“This is a big mistake,” Val muttered to herself as she stood outside the door. It was the kind of thing she never would’ve dreamed of doing just a few days ago. Normal people didn’t go to this part of Prism City, didn’t talk to those people. Even the cab driver wouldn’t get within four blocks of the place.

But that was before Val woke up with the bite. Before she felt her body changing, her muscles growing stronger, her teeth aching as the fangs came in. She tried to deny it, but as the full moon grew nearer and the symptoms grew more and more obvious, she eventually had to confront the reality that she wasn’t going to be normal anymore. And if she was in the world of monsters, she may as well do as the monsters did.

Val took a deep breath and stepped through the front door. She wasn’t quite sure what she expected – maybe some bizarre ritual, or some kind of unchecked, grotesque hedonism. Instead, it looked like almost any other bar in the world. Perhaps a bit small, but it was probably among the nicer bars in the city; at least the floor wasn’t sticky.

She scanned the room, seeing if there was anyone who seemed approachable. She was never good at striking up conversations with strangers, but even if she was, it seemed that everyone was in their own groups. How am I even supposed to talk with these guys? She thought to herself. “Hi, nice to meet you, how’d you all get turned into werewolves?”

Val wandered over to the bar and sat at a stool that was reasonably far away from everyone else. Might just sit on the sidelines for now, until I get a feel for this place. Her eyes wandered around, taking in the décor. Now that she was really paying attention, she could pick out more signs that this was indeed the monster bar, not the least of which being the giant mural on the far wall. It was a brazenly copyright-infringing take on the Universal monsters – Dracula, the Wolf Man, and the like – in harsh neon colors, their glow enhanced by an array of blacklights above them.

“First time?” Val almost jumped out of her seat when she heard the voice speaking to her. She turned around quickly, expecting it to come from someone right next to her, but to her surprise they were down about four stools from her.

“Christ,” Val muttered, taking a deep breath to calm herself. “Still not used to my hearing being so sensitive…” She cleared her throat and spoke more loudly. “Yeah. How about you?”

“Oh, lord knows I’ve been coming here too long,” the other woman chuckled. “Well, maybe the one downstairs might know a little better.” Val hadn’t spent much time around monsters, but even she knew that this lady was a vampire. If her unearthly pale complexion wasn’t enough of a clue, then her yellow eyes would’ve definitely tipped her off. She wore a black, slightly frayed jacket over a white blouse, with black leather pants that hugged her like a second skin. Her hair was white and styled into a side cut, one side buzzed and the other hanging loose a little past her shoulders.

Val scratched the back of her neck and looked down at the countertop. “Well, I’m not really looking to hang out with vampires. Know any, uh… werewolves?”

The woman raised an eyebrow. “Huh. Don’t think we’ve seen any wolves around here in…” She trailed off, rubbing her chin. “Ugh, you’ll have to excuse me, my memory’s not quite what it used to be.” She leaned over the counter and flagged the bartender.

The bartender seemed to be about the same age as the other woman – at least, the same visible age. She sauntered over, grabbing a bottle of whiskey and a glass from the rack as she approached. She was dressed casually, a black sleeveless crop top over denim short-shorts, and her long locs stretched about halfway down her back. Her dark brown skin seemed cooler than it should be, a touch ashen, but when Val saw her eyes she understood why. They were the same eyes as the other woman, yellow and hungry.

“Really, Weiss?” the bartender sighed. “You haven’t even finished your glass and you’re already asking me for another one?”

“No, it’s not that,” the woman – Weiss, evidently – replied. “Just wanted to ask, when’s the last time we had a werewolf in here?”

The bartender shrugged. “Probably at least a couple years.” She turned to Val and smirked. “Spoke too soon! We’ve got one right now!”

“I knew that, Patricia,” Weiss groaned. “It is curious, though. Just about every monster in the city either comes here or knows someone who comes here. Do you have any idea who bit you, miss… what did you say your name was?”

“I didn’t,” Val replied tersely. She stood up and excused herself before wandering off, finding the bathroom off behind a staircase.

