by Logan Fox
Loud breathing filled the room. Her’s, the wolf’s.
Caden tugged his shirt straight, staring at the wolf without expression.
“My sincerest apologies, Sir,” Caden said. “However, we did—”
“I paid for this,” the wolf cut in, shoving his dick back in his pants.
Her wolf turned to her, perhaps to say something, perhaps to see if she was still bent over the altar.
His mask had come off.
No: it had been broken. It lay in two pieces — a few feet away from the wolf’s feet — the carefully tailored bristles now as disheveled as Tanner’s hair.
Now he was just a man.
She wouldn’t have looked at him twice, had she passed him on the street. There was nothing distinct, handsome, or singular about him. With the mask off, his green eyes were just green. A dull, ordinary green.
Pearl shied away from him before she could stop herself.
This wasn’t her wolf. He’d been replaced, somehow. Switched out with this wisp of a man, this no-face replica.
Caden’s eyes followed the wolf’s. His jaw bunched, blue eyes furious in their promise of raining righteous retribution on her.
What had she done?
Just her job.
Just what they were paying her to do.
So why the hell was he angry with her? He should be throwing that steely-eyed glare at Tanner.
Tanner.
Pearl shuddered. Her knees went weak, buckled. She slid to the floor, her ass complaining loudly as she thumped onto it. Something with a hard corner bit into her tender flesh.
“This is ridiculous!” The man’s voice was so much higher than she remembered — almost a shriek. “You can’t—”
“I’ll refund your session,” Caden said, finally looking away from Pearl. “But we have rules. You agreed—”
“Fuck this.” Her wolf strode for the dungeon door, discarded mask still lying where it had fallen.
He didn’t look back at her — at his princess — as the doors shut behind him.
Pearl’s fingers glided over the smooth stone below her. She found the hard, flat book she was sitting on. Tugged it free — hissing through the spike of pain — and held it to her chest. She lifted her legs, drawing them close, hugging them.
Caden’s gaze found her. His eyes could have been the roiling precursor of a thunderstorm.
“Are you pleased with yourself, Miss Buchanan?” His voice was a low hiss. His face — usually pale — was flushed. There was no color to his lips, squeezed together as they were.
“S-S-So—” Her voice was a broken, stupid thing.
“No.” Caden shook his head. He reached up, tugging free his hair elastic. Thick, black hair cascaded to his shoulders — forced into waves by the confines of their daily prison. “We’ve moved beyond mere apologies. You’re fired, Miss Buchanan.”
With a fast, practiced movement, Caden drew his hair into a new topknot. He spared her a last, disgusted sneer and then withdrew without another word.
The dungeon door closed behind him, shutting out the sliver of light that announced an entrance or a departure.
Pearl sat, ass going numb on the cool floor, her journal trapped against her chest.
Waiting for Seth.
Waiting for release.
Pearl woke. Someone was shaking her shoulder, murmuring intently into her ear.
“—up, kitten. Come on. You can’t sleep here. Get up.”
“What?” Pearl blinked up at Seth. Her left hip and arm ached. Something hard clung to her chest. A headache threw dull spikes of pain into her temples.
The dungeon was lit up. It looked like a brightly-lit party supply shop — those that sold zombie masks and pre-dribbled candles.
Too real. Too fake.
Seth helped her up, peering down with concern etched deep into his forehead.
“Can you stand?”
“Mmm,” Pearl said, noncommittal until she’d actually tested her muscles.
Her legs shivered, then held.
What the hell was wrong with her?
Fragments of short term memory littered her mind. She tried to collect as many as possible, her head reeling.
Tanner bursting in, punching the man who’d paid for his session with her. Caden: face a ghastly white as he told her she was fired.
“What happened?” Pearl whispered up to Seth as the man slid a black blanket around her shoulders.
“Don’t worry about that now. Let’s get you cleaned up.”
Pearl’s legs held her, but she leaned into Seth — he was warm and solid, as reassuring and comforting as the sensation of sliding into your own bed after a night out.
