He didn’t reply.
When I lifted my head, a dog’s face came into view. Dark stared down at me with purpose. The fierce force of his stare should’ve awoken me. “Hey, you.” I scratched behind his ear.
What time was it anyway? My body felt well rested, our bed super comfy, the pillows and comforters all filled with feathers so I’d sunk into them. In the shelter, we didn’t have this kind of luxury. I reveled in it while I could. With the house on lockdown, I couldn’t leave anyway, so I might as well.
I gasped, remembering that Vice had removed my collar last night, and I could leave. My fingers flew around my neck, and it felt…empty. I growled at that thought. I should feel free, not empty. I swung my legs, prepared to leave the bed, then groaned. Oh my. I’d slept well, not because of the comforters, but because of the soreness between my legs. Vice wore me out. I curled my toes, feeling the soft carpet, thinking of last night.
“Morning.”
“Oh!” I lurched up, twisted, then pulled the sheet to cover my nudity. Rey lay next to me on Vice’s side with headphones over her ears. Damn, I slept like a log. “Morning to you too,” I said. “Whatcha listening to?”
“Porn.”
Hm. Having never listened to porn, I crawled over the bed and pressed my ear to her headphones. A deep male voice boomed in my ears. I frowned, then recognized the voice. “Oh my God, Alpha Beast narrates porn.”
“You should hear his morning voice.” Rey wagged her eyebrows and slipped off the headphones. Remembering last night, I blushed like a schoolgirl, thinking of Vice’s monster cock and his filthy mouth. I cleared my throat. “What’s new?”
“You tell me.”
I knew she hinted at finding me naked in my bed, but I evaded. “Vice took my collar off last night.” Rey didn’t respond. “Yup.”
Silence resumed. Although Rey was a good friend to me, she also really liked Vice and hoped we’d get together.
“So,” she said, “what you’re up to now? The house is unlocked. You can come and go as you wish.”
“I’m going, but I’m not coming back.”
“You can come back, because he won’t be here.”
“What do you mean?” Where else would he be?
“He’s leaving for New City. You get the house and everything in it.”
I blinked. Wow. “He said that?” Oh man, I loved this house. No more sleeping on the bottom bunk and listening to whimpers from girls at all hours of the night.
“Mm-hm.” Rey shifted, looking a bit uncomfortable, and from the pinch of her mouth, I knew it wasn’t because of her belly. “Jamie found out I let you go and gave you the money.”
I hopped out of bed, uneasy. “How?”
“They all met in my kitchen and talked about the key you stole, what it means, what it’s for. Then Vice and Jamie got into it, something they’ve been doing lately, you know, fighting, so I said what I had to say. After, Jamie busted me for helping you escape and giving you money to boot.”
“Eek, how did that go?”
“Yet to be seen.”
“And the shelter?”
“They’ll provide for the shelter.”
“They will?”
“They assigned a beast…bitch to the project.”
“Well, they can’t assign her. It’s my shelter. I found it.”
“I know, so I came to tell you she’ll be stopping by.”
“Do they know where it is?”
“No. They hope you’ll tell them.”
“Never. They’ll want the pairs returned, and the pairs don’t want to be returned.”
“That’s what Jamie wants, but Vice doesn’t. Vice ordered the shelter provided for.”
“Jamie won’t do it.”
“Leave Jamie to us.” She patted her belly. “He’s fussing over babies, and soon he’ll have a full house. I believe he’ll be a hands-on kind of dad. Shelter will come second to the babies, I’m sure of it.”
I bit my bottom lip, thinking about this. If the shelter was provided for, Vice would see no reason for me to be active for the shelter. It was another way of placing me back into the house, keeping me in a home he’d bought for us so he’d know where I’d be. He gave the pairs at the shelter more security, knowing they’d be provided for. Still, I didn’t want anyone snooping around the shelter, and that was why I hadn’t even told Rey the location.
When I’d proposed we leave together the day she’d freed me from the house, she’d refused and given me a backpack loaded with money. If she didn’t want in, she didn’t need to know the location. I’d kept it a secret for this long, and I’d continue keeping it a secret. They’d never find out, because I’d deal with the beast girl. I didn’t trust her, and the pairs sure wouldn’t either. “I gotta tell them the news.” I walked to the closet.