Master

by R Phoenix

  Zain cocked his head. “Ever hear that expression about protesting too much?”

  Liam refused to even comment on that, staring at Zain with as much disdain as he could muster. Zain just smirked — an expression Liam couldn’t remember seeing on the ‘wolf before — and shook his head. “You can tell yourself anything you want, Liam. I’m not going to argue about love with you, but that bullshit just makes me realize I was right to come here. Caleb can’t live like this. He needs more than to be shoved in the backyard and forgotten.”

  “He has not been shoved into the backyard and forgotten,” Liam said stiffly. “He stays outside while I sleep so he may enjoy the sunlight. He has perfectly acceptable accommodations here.” He gestured in the direction of the quite expensive deluxe doggie condo he’d gotten for Caleb. “He—” Why was he justifying himself to Zain? “It is none of your concern, Zain,” he finished, his voice going sharp.

  “It became my concern when you made me part of your fucked-up little family and I fell in love with Caleb. You can’t turn off other people's emotions just because you don’t have them or won’t admit to them. I refuse to just walk away. You might not want me, and that’s fine, but I’m not leaving Caleb alone with you and that asshole.” Zain snorted, a ghost of a smile passing over his lips before they twisted up again. “Think of it this way. We might be getting a divorce, but there’s still a custody matter to work out here. This isn’t a safe or happy environment for him. Hell, I wouldn’t leave a real dog here with that freaky asshole in the house. Caleb needs more than that.”

  Liam blinked at him. A divorce? Zain wanted to apply their situation to that sort of practice? And to add a custody matter? For a moment, he was utterly speechless. “Are you… Are you trying to take my pup from me?” he asked in blatant disbelief.

  Zain’s expression seemed to soften for a moment before the mask fell back into place. “I can’t see another solution, Liam. He can’t stay here. You don’t want the responsibility of making him happy. You can’t just throw food in his bowl once in a while and then shove him out into the yard when you sleep. A nice dog house won’t make up for not engaging with him or ignoring his sexual needs. That’s why you hired me to begin with, remember? You needed help. That hasn’t changed.”

  The words were uncomfortably true, and he had to glance away for a moment just to collect his thoughts. He glanced down at Caleb, who was watching him with human-like intelligence in his eyes.

  “He is also my sole source for food,” Liam said stubbornly. “I will not be inconvenienced. He is only a human.” Even though he knew he wouldn’t, even though he knew he would never, he said spitefully, “I am certain the Enforcers would be interested to learn that you are this interested in the welfare of a human slave.”

  Zain laughed instead of showing the fear Liam had hoped to inspire. “Do you honestly think your asshole boss would want that much attention drawn to him? He’d lose it if you got his name associated with our fucked-up relationship and us fighting over Caleb.” Zain shook his head. “No, I think he’d either kill me or do his best to make me go away quietly. Either way, I would know I tried to keep Caleb safe and happy.”

  “So what is it you are after?” Liam demanded, snapping his fingers and glaring at Caleb when his pup hesitated before finally started to approach him. “To be able to have… conjugal visits with my pup?”

  “If you can guarantee his safety and agree to the things he actually needs to be happy, then I’d agree to split custody with you. But to be honest, I don’t think you can do it. Well, maybe you just don’t want to, but either way, the outcome is the same. I think I need to take full custody of him. You can come back and drink from him when you need it. I know he’d miss you, but this isn’t healthy for him.”

  Liam gaped at Zain, fingers entwining in his pup’s collar. “Did you practice this speech?” he asked, yanking Caleb closer. “Before you practiced coitus with my pet?” He sneered, the idea that his pup had been touched by someone he didn’t control bothering him more than he might have thought. It had been one thing as the dog-sitter, but now, he wanted to deny Zain the ability to enjoy his pet as he did.

  “God, Liam. Sometimes you sound like you're from another century. You don’t practice coitus. And yes, I’ve been thinking about this for days because he matters to me. Hell, before you threw me out, I would have said you mattered to me too.” Zain’s voice finally cracked, and he took a deep breath before continuing. “I can’t throw people away as easily as you do.”

