The Nine: An Urban Fantasy Reverse Harem Romance (Foxfire Burning Book 1)

by C. M. Stunich

  If looks could kill, well, Mikhail would've burnt Riot to a crisp in that moment.

  "Long story short, the drug ‘dust’ is laced with something. We don't know what it is, but we do know who's supplying it." Mik licked his lips and then tossed a folder full of files onto the table. "Nix Locklear."

  "The skinwalker," one of the other women said, reaching out to touch the edge of a photograph. "He's big in the Denver underground; he supplies everything." My jaw clenched a little at that.

  I'd almost fucked a crime lord in an alleyway.

  And why did that thought do nothing to sober me? I wasn't nearly as grossed out as I should be. Clearly, I had issues.

  "Well, he's supplying it and we need to know where it's coming from and what it is." Mik gave me a long, hard look, like this was somehow all my fault. "We've got people looking for him now, but our chances of finding him are slim at this point. He's got resources that rival, maybe even surpass, ours."

  "So we stop dust distribution?" one of the others at the table asked. I was too busy shoving Riot's hand off my knee to pay attention. Didn’t help that the warmth of his palm was sending bolts of electricity through my body. "And that solves our problem?"

  "Hardly," Bennett volunteered with a laugh. This time, I did look. I had to. His voice was that commanding. One day, I'm going to kill you, I thought as his mouth stretched into a rictus grin and I smiled wickedly back at him. "Once you have an infected shifter, they can pass it on with a wad of cum."

  "For fuck's sake, have some decorum," Mik snapped. "What this asshole is trying to say is that the disease, the infection, whatever it is, can be passed on through unprotected sex." Riot reached out and touched a lock of my loose dark hair as Fin glared daggers at me from across the table. "We need to locate any infected persons and either bring them in—"

  "Or put a knife in their throat, we get it." Bennett shoved a list across the table and then stood up. He was fucking huge, hulking, his gold eyes burning a path down the front of my t-shirt to linger on my breasts.

  I had half a mind to put a dagger in his throat.

  "Here are the idiots I need taken out. You have permission to send this—" He pointed directly at me, the muscles in his huge arms bulging. He, too, was covered in ink. I hadn't taken much note of it before, when he was naked, seeing as he was trying to kill me and all. But admittedly, it was impressive. "Fox bitch over into my territory to deal with them. Just her, nobody else. I'll personally guarantee her safety and well-being."

  "I'm not sending Thea, so sit your ass down," Mik started, but Bennett was already heading for the door.

  One alpha male to another … not a good combination.

  "Get your fucking ass back here!" Mikhail snapped, not at all like his usual overly composed self. He glanced down at me and then flicked his attention back to the people sitting around the table. It wasn't at all common for different shifter groups to come together. We all followed our own rules, separate from humanity; rarely did we connect, overlap, or intercede in each other's lives.

  I guess Mik calling all these people together was a sign that this time, it was different.

  Bennett ignored Mik completely, shoving his way out the doors and letting them slam shut behind him. If he hadn’t been running a meeting, I think Mik might’ve gone after him.

  "Spread the word, watch the backs of your own, and talk to your guild representative if you see Nix." Mikhail moved around the table, his black trench billowing out behind him before he paused and rubbed at his chin. "Or if you need a hit."

  And then he was storming out the door, and I was chasing after him.

  "You called this meeting and now you're going to cut it short?" I asked, knowing full-well that Riot and Fin would soon be following along behind me. Fan-fucking-tastic. Dealing with Mikhail was hard on a good day, but with my two unwanted sidekicks? Or really, my two not-so-unwanted sidekicks. "You're not going after Bennett, are you?"

  "How stupid do you think I am?" Mikhail asked as he headed toward his office, and I followed along. "He'd fight me to the death. I'd win, but it wouldn't be pretty."

  "Well, aren't we secure in our abilities," I quipped, knowing I was making a mistake by baiting a man that was already on edge. Mik grabbed my arm and shoved me into his office, slamming and locking the door behind him. The door was made of glass, though, so I had a pretty damn good view of my exes.

  "Maybe you should go pick up your pet, get that woman to mate with Finley, and get your tails bound. Then take a week off—paid."

