I Unintentionally Became Her Kitten

Chapter 31: The Night is Dark and Full of Beasts

There was a stirring next to me and I started to get pulled out of the deep sleep. Alisha moved again, making me fight the wakefulness.

Her hand smacked the pillow directly above my head, jolting me fully alert.

I stared at her. She was scowling in her sleep, a fact I could see clearly in the amber glow.

“Alisha?” I asked softly.

“No,” she murmured and turned her head the other way. Her hair had been tousled everywhere so she'd been tossing and turning for a while.

My heart felt bad for her. I knew the terrible feeling of getting dragged into your own personal hell. I sat up slowly and reached over to gently lay my hand on her forehead, hoping to gently wake her up.

She grabbed my hand, painfully hard and then flipped herself upright. A knee drove into my stomach, making me gag before her other hand grabbed my throat.

I struggled, realizing she could easily kill me without even knowing.

Her eyes opened as I clawed at her arm with my free hand. I tried to speak, to draw her out of whatever terrible place she was in but there was no air for me to use and the pressure was building in my head.

There were a few seconds of me trying to pry her fingers off my neck before there was a light of recognition and she released me.

I coughed and gagged again as her weight lifted.

“Oh my God, Kitten,” she hurriedly scrambled away from me, then came back with a new feverishness as I took a few blissfully free breaths and sat up, letting the spinning in my head subside.

She didn't touch me, only watched with an expression I'd never seen on her face. There was real fear.

“I’m okay,” I managed, though my voice was hoarse and my throat still ached from where the pressure had been.

“I'm so sorry,” she said and anxiously reached out just to pull her hand back. I leaned closer until she rested her hand on my head.

I didn't know what to say. It wasn't her fault and I didn't blame her but ‘its okay’ would still be a lie.

“Are you okay?” I asked and rested a hand on hers.

“I’m– yes,” she decided. “I'm fine.”

I looked up, her hand sliding out of my hair as I did so.

“It's okay if you’re not,” I said. “I get them, too.”

There was a reminder that Sophia had told me she thought Alisha had bad trauma. I couldn’t be sure if it was sexual in nature but if our activities from a few hours ago triggered it, it could be. At the same time, I would not make Alisha tell me anything she wasn't ready for. She had always been patient with me.

She hesitated before pulling me closer and I nestled against her chest. Her fingers ran through my hair as they usually did.

“I'm okay, Kitten,” she said. “It was just a bad dream.”

I nodded. “But do you want to talk about it?”

She continued to stroke my hair, pulling the strands apart and teasing the tangles free and then she took a deep breath. “My father was not a good man,” she said finally. “And we argued a lot. He wanted me to take over the business, to become his underboss and establish a true criminal dynasty, but that wasn't what I wanted. I wanted to enjoy school and enjoy life. I wanted to meet cute girls and cute boys. I had a few romantic flings back then. One of the benefits of boarding school was being able to get into mischief without parents having their eyes on you. But he found out anyway and called them all distractions.”

I nodded. Her hand stopped and rested on my head as she pulled me just a little closer.

“Did he… take care of them?” I asked cautiously.

She shook her head. “I was pulled out of boarding school and brought back here to learn the trade by force. My job was to make money for him and that was all he cared about. He punished me… brutally.” I had a feeling she was going to go into detail but shied away at the last second.

I nodded.

“And then I ran away,” she said. “I didn't know how to survive on the streets like you did. I mainly wandered and when my shoes made me bleed I got rid of them and walked barefoot until I found myself deep in the woods. It was possible for me to be free here, away from people staring at me and trying to make me something I didn't want to be.”

There was another pause as she readjusted herself again.

“It took a few days for me to be hungry enough to wander back and that was when they grabbed me. My father gave me a choice. I could either do what he said willingly or he would find a way to break me and make me ‘docile.’”

I swallowed. That word didn't feel right when paired with punishment. 

Her body trembled against me.

“You're safe now,” I soothed and wrapped my arms around her. “And I'll do everything I can to protect you.” 

“Thank you, Kitten. I’m going to be okay. It just makes it hard to do my job when half the people that are supposed to be taking orders from me know…”

I nodded. I didn't know the details but I wouldn't make her relive that moment. “Your father's gone, now,” I reassured. “And no one can hurt you.”

Her silence was unsettling.

She smoothed my hair down again, resuming her pets from earlier. I could still feel her trembling but she held me tight against her chest so I couldn't see any of her facial emotion.

I wondered why her Mom was so angry with her that they wouldn't even talk to each other. I couldn't blame Alisha for anything she might’ve done to try and get away from this. If her father was that much more controlling and that much more power hungry than she was, I could only imagine the kinds of things he might consider punishment. It made my stomach queasy.

