It wasn’t as if she had a schedule to keep. She could take as long as she wanted on the repair validations, as long as she got them done before the next automated maintenance cycle. She could even cancel the request entirely. Lunar Central would simply republish the request and somebody else with the necessary qualifications would take the assignment. She wasn’t even really in any danger of needing to work any time soon. She gave enough of her time to maintaining Theta Dome’s ventilation system that she could afford to spend the next hundred rotations doing nothing but reviewing automat cuisine and importing designer pharma from Ganymede.

Rather, the chance to work on the external airlocks—and most importantly, outside them—gave Gemini a chance to practice one of her more… difficult… vices. She inhaled sharply, rolling the scent of her own breath and the citrus tang of her air supply around in her nostrils. Pressure-suit training was mandatory for residence in any of Luna’s domes, and Central was quick to fine anyone whose certification lapsed. That was one tax the neofeline airtech had never had to pay, and probably never would. To the extent she could, she lived in her suit, filtering her reality through twin transparent displays and a thin layer of full-body latex.

Unfortunately, to really get the full experience, she needed at least one partner, somebody brave enough to risk a seal breach and interesting enough to be worth the risk. On Mars or Titania, that wouldn’t have been a problem; most of the inhabitants knew their way around a suit and the local cultures encouraged the sort of no-risk-no-reward attitude the technician could get behind. Lunar tastes, however, ranged to the safer, saner, and more consensual. That meant that, in Theta Dome at least, Gemini’s choices were somewhat limited. She’d sent out a message to her top five candidates a full five kiloseconds before starting the job, hoping for an interested response, but she’d only gotten static for her troubles.

With a count of FF, Gemini stood and stretched, the suit squeaking around her. She sighed into her rebreather and slid forward towards the edge of the alcove. Just to the left of the airlock was a small terminal, and she slid the snug metamagnetic bracelet around her wrist into the small opening below. The port chimed softly in recognition, and then air rushed into the space between the seals. With pressure near to normal, the sign above the door lit and a second beep sounded as the inner iris opened, revealing a narrow space lit with simple white panels. Two emergency pressure-suits and helmet hung on one side of the gap, while hazard icons blanketed the other. The airtech stepped between them and pressed her bracelet to the inner scanner, and the iris sealed behind her.

“Hello, Gemini.” The words echoed across her cochlear transducer. The feline’s eyes widened behind her lenses as she spun around. Leaning against the inner iris, a raccoon half-grinned at her from within a smoke-tinted bubble-helmet. Silvery biomechanical tendrils crept up from beneath the neckline of zir own suit. “Fancy meeting me here.”

“Kassita.” The airtech hissed the name into her rebreather as she backed up against the outer ring. “I don’t recall asking for your help.”

The raccoon chittered in response, zir feedback-laugh grating directly into Gemini’s skull. “Not directly, perhaps, but I received word from… a mutual acquaintence, shall we say.” Spidery threads of unfocused nanopaste clung to the inside of zir visor. “I thought I might offer.”

Gemini backed up against the outer iris, but her denial was lost to the rush of fans as they evacuated the airlock. The feline swayed slightly as the pressure outside dropped, sending a rush of blood to her head. The warning sign light flashed twice, and her wrist bracelet began to vibrate as the second ring opened. She took a step backwards, crossing the threshold. Outside, Terra hung high in the sky, the cyan glow of the Wall surrounding and isolating the planet shining like a second sun. Sol floated lower and to the left, casting long shadows across the ground.

“Lovely, isn’t it?” Kassita mused as zie glided towards the feline. Zir paws were at the feline’s shoulders before the she could say no, gecko-like patches on the raccoon’s fingertips affixing themselves to the airtech’s suit. “O, goblet full to brim with bloom and faun, what grants her holder never but a sip. Padilla’s Shattered Albedo always seems appropriate when Earthgazing, don’t you think?”

The airtech squirmed around, trying to pull free of Kassita’s van der Waals grip. “I’m not out here to Earthwatch,” she protested. “I’m just here to spot-check the automated repair system.”

“Correction, Gemini. You’re here to engage in asphyxiation and exposure-play.” One of Kassita’s gloves slid with uncomfortable fluidity down Gemini’s front, leaving a faint silvery trail as zie caressed the airtech’s suit. When zir paw reached Gemini’s hip, zie turned her roughly to face the Wall. “If you happen to certify that repair work while you’re enjoying yourself, so much the better.”

Gemini grit her teeth, trying to ignore the warmth she was feeling inside her suit. She jerked her shoulder forward out from under Kassita’s grip, but the raccoon’s glove held as if bonded in place. “Technicalities. What do you want?”

Kassita chittered again, this time backed by a dissonant trill, like a pair of sine waves fighting for dominance. “The same thing you want, of course. You haven’t actually told me to stop, you realize. You could at any point, but you haven’t, have you?” Zie snapped one arm forward, grabbed Gemini by the back of the throat and jerked backwards. “I’m starting to suspect you don’t really want me to stop, do you?”

Gemini’s eyes went wide as a binaural beat began to drum its way into her head, disrupting her focus. “I—” Between the sudden motion and the carrier signal, Gemini’s thoughts struggled to cohere. “I want you….” She shook her head, her tail lashing behind her, swatting at Kassita’s thighs. “… to stop.”

Kassita put one paw on the release valve of Gemini’s airtank and gave it a quarter-turn. “Do you really?”

Gemini groaned as the air hissed behind her. Unbidden, one of her paws went between her thighs, as if she could physically restrain the physiological response through her latex suit. “Don’t,” she whimpered. “Stop.”

“Don’t stop?” Kassita chittered. “If you insist.” Zie gave another half-twist, and the pressurized air in Gemini’s tanks began to boil away, tiny flurries condensing across the raccoon’s helmet. “Breathe slow, Gemini. Every lungful will cost you.” Zir other paw went to Gemini’s tail, pulling it to the side as zie pressed against the rear of the airtech’s suit. “Here, let me give you something that will help.” Zie casually linked the front of zir suit to the back of Gemini’s and extruded a nanotendril between them.

“Wh—” Gemini interrupted herself midword, holding her breath as she listened to the gas venting behind her. She keened softly into her rebreather and pressed more firmly against her cleft. Her whole body shook as as she struggled against the urge to grind her hips against her paw. As she rocked on her hinds, she felt one of her waste-seals crack, and then something body-warm and slick pressing directly against her fur. Her teeth chattered as the filaments of nanopaste began to light up her neurons, compounding her desire. “—at!” she finished sharply, caught between the need to pull away and the fear of breaking the seal.

Kassita’s laugh echoed in Gemini’s cochlear transducer again, rolling along the dueling sine waves. “It’s just a small gift, Gemini. Something I’ve wanted to share with you for a very long time.” Zie pushed the silvery probe further into Gemini’s suit, slipping between her legs, splitting and gliding through her fur towards her openings. “You’ll love it once you try it, I promise.”

Caught between rising arousal and terror, Gemini’s heart began to pound. The dissonant hum and the dwindling oxygen killed any hope of protest. Everywhere the nanotendrils touched her, cool electricity poured into her skin, lighting her nerves and augmenting her arousal. She began to rock impatiently against her fist, fingers rolling against her crotch as she mewled into her rebreather. Stars danced at the edge of her vision, while the Wall glowed directly before her. “No.” The word was automatic, a whisper among howls. “Please.”

“No and please?” The raccoon’s voice flowed along those sensuous sine waves, cold enough to burn. “You should make up your mind, Gemini. You don’t have much air left. Which is it?”

“Please!” came Gemini’s gasping reply, her lungs starting to sting. The stars grew brighter even as her vision began to fade. She jammed her paw tightly to her crotch, pressing inward against the thickening quicksilver tentacle crawling inside her sex. “Please! Please! Please! Please!” The word became a mantra, every thrust of her hips forward and back matched with a fresh exclamation as she rode the dizzying wave of disorientation towards climax.

Kassita’s smile turned cold, her eyes narrowing to slits. “Then… no.” Zie hissed, and suddenly the tendrils withdrew, sucking backwards into the raccoon’s suit, replacing the seal in their wake. Zie pushed the airtech away and stepped back towards the airlock. “If you want it, then it isn’t any fun.”

Gemini cried out in frustration, rocking frantically against her fingers. The loss of the nanoprobes inside her left her cold, but the oxygen-loss was enough to push herself over the edge, and she dropped to her knees, yowling into her rebreather as she climaxed. She fell forward onto all fours, wincing as the metamagnetic bracelet banged into the back of her paw. “Bitch,” she hissed through clenched teeth.

“You wouldn’t appreciate it otherwise,” Kassita smirked as she withdrew. “Come find me in Red Sector, four-eight-two-five, if you change your mind later. You may want to refill your tanks before you try to work. Oh, and one more thing. Jakob Voynovich sends his regards.” Then the raccoon stepped back inside the airlock, disappearing from view.

I could hear breathing in the room beyond. I tugged at my tie, then pulled it out from around my neck as I stepped into the main room. Lounging on the bed, propped against the wall, was a white tigress casually reading something on a smartphone. Her red velvet sleeveless evening gown strained between her expansive chest, and her fur gleamed where the light touched it. At her waist was a wide black belt to emphasize her figure, and a golden chain choker sat close to her neck, with a familiar agate bauble at the hollow of her throat. I’d seen all of Ms. Teozen’s girls wear something like it somewhere, probably a gift from the madam herself.

I coughed once to try to get her attention, but her eyes remained deliberately on her screen. I waited several seconds, then spoke into the silence, my voice seeming too loud for the small space. “Ms. Teozen sent you?”

“She did, yes,” the tigress confirmed, still not turning her head. “My name is… well, call me Bianca.”

“Bianca, that’s very pretty. I… well, I brought you something.” I pulled a second envelope from my pocket, unmarked, and held it out to her. “A gift, not part of the deal.”

Finally, Bianca turned her head; her eyes were pale blue, like a cloudless summer sky. “Thank you, Reggie.” She sat up and took the check from me, then slid it into a pouch of a duffel bag on the floor beside the bed.

I winced at the shorthand. “Please, call me Reginald. I haven’t been called Reggie since high school.”

She chuffed softly, the tip of her tail flicking in amusement behind her. “Funny, that. First things first, though.” She held up a small cut crystal vial, about the length of my finger, stoppered at one end with a cork wrapped in wax. Inside swirled a dark amber liquid. “I’ll need three drops of your blood, to finish this.”

I watched Bianca roll the prism around in her fingers, the fluid inside shifting about. “Is that…?” I wiped my hands on my slacks; no matter how many times I did this, confronting the moment always made me nervous.

Bianca laughed again, a deeper rumble in the back of her throat. “Oh, poor boy. It’s more than you could imagine, that’s what it is.” She held out a paw. “Your hand, please… Reginald.”

With quickening pulse, I offered Bianca my hand, and she took it in hers, then closed her fingers around mine. An ivory claw slid out of her thumb, and she scratched my palm with it. Instantly, blood welled up in the cut, the salty sweat making it sting. I hissed against pursed lips, but I couldn’t look away as she broke the seal on the vial in her other paw, then counted off the crimson drops that she dribbled into the crystal. As each hit the amber within, the fluids reacted, mixing in rainbow hues. “One… two… three.” She let go of my hand and corked the small tube again. “That will take about five minutes to settle. Go run that under cold water for a bit.”

I nodded. “Yes, Bianca.” That familiar constriction returned as I held my hand under the faucet, watching drops of blood wash down the drain. My fingers and toes had started to go numb again. “Ms. Teozen never has told me where she gets her potions. They’ve got to eat up most of what I’m paying.”

“Ms. Teozen doesn’t encourage us to discuss finances,” the tigress called from the other room. “It ruins the mood.”

“I’m just wondering,” I responded over the running water, rubbing at the cut with my palm. “I’m fascinated by all this, really.”

Bianca chuckled again, and then I saw her in the bathroom mirror, leaning against the doorframe. She’d slid out of her dress, revealing a hunter green satin corset laced with white cord, accompanied by a matching thong below. “And you get so little opportunity to study it, I’m sure.” Her pale blue eyes burned into my reflection.

I shrugged and looked down at the sink quickly. “Let’s say it doesn’t come up much in my line of work.”

