Releasing the Dragon (Brides of the Kindred) Read online

  Then one of them bared horribly sharp teeth—animal teeth, she thought dismally—and began to growl.

  Dru growled back at it and gave a volley of short, sharp barks. Was he threatening them in the only way they understood or speaking in yet another alien language? Whatever it was, it sounded distinctly canine in origin.

  The dog people stopped growling and lowered their heads, whining in apparent apology. Dru gave another series of short, sharp barks and pointed back at the elevator. They nodded and were quick to get in as Dru and Annie stepped out.

  “What…what was that all about?” Annie asked breathlessly as the doors shut and the elevator began to rise again.

  “The Doggers will get our luggage and bring it to our rooms,” he said shortly. “Which is where we need to go to prepare. But first we have to have you fitted for ears and a tail so you look the part of a proper x’aan-chow.”

  “I don’t understand,” Annie said, as he pulled her along again, this time down a featureless metal corridor with doors on either side every few yards.

  “You will,” Dru said grimly. “And you will not like it.”

  Annie wanted to ask what he was talking about but just then he chose a door, seemingly at random, and pulled her inside.

  Inside was yet another strange creature—a short, fat little man who had a beak like a parrot and bright green feathers for hair. He was standing in front of a large multi-compartment storage bin that looked to Annie like something you might buy at IKEA. Each compartment held a jumble of brightly colored objects but she couldn’t immediately tell what they were. Beside him was a waist-high platform which was padded with some kind of pink foam.

  Dru squawked at the parrot-man who squawked right back in a questioning tone.

  “Wait—what is he saying? And what are you saying?” Annie demanded. “Can’t you at least translate?”

  “Here.” Dru dug into his pocket and came up with a large pink capsule, about the size of a really big vitamin pill.

  “What’s this?” Annie took it hesitantly and held it in the center of her palm, examining it.

  “Translation bacteria,” he growled. “Swallow it and you’ll be able to understand what’s being said around you.”

  Annie thought of protesting but the look on the big Kindred’s face was so foreboding that she just popped the pink pill into her mouth and gulped it down—with some difficulty since it was so big. The pink pill seemed to lodge in her throat and she started to cough, though she tried not to.

  The parrot-man squawked again and rushed to hand her a small, flexible bottle of some bright blue liquid.

  Annie looked up at Dru.

  “Can…can I drink this? What is it?” she asked in a choked voice.

  “Terza cider. It’s safe enough,” he said briskly.

  Nodding her thanks to the parrot-man, Annie took a sip from the strangely flexible bottle—it felt like Play-Do in her hand—and swallowed. The blue liquid had a tart, sweet flavor not unlike fresh lemonade. Unfortunately, it also had undertones very much like ketchup, which made for an odd combination. Still, it was better than choking on the pink pill so Annie made herself drain the bottle and then, nodding her thanks, she handed it back to the parrot-man.

  The parrot man nodded genially and folded the bottle in two before snapping it up in his strong beak and swallowing it down.

  “Oh!” Annie took a half step back involuntarily. She’d heard as a child that you should never put your fingers into the parrot’s cage at the pet store because they were strong enough to break a broom handle in two—so a finger bone would be no big deal. This had given her a fear of birds and their beaks in particular. So when the parrot-man squawked at her again, she was almost ready to run…until his squawk turned into words at the last minute.

  “…better now, my pretty pet?” he was saying in a high, scratchy voice that really did sound exactly like a parrot talking.

  “Oh, um…” Annie looked at him incredulously. Had she really just heard him speak? The translation bacteria pill must work almost immediately!

  “She’s a lovely little x’aan-chow, my lord Drugair,” the parrot-man squawked to Dru. “But if you don’t mind me saying so, she doesn’t appear overly-bright.”

  “Hey!” Annie exclaimed. “You—”

  “Well, a x’aan-chow isn’t exactly used for conversation, now is she?” Dru said to the parrot-man, smoothly cutting her off. “In fact, I always say it’s better if they are seen and not heard.”

