Table of Contents
TITLE PAGE
Synopsis
Also by Tansey Morgan
Follow Tansey!
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
About the Author
Copyright
Contents
TITLE PAGE
Synopsis
Also by Tansey Morgan
Follow Tansey!
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Follow Tansey!
About the Author
Also by Tansey Morgan
Copyright
SERPENT’S BITE
The Last Serpent
Book 4
By Tansey Morgan
There are people hiding in the shadows of London; I'm going to drag them kicking and screaming into the light.
Ever since I became what I am, there have been wolves snapping at my heels, harrying me, trying to weaken me. I hate to admit it, but they've been winning. Recently I fled to London to try and get away from one set of problems, only to land right in the middle of another, and at this point I'm not sure which is worse. Two mentors are still missing, someone is synthesizing a drug made from the raw energy all supernatural creatures possess and selling it to others for a cheap thrill, and I haven't heard a peep from the group of fanatics looking to kill every single female supernatural on the planet, which worries me. But if I thought I was in trouble before, things are about to get a whole lot worse, and there's no way in hell I'm ready - none of us are.
With the help of Dante, Leo, the Keeper, and the four gorgeous men who see me as some kind of queen, I'm going to start pulling at the threads that keep these mysteries hidden and see what falls out. It's time for this serpent to draw her fangs, and bite back.
Also by Tansey Morgan
The Last Serpent
Serpent’s Touch, #1
Serpent’s Desire, #2
Serpent’s Kiss, #3
Serpent’s Bite, #4
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CHAPTER ONE
Sitting in the tightly packed little British pub, the Duck and Whistle, reminded me distantly of the many, many hours I’d spent at bars with my douchebag of an ex-boyfriend back in Seattle. Getting wasted off cheap booze while watching the game in a crowded bar with his friends was his idea of a romantic night out, I was only there as an accessory to be shown off. I didn’t like football, and his friends were all just as bad as he was, but I tolerated it because at the time I didn’t realize what an asshole he truly was.
Thinking on it, the only two similarities between what was happening now and those nights a lifetime ago was the football on TV—well, the game of choice was soccer in the UK, but they called it football over there—and the fact that I was surrounded by men. Everything else was different. For one, I was actually having a damn good time with Raphael, Aiden, Liam, and Vikram. They all smelled delicious, they looked hot as hell, and they did this thing where, when they talked, intelligent conversation happened.
But the best part? They were all mine.
There was something thrilling in this little secret the five of us shared, this thing we all knew but no one else in the pub did. I had Liam holding my right hand, Raphael looking like some kind of human God, Vikram holding court about the way things were done at the Alexandria, and Aiden stroking my left knee beneath the table. If I weren’t a succubus, I may have had trouble dealing with the total overload of want.
Lucky for me…
“So, wait,” I said, “They don’t even see a recruiter?”
Vik shook his head. “No, apparently the Alexandria’s way of doing things is by putting potential supernaturals into stressful situations to try and force an awakening than to present themselves personally. It’s not the only school that does it this way, either.”
“What if something goes wrong and the person dies?”
“It’s not unheard of, but the recruiter isn’t usually too far away. They won’t interfere unless everything goes to pot, but the point is they want to force an awakening. Interfering would be counterproductive.”
“Sure, but there’s a fine line, right?” Aiden said, “Interfere too soon and you risk the awakening not happening, interfere too late and you risk their death. Either way someone’s playing with lives.”
“Different places have different rituals.”
“I’m suddenly feeling very grateful it was Dante who found me,” I said, finishing the last of my drink.
“Another round?” Liam asked.
“Nah, not all of us can drink like the Irish can. Last thing I want is having to see Leo with a hangover.”
“We’re heading back, then?” Raph asked.
“I think so, right? It’s getting late.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right.” I caught Vik smiling at himself and shaking his head. “What is it?” I asked, my lips tugging into a smile in return.
“Nothing,” he said, “It’s just… we’ve just been on a date, right?”
“Well, sorta.”
“Right. And at the end of the date, you have to decide whether to go home with the guy you’re with or not… but there are four of us.”
“Oh… I hadn’t thought about that.”
Alright, I lied. I had thought about it. In fact, for the past twenty minutes, ever since Liam first grabbed my hand, this part of the evening had been at the forefront of my thoughts. We were all going home together, so to speak, since we were staying at the Alexandria, but I knew what Vik meant; he wanted to know whose room I was going to end up in, and since this was the first time we’d gone out as a group, there was little choice but to approach the topic head on.
Of course, in my mind, the words why choose, kept coming up, but I couldn’t exactly say that, could I?
