Blood of the Neko - 2. Chapter 2

Lord Damien Whitmore, the Duke of Marsten, sat back in his chair. He pinched the bridge of his nose as he blinked and rubbed his eyes. He hated days like this, when he had so much paperwork to read through and no time to be outside. Glancing at the window behind him, he felt a moment of sadness at seeing the bare window and floor under it.

His thoughts strayed to a sleek black tail thumping idly as its owner stared out the window or curled up in the warmth of the sun streaming in through the panes. For months, his young lover had always been there, never wanting to venture very far from him. With good reason.

Damien remembered when he'd first seen the little feline hybrid. His brother Harrison had presented the slave to him as a birthday gag. Neither of his brothers thought that Damien would tolerate having a personal slave underfoot all the time, and they had goaded him into a bet.

At first, Damien hadn't wanted anything to do with the boy, figuring he could pretty much just ignore the slave for the month of the bet, but Kayden wasn't like any slave he'd ever been around. The young man was terrified, and at first the boy's flinching at every movement and touch or darting off at a loud noise drove Damien absolutely crazy. He wouldn't even speak to anyone except for Damien for a long time. Slaves in Marsten were treated well, with respect and dignity. They chose to pledge their service for a certain term in return for food, shelter, and protection. He couldn't fathom why this slave acted this way--why he was so skittish of being owned if he had chosen to do so.

But then he'd seen the scars littering the smooth skin of the boy, how malnourished he was with his skin stretched over his ribs, and Damien knew there was more to this feline's past than most.

It was from Kayden that Damien learned of the hunters--outlaws who hunted and enslaved both humans and nekos and were selling them to the mines. For the last year, Damien had been trying to get the court to become more involved in the operation of the coal mines--especially knowing that Laos, the overseer, was involved in the buying of illegally obtained slaves. But the king and the court had been reluctant to assert more authority over the running of the mines. They'd given Laos practically free reign to do as he pleased. As long as coal was shipped out on time, the court didn't seem to want to be bothered to get involved in an operation that was so far removed, even if the overseer was engaging in the illicit activity of buying slaves from slave hunters--hunters who didn't care about the humans or hybrids they enslaved.

And Kayden had been owned by them for over five years--tortured, raped and tormented into silence, after having watched his mother and father get killed by the hunters. It was a wonder that the young neko even survived. The hunters hadn't been able to sell Kayden to the mines, though, as he was too young at the time and they had tormented the boy into such fear and kept him so underfed and weak the mines wouldn't take him once he was old enough.

They had finally sold the boy to the slave market, where he had remained for a year before Harrison had found him and purchased him. Damien had been nearly sick with the thought of what had happened to him there, attacked and used by larger hybrids in heat, nearly starving because he couldn't fight the others for food. The idea that the market owner had almost decided to put Kayden down brought him to tears when he thought about how loving and gentle his kitten had become.

It had taken a while, and his brother Roman hadn't helped, but Damien had slowly earned the boy's trust and love. Even after Roman's horrible betrayal, Kayden hadn't lost faith in Damien. It had been hard to accept that his own brother had plotted to kill him just to put himself in line for the crown. Kayden had known. But Roman was Damien's family, and it had shaken him to the core to finally accept that his own brother could be so evil.

But that was behind them now. Roman was dead, executed for the attempted assassination of the Duke of Marsten, heir to the throne, as well as plotting the eventual demise of King Eudon--his own uncle. Damien had pled for mercy for his brother, even after all he'd done, but the king and the court didn't take kindly to Roman's treachery. And after Roman revealed to Damien his rape of Kayden, Damien had felt the same way. Roman's betrayal still burned in Damien's heart, and Kayden still wore the scars of that past.

But that was over a year ago now, and Kayden wasn't the same skittish little, emaciated boy he had been. Thanks to Garin's cooking, Ysmenia's nurturing, and Ellis's friendship, Kayden was emerging into a formidable young man.

Damien had been the one to finally get his little feline to try new things.

Big mistake, he chuckled.

Maybe if he hadn't encouraged the boy to try new things, stretch his wings so to speak, he wouldn't find Kayden climbing the side of the house or perched on the roof of the guardhouse.

He sort of missed having his kitten curled up in his study with him all day.

