Page 19 of Pet: Genesis

Horror washes over me as I realize the direction of his footsteps.

Leah.

“But...,” Remus grabs her roughly, bringing her inclose to him.

“I can...” He pulls the silver dot away from her temple, and her dull gaze leaves, her pupil shrinking as consciousness finds its way into her mind.

Her gaze meets mine an instant before Remus finishes his sentence, “Break her.”

With that final word, he roughly shoves her to the ground, all amusement gone from his face as he brings his foot down on her leg. The loud snap fills the room, as does Leah’s cry of agony.

“No!” I scream, reaching for her, but Remus holds his hand toward me, and an invisible force pushes my body back. He leans over her, grabs her arm in his, and crushes it with a swift squeeze. Leah screams and begs for mercy, my cries mingling with hers. But Remus ignores the both of us, seeming to enjoy himself.

Remus’s amethyst eyes meet mine, freezing me in place.

“Shall we go for her neck next?” he asks mockingly.

“No, please! Please!” My screams are filling the hall louder than anything else in the room as his hand lightly caresses her throat.

“Please! I’ll do anything!” I scream, finally catching his attention. He stops what he’s doing, looks at me, and muses over his final decision.

He finally stands, making his way toward me. As he walks past me, the blue beam connects to his palm, and I feel myself being pulled out of the room. I don’t have the time to look back at Leah. I can’t check on her. I can’t even lie to her and tell her everything will be okay. Leah was the one who we could count on when it came down to it. She was always ready for combat, always tough.And now, she sits in the center of a Leviathan-infested room in complete agony because of me.

Remus drags me out of the hall and into the hallway with me screaming for Leah the entire way. He finally gets tired of my cries, picking me up and roughly smashing me into the nearest column. I grunt in pain from the force.

“You seem to lack the mental capacity to understand the situation you have created for yourself, so let me refresh your memory.” His eyes seem to burn brighter with every word he speaks. “Regardless of your wishes, you will do as I say. You are here because I pulled you out of that wasteland,allowingyou to serve me. Not the other way around. You belong to me, Iris.”

I hear the sound of another Leviathan on the other side of Remus, and he drops me, responding to them. He glares at me one last time before whipping away from me.

“We are leaving.”

We are back at Remus’s dwelling, and the night is far from over. His room is dark, illuminated only by the soft glow of the lights within the walls. My bones vibrate with a combination of anger and fear. And I try my best to hold onto the anger as Remus enters the room.

I want to kill him. I want to break his limbs like he did Leah’s. But I know that Remus is far from anything I’ve encounteredbefore. I think back to that moment at the banquet. When I went for Leah he didn’t even touch me and my body was propelled back by an invisible force. It reminds me of the day I met him in the blight. Something similar happened, but at the time, I had just assumed it was because he was so fast.

I look up to where he is across the room. His eyes are focused on his task. He’s removing his clothes. He starts with the cape that wraps around him, tossing it on the chair, and then begins to remove the items that are wrapped around his arms.

His gaze meets mine.

“What am I to do with such an ill-mannered pet?” he asks. He begins walking toward me as he pulls his shirt off, leaving him in only a pair of pants.

“I thought we went over the rules. I thought you understood.” He almost sounds disappointed as he reaches under my chin, lifting my gaze to meet his.

I suck in a shuddering breath as he searches my face.

“Did you mean it, Iris? Will I nevertrulybreak you?” he asks.

His voice is strangely soft, adding to the terrifying aura he exudes at this moment. I think of Leah, Margot, and all the other girls who could be alive and struggling in this empire. Even the women who are here in Remus’s care, under the spell of inhibitors. I use those thoughts to fuel my bravery, looking Remus in the eyes.

“I... will never... obey you,” I whisper out of spite. I regret it the moment the words leave my lips. Remus’s gaze turns dangerous. I just challenged him. And he accepted it. His thumb runs over my cheek.

“Such a hot-tempered mouth from such a feeble being,” he says mockingly. I jerk my head out of his grasp, raising my fist to his face. He catches my hand easily, his gaze narrowing.

“I think I’ve overestimated you,” he says.

He squeezes my hand, causing me to flinch in pain. I cry out as he pushes me back onto the bed. His arms hold mine between his with ease, pulling them over my head as he crawls over me. I can feel my heartbeat thundering against my chest at the drastic dynamic shift between us in a matter of seconds. His grip tightens, causing me to flinch in pain, but it doesn’t faze him.

“You’re just like the rest of your wretched race, believing you are entitled to something when you are not. Slavery is in your DNA; it’s what you were created for,” he growls. I grit my teeth in irritation, unable to move my arms from his steely grip.

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