Rune guided his latest trainee out his front door, watching as the boy walked obediently to his master, who waited by his expensive car parked in front of Rune’s house. Upon reaching his master, the boy bowed, and his master grinned. Rune sighed to himself. He hoped this master would treat his slave in accordance with the community’s rules, but it was hard to tell. Luckily, one of the things he had trained into the boy was to utilize the community’s help line if he ever felt like his master wasn’t following the rules. Rune wasn’t above training masters, too.

Rune watched as the man spoke to his newly-trained slave, and the boy knelt down and kissed his master’s shoes. The master was obviously pleased by the slave’s lack of hesitance, and he looked up at Rune and waved in gratitude.

Whatever. Just make sure you pay me in full.

Rune waited until the two climbed into the car and left. Once the car was out of sight, Rune closed his door and made his way through his house to his office. He settled into his chair in front of his desk and leaned back. He rubbed a hand over his face, scrubbing at his eyes. 

It wasn’t typical of him to feel tired after a trainee left his care. Normally he felt relieved, free to relax and enjoy some time to himself, as well as an empty and quiet house. Lately, however, over the last few slaves he trained, he noticed he was feeling more fatigued after each one. Maybe this was a sign for him to take a break. He had been doing this for years, after all.

Nevertheless, it was good money, and it often served to stabilize his own head. Rune figured he had enough in him to take on one more. He would see how he felt after the next one was trained.

Rune turned on his computer and pulled up his page on his BDSM community’s website. He changed his public status from ‘Occupied’ to ‘Available’. After that, he checked his bank account, and was pleased to find that the master from earlier had kept his word and sent over the rest of their agreed amount.

He went back to his page. Over the last thirty years, Rune had accumulated quite a reputation within his community as a seasoned and skilled trainer. Rune could work with all kinds of practitioners. He had trained submissives who wanted the sweet icing of the BDSM cake, slaves who wanted the nitty gritty underground of the BDSM basement, dominants who wanted to hone their skills, masters who often blurred the line between consent and real world issues and needed correction, and even those who were completely new to the community and wanted a certified safe place to be introduced.

Rune liked being a trainer. It gave him a sense of stability and security he had always longed for throughout his vampiric life, and it had also made him rich. With smart investing, Rune was so comfortably set he could take a break for ten years and not even glance at his bank account. 

Rune was beginning to think that that ten-year break might be coming sooner rather than later. He didn’t expect the sudden rush of dread as his inbox began filling with requests. He stared at his screen as the notification count on his messages slowly ticked up. 

Maybe I shouldn’t do one more. Maybe I should talk to Mossimo about how I’ve been feeling lately.

Rune sighed and closed his eyes. He could look over those requests later.

He got about five minutes of peace before his phone began to ring. Rune pulled it out of his pocket and checked the caller ID. It was an unknown number, likely a scammer. Rune had no patience for scammers, but something tugged at his gut as he stared at the screen. He had a feeling he should take a chance on this call, just to see. He could always hang up without giving a single thing away.

Rune answered. He held the phone to his ear and said a simple greeting. “Master Rune.”

“Hello, Master Rune. My name is Devian. I have a slave in my care who has been causing me a lot of grief. I’ve tried to discipline him, but his rebellion knows no bounds. It’s gotten to a point where he has me pulling my hair out, and I’m at my wits end. Are you able to take him in and cull his disobedience?” a man’s voice said. 

Rune quirked a brow. Normally slaves in the community enjoyed being put down, but maybe this particular slave had an extremely bratty streak. “Explain how he’s been disobedient, and what actions you’ve taken to discipline him.”

“Well, he’s…” Devian began, but he paused for a long moment. Rune’s brows furrowed, and he checked the caller ID again. Maybe this was some new scam after all. “Talen is a very aggressive person. He’s a werewolf, you see, so he doesn’t take to dominance very well. He likes to be the one on top. He’s struggling to recognize his place under me. I’ve tried whipping him, caging him, controlling his food and sleep, putting him to work for hours, but nothing gets through to him. I’m hoping a new face and a new set of disciplining hands might shock him into behaving.”

“Hmm…” Rune hummed in reply. This slave was a werewolf? That was interesting. Rune hadn’t gotten to train many werewolves. His clientele mainly consisted of humans and other vampires. He wondered if this slave might reinvigorate his passion for training. “What is his age?”

“21,” Devin replied. Perfect, he wasn’t underage. Rune always had to check.

“Training an aggressive and defiant werewolf will take me some time. And it will cost extra,” Rune said. 

“I’m willing to pay however much it takes, and you can take however long you need to train him. I just need him to be completely obedient and submissive when you return him,” Devian answered. 

With no specific end date to work with and an added bonus for potential trouble and possible necessary equipment, Rune would have no problem training this slave. “I can do that.”

“Perfect. How soon can you take him?” Devian replied with eagerness. 

Rune glanced at his computer screen. He already had twenty messages waiting for him. He always liked to take a small week-long break between trainees, but, maybe this time he could make an exception. This werewolf truly sounded like a challenge, and Rune hoped it would relight his spark. He didn’t want to spend a week letting his fatigue catch up to him and weigh him down. 

“I’m free as of today,” Rune said. 

“Could I send him over tonight?” Devian asked. Well, that was quick.

“I don’t see why not,” Rune answered. 

