by Marilynn Fae
Melissa has a sweet spot for her. The older woman practically raised her. She's neither wolf nor cat. Her animal is a bear and she sorts of looks like one, though Anna was never brave enough to say it to her face. Melissa is as big as one, tall and broad with fat and muscle in equal parts and talks with an undertone of 'I can break your bones with my bare hands' that makes the animal side of her tremble and want to hide far, far away. But Melissa has always been kind to her.
"It was in the will. She's important to the old man, I gather?" Shadow is attempting to make himself sound less surprised by the unexpected visit and get a hold of himself, but Anna can hear his heartbeat and he is a little scared. She wonders if Melissa raised him too.
"Where is she?" Melissa doesn't wait for an answer, sniffing the air and following her nose until she is looking down at Anna, curled up inside of her little cage.
"Mreowl," she whines up at the older woman, who lets out an outraged roar that echoes through the room and makes the walls vibrate. She wonders if the walls would crumble from the sheer force in her roar, but they only shake a little, holding firm.
Anna has never seen Melissa shift before. Most people can only shift from their fully human forms to a half animal shift. She's special because she is stuck in her half animal shift and can shift into a fully animal form. It means she's closer to her animal than she is to her human form and it also means she has less rights as a human. Normal humans don't shift much because they think it makes them less human.
Melissa doesn't care about propriety now. She's is half shifted, her tall frame growing even taller. She bends over and grabs her cage by the sides and breaks it apart like it's made of paper. It shatters, the fragments falling into her eyes. She closes her eyes and curls her tail around herself again.
"What're you doing, Melissa?!" Shadow is behind her.
Melissa ignores him and shrinks back into her form. "Darling, how long have you been in there?" she asks, her voice softer than Anna has ever heard her before. "Come here, darling. You poor thing. Come here."
She mewls and stumbles into Melissa's open arms, shifting as she unfurls from her little corner and she hears Shadow's sharp intake of breath. He backs away, eyes wide with shock.
"I didn't know- I didn't know she's-" he starts but Melissa's rumbling purr drowns away whatever else he has to say.
Anna hides her face in the larger woman's bosom, finding comfort in her warmth. She feels safe here. Her arms and legs ache from being shifted for so long and it is nice to have fingers and toes again.
"Poor baby. Are you alright? Have you had anything to eat?" Melissa sniffs and must have smelled the can of tuna that has been smeared all over the sides of the cage and on her face where she couldn't really clean herself. It's a little comforting to see her little prison now shattered in pieces all around them. Melissa swears in a foreign tongue that she can never quite catch and then, still carrying Anna like she doesn't weight a thing, turns to Shadow. "Do you have anything in the fridge?"
Shadow nods. His eyes are locked onto her, wide and glazed over, like he can't believe what he's seeing. Anna clings to Melissa, curling her tail around herself and ears perked back, ashamed of her nudity even though she knows, logically, that she has nothing to be ashamed of. "I'm sorry. I didn't know," he says. "I thought you were just my father's cat."
"You would know if you had read the letter he wrote for you," Melissa brushes past him. "Come now, Anna. You're too big to be carried like this."
"Should I change back?" Anna asks. She rather likes being carried, but she's a little afraid that if she's small, she'll be caged again. She doesn't want to change back just yet.
"No, puppet. I can't very well cook with you here, can I?" Melissa laughs and carries her to the living room. She dumps her unceremoniously in the couch. "Stay. I'll see what I have to work with." And she's off, probably making a feast out of the meager supplies in Shadow's fridge. She curls her tail around her and mouths at the tip grumpily. The couch feels nice. She kind of wants to scratch it up a little bit and she does. She sinks her claws in the edges and picks at the seams a little bit. It used to drive Master crazy when she does this, but he's gotten used to having furniture that's all sliced up and indulges her. Her eyes burn with tears but it's satisfying to see the inside of the couch. She had been staring at the back of the couch for the past several days and it had frustrated her so.