Damien sighed as he wondered where Kayden had taken off to today. Hopefully, he wasn't stealing something from Garin's kitchen or chasing the peacock that Oliver, Damien's longtime friend, had given them as a gift. He supposed he'd hear if Kayden had gotten into trouble again.

He stared out the window at the beautiful sunny day. Kayden was probably out riding. Damien thought that if he didn't have so much to do today, that's what he would be doing too. And Kayden loved to be outside now--now that he trusted most of the people on the manor, he felt safe to be away from his master.

But that didn't change the fact that Damien still wished the boy was perched at his feet, and he could be running his fingers through those silky black locks of his, scratching behind those soft furry ears, feeling his kitten leaning into his touch and purring contentedly.

Damien jerked from his idle reverie. Shit. He really needed to focus.

Fortunately, a knock at the door stalled his plunge back into the ledgers.

"Yes?" he called.

His manservant John Drystan opened the door, his back stiff and formal. "Sir, Lord Druet is here to see you."

Grateful for the distraction, Damien smiled and rose. "Please, show him in."

A tall, lean man with slight graying at the temples of his muddy brown hair appeared in the doorway. Damien greeted his best friend with a firm clasp and a pat on the back.

"Oliver, what brings you by today?" Damien asked, indicating for the man to sit down, while he moved over to the side of the room where an array of liquors were waiting. He automatically poured his friend his favorite bourbon.

Oliver Druet sighed, dropping his suit jacket on the back of the wing-backed chair. "Well, I just came from meeting with the king."

Damien's brows shot up. "Really? And how is my uncle?"

"Not good, I'm afraid," Oliver admitted.

Damien only nodded. He'd known his uncle's health was deteriorating, and it wasn't because his uncle was sick. Well, maybe heartbroken, but not physically ill--not quite yet. King Eudon had taken the death of his wife rather hard, and he was slowly allowing his depression to affect his physical well-being.

"Harrison's wedding helped bring him around a little bit," Oliver stated as he took the glass.

"Yes, he did seem rather excited to see my younger brother married before me. Of course, he knows that I will never marry, so seeing Harrison get married offered him hope of our family line continuing, especially now that Penelope is expecting."

"She is?" Oliver asked in surprise. "I hadn't heard."

Damien smiled, "Harrison just told me last week. He was like a giddy little child, he was so excited."

Oliver laughed. "So I guess you are hoping for a boy, huh?"

Damien grinned over the rim of his own glass. "Of course. Harrison's son will be my heir, just like I was my uncle's."

"And if Harrison and Penelope don't have a son?"

Damien paused mid-sip. "Well, I'll deal with that when the time comes."

Oliver's chocolate brown eyes scanned the room, realizing that a usual fixture was missing. "So where's your boy?"

"He's probably out riding Arabella," Damien waved in general to the outside. "Ever since I taught him to ride, he likes to take her out all the time."

"I know you've enjoyed being able to take him with you on your rides now, especially over to your southern plantation."

"I think Kayden really likes going where ever I go," Damien said thoughtfully.

Oliver's snort startled him, and Damien frowned at him. "You think so! That boy adores you so much he'd probably still be sitting at your feet if you hadn't encouraged him to get out and do something."

Damien took a slow sip of his whiskey. "Sometimes I regret that," he murmured.

His friend chuckled. "Missing having the little kit fawning at your feet?"

"No, I--" Damien started to protest, but really, what could he say? No? Because he did miss having Kayden there, his quiet presence and company soothed Damien like nothing else.

Oliver was looking at him with a slightly amused expression before Damien finally sighed.

"Alright, fine, yes, I do miss having him around so much," the duke admitted. "But I know it's important for him to get out and explore too. He missed so much when those hunters enslaved him at ten years old. It's like he's discovering the world again."

"Of course he is," Oliver smiled. "Don't worry, the boy still loves you, even if he's out climbing the walls again."

"I know," Damien said. "And I trust Nash and Ellis to keep him out of too much trouble."

Oliver scoffed. "You mean like stealing your chef's prize pumpkin?"

"Well..."

Oliver grinned. "Who are you kidding? That boy has everyone here wrapped around his little finger. Including you. Even that grump of a chef you have."

