Chapter Four: Heartbreak
There's white heat burning in her chest. She gasps, opening her mouth and somehow not getting air in no matter how much she struggles. Her heart is churning as though she had been running and a raw sound escapes her. The reality that her Master is never coming back for her smashes in on her and while half of her mind tells her that she already knows this for days, the other half hasn't even begun to grieve yet.
She scrambles away until her back is pressed against something solid and she suddenly wishes the cage was back so she can curl up in the small space and shift back, pretend none of this matters. Tears stream down her face and she cries, hands closing over her mouth and the side of her head clumsily when she tries to quiet her tears. Her whole body is shaking and doesn't know if she's crying for Master or for herself. She doesn't like that she's alone now, doesn't like having a master who's dead and who's never coming back for her. She hates it.
She feels him leave her side and tries not to feel too upset about it. He's not her Master Monty. She steels herself for an apologetic talk about how he's not ready for a pet, especially not a broken one like her, and maybe she should be going back with Melissa. But that doesn't happen. Instead, she feels a cloud of soft weight over her shoulders and the broad brush of something being tugged down her back. After a second, she feels herself being held, pulling forward and resting her head on something solid and warm for a second as the weight, a light, cottony thing, is wrapped around her.
Then, Shadow tips her back and she is wearing a jacket that smells like him. "It's okay," he says. "It's okay. I'll be your new Master, if you want, love. I won't leave. Shh... It's okay," he says.
She doesn't want a new master. She already has one. Her throat feels raw as she tries to tumble through some words. Stop. Go away. You're not my Master. Thank you. None of them come out except her hiccuping sobs and even though she's shoving at him, she's pulling him close at the same time, a juxtaposition that doesn't seem to bother him. He keeps holding her.
"It's alright. I'm here. I've got you," he says.
There's a clink of glass and the sound of running water, and then Melissa is squatting down by their side too. "You've got to get her to drink something," she says. "I'll come and check on you later, okay?" she combs a hand through Anna's hair, scratching behind her ears with a low hum. "Shadow's a good boy. He'll take care of you."
Shadow is too old to be a boy. He's at least thirty. She sniffs when she hears Melissa leave the house, taking her scent with her, though she can smell all the things she had managed to cook in the kitchen. It smells like a small feast in there.
She doesn't think she's up to eating anything though. It feels too nice right here.
The warmth of Shadow's weight is right there, pressing up against her and she doesn't want to let go to drink the water even though she's feeling thirsty and she's all out of tears. He pulls her back slightly, hand on the back of her neck in a way that makes all the muscles on her body seize up a little bit. "Drink," he says in a tone that tells her she shouldn't even try to argue. She takes the glass in his hands and downs all of it so quickly that water drips down her chin.
He sighs. "I'm really sorry, doll. I didn't know my father had you under his care. I wouldn't have kept you locked up in a cage if I had known."
She nods and lets him tip her face up. He wipes her chin with his palm, and then, as if he can't quite help himself, leans forward to lick the rest of her water dripping off her face. He cleans her cheeks too, licking away her tears. It feels nice. Master doesn't groom her like this unless they're both shifted, him in his half wolf form and her in her full cat shift. His tongue is warm against her skin, soft, a contrast compared to the tight pinch of his fingers on her chin to keep her from moving away.
It's not as though she would look away. She likes being groomed like this.
When he's done, he pulls back and blinks like he's surprise he had done something like that in the first place. Her whole body shudders and a sound escapes her, a whimper, small and frightened.
He keeps his hand on her thigh, unintentionally pressing onto her tail as well since she still has it curled around her body.
"I'm sorry," she says, feeling like a burden. "I know- I know you don't want me," she continues, looking anywhere but at him. The warmth of his hand, his skin pressing to hers, soaks in and spreads out. She tries not to focus too much on it, but it's comforting and makes her feel less alone.
"I never said I didn't want you," he says.
It's implied. She bites her tongue. She's one of a miniscule group of lucky half-shifts who are able to talk. They hadn't known that when they were selling her to Master, otherwise she would have been worth so much more. The other owners are very envious of her Master. Master brought her to meet with a few other half shifts like her, but they can't talk at all. She sort of understands what they're trying to say, though. She has playdates with them sometimes.
She wonders if Shadow will let other cat shifters visit her, or if their Masters will let Shadow bring her for visits.
"Were you serious?" she asks. "About being my new Master?"
"Yes." He says this, short and terse, like it's being forced out of him. "The old man trusted me to take care of you," he says. "And I will. It's dangerous out there for people like you. You're unclaimed, unmarked. The old man- has he told you why he keeps you hidden?"
She shudders in a breath and nods. She doesn't need him to clarify what he means when he says unclaimed. She's a virgin. "Will you keep me safe?" she asks.
"Yes," he says.
"Are you going to mate me?"
There is a flicker in his eyes and she knows what it means when she scents arousal coming from the older man. Would he be interested in mounting her? Her heat is coming up soon and it's always an awkward affair for everyone involved when it does. Master keeps her locked up and away from the rest of the staff because she would press her face into the pillows and beg to be mounted. It's an embarrassing time for everyone involved.
There's a long, slow moment where she can hear him breathe in and then out. She can't look at him, afraid of what she will find. Afraid and excited all at once.
"I won't if you don't want me to," he says.
Chapter Five: Domestic
Anna hasn't felt this free for a long time. Her old Master loves her, but he's old and ailing and he's terribly possessive. He thinks of her as his cub even though they're not even the same species and he doesn't let her leave the house at all. She doesn't mind