Chapter 2
I had grown into a teenager over the course of the next two days while Moros hadn't really known what he was supposed to do with me. He had fed me regularly even though he had needed several attempts at getting my diet right which had led to me heavily throwing up and writhing in pain because he had fed me citrus fruits and vegetables. We figured out soon that I was only able to eat meat with a side dish of potatoes, rice or noodles, although little amounts of something else was fine, it just made my stomach hurt.
He had ignored me the first day, trying to get his work done and telling me to stay out of his room but he soon had learned that this solved nothing since that didn't keep me away. I had sat in front of the door, clawing at the bottom of the door while whimpering loudly until he had cursed under his breath. He had let this continue for a few more minutes beore he had gotten fed up with me, opening the door again which made me purr content at receiving attention.
"Do you do anything besides whimpering?" He had snapped, glaring down at me. "Look what you did to the door! It's completely ruined now."
I couldn't have been prouder at having gotten him to finally pay attention to me and I hadn't felt the slightest bit bad for the messed up door while I had smiled up at him. I would have probably been completely fine, leaving and being on my own for the rest of the day but I had wanted to spend it with him. It hadn't been fair in my eyes that he had been at home the entire time and within my reach but he was ignoring me because he didn't want to bother with me.
"I want to be with you." I had declared, sneaking closer.
He had stared at me as if he didn't believe me and just stepped aside, letting me into the room with him. He had gone back to the bed where he had distributed files around himself and had sat down with a sigh, going back to filling out papers which had looked boring. I had creeped right up next to him, rubbing the side of my face against his arm before resting my head inside his lap and after a few minutes of hesitation he had started running his hand through my hair, ruffling my hair while I purred content.
I had been allowed close to him from then on and he let me follow him around the city without having to wear a leash like all the other pets had to. It had made me proud. The people had been turning around, whispering to each other when they saw us passing by but they hadn't dared approach us in fear of pissing off Moros. One afternoon we had run into one of his friends and they had hugged each other before the guy had whistled as he had laid his eyes on me hiding behind Moros.
"You have to be shitting me! Is that a dragon?" The guy had asked, clearly impressed. "Since when do you have one? How? I thought they were almost extinct?"
"Mom gave it to me for my birthday." Moros had boasted, showing me off to this stranger. "His name is Nael but he never listens to it."
The random guy had grabbed me by the tip of my tail, making me hiss in pain at him who dared to touch me while Moros chuckled amused. He had tried to make me perform tricks by offering me food but I had snatched my tail out of his grip and had gone back to hiding behind Moros with a frown. That dude had sucked and I would have heavily prefered if we had left but they had kept talking to each other and catching up on the recent events in their lives.
Apparently he had just broken up with his girlfriend because according to him she had been an annoying control freak, trying to micromanage his life. He had been bragging about how she had no clue about him going behind her back and having something going on with other woman and I had really disliked how he had spoken of her. In my opinion he had deserved to get dumped if he had cheated on her but Moros had just shrugged, not impressed by him.
"I wish I had one, man." He had laughed, smacking Moros on the back, "Since I broke up with Julia, I have been on a dry spell. Must be convenient to have one around all day."
I hadn't understood what that meant and for a while we had just lived together, enjoying each other's company. Soon I learned that Moros had a tendency to drink and while I had been glad he wasn't doing so at home, he had gone out to clubs, bringing me with him. The music had hurt my ears and the bright, flashing light had made me dizzy but that was nothing against coming home again. He had almost always managed to find a girl he could hook up with and I had hated it. I still hated it. I would hide underneath the bed, hoping everything was going to be over soon.
In the beginning it hadn't impacted me and I had just turned my nose up at the sounds they were producing but as I grew a few days older, an adult now by dragon standards, it had affected me. My body had picked up on his mood, how he was getting turned on by the naked woman in front of him and while they were doing it, it had me whimpering and panting in my hiding place while I had heavily cursed her. It hadn't been her fault but I had yet to figure out what jealousy was and I hadn't liked the empty feeling I had been left with afterwards.
