“Yes,” Lucy said without hesitation. “And the winner shall be yours. Use him for as long as you like, then toss him back into the pool of other HHBs. Or, if we’re lucky, you’ll imprint with him and he’ll be your perfect HuBull for eternity. If not, no big deal. He’ll be one hell of a starter prize—and just as unused tothe demands of a demoness as you are to the demands of an HHB in heat. This is going to be so much fun!”
I stared at her. “You can’t be serious. Lucy, I love you to pieces, but you’ve lost your mind.”
“Oh, I’m always serious.” She tapped my nose like I was still a child. “You’ve been hiding in this office and licking your wounds. That ends now. You’re going to be a judge. Nobody will know I’m gifting you the winner. You can have your pick of hell’s finest. And you’re going to laugh again. Be my Ivy—the gorgeous little angel I’ve always loved and adored. Heaven should’ve clung tighter to you, but don’t you worry. I won’t let you go.”
An hour later,I made my way out of my office, down the elevator, and into the main corridor of Hell’s Headquarters. The line of men snaked out of the registration hall like a particularly depressing parade. I folded my arms across my chest, the scars where my wings had been twitching with irritation.
Lucy had shoved me into this mess with a smile, insisting it would “lift my spirits.” Instead, I was surrounded by more testosterone than a locker room and enough swagger to choke me. If they had this much swagger without their man parts, how much worse would it be once they got them back? I shuddered just thinking about it.
Every man in line had the same expression: smug confidence. They compared abs, flexed biceps, and whispered about their phantom penis sizes like middle schoolers at a sleepover. One guy even had the nerve to shout, “I’m hung like a minotaur!”
I nearly gagged. I’d seen the beasts myself when I first arrived in hell. If any of them had a clue how hard it was to give a minotaur head, they’d know no sane demoness would want the privilege. I’m not speaking from experience, mind you. I just happened to stumble across a tryst when I first arrived.
Staring at the men vying for a place in the contest, I felt a sense of dread. Not one of them stirred even the faintest spark in me. Their bravado was exhausting. Their looks? Generic.
If heaven had catalog models, hell had wannabe porn stars.
And then he stumbled in.
Tall. Broad shoulders. A body so toned it looked carved from marble. Dark hair, sharp jaw, eyes that scanned the room. The HHB wanna-be didn’t puff out his chest or shout about his cock. He looked… lost, confused, and a little sad.
“Uh,” he said loudly, drawing a few irritated glances. “Is this the line for… the bulls, or whatever this is? It’s my first day, and Steve just sorta disappeared on me. I don’t know what I’m doing.”
Something in my chest tilted. He looked like a dark prince—and a lost puppy at the same time. It hadn’t been that long since I’d been thrust down here myself. I knew exactly how he was feeling.
Cocky men I could ignore. But confused, handsome men with earnest eyes? Dangerous.
I stepped forward before I could stop myself. “Hi, I’m Ivy. You’re in the right place. It’s the last day to sign up for the Hellbound HuBull Games.”
He breathed a sigh of relief. “Right, the HHB? I was worried I’d stumbled into the dead inbound lane and was about to be rewarded with a job cleaning the shitter or something equally exciting.”
“Yes.” I snorted, biting back a smile. “While toilet cleanliness is important, it might not be the most thrilling occupation. Buthey, if this doesn’t work out, I can be sure to put in a good word for you.”
He looked horrified. “Oh, I am not volunteering?—”
“Relax, I was just kidding,” I said with a laugh, noticing how easy it was to talk to him. “First day, huh? Wow, that’s pretty lucky.”
His lips twitched. “Steve said the same thing. I hope the basta—uh, I hope he was right. Do you know how any of this works?”
“I have a fairly good idea,” I replied. “From what I’ve been told, the Hellbound HuBull Games is a televised competition. Twenty-five guys are selected to join. From there, they compete in three main challenges, followed by a final showcase. The first challenge is public, and the residents of hell vote on who stays and who goes. However, the last two are private. At that stage, the judges decide.”
His brow furrowed. “Judges?”
“Three of them.” I tilted my head toward the banners overhead, each one with Lucy’s smirk plastered across it. “Guess who the head judge is.”
He whistled low. “Lucy herself.”
“Correct.” I nodded. “Win, and you get your manhood back—bigger, better, demon-grade. But make no mistake, it’s a job. You’ll be milked, required to service demonesses, and experience a heat that can take a toll on someone not prepared for it. Lose, and you stay neutered.”
His hand twitched toward his crotch instinctively, and I almost laughed.
“Well,” he muttered, “I guess I’m signing up. Oh, I’m Max, by the way. Not sure if we’re allowed to have friends down here or not, but it’s been nice to talk to you, Ivy.”
“I’m new here as well,” I replied, not mentioning that I wasn’t newly dead, but freshly fallen. “I don’t see why we can’t be friends.”
I stuck my hand out to shake his, but I wasn’t prepared for what happened when his large, roughened palm grasped mine. It was like electricity stole up my arm, warming me and causing the rest of Headquarters to fade for a moment. My body reacted before my mind could catch up—my pulse raced, my nipples tightened, and heat coiled low in my belly. I found myself staring into his blue eyes, and he stared right back. It was as if he were searching my face for something—but what, I’d never know, because a moment later we were forced apart.
“You’re next, lover boy.” Agnus, an older demon, poked Max in the chest. “Don’t even think about kissing up to the boss’s niece.”
