Page 28 of Riding A Cock-Horse
“This is why your snake reacts to your anger then—it came outbecause ofanger.”
“So, my snake is my volatile emotions trying to escape? Sheesh, the creepy bastard is making it really hard to box shit up.”
“No, your animal is just your animal,” Jude interjects with a smile. “It came out because it thought you were threatened—it didn’t realize you were just upset for us. Your snake meant to protect you, but because you reacted the way you did, the mamba thoughtyouwere the threat. But when it knows you're in charge—”
I nod, interrupting him.
“The creepy fucker calms down! I guess Iamthe Alpha! Huh—didn't see that one coming.”
With this awareness, I feel more in control. Closing my eyes, I try to recall shifting. I remember the feeling of fur poking through my skin, the sensation of my bones creaking and contorting to change shape…
Suddenly, my eyes fly open when I realize that I’m recollecting how to shift into an animal—not into a human. At the moment, I can’t even bring to mind how to bea human.
And not remembering your humanity is the last thing you want when you turn into a man-eating lioness.
Aloud rumbling sound fills the air, and it dawns on me that it'smy stomach.
I'm hungry.
Heck—I might even behangry.
Human Belle didn't need food, but Chimera Belle might.
Now I know exactly how that shark inFinding Nemofelt when he smelled Dory’s blood.
Just like he was having ‘fish tonight’, I'm having human.
Of course, Ican'thave human though—they're my friends—and do I really want that weighing down my conscience?
I'm still feeling pretty guilty about seducing my third grade teacher and his wife—notwhile I was in third grade, though (just in case you're wondering how messed up I am).
With the grace of a ballet dancer with a goat coming out of her ass, I spin around and run into the darkening evening. I gallop along the bank of the lake until it trickles into a little stream. I follow it until, all of a sudden, I almost fling myself headlong into a large body of water—at least ten times bigger than the one back on Alastair’s land. I remember the Laird saying that Loch Kemp connects to Loch Ness.
Was this the infamous body of water that everyone spoke about that supposedly harbored some monster?
I peer down into the inky blackness of the liquid, trying not to make out my own reflection, convinced of the monster that I’ll see there. Ripples in the water catch my sharp eye, and I realize I can see much more than I could as a human—it's almost like having night vision. I can also sense the creature moving underneath the water.
My heightened senses allow me to smell it, too. Except, it doesn't smell like a fish, though. How I even know this is beyond me. My animal brain must know things I do not know.
The ripples in the water keep getting bigger and bigger. I raise a paw, edged with sharp claws, ready to swipe at whatever jumps out so that I can eat it. But instead of being a small aquatic animal to dine on, a flipper bigger than my entire body comes out. Another quickly follows, bracing itself on the bank in front of me as I scramble back, squeaking out a shrilly lion roar.
A head rises from the water, followed by a neck so long I wonder if Scotland harbors some unknown species of water giraffe. I don’t have time to contemplate this because the creature lunges at me with lightning speed. I fall once more onto my goat, who screams in pain, before I shift painfully.
Like the last time, I lay there panting—naked, cold, and now terribly frightened.
At least before I had a snake coming out of my ass that could bite you, inject you with venom, and kill you to protect me.
Now it’s just me,human Belle.
The only thing I have going for me is that I'm a great squirter—but this really doesn't seem like the time and place for something like that… unless I could quickly make myself orgasm and spray the water monster in the eye, maybe blinding it for a moment to get away…
But honestly, I'm just not in the mood.
The water giraffe’s large head is inches from my face, and the thing definitely looks like it could be a dinosaur. I really wish I had a camera for Dean Unbendableprick; so, he could see that dinosaurs are clearlynotextinct. Just as quickly as the creature appeared, it dips back into the dark depths of Loch Ness, blending into the murky shadows perfectly.
Like an idiot, I quickly scramble up and peer over into the water. This time, when something pops out of the water, it’s myhumanscream that pierces the air because it's not the water monster from before—it's a man!I fall back once more on my ass. Like a pro swimmer, the dude pushes out of the water and vaults up until he's lying between my spread, naked, wet thighs. His dark head dips down as he licks between them. I gasp in affront—and if we're going to be honest with each other, maybe a little arousal. It's hard to see now that I'm not a lion anymore, but the stranger is ripped and hot—and he's licking me between my thighs. So, I’m going to cut myself a lot of slack for my not-so-very logical response to him.
“You taste delicious,” the stranger growls in a thick brogue.