I looked at each of them in turn and felt my cheeks get progressively warmer with every suggestive, playful little smile I was being thrown. “This is funny to you guys, isn’t it?” I asked.
“Kinda, yeah,” Aiden said.
“What’s so funny about it?”
He shrugged. “We all know what the score is here, right guys?”
A round of nods.
“And I don’t?” I asked. “I’m not nervous or anything, if that’s what you think. I’m actually just trying to be considerate of you all.”
“Us?” Liam asked, “How?”
“I don’t want anyone to feel like I value them less than I do anyone else… I know how guys can get.”
I stared him in the eyes for a crazed minute, wondering if he had somehow read my mind and listened to my thoughts.
“I think we should all just head back to the Alexandria,” I said.
“I think maybe you should choose one of us first,” Aiden insisted.
“We can take turns, we don’t mind,” Raphael said, grinning, and again I wasn’t sure if he meant take turns at the same time or, different guys for different nights, either of which was an intoxicating prospect. My heart was pounding, pulse racing so fast I was sure Liam could feel it against his hand. I let his hand go and set it on the table.
“Alright, here’s what’s gonna happen,” I said, exhaling the tension held in my lungs to try and regain some kind of control over the situation. “We’re going to get up, we’re going to go back to the Alexandria… and tonight I’m going to stay with Aiden because we haven’t hung out enough since we got here.”
“Perfectly reasonable,” Vik said. “I’m glad we finally got to spend some time out of the Alexandria. It’s nice to be in walking distance of Civilization.”
“I know, I’ve enjoyed myself.”
We all got started heading for the door, when a woman caught my eye as she walked into the pub. Long, blond, wavy locks cascaded around her shoulders, she had striking blue eyes, and her nose was red from the cold. She was pretty, in a rat-like kind of way—long, pointed, angular features—but that wasn’t why she caught my eye; I’d seen her in the Alexandria before, and that meant this girl was a supernatural.
Besides Madeline, I hadn’t met a single other female supernatural in my entire time spent as a member of this strange world. This girl, however, I’d seen around the Alexandria. It was only a fleeting glimpse, but we’d caught each other’s eyes then, and we had each other’s eyes again now. I slowed as the guys moved aside to let her in. She thanked them, then pushed her way into the already crammed pub, giving Raph a soft smile and a nod as she passed.
Good thing for her I wasn’t a jealous person, or I may have thrown down.
The guys started to head out when I tugged on Aidan’s arm. “Everything okay?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I said, “That girl that just came in is from the Alexandria, I just want to go an introduce myself.”
Aiden glanced at the woman. “Sure, I’ll wait for you in the lounge”
I followed the girl as she made her way toward the bar, waited for her to order her drink, then slid in beside her, resting an elbow on the counter. “Hey,” I said.
“Oh, hi,” she said, smiling.
“I don’t mean to be rude, I just… I saw you walk in and thought I’d introduce myself, finally. Not every day I get to meet more women like us.”
“Right, of course. I’ve been meaning to do the same but you’ve always been quite busy whenever I’ve seen you.” Her British accent was a lot like Vik’s, sharp and neat. It made her sound intelligent, and cultured. “It’s Lilith, isn’t it?”
“You know my name?”
“I apologize, you’re something of a topic of discussion. I’m Laura, pleasure to meet you.”
She extended a dainty hand on which sat a couple of pretty, silver rings. I took it and shook, and a light, almost imperceptible current passed between us; one that reminded me, vaguely, and strangely, of Raphael. Then it clicked. “You’re a psychic,” I said.
Laura smiled brightly. “I am. How did you pick that up so quickly?”
“Just lucky, I guess.” I tilted my head. “What’s this about me being a topic?”
“Oh, you know how it is. It’s a small school, people have noticed your group’s presence, and everyone’s curious; myself included.”
“We haven’t exactly been the quietest guests, huh?”
“No, but that’s alright. Between us, it gets a little boring around here sometimes. It’s good to spice things up a bit.”
“I’m glad we could do that for you, then.”
“Yes, absolutely.” She paused, considering. “Do you mind my asking… what are you, exactly?”
“You don’t know?”
She shook her head. “I keep trying to guess, but I don’t think I’m anywhere near the truth.”
“What did you think?”
Laura shrugged. “Some kind of mage, perhaps.”
I shook my head. “I’m a succubus.” Saying the word sent a shiver running through me. It had been the first, if not one of the first, times I had outwardly declared what I was. I wondered if that would stick with me for a while, or if the novelty would wear off.
“Succubus,” she said, her eyebrows rising, “Wow, that’s…”
“Unheard of? Apparently, yeah.”
“Right. No one’s seen one in over a hundred years.”
“And yet here I am.”
