He kept his word. He didn't touch me for the rest of the day.
Of course, that might have just been because I did absolutely everything that I could to make sure that I stayed out of his way.
He kept his almost uncaring demeanor around me, but I didn't dare let my guard down.
So instead I kept myself in the corner of the room, sitting near the cage and just watched him.
The cage that I assumed I would be spending a good amount of time in.
Or maybe very little time since apparently I wasn't going to be his for now.
I was actually surprised that he hadn't put me in there by now.
He did say something about not knowing what to do with a pet, so maybe that had something to do with it.
Or he was trying to get me to let my guard down...
Either way, when the day came to an end, he did make me sleep in there.
He rarely spoke and when he did, it was almost always about that girl he likes.
In fact, that's all he talked about while at lunch, dinner, and then breakfast the next morning to his brother who seemed to care about anything but what my Master was saying.
His brother didn't seem to care about... anything really.
Being in Master's lap during meals was extremely off-putting.
Every once in awhile I'd feel his breath against my neck and my heart would immediately start racing in fear that he was going to feed from me again.
Regardless of what he said, that fear still lingered.
At least the food they gave the pets was good...
"So I told Layla to meet me in the gardens so I could give her her gift, pretty romantic right?" My Master said.
Nico's brows furrowed as he gave my Master a sideways glance.
"Gift?" He questioned.
I guess he didn't know.
"Yeah," Master responded, gesturing both of his hands to me.
I shrunk back uncomfortably.
Nico just lazily shifted his gaze between me and Master.
Despite the lazing, his eyes held a sharpness to them that made a chill run up your spine just looking at them.
Maybe that's why Dahlia always looked so tense.
Well, that's how basically all of the pets in this dining room looked like that.
"You bought her... for Layla," He spoke as if asking if he heard my Master right.
"Yup," Master responded, leaning back into his chair with a stretch, "I figured since she killed her last one so quickly, I could get her a new one myself. To show her I care, y'know?"
Both Dahlia and I blanched at his words, Dahlia sending me a soft look of pity.
My next breath came out shaking.
I don't know why I got my hopes up about Layla keeping me alive.
Maybe I was different, since Master did say I was the perfect pet for her.
I kept telling myself that to stop myself from completely breaking down.
Nico just stared at him for a moment, before continuing to pick at his remaining food.
"Oh. That explains why you just suddenly wanted a pet." Nico stated.
"Yeah. I have no idea how to own one since Mom and Dad just kept blood slaves everywhere on our floor."
Nico shrugged, "It's not hard. Just feed them and keep them healthy. It's not like they actually do anything, they're all trained from birth to do this."
"I guess," Master replied, "Maybe one day, but definitely not today. Anyway, do you think she'll like it?"
"Sure," Nico replied plainly, obviously not caring either way.
Master apparently didn't catch that tone.
"Sweet! I should probably go get ready then."
I stood before he could tell me to and he stood soon after.
"Wish me luck bro. Not that I'll need it," He remarked pridefully.
Nico blinked at him half-lidded.
"Good luck."
~~~
Every part of my body was quivering as Master lead me by least out to the gardens.
He dressed me up in a short, black dress and placed a silver bow in my hair.
Like a present.
He seemed excited about this, meanwhile, I was more than hoping that she wasn't going to show up.
That, like all my other recent hopes, quickly blew away with the winter breeze.
I spotted a slender figure in the distance, only concluding that it was Layla judging by his reaction to seeing her too.
"Layla!" He called out, picking up his pace as he sent her a wave.
I struggled to match his sudden pace change, slowly making out the waving figure ahead of us.
My eyes widened once I got a clear shot of her.
She was gorgeous.
Her long blonde hair tossed lightly with the breeze, causing her to tuck it away from her golden eyes.
Her lips turned up into a small smile.
"Hey Alex." She spoke once he reached her.
Alex...?
"Thanks for meeting with me," Master began, "I know life as an heir can be hectic."
She dismissed his words, "It's not as hectic when you're not the first in line."
"Yeah I know the feeling," He replied.
I froze.
They're both heirs?!
One would think that might be good news, but it made me feel worse.
Usually, the children of the Lord's and Lady's have pets that are exceptionally well trained and treated fairly well compared to the rest.
