"All- all the time?" she asks, and she sounds so hopeful, the idea of spending time with another living being is so seductive that she is leaning in as she asks this, eyes shining brightly.
He answers, "If you want."
She blushes and nods, her eyes wide as saucers, so lovely and trusting. The scent of fear and anxiety have all but gone now, leaving behind only the sweet smell of peaches that had drawn him in earlier. "New- new Master?" she whispers.
"If you want," he rumbles, liking the sound of the word on her tongue and the way she tilts her head, offering her neck already in submission.
She frowns, as though the concept of choice is foreign to her. She mewls sweetly, and then leans up to rub the top of her head on his arm. "Master Teddy?" she whispers.
"Yes, pet. If you want," he says, pausing only a moment when he hears his name on her tongue. Danny must have told her about him. Nobody else calls him Teddy. It's a silly pet-name, one that was given to him when he shredded the teddy bear that Danny had given him on his sixth birthday. He didn't like that the stuffed animal had part of his name.
"I want-" she murmurs. "I want pets, Master Teddy," she whispers.
His heart melts a little bit and he rubs her hair, scratching the soft fur between her ears. She's really very lovely, quiet and sweet like this. He doesn't fell any ill-intent from her, but he hadn't f
elt any of that when she came at him earlier either. But she had been anxious then. "Would you like to come home with me now, pet? Is there anything you'd like to bring with you?" he asks, secretly hoping there's nothing she would want to bring with her. He would very much like to buy her all the things she needs. New things. Only the best for her. Already, he is thinking of finding someone to buy her a new wardrobe, one that would fit her better.
The dress that Danny had gotten her is nice, but it's clearly not built with a half shifter in mind. Every sway of her tail pushes the skirt up a little, revealing the soft, smooth skin of her thigh.
"Kitten?" he prompts when she doesn't answer.
She 'mreows' at him, purring sweetly instead of answering. He has a feeling she's not listening to him at all. Most half shifters are like this, a little too much of their animals in charge for them to be fully human.
"I um- With all due respect, sir. You should leave before the others come and check on her?" Alex is glancing worriedly at his watch.
He grins and Alex stumbles back so quickly he falls on his ass. Theodore asks, "They're coming here?" Perhaps he could skip the firing part and get rid of them now. It would save him the trouble of having to hunt them down individually later. Than again, the hunt is part of the experience.
A series of expression flits across the boy's face, from horror, to understanding, and then back to horror and finally, acceptance. "Perhaps- perhaps you should um- you should wait until you've gotten her settled in?"
She's not even paying them any attention now, nuzzling into his touch like a touch-starved pet. She's really very sweet, warming up to him so quickly. She's too trusting. The only reason she has to trust him is that her former Master said she should and that appears to be enough for her. It really shouldn't be.
He is going to have such fun ruining her.
Chapter Four: Master Teddy
Master Danny died on a sunny Monday morning. She knows because the men who came here with the electric prods and the keys to the front door tells her Master Danny is dead and is never coming for her again.
She knows they're telling the truth before they would never have gotten the keys otherwise. Master Danny is human, but he is like her sometimes, possessive with the things Master Danny gives her. She doesn't even want to share any of her toys with him and she has a lot of toys but not enough. She loves her scratching posts the most. He takes a long time setting them up so she can hone her nails and shed her old claws.
She loves the fish he brings her too. The fresh ones are always the best. She has a lot of food in the fridge, enough to last weeks and weeks since Master Danny doesn't always remember to visit her. She thought Master Danny was just slow when the doors opened that day, but strangers walked in, strangers in dark suits and smelling of greed and hunger that has nothing to do with food.
They tell her that she belongs to them now, that she is a beautiful kitten and she will sell for a lot of money. It's a pity they told her all the terrible things they want to do to her before they got the final door open because it is the last door that matters.
It is the door that opens from the inside, one that Master Danny had installed the last time he visited, when he smelled to heavily of sickness that she thought he was going to drop dead in the middle of his visit. He told her to stay hidden when the men came to install the electric gate that can only be locked from the inside and she did, hiding in her bathroom while the stranger construction workers whispered about eccentric old men and their hobbies.
Master Danny was there the entire time, keeping close to make sure no one would 'accidentally' wander into her room. She brought most of her toys in the room to keep her company then, and Master Danny would pet her and tell her she's a good girl when they're gone, so she had that to look forward to too.
These men won't pet her, though. They don't even look at her without dollar signs in their eyes. They tried a number of things over the next few days. She was so scared when they had something bang against the roof of her home, but the metal is sturdy. Master Danny had been terrified of someone stealing her when he was alive. She was his pride and joy, he said.
One that he kept hidden.
Nobody plays with her. She calls and calls and her door remains locked.
Master Danny says it's to keep her safe, but she knows it's to keep anyone from stealing her away. He likes her, but only as a pet. He brags about her to friends sometimes and rewards them by letting them see her, but he doesn't let them play with her.
She's lonely all the time except for when Master Danny comes to visit. He would praise her for her beautiful fur and stroke her with his hands. He is careful, though. Always careful and he keeps a taser close by in case she can't help herself and uses her teeth or claws. Because he's human and fragile, so she has to be careful with him too.
Master Danny had been sick for a long time before he finally died and he said- he said he has a friend who would keep her safe when that happens. Teddy, he had said. Teddy is a good wolf. He would make sure no harm comes to her.