She walked inside and splashed some water on her face in the sink, staring at her reflection in the dirty mirror. “The fuck am I doing here…” she muttered to herself, rubbing her forehead in frustration. I thought maybe someone here might be able to help me, give me some advice on how to handle this… condition. But if what that vampire says is true, they haven’t had anyone like me in here in a while. Not that I’m too surprised, she wouldn’t go to a place like this, but–

Val’s train of thought was interrupted by the door swinging open, and a familiar face popping up in the mirror behind her. “Thought your kind didn’t show up in reflections,” she said.

“Depends on the mirror,” Weiss replied. “Most of them aren’t made of silver anymore, though, so we show up just fine.” It bothered Val a bit that she couldn’t quite place this woman’s accent; there were hints of English, maybe some Eastern European?

“What do you want?” Val grunted, glaring at Weiss’s inverted image. “If you’re looking for a blood bag, you’ve got the wrong gal.”

“My, how rude!” Weiss gasped. “What do you take me for, some sort of addict?”

“I know how you people are,” Val growled, turning around and facing Weiss directly. “The cops might tolerate you going around, drinking from whoever you please, but you try that shit with me? Well, I might just have to test the limits of your supposed ‘immortality.’”

“We’re not immortal,” Weiss hissed, stepping closer and invading Val’s personal space. “Time’s just slow for us.”

“Yeah? So how old are you, then?”

Weiss grinned, and at this distance Val could make out her fangs clear as day. “About thirty. Give or take a zero.”

“You’re pretty tall for a three-year-old,” Val smirked.

“Oh, you’re funny,” Weiss chuckled. “I vaguely recall there being some sort of feud between vampires and werewolves a while back – long before your time, though, and probably a bit before mine too. Granted, that involved more blood and ripping limb from limb and less petty sniping, but I’d like to think your predecessors would be proud of you for keeping up the good fight.”

“Fuck off!” Val growled, grabbing Weiss by the shoulders and shoving her up against the wall. “Don’t lump me in with them! I might have this… this curse, this disease, whatever you want to call it. But I’m not one of them!”

Weiss gasped and let out a low purr. “Wow, when did you say you got bit? Your strength is coming in quite well.”

“I’m not telling you anything,” Val seethed.

“No?” Weiss cocked her head to the side and pouted. “A pity. You seem like you could be a lot of fun, once tamed. Or, perhaps ‘housebroken’ is more appropriate?”

Val felt her cheeks burn. “F-Fuck you!”

“Is that an invitation?”

It happened so fast Val didn’t quite know what had happened. One second, her hands were clutching the fabric of Weiss’s jacket; the next, one of them was embedded in the bathroom wall, the tile cracked around where she’d punched through it. Weiss’s head was tilted to the side, her eyes flicking between Val’s face and her forearm. “Care-ful~” Weiss said in a sing-song. “You don’t want to get hit with a repair bill, do you?”

“I…” Val’s heart was racing. When had she started breathing so heavily? She pulled her arm out of the wall, wiping the dust off on her jeans. Fuck… if she wasn’t a vampire, I could’ve killed her… She clenched her fist tightly. Dammit! This is why I wanted to find someone else! I need to control this so I don’t hurt anyone!

“Something wrong, dear?” Weiss asked. “It’s only a wall, you know, it’s nothing serious.”

“I know that!” Val spat. “Just… just leave me alone!” She turned towards the door, but suddenly Weiss was in front of her, barring her exit.

“Oh, I will,” Weiss replied. “You’ll never see me again, if you don’t want to. I just want one thing first.”

“Go. Away.”

Weiss rolled her eyes and sighed dramatically. “Why must you make things so difficult? All I want is one tiny, simple thing, and you won’t even let me ask for it!”

“I don’t care what you want,” Val growled. “What I want is for you to step aside so I can get the hell out of here.”

“Fine, then. If you won’t give it to me…” Weiss grinned hungrily, baring her fangs. “Then I suppose I’ll just have to take it.”