  "You're not going to dismiss me just like that," I growled at him. Mikhail was staring at the floor, eyes closed while Riot leaned against the wall outside the door, and Fin crossed his arms over his chest. If they kept following me around like this, it was only a matter of time before I gave in and … I don’t know what. Took them back? Fuck, I was stronger than this! "You're not, Mik. What about the Vail Valley Pack? There are eight—"

  "You're not going," he said, lifting his head up and opening his eyes. As soon as our gazes met, I saw that his pupils were dilated and I knew I was in trouble. Again.

  "Bennett wants me for the job, and I'm free—" I began, but I didn't get to finish because Mikhail was throwing himself at me, pinning me against his desk with an arm on either side. I didn't flinch, good for me. But I did see his eyes latch onto my throbbing pulse, his tongue run across his lower lip.

  "I'm in charge here, Thea," he continued as I wondered how he fed on a regular basis. Where did he get his blood? And was it always this sexual, this intense of a connection? Because if so, I could see why a vampire would kill their prey afterward; this was fucking intense.

  Intense … and awkward.

  "I'm in charge," Mik repeated in a low, cold voice.

  "In charge of the Colorado Chapter of RADOPA, not of me," I whispered back. Mik turned his face away from my neck and our eyes met, our mouths inches apart. Heat flooded between my thighs, and my muscles clenched in protest. It'd been so long since I'd gotten laid, and here this asshole was, tempting me, using his vamp pheromones against me.

  I slapped my hand over the bite wound on my neck and Mik went completely still. He moved toward me carefully, slowly. And then he closed the space between us, pressing his mouth to mine, sliding our tongues together.

  Our kiss was fucking everything.

  My hands dropped onto his shoulders and squeezed, just before Mik wrapped his arms around me and lifted me onto his desk, stepping between my thighs. His hard crotch met the throbbing heat between my legs. Considering I was wearing little more than a t-shirt, Mikhail's black denim jeans were right up against the thin cotton of my panties. It would take little effort for us to shed our clothes and …

  Breaking glass snapped us out of the moment, sending Mikhail wheeling back from me.

  I saw Riot, shaking his hand out and spattering blood across the floor, and Finley standing there with his fangs out and his muscles so taut, he looked like his skin was about to split.

  "You're fucking the vampire," Riot said, pulling a shard of glass from his knuckles. "All makes sense now."

  "Get the fuck out of my office," Mikhail said quietly, and I couldn't decide if he was talking to Riot, Finley, or me. But then his face lifted and I saw his expression.

  He wanted me as much as I wanted him.

  Tearing my gaze away, I slid off the desk and stepped out through the broken glass of Mik's door, sliding between Riot and Fin.

  "Don't do this," Finley said, his voice almost desperate as he reached out and curled his fingers around my upper arm. His touch burned me, flames of desire licking my flesh at all the points our skin met. When I met his gaze, the expression in it stole my breath away, and we had one of those short, sweet, silent conversations that we’d always used to have. Can’t you see how much I love you? he said without words. When he did speak, it wasn’t much easier to hear. "Don't leave us, Thea." The pleading in his voice is what really sent me running for the hills.

  I pulled my arm fro
m his fingers and then walked as slowly and evenly as I could toward the stairs, and then down to the street.

  Once I was outside, I let out a small scream.

  When the fuck had my life gotten so damn complicated?

  My house was fucking obscene.

  And I mean that in the best way possible. It was a hell of a long way from the treehouse I'd lived in with Riot and Fin, the treehouse that I still missed so much I dreamed of it on a weekly basis.

  "Goddamn it," I growled, throwing a barbell across the room and watching it bounce on the padded floors of my home gym.

  A home gym.

  How obscene was that?

  Sitting there on a workout bench in the downstairs gym area, I looked around and for a moment, I couldn't figure out who I was or what I was doing here. I'd wanted a different, less humble life. Well, I'd gotten it, hadn't I?

  But at what price?

  Choking back a laugh, I stood up and grabbed a rag to mop the sweat from my brow. It was hard for me to get a real workout down here by myself, especially after all the training I put in with the guild. Right now though, I just needed to blow off some steam.

