The Viper's Nest

by Tate James

  “Help!” I laughed. “Tyson won’t stop licking me!”

  The big cat huffed as if offended that I didn’t appreciate his kisses, but sat back and let Caleb help me to my feet with a strong pull on my hand.

  “Bit weird, don’t you think?” I asked the friendlier King twin as I dusted off my jeans. “That Austin’s familiar is so affectionate when he’s like a fricking ice cube?”

  Caleb snorted, tucking an arm around my waist and tugging me close as we wandered back to the house. “Uh, something like that. You know familiars are still part of their Mage? Like, they’re a physical manifestation of our magic, so they are essentially just an extension of us.”

  “Except Tyson and Austin are the opposite sides of a coin?” I raised my eyebrows skeptically, and Caleb just shrugged. “Hey, that reminds me. Will you get a familiar too, when we bond?”

  “When?” he repeated, stopping just short of the steps to the balcony. “You still want to bond with me, even though I’m failing with my magic?”

  “Cal,” I scolded, turning his chin so I could meet his emerald-green eyes. “Despite the fact that you tell me nothing about your lessons, I can pretty safely say you’re not failing.”

  “How can you be so sure?” he whispered, and the sadness underscoring his words almost broke my heart.

  Chewing my lip, I held his gaze firm. “Because I know you, and you’re not the type to just give up. Clearly it’s taking a bit of work, but you’ll get there. You haven’t snapped and killed anyone yet, right?”

  He hesitated and frowned. “Uh, no...”

  “See?” I beamed. “Not failing! But... it’d be nice if maybe you’d talk to me about it a bit more? I know you said there’s a confidentiality thing, but surely you can just keep me updated on how it’s going? Like, blink once for good and twice for bad? That kind of thing?”

  Admittedly, I was still stinging from the twins holding onto such a massive secret for so long, but they’d both apologized and there was little to do about it now. Caleb trusting me a bit more with what was going on would kind of go a long way to repairing that though.

  He took a long moment before replying, thinking over what I’d said before nodding slowly.

  “Yeah, I can do that. Or I can try. As much as the magical NDA lets me.” He looked sheepish, but I already knew he’d been kicking himself for agreeing to the spell in the first place. He must have been in a seriously bad place that night, and I could only put it down to that bloody mess he’d seen at the gala.

  “So?” I prompted, and he looked confused. “Familiar? Do you get a viper?”

  “Oh.” He scratched awkwardly at the back of his neck and dodged eye contact with me. “I kind of hope not.”

  That surprised me. “No? Why not?”

  A faint blush rose up in his cheeks, and he scrubbed a hand over his face before replying. “Uh... I’m scared of snakes.” An embarrassed smile pulled at his lips, and my jaw dropped.

  “Shut the front door,” I gasped, trying not to laugh. “But... your codename is Viper and you have a viper tattooed on your leg... how can you be scared of snakes?”

  He shrugged and started up the steps to the house. “Maybe because they’re scaly and slimy and venomous and have no arms or legs or ears! Kitty Kat... they have no ears!” He gave a dramatic shudder. “Nope, if I didn’t get a familiar I would be just fine. They only go to, like, the most insanely powerful Mages ever created, so the odds of both Austin and I getting a familiar after no one else in the past thousand years has... not likely. Right?”

  It actually seemed really likely, given the pattern of everything else right now, but he was looking at me so hopefully that I found myself agreeing.

  “Yup, totally not likely,” I reassured him. “Anyway, shouldn’t you be at your magic lesson right now?”

  Caleb checked his watch and swore. “You’re right. I’ll... see you when I get back?”

  “And tell me how it went? Even if it’s just something boring?” I reiterated, and he nodded. “Cool, then I’ll see you when you get back.”

  He grabbed me around the waist and kissed me quickly, before Tyson got jealous and growled, then jogged back down the steps to the grass where he disappeared into a circle of mage runes.

  “Such a cool trick,” I breathed, as I watched the glittering symbols twinkle under the early evening moonlight, then fade out of existence.