"Anna?"
She startles. She has forgotten about Shadow. She is a little bigger now that she's not a kitten, so she can meet his eyes, but he's still very big and imposing and she feels so much like prey. It relaxes her a little bit when she notices that he's not looking at her like he's planning to eat her with a side of fries. She quickly pulls her claws back and stop cutting into his expensive upholstery. "I'm sorry," she mumbles, curling up even more, pulling her knees up to her chest and hugging them tight. Her tail is even fluffier in this form and she can curl it all the way around her, giving her a sense of being hidden and her hair is long enough to cover her breasts. She's still a little bit embarrassed though. He doesn't know her and she doesn't think he's interested in mounting her, so she shouldn't show off her lady bits like this. Master insists on clothes.
He crinkles his forehead as though Anna was the most confusing thing he has ever come up against. "I'm really sorry, Anna," he says.
She shrugs and looks back at her tail. Hair is beginning to gather on her tongue. She hasn't been groomed for a while and there's an itchy spot between her ears. Her gaze drops onto his large hands and she drops from the couch onto her hands and feet. She slides up to his legs and lifts her head up until she is butting his knees. "Pet me," she demands. pushing her head into his palm.
He's holding his hand in tight fists and she watches as he turns a panicked look towards the kitchen. She meows at him to get his attention, and when he's still frozen in spot, she bats at his hand, careful to keep her claws hidden. Her tongue darts out and she licks his hand.
He yanks it away sharply. "Melissa! What do I do?" he calls out in a state of panic.
"Best do what she says, Shadow."
Shadow looks torn for a second, indecisive and uncertain. And then, his fingers brush between her ears tentatively. The fur is mixed with hair there and she knows it's soft to touch. She turns her head a little, guiding his touch to the spot beneath her ears where it feels good and purrs when he gets the right spot. He's still standing, which makes it a little harder for her to climb into his lap and demand better scratches. Maybe she can get him to train her better.
She gets distracted by the way his hands brush over her ears, though. She thinks of her Master and how he would do this for her when she's stressed too. She wonders how many days she's been here.
"Have they buried my Master?" she asks, voice trembling a little. She doesn't really know if she wants to hear the answer, but it feels important to know they dealt with his body properly. She doesn't want him to get eaten by the animals that roam in the forest by their home.
"Yes," Shadow answers at length. "The funeral was this morning," he says.
"Oh," she says. She wishes that she had been there. Did they bury him with his phone? He's a little obsessed with that silly little thing. What if he gets bored? What if he gets lost without having her around to boss him around and guide him places? He gets lost in the house, sometimes. He's almost a hundred years old and even though he puts up a strong front, but he's really very weak. What if the other dead people make fun of him? "Do you think they would let me be buried with him? What if Master gets lonely?" She doesn't realize she's said this out loud until Melissa gasps and drops something. It doesn't even have the decency to break. Shadow stops petting her.
"No, darling," Melissa says, marching out of the kitchen towards her. "No," she says, looking brokenhearted, eyes filling with tears. She looks as though she wants to come over and hold her again, but she's curled into herself and leaning closer to Shadow.
"Pharaohs in ancient Egypt would mummify and bury t
heir cats," she tells them softly. It doesn't sound like a bad way to go, to follow her Master.
"Master Monty loves you, darling. He would never allow that," Melissa says. "You know he would want you to live, darling."
She doesn't know what. Master Monty loves her, but he had gotten so confused towards the end. He didn't even remember her name on the bad days, so she turns into a cat during those days and kept him company that way. She kept him entertained and kept his mind from wandering too far. She didn't want him to die.
"My father must have loved you a lot to have sent you to me," Shadow tells her suddenly and she frowns at him, not knowing what he means by that. "Both of us, we have more money than we can ever find use for," he starts. "And we've stopped giving each other gifts because it's just things. We can buy everything we need on our own and anything else would just feel insincere. The old man, he didn't really know what he's supposed to do with me. He had gotten so used to using money to fix things that he didn't know what to do once I no longer needed it. It told myself I didn't need him because it's true. I didn't. He had other sons, younger sons and grandchildren."
