Author’s Note: This story contains adult content. Do not read if you are under the age of 18. Additionally, this is not an accurate representation of hypnosis or non-consensual sex at all, as it exists in a fantasy setting. Non-consensual sex/sexual acts and hypnosis of other people in real life is highly immoral and illegal, and I do not condone such acts. All characters in this story are above the age of 18. By Skaetlett © 2023, do not repost without explicit permission.

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Based on TsukiNoNeko’s Pull Me Out of This Soulmate Universe. Thank you to Tsuki for writing this incredible setting!

~~

The fury I felt on my skin had mostly cooled off. When I heard the alarm sound on my phone seconds after I left Cassidy to shower, I sighed and said, ‘for fuck’s sake’. I wonder if she’d have done the same had I told her about the three cameras in her room, and the alarm on her bedroom door.

I’d trained myself to be able to walk silently, to startle meek employees and maids I secretly wanted to toy with. Watching Cassidy’s clumsy movements made me want to laugh. She wasn’t even smart enough to know her Soulmate was following her. And I grabbed her, at the perfect moment, just as she thought she had freedom.

Of course, blind rage was my most pronounced emotion. I couldn’t lie and say I wasn’t upset or… or even scared, in a strange way. My heart pounded.

Perhaps some of the punishment I was about to deal her was indicative of a mild panic attack.

I’d never tell Cassidy that, though. I’d never even show her.

The second my hand grasped her hair was the second I realized I needed to train her on day one.

Seeing her struggle was hot. Obviously not as much as what I was planning to do with her.

In a way, it was a good excuse to force Cassidy to show me her bare body for the first time. Her body was marked with freckles and the indisputable face that I owned her.

‘Maybe the cane wasn’t the best choice for an impact toy’, I briefly thought to myself before choosing it anyways. I could have started with a paddle or flogger, but indignation dictated my actions. In the end, it was the right choice.

The first scream Cassidy let out rang in my ears. It felt like music. Such was what I enjoyed about being a sadist - the various noises and pleas my subjects would give me. Cassidy may have looked miserable, but I knew a good masochist when I saw one. Soon, Cassidy would enjoy the pain, the punishments by my hands or my paddles.

Each strike forced a wave of emotions through me. Glee, that I finally had a Soulmate who could take my punishments, because she had no choice. But also sadness and anger, that she made that attempt to leave me sick. Cassidy cared about people. That’s why she went to law school, suffering through her many failures. It pained me that I, her Soulmate, happened to be the exception.

She will love me. She will take joy in being my Property. I will make that my life’s mission above all else.

I felt myself twitching from each lash I delivered to Cassidy, excited to go to the next kind of pain I could bring her - fucking her relentlessly. Every strike grew more unhinged than the last. I wanted to hurt her. I wanted to see her beautiful body all bruised and tormented. When I saw her after I deemed my punishment sufficient, my heart soared. Her body wasn’t entirely bruised, but I’d say 30% of her body had some kind of mark on it. A mark I gave her — in addition to the mark destiny graced her with.

The strikes to her womb got me the hottest.

Maybe this was my fault. Maybe I should have made her shower with me from the start, to not give her the chance. Maybe I was being too kind - or too cruel, for that matter. I guess I wanted to give her some privacy, some time alone to reflect on the day’s events.

And, I didn’t want her to see me naked, quite yet. I was confident about my body and being transgender; that didn’t mean there was no hesitation. But no. After her little stunt, she didn’t get showers alone. Worst came to worst, if I truly didn’t feel comfortable getting naked in front of my Soulmate, the shower doors were glass, and I could just watch her from the other side.

Cassidy and I were not equals. Fate decided as such. Though, we were never equals to begin with, either.

I led Cassidy to my bedroom, her eyes still red and puffy from tears, her naked body completely red and covered in bruises. Good I didn’t need to put her on a leash and collar just yet. Maybe I beat all the fight out of her in one day. Cassidy gazed around my bedroom, clearly impressed by its massive scale. Her looks of shock and surprise were beyond amusing. She didn’t know where she was or what the fuck to do with her situation.

I tugged her along to the Mistress bathroom, one twice as large as hers. “Put on the water,” I ordered. Cassidy weakly nodded, setting the hot water up. Seems we liked the same temperature, judging by the way she pulled back less as the water heated up.

