Chapter Three

Chapter Three

A noise from the sitting room broke through the fog of terror and pain clawing at his brain, and he saw Lance’s feet hurry for the door.

“Why are you bleeding?” came the Prince’s voice.

“Your pet cat is crazy. He already tried to speak, and he tried to get the gag off when I told him to sit and think about what he did since I caned him. He went crazy and attacked me!”

Felix didn’t catch a couple of things, and the Prince’s boots entered. “Felix?”

“He’s hiding under the bed,” snapped Lance.

“Why is he hiding?”

“Because he knew he was going to get a caning. Honestly, you need to fucking get rid of him. I don’t need to be getting attacked by your damn pet because you picked a crazy one.”

“He’s not a damn pet.”

“He punched me in the nose!”

“I’ll speak to him-”

“You need to get rid of him. He’s going to lie to you because he’s knows-”

Prince Rainier’s tone grew quite cold. “Leave us be.”

Lance huffed before he left the room and slammed the door.

The Prince got on his hands and knees to peek under the bed. “Kitten? Why are you hiding under there?”

Felix couldn’t hold back a sob, and his shoulder gave yet another nasty throb as he tried to shrink against the wall.

“Kitten, if you’re hiding under the bed like that, I think you must have a good reason, and I’d never punish you for panicking. Come out.”

What if he did anyway? Felix had hit the guard twice with his frantic kicking.

“Come here, Kitten. I promise I won’t punish you.”

He couldn’t stay here forever, and if the Prince would truly listen to him for a minute…Maybe last night hadn’t been an act, and it was only Lance that was the problem. Felix scooted along the floor even though it hurt his shoulder, and he finally inched out.

“Oh, Kitten. You’re all covered in dust.” The strain lines around the Prince’s eyes creased more as he squinted and reached for Felix. “Why are you holding your arm like that?”

Felix dissolved into more sobs while sharp pain lanced through it. He’d take a caning any day over this. It was unlike anything else, and he shook while the Prince turned his head.

The hair wasn’t pulling anymore, so maybe it had been ripped out. He probably hadn’t noticed in his terror with the new pain to worry about. The Prince started undoing the buckle on the gag, and he tsked.

“Your hair isn’t supposed to be stuck in it.” He made a frustrated sound as he undid it. “What the fuck?"

Felix sucked in a deep breath as soon as the wet leather was gone. “I’m sorry! I wasn’t trying to get the gag off. My hair hurt, and he yanked my arm because I was scared, and he was going to beat me and not feed me all day, and-”

Prince Rainier took his chin and wiped his wet face with his sleeve. “Slow down, Kitten. He’s supposed to feed you three times a day and give you snacks if you’re hungry.”

“He said no food or water until this evening, and you wouldn’t put up with my sh-shit-” Felix stuttered to a stop as the Prince’s face darkened.

“I would never have your food or water restricted. Why are you holding your arm like that?”

“He grabbed me, and when he yanked it, it hurt my shoulder. I don’t know what’s wrong.”

“Was it straight when he pulled?”

“Y-yeah.”

Prince Rainier put a hand on his injured shoulder and took his wrist. “Listen, this is going to hurt for a second, and it’s not the same as healing a cut. It sounds like it popped out of the socket, and it always hurts when going back in. I have pretty good healing ability, but I can’t make injured parts numb, all right?”

Felix’s eyes welled up. The agony he’d first felt had been the worst. It would probably be the same.

“It’s just for a second, and then it’ll be like it never happened. It has to go back in the socket, and you can’t stay like that.”

Felix sniffled. “Okay.” He’d never been truly injured before, but he knew fairies with healing magic could take care of a lot of stuff like broken bones and cuts.

The agony was sharp when the Prince lifted his arm, and his other hand glowed with white light and grew warm on Felix’s shoulder. He sucked in a breath and swore he heard his shoulder pop back into place. For a second, it was painful, but it instantly faded, and the Prince gave his shoulder a few good rubs with his glowing hand.

