Page 75 of Mongrel
If anything, the room smells even worse to my human nose. Old blood, body odor, urine. The scents are at odds with the luxurious decor just out of reach of the cages: the fancy furniture, the oil paintings, and plush pillows. I glance at a row of small windows. That could be a problem come dawn.
“Will your keys work these locks?” Bowie asks Janos.
“Yes.” He’s already pulling the skeleton key set from his sleeve. “One of them should.”
Flicking my ears, I hear evidence of men standing outside. “Shh, we must speak quietly. We’re under heavy guard.” I point to the door. “Four men, just outside.”
Bowie blows an irritated breath through his nose. “Thank you. Are you really all right? Your leg. I was so worried.”
“You’ve healed it. I feel fine. But you? I must have drunk a lot of blood. How are you?”
“Fine, fine. Don’t worry about me.” He hands me my clothes. “I grabbed these as they dragged me away from you. But I lost our satchel.”
“Thank you.” I stand and get dressed, all the while looking him over. The more time I spend around him, the more I notice the signs when he hasn’t fed enough. It’s in the faint hollow of his eyes, the gray tint to his creamy skin. He definitely needs to feed. I reach for him, and he lets me pull him to his feet.
Janos tinkers away in his cage. One key clicking and clunking in the lock at a time. They jangle from the chain, the sound loud in my ears. I worry about the guards, but their hearing isn’t as good as mine.
Turning my attention back to Bowie, I tilt my neck and push my throat toward his mouth. “Take some back. You need it.”
“I don’t.” He remains rigid when all I want is for him to melt against me and take what I offer.
“Please, Bowie, I feel as strong as a herd of horses thanks to you. I have it to spare, and you must feed.”
When still he resists, Janos chimes in to back me up. “Beauregard, don’t be stubborn. Cecily needs you at full strength. Bite him.”
Bowie’s eyes meet mine. He looks painfully torn.
I palm his cheek and place a kiss on his lips. “Let’s save her, Bowie. Come. Do it for Cecily.” Pushing him like this isn’t a good feeling, but we don’t have time for a heart-to-heart. We need to get out of here before Báthory returns. “Please?”
“You’re sure?” he asks.
I nod and pull him close.
He lets himself be drawn in. His breath ghosts over my throat. I take his waist, and he takes mine.
The bite, when it comes, is a deep, sharp kiss. Fangs slip cleanly through flesh with very little pain and quite a lot of pleasure. I’m in no mood for hard cocks and sweaty skin, but his bite offers another form of pleasure I’ll gladly savor. A sense of peace washes over me, rinsing away the bad smells, the frightening futures, the fear that took hold the moment our plan went awry.
A calm determination remains in its place, a growing confidence that we’re strong enough and clever enough to escape Báthory’s evil clutches.
Bowie doesn’t drink much. When he finishes, he stays close, licking and kissing the punctures while I run my hands along his back.
I gain strength in his presence, and I wish we could linger in this moment, but the click of a lock and Janos’s triumphant “Yes!” brings us snapping back to reality.
Grinning, Janos swaggers from his cage and approaches ours.
“Well done, brother,” says Bowie.
Janos winks at him and begins working on our lock. He looks me over. “Feeding him has made you stronger, not weaker. Hasn’t it?”
I’m not sure what the significance behind his words means, but he’s not wrong. “It has.”
Narrowing his gaze, Janos smirks as he turns the key in the lock. “Interesting” is his only response before the gate clicks open and Bowie and I are freed.
Janos kisses Bowie’s cheek.
I growl. I don’t mean to, but the noise is out of my mouth before I considered making it.
“Take it easy, wolfy.” Janos backs off. “He’s your man.”