Damien laughed. "Yeah, Garin does let Kayden get away with more than anyone else."

Oliver looked thoughtful. "He's brought life back into this house. He's brought life back into you."

Damien looked up sharply, frowning at his somber looking friend.

A small smirk appeared at the corner of his friend's lips. "You were lost, Damien. After your father died and you became the Grand Duke, and heir to the throne, you changed. It was like all the happiness had been sucked out of you. You were hard, desolate. All you cared about was working--managing your estates, towns, and ports. Kayden changed that."

Damien closed his jaw that he felt hanging open at his friend's caustic assessment. But, he realized, it was true. He had withdrawn from his social life to throw himself into his new duties as the Duke of Marsten. "I was really that bad?"

Oliver scoffed. "Oh, hell yeah."

"Thanks," Damien said drily.

"Scowling all the time," Oliver continued, "Snapping orders, never taking the time to just socialize..."

Damien laughed. "Okay, okay, I get it."

"I've watched you two together for months now. He adores you, and you adore him. He's sweet and innocent, but fiercely protective of you too. It's like if he senses a threat to you, this tiger comes out of your little kitten."

Damien frowned. "Don't call him a tiger," he said softly.

Oliver raised his brow. "Why not?"

Damien swallowed thickly. "Roman used to call him that."

"Oh." His friend realized the importance of that statement. Roman had tormented the young neko, whipping and raping him as he had plotted his brother's death. If Roman had called Kayden a tiger, then Damien wouldn't want to have the boy reminded of that. "I'm sorry. I didn't remember that. Jaguar or panther, then," he smiled.

"Yeah," Damien agreed with a small smile.

He let the silence spill between them for a bit. "So, what brings you here, besides my wonderful company?"

Oliver looked at him somberly and sat forward. "Well, his majesty and the rest of the court are concerned about the mines. They are shipping less coal, but there's no indication that there is a problem with the supply."

Damien scoffed. "I told them we should have done something about the running of the mines months ago. Laos has become too complacent in his position. He thinks he owns the mines and can do whatever he wishes."

Oliver nodded. "There is talk that maybe Laos and the other supervisors are possibly trading some of the coal to Polanthia."

Damien sucked in his breath. Shit. If Laos was trading their coal to their neighboring country that couldn't be good at all. Polanthia didn't feel the same about slavery as Marsten. It had been rumored on many occasions that Polanthia tended to overlook how the owners obtained their slaves, especially when there was a shortage of humans and nekos choosing to enter into a slave contract. If Laos had illegal slaves that he'd obtained from slave hunters, then he might be more apt to want to deal with Polanthia than Marsten.

"Damn it," Damien cursed under his breath. "You know what this could mean?"

Oliver took a deep breath. "That Laos could be looking to entice Polanthia into backing an embargo."

"Exactly. The mountains create a barrier that would make it harder for us to go in, should that happen. It would be easy for Laos to block that mountain pass with enough help, blocking off our access to the mines."

"Do you really think Polanthia would risk war to get control of those mines, though?"

Damien shrugged. "I don't know what their resources are like. They might, especially if Laos is persuasive."

"The court is worried that might happen."

Damien sneered. "I tried to get them to listen when we found out the man was buying illegal slaves from those hunters Kayden told us about. Unfortunately, it seems that many slaves don't want to contract to the mines, especially if conditions are as bad as Kayden says they are. It's no wonder Laos has had to resort to buying slaves illegally forced into slavery; he's pocketing the money that he should be using to house his workers. I fucking told the king and court this months ago. They wouldn't listen to me."

"Well, they might listen now," Oliver stated.

"Yeah, only because it's now affecting them," Damien growled.

"So very true," Oliver said, his expression masking over as if he was lost in thought.

Damien cocked his head, wondering what was getting his friend so down. He'd visited a lot recently, dropping in rather unexpectedly. Not that Damien minded his friend's visits at all, it just seemed a bit out of character for him.

"Everything going okay, Oliver?" he asked cautiously.

The older lord looked up at Damien. Oliver was only a couple years older than Damien, but the duke had the sudden realization that his friend looked so much older, weary and almost tired.

"Yes," Oliver sighed. "It's just..."

Damien waited, hoping Oliver would continue.

