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One day, Will did not know how long after his capture and beating, someone came to do something besides feed and taunt them. It was a tall, slim vampire with slicked-back dark hair and the kind of features that suggested a fastidious nature.
“Masters William and Henry,” he said, speaking with a slight indulgence, as one might talk to a dog that took itself too seriously. “My name is Jeeves, and you are to be washed and groomed,” the vampire said. “I am going to fit you both with gags in case you are tempted to bite. If you behave yourselves, this will go smoothly. If you do not…” He cocked his head to the side and gave a little shrug that strongly implied he did not care either way.
“I’m not wearing a gag,” Will said.
“But you are, because that is a condition of exiting that filthy cage, and if you do exit that filthy cage, and acquit yourself well enough in the ceremony tonight, you may find yourself in better accommodations.”
“What if I promise not to bite you?”
“What if you behave like a good little puppy dog and let me put this in your sweet little mouth.”
“You can’t charm me. I don’t like vampires.”
“I’m sure you don’t. I observed your behavior in the courtyard and the resulting chaos. I recommended treatment at the time, but Gideon in his wisdom decided you should suffer your wounds until the flesh healed them. I can offer you some meager comfort now. Whether you choose to accept it is up to you.”
“Let’s go,” Henry said.
“Okay, gag me, but not him. Don’t you know who that guy is? He’s the pack master.”
“I’m afraid in Gideon’s home there is only one master.”
“I don’t care about the gag,” Henry sighed. “I’ll put it on myself.”
“Very obliging. Thank you, sir.”
Henry put the gag on. Will stared aghast. “What the…”
“There’s no point holding onto the remnants of imagined dignity,” Jeeves said. “Your life as a human is over. You are now one of the Master’s beasts and will be treated accordingly. Gag on, if you please, or perhaps sir would prefer I help him don it.”
Jeeves was just so polite, and Will was just so recently horribly beaten, that he actually considered doing as he was asked. The vampire was right. There was no choice, not really. From the moment Gideon awoke, resistance had only led to pain, murder, and betrayal.
“I’m not putting a gag on. Sorry. And you’re not putting it on either.”
“I understand,” the vampire said courteously.
Moments later, Will found himself pinned to the floor, the gag slipped around his face and then into his mouth. Jeeves certainly knew how to handle a weaker creature. Though the gag itself was of course humiliating, there was a certain care taken in its application that Will did not miss.
“Now, if the pair of you will follow me, your baths have been drawn.” Jeeves made no real mention of the use of force regarding the gag.
The baths were much more pleasant than Will imagined. Given the state of the cage, he’d expected to find himself in a crude, cold chamber. But the room they emerged into was much closer to a spa than a prison shower.
In a further remnant of luxury, the bath was warm. Will was not permitted to clean himself. He was washed like an animal, with careful movements. His beard was shaved and his hair was cut. Henry was given a similar treatment.
The pair of them were then clad in matching black leather pants with harnesses to match and a collar around each of their necks. Will glanced over frequently at Henry to see how the pack master was taking this series of indignities. He seemed to be taking them in stride. And he looked good in the harness. The combination of tattoos and leather strapping made Will feel a certain type of way.
When he looked in the mirror, he saw that his hair had been cut in a modern sweeping style. Short at one side and longer on the other, a thick swath of hair just out of his eyes. It had been over two years since he’d had any kind of official grooming. Maddox had taken him as he was. Gideon was obviously not going to take him as he was. Gideon was going to make him in his desired image.
“You look very handsome, William,” Jeeves said approvingly. “And you too, Henry.”
Will wanted to say he didn’t give a shit what the vampire thought, but again, the kindness and the genteel compliments got under his skin and make him a little softer than he wanted to be.
“Now for the good news. Gideon, in his infinite mercy, has decided that the pair of you should be kept in slightly more comfortable quarters. But first, he wishes you to be presented to him. I would ask that you keep your own counsel, especially if it should involve disrespectful language or rough cursing. I did not bathe you merely to see you covered in blood. Now. Hands and knees, please.”
* * *
“Ah, my hounds,” Gideon greeted Will and Henry as they crawled into his presence. It was a humiliation and a cruelty, but Will had become used to both in the prison system. He was staying alert, checking out his surroundings, looking for weaknesses. The fact he could keep his head down and his eyes furtive only played into that plan.
“All the way up to my throne, please.”
