My arm flies up when he tugs the leash, and I stumble after him, trying not to trip. The other humans turn their heads, scream, and jump out of the way as we run through the crowd. He laughs so hard that it is difficult to believe he has not tripped or bumped into anything yet. I yelp as I almost step on a cat. “Master, wait!”

“Master?!” He whips around, panting. “You’re calling me Master?!”

I hunch over as I even my breathing. “Yes. Whoever… commands me… holds the title… ‘Master.’”

“So you call the seer Master, too?!”

“No, I call her ‘the seer.’”

“Lame. Why not ‘Mistress’?”

“She asked me to call her ‘seer.’”

“Oh.”

…

“What, you’re just gonna look at me like that?”

“What should I do, Master?”

“Follow me.” He grabs the leash and starts weaving between people. He turns around. “Stay right behind me.” I quickly move close enough so I can smell him. He stops and turns around, alarmed. “Not that close, you dumb dog!”

“Sorry.” I resist the urge to flatten my ears in submission.

“Let’s go to that stand over there.” Master tugs the leash, my arm flies up again, I fall onto his back. He grunts and turns around again and pushes me onto the ground. “Are you serious?” He rolls his eyes. “You’re too light. Come on, get up.” He pulls the leash hard, and I stumble to my feet again. “Seriously, how does someone like you do all that work for the seer? Do you know magic or something?”

“No, Master. I have no magic.” I follow him closely, guided by the leash. He grunts. I suppose he heard my answer. We end up at a stand selling more vegetables, and… books?

Master runs his finger along one of the books. “You’ve seen these, right, dog?”

“Yes. The seer reads them quite often.”

“What kind?”

“They are much larger than these. Sometimes she casts spells and uses magic.”

“But you don’t do magic.”

“That is correct.”

“So, you just do all that work by hand?”

“Correct, Master.”

“What does this page look like, Pup?” He opens a book and pushes me to the table.

…

“There are many lines and shapes,” I say.

“Try harder.”

…

“Forgive me, Master, but I cannot read.”

…

He sighs loudly. “Fine.” He closes the book and walks away without even saying hello to the merchant. Before I can apologize in place of him, he is pulling me again, so I follow. The merchant grins and waves.

“What else will we do today, Master?”

“I want to steal something.”

“Master, consider the consequences of such an act.”

“What do you know? You’re just here to follow my orders. Like a dog, right?”

“Yes, Master.”

We continue looking at the goods that each merchant has. I watch others looking at us. They do not seem fond of the boy, but he ignores them. I hear him mumbling to himself.

“So, Pup, think you can make those guys talk to me?”

“Which of them?”

“Those. The big older ones. I want to fight them.”

“Is that safe for you?”

He shoves me. “You scared?”

“No, Master. But it does not seem safe for you.”

“But you can just turn into a wolf and protect me.”

“I do not want to disappoint you, Master, but omegas do not have the ability to turn into a full wolf.”

“What kind of bullshit is that?” He grips my arm tightly, digging his nails into my skin.

I stop a yelp. “Master, please calm yourself.” As I turn to the boys he pointed out, I see them walking towards us. “They are coming, Master.”

“Fuck–”

“So, Alair. Who’s this? She looks a little small for you.” The boy’s voice is threatening.

“Fuck off.” Master’s voice is louder. “Or I’ll tell him to bite you.”

“That ain’t a wolf, you pussy. It’s a girl.” He pulls my ear. They snicker. Their laughs sound like the wolves of my clan. I growl.

A new voice makes everyone stop. This time, it is a girl’s.

“Can you please just leave them alone? You’re wasting your time.”

Master’s grip on me loosens. “Merle?”

The boy shoves me into Master, who pushes me away. “Damn, Alli, what’s wrong with you? Need the ladies to save your ass?”

The girl folds her arms. “Whatever. Alli, let’s go.”

Master sticks his middle finger out at the other boys, then pulls me with him, the boys still laughing behind us.

The girl stops and turns around. “Go back to your mother.”

Master huffs and rolls his eyes. “Don’t get in the way next time.”

“You were gonna lose anyways.”

“You sure about that? Don’t stop me next time.”

“Whatever. Hey, who’s this? Your minion?”

“My slave. He does whatever I want him to do.”

