Page 48 of My Wild Pet

Not long ago, I spoke with a woman who’d been captive for so many years she’d lost count. She told me she’d spent mostof that time on military ships until her master couldn’t afford her anymore, so now she’s been sold again. Her new owner is a different class of Imperial man and she struggles to know what he wants. He’s some kind of galactic trader and says that she’s been sent to be trained by Aefre because he wants her to be “better behaved in public.”

When I asked her what that meant she told me that he has a fetish of wanting to parade her around naked and allow all kinds of aliens to touch her. “And I don’t like it,” she said. “Grey hands, okay, but not tentacles or mandibles. An Octopod put its tentacle up my ass and I screamed like I was dying. It was so disgusting and humiliating. My old master would have never done that.”

So Aefre was going to use theLuminous Arc’sholographic training center to retrain her.

And this woman wasn’t even shocked by it. She was resigned to it. Gabriel was right—some fates are worse than being a show pet. But it’s cold comfort all the same.

Just last week, Aefre began training me with Gabriel. And I’d be lying if I said, I wasn’t excited by this. Just to be next to him makes my heart beat a little faster and my eyes linger just a little bit longer on his perfect muscular body and the golden hair covering his chest. Sometimes I imagine him, holding me, or pumping into me, that hair against my breasts. It’s a fantasy. But one I hope someday I’ll be able to make a reality. For now it’s all training.

Aefre’s voice brings me into the present, “Ash, pay attention.”

I nod and focus on the holographic obstacle course ahead of us, towering walls, swinging ropes, shifting floors, and dizzying drops. We’ve already tackled it once, and I’m exhausted bothphysically and mentally. I don’t want to do it again. And apparently this is only Level Two and Aefre wants me to get to Level Eight.

Aefre hovers on his flying pedestal off to the side, silently observing. At least it’s him today and not Kaelin. Kaelin never hesitates to use his ring to issue a punishment of jolting pain through my collar whenever I make a mistake.

Gabriel stands beside me. He’s so focused and ready.

Even though we’re not allowed to chat, I’ve gotten to know Gabriel better through his interactions with me and our trainers. For starters, his grasp of the Imperial language is perfect—better than his English. But is it really a surprise? He’s spent his entire adult life in this alien world, for which I pity him. But I can’t tell how upset he is by it because on the day-to-day he seems mostly content. Nothing like the man I met on my first day here.

Next, his patience. Despite being an expert show pet and now my partner, he never races ahead. He not only waits for me, he reassures me with small words of encouragement in Imperial, but he’s stayed true to his word about my name. It makes me wonder how many other female partners he’s had in his show pet career.

And he never has ever called me Ash. And that just makes him all the more attractive to me. He calls me Briar if he must use my name and Aefre and Kaelin punish him for it every time with their rings.

We are in the middle of the obstacle course now. Gabriel is showing me how to handle the next challenge: a rope swing over a gaping drop. If I fall, I’ll die.

Aefre calls out rapid-fire commands. Imperial words I recognize, but they’re unintelligible to me right now, looking at that long drop, I’m so scared of falling.

Gabriel, seeing my confusion, murmurs each phrase again, slower and quieter, his tone gentle—so different from theartificial voice of the language harness or Aefre’s commanding tone.

“Climb,” he says in Imperial. Then, in a much softer tone with his accented English, “You can do this,mon cœur.”

I’m not sure what that French phrase means. Gabirel’s English is infused with French and I wonder sometimes if I spoke French I’d know him better. But there’s hardly any time to convey basic information, let alone have a language class.

I watch him jump easily, the rope swinging with effortless grace, and he lands on the next platform like it’s the simplest thing in the world.

Aefre’s voice commands me to move, “Ash. Jump. Swing. Release.”

Gabriel motions to me, repeating the Imperial commands more slowly.

I grip the rope and jump. It vibrates causing me to almost lose my grip. Panic rips through my body. I’m so focused on holding on I don’t even realize I’ve made it to the other platform.

Until I hear Gabriel’s voice, “Release! Release!”

I let go just in time, stumbling onto the platform, losing my balance.

Gabriel quickly grabs my arm and holds on to me so I don’t fall off. Our eyes meet as he helps me up and for a moment, I can’t look away. There’s no disapproval in his eyes—just relief. It makes the entire course feel a little less awful.

“Again,” Aefre commands. “You’re too slow. Ember, work together faster. And, Ash, speak Imperial. The judges will want to hear you. If you’re silent we will lose points.”

Gabriel and I exchange glances. I’m not sure how I’ll ever match his skill, or how I’ll speak Imperial clearly under so much pressure.

“Next,” Aefre says and we move to the next challenge.

“Breathe,” Gabriel says, his voice barely audible as he switches briefly to English. “You’re overthinking it.”

I nod. I’m not sure how to juststopoverthinking. We’ve barely finished scaling a slick wall, and my legs feel like they’re made of rubber. But to be honest, I can’t tell if it’s from exhaustion or from the way Gabriel is looking at me right now.

“You did well,” he murmurs, stepping closer so Aefre won’t hear.

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