Pursued By The Pantheon Prince (Pantheon Warriors): SciFi Romance by Hattie Jacks ➱ Book Tour with Giveaway

 

Pursued by the Pantheon Prince

Pantheon Warriors Book 1

by Hattie Jacks

Genre: SciFi Romance

Prince Griigor never embraced his royal blood.

Everything he has done since he came of age was to distance himself from his Clan, whether that was fighting alongside his comrades in the Krylix wars, or sowing his wild seed on pleasure planets. Anything to avoid facing his responsibilities back on Pantheon.

He’s happy to be a playboy prince for as long as he can.

The last thing he expected was to find his fated mate fighting for her life in the arena games.   The beautiful, winged Faye. Fearless and fierce.  She has taken his heart in one glance.  Her strange master, the mythical Csigan, granted him an audience with her. For one night only.

In the morning, she was gone.

He has to find her at any cost. Pantheon warriors mate for life. If he has to pursue her across the Galaxies, he will, for his sanity and for the future of his line.

---

Faye is no longer human. The alien species that abducted her from Earth has seen to that. Equipped with wings, sharp black claws and a killer instinct, her alien master has her fighting for money in the arena games. The Csigan has become her world because she has nothing left.

Griigor is one of a long line of males she has had to entertain. He’s big, blue, sexy and intriguing. Somehow he has got under the psychic bond that the Csigan has over her. But even if she wanted to, she can’t stay with him.   Little does she know that their one night together has left her with far more than she bargained for. Or that he will come for her, no matter what.

This is a full-length, steamy romance novel packed with sexy alien warriors and feisty females, no cliffhanger, no cheating and a HEA guaranteed.

Be warned though, Griigor and Faye might just get you hot under the collar!

Goodreads * Amazon

PROLOGUE

FAYE TOOK A step back as the enormous claws clanged off the armour

covering her shoulder. She allowed herself a brief feeling of relief. Drogon

claws were highly toxic to life-forms such as her. The armour had saved

her. Again.

Finish. It.

The words dropped into her head like slabs of stone. The Drogon roared

and beat at its vast chest. The crowd, both those physically present and

those represented in digital form, screamed at it to defeat her. Faye opened

her dark brown and auburn wings, shifted her grip on her gladius style

sword in one hand, spinning the short trident style dagger that was held in

the other, and launched herself into the air.

This was her life now, ever since she had woken up in the fetid atmosphere

of the Csigan’s ship. It had found her and modified her to the point of no

return. She had no option but to serve it.

CHAPTER ONE

IT LOOKED DOWN at the creature it had created.

Pinned to the console, she had taken well to the adaptations it had added.

The great dark wings, the sharp, retractable claws, significantly improved

senses, reflexes, muscle tone. Everything a hunter needed to thrive.

So far, it seemed, the females of the human species were the most robust.

They survived, they wanted to survive. They fought hard to live. This one

had a specific instinct that it wanted. This female liked to fight.

The creation moaned and stirred. It was time for her to be conscious, for it

to explain her new life and for her to begin it. It slowly raised her up from

the depths until her eyes opened and stayed open.

Faye recognised the smell. At least she thought she did. There was a

memory somewhere in the depths of her brain. Cloying, damp, sickly. The

light, wherever she was, was dim. She was lying, naked, on a metal slab. It

was warm against her skin. She tested each one of her limbs and found

them all to be working. She sat up and her head swam.

Please. Be. Slow. You. Are. Recovering.

A voice, somewhere near. Or was it a voice? It felt like the words just

dropped into her head. Against her better judgement, she looked around for

the source of the voice. Something in her peripheral vision moved.

"Who are you? Where am I? Show yourself!" The words came out with a

struggle. Her throat was dry.

Something moved. Something huge, soft, gelatinous. Part squid, part slug,

all monster, slid into her vision. Faye stared and stared. None of this was

possible, this thing was not possible. Her head felt like it had cracked.

Suddenly a flood of memories, clear and tangible hit her. The pain, the

lights, the lack of light. Confusion, screams. Her own screams.

