Page 3 of Fallen (Designation #2)

LEVIATHAN

I’ve been in the lobby of Essence PI’s headquarters once or twice since I met Gerard, but this is the first official time where I’ll be working with his employees and not just shown around. The place is sleek, all black glass and steel, with glowing runes etched into the walls that hum with magic.

It’s a far cry from my dingy office, where the only magic was the coffee maker occasionally working.

My beat-up jacket and unruly curls scream “outsider,” and I’m half-expecting someone to escort me out for not matching the high-tech vibe.

However, having Rowan and Amand flank me adds to the ambiance.

It’s almost like I have my very own scary dog privilege.

Scary snake privilege?

I don’t really know anymore.

I blow out a heavy breath as Amand leans down to whisper in my ear. “Relax. We’ve been here before. Why are you so twitchy?”

“This place looks like it’s one gadget away from launching into space. I’m a PI, not a sci-fi hero.”

Rowan smirks, his hand running up and down my back before possessively landing on my ass. “You’d make a sexy space captain, though.”

I elbow him as my cheeks heat, glass doors just ahead sliding open. Gerard walks out, a tablet in his hand, a wry smile on his face. “Leviathan. Welcome to the big leagues. Ready to officially meet the team?”

“Big leagues?” I scoff, crossing my arms. “I’m still waiting for my decoder ring and secret handshake.”

Gerald’s lips twitch, but he gestures for us to follow anyway. Thank fuck he isn’t as uptight as Vince was and actually cracks a smile at my awful jokes. “You’ll fit in fine. Just try not to fade into the furniture.”

One wrong emotion, and I’m ghosting out, which is super awkward in social situations. Or, you know, when I’m trying to make a good impression at a fancy supernatural detective agency.

We follow Gerald through a maze of corridors, passing operatives who look like they stepped out of a superhero comic.

There’s a werewolf with a cybernetic arm, a witch juggling glowing orbs, and a guy who I’m pretty sure is a vampire, given the fangs and brooding stare.

I feel like I’m in over my head, but I shove that thought down.

I’ve taken down a dark witch and survived two Basilisk mates. I can handle a little corporate chaos.

Gerald leads us to a conference room with a massive glass table and holographic displays floating above it. I whistle, unable to help myself. “Fancy gadgets, huh? What’s next, a teleporter?”

“Working on it,” Gerald deadpans and I can’t tell if he’s joking.

He taps his tablet, and the holograms shift, showing crime scene photos from the unicorn case.

Those quickly shift to reports and details that have been collected from Essence PI.

It’s so much more organized than my heaps of paper and odd working hours that I’m not sure if I want to kiss Gerald or cry.

Maybe both.

Rowan pulls me back against his chest as the door opens behind us, three other people walking inside.

Jace is one of the Alpha’s who helped and then there’s Lily who helped with the witch.

The third guy, I don’t know but the magic humming off of him smells like a mage.

While the other two wave, the third guy just grunts, not even looking up from the device he’s typing on.

“Team,” Gerald begins, introducing everyone—including Marcus, the mage, who still doesn’t look up. “This is Leviathan Dubois, our new Chameleon operative, and his mates, Rowan and Amand Petrov, Basilisk shifters. They’re taking point on the unicorn case.”

Jace raises an eyebrow. “Chameleon? Ah, so you’re the one our boss has been gushing over. You the one who sniffed out Ginny?”

I shrug, trying to play it cool. “Yeah, that was me. Nose like a bloodhound, minus the drool.”

Lily snorts as she pulls out a chair and drops into it. “Nice. But can you keep up with us, newbie?”

God, I already like her. We didn’t really get to meet during that whole witch fiasco a few weeks ago but she’s a lot more down to earth than I expected. “Try me, witchy.”

Marcus finally looks up, pushing his glasses up his nose. “Your file says you’ve got scent detection. That’s gonna be key. Unicorns are nearly impossible to track—their magic masks their DNA in shifted form.”

“If I hadn’t seen one of the victims in my truck, I’d still think it sounded like a bad fairy tale. Sparkly horses with murder sticks? Really?”

Jace chuckles, but Gerald’s expression stays grim. “Leviathan, I mentioned before that that’s not how this works. There’s no glitter. They’re rare, powerful, and extremely volatile. They also seemed to have an issue regulating their emotions.” I frown, silently demanding an explanation.

Marcus cuts in. “The only unicorn shifters we’ve met have been in jail. I haven’t actually met one who’s living a normal life.”

Right, of course.

Gerald continues droning on about the case as we find a seat around the table and I don’t even know that this little debriefing is over until he’s stopped in front of me.

“Leviathan, luck and diligence has brought you far. However, without training your magic, it’ll be a hindrance, not a help.

I’ll be working with you so that you don’t become the weak link. ”

His words hurt but he isn’t wrong. He squeezes my shoulder and then rounds up the others to leave, my mates and I left in the empty room. It takes me a few moments to finally breathe and realize that this is way more complicated than any of the other cases I’ve taken on. “Well, that was intense.”

