Orion had caught word of his Luminary taking on a pet. The Constellation had not been pleased. It went against his plan to cull the Canids to have Canis Major recreate them. Then he would have control over the Pack the way he should have the entire time. However, his displeasure had started to fade as soon as he saw the Canid running from Rigel. Catching the scent of the fear wafting off of Tala had made him want to join the Hunt himself. The temptation nearly overtook him even as he reached out to stop her from bolting again.

  He had been more than amused when she had whipped around to sink teeth into whoever had grabbed her. It was instinctual but also highly risky. If she had bitten Rigel, he would have beaten her. Orion, on the other hand, found it utterly fascinating. She impressed him with her ability to stop. Yet he found himself almost wishing she had actually sunk her canines into him. Would it hurt worse than when Canis Major bit? Or would she be just another weak dog?

  "Now, let's have dinner shall we?" Orion removed his hand from her chin. He placed it on her shoulder to gently lead her back towards the table.

  Tala turned to see Caelum picking up the heels she had kicked off. He looked pale as he met them before they could reach the table. She watched as he knelt down in front of her. In his hand, he held the heel out for her to slip her foot into. Tala fought the urge to look at Orion to see if this was even allowed. She put her foot into the first heel. They repeated it for the other.

  "Thank you." She whispered knowing it would be heard by all of them anyway. Speaking any louder felt dangerous.

  Orion squeezed her shoulder gently. "Speak up pup. You are Canid. Show a little more pride in that." He watched the apples of her cheeks darken. Even from this angle, he could watch her jaw clench as she tried to keep from mouthing off to him. "You can speak freely if you so choose to."

  She tensed as he handed her a sword pointed at her own chest and dared her to use it. "I have nothing to say." This time she spoke louder with the vabrado a Canid should have.

  The Constellation was slightly disappointed she missed the way she made him smirk. He looked over at Rigel. Things were getting under his skin. For a moment, Orion wanted to ask but then he remembered that they were not friends. Creator and creation were not required to get along with one another. In fact, was it not written in the stars themselves that the creation would one day want to be the creator themselves? None were truly submissive to the ones what made them.

  Tala was sat back in her seat. Orion slowly dragged his softly glowing hand along the top of her back. She felt bile rise in her throat. Across from her, Caelum bristled. Why? That made little sense to her. When he saw her looking at him, his shoulders dropped into a more relaxed position. All of this was making her highly uneasy. Everything was still screaming at her to run. Maybe if she slipped the heels off here at the table, she could make it farther this time.

  Just as she started to hype herself up to make another break for it, the smell of roasted meat filled her nostrils. Her stomach growled so loud she put her hand over it. Orion chuckled. Tala felt a flash of heat in her cheeks from embarrassment. Her body had betrayed her. She glanced at Caelum, then over at Rigel. Both of them were stiff. Her eyes moved over to Orion. He looked amused as he sat back in his high back chair.

  Two servants dressed in suits brought out the food.A roasted slab of meat sat on one serving tray by itself. It smelled absolutely divine. Other than the food in the mess, Tala was used to more dried meats and preserved fruits on bread. They were easy foods that kept for long periods of time. The idea of fresh, dripping meat had her salivating. She swallowed just to have her mouth refill almost instantly. Breathing in deep did nothing to help her calm herself. How uncouth would it be if she simply snatched the meat from the tray to sink her teeth into it before any of the others could?

  Other sides were sat down as well. There were various vegetables and fruits she had never seen before. Some were roasted. Others looked as if they were cooked in a pan with oil. A few were covered with batter that had been fried to a soft golden brown. She didn't know food could even look like this. Even the feasts back on Adhara in the capitol didn't look nor smelled like this. Tala's hand twitched. She had started to reach forward when Rigel cleared his throat. A pointed look from him had her pull her hand back.

  Each of their plates was filled to the rim with food. A thick brown gravy was poured over the meat once served. Tala's leg was bouncing as she felt hunger gnawing at her stomach. The servants left once the food had been served. Now everyone seemed to just be sitting and staring at their plates. She could feel eyes on her. Looking up, she noticed all three men were watching her. There was a long silence. Agitation rose in her chest.

  "What!?" She snapped finally since none of them were speaking.

  "Eat. Perhaps things are done differently on Adhara but women begin the meal within the walls of the Grand Hall. If no women are present, then I have that honor." Orion motioned towards her utensils.

  Tala looked between them. This was some kind of trick right? To see if she would just obey them without question? Or had they somehow poisoned her food? It had looked like things were distributed evenly but were they? Her nostrils flared as her ears laid flat to the sides with the tips pointing outwards. Lilac eyes landed on Caelum who barely dipped his head in a nod. She picked up the silver fork gently, trying not to click her claw-like nails against it. While continuing to look between them, she stabbed one of the roasted vegetables and brought it up to her mouth. As soon as she bit into it, Orion smirked widely.

  "Good girl."

  The others began to eat before she could rip the Constellation a new one. If there was one phrase in the star forsaken universe she hated more than anything, it was that one. Good girl. She wasn't some trained dog to be praised in such a way. It was condescending to her kind. He had done it to get a rise out of her. She wouldn't allow him the satisfaction.

  Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

  Tala continued to eat. Her focus became entirely on her food. There were flavors dancing along her tongue she had never experienced before. It made her wonder why the Pack didn't cook like this. They were capable enough to do so. Why not allow themselves such indulgences? She stabbed a piece of meat with her fork. It was tender to a point she didn't have to cut it into bite sized pieces. That was a blessing in itself. Canids of her breeding were not used to cutting their food with knives. They had sharpened canines for a reason.

  "Tell me Rigel, how are we fairing on the Ursa front?" Orion asked as he took a break from his meal.