“Get in.” Cassidy followed my order once again, quietly answering with an affirmative. Even her voice was sore after all the torture I put her through. I loved it that way, though, and wouldn’t have had it any other. Maybe some of her resistance would return and I would have the opportunity to beat it out of her again. What a gleeful thought.

Cassidy’s body twitched with pain, probably from the hot water hitting her damaged skin. The warmth of the shower was both comfort and torture. Just like myself.

I was grateful my system was quiet throughout Cassidy’s escapade. Well, Chelsea did laugh and shouted, ‘called it’. I felt Bethany hold my hand as I prepared to take my own clothes off. Instinctively, I squeezed that hand tight. Why should I be feeling so nervous in front of my Soulmate? Cassidy lifted her head in the shower, looking at me expectedly. I averted my eyes and took my shirt off. Then my pants and socks, leaving me in lingerie. I neatly put my soiled clothes on the rack for laundry.

God, my panties were soaked. I could feel the wetness beneath me. Cassidy eyed my body. Weirdly, some of the light in her eyes returned. I flashed a smile her way, seeing myself slam her against the shower wall.

My bra came off, a lacy black bra with flowers and leaves. And then my matching panties. Anxiety aside, my shaft already dripped with pre. From caning my Soulmate black and blue, watching her fearful eyes and her teary sobs, and imagining the many ways I’d take control over her. No wonder my body echoed that excitement.

Cassidy didn’t bat an eyelash at what she saw. Except, she held her breath. Maybe she was scared of what else I’d do to her, the ways I could ravage her body. Good. That was just how I wanted her.

I stepped into the shower, reveling in how she cowered in my presence. I put my hands on her shoulders. Cassidy shook so much, one would think we were standing in ice cold water.

The urge to slam her into the wall came over me. No. She needs softness, right now. I gently put her against the wall, and tapped her shoulder so as to say, “stay put.” Obviously I didn’t expect to learn of my Soulmate when I left for work this morning. I’d find a better shampoo for her later. Lathering my hands in the shampoo I did have, I put my hands on Cassidy’s hair as she stood in the pouring water. My hands explored her hair, the various curls and knots in it. The smell of fresh lavender and aloe filled the room as my hands expertly tidied up her hair. My Soulmate exhaled, her eyes fluttering shut.

In a moment, it hit me. I knew that kind of eye movement.

Trance.

So she knew of hypnosis, too. And has been hypnotized herself.

I didn’t pause, unwilling to let Cassidy know what I was thinking. But this new information changed my plans a little. I grabbed her soapy hair and pulled her into my chest, continuing to pull and tug at her hair as she drifted further away. Leave it up to destiny to pair me with another lady into hypnosis - though whether she did recreational, therapeutic, or erotic hypnosis was unknown to me.

I’d learn that soon enough, though. I continued pulling at her hair, slower and slower. “Just drift off, plaything,” I said coolly. “Let the water wash over you. Let my hands do all the thinking for you. You don’t have to worry about anything in my presence, other than what I can do to you.”

Cassidy murmured a sleepy ‘yes, Mistress’. Something in that whisper screamed how horny she was for this. I pulled her in closer, my member pressing against her stomach. “Sink further and further into my touch. Follow my voice down… a staircase. A staircase in a black void you know so well. Don’t you know what this feels like?”

She nodded. “What does it feel like for you?”

Clearly, it was hard for her to actually answer. But she tried her hardest, the little trance-slut idiot. “Good,” she hummed softly. “Sleepy… um… good.”

I stroked Cassidy’s hair, continuing to pull and tug on it as need be - each time, dropping her a little further into trance for me. “Good and sleepy, hmm? Leave it up to you to not know many other words.”

Cassidy giggled. A delighted, gentle giggle. The first time she hadn’t reacted with malice or hurt to me correctly assessing her intellect. Some of my nerves calmed. Maybe she enjoyed it, deep down, some part of her finding it arousing. “Then, would you like to go into trance for me?”

Cassidy didn’t respond. I kept playing with her hair, trying to coax her deeper into trance. Trying to claim that allowance from her heart. “Come on, plaything. We don’t have all day. I’ll make sure you’re nice and taken care of in trance, all cozy and comfortable. No pain… no sorrow… no needless worrying. Just you, and the empty space in your head, and my voice. Doesn’t that sound nice to you?”