  He directed these words at Annie, glaring at her as she spoke, and she realized he was telling her she’d better keep her mouth shut. Part of her wanted to protest his sexist treatment but she remembered that she was literally here to be a “sex-pet.” The Shadow Palace was a sexist place and if she wanted to fit in, she would have to do as the big Kindred said. Reluctantly, she held her tongue and said nothing.

  “Very true, very true,” the parrot-man said. “So I suppose you’ll need to get her fitted for a tail and ears. Am I correct?”

  “Correct.” Dru nodded. “And could you make it quick please, Pio’ter? We have a meeting with Slo’vv himself in less than an hour.”

  “Oh yes—yes indeed!” the parrot-man shivered like a bird ruffling its feathers. “Lord Slo’vv himself,” he whispered to himself. “Oh me—oh dearie, dearie me! So then…” He gave a cawing cough and looked up at Dru. “What kind of appendages do you favor for your pet? Reptilian? Canine? Feline? Equine? Avian? Drixian, perhaps?”

  “What?” Annie wondered what in the world he was talking about but Dru seemed to know at once. He gave Annie a long, considering look and then nodded to himself.

  “Feline. Most definitely feline.”

  “Very well, very well…” The parrot-man busied himself at the multi-compartment storage bin and brought out a headband with two sleek, black, pointed ears attached to it.

  Annie, who had been watching him with a mounting sense of apprehension, abruptly relaxed. She’d been worried she might have to go through some kind of alien body modification after seeing all the half-man/half-animal looking hybrids around here—first the Doggers and then the parrot-man. But apparently all she had to do was wear a headband with cat ears to look the part of a x’aan-chow. Really, it was almost too easy!

  “How cute!” Annie exclaimed. She started to reach for the headband herself but then she caught a dark look from Dru and remembered his warning that x’aan-chows should be seen and not heard. Biting her lip, she was silent.

  “Here you are, my dear,” the parrot-man squawked at Annie, ignoring her remark. “If you would please just jump up on the fitting platform…” He gestured to the rectangular platform padded with thick, pink foam beside him.

  Annie thought she could just as well have put the headband on herself but since the parrot-man seemed to want to have a formal fitting, she might as well comply.

  She started to climb up and stand on the platform but Dru shook his head.

  “Not like that.”

  Picking her up as though she was light as a feather—which Annie knew for a fact was not the case—he sat her down on the rectangular platform on her hands and knees.

  Well, I guess I am supposed to be a cat, Annie told herself. Though she felt incredibly exposed in this position—the shimmery silver top she was wearing was gaping open, practically showing her nipples and the short silver skirt was riding up almost high enough to reveal her ass and pussy. And of course since neither she nor the Pairing Puppet she’d stolen the clothes from had been wearing panties, she was completely bare down there.

  She started to lift one hand to readjust her clothes but found to her consternation that she couldn’t—her hands and knees had sunken into the thick, pink foam-like padding and now she was stuck.

  “Dru?” She looked up at him, feeling panicked. “Dru, I can’t move.”

  “Of course you can’t, my dear.” It was the parrot-man who answered. He nodded at the pink foam. “The stay-put holds you in place so we can get a pro
per fitting.”

  “I don’t like this—don’t like not being able to move!” Annie yanked at her hands and legs and looked up at the big Kindred. “Dru?”

  There was a troubled look in his black eyes but he came to her and knelt down so they were face to face.

  “I told you, Annie, that you must do whatever is necessary to act as a proper x’aan-chow,” he reminded her in a soft voice. “Much depends on it.”

  “But…but I can’t move,” she protested.

  “I know you cannot but it is only for a little while.” He cupped her face gently in his big hands and held her eyes with his. “I will not let any harm come to you. All right?”

  Annie still didn’t like the situation she found herself in but she realized she would have to put up with it. After all, she had brought this on herself by stowing away and now she was part of Dru’s mission—she couldn’t let it fail just because some of the alien customs freaked her out.

