Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me.
Warnings: Slash, Nonrelated, Language, & Implied Sexual Content
Chapter Two
The hot water has long since run out and with it my excuse for showering; yet I remain under the lukewarm spray, my eyes squeezed shut. How could I allow myself to weaken like that? When I left six weeks ago, I never considered the likelihood of me ever seeing Tyler again; why would I? Our lives no long coincided with each other's, especially since he, as Mayor Lockwood's son, would be groomed and prepped for taking over when his father either died or retired.
He doesn't need me.
Why else would he, through a message delivered by his father, say, "You've outlived your usefulness and I no longer require your services"? Swallowing hard, I wince at the swell of pain and bite my lip.
Tyler's the one who abandoned me.
Sinking to my knees, I squeeze my eyes shut and clench my fists, but it's a useless battle as memories of that day invade my mind.
After ripping off my collar, Mayor Lockwood's lips peeled back as he reminded me that according to werewolf and vampire laws, once a pet is decollared, any were, vamp, or hybrid can claim it without fear of consequences. Eyes widening, I clutched my now bare neck before bolting for the exit; about three feet away from it, two weres and a vamp tackled me. If Dr. Mason hadn't intervened when they dragged me towards an empty exam room, I never would've escaped that hospital alive. Then last night, Tyler showed up on my doorstep and claimed he wanted me, regardless of the fact that six weeks earlier he'd decollared me.
What's with the bi-polar personality switches?
Shutting off the water, I snag a nearby towel and rub the material over my body, hoping to chase away the lingering chill. Unfortunately, I only succeed in aggravating my skin. With a sigh, I toss the towel on the hook hanging behind the bathroom door and tug on my clothes, grunting when my damp skin restricts them. Once dressed, I exit the bathroom and hiss at the cool air as billows of steam filter out into the hallway and evaporate. Suppressing a shudder, I hurry back to my room, a quick glance inside confirming my suspicions that Tyler's not only still here, but fast asleep. I press my lips together and clench my fists at the traitorous flutter of excitement pulsing through my veins. Damn you, hormones. Last night was nothing more than a distraction, a brief moment of weakness that will never happen again.
Venturing down the stairs and into the kitchen, I paw through my fridge, in search of something for breakfast before settling on scrambled eggs with fresh fruit. After cracking and beating several eggs, I reach up into my cupboard for the small Tabasco sauce bottle and sprinkle in a few drops. At the sound of girlish laughter, I glance up and smile, spotting Elena and two of my other neighbors heading towards the lake for a quick morning swim. Noticing me, Elena waves and then motions for me to come too but her smile dims when I shake my head. Under normal circumstances, I would've jumped at the opportunity, but I can't go anywhere, not with that unwelcomed hybrid still sleeping upstairs on my bed.
As I watch my friends disappear, my thoughts switch to how Elena'd been my first friend when I moved here and the two of us bonded over the shared experience of nearly dying once our masters rejected us. With her encouragement and support, I was able to push through my depression and progress forward, rebuilding my life as an actual person instead of a slave. Shaking aside my memories, I refocus my attention on cooking breakfast and slice up some strawberries and bananas.
While the stove heats the skillet, I collect several slices of American cheese from the fridge, peeling off smaller chunks and dropping them into the scrambled eggs. Once everything's ready, I carry the bowl over to the stove top and pour the contents into the pot, lowering the temperature so as not to overcook the eggs. Grabbing my spatula, I stir the mixture together.
A pair of arms loops around my waist.
"Good morning, beautiful," a voice whispers in my ear. Heart slamming against my chest, I jump and bite my lip at the feel of his familiar body pressing against mine, the implication unmistakable. "What's wrong?" Tyler asks his tone confused as he loosens his hold and steps backwards.
My eyes widen. "What's wrong?" Craning my neck, I stare at him—did he seriously just ask me that? "What's wrong? This entire situation is what's wrong!" With a growl, I stab my spatula into the scrambled eggs blend before switching off the burner and ducking under his arms.
"What are you…?" He seizes my wrist and tugs me back into his grasp. "Don't walk away from me, Jeremy!"
"Damn it, Tyler!" I struggle to break free, but his grip only tightens. "Why'd you have to come back now? I was doing just fine, accepting what happened and moving on."
