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D aniel’s nest is so nice, he’s more than a little in awe of it.

It’s a dream.

It’s impossible that this is his, but it is. This is purposeful and deliberate luxury. It’s a place where he will feel safe and protected. He can stay here and his Dominant will be out in the other room, guarding him, Daniel sheltered and safe in the depths of their home.

He’ll read and sketch in his nest. He’ll nap and rest, he’ll be bred and used here, and it’s right. He won’t ever be demeaned or hurt for wanting to be here. No one will call him a disappointment and pathetic for wanting to whimper and needing to present. He can turn away from the world, burrow down, maybe even with a plug or his fingers playing at his hole, trailing over the teeth marks littering his body, and his Dominant will be pleased with him.

He can be weak.

It’s a primal need, and it resonates deep inside him. This is right. The urge to be mounted hard, to be wrapped up in blankets after, or bury his face in his Dominant’s groin while he gets himself together after being bred, settles around him. That will happen here.

This is his.

It turns out that Liam has a large antique dresser full of things for submissives. All of them are new, and Daniel’s allowed to use whatever he wants. The bottom drawer is filled with lingerie and he closes that drawer and focuses only on the space itself, not how he’s an overly large submissive who likely wouldn’t fit in the various silk and lace things that are in there. He’s decorating the space, not himself.

He puts up fairy lights in the room and gets a soft flannel bottom sheet, while the top sheet is cotton, white and crisp. There are pale pink satin pillowcases for the pillows (two are down and very fluffy, the other two are a better height for sleeping on), and the blankets are a mix of something that feels like velvet and something soft and cloudlike. It’s a bed he doesn’t want to leave. Now it just needs to be… his.

Theirs.

It won’t feel like his until he’s in it with Liam.

It’s up to a submissive to invite a Dominant into their nest.

And that’s what this is. This nesting room has never been used by another submissive. It doesn’t smell like another submissive, not even faintly. The things he’s been digging through, new and chosen with intention for a nest, indicate a Dominant desiring a mate.He knows Liam is trying to give him the full submissive experience, so it’s possible this is just another way for Daniel to really dwell in his submissiveness, but he can’t help but wonder if it’s more.

Maybe Liam is equally drawn to Daniel and wishes it could be more, too. Maybe even forever.

Maybe that’s just a fantasy, but bonding can happen fast. It isn’t unheard of for a Dominant to claim a submissive after one mating. The possibility fills him with joy as well as so many complicated emotions that he doesn’t even want to think about it. Daniel doesn’t need to borrow trouble, get romantic notions when it won’t amount to anything.

What’s more likely is that his father will send for him, and he’ll be so uneven and unwilling to adapt that his father will have no choice but to get rid of him.

For the first time, maybe since this whole genetic modification nightmare started, he lets himself think about whether or not that’s actually true. Yes, his father is a prideful man. Yes, he is stubborn and he can be cruel. But does he really not love his children at all? He’d loved their older brother, and he might have loved their mother. So, isn’t the man capable of love?

When he recovers and realizes his son has experienced being a submissive, is healthy and happy, and stronger than he’s been in years, will he change his mind? Isn’t it more likely he’d be willing to disown Daniel and let him leave the military?

And if that happened, would Liam want him?

He goes to take a shower, uncertain what to do about the plug and losing the come his Dominant gave him only a few hours ago, but surely, it’s too pathetic to go and ask his Dominant what he should do? Daniel is fully capable of making the decision. He takes the plug out, cleans himself and the plug, and works it back inside.

He has the oddest feeling that he’s lost something. He’s done wrong. Should he have asked? How pathetic , he thinks, and realizes there are tears streaming down his face. Daniel wipes them up quickly, needing to be with his Daddy. He’s going to throw the tissue away when he sees a capped, empty syringe in the trash.

What the hell is that?

He goes out to the kitchen. Liam is getting ready to cook, dressed in a t-shirt and pajama pants, his feet bare, hair curling and almost dry from his own shower. “What do you not like to eat?” Liam asks, looking him up and down.