It watched her as she leapt from the dissection console and barrelled

headlong across the ship. She reached a wall which bowed slightly as she

collided with it, sending her sprawling on her back. Water ran from her eyes

as she crouched down and flailed her arms around, making noises that were

not words. Distress, fear and anxiety flowed out of her. It was unsure what

was causing the reaction, but her behaviour did not seem to be directed at

her surroundings. As swiftly as she had become animated, she curled up

into a ball on the floor, whimpering.

It slid over to her and drew her into it. One of its tentacles sought the place

on her body that it had carefully developed with her future purpose in mind.

Through a mist of terror, Faye felt a pressure on her lower back. A deep,

thoroughly satisfying flow of pleasure that took everything away. Had she

any idea what was happening to her, she would have realised that this was

exactly what the place on her spine was for. The effect was instantaneous

and total. She was floating in ecstasy and she was on something soft and

warm.

You. Feel. Better?

The voice again, dropping in her brain. Something cool and wet on her lips.

She sucked at it, water. It tasted divine.

"Yes" she whispered. "Better.”

Rest. Now.

It sent a further pulse through its sucker, pressed against her back.

Her eyes closed. Her mind clear. She was content. All aspects of her change

were functioning as expected. It could start her training as soon as she was

robust enough. She was, by far, its best creation. It still had some further

work before it was fully satisfied, but she was sentient and recovering. If it

could understand emotion, or even display it, it would have been happy.

It carefully placed her into the pod it had prepared for her and monitored

her for a while as she slept. Its tentacles softly stroking her. She seemed to

respond to touch, and it found that she was further soothed, her brainwaves

showing a better pattern. It would begin the work to complete her once she

had fully recuperated. She would be calm. She would remain calm.

When Faye woke again in the fusty atmosphere, it was still unpleasant.

However, her head was clearer. She stretched out her protesting muscles

and looked around her. She was in a comfortable pod like structure. The

surface she was lying on was pleasant, spongy and thankfully, dry. She was

wearing a vest top and leggings. Her fingers explored the fabric. It was an

unusual blue-black colour, slippery and stretchy to the touch.

Her long, auburn hair flowed over her shoulders, hanging damply in the

atmosphere. She twisted it up into a low bun, tucking it in on itself, hoping

it would stay in place.

Her stomach growled. She needed food, and she needed answers. It felt like

she had been asleep forever. Having clambered out of the pod, she stretched

out her wings and limbs luxuriously.

Hang on.

Wings?

Faye calmly extended one of the large feathered wings that was attached to

her. It was huge, at least one and half times her height. The feathers

shimmered where the light caught them. She ran her hand down one edge.

Soft fluffy feathers at the base gave way to hardened flight feathers. Dark

flight feathers graduated to red ones the same colour as her hair. Faye raised

them both together and gave them an exploratory downward stroke. She

was lifted a foot in the air. Perfect.

She was, somehow, unconcerned by having wings. There was a memory of

them, as if they had always been there. The memory had to be false. She

knew she had not always had wings. The memory pushed back at her,

calmed her. The wings were not a problem. The wings were good.

She could hear and smell the alien thing elsewhere on the ship. The alien

she had to seek out. The alien responsible for the wings. And claws.

Ah. The claws.

Holding her hand out in front of her, Faye inspected the impressive black

manicure that adorned each finger tip. Muscle memory that she had no idea

was present allowed her to extend and retract the vicious-looking

appendages.

Faye innately knew that she was no longer on Earth, that she was on the

alien’s ship. Below her bare feet, she could feel the vibrations of a powerful

engine. She needed an answer for that, along with her changed appearance.

She could not see where the dim lighting that illuminated the interior of the

spaceship came from, not that it mattered much to her, her eyesight was far

better than a human. It could have been dark, and she still could have

navigated her way around.

She felt no antipathy towards the alien. In fact, she felt she needed to seek it

out. She padded off down the only corridor she could see. Food and

answers. In that order.

Come. Eat.

The words dropped into her brain and she stopped dead. There had been no

voice. It was the alien. She was sure of it. Its words appeared in her head.

Could it read her thoughts too? She was starving. Whether it could read her

thoughts was not her major priority. She picked up the pace, darting through

the maze of corridors, scenting the air, following her instinct.