He sighs quietly. "I don't want you to though."
"Well we can't always get what we want now can we?"
Hurt flares in his eyes and I try to ignore the tension in my chest. Damn you, Tyler and your "kicked puppy dog eyes." It's the same look he gave me during his many attempts at befriending me when I first became his pet. No matter what I said or did, I couldn't resist him; not even the day that marked the beginning of our friendship.
Although three days have passed since Master Lockwood Collared me, I still kept my distance. Just because he "owned" me, didn't give him automatic access to my body. As a child, I'd watched my mom share her bed with enough vamps, weres, and hybrids to know that they acted on the principle that, because they were a higher ranking species, they believed they were entitled to anything and everything. Master Lockwood wouldn't be any different…yet since he brought me to Lockwood Manor, I've found myself reacting to him. Whenever he entered the room, my back and neck muscles stiffened and my eyes tracked his movements. Part of me rationalized my reaction as an innate urge to protect myself so he wouldn't catch me unaware, but the other part of me couldn't help wondering if it was a precursor for something else.
At six o'clock, Master Lockwood saunters into his room, carrying a dinner tray and my stomach growls at the sweet aroma of a sizzling sirloin steak with a side of mashed potatoes and a corn bread muffin. As he sets the tray on his desk and then faces me, I press closer to the wall, wrapping my arms around my legs and hugging them against my chest, my eyes lowered in the customary manner of a pet waiting to be fed. If he decided I wasn't being respectful enough, he could revoke my eating privilege. Just because he hasn't during the last few days doesn't mean he won't and can't. Before I became his property, I didn't always censor my comments and my punishment often led to a skipped meal.
From across his bedroom, he stares at me, his expression perplexed before glancing at the food. Inwardly I groan. Really a bribe? He was resorting to food bribery?
"Why are you fighting me?" he asks quietly. "I'm not going to hurt you."
"Do you honestly think I'm going to buy that?" I say, unable to stifle the words erupting from my mouth. "You're all silver-tongued devils who will say anything in order to get what you want."
"Jere—"
My eyes narrow; just because he Collared me, doesn't give him the right to call me that. "It's Jeremy!"
"Jeremy," he says, holding his hands up before crouching down in front of me, "I'm not going to hurt you; if anything I'd like us to be friends."
I press my lips together and flash him a pointed look. Because of Mom and her many encounters with a fair number of weres, vamps, and hybrids, I'm well versed in how they operate and "being friends" doesn't register along their thought process.
"Your kind doesn't have friends…Master Lockwood." Inwardly, I wince at my apparent lack of respect. I am so not getting any food tonight or ever again.
However, Master Lockwood only shakes his head. "It's just Tyler please, Jeremy. I'm not like my father and I'm not like everyone else."
I bite back a snort of laughter. Was he really resorting to that cliché argument? Although he's never reprimanded me, he could be waiting to gain my trust before inflicting my punishment. "Well I guess we'll see about that."
Nodding, he picks up the tray and sets it down on the ground before settling into a cross-legged position across from me. "Indeed. Now come eat before you wake up the whole town with your growling stomach."
Brushing aside the memory, I move over to the window and lean against the counter, crossing my arms. Even during times when I overstepped my pet boundaries, he still showed me kindness. "How'd you even know where to find me?" As far as I know, this place is secret, a sanctuary for human pets to live normal lives…well as normal as they can in this reality. Dr. Mason didn't really discuss this place's historical background when he brought me off here.
"Mason."
My gaze snaps back to Tyler's. "Mason?" I swallow at the sharp stab of betrayal. No, he couldn't have; he wouldn't have. "As in D-Dr. Mason?" As Tyler nods, I slump against the counter and grip the edge. "That's no possible…he promised he wouldn't tell! He swore I'd be safe."
If Tyler knows, who else does?
"You are safe," Tyler says, lunging forward and reaching out for me. "I'm the only one who knows."
"Not a comforting thought," I mutter and evade his gasp. "You weren't supposed to know at all."
"Would you rather I'd stayed away?"
Flashing him a "Gee what was your first hint?" look, I throw up my hands. "Yes!"
He fixes me with a stern look. "I'm not giving up—even if I have to wait for you to open up like you did before as my pet. I want you in my life, Jere."
