Bitten (Book 1 - Book 4)

The impression left by the cave in was only a few feet.

“That was pretty shallow,” Uri said.

“I hope no one was in there,” Natalia said.

There were a few tense moments before Bonnie trotted back over.

"Everyone's accounted for. No one was in the basement,” she said.

"Well, this turned out pretty well,” Uri said, looking pleased.

"Say, what?” Natalia said, looking at him odd.

“We got a free beetle meal and a good bit of tunneling done, although it looks more like a trench. It does allow them faster building of the tunnel structure.”

He walked to the edge, but was looking beyond.

“There's the rest of the dirt they excavated. Around those bushes.”

“We would never have noticed,” Kate said.

Natalia’s phone rang. She recognized Kareen's number.

“Afternoon, Kareen.”

"Hi, Nattie. How are you doing?”

"Well, considering.”

“I don't like that tone in your voice. What happened? I did hear about Uri having to spend the night in the hospital.”

“We had a few thousand beetles dumped into our house last night. Ingus is here now.”

"Oh, dear.”

There was deep concern in her voice.

"We're having a meeting about the issues you're having, and I was wondering if you could attend,” Kareen said.

“Yes, I can. I'm up to it.”

"How is Uri doing?”

"He's recovering.”

“Is he recovered enough for a trip to Hell?”

Natalia paused a moment. Uri was walking along the trench.

“If you were talking about a stroll in the park, I'd say yes. But if we're looking at the possibility of a tussle, then no. He had a really bad concussion.”

“I was afraid of that. We really need a team to go to Hell. It's always best if we can have Uri lead it. All of my best Hell leaders are incapacitated. Sophie just had her baby. Mina is only a few weeks out from hers.”

“Bad timing on our part,” Natalia said, half serious.

“You're telling me.”

Kareen sounded totally serious.

“I'll check with Moralis. Thanks for this update. We're meeting on Tuesday at the usual time if you can make it."

“I'll be there,” Natalia said.

The call ended.

Uri turned and walked back.

“That was a lot of work,” he said. “Someone really doesn't like us.”

"Or Victoria,” Natalia said. “I have a Council meeting to attend this week regarding all of this.”

He nodded.

The children, Grazie, Mag and Zena came out from the other house.

"Whoa," the children said, all running up to take a look.

"Keep back. The edge is pretty soft,” Uri said.

“There's Ingus,” Natalia said.

“We clear of beetles?” Uri said to him.

“We think so, but we lost one of the tayras.”

“Lost?” Natalia said with concern.

“It might have been in the cave-in. We've searched the house. We use special whistles and they usually always respond. But nothing for the last one.”

"We'll keep an eye out,” Uri said.

“They are so creepy,” Tracy said with a shiver.

Grazie flipped a hand to direct all the children toward the patio.

“I'll see you at the meeting on Tuesday, Ingus,” Natalia said.

“Yes, I heard about all your issues.”

He looked down at Victoria.

“She's a beautiful little girl.”

"Yes, you can touch her. Everyone wants to,” she said.

He chuckled and reached out.

Victoria wrinkled her nose.

“I didn’t know you could make something that nice, Uri,” he said with a laugh.

“Even out of evil can come goodness,” Uri said with a smile.

Ingus laughed.

“Take care. Let me know if you need us back.”

Ingus spun to turn, but only took a couple of steps before spinning back.

"Oh. We found this. In the nursery.”

He handed something to Uri before again spinning on his heels and leaving.

Uri stared at what Ingus handed him.

“What is it?" Natalia said.

“Scent marker,” Uri said in a hoarse voice.

"A what?”

"Oh, my word,” Kate said, putting her hands to her head in obvious distress.

Bonnie shook her head. Mag and Zena looked sick.

"Scent marker,” Mag said. “You put it in a cage to lure the male beetles. It's how we separate excess males from the females.”

Natalia felt light headed.

Uri put his hand on her arm.

"Everything is okay,” he said to her in a soft voice while he leaned in.

He breathed a couple of times into her ear.

“Let's go sit down,” he said, leading her to the patio

Uri sat with her.