Her eyes blinked hard. Each word, each second, the promise of that deep, dark space became more tempting. “I… um…”

“It’s okay,” I spoke, “to say yes. It’s okay, Cassidy, to accept your fate. To put your mind in the hands of your Soulmate.”

For a long time, Cassidy still did not reply, simply allowing me to keep her under the water and curl her knotted hair. “It… is?” she asked meekly.

“Of course,” I smiled, a laugh coming from my stomach. “I’m your Soulmate, Cassidy. Why would I not want to keep you for myself? What good would destroying the last bits of your mind do for me?”

Cassidy hummed lightly, considering my words. Finally, she answered, “yes,” with a whisper, “I want… trance…”

I couldn’t control the grin on my face. She was so cute. So suggestible.

“Then drop.”

I gave a rough pull to her head, swinging her around for a while, before forcing her head down. As I did, her eyes slipped shut, her brain shutting down, her body losing control of itself. Hypnosis did this to her. My hypnosis did this to her. Now, she had nothing. Not a voice, not a body, not even a mind. Cassidy was my Property. She was mine to do as I willed with.

Now, where to start…

My own brain ran through possibilities and considerations, possible suggestions or triggers I could give her. Theoretically, I could take away her ability to resist or say no, but where’s the fun without a bit of taming and training? Instead, what would be most useful would be a quick way back here.

I took my hands out of her hair, and began washing off the shampoo. Feed two birds with one scone, might as well.

I put my hand to her face, one thumb lightly on her cheek. “Do you feel me touching your cheek, here, on the softest part?”

Cassidy nodded weakly. “Focus on that touch.  Through the darkness, through the fog, all you can think of is that touch on your cheek.  Hear my words through it, but focus all of your attention and energy on my thumb on your cheek. The softness of my skin, the way it presses into your jaw oh ever so slightly.”

Cassidy sank deeper into trance, deeper into my touch. I kept my thumb placed there, feeling the water slide between my skin and my Soulmate’s. Even with her eyes closed, Cassidy looked so dull, so vacant. That blank look, the way her jaw was open only a little, the limpness of her body, it all coaxed my hypnosis on further.

“And then… when I slide my thumb down, just like this--” I slid my thumb down, probably an inch or two, and Cassidy murmured incomprehensibly against the sudden movement. “You’re going to go back into this space. This nice, dark, comfortable, airy place. All it’ll take is a slide of my finger against your cheek--” I repeated the motion, “and you’ll fall effortlessly back into trance. We need a quick way to put you under, after all. I can’t be doing shower hypnosis every time I want to look at my Soulmate all blank and helpless.”

A light smile graced Cassidy’s lips. Was it from excitement, or anxiety? I didn’t know, and I didn’t particularly care. I slid my finger down her cheek once more, and she drooped further into my arms. “That’s it,” I smirked, petting her hair softly. “But, we can’t stop here, now can we? I want to toy with your mind a little more, while you’re here like this. Not that you can protest… but I’m sure you’re fine with that.”

I kept a hold of Cassidy’s body and held her against myself. Finally, I got a good chance to explore her body, every curve and freckle and edge. My hands glided down her cheeks, to her shoulders, allowing me to play with her tits just a little. My, she had such a fabulous set, I couldn’t wait to spend the rest of my life playing with them. Her breasts fit perfectly in my hands, so much so that I didn’t want to move on. With every touch, Cassidy shifted or moaned a little, but she never escaped from trance. Nor from my touch.

One of my hands remained on one of her tits, the other continued to explore. Her stomach was a little chubby, but that only made it more fun to grab. She was so, so cute. So charming. All of her squeals and twitches just made my shaft harder against her ass. Which, my hand just landed on. God, she had a perfect ass to compliment her chest, too. She had room to improve on her attitude, but her body was phenomenal.

My hand wrapped around her waist, and I placed it gently on her womb. I considered going to finger her dripping cunt - I hope she didn’t think I hadn’t noticed - but… I put it off. Just for now.

I patted that area a couple times, and began to speak again. “This is your womb. This is where I will fill you up, over, and over, and over again, for the rest of your life.” She shivered at the thought. “But I need you to want it, too. No - I need you to need it from me. I can only take so much joy in forcing you into things. And so…”

I pressed my hand firmly in the area, making Cassidy wince. “When I place my hand here, and touch with this level of pressure, you’re just going to feel empty. I know your head is pretty empty as is, but I need you to feel empty. I need you to feel it, and I need you to hate that feeling. Feeling empty is torturous. Physically painful.” Cassidy heaved and panted gently. Clearly, I was already instilling that feeling in her. “And you don’t want to feel that, don’t you?”

