S.A. Price Read online

  ~1~

  Entwined by Fate

  S.A.Price

  TEASE PUBLISHING

  www.teasepublishingllc.com

  ~2~

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  A Tease Publishing Book

  Entwined by Fate

  Copyright© 2010 Stella and Audra Price

  ISBN: 978-1-60767-077-3

  Cover Artist: Stella Price

  Interior text design: Stacee Sierra

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

  Tease Publishing LLC

  www.teasepublishingllc.com

  PO BOX 234

  Swansboro, North Carolina 28584-0234

  Tease and the T logo is © Tease Publishing LLC. All rights reserved.

  ~3~

  Without our fantastic support system, this book would have never reached the printed page.

  Forever thanks and eternal love goes to our fantastic friends Tilly Greene, Cat Johnson, Kayleigh Jamison and Cara North for constant encouragement and faith in what we do. Our world would be a lot less bright without you. And to Jennifer Armintrout. Thanks for being you.

  To the Ninja. A surprise and a blessing in the family. Spoiled doesn’t even cover what you are and will be.

  ~4~

  ~5~

  PROLOGUE

  She floated. Well her essence did. This non-corporal thing was getting on her nerves, but until he summoned her to flesh it was the best she was going to get. It had been worse before, being a thought in the mist, a forgotten name among so many still worshipped that were lesser than her. All her names had been forgotten, or purged from the faithful, and she once more was alone but no more remorseful.

  Except one. He had the distinct possibility of being the only one to succeed where others throughout the ages had failed, or maybe her faith was just put into him because he was her only choice. Either way, Cristof Ansley was a fine choice because it was the only choice she had.

  She didn’t expect to find him, dreaming explicit dreams of scales and sex, but she did and she knew she had a possible entrance to the physical world. She had entered his dream, become the fantasy he was having, and tempted him, as she was so good at doing, and Cristof was hooked.

  She often hunted the dream realm, looking for a worthy mortal to bestow her attentions and appetites on, as it was the only place where she could influence mankind. The trick was to find someone to influence and luckily Cristof Ansley dreamed of the kind of things she could provide.

  Power, vitality, immortality, magic and sex were Cristof’s heart’s desire and luckily, she could give him a semblance of each. Not that it would matter, once she was flesh she would be the master, and Cristof her little plaything. For now though, she would play the grateful and ever accommodating goddess, the one that would give him everything he had ever dreamed of, including a hot piece of ass that would be at his beck and call.

  Speaking of which, she felt the pull on her essence and knew he was entering the gloom, the entrance to all dream rooms. She had frequented the gloom before Cristof, peaking through keyholes as it were, looking for her chance to get back to glory, but now, now she only went there when she was summoned by her mortal puppet.

  His need was great, his emotions running high, the energies like a caress across her mind. He was distraught, and angry, and this was something that didn’t bode well for either of them.

  Then the pang hit her. The girl must not have worked out. Perhaps it was for the better, she wasn’t the kind of female she would have had as a vessel anyway. This realization explained his anger, but not the feelings of regret and the overlying canker of being distraught. She willed herself to the gloom to find out just what had Cristof’s boxers in a twist.

  The gloom materialized as a hallway, and she counted down eighteen doors and drifted in front of it, using her will to open it. A sharp wind, like the intake of a vacuum pulled her essence though, and she emerged, whole and perfect, into Cristof’s waking dream.