Val’s eyes widened. Oh, fuck… is she gonna… feed from me? She stepped back and clutched the sink tightly, her knuckles almost as white as the porcelain. “S-Stay away from me…”

“Aw, don’t be scared,” Weiss purred, closing the distance between them. “It won’t hurt a bit. In fact, you might even like it.”

“I mean it!” Val shouted. “I-I’ll…”

“You’ll what? Hurt me?” Weiss giggled and placed a hand under Val’s chin. “Darling, I’ve been through every kind of hurt there is. Nothing you do could even leave a mark.”

Val felt frozen. Her heart seemed like it was going to explode from beating so fast, and she could hear the porcelain sink cracking from her grip. “B-But–”

“No ‘buts,’” Weiss said sternly. “No more talking.” She suddenly grabbed the sides of Val’s face and pulled their foreheads together, her yellow eyes staring directly into Val’s. “Just shut up and stare.”

“What’re you…” Val gasped. Suddenly, Weiss’s eyes weren’t yellow anymore. Or… were they, still? She couldn’t tell anymore; they seemed to shift and shimmer, drawing her attention into them like they were swallowing her whole. Her mouth parted slightly as her eyelids drooped, her shoulders going slack and her hands letting go of the sink and flopping lifelessly at her sides. She lost all sense of where she was, what was happening. All she could do was fall, endlessly, into the vampire’s gaze.

“Much better,” Weiss said, and her words echoed and boomed like thunder; Val didn’t just hear them, she felt them, deep in her soul. “Now, tell me. What is your name?”

“Valerie,” Val whispered, her own voice seeming miles away. “Valerie Vaughn.” She didn’t think about what Weiss asked her. She wasn’t thinking at all. She could only do, only follow, only obey.

“Vaaaalerie…” Weiss purred, seeming to savor every syllable. Her eyes closed, and Val was back in herself again. She shook her head and stared, dumbfounded, at the woman in front of her. What the hell was that? Some kind of… hypnosis? Can vampires actually do that? I thought that was one of those things they made up for the movies…

“Thank you,” Weiss said warmly. “That’s all I wanted. I… realize I may have made it sound more dramatic than I intended, but…” She cleared her throat. “Regardless, you’ve made it quite clear that you wish to leave, so you may go.” She stepped aside and motioned towards the door.

“Um… th-thanks.” Val stepped past the door and, avoiding the eyes of the bartender, walked through and then out of the bar. The cool night air hit her as she left the world of monsters behind. She let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding in and buried her face in her hands. Ugh, stupid! Fucking idiot! I’m letting my… this thing get the better of me.

She stared up at the moon. Waxing crescent… probably have about a week until… Val rubbed her temple and sighed. Dammit, I already have enough trouble keeping it together right now! Who knows what’ll happen when the full moon comes?

Val walked down the sidewalk back towards a main road, her mind a cloud of worry and anxious energy. And yet, even as she tried to put it aside, she couldn’t help but think back to her encounter in the restroom. How she’d let that vampire get under her skin, and worse, into her own mind. She could’ve done anything she wanted… and I wouldn’t have stopped her. She paused, stopping dead in her tracks. I mean, I wouldn’t have been able to stop her. Obviously, I wanted her to stop, but I couldn’t do anything.

…right?

“Don’t say anything,” Val muttered. She flopped down on the barstool, her cheeks already crimson before Weiss had even opened her mouth.

Weiss raised an eyebrow, but didn’t respond verbally. Val could clearly tell, though, how surprised she was to see her back in the bar.

Val cast her eyes firmly down on the countertop and fiddled with her shirt collar. It was one of the few things that still fit comfortably; the rest of her wardrobe felt tight, constricting. She knew why, of course. Anyone who saw her, even if they didn’t know what she looked like before she got bit, would be able to notice her large, bulging muscles.

