Pretty Painful by K.A Knight
Mishal
We sat in the forest for a while as we rebuilt ourselves, readying for what might come. I’m constantly astounded by my mate’s strength. She picks herself out of my lap, her chin tilting up like a queen in court, and offers me her hand. “Let’s go and make them pay.” She nods and I grin.
Taking her hand, I weave our fingers together before dropping a soft kiss on her lips. “Together.”
Leading her through the forest, we reach a curving road that heads into the city. I picked the end closest to the warehouses I spotted when flying over, so it shouldn’t take too long, but I would like to get my mate some clothes and not have her walk all the way naked—a dragon flying through the city and landing would cause too much of a stir.
Grumbling, I push her behind a tree, ignoring her incredulous noise. “Shh, little one, stay there or I’m going to have to kill someone for seeing that body. Feel free to walk around naked all the time at home, but outside, clothes, clothes are good,” I mumble, heading to the road, completely naked myself, but I am used to it.
The road isn’t very busy, but I wait until I spot a yellow vehicle speeding along, the word taxi painted along its side. I step in front of it and it squeals to a stop, the man behind the wheel gaping at me. I slowly walk around and he sticks his head out of the window.
“What the hell, man? Why the fuck are you naked, were you robbed or something?” he yells.
“Yes.” I shrug. “I need clothes for me and a woman, and a ride to the warehouse district.”
“Eh, sure man. I don’t know if I have any clothes, definitely none that will fit you. Fuck, you’re a big bastard.” He gawks, getting out from the car. I don’t move back and he squeezes down the side of it, throwing me look as he mutters under his breath, before popping the trunk and rummaging through. My eyes go back to Dabria to see her poking her head around the tree.
If he sees you, he dies, I tell her casually, and she sticks her tongue out and hides back behind the tree, making me smirk.
He will give us a ride, it’s his job, just tell him you have money.
We have no money.
He doesn’t know that,
“Hey, big bastard, I got a blanket and a spare shirt,” the man calls, slamming the trunk as he makes his way back to me, the items held in his hands.
I grab both with a nod. “Wait here, we have money.” I turn and head back to my mate, leaving the man confused in the middle of the road.
“Sure, err, I’ll just wait here!” he shouts cheerfully. “Weirdo,” he mutters when he thinks I can’t hear.
I head behind the tree to a waiting Dabria, and pass the shirt over with a crinkle of my nose, hating that she’s going to smell like another man. It will drive my instincts crazy.
“Why don’t you just bleed on it or mark it?” she jokes, going to grab it from my hands, but I pull it back with a grin.
“Good idea, little one.” I pass her the blanket and she clutches it to her chest as I grab the shirt and rub it against my chest, making sure to scent mark it really well before passing it back over.
She watches me with an open-mouthed, incredulous expression. “I can’t believe you just did that, why don’t you just piss on me and mark your territory?” she scoffs, grabbing the shirt and pulling it over her head, hiding those delicious curves from me. Leaning in, I sniff at it, happy it smells like me and her now, and not some strange man.
I pretend to think about it, and she smacks my chest, muttering about men. Grabbing her, I kiss her hard before pulling away with a smug smile.
“Here.” She thrusts the blanket at me and I grab it, wrapping it around my hips and tying it off so at least I’m not flashing everyone.
“Come on, little one.”
She takes my hand as I pull her back to the waiting man.
His eyes pop when he spots her, but a narrow-eyed look from me has him hurrying to the back door and opening it for us. I let Dabria get in first, my eyes locked on the man as he cranes his neck, trying to catch a glimpse. “I wouldn’t,” I warn, making my voice deadly.
His eyes instantly snap to mine and he cowers, racing back to his front seat as I slide in the back and slam the door. “Warehouse,” I bark, leaning back and pulling Dabria into my arms as the man starts his car.
“Got it, you sure you don’t need to go to the cops or something? I have a phone,” he offers, glancing at us in his mirror.
“No, warehouse,” I reply bluntly, and I look down to see Dabria smiling and shaking her head.
“We are meeting a friend there, he’s a cop,” she lies. “They tracked our car to that location.” She gives the man a sweet smile and he relaxes, returning it before he speeds away.
She cuddles into me in the back of the taxi as we hurry through the city. I stare out of the widow, my eyes wide at how much it has changed and how quickly the humans have advanced.
“It’s all changed,” I whisper.
She follows my gaze. “Yes, maybe for the better?”
I nod, sitting back in the leather seats as the man expertly weaves through traffic. Dabria takes time pointing everything out and answering all my questions until by the time we get to the warehouse district, I feel like I know the city again. The driver pulls over at the curb, giving us a view of the warehouses surrounding us in the dark of the night. I don’t sense anyone close by and the places look deserted. I slip from the taxi, watching as Dabria leans into the man.
“I’m sorry, we have no money. Think of it as your good deed for the day.” She grins before getting out.
I hear the man swearing as he peels away, his tires squealing, leaving us alone here. Sniffing at the air, I catch the scent of gasoline, bricks, and rubbish, but under that I smell blood.
“This way.” I wrap my arm around her as we walk along the first two warehouses, circling around the back and walking down an empty road until we come upon a gated warehouse, which looks deserted, but there are some cars parked inside the lot.
“I smell a lot of blood here.” I sniff again, my eyes narrowing at the conflicting smells, it can’t be.
“What is it?” she asks, obviously picking up on my thoughts.
“Let’s get inside,” I growl, even more confused at what my senses are telling me.
Ripping through the flimsy metal, I hold the hole open for her and she slips through, with me following after. I head straight for the door I see at the side of the warehouse, with Dabria on my heels, her hand on my back. The door is partially open already, and a waft of death and blood hits me square in the face. Dabria must smell it too, because her hand tightens on my back, but she doesn’t say anything, following my lead.
Kicking open the door the rest of the way in, I surge inside only to freeze. Well, shit.
Blood and bodies litter the ground, men in black with weapons at their sides tossed around like ragdolls.
“Mishal?” she hisses.
I look over my shoulder to see her fangs have dropped and her eyes are glowing, and I follow her gaze to see her glaring at one of the dead men.
“Know him?” I query.
A flash of his face laughing as he hurt her flashes through my mind and I growl, turning back to the body. Picking him up, I rip him apart piece by piece, flinging him away so that she never has to look at him again. In fact, I do it with the others as well, not wanting any of them to hurt her with her memories. When I’m done, I stand in the middle of the bloodbath and look back at her. She’s grinning at me and I glance down to see the blanket has come free and my skin is coated in blood and gore.
“Thank you.” She blows me a kiss and I nod as we head deeper into the building, finding body after body.
I give them the same treatment, and each time I feel a burst of love exploding through my mind from her. Finally, we find propped open double doors and when I step through, a growl escapes my throat. This is where they kept my mate, this is where they killed her sister.
Empty cages stand in rows, and I spot a body of a dead man in one and plenty of blood, but no women. Stepping farther into the room, I close my eyes, letting Nyre look through me, knowing his senses are stronger than mine. I want him to confirm what I already know.
Mishal,he growls, and I sort through the smells and information assaulting him, my eyes popping open as I turn to Dabria.
“The women are gone, this place is empty.”
“Did the guards kill them?” she cries, wrapping her arms around her body. Her eyes keep darting to a spot near the cages, so I block her view of it, knowing that’s where they killed Rachel.
“No, no this wasn’t done by humans,” I growl, my hands clenching into fists.
“What do you mean?” she questions, confused.
“I smell…changeling, fallen, and even a fucking nature supe. This wasn’t humans, this was our kind.”
