Page 56 of Brutally Mated
“I’m hungry.”
“You’ll survive.”
Another of those chills runs through me. I find myself looking out the window, hoping to see Krall or Thorn behind us, but there’s no sign of either of them. There are just other cars, and people. So many people. They all seem to have cars of their own. I wonder if I will get one of my own one day. That might be fun.
CHAPTER 10
Tabby
We drive through the day, into the night, and back into the day again.
The terrain changes over and over again. We have left my mountains long behind, moved through plains and hilly areas and through a few small towns and otherwise sort of average places. They are filled with humans and there’s a scent that I begin to associate with human settlements. It’s the smell of fried fat and sweet treats, and burning oil.
But we do not stop in any of these places for long. Skor lets me out to go to the bathroom a couple of times, but his power ensures that I cannot shift and run. I am locked in my human form and I am absolutely captive to him.
Finally the color of the world changes. The sky turns an almost constant deep green gray, and the grass gets long and lush and grows thorns from its seeds. The human villages are built from stone, not the wood and brick the others were. It feels older here. Not the way my mountains feel old, but still.
The air smells wet, and there’s an electric sort of tingle in it. The people here wrap their heads in floral scarves, and wear long raincoats. Their faces are heavy and lined. Even the little ones. I don’t know how that works, but I do know everyone here is suffering.
“What’s wrong with this place?”
Skor slows the car down and pulls over at the side of the road.
“It always rains. The cloud cover is constant. Vampires walk day and night, consuming the essence of everyone. There is a prophecy…”
“Oh, god, isn’t there always?”
He lifts a dark brow at me. “Does this seem like a time for flippancy?”
“It seems like you’ve kidnapped me and taken me to a truly cursed place. I didn’t know there were places more cursed than the mountains. But this…”
“It’s grim,” he says. “On a good day.”
“What’s the prophecy?”
“That someone with red hair who doesn’t listen to her mates will banish the evil from this place.”
“They’re usually more poetically worded than that.”
“This one is too, but that’s the gist of it. You have abilities I don’t. You have powers not seen in my pack. And you are capable of dealing with evil in ways we cannot. I’m going to take you to our pack elders, and present you.”
“And I’ve got no choice, I suppose.”
“You suppose correctly.”
He starts the car and drives again, along winding ever more rural roads until finally we arrive at a large old manor house set atop a hill. Rain is driving against old stone as we arrive, and pelts us both as we exit the car.
We run to the old arched door, which is opened by a tall man with gray hair and blue eyes. They pierce me as Skor ushers me inside.
“This is Tabby,” he says. “My mate. Is the alpha in?”
“Of course, Master Skor,” the man says. He is dressed in a neat suit, and has an air of repression about him that I find makes me feel stiff as well. “Would the lady perhaps enjoy a bath?”
“She would,” Skor says. “And some fresh clothes. And something to eat. Scones with jam and cream, if you have them.”
“Of course, Master Skor,” he says.
“This is Wesley,” Skor says to me. “Go with him and behave yourself.”