  Rigel glanced over at the Constellation. "The Hunt is going as planned. I don't believe we will receive anymore push back from the Ursas but it is not guaranteed unless we make examples of those who would choose to rise against us."

  Orion hummed as he leaned back. A silence now hung in the room. The only sounds being made were those of their eating. Tala had stopped creating her own noises. She was used to loud, rowdy messes both here and on Adhara. The Pack ate together more often than not. If not with the Pack, she always had Cor with her. Sirius would join them when he could. There was always noise.

  "You've stopped eating."

  Tala kept her eyes on her plate. "I do not eat in silence."

  "Fair enough. Onto other business then. Rigel, how is training going?" Orion picked the conversation back up.

  Tala found herself eating once more as their conversation picked up. It was mundane updates after the mention of the Ursas. There was something about training schedules, how the markets further in the city were fairing, was trade moving as it should. All things that she didn't find that important. Though the mention of the market had her realizing she had not been there. Even with Rigel parading her around, that had been one place they had not gone.

  "I have yet to see the markets." She said as she finished the last piece of fruit on her plate.

  Rigel stiffened a bit. He had kept her from the markets for a reason. Too many there would be more than willing to send communications to Adhara for a price. Not that Tala had anything to offer anyone anymore. He had taken care of after setting her up with the Hermes courier.

  Orion put his elbows on the table, intertwined his fingers, and then rested his chin atop his hands as he looked over at her. "Would you be interested in seeing them little wolf?"

  "Yes."

  Caelum cleared his throat. This was the first time he had dared to interrupt anything going on. "I can take her to the markets in the morning. I needed to go anyway to pick up an order. She can accompany me." He sat up straight as he spoke. It kept him feeling confident even though under the table his hands were shaking.

  Rigel opened his mouth to protest but was cut off.

  "Splendid. Then Tala will stay the night in the Grand Hall as my guest and in the morning, Caelum will show her the sprawling markets of Betelgeuse." Orion sat back and clapped his hands together. "You all are excused." The meal was over.

  Caelum was the first to leave. He bowed to Orion and received a nod of acknowledgment before leaving. That left the others to look at one another. Tala noted how Rigel looked as if he was about to implode. The Constellation was either oblivious or simply did not care how his Luminary felt. When Orion's gaze fell onto Rigel, he cocked an eyebrow as if asking why he still remained.

  White eyes cut to Tala as he stood. "I shall escort the pup to her room." He began to walk around the table behind Orion to make his way to her. A hand grabbed his forearm to stop him in his tracks.

  "No. I will escort her to her room. You are dismissed Rigel. There are reports to be written that I need sent to the generals before day breaks on the front lines." The authority in Orion's voice made Tala shiver.

  She forgot the kind of authority Constellations held. Both the Canis Constellations had been missing since before she was born if she was remembering correctly. Sirius had long been their Luminary and their leader until the return of Canis Major and Canis Minor. Some had tried to push Sirius to claim the title. That wasn't as easily said as done since the Council required a body be presented in order for someone to become a Constellation.

  Fingertips danced like ghosts across the back of her neck. Tala shivered and pulled her shoulders up while learning her head back to hide her neck. In doing so, she saw Orion standing behind her. When had he gotten up?

  "You need to work on your awareness." He spoke to her softly as his hand moved from the back of her neck to the front. A small smirk played on his lips as he felt her swallow and her pulse quicken. "Going to lick your teeth and show me your belly next?" Now he was teasing her. The resulting growl emanated deep in her chest and vibrated against his palm.

  Tala could see the glint of excitement in his eyes as she stared up at him. He was enjoying this far more than she wanted him to. "I will rip your throat out with my teeth and enjoy feeling your blood run down my chin." She snarled showing her teeth not in submission but in a threat.

  Orion chuckled. "Is that so? I eagerly await the day you try to." His hand moved from her throat. He pulled her chair out for her. "Let us retire for the night. I will show you to your room."

  It was only once she had stood up that he began to walk away. Tala truly had no choice but to follow him. She could have potentially gone back to the barracks. However, questions would have been raised. The others would have given her even more flack for being nothing more than a vicious dog trying to parade as a house pet. Her heels clicked on the floors. She couldn't take it anymore. Stopping in the middle of a hallway, she leaned down and ripped the shoes off. Orion stopped when she had. He watched her in amusement.

  "Do you enjoy being dressed up like a doll?" It seemed to be a genuine question.

  "Do you enjoy being a pompous ass?"

  He laughed. The deep clarity of it made Tala's face flush pink. She had not been expecting it. She wondered why he hadn't turned and snatched her up the way Rigel would have. How was this the same being who had called for the culling of the Pack?

  "I can tell him to stop, you know." They continued walking as he spoke.

  Tala considered it yet knew Rigel would simply find a new way to degrade her. She sighed through her nose. "No. I can handle the dresses."

  The two of them were quiet after that. Tala was trying to figure the Constellation out while Orion was thinking he had finally, truly, found the Canid he had been looking for. So many others had failed his tests, broken so quickly, or given into carnal desires within moments. Tala was far different than the others.

  Soon they stopped outside of a cream colored door. Orion turned to face her. He stood tall as he looked down at her. She looked up at him. Her head tilted slightly as a look of annoyance started appearing on her face. The corner of his mouth pulled up in a slight smile.

  "Clothes will be given to you in the morning. Something a bit more comfortable than a dress and heels. Enjoy the markets tomorrow. Goodnight Tala." Orion bowed to her.

  Tala stood there stunned. A Constellation should not be bowing to an Astral. She was trying to find meaning in his gesture when he stood back up and simply walked by her. For longer than a minute, she could only stand in the hallway replaying what had just happened. Breathing in deep broke her out of her trance. She turned and opened the door to the bedroom. As she closed it behind her, the only thought on her mind was getting out of the dress and sleeping.