“Thank you.” I couldn’t think of anything else to say. This all felt like a dream. One moment I was wrapped up next to Vivica and now she’s gone and others too? My stomach clenched. I tried to hold it but I vomited on my lap. Arkan reached out, but Gerard gave him a look. Gerard began to rub my back.
“We’re going to get them back. Don’t worry.”
“Can I have a tissue?” Gerard grabbed a few from the side table and handed them over. “When you get to your room take a long hot shower then climb into bed. No one will disturb you tomorrow. Sleep as long as you’d like.” I nodded. I wanted to tell him that I’d already showered and that I didn’t want to, but I kept that information to myself. The last thing I wanted to do was to commit some cardinal sin of disobeying him. Especially not now, when he was all I have. Fucking Vivica. I’m so sorry. I should have come out earlier.
“I should have stopped them.”
Gerard barked sharply. “No. You were smart. If you would have tried something, he could have taken you or…worse.” Even though I knew Gerard’s words had logic, I still felt guilty. Like I could have done more for Vivica.
“Now go to your room. I’ll come get you in the morning.” Gerard tapped one of the young shapeshifters. “You and Sephyr go. Stay alert. This can’t happen again.” He and presumably Sephyr, nodded and stood.
“Come with us.”
I looked at Arkan, he averted his eyes. Gerard’s face crumpled a bit.
“It’s okay Cat. It’s going to be okay.” His tone was as solid as ever, but there was something else in his tone. Something that I hadn’t heard before. An underlying emotion that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Was it fear? Or something else?
The two young guards moved towards me, arranging themselves so they were one on either side. Suddenly I was a shapeshifter sandwich. Yay. We walked in silence towards one of the center cabins. After passing by a few rows, we entered an internal row of housing that wasn’t obvious from the street. All of the cabins had teal colored doors and planter boxes in the windows. It was almost as if the cabins were…girly in some way.
“That’s yours.” Sephyr pointed at the cabin to our left. I climbed up the stairs. They sagged and groaned underneath my feet. The red paint was fresh. My house. I turned the knob and opened the door into a tastefully furnished sitting room. A large screen television was fixed to the eastern wall. A suede sectional segmented the room. On the far corner was a bay window surrounded by bookshelves. A floral fainting couch set in a corner. Swank. A breakfast bar divided the far half of the room. Dining room chairs sat around a small circular dining table. I took off my shoes and padded across the cream-colored carpet to the kitchen. Brand new appliances gleamed underneath the overhead light. Out of curiosity, I popped open the fridge. Bottles of plain and flavored seltzer water lined the door. On the top shelf sat a dozen eggs, a small container of ghee, and five goat milk yogurts. Inside the fridge were various covered bowls, pots, and Tupperware containers filled to the brim with mystery dishes. The crisper was full of apples, bananas, peppers, mangoes, and cucumbers. Someone had taken the time to fill my fridge carefully. It was such a touching gesture, but a huge departure from the room that I had in the tryout dorms. I guess they were serious about taking care of their breeders. I shut the fridge and moved from the kitchen into the hallway. The first door opened into a large closet. It was stuffed with towels, bedding, toilet paper, and cleaning supplies. The next door was a gigantic bathroom. Despite the fact that it was stuffed with a walk-in shower, a hot tub, toilet, and dual sinks, there was still room for a full-length mirror and makeup table. There was a door at the far end of the bathroom. That must be the bedroom. When I opened the door, I expected to see a bed. Instead, I was greeted with a walk-in closet that was the size of my previous room. The room was stuffed with clothes. I fingered the different fabrics. There was formal wear, casual, work attire, even an entire wall dedicated to lingerie. Everything had a tag on it. There were thousands of dollar’s worth of clothes in here. More than I’d ever had in my entire life. How big was this cabin? I walked through the closet into the door on the far side. This had to be the bedroom. Opening up the door, I