“Oh, like watch over you? Isn’t that what I do?”

“I don’t ask for you to follow me around all the time.”

“So you want him to follow you instead?” She jerks her hand towards me.

Master opens his mouth, but says nothing.

“My brother didn’t ask for you to follow him around all the time, and you still did.” She leans close to Master. “Are you in love with him or something?”

I feel Master’s grip tighten on the leash, even though he’s not pulling. His voice turns into a harsh bark. “Shut up! At least I care about him!”

“Wow, look at you getting mad.” She snorts and turns away, but looks back at us, staring at me. “At least I have a real brother.” She walks away into the crowd.

We are left standing in the middle of the path, more people looking at us and whispering to each other.

“Don’t listen to them, Pup.”

“Yes, Master.”

“Good. Let’s go.” He leads me around the market, making several turns, before we come to a stand where a man is saying goodbye to a guest.

“Hey, Alli. Who’s this?” His low, friendly voice tickles my ears.

“Pup. He’s a servant.”

“Well, hello, there.” He sits down so that we can see each other’s faces. “I’m Alair’s father. Charles.” He holds out his hand.

I do what the seer taught me and shake his hand. “It is nice to meet you, Charles.”

“And you as well.” He releases his hand and stretches. “So, Pup, are you new here?”

“He doesn’t live here, Father. He’s an omega.” Master holds up the leash. “I’m testing him.”

“Oh, really? How did that happen?”

Master explains what happened at the seer’s stand, ignoring the parts about the scarf, the chase, the fight, and the girl. Charles nods and “mm-hmm”s while serving each guest, ending each purchase with a kind “Thank you. Come again.”

When there are no more guests, he sits down on the stool and looks at Master, who slumps deeper into his chair and sighs. “I wanna get out of here.”

“Why’s that, son?”

“It’s so boring.” Master’s voice sounds so hopeless. Should I comfort him? Is he in the mood for such things? “There’s just work and that’s it. I wish I was at school with Jacob.”

“When you’re older, we’ll talk more about it, Alair. Right now, we want you to study here. And it would help if you started trying to get along with others. You know, even if you’re surrounded by all the geniuses of the world, there’s no use if you aren’t being kind.”

Master sighs loudly, sliding down his seat even more with his arms crossed. He looks even angrier than before. “…’Kay.”

It is very quiet. Then Master drops the leash on the ground, and even though we are not yet bonded, it feels like a connection has been cut. His expression changes so quickly that it could have been just the light. But there was surprise and fear. But for what?

Charles finishes helping another guest and sits back down. “So, Pup, you’re an omega. What happens on the full moon?”

Master suddenly sits straight up. “Yeah, you said you couldn’t actually turn into a wolf.”

“That is correct,” I say. “I am unable to turn into a full wolf. But every full moon, I travel to the forest to meet with my clan. Because I am the omega, I receive much of the aggression that the clan holds in a ritual called the chase. I return the next day with only minor injuries, because wolves heal quickly and feel less pain. They should not get in the way of my tasks.”

Master’s voice is loud and strangely excited. “So you’ve been getting beat up all your life?”

“No, Master. I became the official omega when I was a few years old. That is when the chases started.”

“So what’d you do before?”

“Before I became the omega, I could only watch as the omega before me was chased and beaten by the other wolves.”

“Hm.”

“Only when the former omega died did I become the omega. I was still a full wolf, so I could still live with my clan. But as I grew older, I could no longer stay in my wolf form. A little after I became the new omega, I completely adopted my human form.”

“…What? So you can actually look human?”

“No. For wolves, it simply means having mostly human traits except for my ears and tail. There is no way for any wolf to look like a true human.”

“Isn’t that kind of a rip-off?” Master’s hand waves in the air. “What if a wolf wanted to live with humans and look like an actual human?”

Was there truly any wolf who wanted to live among humans? “…I am not sure. Wolves prefer living with their clan.”

“So you miss your clan?” Master asks.

Did I? I try to think of a respectful answer. They depended on me to release their aggression and fulfill their need to fight and hunt, but what did I need from them? I take a deep breath to clear my mind.

“So, do you?” Master’s voice is impatient.

I almost forget that I am wearing the bracelet until I feel Master tugging slightly on the leash. He is sitting back in his chair, but his eyes are alert. Was he truly interested in my history?