He had a tendency to throw them out rather quickly afterwards which I appreciated but this entire situation had left me confused and agitated. I hadn't understood what I was feeling or why I was feeling it but it felt like it was my fault after a while. My brain had still been that of a child even though my body was that of an adult and it hadn't occured to me that I wanted him to do to me what he had done to her. Which hadn't stopped me from growing increasingly possessive of him and I had clung to him like bubble gum.
"Nael?" He always had called out for me afterwards.
I had left my hiding spot and had crawled up on the bed right next to him, pushing my naked stomach against his hand to get some belly rubs while I had curled up tightly. I had let out a satisfied chuff when I had received what I wanted and had taken a playful nip at his forearm which made him huff annoyed in return. I had kept nibbling and gnawing on his arm until he had grabbed me by the chin, forcing me to stop and look at him to which I had immediately submitted to him, presenting my stomach to him.
"You are weird." He had remarked and I had purred up at him.
I had the genius idea one day that nobody was going to go home with him if I tried to bite their ankles every time they tried to come close. In the darkness of the clubs I had felt safe and it had worked for a while until he eventually had figured it out which had led to him not taking me with him anymore. He had locked me in a room and had told me to sit until he came back which I obviously hadn't done and I had dragged my claws over everything in the room, pushing things off the shelves and making feathers rain from the ceiling as I had ripped the pillows apart. Then I had sat on my butt and waited for him to come home.
He hadn't been pleased. I had to help clean up the mess I had produced and from then on, he had locked me in the same room, just no furniture or anything to keep myself occupied with. Just an empty room I could go crazy in to my heart's content. I had dragged my claws over the walls but soon learned that it would just hurt me since my claws had been breaking off. In the end I had just sat there impatiently, waiting for him to let me out again, so I could cling to his leg again.
I had convinced him or better had forced him to stay home one night because I hadn't wanted him to go out and find another woman he'd just use. He had reluctantly agreed after I had pretended to eat a lemon and curled into a ball on the ground, yipping and whining until he couldn't take it anymore. He had rolled his eyes at the prospect of having to care for me but I had almost burst with excitement. All that had mattered in that moment had been him staying with me.
"Idiot, you know full well lemons will give you a stomach ache." He had sighed, handing me a hot water bottle.
I had purred loudly as he had sat down on the bed next to me, curling my tail around his arm so he wouldn't be able to leave again if he had decided otherwise. He had sighed heavily, snapping his fingers to make a glass of the smelly, gold liquid that I hated so much appear in his hand. He had nipped on it before he had sat it down on the nightstand beside the bed, running his hands through my hair while I had chuffed satisfied. If I could have made him stay with me, I'd would have been happy.
He had managed to get more and more drunk over the course of the night since that was what he usually did and I had watched him, happy that he hadn't dragged me out of the house to the loud noises. I also hadn't known how to approached the topic and just decided on trying what I had learned from watching him and other woman and rely mostly on what Nyx had taught me during my stay wtih her.
I had inched closer to him, waiting for him to tell me to go away but he had just kept ruffling my hair while he had seemed to let his thoughts wander. I had waited a little longer to avoid pissing him off before I had crawled up his side, pushing my head underneath arm and into his armpit so he was forced to awkwardly hug me to his side. He had sat down the glass next to the now mostly empty bottle and I snuck the tip of my tail up his leg, rubbing it against the inside of his thigh.
"What are you doing?" He had asked, confused.
I had made myself as small as I could while purring up at him. I hadn't wanted to upset him and had rubbed my face against his chest while he had awkwardly stared at me as if he couldn't understand what I was up to. It had taken me a few more minutes and getting a little more direct to convey to him what I had wanted and in retrospect I was sure he would have bashed my head in if he hadn't been as drunk as he had been back then. In the end he had pushed me off him and told me to leave him alone.
The rest of the night he had ignored me and I had curled up next to him, whining until he had gotten mad at me for keeping him awake. He had grabbed me by the back of my neck and teleported over to his mother's house as the sun breached the horizon, banging on the front door. After a few minutes Nyx had shown up, dressed in a simple, olive green greek gown and pissed that she had to get up this early but she had invited us in regardless.
"What is it?" She had asked, mustering me. "Is something wrong with him? Is he sick?"