“N-no,” she whimpered.

“Exactly. You’ll only feel better once I fill you. Once I claim your body and destroy it from the inside out, rearranging your insides if I feel like it, and then fill you to the brim with my seed. Or, until I do similar with a toy or other device. I’m sure you’ll want to hear all the plans about the pseudo-cum my company is developing… but that’s a secret, for now.

“You’ll feel empty, and desperately horny, and completely vapid inside, until I fill you up. And I’ll make you writhe and beg for it, if I feel like it. After all, you’re not in a position to say no, are you?”

Cassidy shook her head, a single tear blending in with the shower water.

“God, what am I going to do with you? Crying at every little thing I might do to you.” I took my hand off of Cassidy’s womb, and she stopped her pointless writhing. “You want this. You want me to fill you. Don’t you?”

“Mhmm,” Cassidy sighed in relief.

I smirked. “Thank you for your participation,” I said in a sing-song voice. “And now… to bring you back up, as I slam you into the wall.”

“Hmm--”

I held to my word, grabbed Cassidy’s shoulders, and slammed her into the shower wall. Not hard enough to hurt her -- significantly -- but enough to jolt her out of her trance. That was enough gentleness for that moment.

“Aaaah!” she gasped as her mind reoriented to the waking world. She blinked hard three times, and then looked me in the eyes. It didn’t take long for the fear to flash on her face again. Her pupils dilated to the size of dinner plates, and her bottom lip couldn’t stop quivering.

I grinned down at her as if she were fresh meat. Now that I got to know both her body and mind just a little, my heart raced at the prospect of doing whatever I wanted with her. For the rest of our lives.

She still didn't seem too thrilled.

"Enjoy your trance, Soulmate?" I asked, keeping her pinned to the wall. Cassidy attempted to look away. I grabbed her chin and forced her to maintain eye contact. "It's rude to look away when your Owner is asking you a question, dear."

Cassidy didn't answer. At least, not with words.

I didn't have to use my hands to keep her pinned to the wall. There was nowhere for her to go, after all, and she didn't seem like the kind of prey to fight back. In fact, the second she raised her arms to try and put up a fight again, she lowered them again - allowing me to do as I willed.

One of my hands trailed down her waist, across her stomach, hovering over her womb - for now - and landing on the folds of her cunt. I slid my fingers across the surface. It was hard for my fingers not to slip in. I knew she was turned on, as much as she wanted to hide it, but I hadn't realized just how desperate this thing had become.

"Oh my god," I couldn't help myself, and laughed. "What was all that fighting for? You're so wet, my fingers can slide right in." I slid my fingers up her hole effortlessly to prove the point. Cassidy gasped and arched her back. I held her crotch still with my thumb as my index and middle finger moved in and out. Each second going a bit deeper, exploring a bit more, enjoying the sounds of Cassidy's helpless pleasure. She was drenched beyond belief even without the shower water, but her walls were tight. Not enough to hurt her, but enough to feel that much better for me.

My cock hardened against her. Even just thinking of ramming into her cunt mercilessly got me going - and her too, clearly. I could hear the arousal in her hole. Her eyes looked down at my member, her voice still whimpering and wordless in my presence. Cassidy's legs tightened, as if trying to suppress the pleasure she clearly felt, but I used my other hand to force her legs back apart. No one would deny me access to my Soulmate; not even my Soulmate herself. My body crushed hers even further into the wall.

My hands moved excitedly, and her dumb stammering and moaning became more hopeless. God, she was a total slut. Why was she resisting in the first place? Maybe the reason she wanted to 'fight' to 'defend' injured Soulmates was because, deep down, she wanted to be hurt. She wanted to be injured.

"Doesn't it feel good?" I cooed. "To finally give into your urges, to your desires? Why would you try to escape, when this is clearly what you've wanted for so long?"

"N-not," Cassidy panted, "what I want."

My free hand slapped her cheek across hard. "You're not allowed to lie to me, pet," I growled. "Honesty only. You like this. Don't you?"

Cassidy didn't reply.

I slapped her again.