Bianca smiled tightly. “I’m sure it doesn’t.” She nodded, then slid back out of the doorframe, beckoning with her tail as she returned to the bed. “Has it stopped?”

I pulled my hand out of the water; the line of red was still visible, and as I watched, it slowly darkened, but it was mostly sealed. “Pretty much, yes.”

“Good,” the tigress responded. “Join me.”

When I stepped back into the bedroom, Bianca was busily shaking the vial in one paw, her other arm across her chest. She held it up before her eyes; the fluid within had gone completely clear. “It’s ready.” She tossed it to me. “Drink.”

I studied the crystal vial carefully; rainbows danced in its depths. “All of it?”

She nodded again, smiling with that hint of fang again. “One gulp.”

A shudder ran through me, but I nodded and pulled the stopper from the vial. The scents of jasmine and copper hit my nose and I sneezed, but before I could lose my nerve, I tossed back the contents like a shot. It was oily and tangy and it burned down my throat like liquid fire, then settled into a warm tingle in my stomach. I grunted and sat heavily on the bed. “It’s like an itch,” I muttered, not really thinking about it.

“Those sensations will fade soon,” Bianca soothed. “You should go ahead and strip.”

I shook my head, but I started fumbling with the buttons on my shirt. “I know. No, I—” The words caught in my throat, then tumbled out of me. “It’s like an itch. If you try to scratch it, it only itches worse.”

Bianca’s tail hooked behind her. “You’re not talking about your palm, or the potion.” That half-smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “How do you feel?”

I shuddered again; far from fading, the tingle was starting to spread, a faint burning like acid reflux, but deep in my gut. “Not good,” I admitted. “It wasn’t like this last time.”

Bianca’s smile spread, but her eyes grew harder. “You met with Selina last time. You asked Ms. Teozen to up the tension. We seek to please.”

The pain was starting to spread; every brush of my clothes made my skin crawl, and I struggled with the buttons, trying to get the clothing off. “I know what I—” A wave of nausea washed up my throat, making me gag. “Oh fuck….”

The tigress folded her arms beneath her ample chest. “Oh, poor boy. Is this too much for you?”

With a rising groan, I tore my starched shirt off my chest and threw it on the floor; beneath it, fire crawled beneath my flesh, turning it dark and coarse. Stiff brown fur forced itself through the leathery hide, and I desperately rubbed at the skin, trying to scrape away with the pain with palsied, agony-riddled fingers. Something ripped behind me, and for a moment I thought I had torn a hole in my skin, but when I reached back, the rear seam of my slacks had given way, the shivering nub of a tail forcing itself through the fabric. I dropped to my knees, a sob cracking up my throat, breaking over parched lips.

Softly, Bianca tsked behind me. “You should be careful who you ask to make things harder on you, Reggie.” Her voice was surprisingly soft, her whiskers a maddening tickle against my ear. “Somebody might take it as a challenge.”

I whined again, more at the burning than the name. I tried rolling onto my back, but the carpet burned against my fur. I thrashed up into my rump, but that just ground my boxers into my ass. “Oh fuck,” I panted again, putting my head in my muzzle. “M-make it stop, make it stop make it stop, please….” Another sob broke out of me, and the tears started to roll freely down my muzzle, stopped short by a bleating cry when Bianca’s needle-sharp teeth clamped down on my ear.

“That’s enough out of you,” she growled. “You wanted this. You wanted it rough, so Ms. Teozen sent me, and I take my job seriously.” She tugged at my ear, then let go, the hot blood running down my cheek a fresh spark of pain mixing with the mounting burn of the fabric touching me everywhere. “You want it to stop?” I nodded mutely and she held out her paw. “Stand up.”

I took her paw in my hand and forced myself to my hinds, then struggled out of the last of my clothing and tossed it aside. Nude, the pain finally began to abate, and the end of so much agony was so intense that I moved to latch onto my tormentor, to weep my relief into her breast. As my chest brushed against her corset, though, pain seared itself across my chest and I stumbled backwards with another cry, landing on the bed. Instantly, my back was a field of flames, and a fresh scream tore itself from my mouth as I thrashed back upright.

“Enough!” Bianca gripped my shoulders in her paws. “Hold still.” I froze, and again the pain vanished, as if it had never been. Tears rolled down my cheeks, and I looked down at myself. At the end of my legs, hooves insulated me from the carpet, and understanding dawned. “Those are the only things keeping me upright, aren’t they?” I whispered. My heart pounded in my chest, my blood pulsing in my ears. I felt nauseous, giddy, ready to throw up, and I realized only seconds later that my cock was jutting upright and a thin stream of pre was pouring down my shaft.

The tigress chuckled again. “He learns fast.”

Cautiously, I brushed my hand against Bianca’s corset, then jerked it back as if I’d just pressed it against a hot stovetop. I looked at my hands; the fingertips were hard and black, glittering slightly. I tapped one tip against her chest, but nothing happened. I held my breath, then pressed one fingertip into the fabric, but nothing happened. I let out a sigh of relief. “Okay, okay… I can handle this, but… um… how can we…?” I blushed, suddenly; I’d been so distracted by the effects of the potion that I’d almost forgotten that part of the bargain.

“You won’t like it,” Bianca chuckled, then nipped my other ear, making me whimper. She knelt beside the bed, then reached into the duffel bag and pulled out a small stack of something white. She set the pile on the nightstand, and then plastic rustled as she unfolded one and approached.

My ears reflexively folded back against my head as I realized what it was. “You can’t be—” My protest died in my throat at Bianca’s calculating smile.

“I am, in fact,” the tigress growled deep in her throat. “And until that potion wears off, it’s these or…” She glanced meaningfully at the bed.

I swallowed heavily at that. “Yes, ma’am,” I whispered, crossing my arms behind my back. I didn’t mean to say it, but the word slipped out along with my cock, aching in front of me.

“Good boy,” Bianca smirked. “But this won’t be enough. Only water can cool that fire. I hope you can relieve yourself through that.” I winced as she flicked a claw against my throbbing erection. “Otherwise, when this goes on, it’s going to hurt. Think you can manage that, Reggie?”

“I… don’t know, ma’am.” I swallowed hard, chest tightening from humiliation. “I… I can try.”

The tigress chuckled again. “You’d better do more than try, or you’re going to be in a lot of pain until you manage.” Then, without further ado, she pressed the adult diaper into my crotch, sending a blistering ache over my groin. I immediately let out a fresh cry and my knees started to tremble, but I grabbed Bianca’s fur and pushed, and the white padding started to yellow and soften. Almost at once, the fire gave way to a soothing warmth, the relief and the pleasure making me groan.

“Hold that here,” Bianca directed, moving my hands to the front of my padding. I gingerly took the waistband in between my fingers, and while I supported my end, her fingers moved quickly to the sides and behind, pulling up the rear and taping everything into place. The plastic rustled every time my short tail flicked against it, reminding me of its presence and making me blush anew. “There we go, little Reggie.”

I whimpered and folded my arms behind my back, my cock pulsing against the wet padding. “Thank you, ma’am.”

The tigress grinned and massaged me through my diaper, and I started to grind against her capable fingers, but after a few seconds of teasing, she put her other paw on my shoulder and pushed me down. “Kneel, little boy.”

I winced but nodded. “Yes, ma’am.” Ginger, I sank to my knees, but true to her word, the only sting when I knelt was the normal carpet burn. I let out the breath I hadn’t meant to hold as Bianca stepped up in front of me, her legs spread, the front of her sodden panties before her.

Hungrily, I threw myself at her, muzzle pressed against her thatch. The satin was soaked with her juices and the faint sour tinge of urine, but I lapped like a parched dog at an oasis. She growled and moaned, moving her paw to the back of my head, holding me against her crotch. I sucked her nectar from the fabric and traced her folds with my tongue through the thin material, frantically rubbing myself through the front of my own soggy undergarment, squishing the wet padding against my shaft and grinding against my hand.

“If you come before I do, I’m taking half that stack with me when I leave,” Bianca growled, and I forced my hand away from my crotch. I groaned into her sex, whimpering with need, trying to ignore the throbbing of my cock as I poured my energies into the tigress’ cunt. After what felt like hours of worshiping her through her panties, she pulled aside the sheer fabric, bearing her folds to me directly. “Now, little boy,” she whispered hoarsely. “Get me off.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I grunted in response, my tongue already starting to go numb. I was no expert, but she wasn’t my first, and she was as turned on by what she’d been doing as I was. She was already growling by the time she bared herself to me, and her clit was already throbbing when I touched my tonguetip to it. She let out a yowl and sunk her claws into my shoulders, but the pain was only an encouragement. I traced her netherlips and circled her clit, then dragged my tongue over it, and her whole body tightened and shook under me, tailtip batting at my chest.

When the moment passed, she pulled her paws off of my shoulder and retrieved her dress from her bag. “If you can get off through that, you’re welcome to do so.” She patted the stack of diapers on the nightstand. “Water will work as well as urine; the spell only cares about moisture. Just be careful; I’m leaving you six, and they have to last until the potion fades.”

I swallowed heavily, but my hand was already back on the front of my diaper, rubbing frantically against myself through the wet padding. Within seconds, I was groaning, and then a fresh burst of spunk added to the mess. I sank gratefully against the carpet, letting it tickle my chest. “How long… how long until it wears off?”

Bianca grinned and pulled the dress on over her head. “Long enough to make six diapers a challenge. The room is reserved through the end of the week.” She carefully tugged the velvet into place, then buckled her belt. “You have Ms. Teozen’s number if anything too disastrous happens.” With that, she retrieved her bag and slung it incongruously over her shoulder. “Enjoy your weekend, Reginald.”

I rolled onto my back and smiled up at the departing tigress. “I will, Bianca.” As the door opened and closed behind her, I sighed happily and soaked the diaper further, hoping that this would scratch the itch, at least for a while.

The words stopped me in my tracks, one paw on the edge of the door, the other tugging at the buttons of my polo shirt, my eyes trapped by my girlfriend. Despite being tall for a raccoon, she was usually a study in curves: wide hips, a gentle tummy that made her giggle when I tickled it, and ample breasts that my paws longed to caress. Today, though, she was all red leather angles, severe and imposing. The platform boots she wore brought her almost eye to eye with me and tilted her onto her toes, making her look like she was looming. Her corset accentuated her already-generous figure, pushing out her chest and drawing her waist into a sharp line. Elbow-length fingerless gloves covered her forearms, and in one paw, she lazily twirled a slim rattan cane.

In the other, she held my collar, its small gems glittered against the powder-blue leather. Her deep blue eyes were cold and unreadable, bright against the black band of fur. She held my gaze for several seconds, until I had to force myself to look away. My ears flattened against my head and my tail drooped, and I could feel its tip flicking nervously to spite me. I glanced back, cautiously, and forced a smile to my muzzle. “Sorry, love. I got stuck in a meeting and couldn’t—”

My voice froze when the switch in my mate’s fingers stopped. “I said you’re late, kitty.” My chest froze as Mistress invoked scene. “And by over two hours, I should note. Kneel, paws behind your back, and they had better stay there.”

I swallowed heavily but did as she asked, lacing my fingers together, the backs of my paws pressed against the small of my back. As I sunk to my knees and bowed my head, the tip of her cane tapped my shoulder, and I heard the door close behind me with an ominous thunk. “Do you remember what you’re supposed to do if you’re going to be late?”

I winced, my muzzle suddenly dry. I licked my lips nervously and swallowed. “Yes, ma’am.”

I heard Mistress’ boots step closer, and her short claws gripped the scruff of my neck. “Tell me. I want to hear you say it.”

The tug at the sensitive fur sent a ripple of heat down my spine even as my cheeks burned. “I’m to call if I can, text if I can’t, before our meeting.” My voice came out a lot smaller than before. “And I’m to either tell you when I’ll be there, or when I’ll next contact you, ma’am.”

“So why didn’t you message me, pet?” Mistress’ tone was far too light, too casual. “I’m curious. How long did you plan on making me wait?”

I swallowed heavily again. My knees were starting to hurt, but I didn’t dare move. My chest felt tight and my paws were sweating, but my cock was already starting to twitch. “I’m sorry, ma’am.” The words started to spill out of me. “Paul and some of the other guys in the office invited me to join them for drinks. I tried to tell them I had a date, but they started cracking jokes about me being whipped. I had to go! I had to save face!”

