2. Addison

Chapter two

Addison

I t felt like I'd only closed my eyes for a second when some god-awful noise echoed through the room. I groaned as Cain shifted underneath me, pulling the offending cell phone out of his pocket.

"What?" he snapped into the phone, and I bit his shoulder to show my displeasure as my eyes blinked open. The sun was in full force, light streaming through all the windows in the studio. Well then, I guess I'd been asleep for a little longer than a few seconds .

"Who the fuck is calling you? You have no friends," Wyatt grumbled, pulling his hood down to cover his face, and rolling over onto his back.

"Shut up, it's the furniture guys," Cain replied, and I sighed and rolled off of him, rubbing my hand over my face.

I left Cain to organize the drop-off and went upstairs to check on the other guys. Austin would stay in his room while the movers brought things inside, and we'd set up his furniture ourselves. When I peeked in on him, all I could see was a pile of blankets surrounded by heaters and the odd flash of a scaly body. He'd been much more withdrawn recently. His skin was now mottled with green-blue scales where he scratched through his skin during my… absence. Every time I looked at his torn-up body, I couldn't help but feel guilty. He had been hurting so badly while I'd been gone. I slipped back out and shut the door, making sure not to disturb him.

I woke up Piper and got him off the kitchen floor. He seemed very confused about where we were, and I reminded him that we had moved. I stroked his cheek until his eyes cleared up, and he smiled wanly. Piper's face still had a gaunt, pinched look, having yet to recover from everything that had happened. He gave me a gentle kiss and wandered off, and I just hoped he wasn't planning on heading outside. All I needed was him getting lost on our first day here.

The door opened, and I heard Cain speaking with someone, likely the delivery guys from the furniture company. I headed upstairs and got a blanket, settling myself in a spot where I could watch Austin's door. I felt grimy. My long black hair was up in a messy bun, desperate for a wash. The leggings I'd worn for the car ride had a hole in the knee that I picked at idly while I watched the movers bring their first load of furniture past. They leered at me as they huffed and puffed, carrying boxes and mattresses up the two flights of stairs.

Wyatt got us coffees from a nearby coffee shop, making the day a tad more bearable. He sat with me for a few minutes, stroking the back of my neck as I rested my head on his shoulder. Wyatt still had a haunted look on his face, the dark circles under his eyes like bruises against his pale skin. Healing me had taken its toll on him, and he refused to talk about what had happened when he'd absorbed all of that pain and fear into himself. I missed his smile. It was a rare occurrence now. Cain shouted for him and he reluctantly stood up, kissing the top of my head before disappearing back down the stairs.

Sipping my red-eye coffee, I smiled thinly as one of the large, burly men strode past, having just deposited my new Alaskan King bed in the master bedroom. It was enormous and all thanks to me teasing Cain that I'd need a big enough bed to fit all five of us. According to him, this was the biggest mattress on the market, and it barely fit through the doorway.

"You really need that big of a bed?" the mover commented, and I raised my eyebrows at him as I lifted my cup to my lips.

"I have a lot of pillows," I replied blandly, staring back at him. He blinked in confusion before scoffing and shaking his head, trudging back down the stairs. Once they were finished with the boxes in the master bedroom, Cain headed inside and shut the door behind him, leaving Wyatt to supervise downstairs. I heard the violent slamming noises and muffled curses and decided to stay out of whatever war he'd decided to wage on the furniture in there. When the movers were finished upstairs, I finally drifted into Piper's new room and started unboxing the new dresser and the bedframe we'd ordered for him, leaving the door open in case any of the movers decided to wander back upstairs.

I stripped off my hoodie, sweating already as I struggled to assemble the furniture using the dinky little Allen Wrench they provided. Now I understood why Cain was cursing so much. By the time I was finished building the main body of the dresser, I was muttering profanities under my breath. At least the drawers were smaller. Once it was finished, I took a break from building and started taking Piper's meager collection of clothes out of the boxes and got them settled inside their new home. I set his odd assortment of keepsakes on top of the dresser. I was sure he'd rearrange them later more to his liking. Folding up the now empty boxes, I turned to the bed frame reluctantly.

Look, I was a strong, independent woman. I was fully comfortable admitting that I wanted a nap, and I didn't want to build a fucking bed frame with an Allen Wrench. Movement by my feet startled me, and I looked down to see a little red-bellied snake begin to wind her way up my leg. I knew this one. Austin called her Little Red. She was usually wrapped around his wrist like a bracelet. I held out my hand and let her twist herself around my hand, coiling and hissing. "Are you a slithery text-message?" I murmured, smiling. Austin still preferred to send one of his friends to get me.

I abandoned my construction and headed back toward Austin's room, slipping inside with my tag-along wrapped around my wrist. The entire room was more alive than it had been earlier, and I stepped inside nervously, overwhelmed by the sheer amount of scales covering the floor. Austin was sitting in the middle of the room on one of his blankets, his blond hair messed up from sleep.

"You called?" I asked, smiling as I held up Little Red. He grinned at me, beckoning me forward. I was a spider kinda gal, and I could admit without shame that wading into a pile of somewhat venomous snakes made me a little more than nervous. Barely lifting my feet off the floor, I shuffled toward him, trying to avoid stepping on anyone's tail. As soon as I was within striking range, Austin snagged my snake-less wrist. I tumbled to the floor, caught in his wiry arms, and he lowered me down on the blanket, hovering over me.

"Are you nervous?" he asked, cocking his head to the side. A rattlesnake passed by my ear, the telltale sound sending a shiver down my spine.

"I can't talk to them like you can," I teased, and he smiled, flashing his fang-like canines.

"They would never hurt you. You're my mate," he murmured, nuzzling his nose into the hollow of my throat. His hands slid underneath my thin tank top, kneading my breasts through my bra. The word mate made my cheeks burn. He'd used the word before, and it rang differently from plain old girlfriend, that's for sure.