  “I am from another century,” Liam snapped. That was one thing that mortals never seemed to understand. He wasn’t from this time or this place, and he wasn’t going to respond as they did. His eyes narrowed, though, and he said more quietly, “Perhaps part of the reason I left the gate open was so you could visit, but it was not so you could enter a plea to take him away from me. Do you see the mark on his arm?” he demanded hotly, glad he’d gotten the slave mark tattooed on Caleb early on. “His registration number leads back to me. If you take him without my consent, it will be theft.”

  The question, though, was really why he cared so much, and why the words had stung as much as they had.

  Zain seemed to think for a moment before he glanced down at Caleb and then back up to Liam. “I say it’d be repossession since you never paid me everything you owed me for watching Caleb. Since it ended up being a round the clock job, I think that’s going to add up to quite a bit.”

  The money was negligible in the grand scheme of things. Currency was odd these days, and he certainly wasn’t lacking. “Am I paying you for dog sitting, or must I pay for your services for me as well?” he asked.

  In that instant, he knew he’d gone too far, and for the first time in as long as he could remember, he wanted to take his words back.

  Then again, he’d been generous enough to pay for both.

  “You just keep doing your best to push me away by any means possible,” Zain spoke quietly and gave Liam a look he couldn’t quite define. “Moving in with you and falling for Caleb has meant that my pack will never really accept me, so I have to find another place to live. This doesn’t mean the issue with Caleb is settled though. He can’t stay here all the time. I know you can see that.”

  Liam hated admitting that he did know that. He didn’t want to know it. He didn’t want it to be part of his reality. He didn’t want any of this to be real. He just wanted his household back the way it had been. “It is only temporary,” he said, a little too quickly. “All of it, should you please.”

  He couldn’t quite meet Zain’s eyes.

  “Thank you.” Zain’s words were quiet and there was a pause before he continued. “I’ll leave him here with you tonight so I can get things in order, but I’ll be back for him tomorrow. I should be able to find a place to live pretty easily now.”

  Zain quieted again, and Liam looked up to see Zain looking at Caleb. “I know it’s not what you probably wanted but is it okay with you, Pup?”

  “No,” Caleb said sullenly, twisting his head to look up at Liam. Liam looked down at him for a long moment, wondering when his behavior had changed and how long it was going to last. “I want him to stay.”

  “My sire will not be here much longer, Pup. Have patience,” Liam said sharply.

  Zain sighed and crouched down so he was at eye level with the pup, but he didn’t move any closer. “Caleb, you know that won’t work. I can’t stay where I’m not wanted, and what happens when the asshole comes back?” His hands scrubbed over his face and he looked down at the ground before bringing his gaze back to the pup’s. “Am I just out again on the street? I’ll do my best to get something close by so that you can see Liam again once the asshole leaves or when Liam can get away from him. But I think that’s as good as I can do. You didn’t see the look in that guy’s face, Caleb. He was ready to kill me first so that I wasn’t a threat to him later.”

  Liam felt a pang at that, and the idea of Isaiah and Zain not getting along bothered him as much
as Isaiah’s loathing of Caleb — his masterpiece, the first thing he had truly done that was of interest in centuries. “A hotel, if you would,” he said a bit stiffly. “I will pay for your room in addition to your pay.” He met Zain’s eyes, though he knew his own were unreadable. “Then when Isaiah leaves, we may speak again. No?”

  Zain closed his eyes and stood. When he opened them Liam saw frustration and a wealth of other things that he couldn’t begin to decipher. “I don’t know, Liam.”

  Turning away, Zain started pacing across the length of the yard. Liam wasn’t sure what he would have done if Zain had tried to leave, but the ‘wolf just walked deeper into the yard, pacing.

  “You’re a real idiot, you know,” Caleb said, then added with a roll of his eyes, “Master.”

  “Pup!” Liam replied sharply, and he couldn’t hide the fact that he was surprised to hear his pup speak like that — surprised, and relieved.

