Chapter Seven

Ember looked up from where she was laying on the floor with her head resting on her paws. Ryan was still working on paperwork and she was beginning to get bored. Just then a knock came at the door. "Come in." Ryan said while leaning back in his chair. A young man in his early twenties entered the room and bowed towards Ryan respectfully. "Master Ryan, your guest has arrived." He informed him. Ryan looked up from the papers on his desk and looked over to the clock on the wall.

"He's early." Ryan mumbled. Ember furrowed her brows in confusion. '𝘞𝘩𝘰'𝘴 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺?' She thought to herself. "Send him in." He said before turning to Ember. "I have a meeting with one of my business partners so I need you to stay quiet while he's here." Ember nodded her head and turned to look at the man who was entering the room. His hair was dark brown with two gray streaks running through it and his skin was tanned. He wore a suit that matched his hair and eyes. He walked up to the desk as Ryan stood up to shake his hand.

"Greetings Darius." Ryan said, sitting back down and gesturing to a chair in front of his desk. "I'm so glad you agreed to meet with me so soon after our last meeting." He replied while taking a seat. "Care to explain what's going on? You said it was urgent when we talked on the phone. " Ryan said. "Yes sir." Darius responded while pulling a file out from his briefcase. "Last week I received reports that some people were spotted roaming around the woods." Darius explained while handing Ryan the file. Ryan took the file and opened it.

"One thing I can say for sure is these men are not human." Darius added. "Some have been seen shifting into wolves so we believe there may be a pack not too far from the company office." Ryan nodded his head in response as he crossed one leg over the other. "How many men have been spotted?" "We counted around 10." Darius responded.

Ember tilted her head in confusion. '𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯?' She wondered. "Could just be a small group sticking together, doesn't necessarily mean there's a pack nearby." Ryan stated. "That's a possibility, however, they seem to be going back to the same spots each day, like they're patrolling the area." Darius added. "Interesting. It would be beneficial for the company if we took down a whole pack. '' Ryan commented.

Those words made Ember gasp. '𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴?!' Her eyes widened in surprise. Her gasp made Darius notice her. "Who's this?" He said while raising an eyebrow. "This is my pet Ember." Ryan responded while glaring at her for making a sound. "She sure is pretty." Darius smirked while looking her over. Ember scowled at him and turned away, she wanted nothing more than to scratch his eyes out right now.

"Anyway, we'll set out next week to capture the werewolves. Pack or not, they still need to be dealt with." Ryan said to get Darius's attention. "Of course, sir." He replied. "Now that the important stuff is said, are you planning on coming to the Royal Gala this year? You skipped last year's event." Darius questioned. "Yeah, Shiloh had sent me a personal invention so thought I might as well attend." He said, sounding annoyed.

"That's great! Can't wait to see you there." Darius replied. He then looked over to Ember who was eyeing him carefully. "And will you be bringing your pet? It'll be a good chance to show her off." Darius asked, giving her a small smirk. Ember immediately jumped up from the ground, shook her tail furiously and let out a low growl.

"Hey! Sit your ass down." Ryan commanded through clenched teeth. Ember looked over to him and flattened her ears. She hated being treated like this. "I ordered you to sit!" Ryan snapped at her. She reluctantly lowered herself back onto the floor. "Seems like she still has some training left." Darius retorted while winking at Ember, earning a small growl from her.

Just as Ember was turning to look back at Ryan, he had smacked her across the snout. The blow stung her face, causing her to cry out in pain. "Don't ever forget your place. If I tell you to stop growling, then stop growling. Understand?" Ryan said menacingly as he glared at Ember with anger in his eyes. "Yes." Ember replied meekly. "Yes? Yes what!?" "Yes sir.." She whispered quietly with a look of fear on her face.

"Good." He muttered under his breath before turning back to Darius. "Alright, I've got a lot more work to do. Thank you again for coming, Darius. Good day." He said, annoyance clear in his voice. Darius gave Ryan a quick nod before leaving the room. Once the door closed behind him Ryan sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "What did I tell you about misbehaving?" He asked her.

