Human Pets

Chapter Seven

The leopard narrows her eyes and scans through the crowd, analyzing faces and making assessments. She blinks and seems to drop any thought she had going and clears her throat. I look over her expensive looking outfit, maybe over kill for a place like this. No matter how elegant the place looks too. I begin feeling extremely underdressed looking at her, causing me to debate sneaking back into my room to change. I fight the urge and straighten up to get a better look at the surrounding people. Is Dereck and Dominic somewhere in this crowd waiting to hear what the leopard has to say?  

I can't spot any familiar faces from my quick look over the crowd so I grunt and slide back into my room, giving in to the urge I had and slip on something decent. I sigh, feeling more prepared. I catch the raised voice of a woman outside my door.  

I enter back out into the crowd to catch the leopard in the middle of her speech or whatever she intends it to be. Her voice is loud and commanding attention. Everyone is quiet and keeping eyes on her, absorbing every word that passes her lips. I shrug and decide to join in. Maybe what she is saying will be of some use.  

"I am honored to have so many pets be here in my hide out. At first I thought I would just be keeping runaways or homeless pet. Instead I have a numerous amount of rebels. Days have changed and power has gone to Master Gregor's head." She sighs. What's her connection with Gregor? I decide no matter how rich or powerful she is I am not trusting her until she proves otherwise. Dereck may be her pet and adores her but my judgments aren't clouded by ownership and it can't hurt to be cautious. She continues on, blabbing about the rebels and what not. I decide if I will get information, I will get it from Dominic, someone who I trust the most.  

Once she finished her speech the crowd began to dissipate in all directions. People were leaving and chatting in groups or heading for a nap in their room and etcetera. I lean onto my tip toes and manage to spot Dereck and Dominic walking against a flow of people towards the leopard lady. They seem to be bickering amongst one another about who knows what. They reach the leopard lady and exchange greetings. I watch closely as they all move up to the third floor into a room with a gorgeous door. I fume, how dare they leave me out! Ugh, what am I supposed to do all day except wander, nap and eat? I scan the room for any curious eyes on me. I spot no attention on me and begin weaving through the few people left over to the spiral staircase and make my way swiftly up the steps until I reach the third floor.  

All along the hallway there are little delicate looking lamps coming out of the walls illuminating the many doors. Unlike the door Dominic and the others entered, all the rest are just simple. I assume these simple door rooms contain more living quarters for the numerous people here. I wonder if their rooms are more extravagant than mine. I drop that thought and proceed onto slowly walking over to the elegant door and carefully lean my ear against the wood to hear their muffled conversation.  

"I'm surprised as to how many pets you have already gathered up Dereck." the leopard lady states. "You are truly taking this plan seriously, even though overthrowing Master Gregor will still require much more preparations. You won't be able to just waltz in and take him hostage." 

"I know, I know." Dereck sighs.  

"Well I'm planning that we don't take too long because if we do I'm sure that will give Gregor more than enough time to figure things out." Dominic chimes in.  

"Your brother is right about that." the leopard lady agrees. I hear one of the boys, possibly both, gasp with disagreement of how her response was phrased. I cup my mouth to keep from giggling. They do bicker like brothers, but Dereck and Dominic bring brothers by blood, impossible.  

"You may think I was making a comparison as to how you two act, but I was there when you two arrived. We got rid of one of you because we only wanted one. We gave the other brother to a retired assistant of Gregor's." the leopard lady explains and there is silence.  

"Harold." Dominic barely audibly mutters. I exhale slowly, remembering the horrible feeling of losing Scythe. I multiply that grief a few times and label it, Dominic's grief for losing Harold. Harold's passing was much more devastating than Scyth's. Gregor must be a cold blooded lion, if he was willing to kill a former assistant to obtain Dominic. Is he trying to gather pets as well for fighting or taking more control over the area? 

"Great, I am still confused to how I'm related to him, but it doesn't mean I have to be nice to him." Dereck breaks the silence of mourning. "I'm not sharing my room either." I assume the serious moment is over so I decide to make my appearance. I turn the knob slowly and open the door, poking my head in first.  

All their eyes lock on me then turn to the leopard lady. She keeps her eyes on me and slowly smile, showing off her white, gleaming, sharp teeth. I look her up and down quickly. Her spots contrast with her outfit and her eyes are mesmerizing, feline and framed by long thick lashes.  

"Your dazzling blue eyes, wavy blonde hair that hits your shoulders and a strong but delicate structure. His prized possession and sought after masterpiece. He claims he has stopped looking for his creation but I know it is a lie. What he would do just to have you in his reach once more." The leopard lady slowly shakes her head, "What he would do to me if he knew of my knowledge of your whereabouts and realized I kept it from him to help end his reign." My expression is definitely confused now and my mind is jumbled. What she said, needs further explanation.  

"Victoria, what do you mean by all that?!" Dereck has the same confused expression as mine.  

"I'd explain further my pet but I am on a time crunch. It is a pleasure to see you Elsie. Just make sure to keep the girl safe and out of sight." Victoria purrs then nods her head farewell to all three of us and departs. I hiss with frustration after the door shuts behind Victoria and glare at the floor.  

"I don't tryst her." I confess. Dereck's head snaps my way and he has a pained expression across his face. I sigh guiltily and look down. I murmur, "In my defense I barely know the lady." 

Dominic sighs from over in the corner curled up on an expensive looking chair.  

"Well we can always get answers from her tomorrow, she is coming back to discuss further plans on rescuing pets from the breeding centers." I nod slowly to Dominic's reasoning and let a grin slowly grow on my face.  

"True Dominic, I'm sure your brother here will be able to help get good answers out of Veronica." I glance back and forth at their faces to catch their reactions from my response. They both have sour looks on their faces, causing me to break into laughter.  

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After being tickle attacked by the brothers for my smart remark we left the expensive and elegant room and made our way to the first floor. I parted from them to return to my room and head to bed early. They nod me a farewell and I smile as I head to my room and close the door before taking a relaxing sigh. I clear my head of any worries and label them to be thought about at a later time. I strip off my clothes leaving them on the floor and slip on some thin comfy pajamas. I slide into bed and sigh with comfort as the bed slowly sinks in to shape to my body. I am about to turn off the lamp beside me when I catch something in the corner of my eye.  

I turn my head to spot Dominic leaning against the door to the main living area.  

"Dominic? What are you doing in my room?" I ask, confused to why he just didn't knock.  

"I have no room to stay in." He keeps his head down to hide it from ridicule.  

"Well...," I pat the empty space beside me," it couldn't hurt to have a bed buddy." I smile and coax him over like a frightened animal. He slide in under the covers and hesitantly wraps his arms around me. I am a bit thrown off at first but then I relax and shut off the light. I smile slightly and let him cuddle me further. I dwell in the strong hold of his arms and his slow breathing that causes his chest to rise and fall against my back. I blush and quickly shut my mind off as I realize how this situation good be quickly considered intimate to outside eyes. It's just a friend sharing her bed, just like Scyth did with me, right? I nod lightly to myself and doze off.