Alpha’s Kitty Page 6

  “Why, Master?” I didn’t understand.

  “This is no ordinary tail. It’s bionic. You can control its movement, and it has sensation.”

  I shook my head. If this was really true... but could it work like a real tail?

  “Try it. Try moving it.”

  I flicked my tail the way I always used to. Nothing happened. I looked over my shoulder, tears of betrayal in my eyes as I found my master’s face. Was this all a joke, to him? The expression on his face was inscrutable, but he moved around until he stood in front of me, and he covered my restrained paws with his hands.

  “It won’t be exactly the same as how you used to move your tail. It can’t be. It’s not in the same place. Move it from your ass, not from your tail stump.”

  I took a deep breath and got ready to do it again. I concentrated hard, but I couldn’t get my mind to wrap around the new concept so easily.

  “You’re blocking yourself from succeeding.” My master’s voice was gentle. There was no anger or judgement. “Close your eyes for a moment and focus your attention on the plug.”

  I obeyed.

  “Feel the way it pushes against your entrance. The slight difference in temperature between the plug and your body. Concentrate on the place where your ass ends, and the tail starts. Imagine the plug is the root of your tail.” His voice was hypnotic.

  “Yes, Master.”

  “Now imagine the tail extending out from that root. Don’t just visualize it. Feel it.”

  Somehow, with his encouragement, it was possible to almost feel it. A tail, growing from my ass and stretching out behind me. The longer I concentrated, the more real it seemed.

  “Imagine it’s touching the table, about half-way down the tail. How does that feel?”

  When I paid attention, the first flutterings of feedback came down the tail’s shaft. When I felt it touching the table—actually felt it, not just in my imagination—I squeaked in shock.

  “It’s there. There’s a tail behind me!” I gasped, my eyes flying open.

  “Yes. It’s there, and it’s yours. All you have to do is learn to listen to it.”

  I tried moving it again. It still didn’t seem to do anything.

  “You need to become more attuned to it.” He released my paws and walked around behind me. I startled a little as his fingers brushed the base of my tail.

  “I can feel you!” I mewled. “You’re touching my tail!”

  Somehow, the caress of his fingertips made it all the more real. The tears in my eyes spilled over my lash lines and I couldn’t hold back the swell of emotion.

  “Thank you, Master,” I managed between sobs. “Thank you.”

  He continued gently stroking my tail, and my mind was completely blissed out from the unbelievable sensations. I’d thought I’d never feel this again, but my master had made it happen.

  The elation of having a tail was unparalleled. I had felt broken and incomplete ever since my tail was taken from me. Now, I felt whole again.

  Chapter 9

  Kitty

  That evening, when the door opened, I was surprised that Bertrand—master’s servant, who had purchased me—entered the room. I eyed the fabric in his hands with confusion.

  “You are to wear these to the event, tonight,” he told me in his slighty-threatening tone. “I will dress you, put you in your pet carrier, and take you to the venue.”

  He removed my tail and I felt its loss keenly. A moment later he had wrapped a long bandage of black, shiny, rubbery material around my waist. It criss-crossed around me, forming a diamond shape around my belly, then it came down between my legs, the two strands of fabric separating my pussy lips before moving up between my breasts, separating as they went over my shoulders, back under my breasts and finally, he tied it in a bow that touched my spine. Part bandage, part harness, it felt strange to be so constrained after a lifetime of nakedness.

  “Don’t chew the latex harness or you’ll regret it,” he growled.

  I nodded. He slipped a chain leash over my neck and I squeaked as it tightened, constricting my throat when he pulled on it.

  “Follow.”

  I hadn’t really thought about him since I’d been put in this room, since he was one of the gray, shadowy concepts that only usually existed beyond the door to my prison, but now I was alone with him. I decided Bertrand was a cruel, angry man.

  I fell forward on my hands and knees when he tugged on the leash again. Since I wanted to continue breathing, I had no choice but to follow him. I crawled after him as he led me to the travel carry box I’d been brought to the house in.

  My haunches and feet were barely in the box before the metal grille door slammed closed behind me. Uncertainty and foreboding washed through me as the travel case followed Bertrand out of my master’s house. I had to believe my master would already be at the event, and that he would have the time and inclination to keep me with him when we arrived.

  The journey to the party was dark and I got no sense of where we were. The pet carrier wasn’t positioned to allow me to see out of the windows. I was pulled from side to side, forward and backwards as the vehicle changed direction, and I decided I hated journeys like this.

  Finally, we stopped. Bertrand removed my box from the vehicle, and he walked ahead of me. I eyed the building with some trepidation; it was a tall, narrow oblong that grew upwards until it faded into invisibility amongst a canopy of similar black glassy structures.

  He was stopped at the entrance by another bipedal man, and after a brief exchange, we were allowed inside.

  Two golden-colored shiny metal doors opened as we approached the end of a long, decorative hallway and we went through. I was expecting a big room after such a grand hallway, but instead we were in something that wasn’t much bigger than a box.

  “Elevator two, state your destination.” The voice came from the walls and I understood straight away that it was a computer.

  “Commander Segue.” Bertrand’s voice was curt, and I realized he simply hated interacting with anyone he didn’t believe to be a sentient biped.