She nods. She's met them before. They're not very pleasant people. She doesn't tell him that but she has a feeling he knows. She had been staying with Master for years and nobody really visits.
"He promised he won't give me anything unless I couldn't put a price to it." He squats down so that he's looking at her straight. "And he's given me the most precious gift he has."
Chapter Four: Heartbreak
There's white heat burning in her chest. She gasps, opening her mouth and somehow not getting air in no matter how much she struggles. Her heart is churning as though she had been running and a raw sound escapes her. The reality that her Master is never coming back for her smashes in on her and while half of her mind tells her that she already knows this for days, the other half hasn't even begun to grieve yet.
She scrambles away until her back is pressed against something solid and she suddenly wishes the cage was back so she can curl up in the small space and shift back, pretend none of this matters. Tears stream down her face and she cries, hands closing over her mouth and the side of her head clumsily when she tries to quiet her tears. Her whole body is shaking and doesn't know if she's crying for Master or for herself. She doesn't like that she's alone now, doesn't like having a master who's dead and who's never coming back for her. She hates it.
She feels him leave her side and tries not to feel too upset about it. He's not her Master Monty. She steels herself for an apologetic talk about how he's not ready for a pet, especially not a broken one like her, and maybe she should be going back with Melissa. But that doesn't happen. Instead, she feels a cloud of soft weight over her shoulders and the broad brush of something being tugged down her back. After a second, she feels herself being held, pulling forward and resting her head on something solid and warm for a second as the weight, a light, cottony thing, is wrapped around her.
Then, Shadow tips her back and she is wearing a jacket that smells like him. "It's okay," he says. "It's okay. I'll be your new Master, if you want, love. I won't leave. Shh... It's okay," he says.
She doesn't want a new master. She already has one. Her throat feels raw as she tries to tumble through some words. Stop. Go away. You're not my Master. Thank you. None of them come out except her hiccuping sobs and even though she's shoving at him, she's pulling him close at the same time, a juxtaposition that doesn't seem to bother him. He keeps holding her.
"It's alright. I'm here. I've got you," he says.
There's a clink of glass and the sound of running water, and then Melissa is squatting down by their side too. "You've got to get her to drink something," she says. "I'll come and check on you later, okay?" she combs a hand through Anna's hair, scratching behind her ears with a low hum. "Shadow's a good boy. He'll take care of you."
Shadow is too old to be a boy. He's at least thirty. She sniffs when she hears Melissa leave the house, taking her scent with her, though she can smell all the things she had managed to cook in the kitchen. It smells like a small feast in there.
She doesn't think she's up to eating anything though. It feels too nice right here.
The warmth of Shadow's weight is right there, pressing up against her and she doesn't want to let go to drink the water even though she's feeling thirsty and she's all out of tears. He pulls her back slightly, hand on the back of her neck in a way that makes all the muscles on her body seize up a little bit. "Drink," he says in a tone that tells her she shouldn't even try to argue. She takes the glass in his hands and downs all of it so quickly that water drips down her chin.
He sighs. "I'm really sorry, doll. I didn't know my father had you under his care. I wouldn't have kept you locked up in a cage if I had known."
She nods and lets him tip her face up. He wipes her chin with his palm, and then, as if he can't quite help himself, leans forward to lick the rest of her water dripping off her face. He cleans her cheeks too, licking away her tears. It feels nice. Master doesn't groom her like this unless they're both shifted, him in his half wolf form and her in her full cat shift. His tongue is warm against her skin, soft, a contrast compared to the tight pinch of his fingers on her chin to keep her from moving away.
It's not as though she would look away. She likes being groomed like this.
When he's done, he pulls back and blinks like he's surprise he had done something like that in the first place. Her whole body shudders and a sound escapes her, a whimper, small and frightened.