  “Let me talk to him,” Caleb said, nudging Liam’s knee. “I…” The pup stared down at the ground for a moment. “Do you mean it?”

  “Do I mean what?” Liam asked, starting to feel impatient by the entire situation in general.

  “That this is just temporary? Until your… sire leaves?”

  Liam blinked, and it took him a moment to truly absorb it. “Of course it is temporary. Why would it not be?”

  Caleb rested his head against Liam’s head and groaned. “Seriously?”

  “What?” Exasperated, Liam grabbed his pet’s collar and pulled him back.

  “He thinks you kicked him out for good,” Caleb said. He didn’t have to add the word idiot, but it was there, unspoken.

  Liam’s eyes narrowed. “Why would he think that?”

  “Oh my god,” Caleb lamented.

  “I think I preferred it when you were simply a pup and barked and yipped,” Liam sniped at him, irritated that his pet might have picked up on something he hadn’t. Which… in retrospect, sort of made sense. “I will speak to him.”

  “Like hell you will,” Caleb said, and before Liam could snarl at him, the pup went on, “You’re like… Just no. I’ll talk to him.”

  Liam muttered under his breath, crossing his arms across his chest. “Fine,” he said stiffly.

  Caleb gave him another look.

  “You’re still my pet,” Liam warned. “Watch yourself, Pup.”

  One of those roguish grins flashed across Caleb’s lips. Liam was surprised to find that he’d missed them…

  But instead of speaking, the pup trotted off to the other side of the yard. He threw himself down on the ground, belly up and wiggling around for attention, and Liam didn’t bother to pretend he wasn’t eavesdropping from the other side of the yard.

  Zain stopped pacing and smiled, looking down at Caleb with an indulgent look on his face. He walked over and knelt by Caleb, slowly rubbing one hand over the pup’s belly. “He doesn’t understand, does he, Pup?”

  Caleb gave a short laugh, but it wasn’t a happy sound even to Liam. “Nope. He likes you, but he’s an idiot.”

  Liam huffed from across the yard, not liking the way the word was being tossed around so casually.

  “He thought you’d just come back after his sire left.”

  All right, it wasn’t quite that simple, and Liam would’ve said it differently, but it seemed that time with his werewolf had loosened his pup’s tongue in a not-so-good way.

  Zain’s hand moved up to cup Caleb’s cheek. “I don’t know if I can. It was one thing when I thought he just couldn’t find the words or understand the emotion, but I don’t know if I can come back knowing I mean nothing to him.”

  “Now you’re the one being a moron,” Caleb said bluntly, but his tail wagged a little, half-heartedly.

  That wasn’t quite right. It wasn’t like he cared about the werewolf or the pup.

  “He likes you,” Caleb said, not even bothering to keep his voice down.

  Liam stiffened, turning his back on them.

  “He’s just an old vampire who doesn’t know what feelings are.” It was Zain’s turn to snort out a laugh at Caleb’s words. “Maybe.”

  He continued to slowly pet the pup quietly. Finally, he gave Caleb a nod and stood. Turning to Liam, Zain started back across the yard. Caleb rolled back over and followed at a slower pace, a skeptical look on his face.

  Zain watched Liam for a long moment before he finally spoke. “I’ll take the hotel room. For now. But you have to pay me. I’m not going to be at your beck and call without some security.”

  “I already paid you!” Liam protested, offended that the ‘wolf might think he wouldn’t pay his debts. He huffed, then went on, his voice clipped, “I sent a check to your werewolf… den. Via courier. If it hasn’t arrived, speak to your… pack.”

  Zain stilled and watched him for a moment. “I’ve never seen any money from you. After I moved in, I never wanted any. I thought you were my… family… Part of my pack, even if you weren’t officially pack.”

  “I sent a check,” Liam insisted again. He pursed his lips. “I will cancel the check and pay you in cash. I will have words with the courier.”

  It wouldn’t be a long conversation.

  “Thanks.” Even Liam could see that Zain wanted to say more, but the ‘wolf seemed to hold them back.

