Page 96 of My Wild Pet

“Fifi had potential too,” Kaelin says carefully, testing the waters.

“She did,” I admit. “But her bond with Ember was fragile. I’m not making the same mistake with Ash.”

I bring up my control ring, subtly increasing their oxytocin levels through their collars. They won’t notice, not consciously. But the connection they feel, the trust that grows between them, will solidify even further. They’ll attribute it to their own bond, their own effort, and that’s how it should be.

Kaelin gives me an anxious look. He thinks it’s too much, but he’s not as experienced as I am.

“Go on. Just say it.”

“You know what I’m going to say. If they start believing it’s actual love…they can behave erratically. You know what happens when pets imagine themselves in love.”

I wave a hand dismissively, gesturing down at the training floor below, where Ash and Ember are exchanging smiles during a short break. “They have no reason to do anything drastic. Their lives are comfortable on theLuminous Arc. You saw them last night. They enjoyed themselves.”

“Comfortable, yes, but they might still be seduced by the idea of freedom.”

“Rubbish.” I face him. “Look at Ember. He’s been with us since he was practically a boy. He knows he wouldn’t last a year on his own out there. And Ash—” I pause, watching her brush a lock of pink hair behind her ear as she leans in to say something to Ember. “She’d do anything he wanted, the moment he asks. They complement each other perfectly. Ember was shaped by a matriarchal system, always waiting for a woman’s lead. Ash, coming from a patriarchal world, subconsciously defers to male authority, especially a man she loves, even if it’s artificially induced. They’re caught in this loop, neither one truly leading nor even noticing they’re in it.”

Kaelin arches a brow. “But what if they break that loop? Share decisions as equals? Agree on something like… running away with Gael? Two pets who believe they are in love and working together is risky. Even you can’t deny that possibility, Aefre.”

My gaze drifts downward again. Ash and Ember are back at their drills, moving in flawless tandem. I feel a surge of satisfaction. My training and meticulous planning are finally bearing fruit. They’ll be unstoppable if they perform at this level in competition.Why would they ever want to leave?

“Ash and Ember have no reason to throw away everything they’ve worked for. If they win, they’ll have status and comfort beyond anything they’d find out there. Ember knows that. I even allow him to use his UCs to pay off the attendants in thecleansing room. He’s got the best pet life any human could ask for.”

CHAPTER 60

Gabriel

I watch from the pets’ observation deck, my knuckles white against the railing as the latest men’s round begins below. The judges have set up obstacles with razor sharp spikes and rotating blades. Unlike the women’s competitions, there are no illusions here, just raw brutality. In the Empire, men aren’t considered clever enough for mental tasks. We’re the “muscle,” forced into these lethal gauntlets, treated like performing beasts. C’est cruel,I think bitterly.

I watch as another man slips at the final jump, and the crowd cries out before he falls to his death. My stomach turns violently. I never used to feel this horror. Last year, even the year before, I watched men lose their lives without this physical revulsion.

But today, it’s different. I can’t look away from the crushed remains of that man’s life. And then it occurs to me.

I raise a trembling hand to my collar, tracing the smooth metal with Aefre’s name on it.Did he keep me numb last year? Or was it that I only wanted to win?My pulse hammers at the possibility that these feelings—this sudden empathy—might be artificially stirred or suppressed by Aefre’s meddling.

The crowd roars below as the next male pet staggers into the arena.Why am I only seeing the cruelty now, after so many years?

In the distance, the overhead speakers announce the next pet’s name, but the words don’t register. All I can do is stand here, grappling with the question I can’t shake,Which part of me is real, and which part belongs to Aefre’s manipulations?

CHAPTER 61

Briar

The whispers in the training hall this morning confirmed what I had already suspected, that the individual challenges for women are different, designed to fuck with your head. In a matriarchal galaxy, females are seen as the thinkers, the intellectuals, the manipulators of mind and strategy. They believe even human female pets possess these same qualities, so they test our minds too. And I’ve been told more than once that the Garden of Shadows Challenge is as much about survival as it is about unraveling who you really are.

That’s a terrifying thought.I’ve only seen glimpses of my true self and she’s a fucking ruthless bitch and she’s going to eat me alive.

I stand at the threshold to the challenge. The artificial sunlight from the arena has been replaced by a dim, eerie glow filtering through twisted, alien trees. The “garden” sprawls before me, its paths shifting like something alive.

Aefre said, “This is for your mind, Ash. Show them it’s as strong as your body.”

The gate behind me hisses shut, sealing me in.

The first step I take onto the soft, moss-like ground sends a shiver through me. The plants seem to react, glowing faintly, their bioluminescent tendrils curling toward my feet. They pulse in time with my breath, or maybe my heartbeat. I can’t tell. It doesn’t matter. It’s creepy and unnerving.

The lead judge lists my objectives: “Retrieve the Orb of Essence from the Heart of the Garden. Survive. Twenty points.”

I move forward cautiously. The garden is watching me, reading my mind, feeding on my thoughts, and my fears.

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