Wolf Pack - 8. The Neko

He fingered his money bag as his brother was bid on. There was only one way Danuva could afford to free Quarian, a gold coin the man had found when he was sixteen. It was their lucky coin, and Quarian had passed it to Danuva when he left home.

His brother didn’t want him to use the coin on him though. He wanted it used on a neko. And there was only one neko in the city.

Danuva fought back tears as his brother was bought by a large man, a blacksmith by the look of his clothes. Quarian found him in the crowd as he was led away and grinned. Danuva could have sworn he saw the werewolf’s fangs.

Straightening his shoulders, Danuva made his way to a tailor. He had done what he came here to do, giving the slaves a tiny bit of comfort.

An hour later, he carried a load of clothes from the shop. Locating his wagon, the man set the clothes within and covered them. Heading into the tavern, he located the neko serving a large armoured woman a beer.

The man stopped the boy as he passed.

“Elias?” he murmured.

The neko’s eyes widened and he nodded. Danuva gently rubbed his hair and walked past. He found Masia sitting in the back corner of the tavern, a mug of ale in her hand.

“You’ve taken a liking to him?” she asked as he sat across from her.

Danuva shrugged.

“He’s quiet. But he seems like a good kid.”

“He’s twenty years old,” the woman said. “I’ve been asking around. Was he good?”

She smirked at the man’s glare.

“Come on, I know you sampled the goods.”

“I didn’t touch him in that way. I let him get a decent night’s sleep.”

“And now what? Will you return to pine over the property of someone else? Will you take him by force?”

“What about you? Did you find what you came for?”

The woman scowled.

“No. But I found something that might help.”

A man walked into the inn and began talking quietly to the innkeeper. A minute later he was heading upstairs.

“Will you stay with us? I can’t guarantee your safety,” Danuva said, turning his attention back to Masia.

“I know. I feel like Paelius will move on soon. He doesn’t like to inconvenience people.”

Danuva laughed.

“And you claim he’s a prince. So what, you’re going home?”

“I have no home. My place is with Paelius, as unfortunate as that seems at the moment.”

“You realize there’s a good chance you’ll-”

“Yes, and it’s a chance I’m willing to take.”

Danuva nodded, standing up.

“I’ll be back,” he said.

Walking back to the inn, he approached the innkeeper.

“I need another two rooms for the night,” he said, handing a silver over.

“Same rooms as yesterday okay?”

The man nodded, looking around.

“The neko is busy taking care of a customer,” the innkeeper smirked. “Did you want to hire him for the night again?”

Danuva grimaced at the thought of what Elias was going through.

“Actually I want to buy him from you.”

The innkeeper laughed.

“Trust me, you don’t have the money for him.”

“And how much is that?”

The man’s eyes narrowed, staring down Danuva. For his part, Danuva blinked freely, not interested in a contest.

“Ninety silver,” the innkeeper smirked.

Danuva sighed, pulling out a knife. The innkeeper took a step back, reaching for a cudgel. Danuva held out his travelling cloak and sliced into a spot with his knife. A gold coin fell from the slit and he caught it, sheathing his blade.

“I assume this will suffice?”

The innkeeper took the coin and bit it, testing the metal. Grunting, he nodded and fished out ten silver. Sliding the coins across the counter, he spoke.

“The man upstairs paid for an hour. In fifty minutes, the boy is yours.”

The neko lay quietly on the bed, grinding his teeth. His body hurt. His head hurt. Everything hurt.

He heard the panting of the man, the quiet rustling of clothes being pulled on. The man slapped his ass one more time, before walking out the door.

He slowly reached for his underpants and pulled them on, hissing at the cramping in his legs. Grabbing his pants, the neko froze as he heard someone approaching the door.

Standing painfully, the neko bowed his head slightly, peeking up to see who was entering.

“Hey,” the human at the door said gently.

The neko remained silent as he had been taught. He could only assume the master had double booked him. It would have been nice to have a break between, but this man had been kind the night before. Maybe he’d be careful with how he took him.

“Do you need help with your clothes?”

Shaking his head no, the neko pulled his underpants away from his body, teasing at what laid below.

“Not like that,” the man smiled thinly.

The neko tensed. He had displeased the man and the master would punish him for it.

“You won’t be forced to have sex ever again. Get dressed.”

He looked up in shock, meeting the man’s green eyes before dropping his gaze back to the floor.

“Elias…”

That was his name. The name the werewolf gave him. Did he know the wolf?

The man scratched his head, a pulse of warm energy travelling through him. The neko nearly moaned as he felt his muscles relax. The pain in his ass faded, as did the bruises on the back of his legs.