  “Amazing what you could do with a little magic mastery, huh Kitten?” River’s voice made me jump, and I whirled around to face him. Tyson growled a little, so I buried my hand in the scruff of his neck to soothe the temperamental cat.

  “I get it, Alpha.” I rolled my eyes at him. “I’m trying, okay? I took the lesson with Austin. He’s the one that stormed off in a huff.”

  “You provoked him, and you know it.” River folded him arms, and I took a moment to admire his strong forearms, thanks to his shirt sleeves being rolled up. “Love, do I really need to stress the importance of this to you? You’re a bloody smart woman; you know what’s at stake here.”

  Like, the fate of the world, mankind, and our lives? Okay, maybe they all had a point. I hadn’t been taking this anywhere near seriously enough.

  “Yeah, I know,” I muttered, inspecting my toes.

  River sighed and muttered some very British sounding curse under his breath before sweeping me up against his chest, with his arms around my waist.

  “We scold because we care,” he reminded me softly. “Dinner is ready, by the way. Then perhaps I could interest you in a shower...?”

  “Why, Alpha. Are you implying I’m a dirty girl or simply trying to sneak alone time in this house full of men?” I acted offended, but the sly smile pulling at my mouth no doubt gave him the resounding yes he was looking for.

  A low hum from his throat was all the response I really needed before pressing my lips to his in a long kiss, until we were interrupted again by Tyson growling.

  “Damn, Ty,” I sighed as River placed me back down on the ground. “You got to learn how to share! What are you going to be like when Caleb’s snake turns up? Hey.” I turned back to River. “Who would be more scared of whom, tiger or snake?”

  My scruffy, sexy Alpha grimaced. “I hadn’t thought about Cal’s viper. Gross. Snakes are gross.”

  A grin spread over my face. Am I the only one not scared of snakes? This will be too much fun.

  Because despite the reassurance I’d given Caleb, I’d be seriously shocked if he didn’t get a familiar after our bonding. They were given to the most powerful Mages, and the Blood and Ink Mages were supposed to be of equal power. So... it stood to reason that if Austin had one…

  “Maybe he can give it a cute name and like a bowtie or something to make him less scary?” I suggested as I followed River back into the house, and he looked at me like I was on acid.

  “Just a suggestion,” I muttered, but River probably wasn’t the right one to appreciate my jokes.

  Damn, where was Lucy when I needed her?

  8

  Austin

  The sound of Christina's laughter filtered up to me as she rolled on the lawn with Tyson licking her face. Fucking hell, why did I let her get to me so much? Ever since the gala, she'd been deliberately driving me nuts. Or I assumed it was deliberate.

  It had to be.

  No one could honestly be that oblivious. She hadn't once mentioned the fact that we'd had sex, twice, nor had she acknowledged the crazy levels of sexual tension between us since then. I knew she could feel my emotions right now, just as I could hers, so how could she not know what she was doing to me?

  Unless mine were coming across as mixed up and confused as hers were... but surely not. The only reason hers were such a mess was because she was sleeping with five other dudes. Right? Or, four really. But Vali was only a matter of time. I'd seen the way he looked at her.

  Idiot. Tyson’s message translated across to me loud and clear. We couldn't communicate in words as such, just more in ideas and emotions. G
reat, more emotions. I almost missed the days when I'd been alone in my own head.

  Almost, but not quite. As much as I hated the mental anguish and confusion, I badly didn't want to lose my insight into Christina's feelings. So much so that I was waiting as long as possible before teaching her how to turn it off.

  “Hey, Aus.” Wesley's voice startled me, and I wrenched my gaze away from the gorgeous woman currently being mauled by my familiar.

  “What's up?” I replied, very deliberately turning my back on the window and stepping away from it. Watching Christina when she wasn't aware had become an unhealthy obsession that I seriously needed to kick before I turned into Wesley. That guy was using his crow sight far more than he was letting on, I was sure.

