I leaned forward, trying to ease off the stinging pain on my back, but to no avail.

Whipped - I had been whipped last night. For what, I didn't have a clue, but I never wanted to experience that again.

My own dried tears still stuck to my face. Ever since last night, the Pet Master had tightened my collar, enough so that it made breathing a challenge.

I couldn't breathe quietly even If I wanted to.

I didn't know what I did to deserve it. I always tried to do what I was told. Well, when it came to the things that I could control, that is.

The rest of the pets and I flinched as the lights in the shop suddenly turned on and the loud boom of the door told us that the pet master was entering.

Opening time.

The rest of the girls scooted back in their cage as the pet master walked by, some even whimpering in cowardice. I just sat there silently, not wanting the pain to return.

My eyes only met his for a brief moment before I looked away in sheer fear.

The day went on as normal, vampires coming and going as they pleased. Some left with pets while others took supplies instead.

I tried to make myself look smaller than usual today, letting my red, unbrushed hair hang in front of my eyes as I stared at the bottom of my cage, not even daring to look at the vampires that were examining me.

The bell rang as a new vampire entered the shop, and for some reason, I decided to see what had just walked in.

He was tall. He ran his hand through his seemingly naturally waved back, medium length black hair as his eyes scanned the shop.

His eyes were a deep emerald green, a color that I had rarely seen in the other vampires that come in here.

He even had a sharp jawline that nicely framed his face.

Yet another vampire that could easily show up any human man.

"What can I interest you in today?" the pet master spoke to him with his usual lines.

I returned my eyes back to the bottom of my cage, still listening to their conversation. It was pretty much the only entertainment I had.

"Im looking for a pet." the man said. His voice was low.

"Well sir, I can assure you that we have the finest that this city has to offer. Follow me if you would." the pet Master offered.

Their footsteps steadily got louder as they inched towards us pets.

"Anything particular that you're looking for?" the pet master asked.

I shifted my eyes up just enough to see the vampire lazily scanning over each cage. "Not really."

I immediately looked back down as our eyes met, a sense of nervousness suddenly crashing over me.

His footsteps drew closer to me, making my stomach churn.

I didn't want to be bought. I didn't want to be treated like a dog, only to be treated like a snack as soon as he got tired of me.

He bent down, meeting my gaze once more. His eyes squinted as he looked over my body.

I immediately squirmed to the back of the cage, letting out an exasperated whine as the expected pain shot throughout my body.

The man's eyes widened ever so slightly.

"What happened to her?" he questioned.

The pet master laughed. "Ah, her. That one tends to be a bit of a crybaby when it comes to most things." he mocked.

Well, I guess that was one way to put it.

The man stood back up, my gaze following him as he did.

"So, what's with the lash marks?" he asked.

"She wouldn't stop crying and it was starting to get annoying, so I gave her something to cry about instead." the pet master responded, looking very pleased with himself, "It was quite entertaining really."

The man's brow furrowed, but only for a second.

"Age?" he asked.

My eyes widened in surprise. He was actually considering buying me.

"Seventeen."

"Who was her breeder?" he asked.

Breeders. The vampires who took in the slaves and pets that couldn't perform their duties. The ones that forced them to conceive a few children before taking the child and killing the parents for their blood. The whole process made me want to curl up in a ball and cry.

The pet master shook his head. "She doesn't have one. She's a rogue."

I was free.

"I found her and her family roaming the outskirts of the city five years ago so, I captured her myself." he finished.

He left out the part where he brutally murdered my family and left their bodies to the wolves and vultures.

I quickly blinked away a sudden wave of threatening tears and shook the memories from my head, not wanting to get whipped again.

The man was silent, apparently thinking over what he was just told.

Rogues were a rare case. They were always said to be rebellious, and in some cases, dangerous. Apparently, I was a great exception, but he didn't need to know that.

"Blood type?" he questioned. My eyes went wide again. Why the heck did he still want me?

"B-negative." A rarity among blood, so I'd been told. "And, lucky for her, she's never been bitten." he finished, crossing his arms.

