“Mommy?” I asked as I snuggled deeper against the warmth.
“Not your mother, Kitten,” a sinful masculine voice said with a chuckle. A voice that sounded an awful lot like Cobra’s.
I blinked open my crusty eyes and looked up into Cobra’s gorgeous face. “Are you not going to let me come again?”
“Ew, can you not?” Aran’s voice said from nearby.
Another soft female voice said, “I’m going to be sick.” They retched dramatically.
After a long moment of rubbing sand and grit out of my eyes, I focused on my surroundings.
The first thing I noticed—Cobra was carrying me against his chest.
The second thing I noticed—he was standing in a field of flowers, and gorgeous yellow-and-pink petals floated on the soft breeze around us.
Twin suns kissed my face with sunshine.
It was almost…romantic.
The third thing I noticed—Ascher, Jax, Xerxes, and Aran were all standing in the flower patch with us.
I squinted as four sets of eyes turned to stare at me. “Am I dead?”
“You wish, bitch.” Aran slapped me on the arm and proceeded to march forward through the field of flowers.
Pink-and-yellow petals danced around my best friend’s short turquoise hair.
She turned around and beckoned us forward. The bruises that mottled her face made me wince.
Also, dried blood coated her chin and her chest.
“You’re a boy again?” I asked Aran with confusion.
She rubbed at the enchanted ring on her finger and nodded distractedly as she walked toward massive flowers. “Fabulous observation skills.”
“I’m glad you’re awake, sis.” It was the soft female voice from before. A white-haired figure walked up from behind Cobra.
With a kick and a loud grunt, I extracted myself from the snake man’s hold and launched myself at Lucinda.
Then, like a powerful, grown woman who could transform into a saber-toothed tiger and force my blood into others to make them obey my will, I burst into hideous sobs.
Lucinda grinned and hugged me back, her eyes misting over as she gripped me tight.
“This is super touching, but we need to move. Stop diddle-dallying!” Aran shouted up ahead.
“‘Diddle-dallying’ is not a word.” A small pale girl with black hair rolled her eyes. Her tone insinuated Aran was an idiot.
I loved her.
“Jinx, we talked about this.” A stunning, tall girl with electric-green-streaked hair stomped forward through the flowers.
Lucinda grinned at the girls like they were good friends. “These are Jax’s sisters, Jinx, Jess, and Jala. They came home from school for break and were kidnapped by the queen’s guards. I was out in the woods around the school exploring when they nabbed me.”
A pretty pink-haired girl ran out from behind a flower. “I’m Jala. Our sisters Jen and Jan were in school with their boyfriends, so they didn’t get kidnapped.”
Jala skipped through the flowers like she felt bad her other two sisters hadn’t been kidnapped.
My head throbbed from dehydration.
I had a lot of problems in my life, but at least the feminine energy finally outmatched the masculine energy in the group.
It was nice.
Jax grumbled and sighed, but he gently grabbed Jala’s hand in his and smiled at her. “Stop running off. It’s stressing me out.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m fourteen now. You don’t need to baby me.”
“You literally were just kidnapped. Clearly, I do.”
Jess and Jinx chimed into the argument, and Jax bantered back and forth with his sisters.
I pulled Lucinda into my arms.
My sister was lithe and more beautiful than ever, but her shoulders were a little too bony for my liking.
She was fragile in my arms, which was saying something, because I was commonly described as frail.
“So, what are we doing?” I asked the important question as Aran poked at a flower almost as tall as Jax.
“We’re fleeing this realm.”
I nodded at her. “Seems like a good plan, seeing as you just ate your mother’s heart.”
“Oh please, you started it.”
“So, should I call you queen?”
Aran whipped around. “There is no way in the sun god that I’m subjecting myself to that hell. If we don’t escape, I’ll be forced into the coronation against my will. We’re leaving the realm. From this moment forward, I’m a boy.”
I held my palms up in front of my face. “I get it, I get it.”
Did I get it? Not completely.
But I understood the panicky vibes that were flowing off her.
I stared at my bruised best friend. There were big problems, then there were big problems, and this was definitely the latter.
Aran continued speaking. “I used the bracelet to transport us all to the nearest portal. I learned about it back when I was trying to escape.”
My stomach plummeted, and I didn’t let my sadness show on my face.
Sure, the fae realm was terrifying, but I’d gotten used to the warmth and was not emotionally prepared for the negative temperatures of the shifter realm.
Aran nodded at a massive flower. “This is it. Let’s go.”
Then she threw herself face-first at the flower.
I winced.
Clearly, the stress of ripping her mother’s beating heart out of her chest and eating it had gotten to her. She was acting like a maniac.
Before I could gently remind her that therapy was a healthy option, Aran’s lithe body disappeared, and the surface of the massive flower rippled black.
For a second, a swirling, inky abyss replaced the flower. It was a portal.
“Do you want me to carry you through?” Ascher asked as he motioned toward the portal.
“I’ll go last to make sure everyone gets through safely,” Jax said behind me.
Cobra snapped at Ascher, “If Kitten needs to be carried, I’ll do it.”
Xerxes pulled out his twin knives, scanned the clearing like he was looking for threats, and scooted closer to me.