"Honesty," I growled in her ear. My fingers began to ram into her, in and out, punishing her for her dumb small act of defiance. "You. Like. This. Don't you?"

Cassidy paused. She finally answered when I raised my hand to strike again. "It... feels... good," she finally relented.

I sighed in relief, leaning into her ear. "Good girl," I whispered, kissing the edge of her face.

My hands slid out, granting her just a second of reprieve. For a second, she tried to fight back again, trying to push me off of her. Her body was so weak, she couldn't even dent me.

It was time, though, to see how her mind warped to my command. "Then I suppose you won't have any objections... if I do this?"

I placed my hand on her womb, pressing on it with the firmness I showed her.

Cassidy's eyes widened. Her mouth let out a sharp, pained, needy gasp. Her moans didn't stop. Her body writhed against that painfully, torturous empty feeling. I needed her to need to be filled. I pressed harder, only amplifying the sense of emptiness, exponentially raising her need to be filled to the brim.

"But since you protested, even a little, I'm going to make you beg."

Cassidy sobbed. The void in her body clearly pained her so much that her waterworks started back up again. I don't know if she still thought I would relent from her tears, but all she did was encourage me to press my hand in just a bit further.

"Beg," I ordered. “I’m not going to ask again.”

“P-please,” Cassidy started through the pain, “make it stop…”

I sighed. Just as I thought we were making progress. Clearly, breaking her, and forcing her to acknowledge that she was mine, would take time.

I pressed my hand. I swore I could feel her pussy twitching for me. Cassidy only writhed  more, tears falling down her face. I couldn’t wait to  see how much she’d cry when my dick would pound her in and out, over and over, for what might feel like hours to her.

“P-please,” she started again, her voice weaker.

“Yes?” I coaxed her on. I couldn’t wait any longer.

“Fill…” She didn’t finish.

“Fill? Fill what, your stupid brain with more suggestions and triggers?”

Cassidy shook her head. She didn’t want to say it. She didn’t  want to admit that she wanted me to brutalize her. “Fill what?”

Finally, she said what I needed to hear. 

“Me,” she whispered.

I smirked down at her, reveling in her self-destruction. “Where, Soulmate?”

That word still caused visible distress in her. But she relented. “My…” her voice softened. “Womb.”

“Good girl.” Finally, I got the answer I wanted. I grabbed one of her legs, holding her body steady still on her womb, and aimed my shaft into her folds. If she were already wet around my fingers, god I didn’t even know how to describe her now. Cassidy gasped harder as my cock began to enter her cunt, her body adjusting to its size, its girth, its hardness. 

I went in slow at the beginning, but eventually, I just couldn’t wait. I held her firmly against me, and in one swift motion, I had fully entered her, with her walls clamping down on me.

The shriek Cassidy let out was one I would remember for years to come.

I began my work, making sure she wouldn’t feel any less empty until I lifted that feeling. I pulled and pushed my hips, my shaft already twitching inside of her. Her tears ran down her cheeks as I continued to fuck her without mercy, without waiting for her comfort. I couldn’t tell what was making her feel more tortured - feeling as empty as a black hole, or having her body used like a fleshlight.

Her body tried to struggle, almost instinctively, but I held it tight as I continued to use her. One hand on her breast, one on her aching womb. She was enjoying this. And one day she’d look back and admit that. Back and forth. Back and forth. Every thrust felt infinitely more pleasurable than the last. I didn’t consider myself a quickshot, but I had a feeling I wouldn’t last long.

“I’m glad you’re my Soulmate,” I whispered into her ear, my own voice now becoming strained. “I-I’m sure, with time, you’ll feel the same.”

Cassidy didn’t respond with anything but a series of cries and whimpers. Fuck, I loved the sound of her tears. “You know it only makes me hotter when you break down, right?”

She kept crying. I pounded into her faster. I sighed in pleasure, resignation, as I held her body closer to me. “F-fuuuuuck,” I eventually moaned as my body hit its limit. I climaxed into her body, my seed filling her womb to the brim. For a brief moment, I wondered if I’d get her pregnant. That wouldn’t happen, Cassidy was obviously on birth control, given her resistance to partnerships.

The thought, though, only made me cum harder. It felt like my orgasm lasted a year. When Cassidy relented and her body finished as well, her walls contracting against my member, the power and length of my climax tripled. Soon, Cassidy was dripping my seed from her hole, the passing fluid getting washed down the shower. 