Daniel blushes. He’s only in underwear and Liam’s robe.

“Are you kidding? I like everything. Well, I hate spam. And cabbage. Oh, and oatmeal. Not a big fan of oatmeal at all,” he says, going up to Liam.

Liam leans over and pecks him on the cheek. “We will avoid those things, then. How is your nest?”

“It’s beautiful,” he replies, blushing, joy rising up inside him.

His Dominant’s nostrils flare. “I’m glad you like it,” he says gently.

Daniel wants to ask him if it means what he thinks it means, but he’s terrified the answer will be no. “It’s too nice now. I won’t want to leave.”

Liam points to a plate of cookies. Daniel takes one, nibbles it and then devours it in three bites and reaches for another.

“There’s milk,” Liam says, gesturing towards the fridge. “Are you okay with whole milk?”

“Sure,” he says, and Liam nods, looking pleased.

“I’ve got lots of nuts and avocados. There’s always ice cream. At this point, I just want you to put on weight; I don’t much care how you do it.”

Daniel hesitates over taking another cookie and Liam’s gaze narrows. “I’m hoping you’ll start to feel hungrier soon.”

He takes the cookie, relief at the permission going through him. “Is it bad?” he asks, worried. Daniel knows how thin he is and how much he should weigh. He’s usually just too anxious to eat.

“No. Not at all. You’re beautiful. But you need to be a certain weight for your own health.” His smile is careful. “We’re gonna fix it,” he says, kissing Daniel quickly on the cheek again.

Liam wants to take care of him.

“You have a lot of nice things for a nest,” Daniel comments.

He doesn’t answer, just gives Daniel a distracted smile and looks down again.

“Your submissive will be very lucky,” Daniel continues, sick and waiting, but he needs to know what this is. It’s unsettling.

“Daniel,” Liam says, wincing.

And then Daniel has had enough. There is something going on with Liam. “I’ve heard prey submissives are very attuned to their Dominant. To unspoken cues.”

“That’s true. Being prey means you are very aware of your Dominant and his needs,” he agrees. He doesn’t say anything else.

“Right. So. You don’t get to keep me out. I feel it. Don’t,” Daniel demands.

Liam blinks at him, surprised at his tone. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I can’t figure out how to say what I want to say to you. I’m trying to manage my responses. I’ve got this bizarre… double speak, I guess you could call it, running through my head of what I want to say to you, versus what I should say to you, as this is a job and it will end. And yet, I’m not thinking of you as a job. My instincts are…. ”

“Maybe you just say what you want to say.”

Daniel waits.

Liam says nothing.

His Dominant is distressed and attempting to hide it. If he’s upset, he should reach for Daniel. What a strange series of thoughts, he realizes. Is that what it would be like if he could be a submissive all the time?Always getting to pay attention to his Daddy rather than fixating on himself? What a relief it would be. A job, something greater than his own neuroses.

“What was the syringe in the trash for?”

“Ah, hell. I knew I should have thrown it away in the kitchen,” he says, sounding annoyed with himself. “You’ve showered, I see.” Liam has a hint of a smile.

“Yes, I was gross,” Daniel responds, blushing.

“I disagree. Fuck, your scent when you started in on your nest, Jesus,” he says, and adjusts himself.

Daniel whimpers quietly, and Liam’s hand clenches on the counter, his nostrils flaring. He’s tense and coiled. Liam closes his eyes.

Daniel doesn’t know if he’s counting, but he’s got a look like he’s counting, and then he exhales and he’s calmer. It’s a pretty impressive trick.

“I’ve taken a suppressing shot. I think I’m close to rut,” he confesses, sounding ashamed.

“Oh.”

Liam’s voice is hard. “We are here for you. This is your shelter. I know what I’m doing, and I can take care of you properly. I can manage my response to you,” he says, which is not what Daniel was worried about.