With a heavy sigh, I grabbed Lucinda and Jax’s sisters and marched through the portal.
Sun god forbid the men not take every chance they could to act like I was completely incompetent.
I stumbled in surprise on the other side of the portal.
Icy wind didn’t stab at me.
The temperature was moderate, and everything had a slightly greenish tint to it. Fluorescent lights flickered above my head.
The men joined us.
I stood in shock for a long moment, then the concrete platform beneath our feet started to shake.
A high-pitched rattling noise grew louder and louder.
Air whooshed as a massive chrome machine screeched to a halt in front of us.
Glass doors slid open.
A British-accented voice, which sounded a lot like Xerxes’s, said, “Welcome to the beast realm. Please take the subway to the next customs checkpoint.”
I looked over at Aran in shock.
Before I could have a mental breakdown, my best friend shoved me onto the train and pushed me into a plush seat.
The interior of the train was sleek, with flashy fixtures and neon lights. We were the only passengers in the car.
Aran sat across from me. “Xerxes says he has a large enough place to house us in the beast realm. The fae will know to look for me in the shifter realm. They don’t even know that I know the beast realm exists.”
I nodded while my brain short-circuited.
Once again, a lot was happening.
Ascher nodded beside Aran, his flame tattoos rippling as he rocked back and forth. “My original mission was to return you to this realm. This makes sense. You might be able to find your biological families. If you’re interested.”
Jax shook his head and placed a long arm across Jess, Jala, and Jinx’s seat. “I have my family.”
“Don’t care.” Cobra rolled his eyes.
I shrugged. “I already have Lucinda. That’s enough for me.”
My little sister flashed me a smile, and we tucked our arms around each other.
No one said anything about the elephant in the room. That I was the human equivalent of a blood parasite and Aran had the forbidden snack.
The train car vibrated beneath us as it moved forward.
Aran shrugged. “Yeah, as long as we have a place to hide out, I don’t care what we do. I just need to shower and brush my teeth.” She gagged and shivered as she scratched at the blood on her neck.
I nodded in agreement because I was also coated in dried blood and sand.
We were all covered in bruises and exhausted.
“Exit for customs into the beast realm.” The train came to a halt, and the doors opened.
A big silver machine with two men standing next to it greeted us. They wore black outfits and gestured us forward with bored expressions.
Apparently, they were used to haggard passengers coming off the train.
From the knives and guns hanging around their waists, they were some type of guards. Their burnt scents identified them as betas.
“State your species and your abilities, then walk through the detector,” one guard said as the other positioned us so we stood in a straight line.
Aran went first. “Fae, no elemental ability.”
The machine beeped green and printed out a small card.
“Entrance granted. Enjoy your stay in the beast realm. Keep this card on you at all times for identification.”
Then he motioned for Lucinda to step forward.
Lucinda said, “Shifter. I’m only sixteen, so my ability is unknown.”
The guard nodded, but his hand lingered on her palm as he gave her the card, and I didn’t like the way he glared at her.
Behind me, Cobra hissed with annoyance. I wasn’t the only one who noticed the guards’ attention.
Then Xerxes went.
When he stated that he was an omega, both guards nodded at him in recognition. “Xerxes, welcome back. The realm missed you.”
Xerxes’s face was a stony mask that gave nothing away, but his shoulders were tense.
Ascher went next, with no fuss.
Jax refused to walk through by himself and demanded he stay with his sisters. The guards gulped at his glare and looked away from his sisters.
His warning was clear.
Next, it was my turn. I said, “Alpha, tiger,” and tried to act natural, like I didn’t secretly have a terrifying blood power.
The guards raised their eyebrows, and one of them muttered, “What are the odds?”
Still, I made it through with no issues.
I relaxed beside Lucinda and put my arm around her. We had spent so long apart that the thought of being separated again was terrifying.
Finally, Cobra sauntered forward through the machine. “Alpha, snake.”
Immediately, the machine beeped red, and a siren wailed loudly.
Everyone jumped at the unexpected noise.
The guards instantly went unnaturally still, and they stared at Cobra with a terrifying intensity.
Jax, Ascher, and I stepped forward to help him.
One guard reached for his gun.
The other grabbed his sword. “How old are you? How many forms do you have?”
Cobra shrugged. “About a hundred years old. One form.”
Both guards paled and stepped away from him. “Prove it.”
Cobra rolled his eyes and muttered expletives under his breath.
Abruptly, all the diamonds on Cobra’s skin transformed into writhing shadow snakes.
Both guards fell to their knees.
They bowed their foreheads to the ground.
Xerxes swore, “Shit, he said the queen let him go when she found out he didn’t have a second form. I should have realized.”
I whipped my head back and forth between the pale omega and the guards who were still prostrate in front of Cobra.
After a long, awkward moment, the guards straightened. “Do you know who you are?”
“What?” Cobra looked at them in confusion.
The guard stuttered, “This is Serpentes City. The Mafia rules. Our leader, the Don, is a snake shifter.”
Cobra stared at them, unimpressed. “So?”
“His son was kidnapped a hundred years ago by the skin traders. He is the only alpha lineage to have one form.”
Everyone gaped at Cobra.
“You are the Don’s lost son, the heir to Serpentes City.”
