Stray (21 page)

“You want me to make her some tea?” I finally asked, grabbing a robe from behind the bathroom door to wrap around Marnie’s shoulders.

“Not right now. Wait until I get home. For the time being, get her into bed and keep an eye on her. Cuddle with her. Talk to her. Keep her alert.” Dylan paused. There was a click, then a car door slamming shut. “I’m on my way now. I’ll be home soon.”

He hung up before I could form a reply. After turning off the portable, I threw it to the side, then carefully guided Marnie back into Dylan’s room. I sat her next to the bed, rolled down the covers, then helped her get settled. Her body shuddered as I bunched the blankets around her, and she didn’t let go of her collar.

I’d had some serious subdrops before, but they’d usually come shortly after subspace. This was almost two days since Marnie’s evening with Patrick, and I couldn’t remember my drops being this bad. Then again, I’d been pretty out of it, and I was sure Marnie was the same way. She could hear me and see me, but her mind wasn’t there.

Something inside her had switched since early this morning. She’d got up to see Dylan off to work. She’d seemed fine then, so she must’ve dropped after she’d returned to bed. I’d never seen someone else go through subdrop, but I knew how horrible it felt. I wanted to pull her out of it, but all I had to go by were Dylan’s short instructions. Tea would’ve helped. Marnie loved her tea, but leaving her side, especially right now, wasn’t an option.

 I lay behind her, on top of the covers, stroking her hair as I spoke. “Marnie, love, is there…?” I paused. Asking her if there was anything she needed would’ve overwhelmed her. I had to use more direct, yes-and-no questions. “Are you cold?”

She nodded.
Yes.

“Do you want another blanket?”

Marnie shook her head.
No.

“Are you thirsty?”

She nodded again.
Yes.
But she grabbed my arm when I went to pull away. “Stay.”

I settled back down. Dylan would be home soon. I continued down my list of questions, trying to keep her awake more than anything else. “Did you have a good time with Patrick?” I already knew the answer, but I asked anyway. She shuddered, then nodded. “You like him a lot, don’t you?”
Yes.
“Is he an old friend?”
Yes.
“An old Dom?”
No.
“Did you know him before you met Dylan?”
Yes.
I chewed at the inside of my cheek. “Have you been collared before?”
Yes.

I stopped asking questions. Marnie inhaled, her body shaking the slightest bit when she released it.

“Good girl,” I said, rubbing her arm. “Keep breathing. Just like that.”

Marnie closed her eyes. Let out a deep sigh. Her body shook a little less. With every breath she took, her body seemed a little calmer than before. Her flushed cheeks slowly returned to their normal colour. She coughed and rubbed at her eyes.

A car door slammed, followed by the front door opening and footsteps just inside the living room. The front door closed with a thud. I hugged Marnie.

“Alyssa?” Dylan called, dropping what sounded like a briefcase at the bottom of the steps.

“Up here,” I called, not moving from where I was.

The footsteps started again, getting even closer until Dylan’s face appeared in the doorway. He loosened his tie. Placed it on the dresser. Threw his suit jacket on the top of the bedpost.

He stood in front of Marnie, leaning over to kiss her on the lips. She stirred but didn’t open her eyes. Dylan and I exchanged glances.

“Does Patrick offer aftercare?” I asked him the question that had been on my mind since I’d seen Marnie’s bruises.

“He does.” Dylan nodded. “But sometimes no amount of aftercare can stop a subdrop from happening.”

He motioned for me to scoot over so we could keep Marnie between us. Marnie and I both moved closer to our side of the bed so he could join us. He didn’t take off any of his clothes. He didn’t even remove his shoes.

“Baby, what’s wrong?” Dylan asked, pressing his forehead to hers as he stroked her hair.

Marnie tensed. Relaxed. When she spoke, she sounded half asleep. “You left me.” Her breath caught in a dry sob.

“Shh. God, baby, I’m sorry. I had to go to work. You remember, don’t you?”

Marnie nodded. “You’re both going to leave me.”

I furrowed my brow and spoke before Dylan did. “Sweetie, neither one of us is going anywhere.”

“But you said you…you’re moving in. That M-master’s going to collar you.”