The corridor opened out into a large space. Still the same swirling, green

grey like the rest of the ship. In the centre there was a raised flat surface and

it was covered in what smelt like food. Faye hurried over to it. The food

looked like blocks of cheese. The colours varied, some were the same green

grey as the ship, others were cream or a muted orange, a couple were a dull

red. She grabbed a red one. She sniffed it. It smelt benign. She took an

exploratory bite. It tasted fleshy as she chewed and swallowed.

As the strange foodstuff made its way to her stomach, she knew she had to

eat more. And what followed was a feeding frenzy the like of which she had

never indulged before. Eventually she found herself on the floor, propped

against a warm wall, her hand covering her distended stomach. Faye let out

a quiet groan, partly satisfaction, partly pain.

You. Are. Sated?

The alien thing had appeared as if it had grown organically out of the ship’s

interior. It was massive. A grey brown slug like creature. It was very alien,

and it was terrifying. Faye forced herself to study it. It was the alien that

had made her what she was. It was the thing that held her now. Instinctively

she accepted that it was the thing that had fed her.

It had no obvious mouth, which presumably was the reason that its words

fell into her brain. Its eyes were on stalks like a snail, extending out towards

her, as were its multiple squirming tentacles. Faye felt unable to move as it

lifted her up and pulled her into it. She responded to its touch by going

rigid.

“Yeah, I’m full. Really full. Why am I here?” She asked as it cradled her, its

tentacles roving over her as if checking her for injury.

One tentacle reached around her back and gave a small pulse. Faye instantly

felt becalmed. No fear. No fight. Another tentacle softly rubbed at her

rounded stomach.

You. Have. Consumed. Too. Much.

“Can’t help myself. When I’m hungry, I eat. Surely you know that? You

made me after all?” Faye said without malice.

You. Are. My. Creation. I. Will. Adjust.

“Adjust?” Faye gave a snort of laughter. “Don’t you dare! I eat what I want,

when I want!” The sentence ended in a snarl, her green eyes flashing as she

defied it.

She felt the tentacle pulse on her back again and was flooded with pleasure.

It had still not stopped stroking her stomach. With the meal, the calming

and its soft warmth cradling her, Faye felt her eyelids droop.

“I don’t want to sleep. I want answers.” She said, muzzily.

You. Will. Get. Them.

First. Check.

It glided her over to the empty table that had held her food and gently

placed her on to it. Faye felt herself being held down. She could not move.

Panic rose within her. She remembered this place. It was where all the pain

happened.

“Please! Please don’t hurt me! I didn’t mean it! I’ll be good, I promise!”

She cried out.

It felt her distress as a cold thread. She remembered the pain. That was

unusual. Her ability to retain information had been what had drawn it to her.

She was not like the others, the ones that forgot, that broke when it worked

on them. It located the part on her body that it had designed to help her deal

with what she was and pulsed. She quietened.

There. Will. Be. No. Pain.

Silly creature had over consumed the food left for her and had managed to

hurt herself. The aggression she displayed was expected. The increased

metabolism, along with the other enhancements, must be having an effect

on her ability to self-regulate. It ran through various checks and models.

There was a possibility that her regulation may improve. It was time to gain

trust and co-operation without intervention. It allowed its tentacles to

continue to sooth her digestive area that was causing the pain.

See. No. Pain.

“No pain. Thanks.” Faye murmured.

Her skin should be crawling at its tentacled touch, at its gross molluscan

presence. She should try to get away. But it had fed her and it had soothed

her. Although it looked slimy, it was not. Its skin was soft and warm.

Appearances could be deceptive. Faye tried to organise her thoughts, to be

rational. She was different. She had not always been this way. Being this

way was right. God, the thing was good at calming. A master of soothing.

Answers. Once. Checks. Complete.

“Anything you say.” Faye said and giggled. “Or don’t say.” She drifted

easily into a comfortable sleep.

It set the diagnostic running, watching the results come in as it continued to

caress its creation, to ensure that she remained calm, to ensure she

continued to digest properly. As she was recovering from the molecular

changes, her own body was re-writing the DNA codes. She was evolving.

She had changed for the better. Better for its plans in any event. It noticed

with its usual dispassion that she had two distinct brainwaves, one more

primal than the other. One more prevalent than the other. The primal it

would need to cultivate, to encourage and to control. It carefully noted her

developing code, calculating that it would be complete once she had a full

cycle of rest and sustenance.