  I climbed up on the treadmill, cranked the speed and the incline, and took off, my gaze focused on the large oil painting of Ziff hanging on the wall across the room from me. If I'd had my way, Revel and I would already be sitting down for dinner and I'd have my best friend back.

  Instead, we had reservations at some swanky ass steakhouse downtown.

  Reservations.

  Guess she was taking this whole mating thing seriously.

  I sprinted in place for several more minutes and then just felt stupid as hell. What kind of kitsune was I, running inside a beige painted basement?

  Slamming my hands against the treadmill to turn it off, I felt this rage inside of me. I did need to run, but I needed to do it outside.

  "Screw this." I headed back up the stairs to the main level and shifted into my fox form, white paws moving across the marble tile floor and toward the open back doors. The trees blew in a soft, sweet wind and even though the sun was setting, there were still enough golden rays left to light up the backyard.

  I sprinted across the patio and then the lawn, squeezing between the thin metal bars of the fence and onto a greenbelt that was protected by the city. I had no destination in mind, just an insatiable need to run.

  Taking off down the grassy stretch, I headed for the least busy street in the neighborhood, looked both ways, and then crossed. Look at me, following the rules and everything. Such a good girl. Insert eye roll here. My fox form might be small and thin, the complete opposite of Bennett's wolf and Nix's coyote, but I was fast and agile; I knew what I was doing.

  The park on the opposite side of the road was empty; it was too cold out for humans. Just as that thought crossed my mind, little flakes began to fall, dancing in the dying sunlight. Well, there was that snow Bex had mentioned.

  My white form disappeared into the flurry as I skirted a playground and made for a copse of trees. I didn't feel better until I was beneath their canopy. So many thoughts were running through my mind. The laced party drugs and Nix Locklear, though, those were far away. Mostly, I was thinking about Mik. And Fin. And Riot.

  The image of my ex's bloody knuckles was haunting my brain. I paused in the shadow of the trees, sat down in the dirt, and watched snow fall outside of the copse. I'd traded in moments like this, wrapped in my fox form, surrounded by nature … for a big house and a home gym and a really nice fucking car.

  I should've been over the moon about all that.

  Last week, I was.

  But I couldn't stop the heavy hand of guilt from bitch-slapping me across the face.

  What, exactly, I was going to do about that, I had no clue.

  Hopefully, this was just a passing fancy.

  Dinner with Revel … and then maybe I could offload Fin and get rid of this guilt.

  Because shifters losing their ability to change was an apocalyptic nightmare, one that I planned on at least helping to solve. Because I didn't join RADOPA just for money, right? Originally, I'd been looking to make a difference, yet somehow, I'd settled for killing people. But Mik's organization was about more than just death.

  We took down bad guys.

  We solved problems.

  So first problem up was my magic and lack thereof.

  With a sigh, I rose to my feet and then stretched in a deep bow, fluffing my white tails around me and wondering why, of all people, I'd been blessed with nine at such a young age. As far as I knew, I wasn't particularly special.

  The Fox Goddess, Inari, must be looking out for me, I thought as I trotted back toward the house.

  A dinner date.

  It'd been a long time since I'd had one of those, and I was hellbent on enjoying it.

  Revel Jones had picked a table in the back corner of the restaurant, near a roaring fireplace whose glow highlighted her high, sharp cheekbones and full mouth. Ziff was sitting on her shoulder which sort of infuriated me and threatened to steal my good mood. What was it with this woman that had me so bent out of shape?

  This irrational jealousy wasn't like me at all, and I didn't like it.

  "You love yourself unconditionally, just as you are," I whispered, smoothing my hands down the front of my silky blue dress. My ears and tails were on full display, and I didn't care who was looking. Personal mantras weren't usually my thing, but I was thirty years old and acting like a kit. Maybe I did need a little self-help every once in a while?

  I pushed some of my thigh-length hair over my shoulder and strode forward, proud of my sky-high black heels and red as fuck lipstick. I'd chosen a dramatic look for a reason, but I still managed to find a place to hide my Ruger LC9. It'd been my gun of choice for the last few years. When I'd gotten my first one from Mikhail, I'd named it. But I'd quickly learned that in my line of work, it wasn't rational or practical to grow too attached to a weapon. The only tool of the trade I protected as fiercely as my life was the knife I'd gotten from my mother. It was a simple bone blade that she'd made herself, more sentimental than anything else. Still, I carried it wherever I went, and I'm pleased to say that it'd saved my skin more than once.