Mistress was quiet for a few seconds after that, though her claws never stopped their teasing. Then I felt her breath on my ear, her words a murmur. “Are you embarrassed by our relationship, kitty?”

“Are you sure?” She drew out the last word, rising in gentle mockery. “You’re such a big, strong, buff tiger.” A tap from Mistress’ cane emphasized every word, sending a fresh rush of warmth to my cheeks. “And I’m just a meek little raccoon. Everybody thinks you’re the alpha and I’m the omega, but…” She paused and nipped my eartip, making me mewl. Her voice fell to a husky whisper. “We both remember rule number one, don’t we, kitty?”

“You own me, ma’am, and I’m glad to be owned.” The words were a mantra of arousal; just saying it was enough to make my shaft throb in its sheath.

Mistress’ claws suddenly dug into the scruff of my neck, though her voice never rose in pitch or volume. “So why don’t your coworkers know when your mistress expects you to be home, hmm?”

The strength of her grip in such a sensitive location made me whimper. “I… I’m sorry, ma’am.”

“Oh, not yet you aren’t,” Mistress hissed in my ear, “but you will be.” The cane left my shoulder, and then I felt her paws at my neck, fastening my collar in place, followed by the click of a lock behind me. “Rise, strip, and follow.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I said as I got up off of my knees. I wanted to take a minute to rub some blood flow back into them, but I knew better than to delay any longer. I shed my pants and shirt, then my underwear, bundling it all under my arm as I followed Mistress back into our bedroom. Inside, the room smelled of her musk, velvety and warm. Red lights in the lamps on the nightstands made the room seem a few degrees warmer, and a pile of nylon strapping and leather cuffs sat in the middle of the bed.

Mistress took my clothes from me as I entered. “On the bed, kitty. All fours.” Once I was in position, she pulled the restraints from under me, then quickly tied my ankles to the foot of the bed, forcing me to spread my legs. She balled my paws into fists, then tucked them into a pair of mitts, which she then fixed to the bedsides. I heard her climb up beside me, and then the room went dark as she put a padded blindfold over my eyes. My shaft bobbed out of its sheath, but with my arms tied, I couldn’t do anything about it. Not that I would have dared without her permission.

The cane bounced lightly against my back, but I quickly bit my tongue. “That was just a warmup, kitty,” Mistress said from behind me, her voice still tight. “Seven strokes, one for every fifteen minutes you made me wait. Count out loud.” Then the air whistled, and the slim rattan rod landed squarely across my rump with a crack.

“One!” I yelped, jumping slightly. The blow sounded worse than it felt, but the sting it left still hurt. The cane whistled again, and the second stroke fell just below the first. “Two!” My cheeks burned a bit more with each number, my ears pulling more tightly against my head. Tears welled up behind the blindfold, as much from shame as from pain. Every lash made my cock jump, spattering a few more drops of precum against the sheets.

I tried to imagine how the scene had to look from the outside, the apex predator whipped, figuratively and literally. The next stripe of pain caught me off-guard, landing just above the first. “Three!” My voice broke. Not even halfway and you’re crying. Sissy. The imagined words sent a wave of warmth and embarrassment down my back and made my balls twitch, like I was going to cum just from the thought. Another whistle, and the backs of my thighs lit up. “Four!” I drew in a ragged breath, tensing all over.

“Oh, poor kitten.” Mistress’ voice poured like honey into my ears, rich with her amusement and arousal. The smell of her had thickened with every blow, rolling around in my nostrils. “I’m pulling my punches, and I’m not even that strong.” She pressed her paw gently against one abused rump cheek and rubbed, warmth overriding the pain. “I’d better stop, or I might actually hurt you.”

“I… I’m sorry, ma’am.” My voice cracked again.

I felt her moving in front of me, her tail briefly brushing against my muzzle, and then her fingers were at the back of my head. “It’s okay, pet. I have a better way you can work off those strokes.” The fur of her thighs brushed against my cheeks, and then her scent was full and rich below me. “Lick, kitty,” Mistress hissed as she tugged my collar. “Back of tongue only.” I mewled softly, squirming against my bonds, but I did as she ordered, careful to keep my tongue curled. Blind, I worked by feel and taste, caressing her labia, then dipping down to circle the opening of her tunnel, before rising to carefully glide around her clit.

The lingering sting in my rump and the burning in my cheeks had me almost in a trance. I poured my arousal and shame into my servitude, letting Mistress’ moans guide my tongue. As her breath rose and fell, I followed her gasps, hoping to make her cum, but the sudden chime of the doorbell snapped me sharply of the reverie. She groaned in response, and then I felt her pull away from me. “And that’s the rest of your lesson.” I heard her boots hit the floor, and then steps as she left the room. She closed the door behind her, and then I was alone with the scent of her arousal lingering in my muzzle.

It felt like several minutes passed while I squirmed against my ropes. I had a little slack, but only enough to shift my weight from one side to the other. I started to think that making me wonder what she was doing was part of my punishment. Before long, though, the bedroom door opened, and Mistress’ voice came through. “—n here. I was just getting him warmed up.” I caught whiff of a second scent, male, canine, and very earthy, but I couldn’t place it.

Then I heard his voice, faintly accented, and recognition flared. “I have to tell you, I’ve been—”

“Paul?” The name was out of me before I could stop it. The thought of any of my coworkers seeing me like this was enough to freeze my blood. Imagining his expression as he stared at me, naked and bound, made me thrash against my restraints. “Sarah, what’s—”

Mistress’ cane landed sharply on my hip, an echo of the earlier stripes. “Did I tell you to speak, pet?”

Her words cut across my panic. “No, ma’am,” I whimpered in response. My head was swimming, my heart pounding in my chest.

“He’s usually much better behaved.” The switch bounced lightly against my side, emphasizing her words.

“No worries,” Paul drawled casually. “How should we handle this?” One of his paws rested on my back, his claws drumming against my spine like I were a piece of furniture. The thought and the touch made my cock jump and a moan escaped my muzzle.

The bed rustled, and then Mistress’ paw slowly brushed down my shoulder and back. “There’s lube and some condoms in the drawer by my bed. Take your time getting ready; he’s not going anywhere.” Her breath was suddenly warm against my ear, her voice that heady whisper. “I can hear your heart pounding, kitty, so let’s talk. Lemon-drop.”

Hearing her use my safeword, I drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. I wasn’t ready to run, but my heart was still racing. “Okay, but… that’s Paul. From work. I—”

“I’ve already talked with him,” Mistress said quietly, still brushing my back with her paw. Behind her I could hear my coworker muttering to himself. “You said you thought you’d be okay if he knew, so I reached out to him and he’s fine with everything. Around six o’clock, I asked him if he knew where you were. He said you were out with your team, and I explained where I thought you were supposed to be. He offered to help. I told him to wait ten minutes after you left, then come over. Okay?”

I hesitated for a moment, then nodded. My chest was still pounding, but I was breathing easier, and I couldn’t deny being turned on by the exposure; my cock was drooling precum onto the bed and every touch sent a fresh shiver down my spine. “So, kitty,” Mistress continued as she sat back, restoring scene. “We’re going to clear up a few misconceptions. One, when I say you’re going to let me know when you’re going to be late, you will let me know. Is that understood, pet?”

Paul groaned loudly behind me, punctuating Mistress’ words. “Yes, ma’am,” I moaned into the mattress, lifting my rump in the air.

“Two.” She gripped my scruff around my collar, and a second pair of paws landed on my back. “When somebody teases you about being whipped, kitten, you’re to remember rule number one, which is…?”

I blushed hard, ears flattening against my head, knowing that Paul would hear me, but I couldn’t stop myself. “You own me, ma’am, and I’m glad to be owned.”

“Three.” The bed shifted as Paul knelt behind me, and I felt his paws spread my rumpcheeks. “I don’t ask you what you do with your time, kitten, but mine isn’t yours to waste.” A cold dollop of lube fell on my pucker, making me wince, but it warmed quickly as my coworker positioned the head of his shaft against it. “So, we’re going to play hurry-up-and-wait. Paul?”

Paul’s response was a grunt and groan as he pushed himself into me, forcing me open. I’d been pegged before, Mistress riding me with a strap-on, but it had been some time and I was out of practice, so there was a lot of pain mixed with the pleasure of his cock filling me. His paws moved to my hips, and then he began to ride me, long slow strokes in and out. I did my best to match his movements, but he was bigger than I was expecting, and my heart was still thumping in my chest. All I could really manage was to squirm against my bonds and whimper into the mattress while my cock bounced under me with every one of his thrusts.

All the while Paul rode me, I could feel Mistress sitting beside me, her finger lightly rubbing my scruff and stroking the backs of my ears. You’re being fucked by your coworker, I heard in my head, my shaft throbbing at the thought. Everybody’s going to smell him on you on Monday. They’ll know your secret. You’re the sissy. You’re the slave. Was she saying it? Was I just imagining it? I started to grind back against the wolf, losing myself into the embarrassment, the exposure.

Something sharp and hard rammed into my pucker, and I heard Paul whine. His muttering got louder and growls started punctuating his words. His thrusts started coming shorter, harder, faster. Another stab ran up from under my tail, and I realized what he was trying to do. “Ma’am?” I managed to whimper. Despite my arousal, I knew what was coming. “He’s… he’s trying…” His hips ground urgently against my rump. “Oh, gods… too much…”

Mistress’ paw tugged at my collar. “What’s rule number one, kitty?”

I tried to respond, but Paul’s insistence made it hard to focus. “You o-own me, ma’am, and… and I’m….” My chest was starting to feel tight again, my voice shaking. “I’m glad to… to be owned.”

“That means your tailhole is mine, too,” Mistress cooed, kneading my neck. “To use or give away, doesn’t it? That means that—unless you safeword—Paul’s going to tie with you. He says it’s about… oh… two hours or so for that to go down enough to get free.”

“T-tie?” My voice cracked. “Bu-but…” Paul’s knot slammed against my pucker again, grinding more urgently against me. “Oh gods…”

“I’m getting close,” Paul huffed behind me, his claws digging into my hips. “Say it or take it, kitty.”

I bit my lip, whimpering into the mattress. “I… I…” For an instant, I thought about safewording, but then I clamped down on my tongue, and agony blossomed behind me, followed a moment later by a wave of pure bliss as I clamped down on Paul’s knot. My coworker bent over me, whining, and then let out a howl as he jammed himself deep into me. Heat rippled up from my guts, and I shot my own load into the mattress, collapsing with a groan into the puddle a few seconds later.

Mistress’ paw brushed my cheek. “Status, kitten,” she murmured in the suddenly still room.

I shook my head to try to clear it. “I… hurt, ma’am, but… feels so good. Paul’s heavy. Arms starting to tingle. Ashamed. Loved.”

I could feel Mistress’ smile in the brush of her lips against mine. “Good kitty.” She shifted off the mattress, and I heard her fussing with the straps. Then the tension in my arms and legs vanished, and I felt her paw at my hip. “Let’s get you two on your sides.” He groaned his assent, and we managed to roll over, with the wolf’s arm under my head. “Paul, do you need anything?”

“Towel might be nice,” Paul groaned behind me. “And some water.” I heard Mistress’ steps head into the bathroom, then come back, and something soft fell on my hip. “Other than that….” He moved behind me and pain spasmed up my spine, dragging a hiss out of me. “Nothing for it. We’ll have to wait.”

Mistress’ gloved paw brushed my cheek again. “Then I’ll get you some water, and I’ll be back in a few hours. If you’re free before then, kitty, come get me. I’ll be in the living room.” I vaguely nodded, and the world drifted around me.

A light jostle at my shoulder brought me back to attention. “Status, kitten?”

I squirmed against the wolf behind me. “Still sore, ma’am. Warm.”

“Paul?”

“Oh, fine. Just about…” Paul shifted, making me spasm again, but I felt his paw at my hip. “Yeah, I think… ready?” Without waiting for an answer, he shifted away, slowly but insistently pulling his knot out of me.