“You feel up for a swim? The sauna?”
Pearl shook her head against his arm, crowding closer to him.
“Bed.”
This time, Seth didn’t argue.
16
High Maintenance
“Here,” came Seth’s familiar rumble from behind Pearl.
Pearl blinked at the pair of scuffed sneakers Seth held in front of her, his arm resting on her shoulder.
“Those are mine.” She glanced at him over her shoulder, earning a condescending twitch of lips from her handler.
“I thought you might like to use them. I can’t let you out of bounds, of course, but you can do a few laps around the pool if you want.”
Pearl took the shoes from him, her fingertips thrilling against the familiar feel of the worn surface, the laces.
“How did you know I—”
“They’re expensive. The rest of your stuff isn’t.” Seth shrugged. He leaned down, resting his arms on the back of the couch.
Pearl had just finished a tasteless breakfast of oats and honey — pre-packed for her convenience — and had been switching aimlessly through the channels on the television, trying to find something mind-numbing to watch.
She lay her head back, staring up at Seth.
“I used to take a run every Sunday,” she said.
Pearl straightened her head and set the shoes on the floor beside her feet. They looked so out of place on the shimmery, long haired carpet. They were used to her apartment’s linoleum floors and the sidewalk — nothing else.
Seth’s fingers brushed the back of her head. He massaged the muscles on either side of her spine. Pearl’s head dipped forward, and a soft murmur escaped her parted lips.
“Caden wants to see you.”
Pearl’s neck stiffened. Seth paused. Air swirled around Pearl as the man crouched behind the couch, bringing his mouth close to her ear.
“I’m sure you can sort—”
“Thank God,” Pearl cut in, letting out a small laugh. “This couldn’t have come sooner.”
Seth’s fingertips tightened. Pearl eyed him, pressing her lips closed.
“You really want to leave?”
His black eyes were intent on her, unblinking. He seemed so confused — but how? How the hell could he still think she was enjoying this? That she would stay here a second longer after everything that had happened?
“Yes, Seth.” She pulled her neck free from his grip, shrugging her shoulders as she got to her feet. “As soon as possible. Today. Yesterday, even.”
He stayed in his crouch, peering up at her from under his thick, black brows. Then he stood, gave her a lopsided shrug, and turned away.
“I’ll take you up now. Just…” he trailed off as he went to knock on Ivy and Morgan’s door.
There was a murmured protest from behind the door.
“Not you,” Seth rumbled. “Ivy? Show your face, kitten.”
There was another response — inaudible to Pearl.
“What?” Seth opened the door a crack and stuck his head through. The muscles on his back bunched through his t-shirt’s thin fabric. Pantera, today. Was it warm outside? Bright and sunny?
“—not here,” came Morgan’s voice, louder now. “Shut the door.”
“What do you mean she’s not here?” Seth ducked
his head out, frowning at the slightly ajar bathroom door. “Where is she?”
“Fucked if I know,” Morgan said. “And I’m trying to sleep, if you don’t mind.”
Seth peered back inside Morgan’s room. “She has to be—”
“Fuck off, Seth!”
Seth reeled back, slamming the door closed. Something thumped into the wood, rattling it.
When the handler turned around, Pearl took a step back before she could stop herself. His brows were almost touching, his mouth a puckered line in the midst of his thick beard.
He glanced at Pearl, taking in her sweats, and beckoned her with a wide wave.
“Move it,” he said, striding toward the steps.
“We’re going now?” Pearl squeaked.
“That’s what I said.” Seth disappeared up the stairs.
Pearl plonked herself on the couch and hurriedly slipped on her shoes. Halfway through tying her laces, she paused.
What the hell was she doing?
But her fingers carried on without her, fastening the neon-green laces into a double-knot. She tugged the bow, tucked the end under each shoe’s tongue, and ran after Seth.
She caught up to him by the cherry tree. He was turned to the stairs, shoulders raised and fists bunched like he’d been about to storm back down to haul her up by the scruff of her neck. She faltered, pressing a hand against the Fox Pit’s slick, clay wall.