was relieved to find a bed. Inside the bedroom was another large screen television, blackout curtains, a speaker, and a dresser with a large box on top. I went over to the dresser. What could this box be? When I opened the box, I wasn’t automatically sure what I was seeing. Sparkling jewels, gold, and various baubles were all arranged and nestled in their proper places. A jewelry box fit for a queen. As generous as these gifts were, I couldn’t help but feel like they were a random stab in the dark at a certain kind of woman. I didn’t care about fashion. Who would I even see in half of these outfits? What I really wanted were my supplies. I hadn’t practiced magic since I got here. Perhaps if I asked the Goddess, she would tell me where Vivica was. There had to be plenty of herbs and mushrooms in this forest. And I hadn’t seen anyone drink, but surely some wine would be available? I was going to have to ask Arkan, I mean Gerard in the morning. I couldn’t live here very long without some considerations. I wasn’t this type of woman. If I was going to breed, I was going to need to feel like I was in my own home. Would he be offended? I couldn’t imagine anyone else turning down these things but I wasn’t just anyone. I went back in the closet and looked around for pajamas. I selected a fuzzy pair of pajama pants, a long top, and some leopard print slippers. I guess I could get used to this. Pulling back the covers, I hopped into my new bed. The coolness of the soft sheets felt incredible. Vivica. How I wished you were here to see this. You’d have a little house of your own. I wonder what was in your house. Would you ever get to see it? Somewhere amongst the questions, I fell into a dreamless sleep.
-17-
Sunlight streaming through the curtains burned my eyes. Didn’t I close those? I looked around at my room, seeing the box on the dresser and my rose-colored comforter. I wasn’t in the old room and Vivica was gone. I sat up and rubbed my eyes. Coffee. Was there a coffee machine in the kitchen? I didn’t see it last night, but I couldn’t imagine a kitchen so well-stocked not having a coffee machine. I went through the closet door. There was a small chill in the air. I didn’t see a heater or vents. Number one thing to ask someone about
this place. How do I control the temperature? I went through the pajamas and found a flannel robe. Wrapping it around myself, I continued back on through to the kitchen. My eyes swept the counter for a coffee pot. There was nothing. I knelt down and checked all of the cabinets. Cookware and various appliances were neatly placed, but nothing to make coffee with. I checked the spice cabinet. Not a coffee bean in sight. I rustled through and found tea bags, but they were herbal. Where in the hell was the coffee? In the tryout’s cafeteria, the coffee was abysmal, but it was there. How was I supposed to get a hold of anyone? Where was Gerard?
“Gerard! Give me coffee!” A crackle echoed through the house, loud enough to cause me to cover my ears. What in the hell was that?
“Did you need something Cat?” A strange man’s voice echoed over some invisible loudspeaker.
“Who the hell are you?” And what was he doing coming over the speaker to my house?
“Your butler. Did Gerard not tell you I’d be waiting?”
Um no. Gerard did not. It seems like Gerard likes to take a lot of liberties and make a lot of assumptions. And I’m supposed to bear his children. Yay. “I’m sorry. My what?”
“Your butler. Whatever you want and need, I’m supposed to get it for you.” Well, I guess that doesn’t sound too bad. Perhaps, assumptions are not so bad after all.
“I need coffee.” Immediately.
“I’ll have to check with the doctor, but I’m sure we could figure out something.”
“I don’t mean to be a pain in the ass, but not having coffee is going to be detrimental to my emotional health. Particularly in the morning.”
“Well….”
“Come on. Just for today. I went through quite a shock last night.” I felt a little guilty resorting to that, but I really did need my coffee.
“Ok. Well, I can get you one cup. Do you need anything else?”
Anything? Anything at all?
“Waffles. With butter. And real syrup.”
“You’re going to make me call the doctor, aren’t you?”
“Do what you have to do. But I want stellar waffles. With fruit! And nuts! And a gigantic cup of coffee. Please don’t forget the cream. If you could also let Gerard know that I want him to visit as soon as possible.”