A last spasm of pain ran up my spine, followed by a wave of relief as he withdrew from my stretched tailhole. My pucker burned from the abuse. “Ow.” I put a paw against my rump, rubbing the bruises to distract myself from the ache. “Oh… oh gods.”

One of Mistress’ bare paws carefully removed the blindfold, the other resting on my shoulder. “How’s the condom, Paul?”

“Feels intact; the tip’s still full.” Paul sat up, and my back was suddenly cold. “Care to check it?”

Mistress’ shook her head. “No, go ahead. Robert?”

I drew in a sharp breath and let it out with a smile, sliding back out of scene. “Yes, Sarah?”

Sarah gently gripped my shoulder. “Seriously, full status.” Her blue eyes, set in her black-furred mask, were wide and shimmering. “I just pushed a lot of boundaries. I want to know how you feel.”

I rolled onto my back, staring up to the ceiling. “I’m…” I put my paws behind my head. “Hearing Paul’s voice was a shock; I was terrified you’d outed me to the whole office. The knot was more than I was ready for, but not more than I could handle. That was two hours?”

“About… thirty minutes,” Paul said from the edge of the bed.

“It felt like days,” I replied, shaking my head. “I hurt, but it’s a really good hurt.”

Sarah lay down beside me; she’d taken off the rest of her clothes and curled up naked against my side. “I told you when we started this that I would test your limits. You said you were afraid of exposure, and you were scared of being seen as weak. I figure my job as your mistress, as well as your mate, is to help you get over those fears.”

I nodded and tugged at my collar, looking towards my coworker; the wolf sat with his elbows on his knees, wiping at his fur with the towel. “I’m still afraid of what happens on Monday.”

Paul barked a laugh. “You tell folks you and Sarah kissed and made up, and I tell folks about the sweet bit of tail I found after I left the bar. Nobody has to know more than that.”

I shook my head. “I…” I drew in a deep breath, then sighed. “I don’t want to be afraid any more.”

Sarah put her arm around my waist and hugged herself to me. “Bobby, I’m not asking you to bare every detail of what we do, but I think you have a lot of reasons to be proud of who you are, and I don’t think that pride will hurt your career.”

I nodded, but my attention was still on Paul. “What do you think will happen if I… if I wear my collar to work?”

Paul shrugged. “Assuming anybody even notices, they’ll think it’s a nice piece of jewelry. The ones who know what it means probably won’t say anything. The ones who do, you can tell ‘em to take it up with her.”

“Then…” I held still for a moment, then turned to my mate and mistress. “With your permission, ma’am, I’d like to start wearing it out more.”

Mistress smiled at that and kissed my shoulder. “Of course, kitty. You remember rule number one, don’t you?”

I smiled. “You own me, ma’am, and I’m glad to be owned.”

Behind me, I could hear the sounds of the sages’ preparations, but they seemed dim and distant. Chalk scratched against the dais around me, and salts flowed in a circle around it. The air grew thick with the scent of rain and woodsmoke. I could hear, if I focused, Miss Aura and Mister Iladin discussing sigils and stars, influences and intentions. I caught my name, once or twice, or perhaps I just remembered it. Taneh. It was a pretty name, strong but yielding. What will yours be, pet? I wondered, as I stroked the young wolf’s ears.

Miss Aura’s voice came to me from miles away. “Pet, how is he? And yourself?”

“Quiet, ma’am,” I replied, letting the words fall gently out of my muzzle. “Relaxed, a little scared.”

“Just a little?” The question was gentle. “Not a lot?”

“No, ma’am,” I assured. “I’m well-trained and doing as I’m told.” I lowered my gaze, then rested a paw over my pet’s chest. “He’s frightened, mostly of the pain.”

Mister Valentin’s voice was more insistent, but no less removed. “Tell him he won’t hurt much more.” Then, more quietly, in a voice I don’t think I was meant to hear, he added, “I’m still not sure what you’re planning.”

“I’m correcting two mistakes tonight,” the sage replied just as softly. “I haven’t time to explain the rest. Trust that everyone should be happier with the outcome.”

After that, for a time, there were only the sounds of preparation and my own gentle murmurs, keeping my pet relaxed. He turned his head and gently nuzzled at my leg, whimpering softly, and I held one of his paws between both of mine. Then, finally, Miss Aura called out to me again. “Taneh, do you remember when we stepped outside the Great Work together? How the skeins supported us when the ground gave way?”

“Yes, ma’am,” I replied, closing my eyes. As she mentioned it, I could easily imagine the glowing lines of light beneath us, feel the sway and tip of the rays bowing slightly beneath our weight. I shifted faintly to compensate, adjusting my knees, which grew a muffled grunt from my pet’s muzzle.

Far behind me, the sage chuckled. “Never mind, pet. You’re doing as you’re told, and doing very well.” Hindfalls whispered against stone. “When the circle closes, be ready to catch yourself. Do you understand?”

I drew in a deep breath, then let it out and nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

Somewhere far behind me, a final chalk-line scratched into place, a few grains of salt poured across them, and the witchlights faded into twilight. “From the furthest star to the tiniest speck, all things are connected in the Great Work.” Miss Aura’s voice echoed faintly, her voice all around me. “The tapestry stretches in all directions, from the heavens to the earth, binding all things together. Past and future, above and below. Here, within the unbroken circle, we separate off a small piece of the Work, that we may weave changes into it.”

The air around me hummed with potential as Miss Aura spoke. I opened my eyes, but the glowing lines remained, shining up from below. It took me only a moment to find my balance, the shining skeins more than enough to support my weight. My pet startled when the world began to fade, but I lay my paws on his shoulders and chanced a whisper. “Easy, pet.” I nuzzled between his ears, and lay still again with only a whimper. Once we both had our balance, I lifted my head. “Yes.”

“Beyond the Great Work, cause need not precede effect, and before may follow after,” the sage’s voice continued. Beyond the circle, all had become darkness; only her words breached the barrier. “In this place, we may make changes, and not fear the consequences. Water may pour up to a vessel, and fire may burn without consuming fuel. Outside the Great Work, we may pull the weapon from the wound, and no blood shall flow.”

My stomach clenched at the words, but the order was clear. Gingerly, I pressed my paws together on either side of the broken wooden shaft, then gradually pulled upwards. My pet arched his back, but then I felt something give way, and the blade slid free, slick with blood. Light shone up from the hole left in his chest, lit by the strands supporting us over the abyss. I resisted the urge to peer into the opening; I was afraid of what I might see inside.

“Good pet,” Miss Aura assured me, and my own breathing eased slightly. “You’re doing as you’re told, and doing it well. The hole below marks a point of egress, a space through which the unneeded may leave. The hole above marks a point of ingress, a space through which the needed may enter. Salts may separate, chalk may mark and guide, but it is the will that directs and commands. Let us trace a circle around this hole with the tool that created it, to bless it and keep it pure.”

Clumsily, I drew the metal spear tip through my pet’s fur, in a rough circle around the wound. It was far from precise, but I was doing as I was told. Once marked, the sage’s voice resumed as if she had never stopped. “So blessed, we may separate the unnecessary from the desirable, the wheat from the chaff. Ruby dust for Oshka. Thistle for purity, elderberry to consecrate. Clover and clove, basil and bay. Within the circle, two threads bind incompletely, brought together by arrogance and fear, wolf and rabbit conjoined in a single skein. Let us lay paws on this knot, and with this touch untie. The hole below marks a point of egress, through which Wilik’s thread may leave.”

As my paws came to rest on either side of my pet’s injury, it felt as though they were passing within, as though the flesh weren’t quite solid. As a test, I gingerly pressed down against his pelt, and I something inside gave way, as a waterskin breaking. The light rising through the wound began to sputter as something smelling of fresh-cooked stew poured out below, between the strands of light and down into the darkness. As I watched, his tail began to recede, and his ears grew longer in equal measure. His muzzle shrank to a rounded curve, and his hinds swelled like mine. Melka, I realized. He always was his mother’s son.

“With Wilik’s gift removed, the knot remains incomplete, a single thread tied to naught.” Suddenly the sage’s voice was a whisper all around, in my ear but nowhere to be seen. “Sapphire dust for Matska. Orange for marriage, peony for love. Heather and honeysuckle, mandrake and mistletoe. Within the circle, two threads bind completely, brought together by love and compassion. Let us lay paws across these threads, and with this touch unite. The hole above marks a point of ingress, through which Jedrik’s thread may enter.”

Lifting one paw from my pet’s chest, I placed it upon my own, and pain the likes of which I had never felt shot through me, as if I had been stabbed through the gut with a spear. I felt something move within me, and then an arc of lightning jumped between us. My pet spasmed once against me, then again, his motions echoed by my own. The blood rushed from my head, and my world swam around me. I swayed and stumbled, but then his paws were at my sides, holding me steady. I looked down, and he smiled back, his golden eyes alight. At his shoulder and hip, patches of white fur stood out from the black, no doubt matched by one on the back of his leg.

“With Jedrik’s gift added, the knot becomes whole, two threads brought together by love and compassion.” Miss Aura’s voice returned to normal, though still at a great distance. “What remains is to mold the second as the first, to complete the pairing. Anise to bless, cinnamon to heat and stoke. Peppermint, motherwort, and clove. Let us wipe away the inner circle and match touch for touch, gift for gift.”

I wiped my paw across the circle I’d traced, and the hole in his chest went with the rest of the marks. The other rabbit below me let out a gasp, then a full-throated moan as the heat within him swelled. Cautiously, I slid back along the strands of light to let him lay flat, then took one of his paws in mine. It took only a little effort to take each of his claws between my stubs and work them back into the ends of his fingers. A bit more, and his fingers lay folded flat as mine were. The thumb was hardest to mold away, but when that was done, his paw was the mirror of mine, a thought that stoked my own inner fire. His other paw went quickly, but there was more to do.

Working my knees to either side of his head took time, but soon his muzzle was just below my nethers. “Lick,” I whispered into the darkness. “Learn.” Then I lay across his chest, so that his groin was just beneath me. As he pressed his lips to mine in a most intimate kiss, I took his sheath in my paws. Guided by his tongue, I cautiously molded flesh to match the sensations I felt. The heat within me became a flame as ey pleasured me, fueled by eir fire and my own efforts.

Soon that ache burned too brightly, and I plunged my muzzle into eir newly-molded sex, hoping to slake my burning need in eir depths. I rubbed the opening to eir tunnel gingerly with one stubby digit, squirming back against eir paw in return. Every lick echoed against my body, every shudder mirrored in my own. I traced eir nethers with my tongue, carefully avoiding that sensitive button as long as I could, until my need drove me to caress it directly, drawing a howl from my lips. I held back as long as I could, but my tongue was too insistent, my need too demanding. My release was a lightning strike that ran from the tips of my newly-lengthened ears to the base of my shortened tail, my tunnel clenching tightly as if to try to hold the other within me until the stars ran cold. “Yes,” we whispered in unison, when voice finally returned to us.

Miss Aura’s chuckle probably wasn’t part of the ritual. “You’re doing what you’re told, and doing it well. As all things have symbols to give them meaning, so is the name the symbol of self. The self that entered the circle is not the self that leaves, and so the name must change to match. Wormwood and violet, with licorice root to seal. Outside the Great Work, we may separate a skein to make changes to it. To weave those changes back within the larger pattern, we carefully part the circle. Salts divided, chalk split.” I heard the thunk of wood against stone, and then the scrape of one of the lines being split. “Wake up, Taneh.”

I startled at the name, my name, and fell onto my side with a groan, thudding against the solid wooden dais. The first rays of sun were just streaming in through the windows, making the witchlights seem dim by comparison. Every muscle in my back and legs felt stiff, and my paws ached. “Ma’am,” I groaned.

A whimper to my right made me turn my head, and my heart jumped in my chest. Staring at the rabbit that lay beside me felt akin to gazing into a mirror. Eir fur was black where mine was white, white to my black, but the patches across shoulder and hip were an eerie match. Eir arms ended in an animal’s paws, and between eir legs was only a need to be filled. Ey lifted eir head with a groan, pressing eir paws to eir eyes. “I’m exhausted.”

“Quiet, pet,” Miss Aura corrected as she shuffled over. “Any pain, at least?”

