Coveted

Taehyung

     I don't know why I opened the cage. Why I even fucking care if one croaks but something about seeing them so pitiful and weak...gets to me. I hate it. I hate them. Hate my morbid curiosity. Joon would definitely mock me over it. I'm never going to hear the end of it if he finds out I'm actually helping them and even considering keeping them around.
     In my defense, though, it's a good idea. We just let go of a bunch of maids for various reasons and this way we don't have to pay for new help. We can just keep them at our beck and call. My ridiculously random bout of conscience cleared and we have new servants. Problems solved.
     I especially favor the sickly feline's older sibling. He has some type of appeal to me for some reason. I lead them out of the basement and up the stairs to a much warmer room. Our in-house physician's office.
     Knocking on his door, I glance at the taller kitten and wink. He looks away, his tail shifting uncomfortably. Hmmm. I can kinda see how those stupid vampires thought to make profit off this one.
     "Can I help you?" Jackson, our physician, asks looking wearily between me and the hybrids.
     "I need you to do an examination." I say, pushing my way inside only to smirk. His boyfriend Mark is sitting guiltily on the desk, obviously tasseled from their tryst. His shirt half undone. "Playing on the job, I see."
Clearing his throat, Jackson moves in front of his mate, flushed.
I chuckle. "Afternoon snack?"
Mark quietly excuses himself, walking away in embarrassment, head down. Jackson sighs, watching him go. "Alright. Which one am I examining? Why are hybrids even here?" He asks, grabbing his equipment. Curious but cautious.
"Struck gold in a raid. Just do it. Stop asking so many fucking questions." I scowl, playful mood deteriorating quickly.
He nods and helps the little kitten onto the table. He looks pale and very weak. His sibling glances at me nervously, chewing on his bottom lip. "T-thank you."
I smile wide, baring my fangs. "Don't thank me yet. We can work out a form of payment after we find out how much care he needs. What's your name, kitten?" I find myself asking.
He frowns, worried but nods all the same. What else can he do? "It's J-Jin."
Jin. Cute. I trail my fingers down his arm and he flinches, shivering at my obviously much cooler temperature. While hybrids are very hot blooded, vampires are very much on the opposite spectrum. Ice cold. Frigid.
Jackson finished up, frowning and letting the little kitten lay down on the cot. "He needs medication quickly, Tae." His eyes move to the other hybrid. "Have you been living out in the elements for a long time?" He asks.
My pretty kitten nods meekly. "We've been living on the streets. We had a m-master but he left us so we haven't been able to find much food or shelter."
My brows crease. I don't like the thought of him having a master for some stupid reason. Pisses me off, actually. The fuck is wrong with your head?
Jackson nods. "He has severe pneumonia. If he isn't given enough liquids and antibiotics he could die. This is serious." He pulls out a bottle of pills and helps the small hybrid swallow them with some water. "He has a high fever. This isn't good for hybrids. Their systems are weaker than humans. He needs to stay here and recover for at least a week or maybe longer to survive." He explains. "Out of the cold."
I contemplate what to do with two pairs of eyes on me. Eventually my gaze settles on my pretty little kitten named Jin. My brain refuses to let go of the stupid claim. My words directed at the physician, I stare down my kitten. "He can stay here. Take care of him. I will send two other hybrids up here later for an examination also. Do him." I nod towards Jin, shoving him lightly forward.
Jackson nods and pulls the frightened and devastated feline to another cot and begins to look him over. After giving him vitamin pills, he is deemed healthy enough. Not on death's door, anyway.
I walk out of the room and debate whether to bother Joon over this or not. Then again...he told me to deal with it and technically I am. He can't be angry if it's my problem. Feeling happy enough with my internal conflicted outcome, I feel a presence behind me.
Turning around, I come face to face with my little kitten. He wraps his arms around himself, looking lost. "W-why are you helping us?" He asks shakily.
I slowly tilt my head, moving closer to him, pressing him against the wall, one hand shooting out to rest beside his head, trapping him. He becomes lost in my eyes as I stare into his. My free hand caressing his cheek. He blushes. My fingers throb to grasp him. I clench a fist, instead.
"I think I will keep you as servants. You could be some use to us. We can't have sickly workers, now can we?" I utter.
He swallows hard. "H-how will I pay you for his treatment? Slaves don't get paid." He shudders as my cold breath brushes over his face.
He's just sooo....delectable. My little kitten. Smirking, I lean down farther making him flinch back against the wall and shut his eyes, scared. His pulse races in his throat and the urge to bite into him is almost too overwhelming. Tempting.
Coming back to my senses, I pull back. Freeing him. "You will work for me and only me. I want you to be my personal servant." I smile.
He gapes at me. "L-like a personal slave?"
"If you want to see it that way. You have masters, don't you? Same thing. Instead of money, I'll pay you in food and shelter and medical care. What more could you need? Living on your own has obviously not done anything for you. Are you not satisfied with my hospitality? I even saved you from a nasty life of selling your body and possibly watching your brother die." I remind him arrogantly. "Think they would have given a fuck? They would have sold his corpse."
A tear slips down his eye. "O-okay. I'll be your slave. As long as he's safe."
"I prefer the term submissive but it's basically the same thing." I tease.
His eyes widen in fear. "Are you m-my new master?" He asks.
I frown at his intense terror. "No. Well, yes but not like human masters to hybrids. You'll simply be my servant." I clarify and he visibly drops his shoulders. Relieved.
"Okay. For how long?"
My smile widens, laughing a bit. "Why....forever, my little kitten."