  "Ziff," I said, trying not to stiffen up as I waited to see his reaction to me. I needn't have worried though because as soon as I was close enough for him to leap, he made a massive Superman jump and clung to my shoulder, chirping and chittering and biting my ear. "Hey buddy," I laughed as a waitress—probably human—passed and wrinkled her nose. While animals used to be banned from restaurants, that wasn't the case anymore, not in the post-integration era. "Did you miss me?"

  "He wailed all night long. I fed him some eggs, but I think he's still hungry. Google said these fuckers eat insects and reptiles, but I'm new in town and the Best Western doesn't exactly have a lot of mealworms on hand." Revel smiled at me, this easy stretch of bloodred lips. I found my eyes locked on her mouth; it was an effort to lift my gaze to her eyes, lined with dark kohl and glimmering with gold shadow. Her hair hung in loose, shimmering waves to her shoulders as she leaned back and crossed her arms under her full breasts.

  "You could've stopped at a pet store," I said with raised brows, pulling out my chair and sliding into it. It'd been a hell of a long time since I'd gone out to dinner with anyone. I didn't have a lot of female friends besides Bex and she wasn't exactly the going out type. Since leaving Fin and Riot, I'd had a handful of one-night stands but no real dates. Not that this was a date, but still. "He doesn't mind a pinkie mouse or hell, even an adult mouse every now and again." My smile was predatory, incendiary, and Revel, well, she had no issue matching it.

  "Well," she began, leaning forward and lifting her glass of wine by the stem. Her eyes watched the liquid swirl around inside the goblet before she turned her attention back to me. "I'll remember that … for next time." A long, slow wink followed that I had a bit of trouble interpreting.

  Next time, huh?

  "This is for m
e?" I asked, tapping the edge of a second full wine glass.

  "Unless you've invited somebody else to our little soiree," Revel said, her voice this smooth purr that gave me the chills. Fin was going to cream his pants when he saw her.

  "Yeah, about that," I started, exhaling and then buying myself more time by swigging my drink. Before I knew it, my wine was gone and our waitress was offering me a refill. "Bring a bottle," I said, gesturing randomly at the menu. I wasn't big on wine. Alcohol was alcohol, right? But Revel snatched the wine list from my hand and then met my eyes from across the table.

  "Sweet, dry, bubbly, what do you want?" she asked in this low, easy tone. "Or maybe you don't know what you want?" Revel continued, cocking her head to one side. I narrowed my eyes, but all that did was make her laugh. "Bring us a bottle of the Domaine Serene Grace Vineyard, please."

  "You seem to know your stuff," I said, leaning back and letting my eyes drift up the wooden walls, to the chandeliers made of antlers. Interesting choices in décor.

  "I'm a bit of a wine nerd," Revel said, sitting up straight and drawing my attention to her little black dress. It clung to her generous curves and rode up her thighs when she leaned back in the chair. I found my eyes on the paleness of her legs, lingering far too long for propriety's sake. "See something you like?" she asked me, and I blinked myself out of stupidity and glanced up at her face. "A nice juicy steak perhaps?"

  I raised a brow and tapped my fingers against the menu as Ziff chuffed and rubbed along the side of my face, flicking his tail and using his wide, glossy eyes to take in the room. There was nothing special about Ziff per se; he was a fennec fox, bred by a kitsune earth in Northern Africa. A pet. But sometimes, I swore he had supernatural senses of his own.

  And he seemed to like Revel Jones.

  Hmm.

  "Anyway," Revel said, swishing her hand through the air, dismissing me. "What made you decide to get online?"

  "You mean to find you?" I asked, and her smile got even wider.

  "To find me," she confirmed with this little purr, twirling one long finger around the rim of her wine glass. Ziff made a frustrated noise and bit my ear again, the sharp bite of pain waking me out of my sudden stupor. I tore off a piece of bread from the basket on the table and held it up to him. He took it from me with a little chitter and then made his way onto my lap to curl into a ball with his prize.