Ey paused, biting eir lip. One paw went to eir chest in surprise, brushing against where the spear had been. Of the broken weapon itself or the wound, there was no sign. “No, ma’am… just tired.”

The grin that split the sage’s muzzle could have outshone the sun itself. “Good. Very good,” she said as she wiped at her eyes. “If anything ever hurts, ever, you get your master to come tell me, do you understand?”

The other rabbit ducked eir head sheepishly, squirming. Ey glanced to me and blushed; eir eyes were a deep and vivid gold. “It’s not pain, exactly, ma’am.”

Miss Aura laughed, her tail hooking behind her in amusement. “I think you’ll be fine. Baron? You can claim your pets.”

“Hrr?” Half-asleep on the floor just beyond the circle, Mister… Master Valentin’s eyes fluttered, then snapped open as understanding dawned. “Oh! Right.” He sat up and stretched, then pushed himself from the floor with a groan. “Taneh, heel.” Then his eyes turned to the other rabbit, and the world held its breath. “Um….”

“Yes, master.” I struggled to my hinds, then knelt with a wince slightly behind and to the left of Baron Deterikh. The other rabbit watched wordlessly as I moved, then up to the baron’s face. Eir eyes went wide with longing and confusion, but before ey could speak, I took a risk and gestured towards the space to my right, at the lynx’s other side. “Rikeh, heel.”

At the mention of eir new name, ey sagged against the ground in relief. When ey lifted eir face, the smile on eir muzzle shone brighter than the coming dawn. “Coming, master,” ey whispered, then rose and took eir place beside me.

Master Valentin looked down at the both of us, and a weary smile broke out on his muzzle. “Both of you, rise follow. I have a few announcements to make and a war to stop.”

“I’m sure it will be fine,” my master demurred as he stepped inside, looking around. “Valentin, you’ll be comfortable with that?”

The Deterikh sergeant-at-arms shrugged. “I can sleep anywhere.” He strode over to the cot, then waved a paw towards the inner door. “Get a look at your room; if you’re not going to rest, tomorrow’s going to be miserable.”

My master nodded, then pushed open the door between the two chambers. Beyond, a few straggling rays of sun gave a pinkish tint to the glow of the witchlight on the nightstand. The bed that dominated the room, an ornately-carved four-poster, could easily have slept both my past and present owners, and a smaller straw mattress sat at its end. In the corner of the room, in an open wardrobe, my master’s uniform hung, the jacket and pants freshly washed. My master’s mace and spear stood against its side, and his knife sat at the bottom, still in its sheath.

With a grimace, my master walked past the bed to stand before the wardrobe. One trembling paw took the sleeve of the jacket, and then he clenched his fist tightly around it and bowed his head. “I didn’t—” The words were a whisper, dragged out of him before he could stop himself, then cut short before he could give voice to the thought.

Mister Valentin’s head poked into the doorway. “Something wrong?”

My master’s head snapped around. “No, just saying I wasn’t expecting to see this again.” He favored his sergeant with a smile, but his ears lay flat against his head. “It’ll be fine.”

Mister Dagos flicked an ear, scowling from the doorway. “If there’s a problem, Baron, I’m sure I could—”

“It’s fine, Dagos,” my master sighed. “Your hospitality has never faltered, even in prison.”

At that, the two sergeants turned to each other. Something silently passed between them, and then Mister Valentin shook his head subtly, little more than twitch of his whiskers. Mister Dagos replied with a faint roll of his shoulders that might have been a shrug, and then the Jazinski sergeant turned to my master. “With your leave,” he said, then exited the room without another word, pulling the outer door closed behind him.

Mister Valentin followed his Jazinski counterpart, only turning his attention back to my master once the door was closed. “Listen, Erik, for someone trying to rebuild relationships, you’re not exactly endearing yourself.”

My master sighed and dropped onto the overstuffed mattress, then motioned for me to sit at his hinds. “I know,” he grumbled. “I was just… caught short. I shouldn’t have snapped.”

Mister Valentin chuckled. “You’re going to have to watch that temper.” He held up a paw to forestall my master’s protest. “We’ll talk about it later. Dawn’s going to come all too early. Will you be able to sleep on that?”

“I’ll be fine,” my master repeated. “Just let me get some sleep, okay? This hasn’t been a quiet week for me.”

“It hasn’t for any of us,” Mister Valentin replied. “Sleep well, and try to sleep soon, if you can. Good night, Erik.” Then he pulled the door closed behind him, the latch clicking into place.

My master sat silently for a few seconds, then fell back against the bed with a groan. “With friends like that….” He didn’t finish the thought, his voice fading. A few moments later, he spoke again, without having moved. “Pet?”

I lifted my head at the question. “Yes, master?”

Silence lingered after my question, until my master sat up again. “I….” He drew in a sharp breath, then let it out and put a paw on my shoulder. “I’m sorry. For what I did. I… wasn’t in control of myself. I hurt you. Badly.”

I smiled in response. “You don’t have to apologize to me, but you’re forgiven.” I paused a brief moment, then put one of my paws over his. “Erik.”

The baron chuckled nervously at that. “Okay, I deserved that, I suppose, but we’re even now.” He slid off of the bed. “Help me out of this, will you?”

I rose as he did, my smile still fixed on my muzzle. “We are even, yes.” Then I slid his paw from my shoulder, catching his gaze with mine. “Aren’t we, Erik?”

My master’s blue eyes went wide as he stared back into mine, and his ears fell flat against his head. We held each other’s gaze for a second, until he snapped his head to the side. “Now you’re just being insubordinate,” Erik protested as he turned away. “I thought you were supposed to be my slave, not Valentin’s.”

I shook my head and stepped forward. “I am your slave, and that means I can serve you best by giving you what you need.” I lay my paw gently on his shoulder. “When you said what you did this afternoon… I saw the look you gave me.”

Erik froze, his tail bristling behind him. “What of it? I was giving a few kind words to—”

I reached around the young baron and pressed the edge of one paw across his muzzle. “You weren’t just relieving me of a burden, were you?” I asked, pressing myself against his back. The heat of his body against mine made my cleft burn with need, but I forced those thoughts to the side. “You were wishing someone would do that for you.”

Erik stayed quiet for several seconds after I removed my paw. “So, you figured it out.”

I nodded. “I suspected after I saw you in court, but that small kindness confirmed it for me. So, it’s my turn to ease your burdens.”

“I can’t,” Erik hissed as he lurched forward, jerking himself out of my arms and slamming his paws into the overstuffed bed. “I can’t let you! I can’t let myself stop being baron! I tried! You and Valentin and Aura, you came all the way out here to drag me back! I—”

I stepped forward and put one paw against his muzzle again, shushing him softly as I wiped at his eyes with the heel of the other. “No, you can’t stop being baron, but when it’s just you and I… well, you can let me help you forget for a while, can’t you? They gave me to you to ease the pains of leadership. Isn’t that what I’m doing?” Erik drew in a ragged breath and nodded, and I slid my arms around his shoulders and held him. “Out there, yes, you’ll be Baron Deterikh, but in here… nothing says you can’t be my pet.”

Erik shivered at the word, and then his arms went around me, and pulled me tightly to him. The first sob that broke his chest sent a shudder down his spine, but he muffled his cries against my shoulder, pressing his muzzle into my fur. I held him as he wore himself out against me, one paw running soothingly down his back, the other held around his waist, rocking him gently as he dripped tears down his muzzle and into my fur.

When his tears finally stilled and he began to cough, I wiped again at his eyes, then gently turned him to face me. “Feeling better?” He nodded weakly, then snorted again. I gently helped him out of his oversized shirt, then wiped at his muzzle with it. “You’ll have better to wear tomorrow,” I said gently, “but that’s to worry about later. Tonight….” I took a deep breath, then let it out and put as much force into my voice as I could. “Strip, pet, and up on the bed with you.”

Erik whimpered. “Yes… master.” The word was a prayer, scarcely believed and quietly hopeful. His trembling fingers fumbled with the rope belt holding up his pants, then awkwardly tugged them past his wagging tail to reveal a shaft already hard and free of its sheath, its tip dripping with excitement. He kicked to free his legs, then jumped onto the bed and balanced on his shins, resting his paws on his knees as he had seen me do so many times before. “Like this?”

I smiled. “Like that, pet.” I rubbed a paw slowly down his back, tracing along his spine, then around beneath his tail to caress its underside, which drew a quiet moan from Erik’s muzzle. When I slapped his rump, it was barely with any force at all, but he still yelped and the fur of his tail stuck straight out. “Very nice,” I murmured as I patted the spot I had just struck, making him whimper. “Forward, pet, onto all fours.”

Erik fell forward onto his paws and knees, and I walked around to the side of the bed and slid into it, sitting with my back to the wall. “Now, pet,” I whispered as I cupped his muzzle in my paws. “I want you to tell me who owns you.”

“You do, master,” he whispered, his voice cracking.

“Good boy.” I moved one paw to the top of his head and stroked it down his neck. “Good pet.” The ache within me had become a raging inferno, need searing me from the inside, but I still took my time, hoping to make the moment last. “You’re eager to please your master, aren’t you?” He nodded vigorously at that, and I smiled, then spread my legs to him, exposing my cleft. “Forward, pet, and lick. Carefully.”

Erik dove for my sex like a moth to that flame, his tongue hungrily diving into my depths as if drawn to them. I had to bite my tongue to still the cry that came to my throat as he lapped at me, and then to push back with my paws to pull him out of me. “Not so fast!” I hissed. “Slowly. Tenderly. Savor it, pet.”

Erik whimpered, but he did his best to comply, tongue slowly sweeping along my cleft, gliding over my sensitive flesh. The fires inside me raged as he stoked them with his muzzle, but I focused on water within to keep myself calm. “Good pet, nice and slow. Eager but obedient.” I stroked the scruff of his neck as he lapped at my need, my breath hastening despite my efforts. “Between the folds, in their depths, that little bit of flesh,” I directed, as the slaver had taught me so many months ago. “Don’t touch it directly, but the skin around it….”

Every inch of my skin burned as his tongue flicked over the indicated area. Despite my efforts, I could feel my need rising, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold myself back for long. Even the occasional brush against my nubbin only served to flare my arousal, and soon all I could do was to press my paws against the back of his head, holding him to my sex as he dragged me closer and closer to climax. My breath felt hot as it left me, each gasp feeling like it could be my last. His flesh seared me where he touched, and I shook beneath his attentions as he inflamed my passions.

When my release hit, it was with the force of a lightning strike, a burst of heat and light within that overwhelmed my senses. For a moment, I felt as if I’d been struck blind and rapturous, every fiber of my being alight with pleasure. I shook against Erik’s muzzle, my wordless cry rising back to the heavens as I rode out my release, smaller shocks flashing through me. My skin glowed with pleasure, and I slumped back against the bed, gently pushing Erik’s muzzle away. “Enough, enough,” I panted, groaning as I struggled to sit up.

Wordlessly, Erik fell against me, awkwardly trying to wrap his arms around me. “Thank you,” he whispered, pressing his muzzle to my shoulder. “Thank you… master.”

“It’s alright, pet,” I soothed, hugging him gently. “You did very well for your first time. You’re unskilled, but I think you’ll learn quickly.”

Erik’s ears flushed with the correction, but his shaft spasmed against my leg. “I’m sorry, master.”

I kissed the top of his head. “No need to apologize, pet. You’re only just starting.” I glanced towards the end of the bed. “By all rights, I should send you down there, but seeing as we’ve a long day ahead of us, I think you need all the rest you can get.” I patted the mattress beside me. “Pull back the comforter, and let’s get some sleep.”

Erik whined softly, muzzle pressed to my shoulder. “I don’t know if I can. I’m so tense.”

I giggled quietly in response and trailed a paw down his front, pressing my palm against his shaft. He hissed at the touch and it shuddered at my touch. “Whose decision is it if you get any release tonight, pet?”

“Yours!” Erik gasped, tensing with every caress, a soft whimper escaping him with every panting breath. “Yours, master.”

“Good pet,” I whispered, kissing his cheek. “I won’t normally be so generous, but you need sleep for tomorrow.” With one arm under his head, I rippled my stubby digits over his sheath and shaft with the other, cradling him to my chest as I pleasured him. It didn’t take long for him to start bucking his hips against my paw, and soon his whole body shook as he peaked, covering my paw and thighs with his desire.

