Den of Vipers

by K.A. Knight

He knows what I am—death. Ryder might be the face, Garret might be the enforcer, the muscle, and Kenzo the dealer…but me? I’m the fucking Grim Reaper.

“Alright, alright, I get it. You’re the prettiest butterfly in the butterfly farm.”

There’s a reason they all call me Swinger, and it ain’t ’cause I go to sex parties.

the smooth wood of my trusty bat, the bitch smacker.

Rich or poor, it doesn’t matter, humans are still monsters. They hide behind pretty faces, loved ones, blood.

We all bleed the same colour, and we are all just searching for something to make the truth of our souls disappear so we feel like good people.

Diesel is a fucking mad dog, Ryder is an arrogant asshole, and Kenzo is a charming psychopath…I can’t figure Garrett out.

Another child lost in the system. Forgotten, unloved, left in the dark to suffer alone.

Not even one wrapped up in such a beautiful, tragic package like Roxxane.

I have far more important matters to deal with than one trashy little girl from the southside with anger in her eyes and pain in her heart.

so brave, this little one.

She hit me. Again. That woman—she’s a fucking hurricane. Even when faced with death, she fights.

those demons, the ones I fight every day. The ones I beat down with pain, fists, and kicks.

Come back to us.

Vipers never give up. Vipers never stop fighting. Vipers are winners.

Fuck, how did I ever think he was cold? He’s an inferno, a wildfire. It burns everything in its path, and right now, that’s me. But the thing is, I would gladly burn, and I don’t even know why.

Everyone’s a sinner in one way or another. You can cover it in roses and use excuses, but it’s all the same.

There is no black and white, only grey. Deep down, we all do things that are considered bad, even for good causes.

wanting to taste her more than I want to take my next breath.

“Promise you won’t hurt me?” I laugh. “No, I won’t ever promise that. I might hurt you, I might even kill you one day, but we both know that’s where the attraction is. You’re walking a blade’s edge, pretty little bird, and one day, you might just slip, but wouldn’t the fall be worth it?”

“I know there is a wild one inside you, like me, just waiting to be set free. I noticed it in your eyes the first time I saw you. You will do anything to survive, like us. You’re more like us than you can imagine. You see the darkness, and you walk that line, one foot in and one foot out. Put both feet in, Little Bird, this is your world now. Filled with bloodshed and snakes. You want something, then take it. Do whatever the fuck you want, Little Bird, because the rest of the world does.”

I’m a fucking queen and it’s time I started acting like one.

Fucking joggers and their magical abilities. At least it’s more material for my spank bank.

No, stay strong. Pussy power…that came out wrong.

It’s like one of those thirst trap images you see online that makes you go ‘dayummm.’

“Don’t you want to watch the movie? Because if you want to do something else, darling, I’m down.” “Shut the fuck up,” I snap, tucking my hands under my ass to stop myself from reaching out and petting his muscles. That’s right. Petting them.

Fuck, any of the Vipers are dangerous to more than just my body. Like an obsession. Or a drug.

“Call me whatever you want, darling, as long as you don’t stop me and scream it for everyone to hear.”

My little bird will either bring us closer together, or burn us. I can’t wait to find out which.

I wrap my arm around her and drag her against my chest. I’ve seen this in movies, but I’ve never tried it myself.

Just once, I want someone to match me, to not burn in my fire, but be reborn in it.

She’s perfect. Fire and heat wrapped up in a curvy, beautiful package.

We might be Vipers, predators, but often the men we kill are evil. Rapists, abusers, cheaters, and killers. Our world is filled with them, and if we take down just one, and save a life, then I would dirty my soul every day, wading through the blood and bullshit.

My little bird can’t give up without a fight, she thinks it would make her weak. Nothing could be further from the truth. Giving up and accepting us would be the strongest thing she could ever do. We’re monsters, vipers, and to love a monster makes you one of the strongest people in the world. To let them into your heart, knowing they could destroy you, kill you…that’s the ultimate show of strength, but she will learn that one day.

So even though I’ve never told anyone, I rip open those old wounds, the ones that poisoned me, just so she might understand.

I finally let go. I’d held back for so long, pushing away my anger, all the darkness writhing within me. That night I stopped fighting it, I let it consume me.

“I know enough. You are one of us now. I will protect you like them, you entered a den of vipers, Little Bird. You choose whether to remain as our prey or shed and become a predator. Choose wisely. Not everyone is invited inside, in fact, no one is. Live or die.”

The ghosts in your eyes, they match mine…and

I can’t wait to watch her rip the others to pieces, to get into their cold hearts like she has mine. We will all burn together. Because of one woman. Our woman.

He’s a dreamer, unlike me. A lover.

Brat.

I’d rather deal with the devil we know than the one we don’t.”

She always looks beautiful, but today? Today she looks like a Viper.

“Friends, for now. Are you going to let us in, or am I going to have to stand here while you fuckers measure each other’s cocks?” she taunts.

“You ever call her bitch or insult her again, and I pull this trigger, do you understand me?”

“I was wrong, they’re all crazy,” I hear Tiny mutter, making me smirk.

The fact that she doesn’t question the word home sends something soft through me that I want to squash, but I can’t seem to when she’s around.

I’m pretty sure he would have made a good doctor in another life, you know, if he wasn’t such a bloodthirsty bastard.

“I dunno, how does it feel? You act like a walking, talking dick, so you must be a dildo.”

He’s so beautiful and deadly, it almost hurts, and the anger, fuck. I want to bathe in it.