Pet masters weren't allowed to drink from what they had in the shop. It was considered unfair to the rest of their race. That was pretty much the only vampiric law that I agreed with.

The man's eyes widened slightly. He bent back down, his gaze meeting mine. It was like those eyes were boring right through my soul. I felt so exposed.

"Why hasn't anyone bought her yet?" he asked.

The pet master leaned against the wall, having explained her situation so many times already.

"Anxiety."

"Anxiety?" the man looked at the pet master.

He nodded.

"Yep. She hasn't been bought because people don't want to deal with it. She's had it ever since I can remember."

I tossed my head to the side. He acted like it wasn't his fault.

"She has these wicked nightmares pretty much every night. It's kind of hilarious once you get used to it. She's even known to start screaming or crying in the middle of her dreams." he finished, laughing silently to himself.

The man shifted his line of sight back to me.

"I'll take her," he said.

I'm pretty sure my heart just stopped then and there, but at the same time, it started racing.

Why did he want me? I DIDN'T WANT TO BE WANTED!

My breaths began to speed up as well, the tight collar making it sound like I was gasping for air.

"Wait, really?" the pet master questioned, "Why?"

The man paused for a second before he stood back up, flashing his fangs with a smirk.

"I like a pet that knows how to scream."

I thought I was about to throw up.

"Fair enough." the pet master said, grabbing an old leash out of the many that were hanging near the cages.

I pushed myself impossibly further against the back of the cage, working through the stinging pain as he began to unlock my cage.

No. This couldn't be happening!

I turned my head away as his hand approached me, hoping that this was just another sick nightmare.

As soon as he had clipped the leash on, he practically yanked me out. I immediately became a gasping, shaking mess on the floor, trying desperately to get a decent breath through this God forsaken collar.

Every movement caused pain to ring from my back.

"Dammit get up!" he yelled. A choked gasp ripped from my throat as he pulled upwards on the leash, not even giving me time to obey his order. I instinctively grabbed and pulled on the leash, trying to situate it so that I wasn't completely choking.

Bad move.

The Pet Master hated it when I tried to do something against him.

"You little..." he mumbled, raising his foot.

I tucked my head down, bracing for impact. What I wasn't expecting was for the man to take casual a step in between us before the pet master could kick me.

"I prefer my belongings to be intact." He said plainly, extending his hand towards him.

Both me and the pet master stared at him.

The pet master sighed, regaining his business composure. His eyes quickly glanced to the sides, making sure that no one else saw what he did.

"Right, sorry sir." he said, placing my leash in the man's hand, "Please come with me to the front."

With that, the pet master turned on his heels. I stayed there on the floor, trying to process everything.

The world was moving too fast. I looked up and shrunk back as I was met with those penetrating eyes.

He gestured with his head in a 'let's go' kind of way and lightly tugged on my leash. I stood up as quickly as I could, not wanting to be choked if he decided to pull harder next time.

My legs began to shake as I stood, both from the pain and because of the fact that I hadn't actually used them in a while.

The man waited until I was steady, noticing my struggle before he started walking.

This vampire was weird.

The pet master would have just started dragging me if I took that long.

It made me uncomfortable.

I made my best effort to keep a good amount of distance between us. Enough that the leash had some slack in it, and that there was no question on whether I was walking behind him.

I almost ran into him, not realizing that he had stopped.

"Do you need anything else today?" the pet master said as he gestured to the assortments of collars, leashes, whips, muzzles and countless other things that I wasn't sure I wanted to know the uses of.

The man looked down at me before looking at the selection.

I avoided eye contact at all costs.

"Yea, I'll take those," he said, pointing at something that I couldn't see.

"Excellent choice." the pet master said, retrieving whatever the man had asked for.

The uncertainty made me shift uncomfortably.

"Are you sure that you don't need any whips? You might need it with that one," he said, pointing to me.

The man shook his head, making my nerves calm down ever-so-slightly.

"Nah. I already have one," he said.

Nevermind.