Eventually, my orgasm ended. And so did hers. I took my hand off of her womb to fully relieve her of that terrible empty feeling. I got the impression that feeling had left her body as soon as I came, though.

I pulled myself out of Cassidy, soft and limp, and I kissed her head gently. “You did so well, today, pet.”

Cassidy choked back a couple tears, her episode finally coming to a halt. Her body still shivered even in the hot water. I softly petted her cheek and neck, giving her just a moment to decompress. Her body felt ready to collapse. I wouldn’t let it. I held her body tightly, not willing to let her go. Not willing to let her get away from me.

I grabbed a loofa and put some soap on it, still holding her body. Slowly, I began to wash off the sweat and grime. Her breaths steadied as I did. Maybe all of her resistance faded with the soft, warm, cleansing touches.

“Oh my Soulmate,” I sang, “what plans I have for you.”

I cleaned her off, giving her the gift of comfort. I showered her with praises and affirmations. When I told her how competent I was going to make her, her body twisted inquisitively, but she didn’t actually press the matter further.

Soon, Cassidy’s body was clean and washed off. I quickly washed myself off too, doing my best to do so without releasing Cassidy.

The second I finished, I turned off the shower water. Some towels hung on the wall, away from the water; I grabbed one, first for Cassidy, to keep her warm. To make her feel safe, even after the way I just used her. Cassidy simply allowed me to do as I pleased, but as I pulled her in close, drying her off with gentle but firm motions. 

I wrapped her in the towel, tying it together so her ruined chest would hold it up, and pulled her into a tight hug. Her body stilled. Her weight collapsed in my arms. She had not fallen into trance again, but for a moment, she seemed comfortable. Maybe it was shock, but I would take it.

Eventually, I released her, and steadied her to her feet. Our eyes met. Her eyelids were half-open, staring into my gaze vacantly.

“Bathrobes are on the rack,” I said casually, “let’s get you out of the shower and into one.”

“Yes, Mistress,” Cassidy quietly replied. She didn’t speak to me much, for a while longer.

~~

I was putting my hair into a towel when I finally heard someone speak up again.

“You’re not seriously considering keeping her, right?”

I audibly groaned at Chelsea’s needless question. What did it look like I was doing, giving her hypnotic triggers and then using her body as it’s mine? “Of course I’m keeping her,” I grumbled, finally tying the towel around itself. “She’s my Soulmate. I - we would both get sick if she weren’t here with us.”

“She doesn’t seem to care about you that much, to say the least. After all, she did try to leave you to be sick, just this evening. Just have her sign some fancy document swearing her into silence and forget about her. You can do better.”

Clearly, destiny didn’t agree with that.

I sorted through my drawers, giving my hands something to focus on - anything. “Cassidy is fearful. She spent her life working against my interests. She’s obviously still shaken from finding out we’re bound together, and - and so am I.” As much as I hated to admit that. “With time, we will adjust, and grow to love and trust and adore each other. That is how Soulmate Bonds that start off with difficult feelings tend to end.”

Finally, I found some fitting attire. I tore off my body towel and quickly put on a silky dress of gold and black hues, with black lace accents.

Chelsea rolled her eyes. I hated the way that felt, how it made me want to twitch my actual eyes. “How bad can Soulmate Sickness be, anyways?”

I began to pat down the rest of my body, wrapping a towel around my chest as I looked for a fitting set of loungewear. “Studies have shown it leads to permanent levels of clinical depression, the kind that cannot be mended by any therapy or medication. Many with Soulmate Sickness end up hardly leaving their house except to do simple errands. Can you imagine running a business like mine while dealing with that level of distress?”

“So? Sell it.”

I slammed my hands on the table. “No! Of course I won’t do that! I spent my life, the better part of it, building my business up, destroying all the expectations my family had on me, proving them all wrong. And look where I am now. We’re wealthy, powerful, and can do whatever the hell we want. I’m not going to throw it all away and I’m not going to throw Cassidy away.”

Chelsea was about to make another very smart comment when we were interrupted.

“Mis… Mistress Aura?”

My head whipped around, my eyes widening in a bit of horror. How long had Cassidy been standing there? Did she hear anything? Was I talking to myself out loud like some fool?