  “Uh, I was wondering if Cal has said anything to you about his training?” Wes shifted his feet and ran an anxious hand through his hair. “Not that I'm asking you to betray his confidence—”

  “It's fine,” I cut him off. “I'm not keeping any more secrets from the team. I learned my lesson.” Yeah, that was a bit sour, but I was still stinging from the reprimand River had dished out on the matter of Cal and I keeping our knowledge of magic quiet.

  “So...” Wes prompted, and I shook my head.

  “Nothing. He hasn't said anything. Why?” I narrowed my eyes at Wes. He had on his something-was-bugging-him face.

  His lips tightened, then he shrugged. “No real reason. I'm just trying to work through these nightmares for Kit, and the way he reacted the other night just bothered me.”

  “Ah.” I grimaced, remembering the blind panic on my brother's face and the sharpening of his teeth before he’d portaled out. “That wasn't about her nightmare, it was about the blood.”

  Wes frowned, looking confused. “Blood? What blood?”

  “When Christina knocked the lamp over, she cut herself on it. The power in her blood is still doing wacky things to Cal, so he took off because he didn't trust himself.” I tried to explain it as briefly as possible. It wasn't my place to talk about Caleb's magic and his struggles with the pull of powerful blood. The last thing I wanted was the guys feeling uncomfortable around him, like he was a vampire or something, just biding his time to suck their blood.

  The image of my twin as Count Dracula made me snort a laugh that then needed a wave off when Wesley's curious-eyebrow rose.

  “Don't worry about it. I think he's working pretty hard on getting it under control, and it was nothing related to Christina's nightmares.” I frowned then. The idea that she was still being plagued by night terrors made me sick. From what Wes had told me, the bloody scene at the gala featured heavily. “How are those going, anyway?”

  “Better, I think. They're not coming as frequently, but when they do, they're pretty brutal. Kind of just a relief being able to help her with them, you know?” He gave me a shy smile, and I knew full well he was loving being able to keep an eye on her while she slept. Paranoid bastard. He was totally convinced something bad was going to happen soon, which was a little bit funny given just how much bad had happened since Christina had crashed into our lives.

  Still wouldn't change it for anything though.

  Dammit. If I didn't know myself any better, I'd think I had fallen in love with her...

  “How's research going?” I changed the subject to something that was always going to engage Wesley.

  “Oh, uh, good!” He nodded, following me out of the room. “Or maybe not good... We found some odd things about Director Pierre, but I sort of want to authenticate the information before telling Kit, you know?”

  “Don't want to hurt her if it turns out to be a false lead?” I understood; I didn't envy the position Wesley was in. Or River, for that matter, as it was ultimately his call when to share info. “Just don't keep it from her any longer than necessary, not even if it’s for her own good. She's had enough secrets from all of us.” Mainly from me.

  “Got it,” Wesley agreed. “I just want to get my facts straight in case it's nothing.”

  Giving him a tight nod, I wandered into the kitchen where I could see Christina talking to River just outside. It was a coincidence, if anyone asked, but the amusement rolling off Tyson said he knew full well what I was doing even if I was in denial myself.

  9

  Kit

  The next morning, I was pleasantly surprised to find when I came down for breakfast that Cole and Vali had already left for their day together.

  “Seriously?” I asked, still half asleep as I took my coffee from Wes, then perched on Caleb’s lap when he tugged at my waist. “I know I won that bet, but I thought the stubborn fuckers would have to be forced out the door.”

  “We all take paying off bets very seriously, love,” River murmured, pulling up a chair at the table and pushing a plate of pancakes towards me.

  “Also,” Wesley added, “Vali seemed really keen to go out with Cole.”

  Lifting my coffee to my face, I covered a smug smile. I just bet he was keen.

  “So what are they doing with their day?” I asked, both curious and a little sad I wouldn’t get to keep an eye on them... bonding.

  “Dragon stuff,” Caleb answered me, stealing a pancake from my plate and cramming half of it in his mouth before I could snatch it back. Could have been worse though; at least he wasn’t stealing my coffee.

  “Dragon stuff?” I repeated, washing down my own mouthful with sweet, glorious caffeine.

  “Uh-huh,” Caleb murmured, trying to take my mug from my fingers and earning a bite on the hand from me.

