Chapter 13
The following months were amazing.
Vorzak’s family welcomed me with open arms.
Even his mother, whom Vorzak had warned was often harsh and cold, had been nothing but kind to me from the moment I arrived.
If I had to guess, I would bet Vorzak had ordered them to accept me, maybe even told them about my parents dying when I was five. If so, their initial kindness was probably given out of compassion, but it didn’t take long for true acceptance to come.
In the end, I fell in love with his entire family.
With his snow beast father, who had a boisterous laugh and an innate kindness that soothed my wounded soul.
With his gorgon mother, who was a predator through and through, and who watched me closely in the beginning, but then expanded her protective nature to shield me as well.
And especially with Yukiko, who had a fierce temper that could call a blizzard in the middle of the hottest days of the year, and who could make my mate laugh with an abandon I’d never seen in him before.
For that alone, I absolutely adored her.
Even if she did have the bad habit of freezing my mate when he made her mad.
“He’s the only one I can safely lose my temper with,” she confided in me, “since he’s a snow beast too and can handle being in a frozen state, even though The Hissies hate it.”
And they really did.
The funniest part, though, was their reaction when Vorzak finally managed to break free of being frozen. Instead of blaming Yukiko, they always whipped around to hiss at Vorzak.
Bad.
Zak.
Make.
Kiko.
Mad.
Of course, Vorzak couldn’t understand them and didn’t appreciate it when I told him what The Hissies were saying.
He’d always yell back at them that it was Yukiko’s fault they’d just been frozen and why didn’t they go torment her for a while.
Instead, as if they wanted to punish Vorzak even more, if Yukiko was still in the room, they would immediately go to her and start petting her.
Zak.
Sorry.
Hissies.
Sorry.
Too.
I didn’t even need to translate on those occasions because it was pretty apparent The Hissies were trying to make amends.
Vorzak would usually yell at them for apologizing, adamantly proclaim they were not sorry, then storm out of the room, dragging The Hissies with him.
That was the worst part of being a gorgon, he’d told me once.
Never having a single moment’s privacy from The Hissies.
“Imagine if you had to listen to them all the time, too,” I’d said and he’d gotten an arrested look on his face, like he’d never considered the potential benefits of not being able to communicate with his snakes.
Toward the end of our summer break, when we were beginning to make plans to return to Blackthorn Academy for our final year, Mikaela and Elliot showed up for a surprise visit.
After leaving Mikaela behind to hang out with Yukiko, Ember and me, Elliot dragged Vorzak off on a camping trip.
“We’ll be back in three days,” Vorzak promised after dragging me into his arms for a heated kiss.
“What are they up to?” I asked Mikaela the minute they were gone.
“I don’t have a single clue. Elliot wouldn’t tell me anything.”
I scowled. “They’re definitely up to something.”
“I could send Ash to follow them,” Ember offered. “She’s an excellent spy.”
Over the past two months, I’d fallen even more in love with Ember’s spirit companion.
Of course, I had to pretend I didn’t even notice her whenever Vorzak and The Hissies were around, for owls were now on the list of animals I wasn’t allowed to play with, along with cats and other snakes.
Actually, now that I thought about it, Vorzak being gone for three days meant that I could cuddle Ash as often as I wanted without worrying about being caught.
I wouldn’t even feel guilty about it!
“That’s okay,” I said to Ember. “I appreciate the offer though. Can I hold Ash?”
Yukiko burst into laughter. “They’re not even two minutes down the road. Maybe you should wait until we’re sure they haven’t forgotten anything.”
“It would serve them right for not giving me any clues about what they’re up to,” I said.
“Agreed,” Mikaela grumbled. “There shouldn’t be any secrets between mates.”
“Even if it’s not their secret to share?” Ember asked.
“Or if it’s a secret because it’s a surprise?” Yukiko asked.
“Even then.” Mikaela scowled.
“Don’t listen to her,” I said. “Surprises are awesome.” I gave Yukiko my most penetrating stare. “Is that what they’re up to? Plotting a surprise?”
“I know nothing,” Yukiko proclaimed.
She continued that stance the entire weekend until Vorzak and Elliot finally returned.
Elliot immediately swept Mikaela into his arms, announced he’d see us all at the docks in two days’ time and swept out again.
Vorzak caught my hand in his and pulled me toward the stairs. “We’ll be down later,” he called to his sister, then we were running up the stairs to our room.
The minute we made it across the threshold, he backed me up against the bedroom door and kissed me voraciously.
A moment later, The Hissies yanked him away from me, then shoved their way between us and immediately started hissing.
Bad.
Jazzy.
Smell.
Like.
Owl.
I bit my lip to keep from laughing. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You played with Ash while we were gone, didn’t you?” Vorzak grinned at me.
