Borrowed Bones.

The Lord of the Underworld did not expect to wake up gasping for air in a freezing, rain-slicked alleyway.

He did not expect the terrifying rhythm of a beating human heart, nor did he expect the agonizing physical fallout of a mortal life cut short by an overdose.

Locked out of the immortal realms by an unyielding cosmic barrier, Hades is stripped of his sovereignty and forced into the broken vessel of a stranger named Julian Vance.

In this loud, modern city, his ancient titles mean nothing. His divine iron will cannot stop the physical torment of chemical withdrawal, and his imperial pride cannot ward off the dangerous street-level debts and grieving mother Julian left behind.

He is a king reduced to a squatter, fighting a daily battle just to keep a borrowed body alive.

Then he meets a stranger who alters everything.

Unaware of the ancient soul lurking beneath Julian's sharp, pale features, a resilient local volunteer offers him unconditional compassion with absolutely no strings attached.

For a deity who has spent millennia receiving only transactional prayers and fearful sacrifices, this selfless warmth is a profound shock to his system.

As his raw immortal essence begins to threaten the fragile limits of his physical form, Hades must secure a way back to his empty throne.

But the deeper he falls into a world he once disdained, the more he realizes that the ultimate battle is not against an external enemy, but within the heavy, breaking heart of a god learning what it means to be human.