"Tyler…" I close my eyes and shake my head; why fight this? "We're both from two different worlds. I can't pretend I belong…with you."
"I don't want you to. Don't pretend; not with me."
"Tyler," I close my eyes and rub my forehead; what would it take for him to understand? "When I became your pet and you Collared me, that bound me to you. If you take that away…cutting my heart out would've hurt less."
His eyes narrow as a series of growls erupt from his chest. "What happened to you won't go unpunished. My father had no right; it wasn't his place. I never sent that message or gave him the right to release you."
"Tyler…"
"Jeremy, it took almost six weeks of begging before Mason cracked and told me where to find you, but he only did so for a reason. Since you were my pet, for it to be a legitimate release, I'm the one who would've needed to do it. Because my father did, it doesn't count. You're still my pet and according to werewolf and vampire law, I can take you back with me."
I slump backwards and swallow, my stomach reeling at his words; well that explains my fierce sense of loyalty to him. "So I'm still your property?"
"No. No," he shakes his head, "you're a human and not a possession." One look at his eyes and I know his tone doesn't carry the same connotation that other werewolves and vampires might have implied. "I still want you but…I refuse to keep you against your will."
I frown. "I don't understand. Are you taking me back or letting me go?"
"If it's what you really want, I'll let you go."
"But I thought you weren't giving up?"
"I don't want to and part of me won't but if you don't want me too then there's no point. I refuse to become one of those hybrids who forces his pet to stay. However, if you do decide to stay, it needs to be of your own free will."
For a moment neither one of us says anything as I consider this foreign ability to decide what I want.
Options!
Unfortunately, now that I have them, I'm not sure what to do.
"As I said before," Tyler continues, "if this is what you want—truly want—then I'll release you." I glance up at him; just like that he's giving up, admitting defeat? That doesn't sound like the brash, hard-headed Tyler Lockwood I know. "I only have one request."
"What's that?"
"Let me stick around for six weeks. Let me be your friend again and if at the end of the six weeks you still want me gone, I'll leave."
The corner of my mouth twists up in a half smile. "Gonna seduce me?"
"I'd be lying if I said I'm not gonna try but it's your choice and whatever you chose, I'll respect."
Lapsing into silence, I stare at him. Is this really worth prolonging? I already know I don't belong in his world. Yet his persistence must mean something…right? Turning, I stare out the window. On the one hand, six weeks with Tyler might be what I need in order to prove that we're two species with no hope for a future. However, on the flip side, he did get me to fall for him once, whether through conscious or unconscious means, and if I grant his request to stay, he admitted he wouldn't give up unless I asked. Undecided, I close my eyes and wish—not for the first time—that Mom was still around to advise me.
I've spent so much time and energy resisting this hybrid's hand of friendship that I didn't notice until too late that he not only had become my friend, but he had wormed his way into my heart as well. I can't pinpoint how or when our master-pet relationship shifted into a friendship—it just did. Falling for him didn't take much persuasion after that, but I can't go down that path—not again. I won't survive reopening my heart only to lose him again. At my continued silence, Tyler draws in a deep breath.
"Well I have my answer." He takes a step backwards, his expression pained. "I wish you all the best, Jeremy."
He offers me a tight smile and heads for my front door. I lick my lips and follow him; part of me wants to stop him, but I can't find the words. At the door, he glances back and our gazes lock but I can't understand his look.
Several seconds tick by.
When neither of us says anything, he gives me a slight nod before facing the door, reaching for the handle, and grasping it.
"Tyler…please wait."
He pauses and glances back at me, his hand gripping the knob in mid-twist.
I swallow, unsure of my intentions or why I'd stopped him. Being free of him is what I wanted…right?
"Okay," I say and swallow again, praying I won't regret my decision. "You can stay and have your six weeks."
Author's Notes: Merry Christmas, everyone (probably belated by the time you read these but my goal was to post these updates sometime Christmas Day. For a while it didn't look like I would succeed, but thankfully I did. The updates which include:
1) Whispers of Eternity Chapter Three
2) Open Your Heart to Us Chapter Thirteen
3) My Pet My Friend My Lover Chapter Two
4) Admit It to Me New Jyler One Shot
Hope you enjoy these as much as I did writing them and to all I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year—may the year 2013 be a lot better than 2012 was!