I had tried to show off my best behavior and how I followed the daily routine she had taught me but soon enough a crow had landed on one of the window sills, catching my interest in no time. The window had been open and it had hopped inside, parading around while it cawed at me as if I was the intruder. I had growled at it with perked wings and tail whipping around behind me, getting on all four to be able to hunt it down and make it my breakfast.
"He keeps doing weird stuff." Moros had grunted.
"Weird?" She had inquired, raising an eyebrow. "What's he doing?"
"I don't know, whining until I spent time with him?" He had complained.
"That's normal." She had explained, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "He is bred to want your attention and he is going to try everything he can come up with to get it. It is going to get a little better once he is a few months older, though. Just be patient."
I hadn't known what that meant but I had been fine with it since she hadn't sounded like she had been angry with me. Instead it had sounded more like she was amused by my antics and how I was keeping him busy. The crow soon had gotten my attention back since it had attacked my tail and tried to loosen a black scale, making me shriek. I had bared my fangs at it and had started running after it again, trying to get a hold of it to make it pay for attacking me.
"Well, I didn't know he was going to try to hump me?" He had huffed, watching me chase after the crow.
"Do you want me to take him back?" She had wanted to know while I froze up. "If you are dissatisfied with the product I can return him? I can get you something else for you birthday of course."
I had scurried over as fast as I could, wrapping my arms and tail around his leg tightly and looking up at him, giving him puppy eyes. I hadn't wanted to be separated from him and that hadn't changed over the course of the years. I still had that desire to be with him, to make him happy and back then it had scared the crap out of me just thinking he would want me to leave him alone. Luckily, he had never asked me to leave and I got to spent a few years with him.
"No, I... I don't know?" He had mumbled, petting my head. "Not really. He keeps tearing up my stuff and destroying everything if I leave him alone for more than a few seconds. I don't think he could cope with that."
"He wants to be with you and if you leave him alone he gets separation anxiety, Moros." She had sighed. "Take him with you or work with him until he learns how to stay home alone. He is too young to know better."
I had tightened my grip on him, chewing on his pant leg approvingly. He had dropped his hand on top of my head, just resting it there and I had purred loudly, rubbing my face against his leg. Nyx had been watching me and I had partially hid behind him but she hadn't done anything and had actually smiled at me. I had assumed I had been doing everything the way she wanted me to and had hoped I was right.
"I guess." Moros had huffed. "He broke off most of his claws and managed to get his fingertips bloody by scratching against the walls."
"Show me." She had demanded.
I had tried to get out of it without having to show her but she had huffed at me and in the end I had presented my messed up fingertips to her. She had sighed disappointed and took my hands, letting her magic run through it. I watched the torn skin stitch itself together, the broken claws repair themselves and return back to their smooth, normal self. I had let out an excited chirp, showing Moros how my fingers were fine again who had given me a impatient smile, being annoyed by me.
"I didn't know how much work it was going to be." He had huffed quietly. "How much attention he needs."
"It's a lot of work but the payout is even greater." She hummed. "He won't ever betray you. He will carry and raise your children. What more do you want?"
He had looked down and I had purred back up at him even though I hadn't known what that was supposed to mean yet. A few weeks later we had started sleeping together and it had seemed like everything was going to be fine from then on. He had let me spend more time with him, he had looked like he enjoyed my presence and I had enjoyed being with him and receiving attention. He had even cut back on drinking so much.
I had gotten pregnant at one point, several years later, instantly knowing what had happened and I had almost burst with joy. I hadn't instantly told him, instead I had curled up on the bed while he was sleeping, rubbing my stomach. I had been wondering whether it was going to be a boy or a girl, if the baby was going to look more like me or more like him. I had spent the rest of the night coloring my future with my child, dreaming what it was going to be like and if Moros would be happy with what we made together. I couldn't have been happier.
He hadn't been excited, he had been insanely angry. He had yelled at me as if this was my fault, as if I had somehow tricked him into this. I had tried to flee the room but he had caught me by the tail and had trapped me with his arms while I had tried to squirm myself out of his hug. It hadn't worked and he had dragged me to one of the doctors working for him. I had overheard them talking about getting rid off the baby which had set me off even more.
