Bless the Broken Road
Jesse felt a hand in the small of his back and resisted the urge to flatten his ears. As Masters went, this guy wasn’t all that bad, but it was the situation that had the werewolf on edge. He was being ‘gifted’ to some newcomer. Well… not new, exactly. The family was old. VERY old. Not surprising since they were a demonic bloodline. But the Shimada Clan had recently changed hands (or so he’d gathered from overheard conversations and slave gossip) and his Master was offering him up as a ‘welcome’ gift.
On one hand, he didn’t like this one bit. Not only would he have to earn a new Master’s trust… but the guy was a damn demon! On the other hand. A new Master gave Jesse new opportunities. After all, he wasn’t just some ordinary slave. Not anymore. He’d chosen to be here. He was gathering intel. This supernatural ring of elite Masters and their slaves was going down if it was the last thing he did. And if he failed to please this new Master… that time might be coming quicker than planned. His tail flicked unconsciously with agitation.
“Relax,” a voice whispered softly in one ear. “You know I would never give you to just anyone.”
A statement which meant nothing to Jesse. The demon’s prestige didn’t mean he’d be a good Master. The werewolf was only being gifted because he was the best slave his current Master had. To offer anything less would be an insult to the Shimadas. He said nothing in reply… he wasn’t expected to. Regardless of how much trust he’d earned with the man standing beside him, Jesse was still just a slave. His opinion in all of this didn’t matter one bit.
If Reyes had any clue what was about to go down, the vampire would’ve been here extracting him in a heartbeat. The entire organization had heard stories about the Shimadas and their ties to the slave trade. When he first found out what was going down, Jesse was tempted to ask for an extraction then and there… but he realized that it could be an amazing opportunity. Infiltrating the Shimadas? How could he pass that up? Jesse didn’t mind a little pain if it meant others might be saved from a life of slavery. Hell, it wasn’t like he couldn’t handle it. Being a werewolf made him resilient. Jesse was sure he could handle whatever some demon wanted to throw at him. Well… mostly sure, at any rate.
A small shiver ran through his body. It wasn’t that cold in the room… but he wasn’t moving around… and he wasn’t wearing much. His Master had chosen a theme he no doubt thought suited Jesse’s southern drawl. The werewolf wore a fringed, dark red leather thong tooled with a western pattern, a red bandanna which hung loosely around his neck, and a 24 kt nipple ring crafted to look like a miniature revolver. Beyond that, all he had to keep himself warm was his naturally furry self. Even in his human form, Jesse tended to be on the hairy side. Right now, he was somewhere in between wolf and man. Another request by his Master - supposedly in order to heighten his appeal. He wondered if the new Shimada demon had a thing for animal features. A lot of people did, he’d learned over the years. It was a mostly harmless and incredibly amusing fetish (at least to him.) Lupine ears protruded from Jesse’s head and a bushy tail of deep ruddy brown swayed gently at his lower back. All the rest of him was decidedly human. Jesse had suggested claws and teeth, too, but had earned himself a glare. No… it wouldn’t do to come off as threatening, would it?
The most frustrating thing about all of this (aside from the lack of clothes) was not being able to observe. Slaves were always expected to look down. It wasn’t just a deference thing, either. It was meant to protect Masters from people like him. After all, if a slave did manage to escape and make it to the authorities alive, it was much harder to identify a voice. Sometimes Jesse would risk it. But not here. Not when his actions could put him and his current Master in a dangerous position. So Jesse waited, eyes downcast, trying to take in everything he could about the proceedings.
And that was when he heard it. A voice that seemed to thrum through him, reverberating in his very core. Although he’d never felt the sensation before, instinct told him exactly what it was. WHO it was. His lifemate. Jesse struggled not to tremble. To force the instincts aside. No! It wasn’t possible! He was misreading himself. There was NO WAY his lifemate could be here! In a room full of people Jesse would gladly give up his life to destroy. Why would the Fates DO that to him?! He wanted to look up, to catch sight of who the voice belonged to… but it didn’t take long to figure it out. The Shimada demon - his new Master. Jesse’s heart plummeted. There was no helping it. He HAD to ask for an extraction now - had to distance himself as quickly as possible. This mission was beyond compromised… and the longer he stayed here, the harder it would be to walk away. And he would have to walk away at some point. Jesse couldn’t be a party to slavery… not even for the sake of his lifemate. Even now, the thought of leaving tore at him… and for the first time in his life, Jesse McCree hated being a werewolf.
@piercedflora
