Red String {EDITING}

Public Transport Hell

Dinner was a rather subdued affair. They already had set portions, so there were no table cloths being yanked, no elbows battling with each other to grab the food, like there normally were. That was probably why they finished earlier than they normally did, all of them quietly heading back to their carriage.

"Tired?" Rylan quirked an eyebrow at the yawning redhead.

"Shattered." She mumbled, making her way to the beds on the lower section of their carriage, getting dressed as quick as she could before she flopped onto the double bed that was calling her name.

Rylan followed close behind her, snuggling into her as he pulled the covers over them, concealing them from a set of curious green eyes.

Blaine, surprisingly enough, was the next one to call it a night – probably due to the fact that it was his turn on watch next – and that was why he turned to the pair of them as he got into bed. "If I hear any hanky-panky in the next few hours-"

A decorative pillow slammed into his face.

"Just warning you, unless you want me to fall asleep on watch."

"You stayed up for five days straight in the Alpha Trials, so shut up and get some shut eye, unless you want me to knock you out." Rylan said, pulling Lyra further into his chest, soon drifting off to sleep alongside his mate.

That was how Lyra spent her first night on a train... and the second... and the third too, surprisingly enough.

In fact, it was only on the fourth night that she broke routine by prying herself out of her mate's arms in the middle of the night, wandering up the little set of stairs that led to the leather seats of their posh carriage.

"You're up late..." Blaine mumbled, watching as she wandered towards the door. "Where are you heading?"

"The toilet."

"You stay here." Thorn stood. "I'll go with her." He mumbled, brushing the sleep out of his eyes. "Come on, Ly." He opened the door for her. "Let's go before Rylan wakes up and freaks out."

"I'm coming." Lyra said, following behind him swiftly.

"Soooooo..." Thorn fell in step beside her. "How are you getting on with Ry? He is being nice to you, right?"

"Yeah. Of course he is." Lyra smiled. "We're mates, after all."

"I can't help but wonder what my mate is gonna be like." Thorn mumbled dreamily, staring off into space as they passed through the next few carriages. He bit his lip, his eyes glinting with mischief until Lyra nudged him.

"What's that look for?"

"Oh." He blinked. "Don't worry about it, Ly." His hand ruffled her hair. "You're far too innocent."

"Huh?"

"Oh dear, would you look at that?" Thorn shoved her towards the bathroom door, speaking quickly as he did. "We've arrived."

"OK..." She murmured, quickly finishing up. It was rather chilly, and she was only in her thin pyjamas, that was why she was itching to get back to the warm bed she shared with her mate.

The hand that materialised through the ceiling, though, had other ideas.

That was also the reason she ended up on the roof of the train, her toes freezing until her old training kicked in. Red lightning sparked around her, crackled in her hands at a dangerous intensity – nothing like what she'd used in her fight with Blaze. There was a reason for that, though.

She could sense it.

It radiated through the air like a thick congealing smoke.

Bloodlust.