He keeps his hand on her thigh, unintentionally pressing onto her tail as well since she still has it curled around her body.
"I'm sorry," she says, feeling like a burden. "I know- I know you don't want me," she continues, looking anywhere but at him. The warmth of his hand, his skin pressing to hers, soaks in and spreads out. She tries not to focus too much on it, but it's comforting and makes her feel less alone.
"I never said I didn't want you," he says.
It's implied. She bites her tongue. She's one of a miniscule group of lucky half-shifts who are able to talk. They hadn't known that when they were selling her to Master, otherwise she would have been worth so much more. The other owners are very envious of her Master. Master brought her to meet with a few other half shifts like her, but they can't talk at all. She sort of understands what they're trying to say, though. She has playdates with them sometimes.
She wonders if Shadow will let other cat shifters visit her, or if their Masters will let Shadow bring her for visits.
"Were you serious?" she asks. "About being my new Master?"
"Yes." He says this, short and terse, like it's being forced out of him. "The old man trusted me to take care of you," he says. "And I will. It's dangerous out there for people like you. You're unclaimed, unmarked. The old man- has he told you why he keeps you hidden?"
She shudders in a breath and nods. She doesn't need him to clarify what he means when he says unclaimed. She's a virgin. "Will you keep me safe?" she asks.
"Yes," he says.
"Are you going to mate me?"
There is a flicker in his eyes and she knows what it means when she scents arousal coming from the older man. Would he be interested in mounting her? Her heat is coming up soon and it's always an awkward affair for everyone involved when it does. Master keeps her locked up and away from the rest of the staff because she would press her face into the pillows and beg to be mounted. It's an embarrassing time for everyone involved.
There's a long, slow moment where she can hear him breathe in and then out. She can't look at him, afraid of what she will find. Afraid and excited all at once.
"I won't if you don't want me to," he says.
Chapter Five: Domestic
Anna hasn't felt this free for a long time. Her old Master loves her, but he's old and ailing and he's terribly possessive. He thinks of her as his cub even though they're not even the same species and he doesn't let her leave the house at all. She doesn't mind
too terribly that she's kept so close in his territory though. It's a giant place and she hasn't actually finished exploring everywhere yet.
Her new Master is different. He's younger and stronger and he's not afraid of anybody. He is Alpha, big and powerful and nobody in their right mind would dare challenge him in order to get to her, so he takes her out of the apartment like it's not a big deal. He introduces her to his neighbors downstairs and upstairs, lets the security guard at the reception desk at the bottom floor know that she's living here now, so they should never let strangers close.
He shows her a world that she has only ever seen in the little phone that her old Master lets her play with for a few hours a day. There are rules, of course. She's not allowed to stray too far from her new Master and she's not allowed to talk to anyone. Not that the problem has ever occurred during any of their rare excursions. Everyone's too scared of Alpha to get close to her and then even if they are close, they are never brave enough to talk to her. She's too timid to stray very far from her Master too. She is under no delusion that people leave her alone because they want to. No. They're doing it purely out of fear of her Master.
It's because she smells like her Alpha's mate even though he hasn't yet mated her. He pets her and rubs his cheek against hers, leaving his scent all over her so that anyone looking at her would think she belongs to him.
They don't go out very often, though. She doesn't like it outside, where it smells like strangers and confusion, where people are trying to catch glimpses of her without getting caught by her Master. They smell like lust and envy, like anger too, like they think they can do better than her. Or maybe they're thinking of how much money she's worth if they get their hands on her. She stays close to her Master and makes sure the doors are locked when her Master leaves her alone.
She sees herself in the news sometimes, people saying that her old Master must've been crazy to leave so much money to her. But money doesn't mean anything to her at all. When she asked him if she should donate the money, he had smiled at her sadly and told him that his father hadn't let him money. He left her things that can't be dealt with so easily. There are lawyers who would want to talk to her and discuss matters. When she started to look panicked, he petted her head and told her he would take care of things.
