Taming Beasts | MxM | Petshop

Part 33

The airport we landed at was nothing like the one we came from. The building was old, and there were no more passengers than the ones that had been on the flight with us. Whenever we saw an employee, they were lounging somewhere, eyes on their phones, sometimes looking up and giving a nod. The airport had a single shop, and it was closed.

It was so quiet. My ears perked up attentively, twitching and changing their angle whenever I heard something. A mouse squeaked softly from behind a trash bin. A woman was breastfeeding her baby on the toilet, humming. The security drummed his fingers on the table he was sitting at.

Leah let out the longest sigh. "Huh. This place really never changes. See that scratchwork over there? It's been there, like, forever. I don't remember it ever being not there. And my parents first took me here for vacation when I was five. So it's been like, thirty years or what?"

"I like it."

"The scratchwork?" She frowned at me.

"No, the place." I looked around again, noticing we were nearing the exit. I lengthened my strides, easily leaving Leah behind. I pushed open the door. The air was crisp and smelled so clean, making it easy to pick out the individual scents of all things around us. It was all underlined by the earthy odor of the forest that started outside the small town and stretched all across the mountains in the distance.

"Your legs are way too long," Leah muttered as she stepped outside. I looked down at her, then at her high heels. They made her legs much longer but that didn't seem to help with her strides. "Don't give me that look. Oh, there's the driver!"

She waved her hand at a man leaning against a green jeep. His clothes were rather nondescriptive, and he wore a hat that hid most of his face except for a braided beard.

"Pete!" Leah called, and he looked towards us. His face lit up.

"Leah," he greeted in return. They hugged, then his attention turned towards me. He looked me up and down, and my ears pushed back instinctively and being appraised. A low growl resonated at the back of my throat, and Leah elbowed me lightly. Pete laughed. "And who's this friendly fellow?"

"His name's Moondrop."

"Well, hello Moondrop," he said with a curt nod. "Never thought you were the one to get a pet, Leah."

"He's not mine," she replied sternly. "My boss bought him a couple of weeks ago."

"Ah, so you borrowed him?" Pete grinned.

I narrowed my eyes at him, growling again at being talked about like property. Leah elbowed me again and shot me a glare. "Be nice."

"I'm not property," I stated firmly.

Pete shrugged. "Whatever you say, pal. I imagine it's not easy being bought and sold. One of the reasons I'm against this whole pet business, but it doesn't change the facts, does it?"

I narrowed my eyes at him but lacked an argument. He gave me a pitying half-smile.

Leah cleared her throat. "Well, let's not get into that now, could we?"

Pete agreed with a grunt, and we started our drive towards the mansion. I was sulking in the back seat while Leah and Pete chatted away in the front seats. Pete was working for her brother, Louis. They lived together at the mansion, and Pete took care of all sorts of things around the house.

I was more interested in the scenery we passed, so I stopped listening and watched the forest through the window. We passed a meadow, and there was deer grazing. My ears perked up.

"Can I get out?" I asked.

They stopped their conversation and turned towards me.

"It's still about half an hour's drive," Pete said. He looked at Leah questioningly. "We could take a small break."

Leah pursed her lips. "You need to pee, Moondrop?"

"No." I frowned at her, confused as to why she would think that.

"Well, then can you wait just another half an hour? Because I really do and I don't want to pee outside so," she trailed off, and Pete chuckled.

"You can go on. I follow."

The car finally slowed down, and Pete turned around towards me, one hand on the backrest of his seat for support. "You know the way?"

"He doesn't," Leah said.

"I follow your scent," I explained briefly, already climbing out of the car before they could argue. I jumped onto the dirt road. The deer startled and took off. I'd never hunted before but the prospect was rather fun. My muscles twitched, senses heightening, and my hind paws felt the ground beneath.

"You sure?" Leah called from the car.

I nodded, stripped off these damned clothes that I'd had to put on for the flight, and dropped onto my front paws. I remembered the small enclosure back at the pet shop where I'd been allowed to run in circles and climb a solitary tree once a day, or strolling around Vince's apartment and jumping over the couch for fun.

I ran off towards the line of trees where the deer had disappeared.