“Yes?” I responded, the impatience showing in my voice. I calmed myself. I shouldn’t talk to her so sternly after how roughly I had just handled her, the weak soul.

Cassidy looked dumbfounded, but continued her question. “Where… do I sleep tonight?”

I held my breath, composing myself quickly. “Ah, yes,” I spoke softly. “Come with me, plaything.”

I led Cassidy back to her bedroom. “Your clothes are in that drawer,” I motioned, “go pick out something nice.”

Cassidy crossed her arms, not out of indignation, more to comfort herself in a personal hug. “You seem… to have been pretty well prepared for this.”

Something in her tone seemed condescending or disrespectful, but I elected to ignore it. No point in starting another punishment. “I work in the Soulmate Industry for a reason, plaything,” I gently chided.

Cassidy didn’t say anything for a long time. Finally, she went over to the drawer and opened it. A scowl crossed her face for reasons I could guess. From it, she pulled out a night gown - one much less fancy than mine, but still dainty. Of course she went for the item that’d cover the most skin. No worries. I’d train that out of her.

She turned around, hiding herself from me - as if there were anything left to hide - and tossed on the night gown. “Can I have… underwear?”

I smirked. I didn’t plan for that, purposefully. “Maybe later.” I had no plans to use her in her sleep, but the prospect was appealing. Cassidy didn’t have it in her to protest. Maybe a bit of her fight would come back tomorrow.

“Get on the bed,” I ordered. My voice was firm, but not impatient. Cassidy complied, almost turning on her side. “Spread out your limbs.” She complied again. I believed I caught an eye roll, but I didn’t pay it any heed.

From the corner of her bed frame, I snatched one of the cuffs, and chained it to her ankle. She made a brief attempt to get out of it, a futile attempt, of course.

“You will have your own room for now. To adjust more easily. Thank me.”

Cassidy didn’t. She was testing my patience, probably deliberately. “Thank--”

“Thank you, Mistress,” she finally hissed in a quiet voice.

A blast of rage echoed in my heart, the blips of Chelsea I could feel. I suppressed it. “Soon, you will be expected to share a bed with me.”

I leaned down to the bed, put my arms on her shivering body, and kissed her temple gently. Her expression softened, but I couldn’t get a read on her face. She must have experienced every single emotion today, except unbridled joy.

“In case you weren’t smart enough to guess, there are cameras here. With alarms. So, I’ll know if you make another escape attempt.”

Cassidy, again, didn’t respond. Maybe she didn’t know how to, even if she wanted to.

I kissed her again, on the cheek, as gently as I could. “Goodnight, plaything.”

At the door, I looked back to see if she’d say anything. Cassidy’s back was turned to me, and she clearly was not willing to say much else.

So I left, got back in my own bed, and tried to ignore the voices in my head. She needs time to adjust. She will enjoy her situation, in time.

I flipped open my tablet, opening the program connected to the cameras. Cassidy was curled into a ball, probably sobbing more. For a second, I felt a bit of light from Bethany, and wanted to go in, curl up next to her, and tell her everything was going to be okay. A pang of guilt hit my heart. Was tonight too far for Day One?

Thoughts rampaged through my head as Cassidy continued to cry, as I continued to watch. Eventually, she shifted her body, pulling out the belongings I let her have from under her bed. For a while, my brain short circuited, and I worried she had something that could cut open the ankle cuff. But no. Instead, she brought out a sketchbook and pencil, and began to furiously sketch in it. I had no idea what she was drawing, and we weren’t at the point yet where I could demand she show me.

Cassidy was a submissive. I could see it in her eyes. The flashes of trance and the bits of arousal and glee she got from earning my approval, from being useful. But it would take time, time for her to acknowledge that, and to acknowledge me, as her Soulmate.

And, part of that was most likely my fault.

I’d have to find the balance between getting my desires met and hers, balance between my style of Dominance and her style of pure submission. Her desire, right now, is to be rid of me, to alter the mark to be nonexistent. But that won’t do. I’d have to find ways to her heart, work past her anxieties. Make her feel comfortable in my presence, even as I treat her like a toy.

I reclined in my bed, continuing to watch Cassidy into the late hours of the night. She drew, and drew, and drew.

“I will own you,” I muttered to myself, tracing my thumb against Cassidy’s image. “No matter how long, or what it takes.”

I hoped so.

I fell asleep with the gut-wrenching thought that I’d be wrong.