“Pup…” He draws out the name. “Do you miss them? Yes or no. It’s not that hard.”

“It’s okay if you’re not comfortable with answering, Pup. Alair can be a little too curious sometimes.” Charles pats me on the head.

“Not like it’s a bad thing,” he mutters. I see him staring above me with an almost angry look on his face. “Father, did you just pet him?”

“It’s the same head pat I give to you and your mother, Alli.”

Master sighs and walks over to me. He pats and rubs my head and scratches me behind the ears. “If you can pet him, then I should, too.” As he turns to go back to his seat, the feeling of the scratches behind my ears remain. I feel myself blush for no reason. Unlike facial expressions, it is impossible to hide.

“So, Pup, if you were to join us, what kinds of tasks could you do for us?” Charles asks.

“Yeah, what kind of training did you get?” Master asks, staring at me. He looks at Charles. “The seer says he’s basically Mother. Cooking, cleaning, patrolling, caring for animals. Might be a lie, though.”

In my mind, I shake off the last bit of Master’s head pat. “I am trained in housework and yardwork, and I can look after children. I cook, clean, keep things organized, care for animals and crops, and look after the house.”

“That’s impressive,” says Charles. “Just as the seer says. How long have you been training under her, Pup?”

“For quite a while,” I say. “After I became my human form, she took me in. I am not sure exactly how long.”

“And then every month, you need to go back to the forest and see your clan?” asks Master.

“That is correct, Master. Without an omega, the clan no longer has anyone to chase or hunt or fight.”

“They rely on one wolf for that? They don’t have back-ups or anything?”

Back-ups? “…What do you mean by back-ups, Master?”

“I mean, there was that old omega, and then there was you, right? So couldn’t there be two omegas at the same time?” he continues.

There could not be what omegas?

I jump at Charles’ low voice. “It could be that it’s just custom to have one omega at a time. Maybe they do have a certain way of doing things and we just don’t know about it yet.”

“So not even he knows everything about his own clan?” Master tugs at the leash. For some reason, I feel slightly ashamed at his question.

“Well, think about how much we don’t know about other people and our village.”

For Charles’ age, it seemed like he was okay with not knowing everything. My ears twitch with relief.

“Hey, his ears moved!” Master leans forward in his seat, pointing. “That’s the first time!”

I blush at my slip, but remain still. “You are observant, Master.”

Charles “hm”s and looks around at the market. “Alli, where is your mother? Is she hiding from us?”

“Probably hiding from the wolf,” he says. I cannot tell if he is being playful or serious.

“Could you look for her? You can take Pup with you.”

“But I thought we were busy.”

“For now, we aren’t. I can handle this, while you go search for Mother.”

“You think she might be talking more with the seer? After we left?”

“Well, knowing her, she’s probably gone on to talk with all of the other merchants.” Charles laughs. The corners of Master’s mouth twitches. “I’ll be here, as usual.”

“Huh. Okay.” Master pulls the leash. “Come on.”

We walk past a few stalls when Master starts talking again. “So, Pup, can you wiggle your ears or something?”

“…Pardon?”

“You know. Like this.” Master stops and turns his face away. I see his ears move quickly back and forth. “Can you do that?”

Were all children like this? I resist furrowing my brows at the strange request and focus on moving my ears in the same way. But it’s like I’m trying to control the body part of someone else. “Forgive me, Master. I do not believe I have that ability.”

“But you just moved them!”

“…I suppose it happens when I do not think about it,” I say. “The seer trained me to not show emotions with my ears or tail.”

“Or face. Or voice.”

“…Yes, that is correct.”

“So, she teaches you to speak in a certain way, right?”

“That is correct.” How much could a child ask? I could not remember a time where I needed to speak so much in a day. Master grunts and continues leading me through the market, making comments about the wares and other people. As we walk, I catch whispers related to my ears and “Alli’s friend.” Friend? I stare at the leash. What were friends?

“Hey, Pup, d’you remember what Mother smelled like?”

“What do you mean, Master?”

He sighs loudly. “Never mind.”

I am almost sure I hear him say, “Dumb dog.” He stops. I bump into him, but he does nothing but sigh. “There she is.”