draven’s father was one of the most ferocious and most feared dragons that had ever existed. Yet here Draven was, poking the beast, all for Tina.

  Totally worth it.

  Fire ripped from his father’s throat, aimed at him. Draven spun, tucking in his wings for better balance as he rolled out of the way. It sailed past, scorching the air, the heat like the blurred edges of a mirage. Any second now, other dragons would probably join the fight.

  Draven didn’t have long. He had to pin his father on his back. This was the dragon code: pinning an opponent and exposing his weak underside would signal a clear victory for Draven. His father would have no choice but to concede. It was law, a code of ethics and honor that not even the king would break.

  However, pinning a dragon on his back, especially one as large as the king, was far easier said than done.

  Draven summoned the mystical fire from within. In his human form, manipulating his new fire was fun and all, but he had discovered something significantly more exciting once in his dragon form. His magical flames engulfed him painlessly, covering every scale until it seemed as if he was in the center of a blazing bonfire. He roared, cutting through the air like thunder, and even his mighty father hesitated.

  Draven hated to fi
ght his family, but the old man was flat-out wrong. None of them would attack Tina so long as Draven was alive to protect her. She gave him joy. Happiness. Peace.

  Not even Draven’s father would take it from him.

  59

  Anthony

  Anthony circled his father, eyes on the man’s shoulder as he waited for any indication of an attack or shift. Whenever his father moved, his shoulder always gave away whatever attack would follow. It was a weakness he had never been allowed to critique, and now he was glad his father hadn’t listened.

  “You killed your own,” King William said, nose wrinkling with disdain.

  “And you’re the coward who sent them to their deaths,” Anthony countered.

  The king clicked his tongue with disappointment. “It was a message, Anthony, a reminder of where your loyalty should lie.”

  “With my kingdom, as it always has. Not with you.”

  The king scowled, the lines deepening in his brow and around his mouth. “Don’t you see, Anthony? Don’t you see what’s at stake here?”

  “Of course—”

  “No, you don’t. You never see the big picture. You never see what’s possible, only what is. Look at the abilities you and the other princes have! All this power, all this magic, just from sleeping with a woman. The wolves could have an army of incredibly enhanced soldiers, Anthony. We could rule every kingdom, put the others in their place. I brought Damara here for you, Anthony. I brought her here so that when you take my place, you’ll have more than one measly kingdom. You’ll have an empire!”