It had returned to the small blue-green planet in the backwater galaxy, even

after it had been forbidden. When its own species, the Csigan, had been told

of its work, they had objected. As a race, they only did what was for the

good of the whole. They saw no merit in the work it had performed.

Because of its transgression, it had been exiled.

Cut off from its own kind, it needed funds.

The blue and green planet was fascinating. The life forms were infinitely

diverse, and manipulation of their genes and atoms had become easier the

more it had worked with them. This creature was its second surviving

version. They had forced it to return the first version to the tiny world. It

would not make the same mistake again.

Faye moaned and shifted in her sleep. It allowed its tentacles to gently

massage her body. She was an almost perfect creation. It would work on her

to make her perfect. She would be ready when it needed her.

Then her training could begin.

***

When Faye regained consciousness again, nothing had changed. She was

still on the ship. She was still alive, if her existence could be called living.

She was back in her pod. The thing was across the other side of the room.

Faye was beginning to understand that the ship seemed to change according

to the alien’s wishes. There was no ‘rooms’ as such. Between her and the

alien was the table which had held her food, or something very similar. As

she watched, its stalk like eyes swivelled towards her.

You. Are. Awake.

Good.

Now. It. Begins.

Faye grimaced as her stomach gave a low, unpleasant gurgle. Whatever she

had eaten previously was playing havoc with her digestion.

“Okay, but first I need to use the facilities.” She said, as another nasty

sounding gurgle came from her lower body. There was no reply. Faye

searched for a term that the thing might understand.

“I need to excrete. Now!” She said, hoping that it could pick up on the

urgency in her voice.

There was still no response. Faye hoped that it did not just expect her to do

her business anywhere. Without warning, out of the floor rose something

that looked a bit like a toilet, Faye started back in fear.

“Not while you’re watching.” Faye wailed.

It was bad enough that the thing could seemingly control her, pulsing on her

spine in such a delicious manner. She was pretty sure she had been naked

on a couple of occasions whilst it worked on her, but even so she was

definitely not going to crap in front of it. A line had to be drawn

somewhere.

“I need privacy. Please!” She begged it.

There was no response, instead the toilet thing was drawn back into the wall

of the ship and a hole created. Faye was swiftly out of the pod and she

stepped into the hole, it curved around like a comma. In the nick of time she

could relieve herself.

“Wow! That was just like some fancy Japanese loo!” She exclaimed as she

walked back out into the main room. “It washed and dried! My arse feels

like a million dollars!” Faye rubbed at her bottom. It felt silky smooth.

“Any chance of a proper shower?” She asked it, hopefully.

You. Can. Cleanse. Later. Sit.

Faye knew without it saying that it wanted her on the table. It was

disconcerting how she knew. She walked over and sat. Obedience was

everything.

It had taken her from the beach at night. The beach she always went to

when she wanted to clear her head. It was a lonely place on the North-East

coast of England. The moon had been full and the tide was in. She had sat

in the dunes and allowed the sound of the waves to sooth her jangled

thoughts. Until the second moon had appeared.

Faye had been working as a paralegal at a law firm. That day she had found

out that they had turned her down to be allowed to train as a lawyer. All of

her hopes and dreams for the future had crumbled. At thirty years old, she

couldn’t imagine starting again.

It hadn’t helped that she had stormed out of the office, telling them to shove

their job. Her temper had always gotten the better of her. Not a quality that

was ever appreciated in a woman. A man with an explosive temper was

often feared and admired. Not so for Faye. She was difficult. She did not

play well with others.

She had returned to her rented cottage way out of town, still seething.

Shedding her work clothes, she pulled on an old pair of jeans, jumper and

wellies and had spent the afternoon tramping the countryside. It had done

nothing to reduce her anger.

The only man that had ever been able to calm her down, to help her contain

her temper, was her father. He had understood her in a way that no other

man ever did. Boyfriends came and went, but Dad remained her constant.

Her mother having died when she was just a little girl. He did everything he

could to channel her anger. She wanted to be the best she could be for him.

Faye always felt she came up short, and he didn’t care. He loved her

regardless.

Then she had gone to the beach and everything had changed.

This. Is. Your. Life. Now. You. Cannot. Return.