He gave his head a shake, frowned at her shoes, and then strode away with furious intent.
Pearl followed behind him, her eyes flashing over the Fox Pit’s interior.
This could be the last time she saw this place. Her stomach fluttered — but whether with joy or sadness, she had no idea.
Obviously, she loathed this place. The thought of having to stay here another day — another hour — made her skin grow cold and want to crawl off her body. But…
But nothing.
Seth stopped outside Caden’s office and swiped his keycard to open the door. Pearl gave the square of black plastic a small smile: she wouldn’t even need Gia’s ransom any more. She was getting out — and Caden was going to release her.
Suddenly, she didn’t harbor any ill feelings toward the cold-hearted bastard any more. She might even smile at him when he dismissed her.
The door opened.
Caden sat behind his computer, fingertips pressed to his lips, a hand on the computer’s sleek, white mouse. He didn’t look up at them as they stepped inside, but his back straightened and his hand clicked a few times before sliding off the mouse.
Pearl sank down in a chair, glancing at Seth as he perched on the chair beside her.
There were several seconds of stuffy, uncomfortable silence as Caden’s eyes flashed over the computer screen, a white square reflected in his over-sized glasses.
The man let out a sigh, pushed away from the table and spun to them, his hands sliding over the dark wooden desk separating them.
His blue eyes could have extinguished a volcano.
“Miss Buchanan,” he said, speaking her name slowly and carefully as if loathe for his tongue to handle those syllables.
Pearl kept silent. But Seth sat forward even more, barely an inch of his thighs in contact with the chair, and pressed his hand to the desk.
“Caden, before you—” Seth broke off, flashing Pearl an unreadable glance “—Ivy’s gone.”
Caden opened his mouth, eyes still fixed on Pearl. His lips slowly sealed, his eyes flickering to Seth without another muscle in his face twitching.
“Not gone. Left. She’s left.”
“What?” Seth shook his head, sliding his hand closer. “No, she just hasn’t come back from Tanner. Is she still—”
“She’s no longer employed by the Fox Pit.” Caden shrugged. “Why do you seem surprised?”
Those blue eyes returned to Pearl, impaling her.
“Now, Miss—”
“She can’t be.” Seth let out a low, quiet laugh. “She still had—”
Caden drew a breath that lifted his shoulders more than an inch. His gaze flickered back to Seth, settling for less than a second before he blinked and stared down at the desk.
“Seth—”
Caden’s cellphone rang, cutting him off. His jaw muscles bunched, but he dug his cellphone from the pocket of his stonewashed jeans and unlocked it.
He stared at Seth as he answered the call, elbow resting on the wrist of his other hand as he crossed it over his chest.
“Yes?” Caden said into the phone, gaze still locked on Seth. He paused, mouth a thin line. “I’m dealing with it. Yes. As we speak. No, that’s not why—”
His mouth went white, his lips all but disappearing. He frowned at Seth until the block of a man began shifting on his chair.
“Tanner, I just—”
Another pause, punctuated by a long, slow breath from Caden. Pearl could hear a mouse-squeak ranting coming through the speaker. Caden drew the phone an inch away from his ear, inhaled again, and closed his eyes.
“Tanner! Shut the fuck up long enough for me to speak!”
Pearl jumped. Her hands found each other in her lap, clasping on for dear life. Caden’s cheeks had two bright spots of color on them. His eyes flared open, settling on her. She withered under his gaze, her heart pounding against her ribs in an effort to escape.
“Now…” Caden cleared his throat. “Everything is being taken care—”
His mouth squeezed closed again. Thankfully, that auguring glare moved to Seth. The heavy-set man did better than Pearl: his hand slid into a fist on the desk, but he didn’t even flinch.
“I see. Yes, of course.” Caden gave a small shrug. “No, of course. I fully understand. I will—” Caden licked his lips, his gaze leaving Seth and fixing on his computer screen. “I’ll make the necessary arrangements.”