“Of course not.” I’d only cuddled her. We didn’t really play.
She wasn’t a cat, after all.
Unfortunately.
I did play with Miki-Leopard though.
I wasn’t going to tell them that, of course.
“I can’t believe you,” Vorzak said. “You couldn’t even restrain yourself for three days.”
“It was a very long three days,” I said. “Maybe you and The Hissies should work on replacing my current scent with your own.”
“Good idea,” Vorzak yanked me into his arms and kissed me.
“Why were you gone so long?” I growled as I struggled to pull off his shirt, an effort made more difficult by The Hissies who were weaving everywhere, wrapping around me and tangling me up as they nipped and rubbed me all over.
Clearly, they were taking their job of replacing Ash’s scent with their own very seriously.
“It wasn’t that long,” he said as our clothes crumbled, yet another outfit of mine sacrificed to The Hissies’ venom.
Vorzak made a grunt of satisfaction as he lifted my legs and hooked them around his hips, plastering us skin-to-skin.
He took two steps forward to shove me up against the door again, then plunged home.
His cock sank deep, the ridges and bumps scraping the walls of my pussy and making me cry out and clutch him closer.
“Vorzak,” I wailed, writhing, as The Hissies wound around us both, melding us together, then struck.
The sharp stings of their bites morphed into pleasure as heat surged through my veins.
Vorzak stumbled with me to the bed, where we fell and rolled across it, The Hissies rolling with us, somehow disentangling themselves at critical moments so they were never crushed, but then reattaching themselves moments later.
The hours passed in a haze of pleasure as the two of us—the seven of us—came together in a storm of passion, then broke apart, only to lunge for each other once more.
“I’ve been thinking of names for the Hissies,” I announced in one of the lulls between passionate bouts.
Vorzak groaned. “The little bastards are going to be impossible to live with if you actually give them names.”
“What do you think of Scooby, Shaggy, Daphne, Velma and Fred?”
Vorzak jerked to a sitting position, all five of his snakes forming a cloud around his head, all six of them staring at me as if they’d never seen me before.
“What?”
“The Scooby-Doo Gang?” Vorzak exclaimed.
“Well, yeah. I think it’s adorable.”
“Daphne and Velma are girls!”
“So? The Hissies can have girl names, can’t they?”
“Of course not!” Vorzak exclaimed, even as The Hissies expressed their displeasure at the idea by hissing at me.
I scowled at them. “How very gender-rigid you lot are. I had no idea.”
Vorzak just growled in response and I burst into laughter.
“Fine, fine. Then how about Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin, and Gandalf?”
He just stared at me. “Which one do you figure will be Pippin? Or Merry for that matter?”
I sighed. “Groucho, Chico, Harpo, Zeppo, and Gummo?”
“You are not naming them after the Marx Brothers.”
“Ugh. Star-Lord, Drax, Groot, Rocket and Gamora?”
“That is a really good movie.”
“I know, right?”
“But Gamora’s a girl.”
“Yes, but she’s green! Like you, like The Hissies!”
“Fine, you should ask which one of them wants to be Gamora.”
Gamora.
Gamora.
Gamora.
Gamora.
Gamora.
“Huh. I think they all want to be Gamora.”
The Hissies started bouncing around his head, weaving and dancing while singing out their new names.
Star-Lord.
Star-Lord.
Star-Lord.
Star-Lord.
Star-Lord.
“Or maybe Star-Lord.”
Drax.
Drax.
Drax.
Drax.
Drax.
I sighed. “Now they’re chanting Drax.”
Vorzak chuckled as The Hissies continued their dancing and chanting.
Groot.
Groot.
Groot.
Groot.
Groot.
“And now Groot. Damnit. I think they like them all.”
Rocket.
Rocket.
Rocket.
Rocket.
Rocket.
“Yeah, they definitely like them all. Maybe they should just continue to be The Hissies.”
Vorzak chuckled. “Good idea.”
Hissies.
Hissies.
Hissies.
Hissies.
Hissies.
“Yes,” I crooned to them as they danced and hovered over my face. I lifted my head off my pillow and started kissing them, one by one. “You are adorable and yes, you are my darling Hissies.”
Hissies.
Love.
Kissy.
Sexy.
Jazzy.
“I know. I love kissing you, too.”
“So,” Vorzak rumbled. “Now that we’ve gotten their names figured out, I brought you a surprise and The Hissies have one for Yukiko, though the jury’s still out on one whether that’s a good thing or not.”
“Really?”
“I only intended to get you a surprise,” Vorzak grumbled. “That’s the problem with walking the Path of Souls. You can ask for whatever you like, but it’s the cry of your soul they’ll actually heed.”
“Hold on. Is that where you and Elliot went? You said camping, not walking the Path of Souls!”