She kept holding me close until my back hurt from being strained too long and one of my legs fell dead asleep.

When she finally did release me she rubbed at her face briefly and then sat back against the pillows.

I repositioned myself to let the blood flow return and dared look her in the face.

“If I ever do something that triggers you,” I said, “tell me and I'll never do it again.”

Her sad smile returned and she patted my head. “You're very sweet, Kitten, but this is something I should work through, despite the pain.”

I nodded, understanding.

“Let's try to get some more sleep,” she decided. “It's late and I don't want you to be tired tomorrow.”

I settled back down on the bed and waited for her to get in next to me, but she remained sitting up.

“You should sleep, too,” I told her. “I’ll hold you.”

She slowly slid into the bed next to me and I pressed myself against her back, one arm sliding under the pillows under her head and the other wrapping around her waist and tugged her just a bit closer.

“Thank you, Kitten,” she sighed.

When I woke again her spot was empty and cold. I picked myself up, and shakily got out of bed. Even with the interlude of serious discussion, my body still felt last night like a ton of bricks.

I didn't know where Alisha went. There was sunlight now so it wasn't necessarily that she had simply not been able to sleep but I still wanted to find her and make sure she was okay. The tenderness on my neck was a constant reminder she was hurting in a very real way even if it was all in the past and her father wasn't able to reach out from the grave to grab her.

I went down the stairs and heard some noise. I didn't know what it was but it was coming from one of the back rooms I’d never been in. I could hear smacking, like the kind that gym mats made.

When I got closer I could also hear Alisha’s heavy breathing between bursts of the sound.

I rounded the corner to find an exercise room, with what looked like a full set of gym equipment including a treadmill and bench press and a set of kettlebell weights lined up on a rack. What Alisha was working with, though, was a punching bag which Tye was holding steady for her as she beat on it with quick bursts of punches that left it shaking on its chain and Tye bracing visibly to keep it in place. She had these large black boxing gloves on and had her hair pulled back in a ponytail. I’d never seen her put her hair up like that. If anything, she usually did some form of fancy bun. She looked up as my shadow passed on the floor.

“Kitten,” she said and huffed another breath out before tearing one of the boxing gloves off to hold out her hand. It was still wrapped in another layer of protection but her fingers were free to run through my hair again. I closed the distance and wrapped an arm around her just to find her damp with sweat. It wasn't the most pleasant hug I'd given her but I let it last several more seconds. Her heart was beating rapidly as my head pressed against her briefly.

“Did you get some good sleep?” she asked.

I nodded. “Did you?”

She gave me that sweet smile. “Better with you there.”

I was a little self conscious as Tye was watching us from around the punching bag. I wasn't sure if I wanted him to know the depth of our relationship or not. (He could probably tell anyway.)

“Are you boxing?” I asked, looking between her and the punching bag.

“Yes,” she said. “It's great exercise.”

I nodded. This looked like it had been an intense session and was probably why she had so much strength for someone who had little need for it.

There was a thoughtfulness to her expression as she sized me up, then she turned to Tye.

“Would you be willing to teach her how to disengage?” she asked.

“As well as I can,” he said.

Alisha undid the Velcro on her other hand and slid the glove off before beginning a long process of unwrapping these bandage-like things from her knuckles. The fabric fell as she went, forming a black spaghetti-looking pile on the floor.

“What does it mean to disengage?” I asked, a bit wary.

“To break contact and ideally put distance between you and someone else,” Alisha explained. “Like if I were to grab you against your will, you could break my grip and run away.”

“Oh,” I followed. “So self-defense.”

She nodded. “Part of it. You should never need to fight but I don't want you to be helpless either.”

I looked at Tye, who I knew would easily be able to take me down if he chose. I didn't like the idea of practicing with him being a stand-in attacker.

“I'll be your partner,” Alisha said, knowing me well enough to see the anxiety.

I nodded, feeling relief.

“Come with me,” she said and bent over to scoop up the pile of black fabric before leading me into a small room with a mirror and a small shelf with another pair of boxing gloves and a basket of those handwrap things. There were also some clothes neatly folded on another shelf above.

“They'll be a little loose but it's better than pajamas,” she explained. I glanced down suddenly remembering that I was wandering around in the same thing I slept in. I hadn't even had coffee yet.

I also caught sight of my reflection in the mirror and froze.

A bruise had formed on my throat. It wasn't super dark but if someone was looking for it, or just knew what my face looked like well, they'd be able to tell right away.

I ran my hand over it, feeling the tenderness.

Alisha stopped, clothes in hand.

“I’m so sorry, Kitten,” she said softly. “I never wanted to hurt you.”