I buried my face in her hair. “Oh, sweetie. I’d love for Master to collar me, but we haven’t talked about that yet. And when we do, you’ll be there to talk about it with us.” I glanced up at Dylan, who was quick to respond.

“Baby, you know I’ll keep you forever. I thought you liked Alyssa.” His face twisted in pain, and I knew he had the same fear I did. Marnie didn’t want to be replaced. She didn’t want to share. Dylan’s heart would have to break again. “We talked about this, remember?”

“What about the wolves?” Her voice was so quiet I’d barely heard it.

“You mean at the kennel?” I asked. Marnie nodded. “You don’t want me to fight.” It wasn’t a question. This was what had set her off. She didn’t want me to fight the other wolves. Other subs like me. “I won’t fight if you don’t want me to. I was only doing it to help those poor wolves. There’s a bad Dom out there who shouldn’t be anyone else’s Master. You remember him?”

“Anthony,” Marnie whispered. We’d spoken about him many times before. “But what if he…? What if…?”

“I won’t let him hurt Alyssa,” Dylan assured her, his eyes wide when he looked at me. “You know I protect my subs. She won’t get hurt. She isn’t going to leave. Not unless you want her to.”

God, I hope she didn’t want me to leave. Her subdrop was beginning to make sense. She’d still been working off her high from subspace when we’d decided I was going to fight at the kennel. She’d been okay with it then, because at the time, it had felt right. But now that her subspace had worn off and she’d had time to think it over, she couldn’t stand the idea any more than Dylan probably could.

And while I hated the idea of not facing Anthony or speaking to this new sub of his, I wouldn’t go back to the kennel if it would make Marnie this uncomfortable.

“I’m going to make some tea,” I said, carefully getting up from the bed. The time between now and when I returned would be more than enough to catch my breath.

Chapter Twenty-Two

After our long talk with Marnie, we’d been able to get her calmed down. And by the following morning, she was back to her usual self. In the short two months we’d been together, the three of us had become a family in just about every sense of the word. It was no wonder she’d crashed the way she had, and while it had scared the hell out of us, I was glad she’d done it.

There had been questions she’d had—questions we’d
all
had—that we otherwise wouldn’t have asked. Things such as whether Marnie and I would still sleep in our own beds, or if I’d be moving in with Dylan. For now, we’d decided to keep things the way they were, from our daily routines to Dylan’s flogging schedule. Nothing had to change. Not yet. And until it did, we’d all agreed to keep the lines of communication open.

But what had really bothered Marnie was me going back to the kennel. She’d put a voice to concerns Dylan and I already had, ones we hadn’t cared to admit. I was scared. I didn’t want to face Anthony. Sadly, unless I wanted his abuse to continue with other subs, it was something I’d have to do—something the three of us would have to do.

So when Friday rolled around, we packed our things and headed back to the same hotel as before. Patrick joined us for support and to keep Marnie company if she needed it. Dylan and I were sitting on different ends of the bed, going over bits of information that by now, I’d completely memorised.

“When you see Anthony’s wolf, what are you going to do?” Dylan asked, his eyes drifting to everything in the room except me.

“Look for old wounds,” I began, staring down at my lap. “They’ll probably be on his back, hips or the front of his chest, so I’ll look there first.”

“And what will you do if you find them?”

“Come and find you. Depending on how bad it is, we might be able to bring Anthony out into the open just with that information alone. But if it isn’t, I’ll be fighting against him.”

“And if you have to fight, what will you do?”

“I’ll hold the same position of submission as the other wolf.” The rest of the details were scattered. It would all come down to what Anthony and his sub actually did.

I’d already begun to plan the next match in my head. After being abused by Anthony for years, I kind of knew how his mind worked. And if I could just get one step in front of him, we could save his newest sub, along with many more.

Dylan’s hand fell onto my shoulder, and I jumped. “Get some rest. Tomorrow will be here soon enough.”

* * * *

When the sun finally came up, I’d been awake for hours. Nightmares had haunted me, and after trying to get back to sleep for the third time in a row, I’d decided to give up, rationalising that I’d rather be running on a night of restless sleep than no sleep at all. At least then, my mind hadn’t been filled with fucked-up fears or some other stupid shit.

