by Logan Fox
“Sexy. A wolf give it to you?”
Pearl tugged away her hand, her gaze going to Opal’s reflection. The girl was almost completely naked, already headed for the shower. She was slim, olive-skinned, and surprisingly-free of tattoos or piercings.
“No.” Pearl hesitated. Should she tell any of the foxes? Tanner hadn’t said anything, one way or the other. Would Opal care? Maybe if it had been Caden—
“So who?” Opal sounded barely interested. She turned on the shower and stepped inside, keeping her head out of the pouring water.
Pearl licked her lips. “Tanner.”
Opal’s only response was a cocked eyebrow. “Good for you.” She twisted under the spray, washing her face with cupped hands.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Opal shrugged and began washing her pits with frenzied enthusiasm. “Caden gave me one, but I don’t wear it. Told him I’m no one’s fucking pet.”
Pearl touched her collar again. What would Tanner have done if she’d said that to him?
“He’s okay with it?” Pearl asked.
“Does he have a choice?” Opal lathered soap on her arms, giving Pearl a lopsided grin. “I’m not here under contract like you losers. He knows I’ll leave if he pushes it.”
Pearl scowled at the girl, but she’d turned away to retrieve a razor and shaving cream. Turning off the shower, Opal began lathering cream on her legs, ignoring Pearl.
“Do they still pay you?”
Opal snorted. “Wouldn’t be here if they didn’t.”
“But you can leave whenever you want?”
“You got it.” Opal’s tone was sarcastically cheery.
“So you just love it that much?”
Opal flicked shaving cream from her razor, cocking an eyebrow at Pearl. “Sucks less than my last job. Which is saying something…” Opal brought the back of the razor to her mouth, rolling her eyes as she mimicked giving head, her tongue probing the inside of her cheek.
Pearl squirmed and turned back to her reflection, touching the collar again. Would Opal be so apathetic if she knew about the dead girls? If she knew that undercover cops were sniffing around Tanner and Caden, looking for likely suspects?
“You going to marry him?”
“Who, Caden?” Opal snorted again. She crouched, slathering shaving cream over her bikini area with her back turned to Pearl. She shaved herself with quick, practiced motions, turning her head to direct her words over her shoulder. “I doubt it. Not because it’s him; I’m not planning on getting married. I mean, it’s nothing more than a scrap of paper. You, asking the government to legitimize your love for someone. As if they would know, right?”
She turned the shower back on.
“But he’s your… boyfriend?” Pearl stumbled over the word, knowing it was the wrong phrase. Life partner sounded gay, husband sounded condescending. What else fit?
Opal laughed her short, single bark of a laugh and began washing off the lather. “It’s more than that, but yeah. I guess that’s close enough.” Opal turned to face her, head bent forward to prevent her hair getting wet. “Why’re you so nosy all of a sudden? You got a thing for Caden?”
“What?” Pearl tried to stop the blush that flashed onto her cheeks, but it would’ve been easier to thwart global warming. “I just meant—”
“He’s his own man,” Opal said. “I don’t expect him to stay monogamous if I’m fucking some other guy every few hours.”
Their eyes locked, Opal staring at Pearl’s reflection and Pearl studying the girl in the mirror. Pearl dropped her eyes, pressing her palm over the annoying bell at her throat as it jangled with the shake of her head.
“He came to Tanner’s apartment yesterday. We… they…”
Opal watched as Pearl tried to find the right words. Eventually, perhaps realizing Pearl simply didn’t have the vocabulary for the job, Opal barked out another laugh and turned off the shower.
“Ha. Bet you didn’t see that coming, did you? ‘Scuse the pun.”
Pearl spun around, mouth tight. “You know about them?”
Opal shrugged. “I figured, the first time I met them. Caden denied it, of course. Tanner, not so much. But a few weeks into my first month here, I got all the confirmation I needed.” Opal gave her a flash of a grin. “Caden’s birthday. Let’s just say Tanner knows how to throw a party.”
Opal draped a towel around her shoulders and began drying herself.
“And you’re fine with it?”
“Like I said, Pearl, he’s his own man. For now, at least.”