  “All right,” she whispered at last, nodding. “I…I’ll be okay.”

  “That’s good.” He smiled and straightened up. Looking at the parrot man, he nodded. “Very well—she is ready.”

  “Ah, good. Now then—the ears first.”

  The parrot-man placed the headband with its two, pointed black ears on her head and pressed down firmly—so firmly it almost hurt.

  “Hey, you don’t have to—” Annie broke off abruptly as the strangest sensation stole over her. She no longer felt the wire headband on her head. But what she did feel was…

  “The ears,” she half whispered. “Oh my God, I can feel the ears like they were my own!”

  “For they are your own, my little pet,” the parrot-man squawked excitedly. “See here…”

  He brought out a golden mirror with a long handle and held it in front of Annie’s face. When he tapped it, the mirror expanded to double its size so she could clearly see the little black ears which now sat on top of her head, looking as though they had grown there naturally.

  “Wiggle them, my dear,” he told Annie. “Go on—the sensors are working just fine—they should respond beautifully.”

  Annie did as she was told, wiggling the ears on her head as naturally as she might have wiggled her own ears or wrinkled her nose. And to her wonder and delight, the ears responded! In fact, they were a great deal more responsive than her own natural ears. They swiveled back and forth and twitched and even lay flat back against her skull when she told them to, making her look like an angry cat.

  “Beautiful! Just lovely!” the parrot-man exclaimed. “These are working perfectly! And now for the tail.”

  He reached into the multi-storage bin and pulled out a long, sleek, furry black cat tail. But it wasn’t the tail Annie was looking at—it was what was attached to it.

  “That’s the tail?” Her excitement over her new ears turned abruptly to apprehension. Previously she’d been imagining a clip-on tail that attached to her skirt and hung down. But the long, furry black tail ended in an unmistakable plug.

  A butt-plug, she thought, feeling her ass tighten up at the very thought. Oh my God, nobody said anything about me wearing a butt-plug!

  “Now,” said the parrot-man. “We usually want a bit of lubrication for a new tail insertion.” He pulled out a small pink bottle and reached out, as if to lift Annie’s short, silver skirt.

  “No, you don’t, asshole! Get away from me!” Annie squeezed her thighs together and tucked her ass down as far as she could. She could feel the little black ears lying flat against her skull, almost as though she really was an angry, frightened cat.

  At the same time, she heard Dru growl, low in his throat. Clearly he didn’t like the idea of the parrot-man touching her ass either. But Annie doubted if he disliked it as much as she did.

  “Oh dear!” The parrot-man drew back as though Annie had threatened to bite him. And honestly, she was considering it since she couldn’t even raise her arms or legs to protect herself!

  I’ll bite his dick off if I have to, she thought fiercely. There’s no way I’m letting him shove that damn thing up my ass!

  “Annie—” Dru began, frowning, but she shook her head vehemently at him.

  “No, Dru! Nobody said anything about wearing something that went up my…up there,” she exclaimed. “You should have warned me!’

  “And so I would have, if I had agreed to let you come with me in the first place,” he growled. “The Outfitter is correct—you must have a tail.”

  “I don’t care,” Annie said, frowning. “I don’t want him touching me there. I don’t even know him!”

  The parrot-man looked at Dru helplessly and raised his shoulders. “She will not take the tail—what is to be done? You know she will never be permitted into the private parlors without being properly attired!”

  You’re going to ruin the mission before it even begins, whispered a reproachful little voice in the back of Annie’s head. You promised Dru you would do everything that was necessary to pull this off. You’re supposed to be a sex-pet—what did you expect?

  That was true and Annie knew it. Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm herself.

  “All right,” she said, looking up at Dru and the parrot-man he had called “The Outfitter.” “All right, I’ll do it—I’ll wear it. But I don’t want anyone else putting it in. I’ll put it in myself.”

  “Impossible!” The parrot-man threw up his hands as though she’d suggested a horrible sacrilege, like peeing in the holy water at church. “Everyone knows that a true x’aan-chow never arranges her own appendages! They cannot be adjusted properly except by a trained professional.” He sniffed, which came out sounding more like a squawk. “Like myself.”