They’d grown a lot over the past few days; actually, a lot of things about Val had been changing over the past few days. She hadn’t been sleeping well, for one thing, leaving her feeling cranky and exhausted most of the time. And even when she wasn’t tired, her temper was still on a short fuse, her aggression growing more and more pronounced as the moon slowly filled in night after night. She was starting to freak out her coworkers, and, if she was being honest, herself as well.

“What’ll it be?” a voice asked, snapping Val out of her self-reflection.

She looked up and saw the bartender. What was her name again… Patricia, I think? “J-Just a beer. Any kind, long as it’s in a bottle.”

“You got it,” Patricia replied. She flicked her eyes over to Weiss, who responded with a shrug.

What’s that about? Val wondered. Were they talking about me? Her face scrunched up in thought for a moment before the realization hit her. Oh… yeah, they probably would’ve, since I punched a hole in that wall… She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair, shaggy and matted from multiple nights spent tossing and turning.

The bottle slid across the countertop, stopping right in front of Val like she was in an old western. “Thanks,” she muttered, sneaking a sheepish glance at the bartender. She fumbled in her pocket for a moment and pulled out her keys, finding the bottle opener keychain – purple, her favorite color, though the paint or dye or whatever had long since rubbed off from the tooth – and popped her beer open. The cap went flying without much effort on her part, seeming to land somewhere in the rafters.

Val heard a giggle to her right, and her cheeks got even redder. “Beg your pardon,” Weiss said, clearing her throat. “Didn’t mean to laugh, it’s just… well, it looks like you don’t really need that little keychain anymore, do you?”

“I told you not to say anything,” Val grumbled.

“You did,” Weiss nodded. “But I don’t care.”

“Ugh…” Val groaned. “Please, just… don’t give me any grief, alright? I already feel like shit, I don’t need this right now.”

Weiss opened her mouth to speak, then closed it and turned back to her drink. Val turned back to hers as well, taking a swig and setting it down gently on the counter, afraid that she might shatter it if she wasn’t careful.

She waited a few more minutes, and another beer, before hopping off the stool and walking towards the exit. As she passed Weiss, she whispered, “Follow me.” She didn’t turn around, but her hearing was sharp enough now that she could hear the vampire’s footsteps even over the music and other patrons of the bar.

Val stepped outside and took a deep breath. Okay, okay, you can do this, Val. Just keep your cool… whatever cool you have left, anyway. Her eyes wandered up to the neon sign hanging over the bar, burning pink against the dark brick exterior. “The Pink Mansion” is a weird name for a bar, but… I guess the “mansion” part kinda fits the theme?

The door swung open, and Weiss had the smuggest grin on her face. “Well, now,” she purred. “What, pray tell, could a lonely wolf like you want with moi?”

“Listen,” Val sighed, already starting to regret every decision that led her to this moment. “When you… when you did that thing to me, with your eyes. It felt good.”

“Good?” Weiss cocked her head to the side. “Just good?”

“…Really good?”

“Good how?” Weiss continued, invading Val’s personal space and tracing the seams of her shirt with her finger. “Good as in happy? Good as in peaceful? Or, maybe you meant a different kind of good, hm?”

“God, do you ever shut up?” Val muttered. She didn’t stop Weiss’s hand, though, nor push her away.

“Aw, you’re so embarrassed, aren’t you?” Weiss chuckled. “That’s alright. It can take a while for one to reject shame and inhibition. Took me… goodness knows, maybe half a century or so?”

“O-Oh yeah?” Val stammered, not really knowing what to say next. “Well… um…”

“Were you thinking about me? After our little encounter here?” Weiss grinned even wider, her fangs gleaming under the flickery, harsh glow of the neon. “Oh, I’ll bet you were. You were fantasizing about me, yes? Wishing I had gone even farther, brought you even deeper under my spell?”

“I-It’s not like that,” Val said.