The girl paused, staring down at herself as she wrapped the towel around her breasts. She tugged her hair free of its elastic and shook it out, biting her bottom lip as she twanged the elastic between her fingers.
“But, since we’re being all BFF and shit, I’ll be honest… This is probably gonna be my last scene.”
When she looked up, a troubled shadow darkened her brown eyes. She glanced at the door, making Pearl cast a furtive glance in its direction too. When Pearl faced her again, the girl was standing less than two feet away from her.
Pearl took an involuntarily step backward, her hip bumping into the row of marble basins lining the wall behind her.
“Things are different now,” Opal said in a low murmur. “It’s not fun anymore. It’s like everyone’s holding their breath, waiting for the other shoe to drop.”
“The other shoe?”
Opal shrugged, throwing a glance at the closed door. She took another step closer, turning her head to speak into Pearl’s ear.
“It wasn’t Ivy’s time to leave.” Opal’s low voice made the hair beside Pearl’s ear tickle her earlobe. “In case you haven’t noticed, on account of being struck blind, Caden’s a fucking stickler for checking off boxes. No fox leaves until her time’s up. And I know for a fact Ivy’s wasn’t.”
Pearl shuddered, her chest growing tighter with each additional, whispered word.
“When I asked Caden about it, he clammed up like a fucking oyster. Then he got all moody, started doing a shitload of coke, and—”
Opal bit off the end of her sentence, stepping back with wide eyes. “And then he fucked me in the ass.”
“He what?” Pearl gave her head a quick shake. Then her eyes slid away from Opal, to the dark block of Seth, stepping into the bathroom.
Opal had really good hearing. “He fucked me in the ass,” she repeated, shouldering Pearl aside and rummaging in the bathroom cupboard for a disposable toothbrush. “I was laughing so hard, his cum squirted out of my nose.”
“You two ready?”
“Sure, Godzilla.” Opal shoved the toothbrush in her mouth, winking at Seth’s reflection. “Ju’ gi’ me a sec ‘o lube u’ my ass for ‘at fu’ing ‘ail.”
“Not today.” Seth’s gaze brushed over Pearl without settling, his eyes the color of cooling pitch. “Just the dress.”
“No u’iform?” Opal mumbled through a mouth of toothpaste. She spat hard into the basin, elbowing Pearl. “Hear that, you slut? Must be my lucky day.”
Pearl had forgotten about her tail. She wrapped an arm around her belly, grimacing.
“Shit, Seth. I still have to—”
“Leave it. None of you need it for him.”
“Whoa… what?” Opal spun around, holding her palms up to Seth. “I’m not doing another fucking gay-ass lesbo—”
“It’s not him,” Seth cut in. “It’s Ivy’s regular.”
“A dragon?” Pearl blustered, at the same moment Opal let out a harsh, disbelieving laugh.
“Not going to happen.” Opal tied up her hair, striding past Seth as she headed for the door.
He caught her upper arm. Opal made a surprised sound, tugging back at him. He didn’t release her.
“You think this is optional?”
“Sure as fuck do,” Opal said, raising her voice. “Let go of me, you—”
“Keep it down,” Seth growled, his eyes narrowing. “I have a fucking headache.”
/> Pearl’s stomach gave an uneasy flutter, nausea welling inside her. Seth’s mouth twisted, his jaw bunching under his untamed beard as he jerked Opal closer.
“So pop a fucking pill,” Opal said, but her voice had dropped to its normal pitch. “And I’m not going. You can’t—”
“Tanner was very specific—”
“Tanner can go fuck—”
“—about Caden’s instructions,” Seth finished.
“Caden?” Opal squirmed then, her lips flashing open. “Hey, Godzilla? You’re damaging the merchandise,” she stated in a calm, dead voice.
Seth blinked at her as if wondering how she’d come to be in his hand, and hurriedly released her. He took a step back, his hand dropping to his side — fingers curling and uncurling from their fist — as he cocked his head to the door.
“Get dressed, Opal.”
Opal opened her mouth, but then left the bathroom without uttering another word. She pulled the door closed behind her, unfocused gaze sliding right over Pearl without latching on.