  This time it was the temple, the one she had shown him in their second liaison among the ether, the last place she had been worshipped, in the guise of Bachue, whom they referred to as the great celestial snake, some four thousand years before. She entered, swathed in very see through material in light green, scales sewn into the fabric, as he liked, and on two legs. It surprised her, as Cristof was

  ~6~

  indeed interested in her lamial appearance, and rarely wished to have her fully human unless he was interested in a good scrumping. Either way, she wanted to know why he was giving off such strong emotions and found him, in the center of the room, the stonewalls around him dark and blackened from the flamed sconces, sitting on a large bed of furs and pillows in the lotus position. He had short black cropped hair here, severe in the back but unruly in the front, a small goatee, and perfect eyebrows any woman in any time would be jealous of. His body was a veritable playground of taught muscle and curves. The naked chest he was presenting to her view marred only by a snake tattoo, stylized and black, wrapping around his right nipple. She always wondered if he looked as such in the physical world, or if this was just his preferred self image. If that was the case, well she would enjoy this yummy man here while she could, he was exactly the sort of man she always had as her head priest, someone dastardly looking and extremely fuckable.

  His head was tilted to the heavens above, and the gloom’s interpretation of a full moon hung just outside his vision from his seat under the great opening to the sky. His expression was at peace, but his mind was turbulent. She rushed over, affecting his normal spot in their dream relationship, and knelt in front of him on an iridescent and scaled pillow.

  “What has you so troubled my great priest?” she asked as he slowly righted his head and looked at her. She averted her eyes quickly, and then looked up at him again, giving him a semblance of respect.

  “She will not be possible.” was all he said. She was right, it was about his chosen for her, about the girl, Anya as he called her, and he was rather put out as it were.

  “No? What happened, my priest?” she asked, trying not to let her rage out. Anya was a willing convert, or so she thought, and she didn’t need to exert any powers to find her. Now, it seemed, something was indeed amiss.

  “You were right. She wasn’t ready to know.” He said and scowled.

  She seethed inwardly. Cristof had had a thing for the young girl, and she guessed he had gone ahead with his plan to take her and force her into changing for him. Things got complicated, and the girl was probably dead.

  “So my vessel is dead?” She asked quietly, masking the anger at having to wait longer for another, and having to take an active role in everything.

  “She is, though she took a bit of me with her.” He motioned to the now blossoming read stain on his upper thigh.

  “Very well. I supposed we will have to start from scratch if either of us is to get what we wish for.

  And do not worry about that, when I am with you, and alive, it shall all go away. Think of it as penance, and incentive.”

  “What is your council?”

  “I suggest using those brutes you have on your payroll, So that you don’t take a chance anymore, and do not bring that male perfection you call your own to harm again. I shall call out to the Never, and give you the names and locations of the sisters of the Bassilica, the women that can channel me, and whom I can use as a vessel. Ophidians are rare, and
it is a shame that Anya is not among them anymore, but I have faith in you, my priest, my love, and I don’t think you will fail either of us again.”

  She crawled closer and bowed to him, and her tongue licked the red stain on his light pants while her hands went to the material and rent it, exposing his wound. However ethereal on this plane, she exposed the gash to her waiting mouth. She licked and sucked, and he moaned as if she was paying such careful attention to another part of his anatomy. Minutes later, her essence filled with the taste of his blood and longing for her, and she moved away. The wound was now a pinkish scar that he would have when he woke from his medative trance.

  “I thank you, my perfection, for healing me.”

  “It isn’t much but I can’t have you wounded. I shall pay more care to it once I am flesh, along with other parts of you that I have longed to touch and see in the true moonlight.”

  He smirked at her, the arrogance she did indeed enjoy from him pushing through his regret and then pulled her into his lap, where she went gladly. She wrapped herself around him as she settled in

  ~7~

  the safety of the space between his legs. “She wasn’t right for us, my priest, but there are others, beautiful and sexy others that we both will be satisfied with.”

  “So a new plan then?”

  “Yes, I think… the girl was good but there are better, more powerful Ophidians out there. I shall guide you to them, and all you need to do is get them to change, once they do they are prime real estate for my essence, and our children…” she kissed him, a fleeting feeling in this realm, as were they all, but it was the best she was going to get while she was stuck here. She felt him go harder at her core and wiggled a bit, rewarded by a gasp from him.