  My stomach dropped as we moved. On a display, numbers flew by until we reached the three hundredth floor. I wobbled as we slowed to a halt. When the doors opened, I stared avidly at the new world before me.

  The room was huge with a high ceiling and a lot of lighting.

  Bipedal men wore suits of different colors, mostly dark shades of charcoal, deep plum, navy blue and pine forest green. There were biped women dotted around the crowds, dressed in thin silky garments and strange shoes that looked intended to cripple their feet. The females were much fewer in number, and I wondered if that was why some men on this planet chose to buy pet kittens. At a guess, I would say there was one woman for every ten men. They were all talking freely, and I didn’t get the sense that any of the females were subservient.

  As Bertrand entered, conversations stopped and eyes were pinned on me, being moved through the room in my pet carrier.

  “Is that a kitten?” one of the females asked.

  “It is owned,” Bertrand replied curtly.

  “Perhaps I could speak with the owner?” The woman leered at me with a hungry expression. I didn’t understand what the deal was. If she wanted a kitten, why not just go to a pet store like everyone else?

  “The kitten’s master is Hervé Founder.” Bertrand turned away and continued moving. Apparently, my master’s name meant something to the attendees at the party.

  Despite numerous attempts by people to step between my pet carrier and Bertrand, the carrier frequently changed direction and avoided being delayed while we crossed the room. I wondered how it knew to evade people so efficiently, but mostly I tried not to fall over when it suddenly moved high over someone’s head, or when it dodged to the side of someone.

  Across the other side of the room, there was a spiral staircase leading up to a sort of indoor balcony. Bertrand ascended the stairs and my carrier followed.

  At the top, there was an odd
sort of lounge area. It had a view of the rest of the party and two men reclined on one big platform covered in soft white cushions. My mood instantly lifted when I realized one of the men was my master, resplendent in a black suit and his usual shiny shoes. He was listening to the other man talking but they both broke off their conversation to pay attention to Bertrand’s arrival.

  “She is prepared as requested?” my master asked.

  “Yes, Master.”

  “Then you may go and join the crowd.”

  “Thank you, Master.” Bertrand gave a half-bow and disappeared. I wondered if I would be kept in the cage all evening, or if my master had a different plan for me. Overall, I was just pleased to be in his presence. Something about the people here felt... predatory. I wasn’t a prey species, but their intense hunger to obtain me had still made me uncomfortable.

  He moved toward my carrier and lowered it to the floor. The door opened.

  “You may come out, kitten, but stay with me.”

  I crawled out of the confining cage toward his voice, pausing when my nose reached his shiny shoes. He leaned down and tilted my chin up. His eyes inspected my neck.

  “Did Bertrand do this?”

  “Yes, Master.” I saw no reason to cover for him.

  “I will ensure he doesn’t damage my property in future.” The tone was dark and once again I was glad I wasn’t the target of my master’s anger. “Kneel here.” He pointed to a spot on the floor. Once I was settled, he moved the pet carrier aside and he returned to his spot on the cushions.

  “The games will commence, shortly,” the other man remarked. “You are staying, this time?”

  “I am.” My master’s voice was void of emotion.

  “Did you bring your pet so you might participate?”

  “Perhaps.”

  “Hervé, you’re so infuriating, sometimes. It was a simple enough question.”

  “I wish to consider the other games on offer, before I decide.”

  I didn’t understand what they were talking about.

  “You always did prefer voyeurism when it came to the Playground.”

  “Indeed.” I sensed a near-hostility in my master’s voice, but he hid it well. If I hadn’t been so attuned to him, from being kept in a room where he was my only humanoid contact, I probably wouldn’t have noticed.

  “You are, of course, welcome to—” The man was interrupted by a woman arriving at the top of the stairs.

  “Commander Segue.” The woman spoke his name almost lazily, like she found greetings tiresome but did them anyway, to be polite.

  “Mayda Creel. To what do we owe...?” Commander Segue left the question hanging mid-sentence and waved his hand as though the rest of it were obvious.

  “I wished to speak with Alpha about his delectable new acquisition.” Her voice was seductive. Her eyes lingered on me, and I realized she was the same woman who had asked Bertrand about me when we arrived. She licked her lips and I averted my gaze to the floor, wishing she had noticed someone else.

  “She’s not for sale, Mayda.” My master’s voice was flat.

  “Of course. I understand. It’s your new shiny toy and you want to be the one to break it. But I’ll offer you something you really want, in exchange for two hours in the Playground.”

  I’d expected him to reiterate his refusal, but to my horror, he raised a brow and cocked his head to one side.

  “What do I want?” he asked in a curious tone. His hand stretched out and caught hers before she touched me. Was he being protective, or simply bargaining for something?

  “The leader of the resistance. Dorèl Shreve.”

  “They detonated another bomb today in Corellia, Alpha,” Commander Segue interjected. “I got the report an hour ago. Five-hundred dead.”

  My master’s face remained impassive. I didn’t know if there was a war raging inside him, but I hoped so. Whatever this woman had planned for me, I wanted him to refuse. But... hundreds of deaths could be avoided if she gave him her information.