I held him until the last of his shivering subsided, then kissed the top of his head. “Grab your pants; let’s clean this up.” Erik complied quietly, and soon after the soiled linens fell to the floor as we slid under the comforter. I giggled at the thought of Mister Dagos finding the remnants of our night, wondering if he would realize what had transpired. “Better?”

Erik’s beatific smile lit up the room, and he nodded dreamily. “Thank you, master.” He turned and draped the cover over the witchlight, sending the room into twilight, then snuggled up against my side. I pressed my muzzle gently to his, and then the two of us drifted to sleep in each others’ arms.

To her credit, Miss Aura noticed my disquiet soon after we returned to the market, but her gentle touches and soothing words could only do so much. By the time we returned to Miss Rena’s rooms after supper, I wanted nothing to do with Krolik, Baris, trials or war. I found myself, with a touch of shame, longing for the moments spent between my past and present masters, thinking only of pleasure, giving it to others and yearning for it myself. It was, I realized, the last time I had truly felt secure.

As my master stretched out upon his cot, I curled up beside him, but despite the familiarity of his scent and the sound of his breathing, I could find no peace on my thin mat. As the night stretched onward, I tossed and turned, rolling from one side to the other. I tried lying on my chest, then on my back, but the stones remained stubbornly hard and cold, and the air seemed unsettlingly still. My shoulders ached, and even the skin beneath my fur felt tight and uncomfortable.

“You’re not sleeping, pet.” My master’s words were soft, but in the abnormal stillness of Miss Rena’s sitting room, they were deafening. I looked up to see him lying on his side, propped up on one elbow, his head resting on his paw.

I lowered my gaze quickly, rolling onto my side. “I’m sorry I woke you, master,” I whispered into the stillness. “I’ll try to be quieter.”

“It’s okay; I wasn’t either,” he confessed. “What’s on your mind?”

“It’s nothing, master,” I replied as I squirmed down against the mattress. “I’m sorry I—”

My master’s paw gently touched my shoulder, and a fresh wave of discomfort rolled down my spine. “Tell me, Taneh,” he murmured over my protest. “That’s an order.”

I sighed and closed my eyes. “It’s… Mister Erik. It’s everything.” Miss Aura had told him at supper of all that had happened, but she had no way to convey the twisted knot of emotion within me. “Relief, guilt, fear, shock, lust, shame… it was so many memories in so little time that I felt unable to juggle them all. I still don’t think I can. It’s too much.” I clenched my arms more tightly around me. “It’s just too much, master. I just—” My voice cracked, but I couldn’t hold back the words or the tears that followed. “I just want to be safe again!”

I bit down on my tongue to try to stop the sobs, but they forced themselves through despite my efforts. My master’s paw slowly drew down my side, then again, petting me slowly, and then suddenly his arms were around me as the cot clattered loudly against the unyielding stones. He pulled his blankets over us both, then slid one arm beneath my head and pulled me to his chest with the other. “Easy, Taneh,” he crooned as I cried into his chest. “Easy, pet. Just relax. It’s going to be okay.”

As he held me, the tension in my shoulders began to ease, and his touch on my spine was like permission, and I slowly relaxed into my master’s embrace. I sunk against the floor and into his arms, and for the first time in weeks, I began to feel completely at ease. “I’m sorry, master,” I whispered, over and over. I cradled my stubby paws to my chest and buried my muzzle into his shoulder, shivering despite the warmth of his shared covers. “I couldn’t hold it any more. I just couldn’t.”

“It’s okay, Taneh,” my master soothed. “Sometimes, I can’t either. Even Erik used to break down. You saw it, you remember.” I nodded, and he rubbed his cheek against the top of my head. “Listen, pet, I think things are going to be okay, but you’re going to have to trust me. I spent the day talking with Rena, and I think I’ve got a plan that will save Erik, but it’s going to take you admitting some things to Baron Jazinsk.” He hugged me to his chest to forestall my protests. “It’s not going to be easy, but Rena thinks it has a good chance of shocking some sense back into the old man.”

I shivered and nodded again. “Yes, master, but… what about Miss Datsia? Once we’ve rescued Mister Erik, we still have to—”

My master leaned back and lay a finger across my muzzle. “One stress at a time, pet. If Baron Jazinsk is willing to let Erik go, then it’s likely we’ll have his help in dealing with Datsia.” He smiled faintly. “If he’s not, then we’ll have bigger problems than Datsia. Aura’s not going to take no for an answer, and my oaths won’t stop her.”

That made me chuckle, and the laugh, however small, helped relax the knot in my stomach. “Yes, master,” I sighed, snuggling against my master’s chest. “Thank you.”

My master chuckled softly. “You’re welcome, little light.”

“I am ready,” I whispered as the world fell away from me. The warmth of the blankets suffused me, and his scent filled my mind as I sank into his words.

“Very good, pet,” my master replied. “Lift your leg.” I complied, and I felt him shift against me, positioning his shaft against the opening of my sex. “Tell me how you feel.”

“Aroused, master,” I moaned softly; even the thought of his cock within me made the heat roll down my spine. “Still scared but… safer. Wa—ah!” My voice rose into a whine as he began to press himself into me. “Warm, master,” I breathed as I slumped forward.

One of my master’s paws found my rump and clutched it, holding me in place as he took me. “Good. Oh, so very good, Taneh.” His own voice was thick, muffed by the fur of my shoulder. “Such a good pet. Relaxed and safe.” He gasped as he hilted himself in me. “It’s been too long.”

“Yes, sir,” I agreed, trying to focus on my training, counting the strokes as he took me. One… two…. His motions were slow and steady, tenderly filling me over and over. He held me to his chest as he pleasured himself with me, sending wave after wave of lightning up from my sex and throughout my body. Eleven… twelve…. I lost count of his motions, every thrust sending me deeper and deeper. I felt as if I could see myself from far away, cradled in my master’s arms, and the sight and thought of it filled me with a glow, deep inside.

This wasn’t sex; this was lovemaking. My master held me as he took me, then caressed me as he pulled away. His touch was gentle, his claws sheathed. He kept the arm beneath my head as steady as he could, but his fingers curled against my back in intimate patterns. Even the pace of his thrusts spoke of intimacy and tenderness. If he desired me, he could have had me any way he wished. If he didn’t, he had no need of me. He would only have given this to me because he wanted me to have it. I had to have realized it before, but somehow it only felt real in that moment, after all the barriers had been broken down.

Distantly, I became aware that my body was responding, that the ache within me was almost pulsing in its urgency. I drifted closer, and I could feel my own arousal, as well as my master’s, the need building within my sex to be taken. The waves of lightning were coming faster and faster, and my I was beginning to pant. My master, too, was responding to his own desires, as his thrusts became quicker and shallower. “Taneh, pet,” he moaned into my shoulder. “Not… much… longer….”

“Master,” I breathed, and then suddenly I shuddered, my back arching sharply as I climaxed. Caught by surprise, I snapped back to myself, eyes fluttering open as I gasped. I tensed, tightening around my master’s shaft, and he groaned in response, driving himself into me as he came. A fresh flood of warmth filled me, need washed away in my master’s release.

“Such a good pet,” my master whispered. He hugged me tightly, then carefully adjusted the blankets over us. “Listen, I think I’ll sleep down here tonight; we could both use it. Get some sleep; tomorrow is going to be busy.”

“Yes, master,” I replied around a yawn. “Good night.” Then I closed my eyes and let myself drift to sleep in the safety of my master’s arms.

Reflexively, I placed my paws against my owner’s knees and leaned forward to breathe in his scent, but he put a paw on my forehead and urged me away with a forced chuckle. “No, pet.” I winced at the reprimand, but in the enclosed wagon, there was no escaping that smell. I sat back on my knees and pressed my paws to the floor, but being eye-level with my master’s sheath, I couldn’t help but smell him, see him. I swallowed, and memories of his taste filled my thoughts.

I shifted uncomfortably and tried to block out the thoughts, but the enticement of his desire cut through my focus. I squirmed in the floor of Miss Aura’s wagon and pressed one palm against my cleft. The thought that I was behaving like an animal in heat struck me, but that only fueled the flames between my legs, and I rolled my hips against the pressure. Realizing what I was doing, I tried to shift so that I could sit on my paws, but in my shifting, I brushed against my master’s sheath through his pants. That drew a hiss out of him, followed by a sharp clap on the back of the head. “Taneh, sit!” he snapped, glaring down at me.

I cringed at the blow, then lowered my head and nodded. I could feel my master’s eyes as I settled down, shifting to trap my paws behind me against the wood, kneeling on the floor. Once satisfied that I wasn’t going to advance on him again, my owner rose on the bench and opened the window behind him. “Aura!” He shouted through the portal up to our sage and driver. “How much longer?”

“Oh, we’ve hours yet, sargeant,” the sage called out. “We’re five hours to the border, and that’s if we—”

“Not Krolik, you—” My master cut off his retort. “How much longer will these urges last?”

The sage laughed in response, then hollered back, “Oh, that! Not long enough, I’m afraid! Enjoy it while you can!”

My master snarled and slammed closed the window. “Comets.” He swore, before dropping heavily back onto the seat, making the wagon rock. He sighed and leaned back against the wall. “Listen, Taneh, I’m sorry. This is as hard on me as… oh, dust.” He groaned. “This is as difficult as… never mind.” He reached down a paw and stroked the back of my head with his fingers. He was quiet for several seconds, content just to caress my fur. “I don’t want to hurt you,” he finally said. “Every time I’ve ever had you, it’s been for the wrong reasons. Datsia, or Erik, or trying to prove something. Don’t get me wrong, I want you, but….” His voice trailed off there, and he laughed to himself. “I know, you’ve said before what you want doesn’t count, but I can’t help but worry.”

I chuckled faintly. “Master, if I may?” He nodded, and I smiled. “I may lack fingers, but I can still bite and kick. If you’re worried about my safety, you could order me to defend myself, if I thought I needed to. I don’t, but you could tell me to do so.”

“What?” My master’s head snapped upwards at that. “I… you can do that?” He paused, open-muzzled for several seconds, then let out a laugh. “Every time I think I know everything….” He drew himself up and put a paw on my shoulder. “Pet, henceforth, if you think your life or mine is in danger, you are to take whatever steps you feel are necessary. That includes protecting yourself from me, if you think you should. Do you understand?”

I smiled, warmth settling in my chest and lower. “Yes, master.”

My master grinned in response, and his shaft throbbed before me. “Good. Now get on with it.” His fingers fumbled at his waist, and then he dragged down his pants. A fresh waft of his musk filled Miss Aura’s wagon, and I eagerly took him into my muzzle. His flesh was warm and sweetly spicy beneath my tongue, and as I licked and suckled, his fingers stroked the bases of my ears, embracing me against him. “Oh, Taneh,” he moaned as I slid my lips down his length. “I never thought….”

I wasn’t listening to my master’s words; I was too focused on his scent in my nostrils and his taste in my muzzle. The fires within me raged, begging for their own attention, but I kept my back pressed against the rough wood behind me, trapping my paws, forcing the need to rise within as I focused on my master’s shaft. Each time desire flared within me, I pleasured my owner that much more. Each pang of need fueled my lips and tongue, eager to satisfy every need I had, every urge I felt. The aching built and built within me, but I spread my legs and pressed my hinds against the other floorboard, pinning myself in place to force myself to attend to my master’s needs.

If my master noticed my movements, he paid no heed to them; his attention was clearly on my muzzle, on the service I paid with lips and tongue to his shaft. He pressed his legs together against my cheeks, bent at the waist to clutch me to him. His fingers gripped the back of my head, to hold me against his groin. Each breath of his was a gasp, a panting, whimpering hiss as I drew him closer and closer to release. “Pet,” he hissed against clenched teeth. “So good. So… so…” My master tensed, and then with a yowl he jerked his hips forward and sunk himself into my throat, filling me with his pent-up need. Even braced, I choked and coughed at the flood, but he held me in place until his shaft stopped its pulsing, letting go only when he begun to grow soft between my lips.