“You’re a bad liar, Valerie,” Weiss smirked. “Be honest with yourself. You wanted me to claim you. To bind you to my will, to… well, I suppose ‘domesticate’ is rather on the nose, but–”

“Shut up!” Val screamed. “Just shut up! I don’t want to be scared, understand? My body is changing into something else, and I can’t control it or stop it, and it freaks me the fuck out! I can’t stop thinking about what’s going to happen to me, when I… a-and I don’t want to hurt anyone, or myself, and I… I just…” She was panting now, her face red and sweaty, tears just barely working their way down her cheeks.

Weiss stared at her, her expression indecipherable. “It kept you calm, didn’t it?”

Val nodded silently, sniffling.

“I think I understand.” Weiss’s hand grabbed a handkerchief out of her suit jacket and handed it to Val. “You want me to be with you when the full moon comes, to keep you under control. Right?”

“Yeah,” Val replied, blowing her nose. “I know it’s selfish, but–”

“Don’t apologize. Ever.” Weiss placed a hand on Val’s shoulder reassuringly. “There is never any reason to feel shameful over something you want. Especially for you, since there’s such precious little time for you to enjoy your life.”

“I… guess that makes sense,” Val sighed. “So, does that mean you’ll help me?”

“Of course! After all, witnessing a werewolf transform for the first time is one of the few things I haven’t experienced yet, so it’s not like I’m only doing this for you.”

“Well, I hope I’ll live up to your expectations,” Val chuckled bitterly. “Uh, so how do I get in touch with you? Do you guys do tech stuff, or should I just come back here?”

Weiss rolled her eyes and scoffed. “I’m a vampire, Valerie, not a cavewoman.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small piece of cardstock. “Call me when you need me, and I’ll be there as fast as a cloud of bats can fly.”

“You carry around business cards?”

“Life’s too short to deal with sorting out contact info.” Weiss pressed the card up to her lips before flicking it over to Val. “Ciao, darling. I’ll be expecting you.”

Val snatched the card out of the air and squinted at it.

Gwendolyn White

Professional Dominatrix and BDSM Educator

Only Bites if you Ask Nicely

“That’s what you do for a living?” Val gasped, looking up at where Weiss was standing. But by then, the vampire was gone, no doubt back inside the bar blabbing about everything to the bartender. Not just a vampire, but a dominatrix vampire… you really know how to pick ‘em, Val…

Val wasn’t quite sure why Weiss had asked her to leave the window open, but she definitely wasn’t expecting a swarm of bats to fly into her apartment. And she absolutely wasn’t expecting the swarm to form into the shape of Weiss, leather pants and all.

Weiss cocked her head to the side, bemused. “You seem surprised.”

“I… didn’t know you could do that,” Val muttered, clearing her throat.

“Well, I did say I’d get here as fast as a cloud of bats could fly, did I not?”

“Thought it was, like, a figure of speech.” Val scratched her arm, wincing as she felt hair already starting to grow in. “L-Look, can we just, um, get this started? It’s almost midnight, and–”

“Yes, almost midnight, Valerie. Almost.” Weiss hopped onto Val’s couch and kicked her feet up on the coffee table, acting like she owned the place. “We still have some time to negotiate.”

“What’s there to negotiate? You do that thing with your eyes, I go all blank ‘n stuff, that’s it.”

Weiss clicked her tongue and shook her head. “No, darling, that is not it. If you’re to let me into your mind, I need to know exactly what you’re okay with me doing, and how you want things to feel. Especially when in about…” She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a silver pocketwatch, complete with chain. “Oh, ten minutes? Your capacity for speech will be a touch… limited.”

“Stop calling me ‘darling,’” Val said sternly. “And I dunno what you even want me to say with all that other stuff, just do what you did last time!”

“What I did last time was put you in a light trance, just enough that you’d tell me your name. Now you want me to keep you calm – or perhaps tame is the better word – while you go through what could be one of the most traumatic events of your life. It’s not as simple as you might think it is.”

Val rubbed her forehead and paced around the room. “Okay, fine, if you want me to get specific… I guess I’m looking to feel, like, centered? Like I’m only focused on… um, o-on you, I guess.”

