Chapter 1: *"Don't Touch Me"*

Faye's POV

"Lucian, move faster—"

I hooked my legs around Lucian Vance's waist and pushed him deeper inside me, until I couldn't hold back anymore.

He came.

"Let's go again. You know I have a sex addiction—once isn't enough."

I looked at him with a flicker of hope, but just like always, he shook my hand off. The glance he threw back at me was the same as ever—full of contempt. His silver tail flicked with impatience, like he was brushing away something dirty.

Lucian said nothing. He picked up his shirt and put it on, then stood to pull on his pants. I reached out and grabbed him.

"Faye, you make me sick. Why can't you be more like your sister? Lucy focuses on her work every single day. What about you? Is sex all you ever think about?"

His words cut into me.

I lowered my head and muttered, "But the whole reason I bought you was to help with my sex addiction."

"You—!"

My words pushed him over the edge. His perfect abs rose and fell with his sharp, uneven breathing, and the tips of his raised dog ears trembled slightly. I watched the smooth flex of his stomach and couldn't stop myself—I leaned in closer.

Lucian's skin was white, unmarked by a single scar. Pure white dog ears, a large fluffy silver tail swaying behind him. His fangs were small, but his red irises gave him a natural intensity that made him look severe even when he wasn't angry.

I pressed myself against his abs. The cool, smooth skin did something to quiet the heat burning under mine.

But Lucian pushed me away almost immediately, his face still wearing that look of disgust.

"Faye, don't touch me. Lucy's waiting—I promised to take her shopping today."

He didn't give me a chance to stop him. He was already gone, his tail pulled stiff and straight behind him, decisive in a way that left no room for argument.

I sat at the head of the bed, the fire in my chest burning all the way up to my head.

I pressed a hand to my temple, fumbled through the nightstand drawer for my cigarettes, found one, lit it, and took a long, hard drag.

---

My name is Faye Sinclair. To explain how things got this way, I have to go back a long time.

Twenty-five years ago.

A virus swept across the globe and killed half of humanity. Surviving women were rarer still.

Later, humans discovered beast-kind living in the Amazon rainforest. Humans tried to reclaim the top of the food chain—and ended up crushed under beast-kind's feet instead.

But the virus hit beast-kind hard too. Every female of their species was wiped out entirely.

Human men, with their lesser physical strength, had already sunk to the lowest tiers of the workforce.

Because females had become so scarce, women now sat at the very top of the social pyramid, receiving the finest services available.

Human women held the right to select a beast companion. No beast could refuse.

My sex addiction came from my father. When I was still a child, he—

Never mind. That's the darkest period of my life, and I have no desire to go back there.

Lucian was the high-grade, racing-class canine beast I had personally selected—the finest of his kind. But somewhere along the way, he'd missed out on the loyalty dogs were supposed to have.

Lucian couldn't stand cigarette smoke, so I almost never dared to smoke in front of him.

The list of things he disliked was long.

He didn't like bold colors, so after he moved in I had the whole apartment renovated in black, white, and grey—and he turned around and took Lucy Sinclair out to pick paint colors.

He didn't like soft mattresses, so even though my back ached, I pushed through it and slept on a hard one.

Even if I'd originally bought him to manage my addiction, I still wanted to give him proper respect and freedom. I understood his pride, so I never wanted to force him into fully satisfying me. I had the patience for it—I'd always been good at that.

But the addiction was too tormenting to bear. I couldn't keep indulging him forever.

"Hiss—"

The cigarette burned all the way down and scorched my fingers. I flinched it away, and the heaviness in my chest sank even deeper.

Irritated, I picked up my phone and opened Lucian's location tracker. I needed to make sure he wasn't doing anything too far out of line.

But before I could check it, another notification caught my eye first.

【The ultimate companion for pleasure — a stress-relief beast you can use any way you want, any time, 24 hours a day.】

Beasts sold this way were usually common types—cats, dogs, standard breeds. Lucian was the highest tier of canine beast, sold as a racing-grade specimen. But through channels like this, there were handlers who raised beasts specifically to serve women's needs. If a woman wanted something tailored to her exact preferences, they could provide that too.

Every word landed right where it was meant to. My thumb hovered over the screen. I hesitated for a moment, then contacted the seller.

The reply came quickly: "You're welcome to inspect in person, or we can arrange delivery. Full refund if you're unsatisfied."

The black market wasn't far from my apartment.

I thought it over briefly, then decided to drive there myself.

Sitting in the car, the seller sent me a photo of the beast.

A gold wolf beast. His quality wasn't outstanding—the tips of his golden ears faded into black, and the ends of his tail were black too—but his teeth were sharp, and his amber eyes gave him a look that seemed almost easy to push around.

He was curled up inside a narrow silver cage. Dirty. A ball gag strapped between his teeth. His brows were pressed hard together, his expression one of obvious discomfort.

Even so, his features were striking—not the slightest thing out of place—and there was something undeniably erotic about the whole picture.