The words may have fallen into her head. She may have even believed

them. It did not mean that she wanted to live this life. It was no life. It was

nothing. Faye let out a keening wail of despair. That was all she could do.

You. Can. Forget. If. You. Wish.

Faye’s sobs lessened as its words penetrated.

“Forget? What do you mean?” She hiccupped.

Instantly what it meant was there, in her head. It could erase the painful

memories. She would remain the same person, only the searing loss of her

father and her home would be gone. It would no longer define her. She

could continue her life, with the alien thing, exploring the universe instead.

You. Cannot. Go. Back.

The finality of its words dropped into her brain.

She had a stark choice. Either way, she was stuck with the alien.

“I need time. I can’t decide right now.” Faye scrubbed at her face, wet with

tears.

The alien reached out a tentacle towards her. Faye slid off the table.

“No. I need time to think with a clear head.” She swiftly headed towards the

current corridor and, after a couple of turns, found herself in an empty

room. She slid down the wall and allowed her own grief to overcome her

once again.

Once she had wept it out, she uncurled from her fetal position and tried to

work out what to do. She extended one wing to inspect it.

I have wings!

She studied her hands. Long black nails.

I have claws!

She rested her head back against the wall. She felt a desire to hunt, to kill,

to fight. This had always been part of her, but the need to do these things

was more ingrained, deeper and harder to resist.

The alien creature that had her, the thing that had created her, it would not

let her return. Resourceful as she was space ships, space travel, other alien

species, they were beyond her. She could not compel the alien to return her

to the Earth, she could not hijack the ship.

She was inexorably bound to it in a way she was no longer bound to Earth.

All earthly things that meant anything to her were long lost. The alien was

her family. Her only family. The family she had lost once it had taken her.

She could take more time to think it through, she reasoned, but it was

pointless. It would just make it worse when she decided, giving her heart

longer to feel like someone had wrenched it from her body. With a long

shuddering breath, she got to her feet, shook out her wings and went

looking for the alien.

“Okay. Let’s do it. I don’t want to remember anymore.” Her breath hitched.

“I don’t want to remember him.”

Lie. Down.

Faye took her place on the table. The thing moved over to her, its tentacles

drifting over her, until it reached her face, wet with tears.

This. Will. Not. Hurt.

It could feel her churn of emotions. It had felt her struggle. Its creation had

made the right decision. She had made it of her own volition. If it had

emotions, it would have been pleased with her. Instead, it eased her way,

bringing her favourite memories one last time.

Faye closed her eyes as the thing gently caressed her cheek and forehead.

An image of her father, tall and handsome in his best suit, appeared before

her. He smiled at her, his eyes crinkling at the corners as they always did.

Faye reached out a hand towards him as he winked out of her existence.

***

Beautiful. Creation.

It was impressed at just how good a telepathic bond it had with her. She was

incredibly receptive. Further, the evolution that had taken place whilst she

had been reviving on its dissection table was a distinct improvement.

She had developed several extremely useful traits, born no doubt from the

other Earth creatures it had spliced into her, the predatory bird and the large

feline. It particularly liked the element that would defend and attack without

question. It would look forward to exploring this new quality.

In the meantime, whilst she was receptive, it would add some additional

attributes that would assist with its plan. With ease, what she needed to

serve and survive was added to her psyche.

Faye floated into consciousness. The alien was close to her, one tentacle

curled around her waist.

“Hello.” She said. It was all crystal clear. She was here for the alien. “What

exactly are you?”

Csigan.

Faye felt a memory surge. The Csigan race, ancient and immovable, until

now. Her Csigan had broken with tradition and created her. It had been

exiled. It needed her.

“What happens now?”

Prepare. You.

It manipulated the console next to it, and the necessary information had

been downloaded to her.

“Any chance of breakfast first?” Faye asked, seemingly unaware of the

changes it had made. She stroked at the wavering tentacle circling her

waist.

Yes.

CHAPTER TWO

WHILST IN THE grip of the fight, she had no fear, no mercy. The Drogon

did not stand a chance. The weapons she held simply an extension of her

claws. The fight, such as it was, was over in short order.