“Well, I’m certainly a wonderful thing to focus on,” Weiss smirked. God, she looks so smug all the time, like she already knows what I’m about to say before I say it and this whole back-and-forth is just for her own amusement. “So, is that just to get you through the transformation? What happens after then? It would be hard to keep you focused on me if you’ve gone feral.”

“Can you please not phrase it like that?” Val sighed, scratching her arm. “I don’t like the idea of going out of control.”

“Hm…” Weiss tapped her chin. “Perhaps you’d like to feel as though you haven’t lost control, but rather given it, willingly?”

“What, to you?” Val rolled her eyes. “Is this some of that dominatrix talk?”

Weiss shrugged. “I mean, is this not a session right now? I’m doing it for free, but in practice, there’s not too much difference.”

“Yeah, but I’m not gonna be getting off to this.”

“Would you like to?”

Val swallowed. She felt her heart rate increase, and she couldn’t tell if it was because midnight was drawing closer or if this vampire was getting under her skin. And were her arms always this hairy? “L-Look, how much longer do we have to talk about this?”

“Hm…” Weiss checked her pocketwatch again. “I suppose we should get to the meat of things. We have scarcely a few moments before you transform fully.” She put her watch back in her pocket and ran a hand through her hair. “You might want to strip down, lest you accidentally destroy your outfit.”

“Guess you’ve got a point,” Val muttered, her cheeks turning beet red. She stripped quickly, desperate to just get it over with so they could move on. When her bra joined the rest of her clothes on the floor, she covered her breasts with her forearms and avoided Weiss’s gaze.

Weiss licked her lips and patted next to herself on the couch. “Sit.”

I’m not a dog, Weiss. Not yet, anyway. Val sighed and sat down next to her. Weiss sat cross-legged, turning to face Val and holding the nervous woman’s face gently in her hands.

“Okay, so in a few seconds, your body is going to start feeling really bloody weird,” Weiss said. “I’m going to use my power on you, but you need to help me out if I’m going to keep you under control. Try and keep everything else out of your mind, and focus completely on me.”

Val nodded, but could already feel her body start to change. Her jaw began to hurt, like a toothache but all throughout her mouth, and her muscles started to tense up without her consciously doing anything.

Weiss smiled softly, and then her eyes began to shimmer once again. “Focus on me, Valerie. Look deeply into my eyes, and let yourself descend into them. This is what you wanted, is it not?”

“It issss…” Val gasped softly, her mouth hanging ajar after she spoke. Her body really started to hurt now – she swore she could feel her teeth growing more pointed – but she ignored it, falling deeper and deeper into Weiss’s gaze. It was what she wanted, the same sense of being consumed by another’s will, of feeling her own slip away into oblivion, of being rewarded for her surrender by an overwhelming sensation of bliss.

But it still wasn’t the same. She tried to keep sinking, but her own body kept trying to drag her back to reality, the pain of her body contorting and growing preventing her from fully succumbing to the vampire’s power. She squirmed and whimpered, her eyes pleading.

“I know, baby, I know,” Weiss cooed, stroking Val’s cheek gently. Val shuddered as she realized there was hair there, a sensation of such profound wrongness it nearly gave her vertigo. “You’re doing so well, Valerie,” Weiss continued, her voice just as overwhelming as it was the last time Val was under her spell. “Keep focusing on my eyes, my voice. Focus on falling. Focus on letting go. I know you can do it.”

“C-Can’t,” Val whimpered, her mouth feeling utterly alien to her. Every part of her felt bizarre, like she was inhabiting an entirely different body. She felt her limbs stretch to unnatural lengths, hair grow in places it never should, her own face contorting into something different, something primal and savage.

“You can, and you will. I won’t allow you to slip away from me.” Weiss suddenly grabbed the sides of Val’s head and yanked her in, hard, until their foreheads were pressing. “You’re mine, Valerie, and you will do as I tell you to. This is not a threat, it’s a fact. I will not accept anything other than total submission. I’ve lived far too long, bound too many mortals to my will, to fail to the likes of you.”