“Okay,” Daniel whispers. He doesn’t want to imply his Dominant won’t take care of him properly. He knows Liam will. He’s certain of that. “I mean, I wish you wouldn’t ‘manage your response to me,’ but I’m sure you can.”

That gets him a heated look. Liam moves to the fridge, comes back again after getting nothing, and stares at the cutting board for a moment. He shakes his head. “Look, it’s not easy at the moment, but I’ll be better in an hour. Why don’t you go back to your nest and I’ll call you when it’s time for dinner?”

“What if I don’t want to go?” Daniel asks and moves over a step so he can see past the counter to the large bulge tenting Liam’s sweats. Why doesn’t he just breed Daniel? He clearly wants to. Especially if he’s feeling close to rut.

Liam cuts him a sharp look. “I’d like for you to go to your nest, Daniel.”

Oh. His voice is firm. Overly calm. What exactly might Liam do to him if he says no?

“Maybe you should ask me what I want,” Daniel says, leaning against the counter.

Liam huffs in amusement. “Absolutely not. You have no idea what you want. It would be wildly unprofessional for me—your Dominant who you desperately want to please, and who is edging towards rut because of your sweet ass—to ask what you want me to do.” He shakes his head. “Go to your nest, Daniel. I need an hour.”

That pisses Daniel off. Hell, that’s just as invalidating and mean as what his father and doctors have said to him for years.

Daniel’s eyes fill with tears. So much emotion and grief wells up within him that it makes it easy to speak up for once. “I’m yours. I’m here to be yours. You know you’re the only Dominant I’ll ever get to have, that I want everything with you while I can have it. Why would you deny us this? I thought… I thought you wanted me?”

But obviously he doesn’t if he can shut Daniel out and deny them both. Close to rut and able to say no, able to choose suppressants when Daniel is constantly wet and eager to be used.

It’s awful.

“Daniel, that isn’t what this is.”

“Bullshit. Why did you give me a nest? Are you gonna take my nest away?” he asks, and he’s sick at the thought of it, swallowing down bile. “Is this real or not?” Realization dawns. “It was because of the rut. You don’t mean it. I’m not special,” he says, wishing he’d never met Liam at all. It turns out this is the worst thing that could have ever happened to him. “You gave me the nest to have space from me. To buy yourself time—” His heart is breaking.

“No! That is not true,” he snaps.

Daniel whimpers and turns to run. Out the door, into the woods, anywhere. He doesn’t care where he goes, or where he winds up, but the urge to flee is overwhelming.

“Don’t you fucking dare,” Liam growls, his voice as heavy as death. “Do not run. Do not even think about having me chase you down. If you care for me, at all, you will not do that to us.”

“I—I need to run,” Daniel whispers. “If I go, you’ll chase me or you won’t. But I’ll know.”

“No,” he commands, so much dominance and power in his voice that Daniel wants to drop to the floor, press his face to the ground at his Dominant’s feet.

Liam won’t chase him down. It’s the ultimate test for prey, how Daniel is meant to be claimed and taken, and his Daddy is telling him no. Daniel has never wanted to cry or scream more. His lower lip wobbles and he can’t even meet Liam’s gaze. His voice is weak. “Is it my nest or not, Daddy?”

“That is yours, Daniel. I swear. Only yours. And…” He exhales slowly. “Your nest will be here for as long as you want it. You have a place and a retreat and a Dominant whenever you want. I have never brought another submissive here. I’ve never wanted to.”

“What good does that do me if I’m here for a few days and then gone forever?” Daniel yells. “And you’re going to go be with some other submissive in need! Don’t lie to me. Don’t pretend like you’re mine, like you’re giving me a home and a nest when you’re not!” He gasps in misery. “You won’t even chase me.”

Liam flinches. His hand clenches on Daniel’s and then relaxes. “I’m sorry,”he says.

Which is worse. This is almost over. He will never have this man again. Is this really how Daniel wants this to go?

