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“Great,” Colleen said, smiling. “We’ll start whenever you’re ready.”

Jeanette nodded, trying to work up the nerve. “Could I… could I have a look? You know, before you…?”

“Sure thing, cutie.” Jeanette blushed as Colleen reached out and took her hand, gently pulling the Rabbit forward. Then she crouched down, so their heads were almost level, before she opened her mouth wide.

Jeanette stared into the dark tunnel ahead of her as the Wolf’s breath washed over her face. The inside of her mouth glistened with saliva, and her long pink tongue quivered slightly, as though in anticipation. At the back of Colleen’s mouth, Jeanette could see the entrance into the dark throat pulsing slightly with each breath.

“Have you ever… um…”

“Actually eaten someone?” When Jeanette nodded, Colleen answered, “Yes, I have. I’m a pred through and through.”

Jeanette stiffened, still staring into Colleen’s mouth. How many of her kind had disappeared into that gullet, never to come back out?

“My bosses tell me that I shouldn’t tell customers that,” Colleen said, her tone matter-of-fact, “but what we’re going to do will require you to put a lot of trust in me, and I don’t think lying to you would make me deserve that trust. So yes, I have eaten prey before. Swallowed them down and never let them out. But I can also promise you that that won’t happen tonight; not while I’m on the job. Every prey I’ve eaten has known exactly what their fate was going to be. If you decide to do this, that will not be your fate tonight.”

Maybe the admission should have made her nervous, but Colleen’s candor calmed Jeanette down. She was right: if the Wolf had lied and said she didn’t eat living prey, Jeanette would never have believed her.

“Besides, I couldn’t digest you even if I wanted to. I already took the pill that neutralizing my stomach acids before I came over. You’d be safe in there until – well, until way after the time you’ve paid for ends, that’s for sure.”

“What happens if… if the time I’ve paid for ends, and I’m still…?”

“First off, you’ve got me all night, so that’s probably not going to happen. But if it does, I just let you out. No tricks here – we’d never stay in business if that weren’t the case. I’ll also let you out immediately if you ask me to, or if you kick three times to signal me, or if you just start freaking out in general. Sound good?”

“Y-yeah.”

“So, is this happening or not? Like I said, no pressure; you can still call the whole thing off. Or, say the word, and I’ll get started.”

Colleen opened her mouth again, giving Jeanette a good view into it. The Rabbit raised her hand, hesitated a moment, then placed it on the wolf’s tongue. It moved slightly beneath her touch.

“Do it.”

Colleen’s tongue suddenly came alive, undulating beneath Jeanette’s hand. It pushed her hand up and backwards, causing it to slide into the Wolf’s throat.

There was no going back now.