When we mate, I feel perfect connection. She belongs to me. Every time I am inside her, the mate bond grows. But feelings are complicated, and hierarchies are easy. If I keep her as my assistant, I can feel however I want without having to deal with the many ramifications of loving a human, especially one like Lucky. She is utterly brilliant and incredibly stupid, often at the exact same time. She is chaos incarnate in a soft, curvaceous body. She is everything I never wanted.
I do not think I can fix what is broken inside her. The humans have treated her with such cruelty that she only responds to pain. I cannot be her mate. But I can be her boss. I can give her stability, and I can show her that obedience brings rewards. She may hate me for keeping my distance, but this is best for both of us.
“Stay with me and make sure to take copious notes. I will be testing you on what was covered tonight before we go to bed.”
That is another decision I have made. We will sleep in the same chamber. She will not be out of my sight even for a second. Not because I like having her close, or because discovering her missing made me feel the greatest anxiety I have felt in recent memory, but because she is technically property of King Tyrant and it is my job to guard her as I would guard any rare treasure. That is what I tell myself over and over, it is how I remind myself not to become too involved, or give into some soft-hearted notion of affection.
I am looking after her. That is it. Any attraction I may feel is a biological perversion which must be strongly resisted. I think these thoughts while staring at her rear, taking in the way the fabric of her dress clings to the curve of her cheeks. I do so enjoy punishing her. Her cries, her whines, the way her flesh pinkens beneath my palm…
“Lucky! Stop that!”
She is picking at things again. I do not know what it is with humans, but they seem to have to touch absolutely everything they see.
Fortunately for the both of us, King Tyrant calls. His mate wishes to see Lucky, and I have no objection to her going. It will give me a moment to collect my thoughts and regain control of myself.
Lucky
It’s actually really good to see Tania again. She’s even larger than she was before, but smilier when she sees me. I guess I do miss being around humans. I think it might be important to be around them. I think maybe I’ll start to forget what being a person is even like if I don’t get to associate with her and she with me.
“It’s been so long,” she exclaims. “I’ve been asking Tyrant every day, but he said you were in quarantine and I said there was no point putting you in quarantine seeing as we’d already met, but…”
“Yeah, I almost escaped. Or at least, I tried to almost escape. Basically, Terrible lost me for half an hour and then they freaked out and… you know. They overreact.”
“They do when they care about someone.”
“I don’t think anyone cares about me.”
“I think he cares.”
“Really? Why?”
I sound too eager, and immediately, she knows.
“You really still like him, huh?” She smiles. “Wow. I really didn’t think there was a human in the universe who would find Terrible attractive. He’s kind of a…” she looks around and lowers her voice surreptitiously, as if there was some way she could ever be in trouble “… jerk.”
“I know,” I sigh. “That’s just my type. I always fall for total fucking assholes. I’m like, a therapist’s wet dream. Daddy issues, mommy issues, money issues, I got ‘em all.”
Tania smiles. “You’re really cool,” she says, so much more casually than someone as allegedly regal as she’s supposed to be probably should sound.
“Thanks. I’m glad you think so.”
“He’d be lucky to be with you, if he could get his head out of his ass and realize that he’s not better than you just because you’re human. I don’t know what it is with that guy. He has such a superiority complex. Tyrant is the king, and he never thought he was as far above me as Terrible.”
“Maybe it’s because he’s not the king. Maybe not being the actual king makes him even more intent on proving himself to the universe. Or whatever,” I add, not wanting to sound like I’m trying to be smart, because wouldn’t that be awful, to be mistaken for being intelligent.
Tania nods and puts another candy into her mouth. “I bet that’s it. I bet he has some tragic backstory. I bet…”
All her betting is interrupted by the return of the king. Terrible is not far behind him.