It was a life that most pets dreamed about.
Yet I had nothing but a completely awful feeling about this.
My hands tightened on each other as I kept my head down, snatching glances of Layla whenever I could.
"Is Nico terribly busy because of that?" She asked.
Master seemed caught off guard from her question, but shook his head, "No not at all. Ever since we moved here, the only job he gave Nico was to find a wife."
I nearly missed the flash of excited surprise cross her face, "Interesting."
It was just one word, but even through that, it sounded like that was the best news she had ever heard.
"Anyway," Master spoke, " I wanted to meet you here because I got you something."
"Oh?" She questioned.
"Yeah. I heard that you recently lost your last pet soooo," He placed a hand on my back, forcing my feet to move when that's the absolute last thing they wanted to do, "I got you a new one."
Layla looked at me wide-eyed, apparently shocked that he was doing this.
She was silent for a minute before she spoke again.
"O-oh," is all she said.
"Yup! I picked her out myself based on her blood. Plus I know you like the pretty ones-"
"You think she's pretty?" Layla but in.
Master paused.
I didn't know whether to take offense to that or not.
"Well, sure. For a human and compared to the other ones in there," he responded, "So that, mixed with her taste and reaction to fear. I think she'll be a perfect fit for you."
She looked me over for a moment.
"Alex. as much as I... appreciate this, I actually already got myself another pet."
I nearly blew out a sigh of relief.
"What?" he asked, his voice a bit higher than usual.
"Yeah," she responded before turning and whistling a single note.
Both Master and I turned towards the sudden rustling of a bush behind her, watching as a pale human walked towards us almost robotically.
Her hair was somehow even lighter than Layla's, her eyes a deep blue.
She too was admittedly gorgeous.
I guess she does like the pretty ones.
The girl walked right up to Layla, her hands clasped at her front.
Her small voice spoke, "You called, Mistress?"
I grimaced at the obvious lack of emotion in the girl's voice.
Layla pet back the girl's hair before looking back at Master.
"This is Grace. I got her from one of the pest shops in town," She began, confusing me since I thought the one I came from was and I had never seen this pet before, "They train their pets so well that I don't even need a leash. Apparently, they do some sort of psychological thing once they turn a certain age that prevents them from doing anything but obey."
I swallowed hard at the thought of that.
Looking back at the pet, her eyes were beautiful, but they looked completely dead, and just stared straight ahead at nothing.
The looking over the girl's porcelain skin, I easily spotted the red fang marks.
Except instead of two puncture wounds, these were more like tears across the skin.
I nearly took a step back.
"And as much as I appreciate your gift, I just don't think that I can handle two pets," She concluded.
A wave of relief rushed through me at her words, despite the small amount of deceit I sensed.
"Oh, um. Yeah no, of course, I get it."
And now I sensed a strange sense of sadness in his.
"Although," She spoke again, causing Master to perk up, "What's her blood type?"
"AB positive," He responded immediately.
"Oh really." She chimed, her sudden interest in me causing all of the nerves I had let go to return in the blink of an eye, "That is one of my favorites... Grace is AB negative, which is good but isn't as sweet as AB positive..."
She went quiet again, apparently now thinking over Masters offer.
The hair at the back of my neck stood as the seconds passed.
I didn't want her to own me.
I didn't want her anywhere near me.
The perfect pet for her or not, I had a horrible feeling about her.
I'd rather stick with the Master I have.
"How about this," she began taking a step towards Master, "I'll use her as my pet, but you keep her at your place. That way its easier for me to manage, and you too can use her whenever you want."
My stomach dropped, the last positive thing I could think about this situation disappearing.
"Although... I guess that means I'll have to come over whenever I want to use her and I'd hate to be a bother."
"I'm fine with that!" Master blurted out.
A vile grin crossed her lips, like this was part of some plan she had.
Master didn't seem to notice.
How could he have not noticed?!
Her featured turned back to one of innocence.
"Really?"
"Yes, truly I really don't mind. I've never really kept a pet in my room, but I'll start if that's what you want."
She nodded taking another step towards him, placing a hand on his chest.
"Its a deal then. Thank you, Alex. I'm sure I'll see you soon."
Without another word, she walked away, her pet following behind her.