Familiar Training Academy, Book 1
Urban Fantasy Romantic Comedy
Date Published: August 9, 2024
Publisher: Changeling Press
Jonathan comes from a long line of sorcerers, and all his ancestors attended the Familiar Training Academy, where they were paired with shapeshifters. All seems fine for Jonathan until he discovers his familiar is a woman who can shift into a snake. And he’s supposed to bond with her?
Tamra is excited she’s getting another chance to serve as a familiar, especially because she’ll get to mate with her new master as part of their bond. Unfortunately Tamra just can’t follow rules. Any rules. Ever. When her rebellious nature conjures up evil from the school’s past, she and Jonathan have to jump in to reverse the disaster her impetuous nature’s caused this time.
Excerpt
Copyright ©2024 Alice Gene
Tamra smiled to herself as she slithered into the professor’s office. No one ever expected a snake, and because she was small, on the floor, and silent, her new charge — supposedly her master — hadn’t even noticed she’d entered the room. The guy was in for a big surprise.
The professor was just finishing his spiel for rookie sorcerers. “We’ve paired you with a familiar according to the questionnaires you filled out. It may seem an unusual match but be assured, you two are perfect for each other.”
“When can I meet her?”
“She’s here now,” the professor said.
Tamra took that as her cue to introduce herself. She wrapped her slender body around the leg of the visitor’s chair, climbed onto the seat and curled up in a perfect coil of brilliant scales.
The rookie jumped up and backed away about five feet. “It’s a snake.”
“She,” the professor corrected again. “This is Tamra.”
The guy obviously had a crappy attitude about snakes. This had happened before, more than once. Her last potential master had screamed and run from the room. The professor had been forced to assign a more placid animal to the man. A guinea pig, for God’s sake. Word on the grapevine was both of them were now miserable with each other. Served him right.
Anyway, this one wasn’t running, but he obviously wasn’t happy. So, she flicked her forked tongue at him.
“I assure you, Tamra is ideal for you,” the professor said. “We did a multivariate assessment of your personality and your needs.”
“And it said I needed a snake?” the man asked, his voice now a croak.
The professor folded his hands together on top of his desk. “Absolutely.”
Of course, no one had asked Tamra what she needed. The fact was, if she didn’t get a master soon, she might flunk out of this place, and she’d have to find another one. Schools for sorcerers and their familiars didn’t pop up everywhere.
The man started pacing. “There must be some mistake.”
The professor opened a computer file. “You are Jonathan Woodrow Dillson, correct?”
“Well, yes.”
The professor squinted at the screen. “Your father, grandfather, and uncles were all paired with familiars here, I believe.”
The man ran his fingers through short, dark hair. “Yes, yes, but…”
“They were all excellent students and went on to contribute to the field of arcane knowledge,” the professor said. “They all bonded with their familiars here according to our methods.”
The man slowly approached the chair Tamra was coiled up on. “It… she… can change into human form, can’t she?”
Well, duh. They wouldn’t be physically compatible if she remained a reptile. He’d never fit a huge, human cock inside her cloaca — the one benefit of pairing with him rather than another snake. Forked penises were cool, but doing it with a human was lit AF. Or at least, that was the word around the familiars’ dorm.
“Of course she can change,” the professor answered. “All our familiars are shifters.”
“Then why doesn’t she?”
They both stared at Tamra, expecting her to perform for them. The professor had already warned her about her Bad Attitude. She was going to make nice with the rookie eventually. She might as well start now. So, she concentrated on her human form — size, arms and legs, hair, her face — and in a moment, she was sitting, naked, in the chair next to the one the man had jumped out of.
He jumped again, though not as far this time. “She’s naked.”
She wasn’t going to explain the obvious to him, so she gave the professor an expression that said, “Really? This guy?”
The professor ignored her. “She has clothing waiting in your rooms.”
“Of course.” The man sat back down and avoided looking at her.
“Introduce yourself, Tamra,” the professor said.
“I’m Tamra. I’ll be your familiar today,” she said.
The professor lifted an eyebrow in warning, so she extended a hand toward the man. “I’m Tamra.”
The man shook her hand but avoided looking directly at her. “I’m Jonathan. Good to meet you.”
“Splendid.” The professor clapped his hands together. “I just knew you two would get along swimmingly.”
About the Author
Alice Gene likes her romance hot. She writes in a number of different genres, including paranormal, historical, and contemporary. As Alice Gaines, she’s a USA Today bestselling author.
Alice has a PhD from UC Berkeley and lives in an apartment the size of a postage stamp in Oakland. She loves knitting, singing in her church choir, and funking out with Tower of Power. She also loves hearing from her readers!
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