“Yes. The kind the highest security gets, so I can act both defensively and offensively on the road, if need be. I can also shoot a weapon left-handed out the window while driving, and I’m quite accurate.” When working for Drake, I’d been trained to answer the client’s questions about my abilities, and to help them feel safe by assuring them I was capable. It felt a little like bragging, whichalwaysgets a slave punished, but I was this vampire’s personal bodyguard and she needed to know my training.
“Yes, it is good to know. Thank you. Abbott’s notes say you were required to act as punisher for your former Master. How did you feel about that part of your duties?”
“It depended on the person. If they deserved it, I didn’t have trouble doing it. Once, there was a young slave, a small girl, no more than seven or eight years old. She was being punished for aprevious offense with calorie restriction, and she was hungry, so she stole a small piece of bread. Two bites.”
I focused on my task while I told the story, hoping to keep the images from coming back. “I was to give her fifty strikes with a horsewhip. The little thing was a human. I couldn’t do it. I took five hundred strikes for my refusal, and I had to watch the Master give her one hundred, instead of the fifty I’d have given her. She died three days later. I had to watch her slowly die from her injuries. I should’ve just done it, but...” I shrugged. “I couldn’t. I physically couldn’t make my arm go through the motions. She was killed for stealing two damned bites of bread, and there was no recourse. She wasn’t a person to him. She was an untrainable asset in his eyes, so her death meant nothing.”
“What are Abbott’s other rules?” She didn’t seem bothered or surprised by my story, but then, theold oneshave seen so much, not much affects them.
I was thankful for the change of subject. “I’m your head of security, so I’m in charge of the men and women he sends to watch over the outside of your home. If one of them screws up, I’ll be punished. This means I’m in charge of doing whatever is necessary to keep them in line, including punishing them if necessary. Any actions I take are to be reported immediately to Abbott and Kieran.”
“Sounds fair. You understand we’ve gone to a higher alert and why, yes?”
I took everything off the burners and loaded three plates with food. I had apple pie and vanilla ice cream for dessert, but first, I needed protein. I talked while I worked, and Gwen followed me to the table and sat across from me.
“We’re expecting a big battle, and there are skirmishes now. You’re important to Abbott so he’s making sure you’re safe.”
“Correct. We have you in the house, and a small team of wolves owned by Abbott outside. I think it’s overkill, but my vote doesn’t count.”
“Owned by him, but they aren’t slaves.”
“Correct. He controls their willpower and their thoughts enough to be sure their number one goal is keeping the coterie safe. Otherwise, they’re free to enjoy their own hobbies and pleasures when they aren’t working.”
“Why didn’t he make me one of them when he inherited me? I know security. I’m a wolf. He owned me.”
“I do not know. At a guess? He saw something else in you. It’s my understanding he chooses those wolves carefully — lone wolves who likely aren’t safe being turned loose on humanity without an Alpha, and who are smart enough to do the job. Sometimes he purchases slave werewolves from other vampires, when he’s running low, but even then, he makes sure it’s someone suited to the life he can offer them. You’re clearly smart enough, but you needed a chance to explore what freedom might mean to you.”
Chapter Ten
Kieran
Our first weeks together had plenty of awkward moments, but it was an overall positive experience. Most days, I took the chastity device off so Ajax could get a hard-on and have an orgasm, but I didn’t let him fuck my wife every day. Some days he got to eat her out while I fucked his ass. Often, Gwen and I had sex on or over him, and then fed from him at the end. On these days, I ordered him to masturbate, so he could orgasm while we fed from him.
Some days, the sexual energies hit me harder and ramped my vampire powers higher, and I ended up spanking my wife, or withholding an orgasm from her, or even hanging her by her ankles and whipping the fuck out of her quim. It didn’t feel right to do the latter in front of Ajax, so I gave him the day off from feeding us, and told Gwen she’d have to survive on bagged blood for the day.
So, at the end of two weeks, I was surprised when Abbott texted me to let me know he’d be at our home in thirty minutes, and he expected to talk to all three of us.
Spence walked straight to Ajax when they came in the front door, and pulled him into a hug. Ajax was bigger, but scrawny little Spence was clearly the top wolf between the two of them. Supernatural power isn’t just about physical size, but it’s often the deciding factor when it comes to wolves.
Spence started the conversation, once we were all seated. The little werewolf has access to Abbott’s power. He isn’t over me, and yet, when he gives instructions in Abbott’s name, I have to obey. It’s an unusual situation, but I don’t resent it. On the contrary, I’m thrilled Abbott found someone who makes him happy.
I was surprised when Spence addressed me right off. Abbott usually starts and ends these kinds of talks.
“You’ve told Ajax he isn’t your slave. You want him to be your companion. More than just a blood servant.”
“Yes,” I agreed.
“He’d feel like less of a slave if he wasn’t required to wear a chastity device. In his mind, free people aren’t kept from their own genitals. Only slaves are forbidden access.”
I sat back, a little shocked, though I supposed it made sense. It also explained why Spence was talking to me. He wasn’t giving orders, merely letting me know of a problem. It was less formal coming from him.
But the only thing I could think in that moment was to ask myself why I hadn’t seen Ajax’s discontent. I needed to answer Spence, though, so I said, “This is true. He’s in the device because—” I rolled my eyes at my own stupidity. “It’s been locked up because I’m an idiot. Gwen’s been mine for centuries, through more companions than I can count.”
I looked at Ajax. “I’m sorry. We’ll take it off, and I’ll trust the two of you not to take things beyond my wishes.”
“Thank you, Sir.” Ajax looked terribly uncomfortable. No, he was downright distressed. It was up to me to fix that.
“I’ll ask Abbott to take it with him when he leaves. It won’t be on the premises any longer. I’m sorry you weren’t comfortable coming to me directly, but I’m glad you went to Abbott and Spence. Communication is important. If I don’t know there’s a problem, I can’t fix it.”
