Immortal Vices and Virtues: Shadow Shifter Bonds

A god wants me dead. My ancestors stole half his soul then imprisoned him in Tartarus, thinking he'd be forgotten. That he could never return. They were wrong. The day he rips open a portal between our worlds, my life is over. As the current guardian of his cursed soul, my head is on the chopping block, but there's a snag in his plan. This dark god believes he's my fated mate. We're not, but he refuses to take no for an answer. When he kidnaps my cousin, I'm forced to make a deal. To rescue her, I have to spend six months in Tartarus. Pretending to be his mate. His queen.

Once upon a time, I killed a god and stole his power. I've been paying for it ever since. After my banishment, I promised myself three things. One: I would never take a mate. Two: I would find a way to get rid of the power I stole. Three: I would punish the gods who banished me. Not necessarily in that order.

I had a plan, then fate laughed in my face. Three years ago, I was banished from my home for protecting my family. I’ve had to learn to survive on my own, while also heeding my mother’s warnings. “Never let anyone know who you truly are.” Which proves almost too easy for me to do until my fated mate stumbles out of a newly opened portal.

I'm at a bar trying to poison a mark like the professional I am when I see him. Straight from Tartarus, they say the shadow dragon called Legion has slayed entire armies single-handedly, and the intense way he looks at me suggests every rumor I've heard about him is true. I should be terrified. Instead, I'm drawn like a moth to a flame. The moment he touches me, everything changes. Suddenly, my skin is the poison. One touch is enough to kill a man, which is exactly what I do before I realize what Legion has done to me.

My pack thinks I'm stoic. In truth, I'm a murderer who has never shaken off the scars of my first kill when I was a child. Once my life was forfeit, now it belongs to my King. And when the Panther King orders me to retrieve his mate from the chaos happening on Earth, I do it without asking questions. That is until my first whiff of the woman who my panther believes is his fated mate. She will undoubtedly be my queen. But does my loyalty rest with the crown the king, my best friend, wears?