Distracted by Opal’s departure, Pearl hadn’t realized Seth was closing the distance between them. And, by then, he was too close — his bulk making escape impossible.
He slid a finger behind her collar, tugging hard. Pearl’s head bobbed forward before she could stiffen her neck muscles. Seth’s eyes narrowed. He grunted to himself, working his finger along the inside of the collar until he reached the metal clasp at the back.
His onyx eyes lifted, his mouth tightening. Grabbing her shoulder with his free hand, Seth spun her around, swiping her hair up as he studied the lock at the back of her collar.
There was another tug, harder this time. Pearl choked, grabbing Seth’s wrist. Their eyes met in the mirror.
Seth’s gaze could have frozen the Earth’s molten core.
“Yesterday?” He released his grip on the collar, smoothing her hair with a quick, perfunctory swipe of his hand.
Pearl nodded.
Seth shrugged. An unreadable mask veiled that brief, fiery expression of his. “There will be pain.”
Pearl kept his eyes — difficult as it was to not be devoured by that void-like stare of his. Seth’s fingers glided over her throat, wrapping gently over the collar.
Hiding it behind his wide hand.
“It’ll help if you think of it as the good kind.”
Pearl licked at her lips. His body heat buffeted her through the dress’s thin chiffon.
“Jarred will be there, supervising.”
At the mention of his name, Pearl’s heart soared. A dragon, being taught by Jarred? Could it be him? Could Greg have—
“It’s not him,” Seth murmured down to her.
Had her spark of hope been that obvious?
“If it helps, you can think of it as him. They all wear masks, anyway. You can always pretend…”
Pearl watched Seth in the mirror. His gaze became unfocused, his lips parting. For a moment, he stared at nothing, the hand around her throat going slack.
And then he snapped his attention back to her.
“I missed you, kitten,” he said.
Pearl writhed, wanting out from behind his slab of a body. Wanting away from that sudden, familiar look of concern behind those black eyes.
Turns out he’s about seven different people, all squashed into one body. And I don’t even think he realizes it.
Gia’s voice billowed in Pearl’s head.
Her skin had gone ice-cold. Her lips numb. The tips of her fingers began to prickle with dread.
“Did you miss me?” Seth ducked his head, pressing his mouth to Pearl’s cheek, kissing her softly.
Pearl forced a swallow, but she couldn’t urge anything except a non-committal sound from her lips. Seth’s mouth moved down the side of her face, touching against the corner of her mouth. His hand left her shoulder, trailing down the curve of her hips.
“I wish I didn’t have such a fucking headache right now,” Seth murmured. “Kept thinking about you while I was gone. That day in the shower. Pinning you to the wall.”
His hand glided over her hip bone, drawing traitorous tingles of pleasure through her muscles as he inched toward her sex.
“How it felt to be inside you.” His voice brought goose bumps out over her skin. “To have your nails digging into my—”
“Hey, Godzilla!” came Opal’s voice from the doorway. “Thought you said we’re running late?”
Seth’s hand paused, cupping Pearl’s sex through the chiffon.“We are,” he said, his voice low and tight as he glared at Opal over his shoulder.
“Yeah? So obvious from the way you’re taking your sweet time. So I’m gonna grab some chow while you’re fucking her then, ‘kay?”
Seth jerked his hands away from Pearl, turning to the doorway. But Opal had already left, the door standing an inch ajar. Seth let out a low growl, glancing at Pearl through narrowed eyes as he ran a hand over his beard.
“Later,” Pearl managed, her voice thick and unsteady.
Seth gave a small nod. “Yes.” Another nod. “Later.”
He opened the bathroom door, holding it open as he stared out. After a second, Pearl realized he was holding it open for her.
She found her feet, moved them forward, and made her unsteady way out of the door. Opal waited outside for them, a glower twisting her pretty mouth and arms crossed tightly over her chest.
“Record-breaking quickie, that.” Opal sneered at Seth. “Wouldn’t have thought you lacked in the stamina department, big guy.” She turned and headed for the stairs.
