Tanya snorted and ate her salad.

  Osiris sighed. “Honestly, when I have time, I like to turn on some rock music and work on jigsaw puzzles. I find they calm my mind and help me reset.”

  “That’s a cute hobby.” She smiled and tried to imagine him working on a puzzle. In her mind, though, she imagined him shirtless as he leaned over a table to grab a piece, stretching glorious muscles hidden by the suit he wore.

  “What are you daydreaming about over there, Tanya?”

  She blushed. “Nothing.” She took a bite of her salad to hide the fact that her face was bright red.

  He laughed, and she had a feeling that he didn’t believe her. “When’s your next pottery class?”

  “Monday afternoon. I’m going to be starting on a bird feeder.” She smiled. “I think I’m going to glaze it green when it’s done.”

  “Sounds like it’ll be pretty.” He nodded. “Maybe I’ll come watch.”

  She laughed. “It’s boring to watch. You get to see me sitting at a wheel, getting dirty.” She paused as she realized how that sounded.

  He grinned. “I’d like to see you get dirty.”

  Once again, heat flooded her. The waiter headed to the table, balancing a tray. “Oh look, lunch.” Tanya choked out, and Osiris let out a dark laugh that made her insides tighten.

  There was a moment when she wondered what it would be like to have a one-night stand with a god.

  Tanya gave Osiris a little wave as she walked into the bar. The rest of lunch had been great and full of soft laughs and getting to know each other. Though Tanya knew she purposely steered the conversations away from past loves.

  She didn’t want Osiris knowing what her ex had done. Though the god could probably guess at this point.

  Scottie raised a brow when she walked in. “You look great for a girl who was so drunk last night.”

  “Well, a lunch date will do that to you,” she shot back and walked to the break room to drop her purse off and grab her apron.

  Scottie followed her back there. “Seriously though, Tanya, are you okay?”

  “I am, thank you. By the way, I know you made sure Osiris was safe to go with.”

  He crossed his arms. “Why is that god interested in you?”

  She raised a brow. He knew. Of course, he knew. Morgan had told her he was a panther shifter and her half-brother. “Apparently, there’s someone after me. Someone Osiris fears.”

  Scottie showed no hints of amusements. “That’s why the shadows came last night.”

  She shivered at the thought of them. “Yes. Morgan’s been hunting actual jackals.”

  “Goddamn, Morgan,” he snapped. “She hasn’t said anything about the physical ones. You’re going home. Now.”

  “No, I’m not. I have rent to pay.” She met his gaze. “I am not running from this.”

  He ran a hand over his head. “This is not the time to be stubborn. I’ll give you an advance on your paycheck or something. Go home.”

  The back door busted open, and Scottie pushed her behind him. “Run. Contact Morgan or Osiris.”

  Three very large black dogs with pointed ears stalked into the room.

  No. Not dogs. Jackals. Tanya’s heart pounded in her chest, and she shot back into the bar, heading for the front door. She turned the key to unlock it, but the tumbler stuck.

  She shook the door, trying to jar it loose. Something hit the door from the other side, and she backed away, glancing around.

  The windows had bars over them to keep people from breaking in.

  Something was pounding against the front door.

  And there were three jackals in the back.

  Something inside her screamed for her to hide.

  She jumped over the bar and tucked herself behind it, trying to keep her breathing quiet. She pulled out her phone and texted both Morgan and Osiris.

  Tanya: S.O.S. Howls

  The front door busted down and Tanya tucked herself up against the back of the bar as much as she could. Holding her breath and praying that the jackals wouldn’t find her.

  The sound of paws and claws tapped on the floor as the jackals made their way through the room.

  Tanya’s entire body shook as she waited for them to find her. She tried to calculate her chances of getting over the bar and to the front door without the beasts noticing her, but she doubted she had the speed.

  She heard the sounds of a fight from the back room, and she tried not to imagine Scottie being torn up by the jackals while she hid like a coward.