Val’s eyes widened, then went lidded, as the shimmering yellow orbs filled her vision completely. Her muscles lost their tension, and her mind began to sink down into a sea of nothingness. She could still feel her body transforming, but it didn’t matter anymore. Even as she forgot how to speak, forgot what words even were, some part of her could still understand Weiss’s commands. Weiss wanted her to fall, so she did. Pets were supposed to obey their owners, after all.

It felt strange to think of herself as a pet, but as Val nuzzled her owner’s lap and let her eyes close, it seemed exactly right. Weiss kept making those strange sounds, and Val could tell they were doing something to her, but she wasn’t concerned. She was sure she didn’t need to worry about such things. She was just a puppy, perfectly content to lie down and soak in her owner’s presence.

Her owner brushed some hair out of Val’s face and kissed her forehead. Val tilted her head, confused. Did owners usually kiss their pets? But then her owner started rubbing Val’s belly, and oh Val liked that. Val liked that very much. She let her tongue flop out of her mouth as she grinned shamelessly, peering up at her owner with adoring, guileless eyes. Her owner smiled back, giggling.

The two of them stayed like this for some time, until the gentle relaxation of her owner’s touch eventually sent Val to sleep.

When Val awoke, she couldn’t tell what time it was. The room was lit only by the lamp on the small table next to the couch; only the slightest hint of sunlight behind her blackout window shades told her that it was the next morning, or maybe afternoon.

For all she knew, though, it could’ve been days later. She certainly felt like she’d slept for that long. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt so well-rested. Val sat up and stretched out her back, yawning. She was still naked, but she at least had a blanket covering her. That was thoughtful of her. Good thing I have such a kind Own–

Val’s eyes widened in shock, then narrowed. Ugh. Right. She sighed and rubbed her forehead. Fucking… God, I can’t even think of her actual name anymore! I’m such a dumbass, trusting some random vampire because she made me feel good once.

She rose off the couch and wrapped the blanket around her body just as the front door opened. She turned and saw her Owner walking in, holding a pair of coffee cups and an umbrella. She saw Val and smiled. “Hi, puppy! I took the liberty of ordering for you. Luckily, you had your usual saved on your phone – oh, yeah, I took that too.” She set the drinks down on the coffee table and closed her umbrella, noticing Val’s annoyed expression. “Something wrong, love?”

“What do you think, ‘Owner?’” Val spat. “I didn’t agree to being your… property.”

“You’re not my property, Valerie,” Owner said softly, reaching out and scratching under Val’s chin. “You’re my pet!”

“N-No…” Val muttered. But her body betrayed her, her lips smiling as her Owner gave her scritches. She could even feel her tail wagging, a phantom limb that only served to heighten her embarrassment.

“That looks like a ‘yes’ to me,” Owner giggled. “I know you might not have thought you wanted this, Valerie, but when you’ve lived as long as I have, you get a knack for knowing how people tick. I could read you from the minute I saw you. You never wanted to be a…” She paused, furrowing her brow. “What do you do for a living, anyway?”

Val blinked, her cheeks turning beet red. “Do you even care?”

“Not particularly, it’s just…” Owner groaned and rubbed her eyes. “Well, now I’ve gone and ruined my flow. Serves me right for trying to monologue after I’ve stayed up so late. Look, the point is, I know you’ll be happy as my pet, so that’s what you’re going to be.”

“Over my dead body!” Val shouted, grabbing Owner by the throat. “You don’t just get to take over someone’s life like that!”

“And yet I can,” Owner replied, completely unphased. She grabbed Val’s wrist and, through seemingly no effort at all, pulled the hand away from her throat. “Silly puppy,” she cooed with a mocking pout. “You can’t lay a finger on me unless I want you to. How many times do I have to get it through your thick skull?”

Suddenly, Val found herself pinned against the wall, the blanket floating gently to the floor halfway across the room. Her Owner stared intently at her, her hands on Val’s shoulders. She wasn’t angry; on the contrary, her eyes were warm and kindly, but in a condescending way, like a teacher scolding a student. Val struggled to break free, but even though she was positive she should be able to overpower the vampire, she couldn’t budge no matter how hard she tried.

