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Anthromagus: Chapter 6

A woman with wavy, sandy blond hair and soft blue eyes sat on her couch, legs pulled up as a K-Drama played on her television.  Whatever plot and storylines unfolded upon the screen were entirely ignored as she scrolled through Instagram on her phone, occasionally smirking and giggling when she came across something amusing.

After some time, she yawned and stretched before adjusting her silken nightgown.  “What time is it?”  She muttered, glancing at the top right corner of her phone.  ‘Five forty-six…  What the hell is keeping him?’ She grunted, her visage becoming a grimace as she opened her text messages.  Upon opening a conversation titled ‘Kelly’, she tapped a message.

“Dude…  It’s almost 6 wtf u doing?  Supposed to confirm by 5:15 so…”

After hitting send, she stared at the conversation, shifting uncomfortably as her patience wore thin.  What the hell was keeping him?  Kelly was always prompt’ there hadn’t been a single instance where he’d forgotten to confirm the money dropoff, but here they were.

After what seemed like hours but was closer to two minutes, she saw the familiar three dots that indicated a response being typed.  She licked her lips and pursed them in anticipation, feeling a pang of gnawing anxiety at the back of her mind.

“Chill, Charlotte.  Everything’s good.  Food poisoning today, got stuck in bathroom.”

Charlotte read the reply, feeling a mix of relief and frustration.  Moments later, she responded with, “K, dude.  U know u can use ur phone on the toilet.  Not a good idea to leave me stressin out.  Plz confirm you have the money for sure.”

Soon after, a response came. “Didn’t think about it. Plz chill.  Yeah, i have it.”

Charlotte winced, unable to repress her frustration despite the situation appearing fine.  “Don’t fckin tell me to chill.  We all benefit from this and im in charge so show some respect.”  She absolutely despised anything she deemed as patronizing.

“OK”, was all she got back in response.

“Motherfucker,” Charlotte scowled.  “Remember who my dad is and what we do for u.  Done talking for now just make sure i get my share on time.”

“Yeah. Sorry to upset you,” Kelly replied, followed by a thumbs up.

Charlotte dropped her phone onto the couch next to her and sighed, resting her head back as she stared at the ceiling.  Everything was going well; she still had her cash cow and her little henchmen were obedient.  Not only did they profit from their arrangement, but she could easily take advantage of the dirt she had on everyone if needed.

After spending a few minutes reminding herself of the power she held, her bad mood shifted, her lips curling into a sly grin.  As long as her father was around, she had nothing to worry about.  Familial love sure was a powerful thing, wasn’t it?  Or, was it more like nepotism?  No matter, she was feeling better and that’s all that really mattered.  Feeling reinvigorated, she scooped her phone back up and returned to her inane scrolling.

Peter returned to the warehouse with a baggy hoodie in hand.  “Found this in my backseat,” he said before looking at the voluptuous dog woman tapping away at her phone.  “Err…  Is everything okay?”  He couldn’t help but feel awkward when considering who this dog woman was and the dynamics of their relationship.

Kelly looked up at Peter.  At first, anger started to swell; how dare that bastard do this to her?  In a matter of seconds, her head turned fuzzy, and the voice in the back of her head started to overpower those emotions.  ‘No…  He’s my master now.  I’ve been so cruel to him; this is a fitting punishment.’  Why would she think that, though?  A burning desire to serve him bubbled within her-- a need to make up for her past transgressions and to mate with him again.  “Y-- yes, master,” she stammered in response.  “I-- I would usually contact Kelly by five-fifteen, so I had to tell her something,” she mumbled, averting her eyes in shame.

“Oh?”  Peter scratched his head while approaching Kelly.  “Here.”  He held the hoodie out for her.  “What did you tell her, then?”

Kelly took the hoodie and shakily stood to her feet.  “I told her there are no issues.  That I have food poisoning and had to use the bathroom.  Everything is okay, master…”  She pulled the hoodie on before looking at Peter with an expression of shame.  “I’m sorry…  I-- I will make it up to you.”

Peter raised an eyebrow, feeling a mix of emotions toward the canine woman standing before her.  “Damn-- it’s so weird seeing you of all people act like this.  I don’t hate it, though.  You’re being a good girl,” he insisted with a teasing edge in his voice.

