Page 104 of My Wild Pet

Adrenaline is the only thing keeping me running. I hold on to Gabriel as he runs faster than me, pulling me along with him.

“This is going to be close,” he says through heavy breathing, then he curses in French under his breath when a mirrored floor almost gives way beneath us. We jump the last few feet.

Ahead, a wide circular door slides open, flooding us with light. Then we burst into a chamber I assume to be the core.The overhead timer reads 00:03, then 00:02. We collapse to our knees, panting and clutching each other.

Alarms blare the end of Phase Two.

We made it. Together.

“Look up,” Gabriel says.

I look up to see massive screens broadcasting our images to the entire arena. The crowd roars in response.

But, I only feel dread. What horrors await us in Phase Three?

CHAPTER 67

Gabriel

I tremble as I stand on the swaying platform, high above the arena floor. It’s not just the drones screeching overhead or the void below that worry me—it’s the knowledge that I love Briar and I don’t want her or me to die for alien entertainment.

The scoreboard above flashes Phase Three: Integration, the final trial of The Eternal Convergence. If I fail to get myself and Briar through this, I die.

Aefre’s voice says, “Ember, watch the left side. Ash, get ready to jump when I say. On my mark.”

For so long, that voice has been my compass. He is the one who plucked me from a filthy trading post over a decade ago, naming me Ember as though I might reignite some spark he believed the galaxy had snuffed out. I learned to read Imperial under his guidance. I learned strategy, combat, and discipline. Every muscle in my body, every reflex I possess, is shaped by him. Despite the bizarre system that made me his “pet,” I owe him something, at the very least acknowledgement that he shaped me into the man I am today. The human man who is ready to use his skills and escape with the woman he loves.

Had I been bought by someone else, someone less talented, I wouldn’t have the opportunity to compete and win UCs in these pet competitions and then I wouldn’t have the chance to leave with Gael.

I push down these mixed emotions. If Aefre were in my position, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt, he would also choose freedom.

A mechanical screech rips me back to the present. The platform beneath our feet lurches, threatening to dump us into the arena pit.

The crowd gasps.

Aefre’s instructions come fast, “Ember, shift your weight forward—now! Ash, counterbalance on the right.”

I react on instinct, shifting in sync with Briar so the platform levels out. Relief washes over me.

We scramble onto a rotating walkway. Drones circle overhead, stunning us when they can.

“Gabriel!” Briar yells, slipping into my real name. She grabs my wrist, pulling me behind a vibrating energy shield. Another shot crackles off the shield, spattering sparks.

Aefre’s words emerge distorted, “Emb—keep moving—up… next platform…”

I want to curse him for not speaking clearly, but deep down, I know I can’t blame him for the interference. It’s part of this challenge, no doubt, the comms between trainer and pets going in and out.

We sprint together, vaulting a gap to a higher platform. When I land, my wounded arm jars violently, and I slip.

Briar’s hand clasps mine. Her voice in a panic, “I can’t pull you up.”

I use all my strength never breaking eye contact with her to get back on the platform.

The crowd roars.

Our respite is short-lived. A moment later, a jarring clang signals the arrival of a menacing cage-lift. Its metal bars drop around us, boxing us in.

Over the loudspeakers, an announcer proclaims with sadistic glee, “Only of you may exit. Only one. Failure to comply will result in termination of both pet.”

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