Laura’s drink arrived—a glass of house Rosé. “I’m sorry, I’d have gotten you a drink if I had thought you would come and speak to me.”
“No, it’s fine. I don’t think I can handle another drink right now.” That wasn’t entirely true; I wasn’t drunk or anything. I was barely tipsy, but I was nervous.
“Alright. It’s funny,” Laura said, “When I first heard we were having guests coming to the school from a center in Germany, I didn’t know what to think.”
“Do you guys host often?”
“I wouldn’t know; I’m a first year.”
“This is your first year here?”
“It’s my first year as a supernatural.”
“Well, you’ve still got a good deal more experience than I do. I turned less than a month ago.”
I had to think about the timeline there. Everything had happened so quickly, I almost couldn’t remember a time when I wasn’t a succubus. I could easily remember my life back in Seattle, but I couldn’t wrap my brain around the idea that I had been just a plain human then. Things could have been so much better for me if I had turned sooner.
“That’s even more impressive, then,” Laura said, “From what I’ve seen I thought you had been doing this for years.”
“And what’s this exactly?”
“Your group, the way you handle yourself around them. It’s effortless. You’re a natural leader.”
A smile brightened my face. “I have to say, I’m not hating the compliments.”
Laura smiled in return. “I’m glad you stopped to talk to me. I hope I didn’t keep you from your friends, though.”
“Nah, they’ll be fine on their own.”
“Good.” She paused, then leaned closely, as if to tell me a secret no one else should hear. “Is it me, or are they all really fit?”
“Fit?” I asked, arching my neck back. “Raph and Vik work out a lot—”
“No,” she shook her head, chuckling, “That’s British slang for good looking.”
“Oh… yeah, I guess so.”
“Do you know if any of them are single?”
I swallowed, then swallowed again. A warm, nervous feeling was starting to push its way through me, as if barging to the forefront of my mind from within the depths of my psyche. A feeling I remembered all too well, like an old friend I’d been around the block with a couple of times. Its name was back the hell off, and it had in the past been responsible for a number of injuries, both inflicted and sustained.
I sucked in a breath of air. “None of them are single,” I said.
“None of them?” Laura asked, tilting her head, “Do they have girlfriends back in Germany? I thought the center was in the middle of nowhere.”
“They all have a girlfriend.”
She smiled. “I’m sorry, I’m not sure if I understood. They all have a girlfriend?”
“That’s right; they’re with me, all of them.”
“Oh…” Laura’s face brightened to the color of a ripe tomato.
Another girl stepped into my sights now, and placed her hand on Laura’s shoulder. She was pretty, and
young—a brunette with a bookish kind of look, wearing a thick scarf. “Hey,” she said to Laura, “Sorry I’m late, I was just finishing up in the library.” She looked at me. “You’re Lilith, right?”
“Yeah, I am.”
She extended her hand. “I’m Caitlyn, really nice to meet you.”
“It’s nice to meet you too.”
“Are you going to be joining us for a drink?”
“I—”
“Actually, Lilith was just about to leave,” Laura said, interrupting, “She has her hands full tonight.”
Fuck, that was brutal. I slid off my stool and nodded, awkwardly bowing out of the conversation with a polite smile that was as fake as the dye in that ratty bitch’s blond hair. The old me would have stayed and gone on the offensive, but I couldn’t stay; I had to get away from the bar and out of the pub as fast as I could without breaking into a run.
Nervous warmth began to flood my system, and not in a good way. My cheeks flushed, and nauseating had started bubbling around in the pit of my stomach. I wasn’t annoyed, or jealous; I was embarrassed. I didn’t know who this girl was, not really, but she probably thought I was some kind of weirdo for claiming to have four boyfriends.
Then I remembered Madeline’s words; they came rushing at me from within the back of my mind, a pulse of calm in a sea of turbulent nerves.
“You’re their queen,” she had said, “They will do anything for you, this is the most natural thing in the world.”
CHAPTER TWO
The Alexandria was quiet at this time of night, so Aiden and I decided to stay in the small lounge which hadn’t seen use in months before team Germany came along. The space was small, and intimate. There was a sofa, a table with on which sat a candle-holder and a number of books, a bookshelf all along the rightmost wall, and a fireplace sitting in the center of the wall opposite the door, flanked on both sides by small windows.
Aiden had set a log from a nearby stack into the fireplace and set it alight with a single touch—a handy little party trick. Once the fire had gotten going, we made ourselves comfortable on the sofa with a woolen blanket thrown over our knees and watched the fire crackle and pop as a light dusting of snow gathered on the windowpane.
Serpent's Bite_A Reverse Harem Urban Fantasy Page 1