There was one thing Carrick would admit to, which was he had a small level of respect for Myles for doing this. He didn’t have to, and Carrick could have easily gone to the party without a human pet. But, by doing so, he’d be more readily accepted into the group.
“Think you can stop pulling at your pants so we can go?” Carrick asked, and Myles glared in return. Zaid stood by, watching silently. He was a daemon who rarely laughed or smiled, but Carrick had come to know him so well over the centuries that he knew Zaid was getting a kick out of this.
“I’m as ready as I’ll ever be,” Myles muttered, giving one last tug to the material so his balls wouldn’t be strangled.
In his hand, Zaid held an actual leash with a leather handle and delicate silver links. He handed it over to Carrick, and Myles grimaced at it. Yes, he’d be hooked up and trailing Carrick around the party, but at least Carrick wasn’t going to make him crawl.
“Time for my costume,” Carrick drawled, putting his hand to his forehead and dragging it downward. As his face was revealed, Myles gasped, clearly shocked at what was revealed.
An entirely different face.
“I need to pass as a Light Fae,” Carrick said to explain the reason he’d changed his appearance.
Myles nodded, gaze taking in the dark hair tied back at the base of Carrick’s neck, the shimmering skin, and the emerald eyes. Carrick’s facial structure was completely different, although still beautiful enough to pass as a noble.
“Good luck,” Zaid said, and they were off to meet Pyke at the party.
* * *
“Let’s go over it one more time,” Carrick said to Myles as their driver pulled into a long driveway at an estate on the southside of Seattle.
Myles tugged on his collar, stretching his neck a bit.
“First thing,” Carrick muttered, “is to stop pulling on the collar. You have to look comfortable and submissive.”
“I’ve got it,” Myles snapped, probably because Carrick had already told him that a few times.
Just as Carrick had told Myles that the only thing he had to do was walk beside him submissively while keeping his eyes down and his ears open.
Up ahead, an old gothic mansion came into view, along with a line of limousines dropping off party guests.
“Could that be any more like Eyes Wide Shut?” Myles muttered.
Carrick had seen that movie, and he had to agree it held the same vibe. He’d explained to Myles there would be weird stuff going on, but that they wouldn’t be participating in any of it. Carrick was there to socialize and get information, nothing more.
“You’re not going to loan me out to one of your friends, are you?” Myles asked in a joking manner, but there was a hint of uncertainty in his tone.
Carrick gave him a hardened look. “Do you think I’d put your life or health at risk?”
Myles studied him for a moment before shaking his head. “No, you wouldn’t, but not for my benefit, though. You’ll protect me for Finley.”
“Exactly,” Carrick said as their car pulled up and a valet opened the back door. “Now act like a good pet.”
“Woof, woof,” Myles muttered, and Carrick almost smiled.
Carrick clipped the leash and stepped from the car, Myles following after him.
At the doorway, they were greeted by a beautiful Light Fae dressed in business attire—gray pencil skirt, modest white blouse, and sensible block heels. Carrick gave the alias Pyke had provided—Quentin Borrows—and they were waved through.
The inside of the mansion was exquisite in its decor with rich paneled walls, hand-carved moldings, and expensive silk rugs. The furniture was well-preserved antiques, and the artwork on the wall was clearly rare and expensive. Pyke had told Carrick that this house was owned by an original fallen Light Fae who found the human world far more interesting than Faere and regularly hosted these types of parties.
Carrick had taken time to fill Myles in on what to expect, but Myles’ eyes were bugged out for a while until the shock wore off. While there were many fae milling about with drinks in hand—most with their humans on chains—there were pockets of fae doing things to their humans that ranged from merely humiliating to downright depraved. There were no secret rooms where these activities took place. Instead, they happened right out in the open, and no one seemed to think twice about it. Over the millennia, immortals tended to become immune to it all.
Not so much Myles, and Carrick had to lean in with a tiny pull on the chain only once to say, “Keep your eyes down.”
To which Myles whispered back, “I’m going to have to bleach them after this is all over.”
It didn’t take Carrick long to find Pyke. The human he’d brought was a voluptuous blonde woman in a bustier and a leather mini skirt paired with platform heels. Pyke was not a cruel fae, and he didn’t make her crawl or jerk her around by the chain the way Carrick had seen some of the fae treat the humans. He was quite sure she was a human Pyke would share with others, but that wasn’t Carrick’s problem.