Selected (Mythical Alliance: Phoenix Team #1)

by Claire Luana

cleavage. Too obvious maybe. But was there such a thing as too obvious with guys like this?

Hmm

“Buy me a drink?” I smiled widely at him. He blinked twice as he took me in but only recoiled slightly. I had to give it to him. Most people stuttered or downright stared when they caught sight of my green slitted pupils and curved fangs. I supposed a man who worked security for MASC, the Mythical Alliance of Supernatural Creatures, the UN division governing all things supe, would have gotten used to a strange face every now and then.

Oo

Many mythical creatures—supes, as they’re called these days—share kinship or at least a passing resemblance with animals. Nagas are snake supes. In ancient times, they were thought to be gods, and that suited them just fine. Nagas are capable of shifting between the form of a human and the form of a huge snake—or somewhere in the middle—human torso, snake lower half. Full-bloods have incredible power—they’re strong, fast and agile. All their senses are heightened, and they have an extra one too: nagas can use their infrared glands to sense the heat of a nearby body one hundred yards away. Then there’s the poisonous venom, and the fact that nagas can swallow someone whole. Though it isn’t a particularly pleasant experience, from what I’ve heard. You’re bloated as hell for days afterwards. As a half-blood, I can’t do most of that cool shit.

Bah ... oh well that indigestion sounds like hell.

She let out a long breath through her button nose, flaring her nostrils. “I said I wouldn’t get you the report because I thought poring over it endlessly wouldn’t help you. But maybe I was wrong. You clearly aren’t letting it go. Maybe you need to see it. For closure.”

No shit sherlock.

Interspecies relationships weren’t forbidden under the terms of the International Treaty on the Recognition and Protection of Supernatural Creatures (or just the Treaty, as we all called it), but they were frowned upon for all number of reasons. Religious intolerance, xenophobia… practicality. The human body wasn’t designed to bear a naga child. As my parents well found out. Auntie said it was a miracle I’d survived. Mom wasn’t so lucky.

oh not good

MASC had conducted a full investigation. They hadn’t uncovered any unusual activity, any sign of explosives or tampering. The building had been bombed in a terrorist attack the year prior and had become structurally unsound. Just an unfortunate accident. Wrong place, wrong time. Bullshit. I shoved the papers back in the envelope, drumming my fingers on the subway pole. They must have missed something. There must be something on the scene, something that no one found. I was pondering the Turkish visa requirements when I remembered my promise to Kiki. After you read this, if there’s nothing to find there, you let it go…

Yeah I was wondering if obsessive girl here remembered that part. Oo

I was halfway through calling my ride when a text popped up. I read it before I could help it. It was from a contact labeled as “K.” Vizol didn’t want her involved. The breath whooshed from my lungs. What the hell was this?

Ok -- she's obsessive -- but that does seem suspicious. Then again -- 'she' may not be 'her' -- no names in that text.

The text chain appeared on the screen. It was only four texts, all from the last few hours. Kiki: I gave it to her. K: Good. Kiki: I feel bad. Doesn’t she deserve the truth? K: Vizol didn’t want her involved.

Oops -- not a super spy telepath apparently -- hope she covers her tracks hacking better than this.

I could just make out the statue in the center of the courtyard from here. It depicted the moment that everything had changed. The Lupine Offensive. When a pack of French wolf shifters had saved an Allied battalion pinned down by enemy fire. The day the world had learned that supernatural creatures existed. After World War Two, in those brief shining months when the world had resolved to find a better way and had still been naive to all the conflicts to come, the United Nations Charter had been signed, together with the Treaty, officially recognizing supes.

Hmm

Konstantin headed down the hallway towards the Director’s office. He passed a set of wide windows that looked into the gym and sparring room. The valkyrie Alviya was sparring with Strongroot, a sequoia dryad and her team leader. He towered over her, but she was fiercely maneuverable and darted around him like a hornet. Konstantin frowned. He knew Alviya lived with Kiki and Zariya—marking yet another person in Zariya’s life who was lying to her. He wasn’t so sure that Kiki was right. Instead of giving the woman something to live for, revealing the truth of their operation to her might just be the thing that would break her.