Zena brought out tea and cookies for everyone

"We've certainly spoiled their dinner,” Grazie said, gesturing to the children. “I'm sure Tia won't mind."

“You'll have to take off here soon to get home,” Uri said.

“Glad to see you're doing better,” Grazie said to Uri.

"Headache is almost gone.”

As soon as the cookies were gone, Grazie rounded up his group.

“Thanks again,” everyone said.

The house and the patio became quiet after they had left.

“Kareen asked if you were up to going to Hell, but I said no,” she said.

“I'm not ready,” he said. “Because I now have a family, they should be looking at releasing me from any of these types of jobs.”

“They lost most of their team. Sophie, Mina, you, me. Even Moralis now has a family.”

"And Victoria is too young.”

Natalia hit him on his arm causing him to laugh.

“Don't they dare even think about it,” she said.

“That won't be your decision. That will be her decision when she’s an adult. And if she has my knifing skill and your beauty, she'll be very popular.”

“In a very deadly sort of way,” she said.

“Yep.”

She thought he seemed a little proud about that.

Zena stepped out.

“Dr. Spire is here to check on Uri."

“Send him out.”

“Afternoon, Uri,” Dr. Spire said.

“Afternoon.”

“You're looking a hell of a lot better.”

Dr. Spire sat across from him. All he seemed to be doing was looking at Uri's eyes.

“Follow my finger,” Dr. Spire said.

He moved it back and forth, then up and down.

Uri seemed to track the finger just fine.

“Two more days of low activity,” Dr. Spire said.

“I'm feeling better,” Uri said.

“Your eyes are still a little cloudy and your head movement is off.”

Natalia looked, but could see nothing in Uri's eyes. She thought he moved his head just fine. “Two more solid days of lounging on this patio.” Dr. Spire moved his eyes to her. “Low activity.” He sounded very serious.

She nodded.

“I'll be back in two days to check on you.”

Dr. Spire rose and Mag led him out.

Uri was staring at the table.

"You okay?” she said.

"Just being reminding that this was a serious blow,” he said. “No doctor tells a Viperian to do nothing for this long. I was hit on the head on Saturday, and it's now Monday. That's a long time to heal. Add two more days... Whew.”

"We need to back off anyway,” she said.

"Yeah."

Zena stepped out again.

“Do you even want any dinner?”

Natalia shook her head.

“No. Maybe more cookies and tea later,” Uri said.

“That's what we thought.”

Natalia and Uri sat until it was almost dark.

“Let's go in. Victoria needs a change anyway.”

"Okay," he said.

Mag locked everything up behind them.

Natalia noted all the windows were closed.

"Supposed to cool down?” she said to Mag.

“No, just precautions. Are you keeping Victoria in with you?”

“Yes, until we're absolutely positive there are no more beetles. I can handle the diaper changing.” Natalia trotted upstairs to change Victoria. Afterward, she found Uri in the living room. There was a tray of cookies and their usual glass of sanguine tea. She also noted that the wastebasket traps were still out.

“You never finished that last sip of tea,” Uri said in a quiet voice.

“Moralis gave me a flask. I have a sip of that every morning.”

“I'll finish the other one then. Might help me recover faster.”

“I think you're doing pretty good for being almost dead,” she said.

She was trying to be funny, but he looked too serious. He rose and went into his office. A few minutes later he returned. She could smell the tea on his breath.

“So, what's up with a trip to Hell?” he said.

"Kareen didn't say and I didn't ask.”

She shifted her eyes.

“Damn. I'm going to be crawly all night. Mag?”

Mag was out in a flash, and she was armed with tongs.

“Beetle,” Natalia said, pointing.

“Not the first one we found tonight,” she said, plucking up the beetle.

“Tayras didn't do so well,” Uri said. “Maybe the mass quantity of them created too much scent for them to track “'em.”

“They needed to be a little hungrier,” Mag said, leaving with the beetle.

Its claws were flailing.

Natalia shivered.

“We'll sanitize and unscent the nursery,” he said.

“It might be a while before I can leave her in there alone.”