The Csigan slid silently into the holding area. Three large, scaly creatures,

toting long, vicious looking poles with sharp points, were being held at bay

by its creation. She was crouched on the floor of the room, wings

outstretched, snarling and growling. She raised her head as it entered, her

face smeared with blood, and quickly scuttled over to the far corner of the

holding room.

The guards took a step back as the Csigan, a huge imposing presence, slid

towards the harpy they were trying to contain. She had just done away with

a Drogon and they were particularly nervous.

Leave.

The guards did not need telling twice; they were more than happy to leave

containing this creature to the Csigan. It slid over to where Faye had pinned

herself in the corner of the room.

Calm.

Faye snarled, one clawed hand swiping out at it. If it had lips or even a

mouth, it would have smiled at her impudence, a by-product of the instinct

carefully honed to a hair trigger. It made her difficult to control on

occasions, but it was a price worth paying.

Ignoring her claws, a long tentacle slid out towards her, slowly and

carefully wrapping itself around her leg, up into her feathers until it reached

the right point on her back. Faye kept up the snarling, although she did not

attempt to get away. It pulsed. Faye let out a series of snorts. It pulsed

again. She folded her wings and retracted her claws with a sigh, letting go

of the bloody lump of Drogon flesh. It swiftly encircled her with other

tentacles and drew her into itself.

You. Did. Well. Little. Human.

Faye huffed a further furious breath at it. She let it take her. Its tentacles

sought the areas it knew soothed her after a fight. She slowly relaxed into it.

You. Have. Won.

It had led the way through the space station until they had reached a part of

the accommodation that was reserved for the wealthiest of the station’s

patrons. It was a far cry from the filth of the arena and the quarters for the

arena fighters. Even though that was what drew species from the

surrounding planets and further to the station. That and the other dubious

trades that also took place onboard. There were still some who came for

less nefarious reasons, and they were the ones who wanted better quality

quarters.

“Swanky.” Faye said, the calming effects from the Csigan’s administrations

still coursing through her, the desire to fight in full retreat. “You treating

me?” She grinned at it.

It did not reply. Not that she expected it to. It came to a halt outside an

exclusive suite. Without prompting, Faye pressed the door indicator. After a

brief pause, the door slid open, silently, to reveal a pale blue humanoid.

He must have been close to seven feet tall. He had a handsome face, albeit

alien to her. Stunning dark eyes that shimmered with sparkling flecks of

gold forming an iris, sharp cheekbones and an angular nose leading to a full

mouth. He wore a white voluminous shirt, open to the waist, and which

hinted at a broad, muscular chest beneath. Very muscular. A deep red sash

wrapped around his slim waist, tied at the side with a complex knot. He had

blue-black collar length hair slicked back over his head. His legs were

encased in tight trousers in a leather like material that left little to the

imagination in his crotch area.

He was intriguing to say the least. She had seen and met many aliens in her

travels with the Csigan, but she had not met his kind before. As Faye sized

him up, his face broke into a smile of white, sharp teeth.

He. Has. Paid. Entertain. Him.

The words dropped into her head. Faye’s shoulders sagged. She gave the

alien a wan smile. The Csigan occasionally sold her for a night to a rich

patron that wanted her company, and more. It was adept at knowing when

she would be receptive to such a sale. Faye felt it had made a mistake this

time. She felt dirty and grotty compared to the well-groomed alien staring

down at her.

“Please, Faye. Come in.” The alien bowed low to her.

Faye looked around. The Csigan had already gone. Looked like she was

‘entertaining’ tonight, whether she liked it or not. She stepped through the

door and it closed behind her.

“You are even more beautiful close up than you appear in the arena.” The

alien male beamed at her. He stretched out one finger, tentatively stroking it

down her arm.

“A smooth operator, eh?” Faye laughed harshly.

The alien smiled, the gold in his eyes twinkling. The translation of her

phrase must have been off.

“I stink of Drogon blood, sweat and the arena. I need to use the sanitary

facility.” Faye said, wearily.

The alien’s eyes lit up.

“On my own.” Faye held up a clawed hand, palm toward the male. “Then

I’m yours for as long as you have paid.” She stalked off into the suite as the

alien stared after her, open-mouthed.

Hattie loves writing stories about feisty females and the men (or aliens) that love them. Follow me here for new releases or sign up for my newsletter at www.hattiejacks.com

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