  “Perhaps I might insert the tail,” Dru said to him. “And you may guide me as long as you do not touch my pet.” His eyes flashed fire for a moment. “She is very…precious to me. I do not wish to see another male’s hands on hers. Not even a professional like yourself.”

  “Well…” The parrot-man sounded extremely huffy. “If you’re going to be as particular as that, you’d better have her in a purple collar.” He gave a long-suffering sigh. “But I suppose if she’ll accept it no other way…”

  “This is the only way,” Dru said firmly. He looked at Annie. “Will this work for you, teeska?”

  There was that little nickname of his again—the one he’d started calling her back on Earth. Annie reflected that she would have to ask him what it meant. But in the meantime, she had a decision to make.

  “I…” She bit her lip. “This is really embarrassing, Dru. And scary too. I…I’ve never had anything, uh, up there before.”

  “It’s all right, sweetheart.” He dropped to his knees before her again and looked earnestly into her eyes. “I know it is frightening but I promise you again, I will not let you come to harm.” He stroked her cheek, which felt flushed and hot. “So I ask you now—will you accept this from me? You will need to get used to my hands on your body if we are going to make this work.”

  Annie sighed and slumped a little. When he looked at her like that she felt like she could fall into the midnight pools of his eyes and drown forever.

  “All right,” she whispered at last. “But just…be careful, all right? That thing looks pretty big.”

  “I will use plenty of lubrication and be certain you are ready to take it before I insert it,” Dru promised. He stroked her cheek again and then leaned forward and placed a soft, hot kiss on her lips. “Thank you for trusting me, teeska,” he murmured. Then he rose and held out a hand to the parrot-man. “Give me the lubrication.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Annie bit her lip as she watched the parrot-man hand over the pink bottle and felt Dru raise her skirt to reveal her trembling behind. Was she shaking because she was cold? Or because she was afraid? Or maybe a little of both? Whatever the cause, she was glad for the first time of the firm hold the pink foam had on her arms and knees—otherwise there was no way she could have held still for this operation.
/>   “It is all right, teeska—everything is going to be all right,” Dru murmured. And then she felt long fingers parting her cheeks and something slippery and surprisingly warm was being massaged into her rosebud.

  “Oh!” She turned her head to see Dru with a little frown of concentration on his face as he touched her.

  “Is everything all right?” He looked up from his task, one eyebrow raised.

  “Fine. It’s just…it’s warm. I expected it to be cold,” Annie said. “Not that I’m complaining…”

  “My Drake warmed it for you,” he explained. “The fire within him…within me…is able to heat and heal and also to give pleasure.”

  “Give…give pleasure?” Annie whispered.

  “Yes. If you can relax enough to embrace it.” He had been giving her a gentle massage, trying to relax the tight ring of muscle that guarded her back entrance and now she felt just the tip of one long finger ease its way inside her.

  “Oh…” Annie gasped but the sound was almost a moan. She’d never, as she had told Dru, had anything in her back passage before. But it was a surprisingly sensitive area and what he was doing actually didn’t feel too bad.

  Admit it, Annie—it feels good, whispered a little voice inside her head. You like the way it feels to have him touch you. You’ve been wanting to feel those big, warm hands on your body for some time now.

  Which was true, though she wasn’t exactly sure when she’d begun wanting him. Maybe after he’d held her the night before and let her cry against his chest. They had formed a kind of connection then—an understanding. An understanding that allowed her to open for him now.

  “It’s okay, Dru,” she whispered, her throat tight. “You can…can go further. I can take it.”

  “Like this?” Slowly one long finger entered her and Annie felt her rosebud open to receive him. She could feel the heat from his skin spreading through her body and it was pleasurable, as he had promised. The tingling warmth crept down between her legs and soon it was lapping against her open pussy, making her wet…making her ready.

  “Yes,” she gasped. “Like…like that.”