And once Dylan had rolled out of bed, we were on our way to the kennel. Marnie sat beside me in the back seat, looking from her window to me, then to Dylan and Patrick by way of the rear-view mirror. She held my hand. Squeezed it. Let it go. Put her hands in her lap. If I hadn’t known any better, I’d have said she was as nervous as I was.

Then again, in her mind, she probably had a lot more to lose if something ever did happen to me. She’d already seen Dylan when he’d lost a sub in the past. I didn’t doubt the fact that she was afraid of it happening again. Not because she thought I’d leave, but because whatever happened today would be completely out of our control as soon as we walked through those doors.

I shifted in my seat, taking in a deep breath when we pulled into the parking lot. Patrick was out of the car before anyone else. I followed shortly after him. Marnie was the last to get out, just as hesitant as she’d been when we’d left the hotel. Dylan draped an arm around her shoulders, removing her collar so she could hold on to it in case she felt the need to do so.

I hoped she wouldn’t drop this far away from home, but it was a high possibility. Especially since I was one of her triggers. Well, not me exactly, more like the idea of me fighting—getting hurt, or worse. I wanted to step in line beside her, but Patrick took my hand, guiding me inside before I had the chance.

“Dylan asked me to get you inside,” Patrick said as soon as we were through the doors.

I looked behind me. Dylan and Marnie had stopped a few feet from the building and were busy talking between themselves. This wasn’t going to be easy for any of us.

My eyes widened when I noticed another familiar Dom walking towards Dylan.
Eric?
I glanced at Patrick. “What’s he doing here?”

Patrick turned me back towards the reception desk. “You need all the support you can get.”

“You mean we need as many people to see this as humanly possible.” I glanced over my shoulder, but looked forward when Patrick took my hands.

“Right you are.” He forced a smile, his face pale. “Come on. Let’s get you signed in.”

I swallowed, bowing my head before we reached the desk.

“Is she here to fight?” the man behind the desk asked.

Patrick cleared his throat. “Go on, Alyssa.”

I didn’t move, speaking as calmly as I could. “Yes. My Master signed us up last week.”

“Name?” the man asked, repeating the same words I’d heard him say so many times before.

“Dylan,” Patrick replied, handing a set of fake papers over to him.

I furrowed my brow but said nothing else. While it wasn’t something we’d discussed, Patrick was taking Dylan’s place as my Dom. Temporarily, of course.

The man handed Patrick his papers along with a set of three bandanas. Every single one of them was green. “Second door on the right.”

Patrick pulled me to the side, gently stroking my hair as he tied the bandanas to my collar, loosening it in the process. “Do you trust us?”

I held back the urge to ask questions. He was my Master for now, even if Dylan was only a few feet away. “Yes, Master.”

“Good girl.” Then, leaning in so only I could hear he said, “Dylan will be waiting right outside here. Marnie will be acting along with him.”

“And Eric?”

“To keep the clerk busy.”

I nodded, and as soon as Patrick had opened the door, I stepped inside. Standing with my back against a wall, I ignored the obscenely long hallway I’d have to walk down. I wasn’t sure when all of this had been planned, but it made sense. My surprise from their change in plans caused me to look nervous—submissive towards Patrick. This had been necessary.

Once a Dom registered a sub to fight, he was responsible for appearing at the centre ring and staying there until the fight had ended. Though Anthony had seemed to be an exception to that rule last week.

That said, if Dylan had been down at the ring, I wouldn’t have been able to tell him about the other subs. At least now, with Marnie acting as his sub and Eric keeping the clerk’s attention, Dylan and I could discuss plans depending on what I found.

Granted, Eric or Patrick could’ve done the same thing, but Dylan knew me best. He knew what boundaries to push and when to pull me out of a dangerous situation. It would’ve been different if I’d spent more time with Patrick and Eric, but I’d only known them for a week.

Now I understood why Marnie had been so anxious in the car. She’d been going over her role. And together, she and Dylan had been distancing themselves from me since last night.
This was all planned. Trust your friends. Trust Dylan.

Shaking off what was left of my shock, I made my way down the hallway. In reality, every single one of the doors from the reception area led to the same place. They were designed to allow subs time to shift and collect their thoughts. This also meant none of the subs knew what the others looked like in human form, meaning I would be pretty much anonymous outside these walls.