My tail snaps straight up the second Devileye rolls onto her back and shows that soft, pale belly like it's nothing like he is nothing special, like sharing his hand is some casual game she can just join. The blonde fluff of her tail brushes mine again and something inside me cracks open.

  Ears pin flat against my skull. Claws slide out fully, silent and I drop low, shoulders rolling forward. A low, rattling hiss starts in my throat, building slow, vibrating through my fangs until it’s more growl than sound. My tail lashes once, vicious before it curls high.

  She’s still purring. Still blinking slow and sweet up at him, red eyes half lidded in that smug house cat bliss like she’s earned this spot at his feet just by being soft and pretty and there.

  I surge.

  Not with spear or shield. Not with words. Pure instinct, feline no thought between brain and body. I launch sideways in a blur of dark blue and blonde slamming my shoulder into hers mid roll. We tumble together across the cold cobbles. My claws rake, not deep, not killing, just shallow scoring lines across her upper arm and the side of her ribs through that thin linen shift. Fabric tears with a soft rip. She yowls, high, startled and twists under me, legs kicking out to shove at my stomach.

  I don’t let go.

  I hook one arm around her waist, claws digging into the meat of her hip just enough to hold whilst I use my weight to flip myself so that I am now the one on top. My fangs bare fully now as I drop my face. My hiss is right in her face.

  MINE

  No words. Just the sound. My blue eyes lock on those crimson slits, pupils blown so wide they’re almost black. My ears stay flat, twitching only when her tail thrashes and smacks my thigh again.

  She yanks. My balance slips, I stumble, claws scraping stone for some kind of stability however before I can twist free she’s on me, smaller but faster than I gave her credit for.

  We hit the ground again, but this time she’s the one riding me down. Her knees slam into my ribs, driving the air out in a sharp hiss. She grabs both my wrists in one fluid motion, claws digging into the soft inner skin, forcing them above my head and slamming them into the cold stone.

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  My snarl rips out, raw, furious but she clamps her free hand over my mouth, palm tight across my fangs, thumb pressing hard under my jaw to force it shut. Her red eyes lock onto mine. No playfulness left.

  “Shhh, wild one,” she murmurs. “You marked me. Fair. Now I mark you back.”

  I hate it.

  I HATE HER

  I hate how my body betrays me, spine arching just a fraction under her weight, tail going limp under the crush of hers, the low growl in my chest stuttering into something closer to a whine.

  Devileye feels it. Her red eyes gleam. She releases my mouth, slow, testing, then drags one claw down the center of my chest.

  My ears snap forward. Rage reignites, slow, burning, coiling low in my gut as I roll to my stomach. Push up on shaking arms. Claws dig into stone. Tail lashes once, hard.

  Devileye glances. Red eyes meet mine. She smiles, small, fanged, unafraid.

  I bare my own fangs in return. Slow. Deliberate. Promising. She can pin me once. She can taste victory for a heartbeat. But I’m not house broken. Master’s hand drops to the base of my ears, firm, grounding. Thumb strokes once.

  Devileye’s smug little purr dies in her throat the instant the blade flashes. One clean, silent arc, redstone noble steel through air and fur and flesh without resistance. Her head separates perfectly at the collar line, rolling away in slow motion according to my adrenaline filled eyes. The body stays kneeling for a stupid half second, knees locked, tail still half raised before it slumps sideways.

  The scent hits me hard and my tail snaps straight up, rigid, then lashes once, vicious, triumphant.

  Master stands exactly where he was. Cloak barely stirred. The clan redstone noble sword already sheathed again at his hip, like he never drew it. His voice comes out calm, bored, the same tone he uses when the tea’s gone cold.

  “If you’re finished playing, kitten, we have actual work to do.”

  He steps over the body without looking down and closes the distance to me in two steps. His hand drops to the base of my tail, fingers closing around it in that firm, possessive grip that makes my knees buckle every time.

  “Good cat though.”

  My tail curls tight around his wrist twice as I surge up. "Mine. Only mine. Always mine." The bond flares bright between us, his quiet satisfaction. Just the simple certainty that nothing touches what’s his without permission, and nothing touches me without consequences.

  I nuzzle deeper, rubbing my cheek hard along his jaw, marking him with my scent over and over until the alley reeks of me instead of her. My ears stay forward, twitching at the distant sounds of the guildhouse settling, guards sweeping glass, servants whispering, but nothing matters except this.