Page 35 of My Wild Pet

Aefre

I watch Ember stalk away, noting an evident shift in him. He rarely fraternizes with other pets—certainly not in a forbidden tongue—yet he chose to speak to Ash extensively in the cleansing room yesterday, and now he’s publicly challenging my methods. Perhaps her untamed nature has captivated him.

Ash continues the obstacle course, and I turn my gaze to the collar’s readouts hovering beside her. They provide real-time statistics on her physical state:

Heart Rate: 168–172 bpm and climbing

Oxygenation: 95% RBC saturation

Lactic Acid Threshold: 43% above baseline

Cortisol & Adrenaline: Elevated

Her heart rate and temperature are inching toward dangerous levels, as lactic acid is building in her muscles. Her stamina is impressive for a first day—better than the typical human directly from Earth.

Ember sees only her exhaustion and failures, but I recognize her determination. She refuses to give up to me or let the course best her.

Ember doesn’t realize that without my interventions, he’d be a pale reflection of what he is today.

Stepping over to the console, I increase the difficulty. Platforms tilt, drones hiss closer, and lights strobe like a living maze. Ash falters, sweat cascading down her shaky arms, but her collar feed shows she’s still pushing her aerobic capacity—and that pleases me. The same fire that caused her to harm another human is what is keeping her legs moving when any lesser pet would fail.

Ember doesn’t see what I see:potential.

My hand hovers over the console, instinct urging me to flood her body with regenerative nanites,but I hold back. I want to see if she will rise on her own.

Slowly, Ash pushes herself to her feet, unsteady but upright. Her body is a trembling testament to her effort. As I brush damp strands of hair from her face, I allow myself a rare moment of softness. “That’s enough for today.”

“Today,” she repeats in her heavy accent, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Yes, today.” I attach her leash as I lead her to the gymnasium exit, steadying her as she wobbles. “Good girl,” I murmur.

Inside the cleansing room, I hand over Ash’s leash to the young attendants. “Keep her away from Ember. He’s... drawn to her.”

One of them nods. “Yes, Master Aefre.”

Satisfied, I leave to find Kaelin. We need to discuss Ember’s behavior and what it might mean for the training ahead.

CHAPTER 15

Briar

My body feels like it’s been dragged through hell. Every muscle screams and every joint aches. But the worst part isn’t the pain. I’m no stranger to pushing my body physically, I was a regular gym rat, but it’s the memory of the gymnasium itself.

I’ve never seen anything like it. The whole obstacle course felt alive, shifting under me like it was testing me, pushing me harder, waiting for me to fail. Platforms tilted and spun without warning, walls rose and fell, and those damn drones—they hummed and circled like vultures, waiting to strike the second I hesitated. The shocks weren’t enough to knock me out, but they were enough to remind me who was in control.

Aefre stood at the console the entire time, his voice calm and his words incomprehensible.

It only took me about an hour to realize that the course wasn’t just about strength. It was about breaking me. About seeing how far I could go before I gave up, and I got it into my head that if I gave up to Aefre and let the course best me, then I also gave up on myself and I couldn’t do that.

I was prepared to die on that course today.

Ironically, I did exactly what Aefre wanted. And if I had the extra energy, I’d feel upset that I was tricked. But I don’t even have the energy to be angry.

I close my eyes, leaning my head back against the cold surface of the shower wall. The metallic lavender smelling water stings where it hits the cuts on my knees, the bruises on my arms, and the raw blisters on my palms. The attendants work silently around me, their hands scrubbing my body, leaving no part untouched.

They even move the new piercings in my nipples back and forth. For their pleasure or for mine? I don’t know. I derive pleasure from it. Then I wonder then if they’re going to make me orgasm like they did the other woman? I had almost forgotten my state of arousal until now. But as tired as I am, I still want to orgasm. And the vision of Gabriel almost naked in the gymnasium flits through my mind. I look at the attendants and wonder how I would ask for a happy ending.

The attendants don’t look me in the eye as they massage the excess hair around my vulva or shampoo my god forsaken tail. I hate that thing. I hate the way it swishes around. I hate how Aefre and the doctor just added it to my body as if I should have always had it.

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