  The paw steps came closer, and she took a deep breath and risked a peek over the bar. Two large jackals were circling the room, waiting. But what were they waiting for?

  Did they know they trapped her? She climbed up on the bar, and they both looked at her, lunging at her at the same time. She jumped off the bar and the two Jackals collided with each other, letting out yelps. She ran for the door, running right smack into a solid chest.

  She looked up, hoping to find Osiris there, but instead, she met the gaze of her ex.

  “Hey, babe.”

  He snapped his fingers, and the jackals were right behind her. “Let’s go have a chat.”

  CHAPTER 4

  Osiris appeared at Howls at the same time Morgan rounded the corner.

  Slices marred Morgan’s body, and blood soaked her clothes.

  “What the hell happened to you?” Osiris growled.

  “Ambush down the road. You’re just now getting here?” She sounded horrified.

  Osiris nodded. “Jackals at Tanya’s apartment. I had to take care of them.”

  They both turned to the front of the bar building where the front door had been busted down. Osiris’ heart fell. The jackals had known to distract Morgan and him, which left Tanya completely unguarded.

  “Scottie,” Morgan gasped and ran into the bar. Osiris followed slower, studying the chaos. Some chairs and tables were knocked over. There was the scent of blood in the air, but that could have been Morgan’s.

  He glanced around. They must have trapped Tanya, or she’d gone out the back through the break room.

  Morgan came out of the room in question, holding up Scottie. “Jackals. Five of them. He doesn’t know if Tanya got out or not.”

  “Both of you need a dose of the antidote before the jackal’s poison kicks in.” Osiris tried to keep the growl out of his voice.

  Where was Tanya?

  Osiris went to Scottie’s other side and helped hold the man up. “I have the antidote at home.”

  “We need to find Tanya.” Morgan swallowed. “That means real jackals… she’s human. The poison will kill her quickly.”

  Osiris nodded. “Let me get you two down, then I’ll go look for her. Where would she go if she wanted to be safe?”

  “Home. Or the studio.” Morgan pressed her lips together. “But I don’t think she’d bring this kind of trouble to the studio.”

  “And with the jackals at her house…” He had to face the fact someone may have taken her.

  “Security footage,” Scottie mumbled.

  “Good call.” Osiris took them to the underworld. Morgan and he sat on the couch.

  Osiris turned to go get the antidote that he kept in the bathroom, and Morgan stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. “If they took Tanya…”

  “Then we need to be prepared for something worse to happen.” He nodded. “I should have made her stay home.”

  Morgan turned him to look at her. “We’re going to get her back.”

  His heart ached. “But what kind of shape is she going to be in? She’s a human who being pulled into this world. Now she’s at the mercy of…”

  “We don’t know that for sure.” She put a hand on his cheek. “I’m feeling weak. Let’s get the antidote. I’ll stay with Scottie while you look through the security footage. Okay?”

  He took a deep breath and nodded. “Yes.” He turned away from her and went to get the antidote.

  Tanya could have escaped. She could be in hiding. He had to remember that, new or not, she was smart.

  Osiris pulled out two vials of the antidote and headed back to the living room.

  A long crocodile lay across Morgan’s and Scottie’s lap, and Osiris sighed.

  “Ammet, come on, get down.” The croc opened its mouth in almost a grin. “Get down. They aren’t dead yet.”

  The crocodile waddled down off the couch and wandered off.

  Osiris shook his head and handed a vial to Morgan and then helped Scottie drink the other one.

  Scottie leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

  “It’ll take a bit, but he’ll be alright.” Osiris rubbed his eyes. “I’m going back to Howls to look through the security footage.”

  Morgan fished through Scottie’s pocket and pulled out his phone. “No need. It’s on his app.”

  Osiris grinned and picked up Scottie’s hand to unlock the phone and then located the security app. He flipped through the footage and found one from the bar’s point of view. He saw the door being busted in and the two jackals stalking in, knocking over chairs as they did.

