The bond lights up the moment he matches me and presses his nose to my neck inhaling. "Good kitten." The words aren’t spoken, instead they're sent directly through the bond. Instant euphoria crashes through me in a single moment, chest blooming hot, ears pinning back in helpless bliss whilst a ragged purr tears out of my throat.

  He doesn’t linger on it however. Doesn’t need to. One slow inhale against my throat, one last brush of lips over the spot where my collar sits, and then he’s moving. He stands. Slow. Unhurried.

  Master rubs one hand across his eyes as he stands, the blanket slides off him right away and he walks toward the door. The two Sapphire guards snap to something resembling attention, swords still half drawn, eyes flicking between him and me like they’re waiting for the next explosion.

  The guild master hauls himself upright against the wall, one hand pressed to the shallow cuts on his throat, the other braced on the wall. His face is red and white, pride and terror.

  Master doesn’t even really glance at them. He nods once. A small, polite dip of his head. The same nod he’d give a servant who held a door open or a merchant who didn’t shortchange him on tea but nothing more. No words, not really a real acknowledgment of the situation that just happened. Just that calm, sleepy nod, and then he keeps walking.

  His right hand drops to his side as he passes the threshold, fingers loose and trailing, palm open toward the corridor like an invitation only I would ever recognise and with that I’m already moving.

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  Four limbs hit the floor, my tail lashes once, high and proud, before it settles into a slow sway. I surge forward on all fours, closing the distance in an instant and shove the top of my head straight into the cup of his waiting palm.

  His fingers close instantly around the base of my ears. Not grabbing. Never grabbing. Just settling, firm, warm, possessive. Thumb strokes once along the sensitive part behind my right ear. My tail curls twice around his calf as I match his stride.

  The guild leader stumbles after us, voice cracking on the first word. “Wait” yet master doesn’t break step so neither do I.

  We move down the corridor together. First a Sapphire guard rounds the corner ahead, armor dented, blood on his cheek, sword red to the crossguard. He freezes when he sees us. His eyes dart to Master, then to me crouched at his side like a hunting cat on a leash made of nothing but trust.

  Master nods at him too. Same small, polite motion. The guard swallows, steps aside without a word, and presses his back to the wall. We keep walking, down the main stairs now. Shouts and iron blades rise from below.

  His fingers never leave my ears. I nuzzle harder into his palm, fangs grazing the edge of his thumb now but not quite biting, just reminding. My purr stays loud and deliberate as we pass every guard.

  We reach the landing above the great hall. Bodies litter the marble, Sapphire blues mostly, a few in darker Cartel leathers. Blood tracks across the floor in smeared footprints.

  Master pauses at the top of the stairs just for a second. His hand slides from my ears down the back of my neck, fingers threading into my hair, until he simply takes out his crossbow and begins to fire off bolts. Sapphire guards line the stairway whilst a group of cartel members are all lined together. He doesn't even aim just fires randomly again and again. Attackers fall, attackers get wounded yet I feel through the bond his bored, he wants me to jump but I won't, that would be further than 5 ft.