Things had been going relatively well, Pepper thought. Ren was typically very obedient and she took good care of him, having picked up his things and buying him a whole new wardrobe. She even took him out on dates, letting him get whatever he wanted while out. So why was he becoming more brazenly disobedient, if she was taking such good care of him? It pissed her off. It was like he was testing his boundaries, and she wouldn’t let him get away with it any longer! 

“Ren?” she called out to him after finishing up work for the day and closing the shop, making her way up the stairs. Sensitive ears picked up the padding of soft feet as he half-ran over to the top of the stairs connecting the apartment and the shop just in time for her to join him. She smiled at him, sickly sweet as she shaked an arm around his waist, pulling him closer. “Were you good today?” 

His ears tilted back slightly as he glanced off to the side, guilty expression giving him away like a dog who did something he knew damn well he shouldn’t have. “Um.. I.. did my best..?”

“You don't sound very sure of yourself,” she muttered, gaze cold and steady. “Look at me, sweetheart, what’d you do this time?” 

His gaze met hers with uncertainty, staring nervously but not looking into her eyes. At least he was obedient about not making eye contact, his eyes flitting to examine the various soft curves of her face and the sharp fangs she bared. He didn’t respond, as if he was weighing his options. He shifted slightly in her grasp, reaching for something hidden in his clothes. As soon as Pepper spotted the glint of metal she grabbed the hand holding the knife, pinning his wrist to the wall. In his hand he gripped a kitchen knife, eyes wild with terror.

“I treat you like a prince, and this is how you treat me in return?” she snarled, grabbing the knife with her free hand and tossing it aside. “I take you out, I feed you and I don't lock you up or hurt you and you want to try some shit? You’ve been so disobedient all week… I guess I can't just trust you, huh?”

“I’m sorry, it was a lapse in judgment, I didn’t mean it!” 

She huffed, still tightly gripping his wrist as she dragged him along behind her to her office. The walls were decorated with various taxidermy pieces, and her desk was well organized with various scalpels and other tools. Ren’s eyes widened as she tossed him into the room, shutting and locking the door behind her. He fell roughly onto the floor, yelping in pain. She hadn’t been this rough with him since he tried kidnapping her the first time they met. Sure, she’d smacked him around a bit during the beginning weeks, but nothing this intense. 

“I’ve tried being nice, but clearly that isn’t going to work anymore. You’ve been disobedient all week, so it looks like you need to be taught a lesson. Don’t worry, I’m not going to kill you. That’d be a waste.” Pepper got to work grabbing supplies as Ren trembled on the cold hardwood floor. “Strip,” she demanded, pointing a scalpel in his direction.

He quickly began peeling off the various layers of clothes, gently setting them next to him. At least he knew that if he damaged the outfit in any way he’d be getting an even harsher punishment. He pulled his knees to his chest, wrapping his tail around his legs as he sat there, naked and shivering. Pepper knelt down in front of him, setting down a few different tools to the side. She grabbed his knees and pushed his legs back down, promptly sitting on his skinny legs and narrowing her eyes. He tried to shift, clearly uncomfortable at the sudden weight atop his legs, but at this point he knew better than to comment. 

“Now, tell me exactly what you were thinking would happen with your little plan, darling,” she hummed, grabbing the scalpel and glancing at the various scars littering his body. 

“I-I don’t know what I was thinking, I just wanted to go out by myself, I didn’t have a plan. I’m sorry..!” 

“You know you could have just asked me to take you out,” Pepper stated matter-of-factly, pressing the scalpel into his shoulder blade and slowly sliding it through his skin to create a thin, long cut, made with expert precision. It wasn’t deep enough to cause any real problems, but it was deep enough to sting. He winced, gritting his teeth. 

“I.. I know.” 

“And yet…” she tsked, shaking her head. “You know, I don’t want to have to do this. But you’ve really given me no choice at this point. If you won’t be an obedient little doll, I’ll make you into one my damn self.” She grinned as she carefully, lightly cut across his joints, as if butchering an animal. She never went too deep, but enjoyed watching the blood well up. Pepper licked away the blood wherever she cut, licking her lips as if she was enjoying a delicacy of a treat; well, she basically was, anyway. 

Ren shuddered and shivered underneath her with each lap of her tongue, squirming and panting. Pepper barked out a laugh, biting harshly at his neck, easily leaving a harsh, deep bite mark behind and he keened. “This isn’t supposed to be a reward, my little doll,” she hummed thoughtfully, wondering how else she could punish him without causing too much damage. She peeled herself away from him, pulling him by his legs so that they were resting in her lap. He let out a noise of surprise as he plopped onto his back, head bonking slightly on the floor. 

“This is going to hurt, darling. But just remember, you did this to yourself,” she announced, and he looked at her questioningly before screeching in pain and clawing at the hardwood as she tightly gripped his thigh in one hand and his calf in the other, pulling hard enough to dislocate the joints. She’d used her knee to brace his leg against as she did so, feeling around to ensure she hadn’t damaged a tendon. Though, what did it matter if she had? She repeated this on his other leg, then moved to the ankles. Ren sobbed openly in between shrieks and cries for her to stop. He clearly wasn’t used to this sort of pain, having passed out by the second ankle. Once she was sure of proper dislocation, she stood, brushing herself off and picking Ren up bridal style to put him to bed.