  At the very bottom of the camera view, he could see Tanya pressed in a ball, her eyes wide in fear as she tried to hide.

  The jackals sniffed the air, but then started circling the area, as if waiting for a command.

  Tanya peeked her head up over the bar to look, and it was like watching a horror movie.

  Don’t, he wanted to whisper.

  Tanya jumped up on the bar and waited just for the right moment to make a run for it.

  The jackals collided, and she darted for the door the moment her feet hit the ground.

  He grinned at her movement until a male stepped in her way.

  He paused the footage. “Morgan?” He growled. “Who is that?” He turned the phone around so she could get a good look.

  “No way…” Morgan breathed. “That’s Chad.”

  Osiris turned it around and studied the tall man, and the way he smiled at Tanya made Osiris’ gut curl. “And who is Chad?”

  Morgan swallowed. “Her ex.”

  Osiris hit play again, hoping that Tanya had escaped. The two of them exchanged words, and then Chad wrapped his hand around her throat.

  Osiris felt his godly powers surge to the surface in a rush of anger. “He has her.” He turned to Morgan. “You had no idea that he was involved with the shadows?”

  She shook her head. “When he left Tanya to them, he ran away screaming in fear.”

  Osiris tossed Scottie’s phone onto the couch next to the unconscious panther shifter. “Where do I find Chad?”

  Morgan shook her head. “I don’t know. He stopped reaching out to Tanya three weeks after he left her.”

  He closed his eyes. “Okay. Follow the jackals and the shadows and we’ll find them.” He was a god. He had the ability to find people. Unfortunately for him, it was usually the dying he found.

  Tanya’s head pounded as she opened her eyes. For a moment, she wondered if the scene at the bar had just been a bad dream, and now she was truly waking up from her birthday bender.

  No.

  Chad had been at the bar. He’d grabbed her by the neck, and then the world went dark. She hadn’t been able to fight against him.

  She looked around to see where she had ended up. Tan stone walls surrounded her, empty of anything that would tell her where she was.

  Wind howled outside, and she shivered at a chill that suddenly crawled up her back. She sat up and heard the scraping of chains.

  Looking down at her wrists, she realized he had shackled her to the ground. A glance over her shoulders told her he had also chained her ankles down. She wouldn’t be able to rise any further than her knees.

  Terror grasped her heart as she tried to think of a way out of this. Even if she could escape the chains, she had no idea where she could run to, or what lay beyond the door in front of her.

  She forced herself to take a deep breath. She needed to stay calm. Osiris and Morgan knew something was wrong. She’d sent them her SOS text. They would figure it out…

  The door in front of her opened, and she raised her head to see Chad walk in.

  He hadn’t changed over the last seven months. He still spiked his blond hair up. His eyes were still the deep blue that had caught her attention when they first met. His vintage band shirt hung over the waistband of his blue jeans.

  He was still sexy as hell, but there was a terrifying grin on his face.

  “I see you’re awake.” He stepped up to her. “My boss would like to speak to you.”

  She tried to push away her fear and offered him a fake smile. “Then let me out of these chains so I can go see him.”

  “No. I’m under strict instructions to not let you out of those chains. He seems to think you’re something special. Something that can help him.”

  She tried to hold her arms out, but the chains prevented her from moving too much. “You know me Chad, I’m nothing special. I’m a broke human just trying to pay my rent.”

  “Except the jackals scented you out as something.” He locked his jaw. “And I want to know what. I left you in that alleyway with them, and they didn’t shred you.”

  She swallowed. “I had help.”

  “The hunter.” He nodded. “Shame she couldn’t help you at Howls last night.”

  She filed away that piece of information. She’d been here overnight. No one had found her yet.

  “There are rules when Nectanebo comes in.”