“Yeah,” he said. “She can stay in our room.”

“You look tired. Let's get you to bed,” she said rising.

“Me or Victoria,” he said, following.

“She's already sleeping. She was awake during most of beetle shelling.”

Neither one of them stated out loud that they hoped for a quiet night. She was sure he was hoping for one as much as she was.

Natalia bolted upright.

It was three am.

Victoria was quiet.

Uri was asleep.

There was a crunching noise outside their door.

“Uri?”

He didn’t move.

She slid out of bed.

The noise sounded like someone was crunching very crisp chips. The noise stopped. Something plopped onto the floor.

Natalia strained to hear.

Crunch.

The sound started again.

With care, she removed the towels she had put under the door. The noise didn't stop. She slowly opened the door and peeked out.

Sitting on the railing was a...

“Uri,” she said louder.

Tiny beady eyes watched her.

"What?" he said, coming from behind and opening the door wider.

“What is that?”

“Tayra,” he said.

"What's it doing?”

“It's eating a beetle.”

"Are they dangerous?”

"Only to beetles.”

The tayra finished its beetle and dropped the remains; the plop she had heard. It was solid black with a long body and a tail that was just as long as the body. It was twice the size of a squirrel. The eyes dipped away from her, and then it was gone.

“Uri,” she said, getting behind him.

“It's just hunting,” he said. “Nothing to worry about.”

He picked up the remains of the beetles and trotted downstairs.

"Where are you going?”

“Putting these into one of the traps. It'll lure more out.”

He was only gone a moment before coming back up.

“We can go back to bed,” he said. “I'll text Mag that the lost tayra has been found and is doing its job.”

"How am I going to sleep with crunching noises?”

“Because it's a sign that the beetles are being found,” he said, taking her hand and hauling her to bed.

He cuddled up to her, but he didn’t remain still. His hands were sliding along her body.

“Don’t get any ideas,” she said.

“I already have.”

He breathed deep into her hair.

“We're not making another baby so soon.”

“You're not ovulating,” he said.

“I think you're totally healed.”

She felt him smile.

“Why are you wearing this nightgown?” he said.

"Because we keep having to run out of this bedroom to who knows what or deal with Mag tending to Victoria."

“No one is coming in here tonight. I think we're done with running around.”

“I think...”

He kissed her, working the nightgown up.

"What are you doing?”

Before she could finish her sentence, he slipped off the pajamas he was wearing. He sat up, pulling her up and her nightgown off.

“I just had a baby.”

“I got knocked on the head,” he said, kissing down her back.

She felt the lick and the bite. Heat flowed through her.

“It's been a long time since you bit me.”

“U huh,” he said. “Overdue.”

He pushed her down, but he stayed beside her.

“Move your leg over me,” he said.

She was still on her back. He positioned himself sideways, between her legs.

“A little tighter this way,” he said. “This is why the Church didn’t want women who had children.” “What?”

“You're not as tight down there.”

He slid into her.

“I just had a baby.”

"And I'm as horny as if you bit me,” he said.

He moved his hand to touch her clitoris.

Natalia was no longer tracking what he was talking about. She loved the feel of him from both his penis inside her and his hand outside. It was his hand caressing her that brought her to an orgasm. As she tightened around him, he banged into her hard until he came.

“Shit,” he said, panting.

“What?”

“That gave me a whopper of a headache.”

“Low activity doesn't include sex I see,” she said.

"Damn."

"Are you going to be okay?”

“Give me a moment.”

He panted, spent beside her.

“I'm going to wipe myself while you recover,” she said, rising.

She decided to step into the shower for a quick rinse.

Uri was in the same position when she returned. His breathing was slower.

“Ouch,” he said.

“You want a cool rag on your forehead?”

“No. I'll be fine.”

She slid into bed beside him. He cuddled up to her.

“You're all I need,” he said.

Natalia monitored his breathing. She thought he was asleep.

“I'm better now,” he said. “Headache is easing. Needed that sex.”

“If we were a typical Viperian couple, would you be having sex with other women while your wife was pregnant?”