“I don’t mean it. I want it. I want you. I want all of it until the moment my asshole father sends someone to come get me. I’m sorry I asked you to—I’m sorry,” Daniel says, finding it too painful to even say the word “chase” again. Not when he can’t have it. When Liam has told him no.

He shivers, suddenly cold. Wanting. “Fuck. I’m dropping,” he says. His chin juts up. Rejection is burning through him like acid. Daniel calls upon all of his hard-learned stamina and stands his ground for as long as he can.

“I want you, Daniel. I swear I do. I can give you something else. I want—” Liam cuts himself off, closing his eyes. “Yes, you’re dropping. I can feel it. You need… let’s go to bed.”

“Tell me what you’d do to me, then. What you’re resisting. Give me something ,” Daniel begs.

He can see the struggle in his Dominant’s eyes, the indecision. “Alright. I want your cock in a cage.”

His knees weaken and he locks them so he doesn’t fall. “How am I supposed to react to that?” he asks, because he isn’t sure.

“You tell me.”

Daniel swallows hard. His heart is pounding. “Do you have one for me?”

“You didn’t find it in the chest of drawers?”

“I… no, Daddy.”

Liam comes closer, two steps around the counter. His fingers tip up Daniel’s chin so he makes eye contact. “Now I’m Daddy?” he murmurs, voice dark. “Only Daddy would do such a thing to a sweet boy like you, is that it?”

“I don’t know,” he manages, blinking rapidly.

“Are you lying to me, baby?”

Tears fill his eyes. “I didn’t dare think it might be for me. I tried not to look at it.”

That gets him a gentle kiss. “Because you want it? Because you know it’s right for a boy who craves a plug and is in love with being weak? You say it so sweetly. Go on.”

“Daddy,” he whispers, protesting because he’s embarrassed.

“Do you want it, baby? Do you want Daddy’s cage? Do you want to give me your cock? Your pleasure?”

Daniel gasps. keeping his gaze low. He can see the hardness of his Daddy’s cock in his sweats. “I—yes. Please.”

If he can’t have Liam’s rut, can’t be chased and be prey in truth, then at least let him be caged.

Liam moves closer, nuzzles his neck and strokes him gently. Reassuringly.

“Good boy. You’ll be so fucking pretty in Daddy’s cage, baby. So happy, all locked away for me. You’ll know you’re mine, won’t you?”

“Yes, yes,” he breathes, about to fall to the ground.

Liam’s arm slides around him, holding him up. Daniel’s head falls to Liam’s shoulder. And then there’s a hand on his cock, between his legs, squeezing gently.

“Is this mine, baby?”

“Yes, Daddy.”

“Sweet boy. You’ll come on Daddy’s knot or from your submission. You won’t be denied orgasms, baby.”

He doesn’t care about the orgasms. He cares about belonging, feeling owned, pleasing his Dominant. The cage does all of that.

“I have to have it,” he whispers, and the tears spill down onto his Daddy’s t-shirt.

Liam squeezes Daniel’s balls gently, over and over, until Daniel abruptly relaxes, melting into the pleasure and building heat of his touch.

“When you get hard and your balls get full, it takes up space we need for my cock. It’s such a tight fit, sweetheart, that sweet little hole of yours. It’s better for Daddy if you’re locked up.”

“Yes. Yes,” he repeats, in a haze of submission. Liam sits him down on a stool and takes ice from the freezer, wraps it in a cloth, and has Daniel hold it to his groin while he goes to get the cage.

This is happening now. Right this very moment. Then he’s led to the couch in the living room and Liam opens the contraption. Daniel turns his face into the couch, tears welling out of his eyes, too overwhelmed to even look at the man who is everything to him.

“You are just the loveliest little thing, aren’t you?”

“Daddy, please,” he whispers.

Then there’s cold metal on his shaft, then looping over his balls. The click is loud, reverberating through his body.

“Oh, sweetheart. It’s beautiful. Look, baby,” he says, sounding reverent. It’s enough to make Daniel look. The sight of it is shocking.

