Page 7 of My Wild Pet

“I know.” My voice is quieter than I intend, my thoughts already circling around the daunting task ahead. “But Fifi…”

Kaelin studies me for a moment. “Well,” he says finally, “we’ll just have to pray to the goddesses that the Octopods have something special at the auction.”

“I’m sure they will,” I say but I can’t keep the doubt from my voice.

“It’s a pity most body modifications and enhancements are penalized now. A few major adjustments, and we wouldn’t have to rely so heavily on finding raw talent.”

I don’t respond as we make our way down the polished corridors of the ship.

Kaelin matches my pace. “This isn’t your first impossible timeline.”

“No,” I admit. “But this is the first time I’ve had to replace a champion lost during a Bond Breaker Challenge. What happened affected Ember too, even though humans aren’t supposed to remember, some of them do. He remembers and it affects him. And there’s no research on what to do, except some pet experts suggest retiring him.”

Kaelin laughs. “Most human pet experts are charlatans.”

“Exactly.”

“Do you think Ira’s serious about finding another trainer if you fail?”

“I’m sure of it,” I reply. “Ira doesn’t make idle threats.”

The conference room doors slide open with a familiar hiss, and we step inside. The holographic display is already active in the center of the table. I press a few commands, pulling up a profile of the Grand Championship’s arena and the projected timeline for the next eight months.

Kaelin takes a seat across from me. “So, how do we turn an untrained human into a champion in eight months? Assuming the Octopods even have a viable candidate.”

I lean forward, my hands resting on the edge of the table. “We’ll have to maximize every second of her training. Physical conditioning, language acquisition, obstacle courses, Imperial etiquette—it all needs to start immediately. No time for mistakes on our end.”

Kaelin nods. “The obstacle courses will need to be modified before she can begin training with Ember. We can’t throw her into level-ten simulations right away, but she’ll need to be there within four months. That’s going to be tough”

“Even then, Ember will have to bring her up to speed.”

“Do you think he’ll bond with her? After what happened with Fifi?”

“We will use their collars to force it if we have to. He doesn’t have a choice,” I reply firmly. “None of us do.”

Kaelin leans back in his chair, crossing his arms. “And what if this mystery female is not up to the task? What if the Octopods only have duds?”

“Then I’ll make her up to the task,” I say, my voice hardening. “Or she’ll die in the training. Either way I’ll be able to keep Ira as my sponsor.”

“Would it really be so bad to lose him” Kaelin asks. I know he thinks I should be open to more sponsors, but more sponsors who each provide fewer UCs is more work and more headaches.

“No, then I’d have twenty Ira’s trying to micromanage my training instead of just one.” I turn off the hologram. “Prep acollar and training simulations for integration. And make sure Ember is ready to meet his new partner, don’t hesitate to use mood-influencers. I don’t want him being as angry as he is now when he meets the new female. I don’t want him scaring her. They have to bond. We don’t have time for them to warm up to each other.”

“He’s stubborn by nature,” Kaelin says. “Let me try punishments before mood enhancers. Maybe he needs to fight his grief out with pain?”

I consider this. “Fine, but not too much.”

“I know his limits, Aefre. When you return with the new pet he’ll be ready. Good luck at the auction and walk with the goddesses.”

I don’t believe in the goddesses or fate. I believe in hard work with a tinge of luck. But if I were a religious man, I’d be praying to the goddesses for the perfect human female to appear at this auction.

CHAPTER 3

Briar

I wake in the corner of my shared cell. Every muscle screams in protest, and the cold, unyielding floor does little to help with the pain.

I’ve named the men in my cell; Big, Tiny, and Slender. I don’t have enough respect for them to use their given names. They’re all terrible in their own ways. Big because he’s the bully, Tiny because he’s the blind follower of the bully and would be the bully if he were physically bigger, and Slender because he’s just feeling sorry for himself, unable to do anything that doesn’t serve him. More than Big and Tiny, I hate Slender the most. He’s the worst kind of traitor, the kind that refuses to take a side so he can always count himself clean.

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