Hmmm ... either way she's obsessive & heading for a fall either way.

She was going to use it on me first! Still, I prayed there weren’t any negative side effects.

Well you'd think if it was chemical it'd be weight & species specific ... bad thing to mix. But apparently it's a potion or something ... so more of a heh ... magic bullet.

My naga instincts screamed at me, singing life into my veins and overpowering the paralysis of my human fear. I wouldn’t go down without a fight. I would show this pretender the true might of the serpent.

Hmmm

The dragon hissed at me, and then its eyes went wide. Its head snaked close, examining the burn, sniffing at me with huge nostrils. I knew he was intelligent, that there was a man in there, but still my stomach quaked with fear at his nearness.

Oo

Your dad recruited me after I became your roommate. Kiki too, although she’d already been here a few years when I joined. I met Bas here. Cyriaque and your father started this place. It wasn’t purposeful; it just unfolded like that. You were so busy in med school…” “That what, I wouldn’t notice that everyone in my life was a fucking liar sneaking around behind my back?” I closed my eyes, fighting tears. “Your dad didn’t want you worrying—” “You don’t get to talk about him. None of you do. He should have told me. He robbed me of this whole…piece of himself. And now I feel like maybe I never really knew him at all.” Dad had been my person. And I had been his. Or so I’d thought.

OH the wolf is in for it. And her Dad if ghosts are a thing ... Yeah she's a piece of your dead wife -- but seriously? Recruiting her freaking roommate? Possibly BOTH roommates? You didn't see a problem with that?

“Your father and I started Veil Force. He was a team leader, and then Director for the last decade. When we served in the Marines, we realized that human military and counter-intelligence groups weren’t equipped to handle many magical and supernatural threats. And, unfortunately, due to prejudices, ensuring supe safety and rights around the world was not a top priority. We pitched Veil Force to the Security Council, and they went for it. Our group is classified, as we’ve found much of our work is more easily done in the shadows. Not to mention humans still get nervous knowing that teams of powerful supes are running around beneath their noses. But our existence is known to a select few—we do collaborate with various UN and foreign government agencies on some missions.” That was all well and good. This place couldn’t have been more like Dad if his picture had been on the damn brochure.

Oo

I ran a thumb over the burn on my palm. It throbbed, hot and angry. “I’ll be here.” “I thought you’d say that.” “I want the real report.” “When you pass the test—” “No, Cyriaque. Now. I deserve the truth, no matter whether I’m fit to join your little club or not.”

Definite point.

I crumpled to my knees, the folder pressed to my chest, one hand clapped over my mouth. What your father built here…we’re a family. The truth of it hit me like a semi-truck. It had always been Dad, Auntie, and me—they’d been the only family I’d had. But Dad had built a whole other family in secret, behind my back. Without me. All his business trips and travel took on new form in my memories. Dad hadn’t been committed to his job; he’d been committed to his other life. The family he preferred over me.

What an ass .... not sure if I mean the Vamp or the Dad. She's also overracting a tad -- but yeah -- WtF Dad? I'm still stuck at him taking her roommates & not her too. Yes yes ... dead Mom etc. But still. Asshat.

Auntie turned to me, her arms crossed before her. She didn’t look a day over thirty, her black, curly hair wild around her shoulders. She was beautiful, her naga heritage hidden in her human form. I envied her—that she could pass as human. Whereas I actually was half-human and would always look other.

ouch

I was still angry at her, but I was beginning to see that Dad had made a decision a long time ago that had shaped all of the lives around me. I couldn’t cut out everyone in my life for toeing the line he’d set. Or I’d have no one left.

Also freaking rude -- Bloody Fathers.

For a moment, we sat in silence. “So those guys were telling the truth? This really was the test? The kidnapping? The torture? The highly deadly magical charges?” How could Cyriaque have done this to me? How could Konstantin? How could I trust any of them to be my teammates after they’d lied to me and then put me through hell like this? Was I supposed to want to be part of an organization that treated its own people like this?

Nope. Then again -- it seems only to be HER. Is Wolfy maybe projecting some resentment onto her? Or to just push her out to meet dead daddy's wishes?