"Austin, the movers are still here," I reminded him gently, shivering as a scaly body brushed against my stomach. I could feel something tickling my ear, and my hair tugged as something else coiled through the mess of a bun on the top of my head. Maybe it was the new environment, but I'd never seen the snakes this… agitated while I was in the room. Austin's teeth grazed my collarbone as he moved between my thighs, oblivious or uncaring of the frantic energy around us.

"The new den smells like strangers," he rasped, tugging down my leggings. "I need it to smell like home." I arched into him as his hand slid between my thighs, two fingers dipping into my already slick entrance. Whimpering, I wrapped my arms around his neck, pleasure building in my stomach as he fucked me with his fingers, hitting the spot that made me see stars.

"Austin…" I moaned, biting my lip to muffle the sounds as I jerked my hips. His fangs sank into my shoulder as I came, the sting barely noticeable compared to the bliss of the orgasm that tore through me. Gasping, I watched as Austin slipped his fingers out and licked them clean, staring at me with a fierce intensity. "Did you… fucking bite me?" I asked, touching my shoulder gingerly. That was a new one.

"You're mine," he murmured, his eyes flashing gold. Leaning down to capture my lips, he kissed me until I was breathless, and I tasted myself on his tongue. When he finally pulled away, he dropped his face back to my shoulder, his tongue brushing against the small punctures in my skin. I felt a little lightheaded as I sat up, tugging my leggings back up my legs as snakes slithered around us, some of them climbing brazenly over my legs. I propped myself up and immediately Austin's twin vipers coiled themselves up my arms, their glistening jet-black scales captivating to watch, but also a little unnerving.

"Alright Mr. Possessive, we should finish building the furniture so we don't have to sleep on the floor again tonight." I smirked at him, and he hopped to his feet, holding out a hand to help me up. The vipers twisted around my neck, coiling together so tightly I worried they'd tie themselves in knots.

I peeked outside, and from the sounds of things the movers were just finishing up downstairs. I could hear Wyatt chatting with them by the door. They wouldn't be able to see up the stairs from there, so I stepped into the hallway and showed Austin where his furniture was set aside, the dresser and the bedframe in boxes just like Piper's. He dragged them back into his room and then helped me get the snakes untangled from around my neck. He claimed they wouldn't bite me, but I wasn't sure if they extended the same courtesy to the other guys.

I found Piper in his room, busying himself with the bed frame I'd abandoned. Leaving him to it, I figured I should probably check on Cain and dig out all the bedsheets so I could start a few loads of laundry. I found him shirtless on the floor, surrounded by disassembled furniture, looking absolutely murderous. A singed set of instructions was lying on the floor near my feet, and I picked it up, looking at him incredulously. "Need help?" I asked.

"I hate this," he snarled, raking his hand through his hair. I laughed and tossed the little paper booklet at him.

"It's easier if you follow the instructions," I told him, earning myself a glare. I stepped over the strewn out pieces of the bed frame and grabbed my box full of linens.

"If it's so easy, why don't you make it?" Cain growled, and apparently my stubbornness overrode my exhaustion. I tossed the sheets at him and stepped over the wreckage.

"Wash, dry, and fold," I smirked at him as he moved out of my way. I waited until he closed the door before groaning and smacking myself in the forehead. Okay, so this would be a lot easier if I was stronger, and if I had proper tools. Oh, and if some buffoon hadn't thrown the pieces all over the goddamn place. I was sweaty and furious an hour later, having managed to get half the damn thing put together. Honestly, did we even need a bed frame? Couldn't we just stick the mattress against one wall and call it a day? It turned out Cain had been hiding a screwdriver, so that made it slightly less excruciating, but I was still very unsure about the sturdiness of this. I went to the bathroom to get some water from the tap, sticking my head under the faucet like a cat because we didn't have any cups unpacked.

It took another hour, but I finished building the damn thing. The caffeine had exited my bloodstream a long time ago, and my muscles shook as I tried to shove the bed frame over against the far wall. There was no way I was going to move the mattress on my own, so I left it leaning against the wall, cleaning up the bits of cardboard and foam still floating around.

We'd left the garbage bags in the kitchen, so I headed down to grab one, and found all four boys clustered around our new kitchen table, a case of beer sitting on top of it, as well as a large pizza box. I dropped the garbage and nearly dove for the pizza, ignoring Cain's smirk. "You'd better put that mattress on that frame," I told him, swallowing my mouthful of pizza.

Wyatt pulled me down onto his lap, cracking open another beer as I devoured my slice. We were all unnaturally quiet, all of us just busy chewing and fighting to keep our eyes open. Cain finished his pizza and he and Austin disappeared upstairs. I listened to the loud thumps coming from the master bedroom and prayed that my shitty construction job wouldn't crumple under the weight of the enormous mattress. It took another two pieces of pizza before I was finally satiated; the food making me even sleepier than I had been earlier. I snuggled in Wyatt's arms, letting my eyes drift shut as he chatted with Piper about the businesses nearby.

I jolted awake in a confused panic, unable to see in the darkness of the room. I felt a hand on my hip radiating heat, which was strangely bare, even though I had been wearing leggings earlier. My skin prickled with anxiety since the last time I'd woken up naked hadn't ended so well. I shifted and found Cain laying behind me, fast asleep. A shape moved in the darkness in front of me, drawing my gaze, and I was able to make out Wyatt's dark mop of hair on the pillow next to me. Sitting up a bit, I could just make out two more shapes further down the bed – Austin and Piper curled up side by side.

Sighing happily, I settled back down on the bed, leaning into Cain's warmth. Already, I could feel the wounds beginning to heal.