“Trying to get away?” Owner chuckled. “Maybe even trying to hit me? Oh, darling, that’s so cute! But your strength is a part of you, which means it belongs to me.” She lifted her hands away and said, “Stay.”

And with just that word, Val found she couldn’t move from her spot. Her eyes were wide with fear, and they tracked her Owner as she paced around, grinning at her like she was prey. “P-Please… just let me go…”

“Hm…” Owner tapped her chin. “How about not?”

Val groaned and closed her eyes. “Dammit, it’s bad enough you’re controlling me, you don’t have to mock me too!”

“Oh, I’m not mocking you, Valerie. I’m just making sure you know your place.” Owner snapped her fingers and stared deep into Val’s eyes. “Sit.”

“Sit,” Val repeated, not even meaning to. She was on the floor before she knew what happened, kneeling and staring up at her Owner patiently. The more her body betrayed her, the more her head started to swim. Obeying felt good, though she tried to deny it. That’s just what Wuh… Way… Owner did to you, Val. She’s making you enjoy this, this isn’t you.

Owner nudged Val’s thighs with her boot, and Val spread her legs apart, briefly wondering when her Owner had found the time to train her so thoroughly. “That’s better,” her Owner said. “Good girl.”

Val shuddered and whined, feeling a wave of pleasure surge through her. She wanted to clench her thighs, but she knew her Owner wanted them spread apart, so she couldn’t. “F-Fuck you…” Val couldn’t make her words hold any bite or malice; her protest was hollow.

“Very poor choice of words, puppy.” Owner crouched down and grabbed Val’s chin, and Val could’ve sworn she saw her eyes shimmer. “Melt.”

“Mmeeelllllltt…” Val moaned. Her eyes rolled back into her head as she felt her mind, her very consciousness, dissolve into pure bliss. It didn’t feel like when she was staring into Owner’s eyes; her will wasn’t being overwritten, it was being obliterated. She tried in vain to hold onto her sense of self, but it felt too good to let go. She wasn’t sure if she actually orgasmed, but she felt like her whole body was experiencing hundreds of them all at once.

When her body finally calmed down, puppy felt both empty and full at the same time – empty of thought and intelligence, yet full of the most pure love she could ever imagine. She looked up at Owner and beamed, feeling the sheer bliss of her presence wash over her.

“Oh, that’s just beautiful,” Owner murmured, smiling back with an awestruck grin. “You’re so fucking beautiful when you’re my puppy, you know that?”

puppy didn’t know how to respond. Words were for people, not puppies. But she knew how proud Owner was of her, and she woofed in joy.

Owner blinked, then broke out into giggles. “Wow, you took that more literally than I thought you would. Not sure if I wanna keep it like this, or…” She furrowed her brow. “Speak, puppy.”

puppy woofed again, and Owner giggled some more. “Yeah, I’m keeping that,” Owner replied, ruffling puppy’s hair. She stood up and sauntered over to the couch and laid down, beckoning puppy to join her. puppy crawled over to Owner, yet felt a strange urge to get up on her hind legs. she put it out of mind, though, and jumped up on the couch, resting her head on Owner’s stomach.

“I take it you won’t want this anymore?” Owner chuckled, holding up a coffee cup. She took a sip and scrunched her face up in displeasure. “Ugh, way too sweet. I’ll have to train you to stop wanting so much sugar.” She yawned and set the cup back down on the table. “That’ll come with time, though. For now, I need a nap.”

She stroked puppy’s hair and let her eyes go lidded. “Actually, let’s… let’s both take a nap.” Owner kissed puppy’s forehead and whispered, “Sleep, puppy.”

puppy yawned. Dimly, a voice in the back of her head told her to focus. Focus on falling. Focus on her Owner, smiling serenely as she stroked her puppy's hair. Focus on... she yawned again.

Owner’s eyes slipped shut. puppy fell asleep with a smile on her face.