Fate is a funny thing. Go ahead and deny it. Fight it all you want. You might even win for a short time. But Destiny will catch you in the end. I thank my lucky stars for that.
Keep reading for a sneak peek into the next book in the
Godhunter Series:
Destiny Descending
Chapter One
A high-pitched shriek echoed out to the veranda where I was having a tea party with Lesya on a Persian rug. We both looked toward the open front doors of Pride Palace where an anaconda came slithering out followed by an angry werelion. The snake was actually a giant pit viper. When it reached the bottom of the veranda steps, it transformed into a gorgeous, naked man, powerfully built with dark hair and eyes the color of the viper's scales; a shocking lime green. The man immediately bent over double in laughter. The werelion in pursuit stopped at the top of the steps to furiously shake his fist at Viper, my newest lover.
“I swear to my goddess, Viper, if you jump out at me like that again, I'm going to shift into a lion and literally bite your head off!” Aidan shouted.
At the door, a horde of Intare chortled with glee.
“And the rest of you can stick it up your furry—”
“Aidan!” I shouted before he could finish his sentence.
Aidan looked over at Lesya and me then grimaced. “Tima, your new boy toy has taken to scaring me in his snake form!”
Viper's newly discovered shifting abilities came in handy for torturing the Intare; specifically Aidan, who had previously held the title of the Most Annoying Male in the palace. Aidan had tried his tricks on Viper, in the way that men do when they're bonding, and Viper—the still-laughing Viper—had turned the tables on Aidan and stolen his coveted title. Much to the delight of the rest of the Intare.
“Viper, please stop scaring Aidan,” I admonished my star god. “You know he has a snake phobia.”
“That's precisely why I do it,” Viper came striding up the steps and plopped down onto a chair beside me.
Shifters; they have no shame. Thankfully, my daughter is a shifter too, and she had seen plenty of naked people in her life. This was normal for her. I hope that she marries a shifter someday because otherwise, her husband (or husbands, most likely, she's inherited my lioness magic, after all) will be in for a big surprise.
“You're exploiting my weakness!” Aidan shouted at Viper.
“You shouldn't have told me about it if you didn't want it exploited,” Viper reasoned.
“I didn't! You shifted and saw my reaction.”
“As I said; you shouldn't have told me about it.”
“Well done, Viper!” Aaron, our resident Fabio-look-alike, smacked Viper's shoulder. “You got him to scream like a girl; that's rare.”
“The funniest thing I've heard in ages,” Kevin agreed.
“That was you, Uncle Aidan?” Lesya asked innocently.
“No, Lesya,” Aidan said adamantly, “that was a bird. I don't scream; I'm Intare.”
“I'm Intare, and I scream,” she said.
I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing but little amused sounds were puffing out of my nose.
“But you're a girl,” Aidan argued. “It's okay for you to scream like a girl if you are a girl.”
“That sounds sexist.” Lesya crossed her arms and glared at Aidan.
Aidan gaped at her while the rest of us burst out laughing.
“Where did you even hear that word?” Aidan asked Lesya.
“Mommy.”
“Of course.” Aidan grimaced and rolled his eyes. “It wasn't sexist, Lesya. Intare are led by a goddess. We obey a woman so we can't be sexist. It's impossible.”
“I'm not sure that's right.” Lesya frowned in thought.
“That's my girl!” I stroked Lesya's thick, ebony curls affectionately. “So smart.”
Lesya beamed at me.
“I'd flee before she remembers you're here,” Viper whispered to Aidan.
“This isn't over, Snake,” Aidan vowed as he pushed through the crowd of laughing lions and disappeared into the palace.
“I'm a viper; get it right!” Viper called after Aidan.
“Slithering snake!” Aidan shouted back.
After congratulating Viper on his latest victory, the lions went back into the palace, and Viper leaned forward to check out the plates of tiny sandwiches and little cups of juice that Lesya and I had spread between us.
“Can Uncle Viper have some tea too?” He asked Lesya.
“Yes!” Lesya cried excitedly and quickly gathered a new place setting from the wooden box that held the coveted tea set she'd gotten as a birthday present.
Lesya set the teacup down on its saucer then filled it from the pitcher of apple juice nearby. Then a tiny plate painted in delicate roses joined it. A miniature sandwich and one cookie went on the plate; everything set precisely.
“Here's your tea, Uncle Viper. You can have more when you're finished, but Mommy says you can't put too much on your plate at one time. It's not proper eti-cake.”
“Etiquette,” I whispered to her.
“Thank you, baby girl.” Viper slid off the chair and sat between Lesya and me. “And Mommy is right; she knows all about having too much on your plate.”
I lifted a brow at Viper as he got settled into a cross-legged position. He grinned back innocently and lifted his little teacup to his sensual lips. I shook my head and chuckled but as I looked away, my glance landed in his lap... on the impressive package he had on full display.
“Here, honey, have a napkin.” I laid a linen napkin over Viper's lap.
“Why,