  At the name, shivers ran down her back, and her mind tried to dredge up some old memory. Something that she couldn’t really see, like shadows in the back of her mind.

  Her stomach churned as she tried to latch on to the memory, ignoring Chad and whatever rules he was spitting out at her.

  He placed a warm hand on her cheek. “Tanya?”

  She jerked her face away from his hand. “Don’t touch me.”

  “Were you listening?” he asked, his voice gentle.

  She blinked at him. “No.”

  “You’ve always been such a daydreamer. You need to pay attention or Nectanebo will kill you. I don’t want that.”

  She swallowed. “Could have fooled me with the way you ran from the jackals that night.”

  He paused for a moment. “Yes, but Nectanebo promised me your hand.”

  “Promised you my hand,” she repeated slowly. “Assuming I survive whatever it is he wants to do to me.” Her mind spun at the idea of what was going on. Nect… whatever wanted her alive.

  She was going to be married off to the asshole in front of her.

  Nope. She needed to get the hell out of there.

  “After he’s done with you, we can go live together. Somewhere not here. Without hunters and jackals and gods.”

  “Gods can go anywhere they like,” she muttered, and then instantly regretted it when Chad growled.

  “You like him.” He pointed out. “How could you like him?”

  She couldn’t help the small smile on her lips. “Because instead of running away and leaving me with the shadows, he stayed with me all night to make sure I was okay.”

  She recalled how Osiris had slept with his head on the bed, his arm twisted at an awkward angle so she could snuggle it.

  “He doesn’t belittle what I like to do.” She glanced up at Chad. “You know, like those stupid pottery classes I wanted to attend.”

  “You could be so much more.” Chad shook his head. “Of course, now you’re nothing but a scared woman, kneeling in front of men.”

  “I see no men here,” she growled, and then the door opened again. Her gaze went to it, and Chad stepped to the side, kneeling next to her.

  “Lord Nectanebo.” Chad said.

  Tayna’s voice got stuck in her throat as she looked at the creature in front of her.

  His skin was flaking off in chunks, like dry paint from a canvas, leaving the muscles exposed underneath. His face was sunken and hallow, and his eyeballs seemed to bulge from their sockets.

  The jeans and shirt he wore did nothing to ease the horror that stood there.

  “You do not bow your head in respect,” he rasped.

  Tanya swallowed, trying to find her words. “Forgive me, it’s not every day that I see a walking corpse.”

  “Do you know why you’re here?” He walked closer to her, reaching out a rotting hand to touch her cheek.

  She leaned away, but his dry hand still cupped her cheek. “I have no idea what is going on.” Her voice shook.

  “You, my dear, are a descendant of the Bennu. You hold the blood of what would now be called the Phoenix.”

  There was that memory again, tugging at the back of her head. She tried to bring it clearer to her mind, but the faces and the voices were so faded.

  “I don’t know what that means.” Her voice shook, and she glanced at Chad, who had yet to raise his head.

  “It means that your blood will fully resurrect me.” He cocked his head to the side and a patch of skin fell off, exposing the muscles of his jaw.

  Her stomach churned. “What?”

  “Chad, a demonstration, please.”

  Chad stood and pulled out a pocketknife.

  “Chad?” She looked up at him and begged him with her eyes.

  He traced the pocketknife over her cheek, reopening the slice from the jackal. She hissed at the pain, and blood dripped down her cheek.

  Chad wiped his fingers on it and then spread it over the pharaoh’s hand. The skin healed up instantly.

  She couldn’t breathe as she realized he was going to drain her dry.

  Osiris paced his office. Morgan looked at him from the desk. “Adam hasn’t called yet?”

  “No, he said he’d talk to his people, maybe do some computer voodoo and see what he can find.” Osiris swallowed as the pain in his chest grew. “If he has her…”

  “We still don’t know why he wants her. He may be wrong about her.”

  His phone rang, and he snatched it up. “Adam?”

 

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