His tan, muscular body was bound in leather straps that cut red lines into the skin, which only added to the effect.

I pressed the accelerator down harder.

Thirty minutes away. I got there in fifteen.

Inside the shop, the owner was a very young woman. She hurried to pour me tea and pull over a stool.

I waved her off.

"Skip it. Let me see the merchandise."

She smiled brightly, eyes curving, and nodded twice. Then she moved to one side of the room and wheeled out a cage draped in a black cloth, positioning it squarely in front of me.

She winked at me and pulled the cloth off in one motion.

"His name is Thor Keller. Gold-wolf class. Just arrived today—he's clean."

Thor's hair was silver, though his body was a warm tan. His skin had a real luster to it, mapped with scars that somehow only added to his appeal. Amber-gold eyes, heavy brows pulled together. The kind of face that made it hard not to let your mind wander.

The light hit Thor directly. He shifted his head slightly inside the cage to get away from it—and his right shoulder grazed the silver bars.

A burn surfaced on his skin almost immediately. His gold tail snapped rigid, then curled inward from the pain. He sucked a sharp breath through his teeth and went completely still after that, body locked, not daring to move again.

I stepped forward and put myself between him and the light.

"Better now?"

Thor's face fell into the shadow I cast. He opened his eyes slowly and looked up at me.

The resentment in his amber gaze softened as it found mine—gradually, little by little. Even the tail that had been lashing restlessly began to settle, coming to rest behind him. Then he started to look at me, quietly and carefully.

The girl kicked the cage hard. The metal rang out.

"Show some respect. Who said you could look at a customer like that?!"

The cage slammed into Thor's back. He went rigid, the corners of his eyes reddening, the tendons in his neck standing out sharply. His ears, which had drooped, jerked back up—alert and tense.

I watched the whole thing with genuine interest.

What a contrast.

All that muscle, all those tendons standing out in his neck—and eyes that moved like a dog's, quick and alive, going red at the edges.

I tilted my chin toward the girl. "Let him out and let me have a proper look."

"Sure thing." She dug a key out of her pocket, unlocked the cage, and stepped back. "Out you come. Customer wants to see you."

Thor straightened his spine and stepped out, standing in front of me with his eyes lowered.

He was roughly the same height as Lucian, but noticeably more built—broader through the chest, and thicker everywhere else too.

I turned to the girl. "Anything I should know? Preferences, habits, that kind of thing."

She waved the question off. "He's a stress-relief type. As long as you don't kill him, you can do whatever you want with him. That's what he's here for—just use him however you need."

I nodded, but hesitated.

The apartment had the space. But what about Lucian?

The girl seemed to read my pause. She added quickly, "He's very affordable too. Ten thousand dollars. And if that's still too much, I can go lower."

Ten thousand dollars. Less than a fraction of what I'd paid for Lucian.

That kind of value was hard to argue with.

"No discount needed. I'll take him. Card."

She took my card with a smile, running it while she talked. "You don't have another beast at home, do you? He's naturally aggressive. Put two beasts together and they'll be at each other's throats in no time."

She paused. "Oh, and leave the gag in for now. He might get unsettled in a new environment."

I nodded and accepted both pieces of advice.

I still didn't fully understand what had made me move so fast. But something in my gut told me I'd regret it if I walked away.

She handed my card back, along with a chain attached to Thor's collar.

"Come again!"

The moment we were outside, the first thing I did was remove Thor's collar and gag.

I saw the flash of surprise in his eyes. He raised his hand slowly, touching his own neck, then his jaw, and frowned at me. "Aren't you afraid I'll kill you?"

"More than that," I said, tossing the collar and chain into the nearest trash can, "I find it disgusting to see you wearing something that's been on someone else."

Thor's hand went still.

He lowered it slowly, and for the first time, he looked at me with something genuine. His ears eased down from their guarded angle. The very tip of his tail began to sway, just slightly. He seemed to be in a better mood.

I crossed my arms and stood in front of him.

"I have my own rules. Better to say them upfront."

"There is already another beast living in my home."

The words landed. His fingers twitched—barely perceptible—and his gold tail froze mid-swing.

Small. But I caught it.

"What I need from you is to keep me satisfied. Can you accept that?"

Thor looked down at me.

After a long pause, he said, "Yes."

I continued. "Any preferences? I'll try to accommodate."

He answered faster this time. Just a small shake of his head.

"No."

His voice was low. His amber eyes shifted once.

I didn't know what to say to that, so I said nothing. I just turned and gestured for him to follow me to the car.

The drive home was quiet.

Thor stayed just behind me the whole way—measured, orderly, not a single unnecessary sound or movement.

I unlocked the front door.

A familiar voice came from the living room.

"Where did you go?"

Lucian was on the sofa, posture loose and easy—but his tail was beating restlessly against the cushion. Then he saw Thor standing behind me.

His expression shifted.