Amand snorts as he scoots closer, his hand reaching to squeeze my thigh beneath the table.

“You weren’t even listening, Lev,” he chuckles.

“Not that I blame you. This is all a lot. We’ve been working on cases for a while and if we had any of this high tech bullshit, I’m sure we would have worked a lot faster. ”

“It’s not even about that,” I push out, holding back a whine when Amand’s hand trails higher.

“It’s more that I wonder if I’ve been going about it all wrong.

Like sure, I did all this shit on my own, trying to figure out what I was and where I fit but this…

this feels so much bigger. Like… we’re only scratching the surface of whatever the fuck is going on. ”

Rowan sighs, scooting closer as well, his nose dragging along my cheek.

Heat spreads through me, my cock thickening between my legs.

This is the absolutely wrong time to be doing any of this but it feels so fucking good.

Rowan hums as his nose runs across my jaw, his lips landing at the edge of my ear.

“You’re charming when you’re not fading into walls. ”

I should push them away, tell them we need to focus now that we’ve been officially hired to an agency that means business. But it’s been entirely too long since something has happened and I need it. Even if I wanted to pull away, I wouldn’t be able to.

Especially when the sound of a zipper being undone echoes through the room.

My protests get caught at the back of my throat as Amand pulls my chair from under the table, Rowan stealing my lips.

I grunt as a warm hand encircles my cock, pumping slowly until I can’t hold back a whine.

Rowan swallows the sound, one of his hands moving to cup the front of my throat, both of my men lost in the same haze I am.

Fuck, I really should not be doing this here.

And yet, I can’t stop.

Amand hisses, that forked tongue wrapping around my tip before he sucks me fully into his mouth.

Holy Mother of Jesus, that feels wonderful.

The heat coursing through my veins picks up, that slight magical signature that’s doomed to kill me strengthening but it’s a good kind of pain.

My hips move of their own accord as I pump into Amand’s mouth and then curl my hand into his hair, to keep him there. To keep me there.

If I don’t get to come because I fucking fade into the background, everyone’s going to have to deal with a pissed off Chameleon.

Rowan’s tongue slips into my mouth, dragging along the inside of my cheeks as I grip his shirt with my free hand, my eyes rolling into the back of my head.

One last pump and I’m a goner, Amand expertly pulling an orgasm from me.

I sag back against the chair, Amand neatly packing me back into my pants.

I can’t miss the smell of their arousal or the rather thick bulges between their thighs.

However, we neither have the time for that, nor do I have the balls to let them fuck me here.

Amand rises to his feet and pulls me against his chest. “I needed that. Haven’t been able to touch you like I really want since your magic started misbehaving.

” He starts nuzzling against me the same way Rowan did.

“You should take up Gerald on that training stuff.”

I nod, still coming down from the high as Rowan heads toward the door. “Let’s go home, alright? We’ve got enough to start with.” I’m all too ready to do that, even as I feel myself flickering in and out of reality.

This is different from before. The last few times, I somehow disappeared from the plane of existence. My mates couldn’t even touch me. But this feels like I’m being pulled toward something. Like when I reappear, I won’t be standing in this room.

Rowan calls my name but I’m already gone, Gerald and Lily’s voices hitting my ears. I’m not even sure where they are as I move toward the sound without even understanding how I’m moving. I can’t really feel my body in this state.

“…risky, Gerald,” Lily says. “He’s green and his magic’s unstable. He’s a good P.I. and he was good during the last case. But… If the unicorn catches his scent—”

“He’s our best shot,” Gerald cuts in. “His nose is unmatched. Besides, those Basilisks won’t let anything happen to him.”

Lily grumbles. “You just see yourself in him and I get that. You’re a rare designation and all that. However, that can’t be the reason he’s lead on this.”

Lily’s doubt stings but I was already a bit weirded out when it came down to being put on as point for this investigation, especially when Essence P.I.

somehow outranks the police. I’m about to step away when my magic glitches again, and I reappear, stumbling into a door.

It swings open, Gerald and Lily staring at me as Lily just grins.

“You’re the worst spy ever,” she says, crossing her arms. “Eavesdropping already?”

I flush, scrambling for an excuse. “I, uh, dropped my… pen. Yeah, pen.”

Gerald seems to know exactly what happened, though, my mates rushing down the hall to come stand behind me.

“Good instincts, Leviathan, but we need to work on the execution. Had I known that your magic had progressed this far, I would have taken you on sooner. Go home. Get some rest. We’ll talk tomorrow. ”

Lily just glares at me, confused but I eagerly turn on my heel and make a beeline outside.

“Let me get this straight. Lev, did you just fucking teleport ?”

I nod. “That’s the only definition I have but I’m more worried about the fact that Gerald just mentioned how fast my magic is progressing.

I’m wondering if it has something to do with this fatal attraction or whatever.

” I hope it doesn’t because logically—the more magic I obtain or the stronger it becomes, the sooner I’ll die.