  She reached out, through the realms, extending her influence onto the world he lived in through the contact with his astral body, and sifted, looking for the young, sexy, and most importantly, alone members of the race that could bring her back to glory. Flames came out of the darkness, indicating a slew of women she could have her choice of. They were all Ophidian, but not all of them were strong enough for her, of course strength was a subjective thing and they would have to prove who was the best suited for their needs.

  “Umm, start around the place in your desert with all the lights, there are many there, names, I will give you names and places they will be, I want them to enjoy their time with you, my priest, but not too much. Have your boys gain their trust, fuck them, look for signs, eyes changing, a possible liking to biting during sex, heightened hearing, speed, a wonderful flexibility… They will all help us weed out the best. I only want the best my priest. When we find them, then you can play with them…

  but only after we weed them out. No touching. Until then, you shall have me, here on this plane any time you wish… Like now…” she kissed him again, and he moaned his agreement, his cock jumping slightly between them in accordance.

  “So have you decided on a name? What is it I shall call you when you’re flesh?” he murmured into her neck as his hands roamed her astral body.

  She gasped and purred, feeling little jolts, ghosts of what he would really feel like because the sensations to one such as she were partially denied her, another maddening consequence of being truly intangible in her normality.

  Yes she had chosen a name, one she was called long, long ago, and one that was her companion through the first eon of her life. “Yes, My perfect priest, call me Delphyne, the name has power as you do now, my emissary. Now, what shall we do with the rest of your time with me?” she asked and nibbled his neck behind his ear. “Something in mind my priest?”

  “Indeed, I have need of you…”

  She gave a secret smirk and succumbed to his attentions, knowing full well soon he would have more then just a need of her. Every time they were together he would become more addicted to her essence, ensuring her return to where he could indulge her fully. Even in the state she was forced into without her legions of followers, a shadow of her former self, she still had the power to ensorcel, and she was going to use it, damn it. This time, with such a high priest as this, she had every possibility of making it to the prize that lay on the other side of the veil. Flesh was everything.

  ~8~

  ONE

  Merrick sat back in his soft leather chair and tried to let Aiden’s words filter through his brain.

  “She’s gone, they all are. Karen, Sophia, Janice, Mary, Nita, Jess, Claire,” Merrick suppressed a groan as he listed five other names, all girls he was close to, had helped through their changes, helped survive. “And now Evelyn. Mer she’s nowhere.”

  He’d helped them all survive for nothing, all his hard work and they were doomed. Without the younger generations of his race they were all going to die no matter what kind of snakes they shifted into; they were all going to be extinct. “Carmen, she wasn’t on your list, did you find her?” He asked gravely fearing the answer. The spunky, light-fingered little girl had been like a daughter to him for almost a year. With the loss of so many pressing down on them he couldn’t afford to have her name added to the fray.

  “I found her,” Aiden smiled, his relieved face mirroring Merrick’s. “Apparently she’s in New York with the nest there. She got married, to Reece Evans, here in Vegas I’m told… and I believe they just had twins.”

  “Little Reece?” He smirked knowing full well what type of untamable man Reece claimed to be and just how quickly his little viper would have whipped him into shape. “Guess the kid grew up then.”

  “That kid’s older than me Mer. It isn’t just you that’s getting older.” Aiden shrugged nonchalantly stepping towards the huge window his eyes searching the grounds outside. “At least it’s working out for some.”

  “Just not enough.” Merrick sighed letting the seriousness of their situation sink back in.

  Snake shifters were the rarest of all the shifting races. The cats thrived in the jungles and Asia, where as the wolves rampaged through Europe. The snakes, however, were dying. All of their ground had long since been reclaimed by humans. Humans who, by nature, feared them and hunted them. It was easy for a cat or a wolf to leap away or attack to defend themselves, but most snakes were defenseless.