“Taneh,” my master whispered, his muzzle held close to my ears, curled upon himself and holding me tightly. I licked at his shaft to clean it, then swallowed audibly and nuzzled into his leg. He slowly stroked one paw down my back, the other held tightly around my shoulders. “Every time I think I understand you….” He stopped himself there and laughed, then kissed the top of my head. “Good pet.” We stayed there, my master curled around me, for several minutes, but then my own scent caught his nostrils and made him chuckle. “You’re as eager as I, aren’t you?”

I ducked my head and blushed, squirming in place as he called attention to my own arousal, but he instead rose and cracked the window to the front seat, letting some much-needed fresh air into the wagon. “How much longer, Aura?”

“Oh, hours yet!” the sage shouted back. “Ey’s got a ride ahead of em!”

My master rolled his eyes. “To Krolik! How much longer to Barony Jazinsk?”

“Fifteen minutes less than the last time you asked!” Miss Aura called out. “Kelena runs as fast as she runs, and all that rocking makes it hard to steer!”

With a groan, my master dropped back to the seat, then put a paw on my shoulder. “We may be here a while, pet. I’ll wait as long as I can, so we both enjoy it more.”

“Heat,” I mumbled, relaxing into the warmth soaking into my limbs. “Red light, inside. Pain.”

“Heat and light,” the sage repeated, her voice distant. “You’re well-trained, Taneh. It’s time to put that training to use. Breathe deeply, in and out. Focus on the lights around you. Twelve lights, and you. Count them aloud Taneh.” She walked a circle around me, pouring salts and tracing designs. “One… two….”

“Three,” I responded a few moments later. The scratching and rustling faded further into the distance, and my vision began to grey at the edges. “Four.” One breath, one light at a time, I counted off the dancing motes around me, sinking further into the familiar fogginess of the trance. “Eleven… twelve….” My voice faded, but the lights kept swimming in my mind. Thirteen… fourteen…. I closed my eyes, chest rising and falling slowly, feeling myself drift.

The sage’s voice echoed around me. “Chalk to mark and guide, salts to separate. All things are connected in the Great Work, but within the circle, we may tease free a few strands.” Fresh warmth suffused the ground beneath me, and in my mind’s eye I felt as much as saw the designs beneath me glow. “Deep breaths, little light, and focus on the borders. Feel them around you, dividing us from the world.”

“I am ready.” The words came from somewhere within me, but I was unsure who said them. I focused on the lines of chalk that ran beneath me and touched the circle of salts. In my mind, a wall surrounded me, impenetrable. The sage stood beside me, nude, one hind each on a pair of glowing strands. I drew in a deep breath and exhaled, nodding. “Yes.”

“Good, little one,” the sage said, her words echoing off of the wall that isolated us. “You’re well-trained and doing what you’re told. Within the circle, only we exist, separate from the Great Work. Consequence does not follow from action, and after precedes before. We remain connected, tied to the tapestry by the lines beneath us, but held apart from it. Do you understand?’

I breathed in again, then out, and as the air left my muzzle I felt the world give way beneath me. It was as if the ground suddenly vanished, leaving me suspended on lines of glowing light. Only those few precarious threads kept me balanced over a pit whose bottom I couldn’t even fathom. I shuddered once, violently, then tried to grab onto something, anything, to stop my fall. “Aura?” I called out feebly, stubby digits failing to curl around anything.

“Taneh, stop!” The command came swiftly, and I froze, heart pounding and blood running cold. “Stay focused on the patterns binding us, little light. Stay focused on the wall. We remain safe, even outside the Great Work.” I felt her beside me, balancing on her knees on a pair of lines. “Rose and nightshade, hemlock and hyacinth. The lines beneath you will support you, even as you let go of them. I will not let you fall. Bring your left paw over your groin, pads upwards.”

A whimper escaped me. “I… I am ready.” It took me five breaths to draw up the courage to untwist my paws from the webbing of light, another two to lift one and hold it in front of me, rather than rely on it for balance. Around me, the darkness began to move, angry at our intrusion. “Yes,” I whispered, hoping the sage could hear me.

“Good, Taneh, very good,” Miss Aura soothed. “You’re doing as you’re told and doing it very well. Heather and anise seed, thistle and clove. Koshki’s luck, Matska’s grace, Oshka’s strength.” Her fingers encircled my left wrist. “Cool comfort, soothing touch.” I imagined my fur beginning to glow beneath her touch. “Your baron’s caress, your master’s smile. Used as you have been before, an innocent vessel, carrying darkness.”

I nodded, and the sage continued, her other paw stirring the emptiness beside her. “Doll’s eyes and daffodil, mandrake and moonseed. I bring darkness to you, but you will not be harmed by it. It resides within you, but is not of you, nor will it remain forever.” Her fingers closed in a loose ball, and then she was pressing them down on my upturned paw. “Feel this emptiness seep into your bones. It cannot enter you, for you are not of the darkness, merely a vessel to carry it to its final home.” A chill ran through my paw as she mashed hers against it, and I shuddered.

The sage pressed her paws against mine for an endless moment, as if trying to constrain the darkness inside me, and then quickly drew her paw away and traced her clawtip against my palm. “Filled with darkness but not of it, I seal this vessel with the mirgalva, the death’s head, bound between the love of Zofia and the rage of Marek. This emptiness shall remain within, sealed away beneath these signs but ready to unleash. Do you understand, little light?”

I nodded once, still shivering. “I am ready, yes.” My left paw felt numb, suffused with an unsettling tingle.

“Good, pet,” Miss Aura said softly. “You’re doing as you’re told, and you’re doing very well. The vessel is filled and sealed, ready to release. When the time comes for the seal to be broken, you will know what to do.” Fingers touched my wrist. “An innocent vessel, you will remain safe, carrying this bit of darkness within you. Within the circle, we remain divided from the Great Work, apart from it. To return to the tapestry, we breach the wall separating us from it. Salts divided, chalk split.”

The thump of the sage’s staff against the ground and the sudden scrape of its tip snapped me back to full awareness even before she could tell me to awaken. I let out the stale air in my chest with a gasp and panted, suddenly aware that I’d been holding my breath. “What— Miss Aura, what did—”

A sudden whiff of lavender filled my nostrils and I sagged back against the ground. “Relax, pet,” the sage said as she rose to her hinds. “You’re well-trained and you did as you were told. One last instruction, and I’ll let you go.”

I pushed myself up onto my elbows and looked down at my left paw; the fur covering it, down to the wrist, had gone totally black, and the strands seemed to wave even in the absence of wind. “I don’t understand,” I whimpered. “I can’t feel it any more. What did you—” I lifted my gaze, but Miss Aura put one paw over my eyes and lay a finger across my muzzle.

“Don’t talk,” the sage murmured as she knelt. “Animals don’t speak; they only follow instruction. You’re a good pet, Taneh. Do your master proud.” Her words reminded me of how long it had been since I’d felt anyone’s intimate touch, and I squirmed as she guided me back onto my back. “Good pet,” she crooned as she straddled my head, presenting me with her sex. Her netherlips were faintly damp, and a deep floral note lingered between them, oddly enticing. “You know what to do.”

I wanted to protest, to demand answers for what had come before, but the scent and my own needs made it difficult to care. I lifted my head and pressed my paws to the sage’s rump, then gently slid my tongue against her lips. As I did so, something warm and wet caressed my own, and I moaned into her sex. I licked again, and the sensation echoed. Each flick or caress I made, she somehow mirrored between my legs, and soon my world was her floral taste and the fires raging within me, begging for release.

“Good pet,” the sage crooned above me. She rocked herself slowly against my muzzle, her voice thick with her own desire. “A gift for you, pleasure for pleasure, touch for touch.” She arched her back, and then her fingers were between my legs as well, her pads just brushing my button. Another whimper escaped me as I lapped at her dew, tongue sliding further and further into her, stoking my own need as I felt every caress I made against her. I began to buck my hips against her paw as she rocked against my muzzle, giving me oppotunity to lick further within.

Soon, the sage met each of my gasps with one of her own, her body moving with mine. Two of her fingers, then a third, slid inside of me as I pressed my tongue within her depths, and somehow I felt it all, filled with her and myself besides. I whimpered and panted into Miss Aura’s sex, lapping eagerly at her, listening to her breath come faster and faster. “That’s it, pet,” she gasped. “Lose yourself in the pleasure. Let it fill your mind, every corner of it. Lost in arousal, in need, in… in—” Her hips bucked once against me, and then she released, crying out as she tensed above me.

As she climaxed, lightning poured from her nethers and up from my own, meeting somewhere deep within me, and my entire body jerked in pleasure. I gasped against Miss Aura’s sex and squinted my eyes as a wave of heat and light rolled through me, then a second in echo of the first. A third passed through me, and then I dropped back heavily to the floor, the scents of lavender and sage’s honey filling my nose as I sank into oblivion.

At first, I had been too stunned to struggle, to scared to run. It was the rattle of my chains, as the sergeant-at-arms reached for them, that had shaken me enough to try to bolt. I made a dash for the door, but Miss Datsia stood in the way, staring down her muzzle at me. She held her arms across her chest, bemusedly watching as I charged at her. She didn’t look angry, or even smug. Her ears stood erect above her and a faint smile sat on her muzzle, and as I stumbled backwards after barreling into her, she only chuckled. “I’ll leave you to clean this, then,” she said to the lynx before giving a salute, which my master’s betrayer returned before grabbing the lead to my collar.

A few of the kitchen help turned to watch as Mister Valentin dragged me past the fires, back to the slaves’ entrance, and then out into the mid-day sun. Between the rear of Deterikh Keep and the wall enclosing it, squash and late-planted peas grew in haphazard rows, along with patches of kale. A weatherbeaten wooden shed leaned against the stone wall, its door ajar to reveal a small cluster of tools. It reminded me, with a shock, of the garden Anya and Nadzia kept under the kitchen window, lovingly tended with Father’s tools and carefully weeded by paw, each week after services. Once, near the end of summer harvest, Justik and I dug up the gourds and took turns throwing them, to see who could reach the furthest or make the biggest mess. By the time we were done, most of their crop was ruined, and the pair were beside themselves with anger. Father, though, didn’t yell; he only sat us down, paced before us, and told us how disappointed he was. I could still hear his voice in his mind, thinking back to that moment. You think you’ve ruined a few crops, but what you’ve really destroyed is all your sisters’ hard work. Look outside, at the mess you’ve made, then look me in the eye and tell me it was worth it. Neither of us could meet his gaze, or each other’s.

A sudden tug on my leash jerked me in front of the lynx and back to the present. Mister Valentin followed up with a shove against the middle of my back, which sent me stumbling into the patch of vegetables. I dropped to all fours among the crops and pressed my paws into the ground. The soil was slightly damp, and it clung in small patches to the fur of my palms. Someone had spent time with this plot, watering the soil and plucking the weeds. I wanted to be afraid. I wanted to beg for my life. I lifted a small ball of dirt to my muzzle and took a deep breath, filling my nostrils with the heavy scent of earth.

“Listen, Ta—Stannis,” Deterikh’s sergeant-at-arms called out from behind me; his tone was completely at odds with his acts, hesitant, uncertain. “I… I’m sorry, for all of what happened to you. You didn’t deserve it.”

I lowered my paws and let the clumps of dirt fall from the stumps of my fingers. A few stubborn grains hung in the fur. “No, I didn’t, sir.” I agreed quietly, not turning around. “It doesn’t matter, though. I’m just a slave.”

“Oh, Koshki,” Mister Valentin swore. “You aren’t just…. that is, you are, but….” He sighed and pinched the bridge of his muzzle. “Listen, Taneh, it’s… complicated. There’s a lot more going on than—”

“Sir,” I interrupted, not lifting my head, “do you remember when I said, not too long ago, that if you were going to pretend I was your equal that you should just do it?” I paused for a moment, but the lynx said nothing. “I know that you didn’t trust my… trust Mister Erik with the throne. I know that he trusted you with his life, and that he wanted you to have me if anything happened to him.”

The sergeant-at-arms returned the smile, but then groaned and put one paw over his eyes, the other’s grip on his spear tightening. “Listen, I just need you to understand that I… I tried to find some other way. That I wish I could have done something to stop it.”