Ember stared at the ground and stayed silent. After a short moment of silence Ryan continued speaking. "Let this be your first and only warning. Behave yourself or else I won't hesitate to punish you. Am I understood?" He demanded.

"Yes sir." She mumbled. The rest of the day went much like the beginning of the day until the time came for bed. Ember curled up into a tight ball in her cage and waited for Ryan to come and lock the cage door.

After twenty minutes had passed Ember decided she needed to pee. So she got up and walked out of her room to go find one of the servants. She hated having to use the bathroom outside like a dog but it was better than pissing and shitting where she sleeps. When she finally made it to the kitchen, she found a servant that brought her food earlier that day. The lady turned to look at her while raising an eyebrow. She glanced over to the clock then back to Ember.

"You should be in your cage by now." She said with a hint of panic in her tone. "I have to use the bathroom.." Ember responded. "Very well, make it quick." She said while leading her to the backyard. The air was cold, damp and filled with a thick fog. Ember made her way to the bushes and quickly relieved herself. As she was making her way back towards the servant, she stopped, getting an uneasy feeling that she was being watched.

She turned and scanned the tree line, finding no one, just the misty fog. She did one last look over and froze when she saw a figure standing just beyond the tree line. The figure was that of a big animal, possibly a wolf or large dog. The figure didn't move, it just watched her , its yellow glowing eyes piercing through her soul.

Ember tried to remain calm and slowly made her way to the house where the servant was impatiently waiting. She started moving along the path, trying to put distance between herself and the beast. But even though she could tell it was still watching her, she felt relieved when the beast disappeared behind the trees.

"Hurry up, Master Ryan's going to be pissed that you're not in your cage!" The lady yelled, making Ember look away from the forest. She took one last glance at the forest before following the servant inside the house. "Now get back to your room before you get both of us in trouble. " She said, clearly annoyed with her.

As Ember approached her bedroom, she noticed the light was off when she remembered it being on when she left. She slowly pushed her door open with her snout and peered inside. She didn't see anyone so she walked in and started towards her cage but froze when the door slammed shut and the light flicked on. Ember turned and looked at the intruder, finding herself staring into the eyes of a very angry looking Ryan.

"I thought I told you to be in your cage by the time I come to lock it!" He shouted. Ember flattened her ears and lowered herself against the ground in submission. "Sorry.." She apologized.

"Get in the cage." He demanded. Ember quickly scurried over to her cage and hid in the corner. Ryan then crouched down and locked the cage door. "You will not be given any food or water for the next three days. Am I understood?" Ryan asked. Ember simply sat with her head hung low, not wanting to answer. "Answer me!" Ryan repeated himself while slamming his fist on the top of her cage. A few seconds later she lifted her head to look at him. She slowly nodded her head and Ryan stood up. "Good."

Ryan stood up and walked out of her room, turning off the light as he left. Ember laid her head down on her paws as tears began to fall. '𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳! 𝘏𝘦'𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 ?? 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮?! 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘵!' Ember thought angrily. Tears continuously fell from her eyes while she curled up in a ball, shaking from all the emotions that flowed through her body.

•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

When Ember woke up in the morning, her cage was already unlocked. She stretched and stood up to walk over to her food dish to find it empty. Her tail thrashed around as she remembered she wasn't allowed to eat or drink anything. She's never been without food or water before. Even back at the pet shop they made sure she had food and water. It was shitty food but it was food nonetheless.

She let out a sigh when her stomach growled. '𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴, 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦.' She thought as she made her way out of the room. She made her way into the living room where she found the usual servants cleaning. They all looked at her but didn't say anything. '𝘖𝘥𝘥..' She thought. Just then there was a knock on the front door and one of the servants left to go see who it was.

Ember slowly followed the lady to the door and watched closely as she opened it. There standing outside were two ladies dressed in fancy dresses and a man who was wearing a black and red suit.