Kelly’s ears stood up, her tail wagging.  “Am I really a good girl?”  She asked before blushing furiously.  ‘W-- What the hell!?  I don’t like it!  I don’t like being called a good girl!”  She stomped forward and roughly grabbed Peter by the wrist, starting to pull him out of the warehouse.  “J-- Just…  Come on!  We need to go,” she insisted.

“Oh-- yeah, I guess we should,” Peter replied, nearly tripping as Kelly virtually dragged her from the building and back to her patrol car.

Upon reaching the car, Kelly pulled her hood up and opened the back door, roughly pushing Peter in.  “We need to be careful,” she insisted, closing the door before getting in the driver seat and putting the key in the ignition.  

Peter just nodded, slinking down as he put a hand on his head and tried to process the last hour of his life.  ‘What the hell is going on?’ He mused with a sigh.  Rather than ruminating on every minute detail, he decided to focus on one simple fact.  Regardless of what was happening or why, it was an improvement over the life he had been forced to live up until this point.  He’d mull over the ramifications of seemingly using magic to turn one of his greatest bullies into an obedient dog girl later; for now, he was starting to feel an inkling of hope-- a path of light opening for him amidst the unending darkness that had been his life.

“Where are we going?”  Peter finally asked as the patrol care pulled onto the road.

“Your apartment,” Kelly quietly replied.  “You’re-- err…  You’re my master now, so I will go to your home,” she muttered in embarrassment.