“See?” He drew Felix against him and started undoing the paws. “It’s all better now.”

“He caned me because I made a noise when my hair caught. I promise I wasn’t trying to speak.”

The Prince immediately touched his bottom, and Felix eased a little more as the warmth seemed to chase away that pain too. He reached for the plug and gently removed it before he dropped it on the floor.

Once he finished taking off the paws, he wrapped his arms around Felix. “Tell me what happened.”

Felix tried to steady his breathing while he spoke. All of the pain was gone, but his limbs kept quivering. Shame crept in once he finished because he’d panicked and turned into a crying mess.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I don’t mean to cry.”

“No, I’m sorry,” Prince Rainier said in a tight voice. “Anyone would panic. I didn’t think-stay here for a moment.”

Felix huddled against the bed when Prince Rainier went into the sitting room. Even with the door shut, his words came through.

“What the fuck is wrong with you? You threatened to deny him food and water?”

“What-no!”

“You also yanked his arm out of his socket!”

“Bloody fuck! No, I didn’t.”

“I just popped it back in! You pulled it right out. I know damn well he didn’t do that by himself.”

“Okay, maybe I did by accident, but he came at-”

“There’s no blood on his paws. If he swung at you-”

“He kicked me!”

“There was no need to yank his arm like that!” Something thumped, and Felix flinched. “He’s a human! You can’t jerk their limbs like that.”

“I didn’t know he was a fucking human!” yelled Lance. “Why on Ymir’s dirt would you pick a human for a pet?”

“I didn’t think my own fucking guard would abuse him. You also asked him to suck your dick, and you’re not to touch him in that manner.”

“He’s lying! I never asked-”

“He was a crying wreck under the bed. He had hair caught in the buckle of his gag too. You caned him for making a noise.” Someone stomped across the floorboards, and it sounded like the two voices had gone into the kitchen.

“See, I did make him food!" yelled Lance. "But maybe if you ate it, you wouldn’t be acting like this. I’m tired of having to watch your skinny ass-”

“You were abusing my Kitten, you sick fuck!”

Lance shouted as something crashed in the kitchen. Felix wondered if he should crawl back under the bed because Lance was bigger than the Prince. Those with healing magic didn’t always have fire, lightning, or energy to fight with, and if it came to magic and strength, Lance might win.

And he’d come after Felix.

Lance shouted a second later as glass shattered. It sounded like something hit the floor, and dead silence reigned for several seconds. Felix was about to head back under the bed, but he heard the Prince swear. Boots clomped back, and Prince Rainier entered with blood on his knuckles. He must have scraped and healed them.

He pulled a hanky from his coat pocket to wipe them. “I knocked his ass out, and I’m going to tie him up. Guards can fetch him later to lock up. Stay there, Kitten.”

He took rope from the bedside drawer and disappeared for a good ten minutes. Felix hugged his knees as he tried to come to terms with the fact that he was safe. The Prince wasn’t going to punish him because of Lance’s lies, and that bastard wouldn’t touch him again.

He wanted to go back to the whorehouse now and try to forget this fucking morning. He’d never been so panicked and in fear for his safety since that day with the dominant, and that guy hadn’t even meant to genuinely hurt him.

Lance had meant it.

He was never wearing a gag either. Fuck gags. He wouldn’t touch one for a million lan, although he was pretty sure that much money didn’t even exist.

Prince Rainier returned, and he’d paused in the doorway as he looked at Felix. “Kitten, I’m sorry. I never would have left you with him if I’d suspected he’d hurt you. He’s supposed to stick with me as my personal guard, but I paid him extra to do this, and I thought he’d be okay with taking care of you for a little bit.”

“I don’t want to be a cat anymore,” whispered Felix.

Prince Rainier’s face tightened before he got on his knees by him. “How about if we make a deal? You can come stay at the Castle with me, and we’ll do it differently. We’ll take it slower, and I’ll spoil you and treat you like a treasured Kitten.”

“Huh?”