I blinked. “Sir, why are you justifying yourself to me? I’m a slave. The one who bought me first said that I could be killed and that nobody would….” I paused, watching the way the lynx’s ears flattened and his shoulders slumped when I said that. “And that nobody would care. Compared with that, the last half-year has been a dream,” I finished.

The lynx looked even more discomfited. “Yeah, about that. Listen, T… Stannis, I… I’m sorry. I don’t want to do this. You know that, don’t you?”

I shrugged. “Then don’t do it, sir.”

Mister Valentin laughed darkly. “Oh, comets. If only it were that easy.”

I smiled. “It is that easy, sir. I’m a slave; I follow orders because I have no choice. You’re not a slave.”

“That’s not true,” the lynx countered. “You chose to become a slave.”

I nodded. “Yes, and I choose not to run because I made the choice to be what I am, which includes not having the freedom to make other choices. Choices you can make.”

Mister Valentin sighed, his shoulders sagging. “I chose to help Datsia get rid of Erik. You’re the only one left who knows, and she doesn’t trust you not to tell. Given that, my options are to risk letting everything I’ve done collapse in my wake, or….” He fidgeted with his spear in both paws.

I ignored the weapon and focused on the lynx’s muzzle. “Why did you help Miss Datsia?”

That made the lynx chuckle. “You saw Erik’s temper. You heard his aunt. He’d give in and give in and then snap suddenly and we’d end up in a—” He stopped himself suddenly.

I smiled a bit wider. “In a war.”

“Yeah,” Mister Valentin agreed. “Listen, I think I can talk Datsia down from this, once she’s not in the moment.”

I nodded. “Of course. I’m sure the Regent will give up this chance to retake the holdings she thinks her brother gave away too cheaply, given how she’s handled everything else to this point.”

The lynx was silent for several moments more. “I definitely liked you more when you were just a distraction.”

At that, I chuckled softly. “So did I, sir.”

Mister Valentin hung his head. “Listen, I think you’re right. I thought getting Erik off the throne was the right thing to do, but it’s put somebody even worse in his place. What can I do, though? This is the path I’ve already chosen. Can’t you understand that?” He practically snarled the last at me.

I nodded, once. My heart pounded in my chest and my muzzle was sticky and dry, but my mind was painfully clear. Was it worth it?. “I do understand, sir, which is why you should hurry up and dispose of me, before Miss Datsia starts to doubt your loyalty.”

The lynx visibly tensed, shrinking in on himself. “Yes,” he said quietly. “Yes, I should.” He was silent for several moments, then advanced slowly and raised his arms. I tensed and closed my eyes, trying keep my heart calm. I knew this could happen. I knew it probably would. My master’s eyes came back to me, his relaxed and open smile as he stood on the roof overlooking Baris. Seeing his muzzle in my mind, an almost liquid warmth suffused me, spreading up from between my thighs and through my entire body. Yes, yes it was.

The tip of Mister Valentin’s spear whistled as it dropped, and then I heard a wet crunch that shook a cry out of me, but several seconds passed before I realized there was no pain. I opened my eyes and looked down, but my chest was whole and intact. Beside me, one of the squash sat in pieces, smashed by the force of the lynx’s impact. I blinked, then lifted my head, but then suddenly his paws were at the back of my head, his muzzle pressed hotly to mine. His fingers encircled the bases of my ears, and then suddenly bright flares of pain erupted from them as his claws sunk into the tender skin. He forced his tongue into my muzzle, then sucked mine back into his and bit it fiercely, making me gasp against his lips.

As the lynx forced me backwards against the ground, he took one of his paws from my ear and fumbled at his waist, then started to roughly shove his pants and breeches down to free his sheath. As soon as they were at his knees, he shoved me down, then loomed over me and began squirming between my legs, forcing them apart. It felt awkward and wrong and embarrassing, the way the emptiness between my legs throbbed as he ground himself against my nethers. My cheeks burned, but it was nothing compared to the fire rising from within.

Mister Valentin wasn’t gentle. As soon as he was close to positioned, he rose onto his knees and rammed himself forward, hilting himself inside of me in a single thrust. I screamed as his cock slammed into the back of my sex, dropping back to a whimper as he withdrew. Reflexively, I wrapped my arms around him despite myself, then tensed as he drove himself back into me. He snarled as he took me, his claws sunk into my sides, ruining open Master Iladin’s efforts in one and gouging the other. The lynx hissed, then sunk his teeth into my shoulder, sending a wave of hot agony to match the fire that rose from my sex as he claimed me.

I hurt and my cheeks burned, but my body responded despite itself, hips rising to meet the lynx’s with every thrust. The pleasure began to swell deep within me, flashes that ran from the base of my tail up my spine. Each time Mister Valentin took me, a guttural hiss escaped his throat and his jaws clenched down on my shoulder, and I pressed myself more tightly to him. Soon he was gasping, grunting against me as he took me, and I cried out each time he buried himself into my sex. The shocks came faster and faster, and then suddenly stars swarmed behind my eyes and my whole body clenched. The lynx answered with a yowl and a sharp snap of his hips, sinking himself within me, followed by a few short twitches and a fresh flow of heat deep within.

For several seconds, he simply held himself within me, muzzle pressed to my shoulder. He gingerly withdrew his teeth from my skin, then tenderly licked the bite, making me whimper. The lynx slowly pulled himself away, then rose to his hinds. “How do you feel, Stannis?”

The sound of my old name, my birth name, made me grimace. I hurt, both inside and out. My heart sat heavy in my chest, the sense of having cheated death only just sinking in. The bases of my ears burned, as did my shoulder and sides. I felt blood seeping into my fur at points, along with other fluids. I looked down at myself, then back up to the sergeant-at-arms. “Used, master.”

Mister Valentin smiled faintly at that, his ears flat against his head once more. “That’s about as disposed of as I can make you, pet.” He reached down and took one of my paws in his, then pulled me to my hinds. “If we’re lucky, we have an hour before Datsia sends someone around the taverns to find out what I did with your body. I intend to be long gone by then.”

I bowed my head, blushing; the skin where his paw landed felt warm, as did my cheeks. “Yes, sir.” I carefully carried the tea and servings, then gingerly lowered its lip to the edge of the table and extracted my paws from beneath. The porcelain pot slid and the cups clattered, but I was able to set it down without dropping it. “Will you have any need of me before then?”

My master grinned. “No time for that, I fear, pet. Tonight will run long, so you’ll just have to wait.” He approached from behind and put his arms around me, pressing himself against my back. “Eager, ready, and sadly, quite alone.” His claws sought out my nipples and pinched them, making me gasp, my chains rattling as I shivered. “You’ll be able to hear Valentin and I in the next room, and no doubt your mind will be thinking of all the ways you could keep us… entertained… but you’ll have to wait in the bedroom until we’re done, and I have no idea how late we’ll be planning.” Stoked by the slap, the fires within me caught at his words, growing into a burning need. I braced my paws against the table and pressed myself against my master’s chest and thighs, his thickening sheath making a visible tent within his pants. I rubbed myself against it, panting quietly as he continued to torment me with his words.

“No words, pet. Not a sound once you’re in the bedroom. You’ll have to be silent while you wait, or else you might disturb us. No, no, you’ll have to be as still as you can, as long as you can. Free to touch, to stroke, to caress… but not to finish, or even to beg for release.” He slid one of his paws down my chest, dragging his claws through my fur, setting my nerves alight. He cupped my sex in his fingers, and reflexively I tried to rock my hips, but he held me fast, growling in my ear. “I said silent, pet, and still. You’ll just have to make do with thinking about all the ways I might pleasure you later, all the ways you might please for some satisfaction… if I have time. I might not. I might just… leave you on your mat and come to bed. It will likely be a very late night, and you’ll—”

I cried out in arousal, unable to hold myself back, but my master just tightened his grip around me, grabbing the chains at my collar and tugging them for emphasis. His shaft, rock-hard through his pants, pressed against my rump, teasing me through the thin fabric. “—just have to wait until my pleasure to have yours. Is that understood… pet?”

I opened my muzzle to try to accept, but then closed it quickly and gave the barest nod of my head. My chest was heaving and the flame inside of me had become a aching need, one that every touch and every word made worse. His pads burned where they touched. Despite my shivering, though, I did my best to hold perfectly still, as I’d been told, blushing from eartip to tail and quivering with desire.

My master withdrew his paws and stepped away. “Good. Very good.” Then his paws were at my shoulders, spinning me to face him. His muzzle found mine, and his tongue wasted no time in pressing between my lips. He moaned into me, and I echoed his passion, wrapping my arms around his waist and entwining his tongue with mine. He coaxed mine into his muzzle and suckled on it, then thrust his own back into me, exploring me from within. Soft whimpers escaped him as we kissed, and he hugged me tightly to his chest. I sank into his arms, lost in his scent, in the feel of my master against me, in my own need for him.

“Are the two of you quite finished?” Mister Valentin called from the door.

Chastened, my master withdrew suddenly. “I think so,” he said with a faint chuckle. He gave my muzzle a final lick, then hooked a finger under my chin and lifted my gaze to his. He smiled at me, his golden eyes aglow with tenderness and desire, and I felt something very unlike the passion of earlier. It was warm and it filled me, but it lacked urgency; it felt like a glow, deep in my chest. I did my best to smile back, but my cheeks reddened and I quietly lowered my eyes again. “Go on,” my master murmured. “Off to the bedroom with you. Valentin and I have work to do.”

I nodded once, then turned and shuffled as quietly as I could to the short hall to my master’s bedchambers, holding my chains taut to keep them from rattling. Once the door was closed behind me, I dropped to my knees and put my paws between my legs. I knew I was only making my frustration worse, but I was so enflamed that, even despite my orders, I couldn’t keep my paws away from myself. Dozens of images flashed through my head as I rubbed and caressed myself, from kneeling beneath the table as my master worked and licking at his sheath; to my master and Mister Valentin taking me in the middle of the table, one between my legs and the other in my muzzle.

I bit down on my lip to silence my cries and slid two digits into my sex, pressing my nethers against my wrist. My hips bucked, reflexively, as I imagined my master beneath me, lying back with his paws behind his head, a beatific smile on his muzzle as I worked to bring him to release within me. A low whine escaped me and I caught my breath, but each time I stopped, the ache and emptiness inside me grew. It was a cycle I knew all too well, needing another’s touch to release it, and yet for all that my frustrations swelled inside me, I found myself eager for them, eager to need, eager to serve. This is my place. This is my life, not a person. Not even a proper animal. Just my master’s pet, to use as he wished. Just a plaything for others’ enjoyment. Just—

Something within me shifted, some vital element, and I rubbed frantically, urgently, over my sex with my useless forepaws, clamping down on my lips with my teeth. Stars sparkled behind my tightly-clenched eyelids as I followed that thought. Just a slave, just a toy, just a thing to be used. Not a person, not any more. Never had been, never wanted to be. This is what I always wanted, this life, serving my master, being his pet. I choked down my cry, tasting blood as my body spasmed, lightning flashing through me as it had during the ritual. I collapsed onto the mat, my entire body shaking from the strength of my release.

I lay still for some time after that, sprawled on my back, trying to breathe and recover my strength. Guilt flickered inside of me, having disobeyed my orders, and yet I had trouble feeling it. The thoughts themselves were too strong to ignore, too powerful to protest. It felt like an admission too long in the making, a purging of secrets, at least to myself. Despite the sticky mess in my fur and the exhaustion, I felt… clean. Happy.

The door slammed open, and Mister Valentin’s head thrust into the opening, snapping about this way and that. “Taneh, where—Matska’s grace!” As I scrambled up onto my knees and dropped my gaze, the sergeant-at-arms walked into the room, ignoring me completely. “It smells like a brothel in here; when’s the last time he aired out his room?” He strode past me to his wardrobe and rummaged through it, then extracted a formal shirt and jacket. Turning, he hurried back to the door.

I lifted my head and risked a question. “Sir? What’s going on?”

The lynx paused, briefly, without turning to face me. “Dion’s just returned from Jazinsk; the baron’s called a formal council and a rider’s been sent to tell Datsia. Sorry, you’re probably on your own tonight.” Then he left, and with him so did my all of my joy.