The panther quit sniffing me and hissed at Evelyn. Its tail flicked harder; a low whine echoed in its chest, just like an angry tabby cat.
“Eh...” Leaping to my feet, I backed up, casually putting Evelyn between me and the beast. “Perhaps yelling at it isn’t the best idea.”
She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes at my obvious andunderstandablefear. “If it was going to hurt us, it would’ve done so by now. Like the others said, it’s just a pet.”
“A pet?” My eyebrows shot up. “I’ve never seen a pet like that.”
Other women came to join us, forming a small crowd in front of the panther. The giant cat eyed us all, yet I swear its stare lingered on me more than on any of them.
Lucky me.
Had we been brought here to be a movable feast for this creature? Just convenient snacks and I’d been selected as its first course?
Sighing heavily, my headache reached unbearable levels.
When I got this bad, no painkiller or medicine helped.
The only thing that would recalibrate my out-of-whack system was sleep. A long blissful forgetful sleep where—
“Take us to Lucien.” Evelyn stomped her foot, making a few of the women snicker. “Now!”
“Having a tantrum won’t work.” One of the girls—a heavy-set, short-haired woman came forward, her arms thicker thanmy thighs, no doubt from regular weightlifting. “And I doubt its master likes spoiled little princesses.”
“Oh, and I suppose you think Lucien will like you?” Evelyn spun on her. “Someone who looks like she eats twenty raw eggs for breakfast.”
The woman cracked her knuckles, stepping into Evelyn. “Say that again. I dare you.”
“Easy, easy.” Lydia, the girl with golden-brown hair, stepped between the two. “Let’s not fight so soon into this mission, shall we?”
Mission?
What mission?
The bodybuilder clenched her jaw but nodded. “Fine.” Pointing at all of us, she added, “But stay the hell out of my way. I know a bunch of you have come here to seduce that bastard and have his bastard children, but me? I’m going to rip out his throat and ruin any chance he has of unleashing the apocalypse.”
Okay, WHAT?
My eyes ached. My ears rang. I was very close to throwing up from the pain. But I clung to sanity and asked, “Can someone please tell me what the hellisthis place?”
“No!” Evelyn snapped. Hurling her wrath at the panther, she shouted, “Take us to Lucien. Immediately!”
Incredibly, the cat grumbled and growled but slinked around us and headed back toward the main palace.
Everyone followed, as if entranced by its jewel-black pelt and hypnotising tail.
But as everyone vanished into the black stone castle, I turned around and bolted.
Chapter Six
THE WOMEN DISAPPEARING INTO MY HOME below brought promises of death, sex, and more noise than I could cope with.
Yet another group.
Yet another attempt to make me breed.
I’d lost track of how many they’d sent here over the past two decades. How many I’d killed. How many hopefuls had tried to sneak into my bed.
It was a pity—for those imprisoning me—that they were slowly running out of women who were eager to rent out their wombs. Despite their careful screening to find me a lover, assassins crept through the cracks.
