Page 119 of I'm Not Your Pet

Because I may have been abducted, I may have lost my life, my family, and the future I’d been counting on. But I had gained something far more precious. Futures could be rewritten, families could be made. My life wasn’t lost, it was just reconstructed.

And now I could build from the ground up—with him.

“I thought…” I sucked in a breath, voice quaking. “I thought I’d wear that thing forever.”

Roark rumbled, nuzzling my other cheek with concern. He couldn’t understand those words. I could tell by the way he didn’t reply. But that didn’t matter. His empathy was enough. What he’d just done for me was enough. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.” My gratitude spilled out, shaky and wet and needy. “Thank you for saving me. Thank you for picking me. Thank you for giving me my life back.”

Roark’s tongue flickered out to swipe at my tears and I giggled, overwhelmed and happy and excited now that the weight had begun to finally lift.

We stayed there a long time, in that quiet backroom. I don’t know when the attendant left. Some time between my first sob and the moment I’d crawled into Roark’s arms. But it didn’t matter.

When my shudders calmed to sniffles, Roark carried me back down the hallway to the front room and all its sparkly treasures. He never set me down, just cradled me close, murmuring sweet words in his native tongue against my ear as we perused the collection of jewelry and Roark stroked a big palm over my body.

His tendrils were everywhere, like the need to be close was mutual. They twisted and writhed around me, keeping me safe and warm in their squishy embrace as Roark picked something out and the employee unlocked the cabinet to procure it.

It was my size, so I knew it was for me.

A glittering choker that reminded me of the pearls my mom used to wear.

My neck felt empty and barren—an unsettling sensation despite the freedom it represented.

“Huu-goh want?” Roark asked gently, a few of his tendrils tapping against the hand I’d been using to rub my neck as we looked. I hadn’t stopped rubbing my bare neck since the moment we’d stepped out of the hallway.

I had no idea how expensive that damn thing was.

But Roark looked so hopeful I couldn’t help but agree. Besides, Ididwant it. I wanted his mark around my neck. I wanted to rewrite the bad memories and make new ones, like he’d said.

I wanted to forget what it meant to be a slave.

But I still wanted to be his.

Roark paid, and it was his tendrils that clipped the clasp into place behind my neck.

The choker settled there, the weight of the necklace not oppressive like my collar had been. But it was heavy enough to make me feel settled. Warm. It didn’t carry darkness along with it, only love.

Only new beginnings.

Only hope.

On our way out of the space-mall, things took a turn for the worse. I’d almost convinced myself that the human I’d seen the night before hadn’t been a human—he’d had cat ears, wings, and a tail, for god’s sake. Besides, I’d only seen him for a split second, and even then, it had been from behind.

I figured I’d made it up.

Apparently, I hadn’t been mistaken.

There were humans on Sha’hPihn.

They just weren’t free like me.

“Roark,” I gave his massive hand an anxious squeeze, unsure if he was seeing what I was. Roark’s other arm was full of the packages he’d bought me, and he shifted a little, careful not to drop them as he looked where I was pointing.

A long line of humans were standing on a platform near the spiral escalator that led from the shops to the docks. Every single human was dressed in white shorts and gossamer fabric, their bodies on display, heads hanging.

None of them had a second set of ears like the man from the night before—they were simply…normal.

Like me.

An alien with a long bulbous nose and four arms was waving at them. He wore a white robe, kinda like a medieval priest—and his voice was jarring as he blurted words in his native tongue rapid-fire into a microphone as the humans stayed perfectly still. Beside me, Roark tensed, his entire body going rigid as a low menacing growl buzzed inside his chest.

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