  Those of their kind who’d carried the venom to defend themselves, like Carmen, were rare indeed and were feared by both sides of the coin. Now there was a new threat, something real stealing the females of his race, the unprotected ones. Most Ophidians, or weresnakes, lived in nests, their form of a pack or pride, and the nests were almost always run by the women. The women made the decisions in their society, the women passed on the bloodline. It was almost unheard of for a male to father an Ophidian child on his own with a human.

  “Call everyone home, everyone that you can.” He opened his eyes, taking a deep breath before saying his next words. “We have to call a meeting, everyone must know.” He marveled at just how odd the words sounded. Meetings just weren’t called. The nest leaders didn’t just convene to discuss things. Most of the nests were at war over stupid, insignificant territory disputes.

  Aiden sputtered. “You’re kidding. We can’t call a meeting, Mer, we aren’t even a nest… not a proper one.”

  ~9~

  It was true that the Vegas nest wasn’t a completely above board, sanctioned entity. Merrick had started it on his travels saving and picking up strays here and there. He gave them a home, and a relatively safe place to change and hunt. Staying wasn’t compulsory though and that’s why they had lost so many. His people had freedom to move wherever they wished. The official nests would call them all rogues. As nests go, they probably had the most members and most of them owed their life to Merrick. Even Aiden. Merrick had rescued him and his sister Kira from a circus several years ago; they’d been his first and most loyal members.

  “I’ve thought of that. We’ll declare ourselves. Most of them know we’ve started something in Vegas anyway.” He hoped they did anyway. He had let word leak out about their dealings in town, but nothi
ng solid. It was all speculation, but it had kept them safe so far.

  “They won’t give us territory, especially not here. It’s prime land and it belongs to the King snakes…” He paused looking him over, “Plus Mer, you’re hardly the matriarch type.”

  “I’ve thought of that as well. We don’t have to use me at the start. A woman claiming land would be seen as acceptable. We’ll use Kira as a front, she’s tough enough… with a little refining it will work.”

  His friend let out a strangled moan somewhere between a yelp of surprise and groan of defeat.

  He’d been expecting this. “My sister can hardly…”

  “Do you doubt me?” Merrick asked making his tone sharp. The other nests had cause to doubt him and his actions but if his own people doubted that he could lead them then it was already over.

  For a moment he thought Aiden was going to argue but he shook his head. “No sir, I’m just worried about Kira, Mer. Your making her call a meeting and declare land… it’s a bit much for her.

  Can’t you use…”

  “Use who? They’re all gone…” Mer cut him off using simple facts. “Out of a possible fifty-three we have twenty-two that we can contact. They’re all gone, every one of them and I want to know where the hell they are. Think about it, if we’re losing people the other nests are bound to be too. We have to deal with this threat at all costs and if that means that your sister has to hold it together for five or so days then so be it. I’d love to use someone else, but there just isn’t anyone left that I trust.”

  Aiden swallowed hard. “It’s gonna be a long con Mer. My sister ain’t the best puppet around but if anyone can pull it off, its you.”

  “Thanks for your vote of confidence. Now call the damn meeting.”

  Merrick turned his back to Aiden hoping to God that the boy didn’t pick up on the fine tremble that had started to run through his body. The truth was Merrick was scared. Something or someone was taking his people and he couldn’t do a damn thing about it, not the way things were. They were all disjointed, no communication. He had the fleeting thought that they wouldn’t be in this predicament if they all just kept in touch. Things were about to get dangerous and not just from the unknown side of things. His presence was going to be a surprise to most of the nest leaders as the majority of them thought he was dead. A rumor he’d always done his best to cultivate. John Merrick wasn’t a name that most snake nests thought upon lightly and now here he was trying to solve a mystery and claim his own land. Even if it was through poor Kira. The shit was about to well and truly hit the fan, the trick now was to spread as much of it about as he could while hopefully, finding his missing girls and with any luck they’d even be alive. He smirked shaking his head, never let it be said that he didn’t have high expectations.