  “I will allow… what is it they call it? Visitation?” Liam said reluctantly. “I need to feed every other evening. You will bring him to me so I may do so. If you are truly serious about wishing to have him, you will leave him here every other night as mine.” He frowned at Caleb, who quivered a little under the full weight of his scrutiny.

  “And you’ll protect him from… from Isaiah?” Zain’s mouth tightened as he said Liam’s sire’s name.

  Liam nodded but refused to be drawn back into the conversation again. He’d already agreed to the stipulation and had no intention of letting anything happen to his property. He was done with this, but the idea of letting Caleb go…

  He turned. “I will have him delivered to the hotel tomorrow. There will be a room already paid for in your name. Will you be needing anything else?”

  Zain let out a slow breath. “No. Nothing you’d understand.”

  There was a surprising stab in his gut at those words, but he ignored it. “Caleb, stay.” He glanced at Zain, wanting to claim him all over again but knowing that if Isaiah got home… “I will fetch your pay in cash.”

  He didn’t wait for an answer, which felt a little like he was doing something he shouldn’t, but he strode back inside and to his safe. He counted out the substantial amount Zain had earned, sent a quick email to his accountant to have the original check canceled, then turned — reluctantly — to go back outside.

  There, Caleb was nosing against Zain, not talking, and even holding his ball in his mouth, tail wagging.

  “There is no time to play,” Liam started to say, but then he glanced at Zain. “Zain must leave. I will play with you for a time.”

  Caleb’s head cocked to the side, but he gave one final affectionate nose rub against Zain’s leg before trotting over to Liam.

  It felt strange to take the ball in hand, but he held it in one hand and the money in the other, and somehow it was… wrong. He offered the latter to Zain without a word, and Zain took it in kind.

  He didn’t like the absence of speech as Zain walked away, but he turned back to Caleb and threw the ball.

  For tonight, he would have to rid himself of bothersome thoughts with his pup.

  Chapter Nine:

  Caleb

  True to his word, Liam had actually played with him when Zain had left. It had been weird seeing the well-dressed man crouch down to take the ball from him and play tug of war, but it was… different. Ever since Zain had gone, the vampire had turned into a bigger asshole than he’d been when they’d first met.

  He was coming out of the haze he’d found himself in, that place where he had been — more or less — satisfied with food and water and a place to run around, along
with a roof over his head. He had to face it. In some ways, he lived better even as Liam’s half-forgotten pet than he had as a human.

  Which was pretty sad when he thought about it.

  But now, there was the drive to be human again, the yearning to speak and remember how to carry on conversations. He definitely hadn’t lost touch with his inner snark, but at the same time, it felt like it was a little more distant and less important than it had been.

  At the end of the day, he still wanted a good scratch behind his floppy ears and a hand on his cock. He didn’t particularly care what order they came in as long as he got both, though admittedly, the latter had been decidedly lacking since his alpha had left.

  Since his alpha had been driven out by the intimidating older vampire who had sired Liam, the one who hated him with a passion.

  He was vaguely offended by that now, even though he hadn’t much cared at first. After all, it wasn’t like he was the one who’d asked for the tail, or the ears, or the fur along his back. He’d just sort of… been there while some crazy-ass vampiress made changes to him he doubted anyone could undo.

  He’d even been unconscious through some of it, which made his say in the matter even less present. How was he the one who ended up getting treated like shit when his master was the one who had done those things to him?

  It was hard to hold it against Liam when they were playing, though. The vampire tried, and Caleb was exhausted after several games of fetch and a few rounds of tug of war — in which the vampire’s strength was a problem and he hadn’t been sure if he’d come out of it without any teeth or if he’d get flung across the yard.

  Liam played hard with all the disturbing lack of sensitivity that came from not having been human for a few centuries. But it had been… good. Pleasant. It had been enough to where he hadn’t slunk around, wishing his alpha was there. He missed the man, but it hadn’t felt so all-encompassing.

  “Is that enough food for you, Pup?” Liam asked him as he stroked along Caleb’s back.