After getting clawed by Taylor again,I finally drove myself to the ER. The nurse peeled the towel away and sucked air through her teeth. “Honey.Honey.” Four claw marks from my shoulder damn near to my wrist.Deep enough to see pink. “Your beastman ever been through socialization training?” “Graduated top of his class.” Taylor Jones.Pureblood silver fox.Rank-S compatibility.Five hundred thousand dollars—my entire savings.Every overtime shift.Every packed lunch.Every dollar I didn’t spend on myself for three years. Twelve months ago,he begged me to choose him.Before anyone found out he was infertile. Now my phone was buzzing. “It’s just a scratch.Did you seriously go to the hospital?” “Dramatic much?” “I’m hungry.Come home and cook.” Then a fourth message.A screenshot sent to the wrong thread.Dinner reservation.Eleven Madison.Two seats.Tonight. That would be Ava. Ava.Grade-A human.Family money.She wanted Taylor for her bloodline program.Taylor played along.She didn’t know he was infertile.Nobody did except me and the Bureau. I paid dollars to save him from being discarded.Now he was helping another woman build a family. I locked the phone.Set it facedown on the exam table. One hour later I walked into the Beastman Bonding&Registration Center. “I’d like to replace my beastman.” The receptionist pulled up my file.Eleven months and three weeks of cohabitation.Ten days from permanent bonding. “Can I ask why you’ve decided to request a replacement?” “He doesn’t like me.” “…Excuse me?” “I think your training program failed.I’ve met strays that behaved better than him.If this is what a certified companion beastman looks like…then I think dogs deserve an apology.” Walking into the Center brought back the memory of how pitiful Taylor had looked that day.Before Taylor was diagnosed infertile,his auction price had once made financial headlines.He begged me to pick him up.
The receptionist’s face scrunched up.”That really shouldn’t happen.Hostile rejection from a bonded beastman is extremely rare.” I shrugged.”Guess I’m just unlucky.” “No—Ivy,please.”She stood up.”If there was a breakdown in our training process,that’s on us.That is not on you.” “This time,”I said,”I’m hoping you can match me with a dog type.” She gave me a soft smile.”Come with me.” I followed her through frosted glass doors into the back.Long hallway.Clean lighting.It reminded me of the first time I came here—how nervous I was,how carefully I’d counted the money in my account three times before walking in. In the new era,male beastmen had taken over most reproductive roles.When I bought Taylor,he cost five hundred thousand dollars.Every overtime shift.Every packed lunch. The showroom was bright and sleek.Holographic profiles rotated on a massive screen—face after face.Leopards.Snow lynxes.All gorgeous.All trained.All way out of my price range now. I watched them cycle through. “Is there…anything else?” “What type are you looking for?” “Dog type.Golden retriever,maybe.”I’d read online that golden retriever beastmen were naturally affectionate. “I’m so sorry,Ivy.No canine models available right now.”She paused.”But given your situation,we can put you on priority.First in line.” “…Okay.” She walked me back toward the lobby.As we passed through the corridor,a thick registration handbook started slipping under her arm.Something fell from between the pages. A photograph.Landed faceup on the tile. I bent down before thinking. Cold gray eyes.Sharp vertical pupils.Broad shoulders tapering to a narrow waist. And behind him—pointed ears.Silver-tipped. A fox. The receptionist noticed and sighed.”He’s actually the most obedient beastman we’ve ever trained.” I was still holding the photo.My thumb had landed right across his chest without me realizing. “Then why isn’t he assigned?”
“Corporate wanted to test a new market segment with him.” She hesitated.”But most humans won’t take foxes.Too unpredictable.He’s scheduled to be sold to an underground beast arena tonight.” “A fighting pit?” She nodded.Didn’t look happy about it.”He was raised for companionship since he was a kid.Temperament conditioning,emotional regulation,all of it.And they’re sending him to a cage.” She lowered her voice.”The ones they send there get torn apart.Sometimes there’s not even enough left to send back.” I looked at the photo again.Gray eyes straight into the camera.Not angry.Not sad.Just waiting. “I don’t care about fertility,”I said.”I just wanted someone—or honestly,maybe a dog—to come home to.Is he really obedient?” Her face lit up.”Extremely.” I looked at the photo one more time.Another fox.After everything Taylor put me through,I was really about to choose another fox. “Then I want this one.” “…For real?” “If nobody else wants him.” They brought him out for inspection. Taller than I expected.Broader.But the way he carried himself was small—shoulders curved in,chin tucked. He lowered his head.”I hope you’ll take me with you.” A pause. “The sooner the better.” Then he knelt.Right there on the tile floor.This six-foot-something fox beastman,on his knees in front of me. I didn’t move.Nobody had ever knelt for me before.Not once. He looked up and his ears—somewhere between a dog’s and a cat’s—pricked slightly toward me.Like he was already listening for what I needed. A good-looking guy with zero confidence.That got me.I won’t pretend it didn’t. I was done for. The paperwork took another hour.The receptionist handed me a sealed contract folder.”Ivy,I think he’s really lucky to have met you.We’ll deliver him to your registered address this evening.” “Thank you.” After finishing at the center,I headed to the mall.Place was packed the way it always was.Everyone tired from work. But happy.
Most of the people there were low-grade humans with their equally ordinary beastmen.Just regular couples doing regular shopping on a regular Tuesday night. Maybe one day that could be me.I took the subway home.Walked up four flights with the bags cutting into my fingers. I unlocked the apartment door and heard the TV already on. My hand froze on the knob for half a second. Taylor was home.He was never home.Usually he was out with Ava until midnight.But there he was,sprawled across the couch,tail flicking lazily over the armrest. It lashed once when he saw me. “Where the hell were you?You didn’t even make dinner.” “Living broke with you is bad enough.”He leaned up on one elbow.”Now I can’t even eat.” “I figured you’d eat at Ava’s.”I set the bags down by the door.”You don’t like my cooking anyway.” I said it simply:”Last birthday I spent all afternoon in the kitchen.You threw every dish in the trash.” He didn’t say anything to that. I crouched by the bags and started pulling stuff out.Chew sticks.A steel grooming comb.Fish oil supplements.I lined them up neatly beside the sofa. Taylor appeared behind me at some point. “…You’re treating me like a dog now?” I kept my face turned away from him. He picked up the comb between two fingers.”I don’t need this cheap stuff.My fur would get wrecked with a comb like this.” He glanced at the fish oil.”This brand isn’t even pure enough.” Then,quieter than before:”Whatever.Since you already bought them…I guess I can try.” “They’re not for you.”
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