  “One hour. And you obey my rules at all times. If I see anything happening that I dislike, I reclaim my pet.”

  My throat constricted in fear. He was giving me to someone else. My worst worry was playing out before my eyes and I was powerless to stop it.

  “Hmm...” Her eyes roved over my body appraisingly. “That depends on the rules.”

  “No fucking. No making her fuck anyone else. No broken bones or other damage that will stop her being able to serve me for more than a day or two. No choking or drowning.”

  Mayda regarded me thoughtfully. “What about knives, suspension, electricity and fire?”

  “As long as they don’t break the rules I just laid out, those are all fine.”

  I wanted to be sick. I wanted to run. To hide somewhere or to break this woman’s neck. Instead, I sat passively while this discussion took place over my head. The bipeds were talking. I wasn’t invited to the conversation, and it didn’t matter that I was the subject of their discussion.

  I looked up at my master imploringly, my heart wavering on a swinging tightrope of trust that might topple me into despair at any moment.

  “Obey her,” he ordered me.

  I locked the pain of his betrayal away into a box and dumped it at the bottom of my sea of thoughts. I broke his gaze and looked at the floor pointedly.

  “Yes, Master,” I whispered, but the words felt dirty to speak. I was agreeing to something I didn’t want to do, because I didn’t want to displease him. Mayda’s information sounded important and I didn’t want to raise objections when so many lives were obviously at risk.

  “I’ll return for her when Playground is open.” Her voice was full of self-satisfaction and I already knew this was going to be one of the worst hours of my life so far.

  Chapter 10

  Hervé

  From Kitty’s tone, her defeated posture and the way she would only look at the floor, I knew she didn’t want to be shared with Mayda. I didn’t want to share her, either, but the terrorists had to be wiped out. This year alone, twelve-thousand deaths were attributable to the bastards. I needed that information. Taking them down was the only way to protect the fabric of society.

  It seemed like some people thought being leader of my planet meant I could do whatever I wanted, but I was constrained in one key way: I had to put my planet before myself. Always. It didn’t matter what I wanted, or what was best for my kitten. Leadership didn’t work like that.

  If Commander Segue wasn’t here, I would have attempted to explain this to Kitty. As it was, all I could do was glance over at her occasionally. She didn’t move from the spot where she knelt, and she never raised her eyes.

  I had wanted to protect her from the excesses of Playground. To show her what went on here, so she understood she was safer with me than any of these other assholes. But now, I’d handed her over to one of them.

  Commander Segue was saying something. I derailed my carousel of thoughts and tuned into him.

  “—with her. She’s not trustworthy.”

  I picked up enough to understand he was talking about Mayda. “I agree. That’s why I’ll be supervising when she borrows Kitty. But I need that information.”

  “And you’d sell your own grandmother to get it.”

  I sighed. It was true that in recent months I’d become even more driven to eliminate the uprising that was throwing parts of the planet into chaos.

  “My grandmother is dead.” I took a drink from an attendant and sat up, holding the vessel to Kitty’s lips. Why did I still think of her as Kitty? I hadn’t even named her yet, for fuck’s sake, and I was handing her over to a moneyed spoiled bitch to play with.

  “Champagne. Sip.”

  Without moving her eyes, she opened her mouth and let me tip some of the sparkling liquid past her lips. She swallowed.

  “Thank you, Master.” Her tone was dead. I remembered how she felt about sharing, but I didn’t see another way to get Mayda’s information. Anyway, I wasn’
t going to let Mayda do anything intimate to my pet.

  “We need to watch. The obedience tests are about to begin,” Segue remarked. I gave him a brief nod. We stood up and moved to the railing. I snapped my fingers and Kitty followed.

  Looking down through the railing, there was a circular, fenced-off area where the slaves would be tested in obedience. It was a grim spectacle, but I couldn’t avoid it, since I was here, and Kitty needed to see how some masters treated their slaves. It would be a good lesson for her, to understand how much worse her position could be. Playground was where all the deals were made, and I had to at least pretend to care about the ‘entertainment’.

  * * *

  Kitty

  I was looking through a four-inch-gap between two thin railings, watching a circular area. Two slaves were led into the area, which seemed to have a cage around it. One of the slaves was fighting and pulling back, begging and pleading with her handler.

  She was silenced with a hucow prod. I shuddered when I saw her jump, heard her shriek. I remembered those horrible things all too well from the kitten farm.

  The handler got out of the ring and the cage vanished. One of the slaves tried to run away but when she touched the place where the cage had been, she was thrown across the ring in a flash of yellow light.

  “It’s a forcefield,” my master remarked. He was talking to me, but somehow, I didn’t think he needed me to reply.

  “Slave owners, please come to the podium to roll advantage.”

  “Advantage determines who goes last. It’s usually how a slave wins the obedience test,” my master explained.

  “Does your pet need to understand what’s going on?” Commander Segue asked. I realized, despite my master’s heartlessness when it came to sharing me, he was trying to treat me more like a person than the other masters, here.

  “I want her to be informed.”

  Two fat, ageing men walked onto a podium where an announcer stood. They each rolled a dice.