Prince Rainier sat and drew Felix against him. “Let me take care of you and spoil you. If this morning hadn’t happened, I would have done it anyway when I came here. If you come home with me, you can live in my rooms, and I can spoil you much more.”

“I thought your Mum wouldn’t like that.”

“She’ll give me lecture, and I’ll live. Also, I’ll give you eight thousand lan for it, and we’ll take it slower, all right? We’ll skip the three days of strict training. You can go back to the whorehouse if you really want to, but I don’t think you’ll get any one-on-one care there, and you’ll have to work.”

Tab would give him a few days off, but he had the business to oversee in general and wouldn’t take care of him. Felix was friendly with the other whores, but they’d be working. He’d pretty much have to take care of himself because he wasn’t going home and telling Mother about this.

“I don’t want this to ruin you for pet play or anything kinky you might enjoy,” said Prince Rainier. “Besides, I want to take care of you and make sure you’re all right up here too.” He lightly tapped Felix’s head.

If he said no, he also wouldn’t get the lan because why pay him if he returned to the whorehouse? People didn’t dole out money for nothing.

“What if I want to leave later but it hasn’t been six months?”

“You can,” said Prince Rainier. “I didn’t buy you to have a prisoner.”

Tab would give Felix a few days if he needed it, and he did feel like having a break from working and worrying about what various strangers wanted. The problem was that he wouldn’t make money if he wasn’t taking customers. It wasn’t like he would starve, but still…

Honestly, the Prince hadn’t done a single wrong thing to him. Everything between them so far had been consensual and enjoyable. Lance was the problem, and the Prince had taken care of him.

Or so Felix thought.

“Let me see Lance,” he said in a firm voice.

“It’s not pretty,” said the Prince.

“I still want to see him.”

If Prince Rainier refused, maybe that had all been an act so Felix would trust him for some reason and agree to this. Perhaps Lance was fine in the kitchen. Completely trusting someone with no proof wasn’t too high on Felix’s list of the things to do after what just happened.

Prince Rainier helped Felix up and led him into the kitchen. Sure enough, Lance was unconscious on the floor and hogtied. His nose had been bloodied, and he’d probably end up with a wicked shiner.

“It was a bit easy to knock him out with a couple of punches because he wasn’t so keen on beating me up at first.” Prince Rainier lifted one hand and a few sparks of electricity danced around his fingers. “Hitting royalty is usually a bad idea, so I got the first strikes in.”

That sounded like Lance had hit back, but the Prince could heal himself, so it wouldn’t be as big of a deal.

Some blood was on the floor, and a few things had been knocked off a shelf that held dishes and glassware. It seemed the Prince hadn’t wanted Felix to see the evidence of the violence. They both went into the sitting room.

“He’ll never touch you again,” said Prince Rainier. “I promise. Please come with me. Let me spoil and take care of you.”

“But why?” asked Felix. “Why are you so insistent that I come with you and still be your Kitten?”

“Because a good submissive shouldn’t be ruined,” said Prince Rainier.

“I’m not ruined!”

“I’m not saying you are, but I think a submissive who’s been mistreated should have time and be taken care of. Whores don’t exactly get long-term caretaking from anyone, and I think traumatic events might be worse when you always have new customers that you have to deal with. Every time you play with someone, you’ll have to learn what they like and want, and you’ll also be on your guard more for a while because this will be so fresh in your mind. You’ll pack this down in your head to focus on work, and I don’t think that’s healthy.”

He had a point there. It would be a lot easier to serve one guy who hadn’t done anything. If he was working, he would try to shove things back while he worried about what others wanted.

And honestly, it would be nice if someone took care of Felix for a change. He was always taking care of other men’s sexual needs, but nobody did anything for him beyond the basics. Even though he liked his work, he was rather like a toy to be set aside after a couple of hours. Customers came to Pierced Pretties to worry about their own pleasure first.

"Okay, but I’m not wearing a gag," said Felix. "Never again."

"I’ll never ask you to again."