Wild and Free

Chapter Four

Samantha's POV:

After going to the shoe store and spending a couple thousands on new shoes for Erika, I decided it was time to meet Mom in the food court. It was nearly 10pm according to the large clock on the wall and my phone. I shot Mom a quick text and she almost immediately replied that she was actually there waiting for me. I speed walked there, the bags swinging against my legs. When we got there I quickly found Mom and sat down at her table. Erika pulled out a chair and sat across from me, crossing her arms on her chest.

"So what did you get?" She asked, munching on some fries. Before I could speak I heard Erika's stomach growl. I looked over at her and she was staring at the menu for Burger King, practically salivating. I pulled the leash a little to get her attention.

"You're hungry?" I asked. She opened her mouth to say some witty or sarcastic comment, then thought better of it and closed it.

"Er..Yes. Ma'am?" She replied, almost as if she was asking a question.

"It's Mistress when you're addressing my daughter" Mom snapped. I pressed the button for level 3. Erika let out a cry of pain and forced out the word mistress like it was vile.

That'll teach you.

"Well. I'll get you food" I said after a bit of time.

"Thank You, Mistress" She said blandly. I accepted it and got up to get her food. She followed and I asked her what she wanted.

"A number 5. The burger" She said to the cashier, who gave me a confused glanced. I soon realized that Erika wasn't supposed to be ordering anything.

"She'll be getting the number 5. I'll have a small salad" I cut in quickly. She looked relieved and punched in the order, handing me the recipient. We walked over to the pick-up section to wait for our food.

"You can't punish me for that" She said immediately.  I smirked.

"But I can punish you for telling me when I can and cannot punish you" I replied. She scowled, but didn't say anything else. Our food was given to us and we returned to our table to dig in. I poured dressing all over my salad and began to eat, realizing I was indeed very hungry. I looked up and Erika was sitting in her chair not touching anything. I looked at Mom.

"Pets wait for their owners to give permission first before eating. They learn some basic things there" She replied. I looked back at her.

"You can eat now. I know you're really hungry. How much did they feed you there?" I asked. Erika picked up her burger, unwrapped it and took a huge bite.

"Once a day. It was a pretty big lunch but not enough to make me actually full" She explained while chewing. "He probably purposely fed me less. I was always last"

I finished my salad and and reached into my bag to show Mom the expensive collar. She chuckled when she saw it.

"Those are great. Worth the money. Their tracking system is the best. Room restrictions, Calories tracker, Heart rate monitor, the works. It has an alarm too that'll shock the wearer awake at a certain time. It stings for a little bit. Pretty cool stuff. Here we'll put it on her and I'll show you" She explained. Erika stopped eating as soon as she heard that. Maya got up and unclipped the collar from around her neck, placing it into one of the bags. She secured the cheetah print one around Erika's neck and then attached the leash, handing the end to me. She then grabbed my phone and sat down to show me how it worked.

"Going away from you will end in a shock that will slowly get worse. Good for if you don't want to use a leash all the time. I set the alarm for  7am everyday, she's supposed to be up before you anyways. The heart rate thing isn't really useful but if you want to use it you can. Oh there's two bracelets too" She said. She put down my phone then reached into the box and pulled out two thick cheetah print bracelets. She grabbed Erika's wrists and placed them on each one, tightening them to make sure they would stay. Erika finished her food and was trying to drink her water while keeping her wrists out for Mom to work.