“Fantastic. Can we discuss payment?” Devian asked next. The two delved into a discussion of how much Rune wanted, how much Devian would pay in certain intervals, and what all was expected of Talen’s training. Devian provided helpful tips, such as his current diet, how short his fuse was, and what conditions he wanted Talen to stay in. They sounded like typical slave conditions, but Rune would secretly make adjustments as he saw fit.

“And be careful, he likes to bite,” Devian warned. 

“You forget you’re speaking with a vampire,” Rune replied coolly. 

“Yes, right. Anyway, I’ll have one of my men bring him over later this evening. It’s a pleasure doing business with you,” Devian said. 

“You as well. Good day,” Rune said, and ended the call. He turned back to his computer and changed his public status again. He could already tell that many potential clients were disappointed by that, but Rune found he didn’t care. He had a rare opportunity to train a werewolf, and he didn’t want to miss it. 

~~~

Four hours later, after Rune had taken a nap and a shower, he went downstairs to wait for his newest trainee. Normally Rune would prepare for a new arrival, but he knew next to nothing about this werewolf, and he wanted to gauge everything when he met him. He knew Talen would be a rough one to deal with, at least, and possibly a handful. He hoped Talen would at least be easy to read.

Rune took a seat at his dining room table to wait. He passed the time by watching a video on his phone. After forty minutes, Rune’s ears pricked at the sound of tires on asphalt. 

As he rose from his seat, he heard car doors slamming shut. Then, a few struggling and angry grunts and growls. A wolfish yelp sounded right after. Rune wondered just how much of a handful this werewolf truly was. 

Rune went over to his door, but he didn’t open it. He decided to wait and listen, gathering more information on these newcomers without their awareness. He peered through his peephole and watched as two different men made their way to his front door. 

A man on the right had some build, wore dark clothing, and sported an annoyed and pissed expression. Rune guessed it had something to do with his bleeding wrist. In one hand he held a taser, and in the other, he held the end of a long chain that was wrapped tightly around the arms of the man on the left. 

The man on the left appeared much younger, and slightly skinnier, but it seemed to be from a lack of nutrition rather than lack of labor. He lacked a shirt, and only wore a pair of mucked-up pants that had surely seen much better days, years ago. He had his wolf claws out on full display, ready to lash out at anyone or anything. The whiteness in his fingers warned that the chains were far too tight for effective blood flow, and this worried Rune. He looked at the werewolf’s face, and amidst a murderous expression was a black eye, a fresh swollen bump on his temple, and sharp bared teeth. His hair was a mess, and he seemed to be in desperate need of a bath. Or three.

Talen…

Just as the man on the right raised his hand to knock, Rune swung open the door. The man flinched in surprise, but he quickly covered it back up with his previous scowl. 

“You must be Master Rune. Here’s your mutt,” the man muttered in lieu of a proper greeting. Rune raised a brow as the man thrusted forward the hand that held the chains. 

Instead of indulging him, Rune turned a calm gaze to Talen. The werewolf hadn’t let up in his fierce glaring, but he now stared at Rune. Without the skewed view of the peephole, Rune got a clear view of Talen’s eyes. They were instantly captivating. Talen had heterochromia, but not where one eye was starkly different from the other. Rather, the innermost parts of his irises were blue, intense blue, and the outer edges were a woody brown. 

Rune allowed a moment to be stunned, and easily kept it hidden. He stared into those eyes as they stared back. Rune could see the murderous intent within them, the hateful defiance he clung so tightly to. But the longer Rune stared, the more he could see that Talen wasn’t just angry, he was scared, and he was tired. Rune had to hand it to him; Talen knew how to hide it very, very well. 

The other man cleared his throat meaningfully. Rune turned an annoyed gaze to him and lazily took the chain. He held it loosely at his side. 

“He’s your problem now. I need to get back,” the man stated. Rune narrowed his eyes in displeasure. Nervousness passed through the man’s visage, and he turned to leave.

During the passage of the chains, Talen had turned his glare back to the man. Rune could see a tightness in his shoulders, a distinct curl to his lip and a twitch in his jaw muscle, and he knew Talen was going to attack. 

It almost happened too quickly. The man turned, Talen lunged, and Rune was too curious to stop him. Talen’s sharp werewolf teeth sank into the meat of the man’s shoulder, and the man screamed. Rune moved with the speed of light, yanking back on the chain and successfully pulling Talen away. Talen took a chunk of flesh with him as he went, ripping it out with a sickening sound, and the man’s scream turned into a wail. Immediately it morphed into an ugly battle cry and he lunged after Talen, taser raised to exact punishment, but Rune pushed Talen inside. He ignored the way Talen took a snap at his hand as he pushed at his back, and he let go of the chain as he stepped between the two. He grabbed the man’s raised arm and glared at him.

“As you said, he’s mine now. I will deal with him,” Rune said. His tone was dark with impatience, warning the man that if he didn’t back off, Rune wouldn’t hesitate to hurt him further. 

“Little fucker. Whatever. Have fun getting your ass beat, mutt!” the man spat. He shoved his taser into his pocket and cradled his bleeding shoulder as he stormed away, back towards his car. Rune waited until the man drove away, tires squealing as he peeled out of the street. Rune was glad he didn’t have very close neighbors.

The sound of quiet growling behind him brought his attention back to the subject at hand. Rune turned around to face the werewolf who was now in his care. 

Talen crouched on all fours a safe distance away, most of his weight focused on his hunched legs as he balanced the rest on his restrained arms under his chest. His blue-brown eyes glared with intense ferocity, daring Rune to try and hurt him. 

Rune calmly shut the door behind him. “Hello, Talen.”