Lauren stepped onto the front porch before she turned around and quietly shut the front door. Last she knew Levi was still fast asleep in bed.
The sun's rays were just barely breaking through the tree line and a layer of fog hung close to the ground, a brisk breeze completing the morning. With a shiver, Lauren pulled her hoodie on, a black one with cat ears on the hood, shoving her hands into the front pocket. She had a backpack on, intent on using it to carry the groceries from the store back to the house.
She quietly left the porch, careful not to hit the creaky boards, and started to jog. The grocery store was just a few blocks away, but due to the trees, actually seeing the store wasn't possible from the house.
Just as Lauren entered the store, someone shoved past her from behind, scrambling to get into the store.
"Turtle! Turtle!" The person, a woman, screamed.
Lauren raised an eyebrow, confused. Almost as quickly as the woman had stumbled into the store, employees were rushing to lock the doors and move the frightened woman away from the large pane windows that constituted the front wall of the store.
An employee had come to Lauren, gesturing that she should move as well.
"What's going on?" Lauren asked, "Why are you locking up the store?"
The employee that had been gesturing to her looked surprised, "You have an island collar and don't know?"
Lauren felt her cheeks and ears burn with embarrassment.
"I forgot, okay? Why are you locking up the store?"
The employee didn't respond and instead grabbed Lauren by the upper arm and pulled her down an aisle and then back into a storeroom where the frightened woman was. Lauren now got a good look at her and her eyes widened as she did so. She was barefoot and had little more than a white, soft slip on. There seemed to be scratches on her knees and hands like she'd tripped while running.
"He was right b-behind me!" The woman said between sobs, sitting on an overturned bucket. "Please don't let him in! Please!"
An employee hushed her, throwing a blanket over and around her shoulders.
"He won't get in. The police are already on their way, don't worry."
Lauren frowned, "Will someone tell me what's going on here?"
Glares followed and Lauren, uncomfortable, stood up and headed for the door. One of the employee's followed her out into the back of the store.
"You must not have read the book your Dominant gave you, huh?"
Lauren gave the girl a sour look, "I did! It's just... been a while."
"Might want to brush up on them unless you prefer the punishments," the girl said with a shrug, "Oh, wait. You don't know those either, do you?" She asked, smirking.
"Shut up! I just-"
"This is the police, are you two ladies okay?"
Both girls turned around, looking at a few uniformed men who were walking down the aisle, guns drawn cautiously.
"Yes sir, we're fine. The girl who called the safe word is in the back storeroom," the employee said, gesturing to the door.
"Lauren! Where are you?"
She looked up, cheeks burning red as she recognized Levi's voice.
"Is that your Dominant?" the employee asked.
Lauren nodded and the girl giggled, "You're in for it," she motioned to the front of the store, "the police are here so you're free to leave."
The police didn't seem concerned with her, so Lauren started to run to the front of the store but paused halfway up the aisle, "Wait, what about my groceries?"
The girl sighed but followed Lauren around for the few groceries she'd intended to pick up and then to the front of the store to a check-out lane and after just a minute or two, handed Lauren her bag.
"Thank you," she said with a smile.
The girl left without another word, walking away rather quickly, Lauren noticed. She turned around, spotting Levi standing outside, a very angry expression on his face, arms crossed. He was still dressed in his night clothes—a pair of sleep pants and a white t-shirt—hair not even combed.
"Mast-"
Levi pushed through to the front of the growing crowd, grabbing Lauren's upper arm tight enough she winced and pulled her through the mass of people, not stopping his angry stride until they were nearly halfway home.
"Do you realize what trouble you could have gotten in?" He growled, "You're lucky no one at that store asked for your paperwork!"
Lauren stared at him in confusion, wondering what he was so upset about.
"I was just trying to get groceries to make you breakfast. What's so bad about that?"
Levi ran a hand through his hair, breathing out through clenched teeth, "You... you're not to leave the house without me or a friend of mine. Do you understand me?"
"What? Why?"
Levi stared at her, astonished she still didn't grasp the gravity of the situation. "You haven't read the rules and punishments in months, have you? You literally have no idea what could have happened had anyone found out you left the house without my permission."
"Oh please, what would they have done? Messaged you or something and said I was a bad girl?" she asked, rolling her eyes.
In seconds, Levi had pulled Lauren within inches of his face, three fingers underneath her collar, "Listen to me and listen well, Kitten. If you want to be tied and left in a pen for 24 hours, go ahead, leave the house again without my permission. If you want to be publicly whipped for disobeying a rule more than three times, go ahead. If you want to be kicked off the island for disobeying the rules over and over again, go ahead." Levi said in an eerily calm voice. "You're being more of a brat than usual and it's something we're going to remedy as soon as we get home." He added before he grabbed her by the wrist and started to pull her towards their house.
Lauren gulped, never having seen Levi reach such a level of anger. Sure, she'd irritated him a time or two, disobeyed a few rules every now and again, but never to the point that he threatened public punishments. Her stomach twisted, unsure what punishment he had in mind for her so early in the morning.
Levi took the bag of groceries from her as soon as they stepped inside.
"Go to the bedroom and strip. Wait for me, I'll be there soon."