  “Caleb, I made you your own,” Wesley snapped at him. “Quit stealing Kit’s.”

  River clicked his tongue to shut them both up and effectively gained my attention again as he watched me like a predator with gorgeous, golden eyes.

  “By ‘dragon stuff,’” he explained, “Caleb means they’ve gone out into the woods to work on their shifting and their magic. If anyone can help either of them practice and master their new abilities, it’s each other. That was a smart choice of a bet reward, love.”

  “Thanks.” I beamed, finally having done something right. It felt like everything I was doing was wrong lately. “So, what’s in the cards for us today?”

  “You have more magic training with Austin—and Caleb, if he feels like helping out. Wesley and I are going to have a chat about this situation with Director Pierre and what to do about it.” River placed his teacup back down on his saucer and—wait, what?

  “Are you... drinking tea right now?” I asked, both fascinated and amused at the stereotypical British thing to do.

  River just rolled his eyes and stood from the table. “When you’re done with breakfast, Austin is in the den waiting for you. He’s in a mood too, so probably best you get down there.” He threw me a wink that either said good luck or just kidding or, hell, it could have even been nice rack because I hadn’t bothered with a bra before coming to breakfast and my nipples were hard as ice cubes through my thin tank top. Either way, I was still too sleepy and not yet caffeinated enough to probe further into it.

  Caleb had slipped into my bed when he got back from magic lessons smelling like smoke and herbs and had been surprisingly forthcoming about his night. No details on the lesson or his teacher, but at least he’d opened up about how he was feeling with his progress. Despite the late hour, I hadn’t wanted to stop him, but now I was tired as hell and about to face another gruelling day with Teacher-Austin.

  “Guess that’s my cue, too,” Wes murmured, packing up his dishes and smacking a quick kiss on my cheek. “Good luck; don’t kill anyone.”

  From Caleb, that would have earned a snarky remark back, but from Wes it seemed more like a genuine concern.

  “I won’t kill anyone,” I muttered a bit sullenly while Wes dropped his dishes into the kitchen sink then followed River out of the room, leaving Caleb and I alone.

  “Seriously?” I demanded as I reached for my coffee and found it gone from where I’d left it. “You have your own!”

  C
aleb grinned a cheeky grin and licked his lips, taking another sip from my cup. “Yeah, but yours tastes so much better. Besides, you didn’t even notice I’d personalized your mug for you.”

  Now that he pointed it out, it was a much larger mug than the rest of the guys had been drinking from, and there was something printed on it…

  “Move your hand so I can see, dope,” I prompted, and he obediently handed the cup back to me.

  On one side, Kit’s Koffee Kup, and on the other, Zero Fox Given, except with a little cartoon fox instead of the word.

  “Cal, I love it! It’s like that first one you got me... but better.” I placed it carefully down on the table and snaked my arms around his neck to kiss him. Given I was already in his lap, it was an easy task.

  “You’re welcome, Kitty Kat,” he murmured when I eventually released his lips. “And I magicked this one so it won’t break if you pitch a fit with it.”

  “So thoughtful,” I snickered, but secretly, I thought the extra work to make it break-free was almost as awesome as the cup itself. Caleb was being seriously awesome lately. “So does that mean you’ll come and help in magic class? Austin is less likely to shank me if you’re there as a witness.”

  Caleb pursed his lips, like he was thinking about it, then nodded. “Sure. I can come keep you safe from shanking, you weirdo.”

  “Excellent!” I finished the last of my coffee and hopped out of his lap to pull him up too. “If you think of any cool blood spells that will help me learn faster, that would also be super appreciated!”

  Caleb snorted, following me through to the den where Austin was supposedly waiting for us. “It doesn’t really work like that, Kitty Kat. I can’t just...” he trailed off, and I looked back at him sharply.

  “What?” I prompted.

  “Uh, nothing. I just had an idea. I’ll ask Austin about it.” He nodded thoughtfully, then slapped me on my yoga-pants-covered ass. “Keep moving, slow poke. He’s not getting any sweeter for waiting.”