Ren had taken you the same way he always took someone. A little conversation at the bar, a smile, a drink he bought for you—something slipped inside it—and that was it. You were out like a light.

That felt like forever ago. Months, surely. By now, you’d learned something he seemed thrilled about: the two of you were soulmates. You discovered this the first time you upset him. He’d dragged you down to the basement, angry enough to hurt you—only to find he couldn’t. No matter how hard he tried, you were untouched. Not a single bruise, not even a scratch.

Ren had been stunned at first, staring at your flawless skin as though the world had just rewritten itself. But shock quickly turned into delight. He had been dying to meet his sould mate.

From then on, everything changed. The shock collar stayed, of course—there was no chance of you running—but he treated you differently than anyone else he’d ever kept down here. He gave you privileges the others hadn’t had: a TV, sometimes even a computer, though only when he was with you. Most of the time, it was just the two of you playing games together, as if you were a normal couple and not… whatever this was.

Now, he was in the kitchen, humming softly as he prepared food for the both of you. When he returned, he set the plate carefully in your lap. Then he curled up beside you, pressing close, his fox ears perked forward eagerly as he leans into you.