"Some do. Some don't. Depends on needs.”

She was quiet for a long time, thinking about the differences of the two cultures. Within the Viperian community, sex was acceptable between multiple partners. She was rather impressed with how loyal Uri was being to her. The last woman he had had other than her was Mina. He didn’t want to, but Mina had found the right set of venom in her bites to make him do a breeding. Now, Mina was one of her good friends.

Uri's breathing changed and she knew he had fallen asleep. It took her a long time to fall asleep. Natalia woke to screaming. Both she and Uri bolted upright and sprang out of bed. The sun was just coming up.

Uri threw on a robe and ran out. Natalia found and slipped on her nightgown before running out. “I hate those things. I hate them.”

Mag was dancing around at the bottom of the stairs. The living room floor was littered with beetle carcasses. The tayra was dashing in a frenzied manner around the room.

“Get that thing out of here,” Mag said.

The tayra flashed past her causing her to jump and bang against the wall. It jumped onto the railing and was up on the second floor in a flash.

“Sorry,” Uri said. “I was going to send out a text that the lost tayra had shown up. Got distracted. Forgot.”

The tayra sat on the top of the railing, staring at them.

Mag bolted, heading to the kitchen. The kitchen door slammed shut.

"Good morning, sweetheart. How's your head?” Natalia said, watching the tayra pull apart the beetle it was carrying.

Uri smiled.

"Pounding a little for some reason.”

Victoria fussed in the background.

"Breakfast, little girl?”

By the time they showered and dressed, Bonnie was downstairs picking up beetle carcasses. "Did you figure out where it was hiding?” Uri said, indicating the tayra.

“It was trapped in the cave-in, but it's a burrower. It dug itself out and went to work,” Bonnie said. "How did it get out of the basement?” Natalia said.

The tayra dashed by, grabbing a beetle out from under a piece of furniture.

“They're pretty smart. They can open closed doors as long as the door isn't locked.”

"You don’t seem to mind the tayra. Tracy and Mag don't like them,” Natalia said.

Bonnie shrugged.

"Viperians like Viperians, not small furry animals,” Uri said. “I take it breakfast is out on the patio where Mag is hiding?”

Bonnie smiled and nodded.

Despite it was early, the temperature was still comfortable outside. There were clouds overhead. "We are going to lose our days of sunshine.” Natalia said. “We had so much rain last year, but this year, we've had so much sun.”

"All evens out,” he said.

Mag served them juice and tea.

“Is it gone yet?” Mag said, referring to the tayra.

“No, Mag. It has some work to do,” he said.

She frowned.

Bonnie stepped out a few moments later.

“Nattie? Do you have a moment?”

She rose and followed Bonnie into the house. Bonnie led her to the front door and out. “Morning, Nattie. Sorry to bother you,” Moralis said.

He was dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, looking rather casual. A woman standing next to him, however, was stylishly dressed all the way down to her high heels. She looked like the typical Viperian woman with the black hair and green eyes. Her hair, however, was cut short and spiked with green fluorescent gel.

“Morning, Moralis. What's up?”

Bonnie left, shutting the front door.

“This is Char.”

Char nodded her greeting.

“Think of her as another Mina.”

"A little better,” Char said.

Natalia smiled and nodded, noting the rivalry.

“The Council has asked me to head a run into Hell.”

"What's going on?” she said.

“The Council is suspecting a gang is gaining strength and using Hell as their headquarters. Considering no one of authority goes into Hell, they're pretty protected there.”

“Probably right,” she said.

“They want me to get a team together to go there and scope out what's happening and see what buildings they're using. Eventually, we'll probably have to knock them down a few notches.”

“Uri is out of commission,” she said.

“How about you?”

“I just had a baby.”

“You're not looking bad,” Char said.

“It's just surveillance,” Moralis said.

“You think Uri is going to let me go?”

“No. That's why we're talking to you in private. Besides, we can get more tea,” he said.

“You had to dangle that in front of me. When were you thinking of going?”

"You have a meeting to attend tonight.”

“I see, so we do the run after the meeting.”

Moralis smiled.