Seth followed, shoulders stiff under his dark shirt. Pearl trailed them, skin still tingling from the plethora of confusing signals it had just been subjected too.
They were halfway up the stairs when Opal turned back to Seth, arms still in a death-grip around her chest.
“What did he say? Like exactly, word for word?” she demanded, eyes wide and interrogatory.
Seth ignored her, moving past her with the deliberate determination of a migrating glacier.
“Hey, I’m talking to you!” Opal grabbed a fistful of Seth’s shirt.
He ducked his shoulder, knocking her hand free, and gave her a deadpan stare over his shoulder.
“You’re not special, kitten. We have customers, and it’s your job to serve them. Don’t know why you’ve gotten away with your shit for so long.”
“I’m not under contract!” Opal yelled, punching Seth’s upper arm. “So you tell Mr. Caden fucking Davis that can go fuck him—”
Seth stopped walking. He had one foot on the last stair leading to the landing, the smell of cherry blossoms urging them upward. He set his foot down again, turned around, and put his hand on Opal’s shoulder.
“He’s not here.” Seth enunciated every word with deliberate care, black eyes empty and lifeless as he took a step down, forcing Opal against the organic curve of the Fox Pit’s stairwell.
Pearl’s heart knocked hard into her ribcage. She could almost see waves of black energy pulsating from Seth as his hand slid up the side of Opal’s neck. The girl was utterly still, breasts straining against the Fox Pit dress as if she’d taken a huge breath and couldn’t exhale it.
“But I’ll be sure to give him your message.” Seth gripped the side of the girl’s face, his thumb driving a deep dimple into her cheek. “After your scene.”
Opal managed a nod. Her face was ashen now, her brown eyes limpid with the threat of tears.
“Good.” Seth released her and went up the stairs as if he hadn’t almost crushed a slip of a girl into dust against the wall.
Pearl ran up the three stairs between her and Opal. She lay a hand on Opal’s upper arm.
“Are you—”
“Fuck off, newb.” Opal tore her arm free, furiously blinking away every trace of her tears. She squared her shoulders and followed Seth, hands in fists at her side.
Pearl watched her go, her own feet wooden under her as she forced herself to follow.
The dungeon looked d
ifferent. Maybe it was because she’d seen it from the other side of that dark glass. Or perhaps it was because the altar had been lowered into the floor, a sheet of metal covering the hole it had receded into.
Or maybe it was the medieval-looking implement of torture that now stood over it.
A leather-padded bench between the lower struts of a pair of huge, wooden crosses filled the space where the altar had been. The manacles at foot and wrist gaped like mouths eagerly waiting to devour their prey.
The room wasn’t empty, either.
Pearl was used to waiting inside, trying to calm her nerves as she waited for her wolf to arrive.
And he always took his time.
Making her wait.
Letting her grow wet with anticipation.
Jarred stood to the right, a few feet away from the cross. He watched them walk inside.
Seth hadn’t brought them in, mumbling something about being needed on the other side of the villa. The handler had forced their hands together, meshing Pearl and Opal’s fingers, and then shooed them inside like nervous goats. Then he’d left with a last, unreadable glance at Pearl.
A dragon stood just behind Jarred. The man was nowhere near as tall as Jarred but the set of his waist and shoulders suggested a lean, muscled body beneath his drab, shapeless clothes. Thick fabric — dark brown and textured with a faint weave — had been sown into the rough pair of pants peeking out beneath his knee-length, monk-like robe.
But what made Pearl take a step back, bumping into Opal as the girl mirrored her, was the man’s mask.
It was the head of a goat. The long bovine nose, curving horns, and shaggy fur were all a faded black. The matted hair completely covered the back of the man’s head and straggled down his back in untidy hanks. There was nothing to be seen behind the yellow glass veiling his eyes.
Pearl had to resist the urge to crowd closer to Opal. As it was, their hands tightened around each other until Pearl’s fingertips tingled. Pearl couldn’t tell if it was her or Opal doing the shivering.
“Welcome, little ones.” Jarred gave them a broad smile and walked up to them with calm, measured steps. Behind them came the sound of the dungeon doors closing.