Page 41 of Brutally Mated
Skor is kneeling above me, entirely naked, his rough body so much larger than mine in this form. He makes eye contact with me and flickers me a little wink. I didn’t expect that, and it gives me a delightful thrill.
Almost on cue, there’s a polite tap at the door.
“Yes?” Thorn answers, moving to the door and holding it closed.
“The passengers in the next cabin indicated some concerning noises,” the conductor tells Thorn. “Would you mind letting me inspect the space to ensure that all conditions of passage are being adhered to?”
Skor and I are struggling into our clothes as quickly as possible. Dresses are good because all you really have to do is throw them over your head. Skor has to do up pants and shirt buttons.
Krall is looking for something to cover up the bleeding on his neck. He ends up holding a bit of wadded burlap to the shallow wound. It doesn’t make him look less suspicious. The cabin looks like there’s been a fight to the death in it.
“Certainly,” Thorn says. “We’re just getting changed though, so give us a brief moment.”
He’s making himself sound all strained and proper. It’s quite cute. There’s more to him than I imagined. There’s more to all of them actually. And maybe there’s more to me, too.
Once we’re dressed and composed. Thorn opens the door.
We’ve arranged ourselves in such a way as to cover up the worst of the damage. I spread my skirts out to cover the scuff marks on the bed, and Skor is lounging against the wall where there’s some damage. The conductor can’t see the back of the door, so that’s alright.
He’s a middle-aged man with sandy brown hair and round spectacles. His uniform is neat and pressed and he has a little mustache that I think is quite funny and cute. I don’t like people as a general rule, but this one seems less objectionable than most of them. He looks at all four of us, and seems faintly concerned, or maybe just confused. I don’t know why, but something about the sight of me with these three men makes his mouth tighten in disapproval.
“Sorry for disturbing the neighbors,” Krall says. “I fell over into my shaving kit, and there was a bit of a tussle righting me. Hence the bleeding.”
The conductor looks over at him. “Sorry to hear that, sir. The adjoining cabin suggested there were animal sounds comingfrom this one. It’s strictly prohibited to have pets in these carriages.”
“No pets here,” Skor says flatly. He is staring at the conductor with an intense expression that makes the man avert his gaze.
The conductor looks around again, just as a chunk of undercoat tumbleweeds its way across the floor. I see him take a deep, sniffing breath, and I know he’s smelling the aftermath of our animal battle. In short, it smells like dog in here. Hard to avoid.
“No pets are allowed,” he repeats—bravely, given the way Skor is looking at him. Skor smiles and runs his tongue over the bottom edges of his upper teeth. It’s a threatening gesture, and the conductor recognizes it as such.
“Try to keep the noise down,” he says. “The train has picked up quite a few passengers in Broken Belly, and will be at capacity tomorrow when we reach Larchford.”
“We will,” Thorn says.
I giggle. I don’t know why. Probably because my mates are all trying to pretend that they’re in trouble, and that they couldn’t just kill this guy outright with a snap of their jaws. It has to be absolutely maddening to be a wolf among people. I don’t know how I am going to do it. It’s been disastrous so far.
“Thank you for your help,” Krall says. The words are polite, but he’s dismissing the conductor, there’s no doubt about that.
“No problem. Please remember, we do not allow dogs on the train,” he says, clearly so suspicious. “And guests who break the rules may be asked to disembark.”
“Just anywhere? You’d leave us in a remote location with no food or hope?”
“No, we’d leave you at the next stop.”
“What if the next stop wasn’t for days?”
The conductor gives me a long look. “Please follow the rules,” he says.
“We’ve been following the rules really hard,” I assure him, enjoying this. Are humans fun to mess with? He takes himself so seriously, it’s kind of cute. He is a different kind of person to the witch who wanted to eat me. She lived too close to the mountains. I’m not entirely sure she was really a human.
“We will take care to observe the rules,” Krall agrees. “Thank you for checking on us.”
“You’re welcome,” the conductor says. “Have a good evening.”
He leaves, closing the door behind him.
I wait a few seconds, holding my breath the whole time. When I let it out, I do so with a laugh.
