Page 81 of My Wild Pet

“You have and I think you’re listening too much to the younger trainers who have strange ideas about humans. Oh I’ve heard them too. Saying things like humans have long-term memories and are capable of so much more then we give them credit for, but I’ve been doing this for over forty years and not once have I had a human who was more than half sentient, except for Ember, maybe.”

“I have been speaking with the younger trainers. They showed me some shocking new studies.”

“Imperial?”

“No.”

“Then there you have it.”

“Have you ever considered that they are traumatized from the experience of abduction? Or that we may not be giving them the chance to show they are sentient?”

“Honestly Kaelin, I’m not sure if your drink was spiked, but I thank you for your suggestions. If we hear more rumors about Gael the Returner or if I hear he’s been in contact with Ash or Ember then of course I will try to offer them something more. We have an early start tomorrow. Go and sleep off this whole humans-might-be-sentient thing. I’ll see you in the morning.”

CHAPTER 45

Briar

I wake before the artificial dawn. Today is the last day of training. Tomorrow the Grand Championships officially begin. I nudge Gabriel. “I’m too stressed to sleep. Let’s go.”

He sleepily nods and follows me out of bed.

Usually, the training arena is alive with murmured chatter and clanging equipment as pets train in a mixture of Imperial and human languages, but this morning, it’s eerily quiet.

I notice a lot of small groups of pets speaking together today. But the instant I come near them, they break apart. Maybe it’s because they still call me “Wild One,” or maybe they don’t trust me because I speak only English and Imperial, while so many of them speak Spanish.

Across the arena, I see Gabriel hanging from a pull-up bar, scanning the training area as if searching for someone. I feel like he also knows this secret which everyone else has been talking about. I walk over to him. “What’s going on?” I ask in Imperial. “You keep looking around and everyone else is acting… different.”

He offers the slightest shake of his head. “I’ll tell you later,” he mutters, like there’s some secret he can’t risk sharing in front of the watchful eyes of trainers and drones.

I return to my station, forcing myself to focus on the upcoming drills.

An hour later, a snatch of conversation drifts to me over the clatter of exercise machinery, “Gael… freedom… law.” It’s an urgent whisper between a pet and an attendant, and the attendant glances around with obvious panic before rushing off. The moment the pet sees me watching, she goes rigid, then pivots on her heel and disappears.

Did I hear that correctly? Gael the Returner? That’s why everyone is acting so weird. Is he among us? Are pets escaping right now? I scan the room. It’s not obvious anyone is gone. At least not in a large number.

When the day’s session finally ends, we’re all herded back to the pets’ quarters. The moment the door slides shut behind us, I ask Gabriel.

“Is Gael the Returner here?” I ask in English. Trainers don’t bother to translate our human languages as they don’t think we can articulate higher thoughts with them.

“Yes.”

“Have you—” I begin, then pause, uncertain if I want to hear the answer. “Have you spoken with him?”

Gabriel’s eyes flick to the door, ensuring we’re still alone. “Oui. Je veux la liberté, Briar.I want us to be free.” The French slips out first, it always does whenever he’s overcome by emotion. “But we must win the Grand Championships to have enough UCs to pay him.”

“After the Grand Championships? Not before? We could die tomorrow.” I say, devastated.

Gabriel places his hands gently on either side of my face. “Briar,” he murmurs, his golden eyes boring into mine. “Youwon’t die. Je ne le permettrai pas.We’ll survive, we’ll win, and then…” He leans in, pressing a soft, chaste kiss to my lips. “Then we will be free.”

I want to believe him. But the fear of dying in the arena—another nameless human pet lost to the Grand Championships—threatens to consume me. But in Gabriel’s steady gaze, I see unwavering conviction. He’s survived so much already.I need to trust in him and this plan.Or what? What if we win and we’ve not made an arrangement with Gael? Then we have no choice but to return with Aefre.

I close my eyes for an instant, letting the moment ground me. “Okay,” I whisper.

A tiny smile curves his mouth. “Nous survivrons, we will survive,” he says gently, brushing a stray hair behind my ear.

“So you told him we wanted to go?”

“Once we’ve won and have the money he will arrange it. He said he can’t tell me anything about it in case they use mind control to get the information to catch him.”

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