"I'm just getting so tired of all the political bullshit lately. It seems like going to court and helping at the estate is all I ever do now. Father has been grooming me to take over more recently."

Damien smiled widely. "You've become me!"

Oliver grunted. "That does not bode well unless there is some little lover coming along to save me too."

Damien frowned. Oliver had been a bit of a playboy when they were younger. Oliver had already turned twenty when Damien was eighteen and the two of them had had plenty of good times carousing together. Oliver had always been rather carefree, and he didn't care if the person he was with was male or female, human or hybrid. After Damien withdrew into himself when his parents were killed, Oliver had tried to pull Damien back out. But with the burden of the Dukedom resting heavily on his shoulders at the young age of twenty, Damien had allowed his friendships to drift.

With Oliver's father still alive, Oliver hadn't understood all the strain Damien had been under to run the estate and take his place in court at the time. Over the last couple years, however, Oliver's father had pressed him to take on more responsibilities at the manor and in court. And it looked like Oliver was beginning to feel a little lonely. Damien wondered if Oliver was a little jealous now that Damien had Kayden in his life.

"Have you not found anyone who interests you?" Damien asked.

"Where would I find someone? I never have time to go out anymore."

"Well, you know you could find someone in court, not in the tavern. I'm kinda talking more long term, not a quick fling."

Oliver scoffed. "In court? Fuck, Damien, they're more uptight than you were."

Damien grimaced. Well, he did have a point there. "What about Lady Carmilla? She's about your age and--"

Oliver rolled his eyes at him. "Damien, you've known me how long?"

"Uh, ten years maybe," he said uncertainly.

"And how many women have you seen me with?" Oliver asked pointedly.

Damien's mouth dropped open to answer, but then he stopped and thought about it. "I know back before my parents died that you were seeing that one girl..."

"Yeah, but not as often as I was seeing Aaron or Roland," Oliver interrupted with a slight smile.

It didn't really surprise Damien. Oliver had been known to be with just about anything that walked on two legs all those years ago. But now that he thought about it, he hadn't seen Oliver with anyone lately.

"So..." Damien started, thinking.

"So there aren't really many eligible men in court. And I really don't think father is going to approve of a long term relationship with a man," Oliver sighed. "You're lucky, Damien. Your father isn't here to dictate your life choices anymore."

Damien glanced at the ground sadly, gripping his glass.

"Oh, fuck," Oliver suddenly realized what he'd said, "You know I didn't mean it that way."

Damien's glassy eyes lifted. "I know. And as much as I miss him, I wouldn't have Kayden now if things were different."

"I'd love to just leave all this behind," Oliver sighed as he waved around the room. "What do you think father would say if I just took off and set out on my own? Head off to find my love somewhere in this wide world?"

Damien chuckled. "How romantic of you. And who would take over for your father?"

"Well, Simon, of course," Oliver stated, referring to his younger brother.

"Your brother is only seventeen years old," Damien stated.

"So? You took over for your father at twenty," Oliver argued. "Father can just start grooming him instead of me, dragging him to court functions."

"I took over because I had no choice," Damien stated harshly.

Oliver held up his hands. "I know, I know. And it's really helped me to accept all the duties of court much easier knowing that you were there too. But father's not ill, he doesn't travel."

"Doesn't mean something can't happen," Damien mumbled knowing all too well how life can change in an instant.

"Shit, something could happen to me!" Oliver snapped back. "Then Simon would still have to take over. Things happen, Damien. We can't always prepare for every turmoil life might throw at us. I'm not saying I wouldn't come back if duty demanded it, but I'm just thinking maybe I want something more, while I still can."

Damien regarded his friend seriously. The man was right. Why shouldn't Oliver enjoy life a little before becoming tied down? Damien hadn't had the opportunity to do that, having become the heir to the throne at the passing of his father. But Kayden had opened his world back up to seeing things anew, rediscovering things that had once made him happy, and allowing him to let go every once in a while. Why shouldn't Oliver have the chance to find that too?

"You're right," Damien finally agreed. "Maybe you should talk to your father about taking a little tour of the country. You could say it's to help you understand your courtly duties better."

Oliver Druet grinned. "Now that's an idea! I guess I best be going. I've put off returning home for long enough now."