“I–I know,” I managed. It was still scary to remember the helplessness and the pain she had inflicted on me. No wonder people tried to appease her. She was a scary person when needed.

“I can give you some makeup to help cover the mark.”

I tilted my head the other way to reveal a rather large hickey she had left on me last night.

Tye would absolutely know we got into mischief. There was no way that he wouldn't notice this.

The rush of embarrassment as I realized he probably now thought I liked getting choked was… a lot.

I took a deep breath to calm down.

Alisha gently ran her hand down my back and offered me the clothes.

“Right,” I said and took them.

She left the small room so I could get changed. I hurried and did so, feeling more unsure than ever but she had a point that I should know how to defend myself, even if defending myself just meant running away.

I went out to the gym-room finding the two of them discussing something lowly, phones in hand so it was almost definitely business related. It wasn't serious though since Alisha dismissed it as soon as she saw me and beckoned me closer.

I felt strange in the loose clothing. Alisha was wearing a near identical outfit but it fit her as perfectly as everything else so even her athletic wear was tailored.

She pulled me closer once I was in reach. “Let us know if this gets to be too much,” she said. “I know athleticism isn't your strong point.”

I nodded. “I should learn this, though.”

She ruffled my hair briefly then looked at Tye. “What do you think? Should we start with arm grabs?”

He nodded. “Usually a good idea.”

Alisha gently walked me through the process, demonstrating with Tye even, how to rip your arm free of someone trying to hold it with brute strength. And then she had me practice on her, over and over again. Her grip gradually became stronger with each successful attempt. My hands were aching after a while from the repeated pressure and strain. Tye observed, and pointed out any flaws in my footing or if I didn’t bring myself back into a defensive-enough position. It became clear he was well versed in teaching this to people and I shuddered to think how nefarious some of his skill sets were and if he taught those to other people as well. He did seem to be in charge of Alisha’s other guards, and paired with being Alisha’s most trusted underling, I imagined he ranked pretty high on the pecking order and was probably well respected.

Which only made me wonder more what his job was exactly. I would not ask since the answer would most definitely be unpleasant, but there was some morbid curiosity.

After what felt like forever I was managing to get my arm free of Alisha’s grip almost every time. And then she decided to teach me how to free myself if someone grabbed my shoulder without consent. It was another motion that after several drills, left me worn out with my shoulders and arms aching and feeling heavy.

Alisha stopped us then.

“I think that's enough for today,” she said as I let my arms sag limply.

Tye nodded, agreeing. “She’s running out of stamina.”

Alisha ran her hands through my hair a few times and I felt the dampness as air pressed in behind her fingers.

“I'm gonna take a shower Kitten but I won't be long,” she promised 

I nodded, still winded.

She left to go to her bathroom downstairs, leaving me to wonder if I should get changed or shower.

I should probably shower, I decided. I wasn't as sweaty as Alisha had been but I also still hadn’t since last night.

“Are you alright?” Tye asked, making me freeze, half stepping toward the door.

The instinct to touch my neck won far before the conscious thought to keep it inconspicuous made its way into my brain.

“I'm fine,” I said carefully. It was uncomfortable.

“Did you try to wake her up?” He asked.

I nodded.

“That is a thing that happens,” he said.

“So… I take it you’ve tried to wake her when she’s having a nightmare.”

He nodded and then reached up to pull the hem of his shirt away. A thin white line lanced off his collarbone.

“I see,” I said. I was glad Alisha didn't have a knife when I touched her.

He let his shirt fall back normally. “If you need to wake her, it's best to toss a pillow or something from a distance.”

I nodded. It hadn't occurred to me at the time, but she had woken me from a distance when I had my own nightmare. Not as far as throwing something at me but still nowhere near touching my body, only my hand.

A sudden realization occurred to me.

“Wait– were you and her…?” It kind of slipped out before I could stop it. It wasn't really my business what Alisha’s past flings were. I knew she had them but it would be a little concerning if her close bodyguard had been one of them.

“No, no,” he denied immediately. “I've known her since we were little kids and have been by her side since before the death of her father and not every place she's stayed in had a good security layout. But we never had anything more than friendship.”

I blinked. I'd never heard Tye get rattled. “Okay,” I said.

He sighed. “Sorry. I've seen many people get whacked for making eyes at the wrong girl.”

I nodded. That would make sense in this industry where taking lives was treated as a solution to a problem.

“I’m okay,” I told him, pulling the subject back away from that. “It was scary, but this should heal.” I ran my hand over my neck again. “And I’ll keep it covered so it doesn’t bring attention.”

He nodded. “Alright.”

I was finally free to slip away and go back upstairs to shower, and get myself really cleaned up. The hot water was more than welcome on my tired muscles and once I got my hair brushed and a set of clean clothes, I felt like a new person.