His phone clicked quietly against the polished desk as he set it down. For several seconds, he ignored Pearl and Seth as he typed furiously at the computer.
When he swung back to them, his face was no longer tight, white, or specked with angry dots of color.
He folded his fingers over each other and rested his elbows on the table.
“Tanner dissolved Ivy’s contract. She’s no longer working for the Fox Pit.”
Caden said all of this without looking away from Pearl.
“She’s really gone?” Seth’s voice was a deep, dangerous rumble.
Caden gave the man a dismissive flick of his hand. “Yes, gone.”
He pressed his laced fingers to his lips, gaze still pinning Pearl to her chair. Shaking his head slowly from side to side, he finally dropped his hands, laying them carefully on the desk.
“Do you know why you’re here, Miss Buchanan?”
Pearl drew a long, belly breath. “Esoterically speaking, or just in general?”
Caden’s cheek moved as if he was biting the inside of his mouth.
“In my office.”
“You’re sending me home today.” It was a statement — she’d decided assumption was her best friend today. That and a huge steaming helping of desperate hope.
Caden nodded slowly, then his eyes flickered to Seth.
“That had been my intention, yes. Unfortunately—”
“No — I’m going home.” Pearl sat forward, hands squeezing the chair on either side of her thighs. A small, sharp laugh escaped her. “You’re giving me my stuff, rounding up your driver, and—”
Caden slapped the desk with both hands. He rose to his feet, leaning in, the upper half of his body extended over the desk’s glossy surface. His shirt — a shapeless, filmy thing decorated with a single geometric symbol — brushed his wrists.
“You assume much, Miss Buchanan,” Caden said in a tight voice. “For one: that you’re in charge.” He gave his head a quick, furious shake. A clump of hair escaped his top knot, dangling beside his tightened jaw. “Secondly: that you have any say in your future at the Fox Pit.”
Silence oozed between — thick and hot — st
ifling Pearl’s breath until she thought she would pass out. As if to mock her inability to breathe, Caden’s shoulders lifted to another deep inhale.
“Now, as much as we’d both like to see you leave — if only for the sake of my fucking blood pressure — I’m down three foxes this week. And I cannot afford to lose a fourth, despite how high-maintenance you are.”
Pearl’s heart dropped into her belly. Her body pulsed with slow, sickening thuds as she processed Caden’s words.
Not again. Not when she’d been so fucking close.
“Please, Caden—”
He let out a laugh, cutting it short with another furious shake of his head. Perhaps aware that his hair was escaping, he straightened and tugged free his hair elastic. He ran his long fingers through the wavy mass of hair, slowly shaking his head as he stared at her.
“The time for begging has long since passed, Miss Buchanan.” The man’s cerulean-blue eyes darted to Seth. “Perhaps it never even existed.” He flicked his hand in her direction, mouth tightening.
“Get her out of here. I’ll let you know when her next performance is.” He spat the word, eyes narrowing before dismissing her in the next blink.
Pearl’s shoes clomped like clogs under her. The last time she’d worn shoes inside the Fox Pit had been the day she’d arrived. Her footfalls sounded alien to her — bouncing hard and hollow from the Fox Pit’s curving walls.
Seth herded her back to the den. Every backward glance showed Pearl a stony face and blank, black eyes. He abandoned her in the den without a word and took the stairs two at a time in his sullen haste to get away from her.
She’d have thought he’d be happy she was here to stay. Another kitten for him to play with.
Pearl pushed away the bitter thought and let herself into her room.
Gia was perched on the edge of Pearl’s bed. Pearl paused, taking a deep breath to prepare herself for whatever the girl had in store.
“Thank you.” Gia put her hands on either side of her, leaning forward as she peered up at Pearl.
Pearl’s mouth worked for a few seconds. “For?”
“For Seth.” Gia cocked her head to the door. “For… distracting him. He hasn’t—” she broke off, gaze dropping to the floor. “He’s left me alone. Hasn’t even really spoken to me.” Her blue eyes lifted.