“Why don’t you meet me downstairs after you dress?”

The hand was removed from his head, and a small whimper escaped his mouth. He bit his lip as the man laughed. Then he was left alone.

Elias dressed quickly, knowing if he made the man wait, his master would be upset. Walking downstairs, he marvelled at the lack of pain in his legs. The man who had been fucking him not ten minutes ago had been rather thorough with his beatings.

The man, Danuva, was waiting at the bottom of the stairs. He smiled at Elias, and the neko shuffled his feet nervously.

“I just bought you from the innkeeper,” Danuva said quietly. “You are free to go wherever you like, but I hope you choose to stay with me. Let’s get your things, if you have any.”

He had a new master then? Elias puzzled through the information, even as his feet turned towards the storage closet he had been given as a sort of room. The neko could feel Danuva following him as he opened the door to the closet.

Digging through his bedding, Elias pulled out a copper necklace and a small bag of coins.

“Here, let me take those,” Danuva said quietly, holding out his hand.

No. He wouldn’t give up his mother’s necklace.

He shook his head violently.

“You’ll get them back. I swear it.”

Hesitantly the neko handed Danuva the coin pouch, watching closely as the man placed the money in a pocket within his cloak. The necklace he held tightly, refusing to give it up.

Danuva didn’t press him.

“Do you have another set of clothes?”

Elias shook his head again.

“Okay, Put your necklace on and we’ll go get you some clothes.”

The neko slipped the jewelery around his neck, and the two of them left the closet behind them. Passing through the tavern, they were stopped by the innkeeper.

“Those clothes belong to me,” the man said sharply, staring at the neko.

Danuva groaned, a hand on Elias’ shoulder.

“Is this really necessary?” he asked.

“The boy came to me with nothing. He will leave with nothing.”

Sighing, Danuva nodded to the neko, removing his cloak and holding it up to give the man some privacy. Elias removed his clothing, and Danuva wrapped the cloak around him.

The neko clutched the garment tightly as he followed his owner from the tavern. They headed straight for the tailor, where Danuva bought several outfits for his new charge. Once he was dressed, Danuva took his cloak back and handed the man his coin bag.

“These are your… ‘tips’ from your work?”

Elias nodded.

“They were hard earned,” Danuva said. “Keep saving them. If you need anything, just ask.”

Elias pressed his head against Danuva’s side, earning him a soft scratch on the head.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

Sandolin could smell them approaching.

He stood still, the hunt all but forgotten, as the scent of lavender dimly filled his nose. A quiet growl escaped him, and he bit it back. He would be glad when they were on the road, away from the man’s house.

Running to the road, he could hear the rumble of wagon wheels thumping across the uneven dirt. As the riders came into sight, Sandor grinned and stepped into the road.

A horse screamed and threw his rider. The horse driving the wagon just blinked as she came to a stop.

“Good evening Sandor,” Danuva said tensely, his arm around a strange cat-like human.

Masia threw a rock at the wolf, gripping her horse’s reins tightly. The rock bounced off his shoulder and Sandor growled.

“Now Masia, I’m sure he didn’t mean to scare the horses, did you?”

The wolf huffed, turning back to the house. Behind him, he heard the creak of wheels as the wagon continued its journey.

“We’re leaving tomorrow.”

Masia looked up from her chicken. Paelius continued cutting his meat, sticking a piece of bird in his mouth.

“Where are you going?” the woman asked.

“We will petition my father to allow me to take Te Hara pei Arudan.”

“The fortress that is overrun with bandits, that has withstood seven assaults from your father? And the two of you are going to take it by yourselves?”

Paelius nodded.

“Where might has failed, subterfuge may work.”

“I’m going with you.”

“Absolutely not.”

Masia smiled.

“But Prince Paelius, isn’t poison a woman’s weapon? Haven’t many assassins been female? Clearly, a woman wields the advantage in subterfuge.”

“And I will need to stay with you until I know if you turned me,” Danuva spoke up.

The neko’s ears turned beside the man. Apparently, Danuva hadn’t told him what the man might be.

“Then there will be five of us,” Masia concluded with a nod at the neko.

“Hold on. Elias hasn’t agreed to go anywhere. And I’m not sure I want him to travel with us.”

Danuva turned to the neko.

“You’re a free man now. You can go wherever you want,” he said.

Elias stared at the man. His lips moved, but Masia couldn’t hear what he said.

“Are you sure?” Danuva asked.

Elias nodded, and the man sighed.

“Alright, five of us.”