Free A Short Leash by Loki Renard Page A

her no more than five feet from him at any time, but the sights and the scents rushing her senses more than made up for that. This was the world as it truly was, soft earth beneath her feet, creeping between her toes with every step, the radiation-tinged breeze making her skin tingle ever so slightly. The air in the city was sterile and still, scented with nothing but the perfumes and flatus from the citizenry.
    She had never been in that particular part of the wilds before; her homelands were many miles off. The area she found herself in was more verdant and flower-filled than the wilds surrounding her village, which were mountainous, rocky, and often cold.
    She saw a movement out of the corner of her eye and froze.
    “What is it?” Kade asked.
    “Rabbit.”
    “We’re not hunting yet,” Kade said. “Leave it be.”
    Sierra ignored him. A rabbit, plump and juicy and fresh for the cooking made her mouth water and completely overrode any obedient impulse. She dived into the bushes, missed the rabbit completely and screamed as the collar sent a shock arcing through her rear cheeks. She did not know how the damn thing worked, but it was very effective. She felt as though a cane had just been laid hard across her bare behind.
    “Let that be a lesson to you,” Kade said. “You do not hunt unless I give the order.”
    Gritting her teeth, Sierra clutched at her bottom. It did little good, because there hadn’t really been any cane and there wasn’t actually any sensation to abate, just the message of it still lingering in her mind.
    “That wasn’t fair.”
    “That was perfectly fair. Stay with me and do as you’re told. That’s not so hard, is it?”
    “But the whole world is here,” Sierra complained. “And I just want to chase a little bit of it.”
    “Time for that later,” Kade said. “Today is for you to get used to the wilds again. A year is a long time to be away, your instincts are dulled, and what you do sense, your body isn’t ready to act on. Give it time.”
    “Time. Time, always talking about time,” Sierra said. “What if there isn’t any such thing as time? What if there’s only now and now I don’t get any rabbit?”
    Kade gave her his sternest expression, his scarred face taking on an almost fearsome aspect. “We’re not having one of these discussions. We need to keep going. There are others waiting for us, remember.”
    She did remember; there were going to be other pets and other hunters. Citizens and wild ones all together in a happy meeting. Sierra was looking forward to meeting the other pets. Maybe she and they could come up with some kind of plan to break free. The other pets must also be missing their wild lives.
    A few minutes later, some of her questions were answered in a clearing where four people—two citizens and two pets—were waiting for her and Kade. Two women around Sierra’s age were lounging at their masters’ feet. One had long green tresses, the other was blessed with much more rare hair of a pink hue. Sierra noticed that they did not look at one another and at first they also avoided making any kind of eye contact with her. They were far too busy gazing adorably up at the men standing over them. That changed when Kade made an appearance. Then they turned their eyes to him, ecstatic expressions appearing simultaneously on their pretty faces.
    “Gentlemen,” Kade nodded. “And ladies, of course.”
    All sorts of greetings passed between the men, but Sierra did not pay any attention to them. She was much more interested in the pets. They were very well dressed in short brightly colored tunics that barely covered the tops of their thighs, dark panties that gave them some measure of modesty, and long fur boots that came all the way up to their knees. Their hair was braided and tied back so that it would not catch on trees or brambles during the hunt. The pink-haired pet wore a tunic matching her hair color; the green-haired one wore a royal blue tunic with a