Liam touches the little lock that dangles near his balls, tracing a finger over the metal. It’s snug, even though he’s soft and unaroused. Daniel’s hand shakes as he hovers it over his own groin.

“Go ahead and touch, baby. Daddy doesn’t mind.”

Daniel touches himself with gentle fingers, ghosting over the metal. It makes him shiver. “Daddy?” he whispers, feeling very small and good.

“That’s right. There you go. Do you hear it? How little you sound? This takes you right to the edge again, doesn’t it? So what do you say?”

He forces himself to look up, not at his little cock. “Daddy?”

“Very good,” Liam murmurs, then kisses him while the emotion rises and overwhelms Daniel.

“Daddy, I have to cry.” He waits, feeling filled with emotion to the absolute brim. He’s an overfilled cup and one more drop will knock him over and it will all spill out. But he’s still holding himself together.

It has to come out. He doesn’t know how to get the emotion out. He looks at Liam, trying to latch on to what this means for them. He starts to reach for Liam and then stops. “H-help me?”

“Very good. That’s right, babydoll. Daddy helps you. Come cuddle and cry. You get to cry and be protected. Cry and know you’re safe.”

He whines, desperate to be filled.

“I just want to be yours forever,” Daniel confesses. “I shouldn’t think about it. Shouldn’t say it. It doesn’t mean anything.”

“It does. It’s the only thing that matters. You’re exactly where you need to be. In my home, filled with your Dominant’s come, obeying me. Giving me everything. You are only here. You’re keeping it together and I see it. It’s too much strain. Share it with Daddy. You’re mine.”

Liam kisses him on the forehead, then his cheeks and his lips before his hand trails down Daniel’s neck, pausing at his glands, and Daniel whimpers, legs opening. Liam makes a hmm sound and then he’s at Daniel’s chest, squeezing gently and then plucking at a nipple. His hand moves down to the cage and Daniel’s legs open more.

“Who do you belong to? Who owns you, baby?” he murmurs, kissing Daniel gently.

Warm fingers brush gently over his skin through the cage, and Daniel blinks up at him through blurry eyes. It’s a huge thing in his chest, and he realizes it’s misery. It’s everything he’s holding back and it’s all caught behind that word.

“You’re so lovely, angel. And you’re trying so hard when you don’t need to. Be soft, sweetheart. Give it to me.”

Liam pulls Daniel’s hand down to the cage. “I’m yours,” he says, feeling cherished. Protected. The most intimate part of him, held safe by his Daddy.

“Good boy, that’s right,” Liam murmurs and Daniel is in his lap, limp and weak, suddenly safe and protected as he says it again and again, huge racking sobs into his Daddy’s shirt, crying more than he’s ever cried before. He can’t stop, can’t even think about stopping, hitching breaths and so much misery pouring out of him.

He burrows closer, needing more. Why can’t he stay here forever in his Daddy’s arms?

Eventually, Daniel realizes the crying has slowed. And then stopped. He’s staring at nothing, curled up against his Daddy.

He doesn’t ever want to leave. He didn’t get to run but he knows his Daddy would have caught him.

Would you have punished me? Daniel wants to ask, but it’s the ultimate question for a submissive like him. The ultimate test and declaration of devotion. What would a Dominant do when he catches a prey submissive in truth? But the question is too heavy, too dark and needy, scary to even think about. If he ran away from the man then he’d want to be caught and punished severely. He’d need to know his place. Who he belongs to. That part of his designation would be satisfied.

A submissive as high needs as he is can get into trouble, get killed by the wrong Dominant, and sometimes the Dominant can claim it wasn’t his fault, that the submissive egged him on, demanded more and more, and somehow wound up dead. He knows that isn’t why his Daddy is saying no. He’s saying no because it’s the only thing left for them. The bond would never be broken then.

He’d be claiming Daniel in truth, not just helping him in a professional capacity.

His Daddy won’t let him run. He burrows closer, needing to be content with what he can have.