I had screamed, I had cried but to no avail. Moros had been holding me down while the doctor's assistant placed the anaesthesia mask on my face. I had tried to fight the sleepiness taking over my body, I had pleaded everyone around me to not do this, I had wanted to keep her. But they hadn't listened and I had woken up a few hours later, feeling nothing. I couldn't feel the baby anymore, I hadn't been able to feel anything beside numbness while Moros carried me home.
I never forgave him.
I hadn't wanted to touch him after that. I had tried to mourn the loss of my baby and nothing he had done could cheer me up, I had just spent the day bawling my eyes out while he had ignored me and my night giving myself another reason to hate myself even more the next morning. I had still wanted to make him happy once around him, I'd still let him touch me but as soon as he had left, I had wanted to rip my skin off and slit his throat.
Somehow I had learned to cope in the end. The pain hadn't threatened to paralyze me anymore, most of the time I could make it through the day without any major incidents. There were bad days though when he tried to pet my hair and I'd completely snap, going for his neck to rip his throat out. He had never been able to understand why I reacted like that and he had to physically restrain me because in those moments, I had wanted to draw blood. I'd usually get hurt in these altercations but that was nothing compared to the emotional pain I had to endure.
I eventually just spent the next years trying to make him happy to the best of my ability when he was around and hating myself for not being given a choice and taking all the abuse with a smile while he wasn't around. It was like night and day, like I had two personalities while one took over if he was around and the other one plotted his murder and how to be free off him if he left.
When he was around, nothing could make me happier than seeing him smile. My only purpose in life was to keep him happy. I'd cook for him, help with cleaning, protect him while he was sleeping and slept with him whenever he wanted. I'd do anything and expected nothing in return, I was fine with him being happy. I'd rip my wings out and eat them if I had to. I didn't mind that he yelled at me, threw things after me if he was angry or hit me once in a while. Any attention from him made me happy.
As soon as he left though, the effect of his presence wore off. I cursed his existence, I wanted to see him dead for what he had done to me, I smashed his things, I got really angry and tried to take it out on myself. Then I'd get punished for misbehaving and hurting myself and I gladly promised to never to it again since he was here now and just his presence alone made everything okay again. I was instantly back to making mooneyes at him and would never do anything that upset him.
Until he'd leave again. I'd plot how I could escape this hell that was my life, how to kill him and I had been ready to slash his throat on several occasions but every time I stood over him in the dark, knife clutched tightly, I couldn't do it. I couldn't bring myself to hurt him and curled up next to him, purring to keep the nightmares he had at bay since that sound calmed him down. And I hated myself even more for that and I hated him even more to the bottom of my black soul.
When I met Collin, my life had gotten a little better. In the beginning I had been ready to tear his throat out when he had broken into the mansion and waking me up by covering my mouth so I couldn't scream for help. He had easily overpowered me and promised me to not hurt me if I didn't scream. My first instinct had been to agree and ask him if he could take out Moros for me. Unfortunately, he had to deny that.
He had started coming by every night from then on, bringing me gifts and telling me about the world beyond my home, asking if I wanted to see it one day. I somehow managed not to tell Moros about his visits and he didn't find out for two months until I had started trusting Collin and I had willingly let him abduct me. He brought me back but Moros had already noticed I had gone missing and was rather upset when he found out who had taken me.
Everyone around me kept telling me how dangerous he was and how I shouldn't hang out with him but as far as I could tell, he was only interested in having fun with me. I didn't care about other people's opinion as long as he wasn't being mean to me and treating me alright. He even protected me from Moros and him taking out his anger on me. Additionally, I didn't want to give him up. He was my one and only friend.
Though none of that mattered anymore. I had crawled underneath Moros' bed, hiding where the bed connected to the wall. That was four days ago. I refused to eat, spent most of my day sleeping and trying to ignore the pain of each of my organs shutting down one by one. Moros tried keeping it a secret from me but I knew I was very sick. He made me eat medicine, tried to take the pain away as best as he could and kept telling me I was going to be fine again but I knew.
I was dying.