Peter’s cheeks flushed as he merely nodded.  After that, the pair remained silent, with a palpable tension filling the air.  What could either of them say in a situation like this?  Peter was completely bewildered by what Kelly had become and the acts they engaged in, while Kelly was filled with a mix of humiliation, a desire to please her new master, confusion, and fear over what her new life meant for her.

~~~

The pair continued toward Peter’s apartment without a word exchanged between them.  Occasionally, he caught Kelly looking at him through the rear-view mirror before quickly averting her eyes when he noticed.  ‘What’s life going to be like now?’ Peter mused and let out a sigh.  Life was going to be more complicated from this point, but he hadn’t given up so far, and wasn’t about to now.  

He took a slow breath and rested his head against the window, gazing out as the sun dipped low, watching buildings pass him by.  Where had his father gotten a legitimate magic book?  Why was he able to read a couple of the spells within despite not understanding the runes, and why hadn’t he been able to understand anything else?  The reality that magic truly existed started to sink in, his heart racing as he considered the implications.  Everything he thought he knew about the world was turned upside-down; he felt like a cave man thrust into the present and having to contend with modern day technology.

They eventually reached the parking lot of Peter’s apartment complex. Lost in thought, Peter moved to open the car door when Kelly suddenly piped up.

“Stop!-- Not yet,” she insisted with a loud whisper, snugly pulling the hood around her head and looking from left to right.  “I-- I want to make sure no one sees us, master.  I don’t want us to draw attention.”

Peter stopped and glanced toward the driver seat.  ‘How considerate,’ he thought while shaking his head.  “Understood.”

After a couple of minutes, Kelly nodded.  “I think we’re in the clear; let’s go,” she insisted, quickly opening the door and stepping out before pulling the back of her hoodie down in a vain attempt to keep her tail covered.

Peter stepped out after her and led the way toward his building, glancing back at the flustered dog woman.  Watching her try to keep her tail hidden while it swished back and forth was admittedly amusing, but he wasn’t about to say that out loud.

“Stop moving, dammit,” she grumbled in embarrassment, scurrying into the building behind her master.

After heading up the stairs and reaching their floor, they came across an older gentleman fiddling with his keys in front of a door with a bag of groceries in hand.  He looked over at the pair and smiled.  “Ah, Peter!  It’s been a minute; how are you doing?’

“Err-- not bad.  Got a new job and dealing with food poisoning, so I gotta get inside,” he laughed weakly, swiftly approaching his own apartment’s door.

“Oh, that’s not fun,” the older man replied, scratching his beard as he looked at him and then the woman who had her hood pulled forward and her hands in her pockets.  He couldn’t make out her facial features like that.  “Lady friend of yours?”

“Cousin staying with me-- talk to you sometime soon,” Peter insisted, offering a smile and curt wave before opening his door and gesturing for Kelly to enter while using his body to obscure her from view.

The older man furrowed his brow, giving them a strange look before smiling again.  “Well, don’t be a stranger.  I hope you feel better soon.”

After stepping inside and closing the door, Peter let out an exasperated sigh before walking over to his shoddy couch and falling onto his ass.  “What a fucking day,” he muttered, rubbing his temples to alleviate the headache forming in the front of his head.

Kelly pulled her hood back and let out a slow breath, looking around the apartment.  “We need to find a better home for you, master…  Why live somewhere so crummy?”  She asked with a slight huff.

Peter removed his hand and cast Kelly an incredulous look.  “Can you think of a reason or two why I might not be able to afford a nicer home?”  He asked with more frustration than intended.

Kelly blinked and stared at Peter, her ears drooping as a look of pure guilt flashed across her face.  She shifted her weight from one foot to the other and clasped a hand over her wrist.  “Y-- You’re right…  I’m sorry,” she sniffed as tears formed in her eyes.  ‘Why do I feel so bad?  It’s Peter-- I don’t care about him, I don’t… I don’t w-- want to hurt him…  I should feel bad, right?’  Her mind swam with conflicting emotions.

Peter almost felt bad upon seeing Kelly’s reaction.  “We can’t change the past.  Do you promise not to be a raging asshole to me from now on?”

Kelly bit her lip and averted her gaze downward before speaking a few seconds later.  “I…  Would never be like that to you again…  I promise,” she insisted.

“Don’t worry about what you’ve done to me in the past.  From now on, how you treat me in the present and the future is what will paint an image of how I perceive you.  Just keep doing better and everything will be okay.”

Kelly felt a sense of relief knowing it wasn’t too late to be in master’s good graces.  “Yes, of course!”  She said with a bright smile.  She then squealed and put a hand over her mouth, turning away from Peter.  “I-- I mean, I understand,” she corrected, not wanting to seem overly happy or excited.

Peter’s lips curled into a faint smile. ‘Don’t realize how many emotions that tail of yours betrays, huh?’  It was honestly pretty cute how animated her tail was.  “Get yourself a drink if you want-- and make yourself comfortable,” he added.  “I have to check a couple things.”  With that, he walked to his room and closed the door behind him.

He eyed the tome sitting upon his bed where he tossed it earlier, still feeling a peculiar, humming energy from within its pages.  Unable to resist, he sat and grabbed the book, flipping it open on his lap.  To his surprise, he’s able to decipher more of the text than before.  ‘Can I reverse what I’ve done to Kelly?’ He wasn’t sure if keeping her a dog woman was the best course of action.  Maybe he could keep Kelly loyal to him in his original form.

“Those bound to you are bound permanently.  They will forever follow you as loyal servants within the form you chose for them.  Familiars that are properly rewarded when appropriate, and punished when necessary, tend to perform better than those abused and treated purely as slaves.  Much like raising a pet or child, proper care of one’s familiars will foster loyalty, devotion, and dependence."

Peter read those words, a pit forming in his stomach.  There was no way to undo this?  Was this permanent?  From what he understood, it seemed like Kelly would always be bound to him; was this a responsibility he could really handle?

Without warning, the door swung open and Kelly stepped in with a flustered expression.  “It’s getting late-- I’m exhausted.  Get out of here so I can sleep,” she insisted with a huff, grabbing Peter’s hands to pull him up.

“W-- Wait, what?”  He asked in confusion, feeling himself get ushered toward the door while he dropped the book on his dresser. “This is my room; shouldn’t you be the one sleeping on the couch?”

Kelly grew more flustered, feeling a swelling of sexual need within her loins and breasts.  “Usually yet, but-- but I need privacy tonight!  I need the bed-- please, master,” she begged with an edge of desperation.

Peter knew if he adamantly commanded her to sleep on the couch, she would likely obey and slink away with her tail between her legs.  However, seeing the desperation on her adorable face stirred pity within him.  “Fine; I guess that’s fine tonight.”

“Good,” Kelly replied abruptly, getting Peter out before quickly closing the door.

Peter stared at the closed door in disbelief.  What the hell was happening?  What had his life become?

He walked to his couch and laid down, curling up on his side with his head on the arm.  He hadn’t even undressed yet, but he was exhausted.  There was far too much to think about, and not nearly enough time to mull it over.

Kelly stepped out a minute later, quickly approaching the couch before dropping a blanket and a couple of pillows onto him.  “For you, master,” she muttered in embarrassment before scurrying back to his room and slamming the door shut.

Peter watched her disappear into his room and sighed, grabbing one of the pillows and sliding it under his head.  He had a feeling that life would only get more complicated from here.

CHAPTER END

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