One Deaf Mate and Two Shifters

Chapter 25

As I grew up, all I had to eat was pieces of rough, course, dark bread that had little to none flavor and sometimes it was moldy. But I ate it, because I never knew when they were going to feed me again. There were times that they gave out soup. It had been the water that was used to boil the bones of other slaves. Their bones were used in weapons or tools of punishment for the rest of us. Very rarely, the masters would get in a plant they called lettuce. They hated it, but they had great fun watching us scramble for morsels of the crunchy goodness.

Master Brandon had cooked some soup for me, calling it Beef Stew. He said it contained carrots, potatoes and onions, along with beef chunks. I had no idea what any of it was, but he was so animated when talked about how he grew the potatoes himself and pulled the carrots from Mother Nature's embrace. He talked so fast I missed a lot of his words as he spoke of the onions. I was curious about it all, but I knew not to ask questions of my masters and I stayed quiet. Maybe beef is a part of slave I never heard about? Why do carrots come from the earth if potatoes do too? Why is one a tuber and one a root? What is a root? What is a tuber? Also, Master Brandon is a hand waver. Any time he speaks, he starts waving his hands and then when he gets really excited, he starts to flail his arms. Finally at the peak of excitement he starts to pace. Making it very hard to follow him. He doesn't seem to notice that I can't see him or when he gives orders.

Master Matthew is the opposite. He stands right ahead of me and does not move often. If anything, he has stood leaning against the counter with his arms crossed, watching Master Brandon and I the whole time. The only time I saw him in action, was when a potato began to roll off the counter where Master Brandon could not see it. Master Matthew moved so fast, he caught it before Master Brandon noticed and put it back in its original spot. He then turned and began to watch me again, Master Brandon in his peripheral.

As Master Brandon moved around the area the masters called a Kitchen, he threw a pot onto a 'stove' and began to cut up pieces of meat. Master Matthew commented that the meat came from cow named Jess and that she had been past her prime.

That's what they do with their slaves after they are no longer needed?!?! I remembered my previous masters calling the other older female slaves cows. Maybe it is a common term used by masters.

After cutting the meat, Master Brandon threw the meat into a 'skillet' to 'brown', along with butter, another product they had made from Jess. At least they do not waste their slaves, maybe she died of old age and they did not want to waste her.

Next Master Brandon got out a lot of different plants, named each one, and began to cut each one up. Lastly, he dropped all the chunks into the pot along with water and began to 'simmer' it, as he called it.

Turning around, Master Brandon explained, "It can't be too hot, because it will boil the stew and make the potatoes mushy. Matthew does not like mushy potatoes, so lets try to avoid that hmm?" He winked afterwards and began to clean up the cutting board and other utensils in the kitchen he had used.

I will remember Master Matthew does not like mushy potatoes. Maybe they will only put me on food duty instead of pleasure duty.

I stared at the bowl in front of me. My stomach curled in hunger when I caught a whiff of it. It smelled like the most delicious thing I had ever been in the presence of. I did not want to eat it. I could not eat another slave. I would rather die. To have the food in front of me was the worse torture. Worse than my previous masters.

*****

I sat the bowl of stew in front of my mate. She looked away from me to stare at the bowl.

"Matthew, what if she doesn't like it?" I murmured.

"Brandon, it will be fine. If anything, we will eat it and make her something new." I nodded at his words and turned to watch her.

She just sat there staring at it. She didn't make a move for the spoon. I began to wring my hands and look at Matthew.

Please... Do not make me eat them, Master!

Matthew and I started at her mental cry of despair. Matthew tapped on the counter until she looked up and he questioned, "Babe, I know you didn't just speak out loud, but do you not want to eat?"

She shook her head up and down. I cannot eat anymore slaves, I will take whatever punishment the masters give me. She murmured to herself.

Oh Creator! What had they done to her?!

I moved in closer till I stood on the other side of the counter, opposite her. She had turned to watch me completely with wide eyes. Her body shook and she began to emit a fine layer of fear into the air.

"Angel, I am not mad at you. What do you mean anymore slaves?" I asked.

At my words she looked away from me and looked at her hands resting in her lap. Without moving, my brother and I waited for her to answer.

A minute or two passed before she relaxed her shoulders and sighed. "Not meat... but soup... bones..."

Hearing this, I moved around the counter until I kneeled beside her and took her hands from her lap. She resisted for a second before giving up. That was what it was. Her whole body gave up, she no longer had tension in her body, she just went still. Waiting for whatever I would do.

Looking up into her deadened eyes I asked, "Angel, did they feed you the dead slaves?"

Slowly, she nodded, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "Not meat..." she continued.

I no longer stood in the kitchen with my mate and brother, I stood in a lighted room containing many people and large vats. There were bloody bones being put into the water, whereas other people removed liquid from other vats to be put into containers. In a second, I was back in the kitchen with my twin kneeling beside me.

Matthew, I don't think she knows she is doing this. She has no filter. No control.

I agree Brandon. Let me see what I can do.

From his kneeling position, Matthew got closer until he was barely touching her legs and took her hands from me. Looking up, similarly to me, Matthew said. "Babe, you need to stop calling us master. We do not own slaves. That means we are not your masters." He paused looking at her. She had wrinkled her brow and was gazing down upon us when her expression changed into a mask of pure fear.

Please don't kill me! I'll be good! She screamed, making us wince.

"Babe, I said that we do not own slaves, not that we were going to kill you. You are our mate, not our slave." Mathew stated as she began to tug on her hands, trying to get away.

Reaching up, I grabbed her face in between my palms, "Angel, we will protect you and never harm you. You are no longer a slave."

**********

I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I know it has been awhile since the last update, but I had to do some soul searching when it came to the characters of this story.

How do they express love? When will they?

How we learn about their backgrounds? Will we ever?

Will other characters show up?

How to explain goat herding?!?!?!?!?!

So many questions......

As always, please

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Have fun until next time!