Page 45 of Pet: Genesis

“You should be fine now. Your vitals are looking good, and you’re definitely able to breathe on your own,” she murmurs softly before looking at me. “You’ll be back to normal within the hour.”

It takes me a while to realize it, but we’re still in Remus’s home in the capital. Petra silently removes the needles from my arm and pulls the tube from my nose before using a sponge to wipe the crusted blood from my skin.

“Sometimes, we have to rely on the native’s technology when dealing with the natives,” she says softly, eyeing the needles in distaste as she places them in a bowl.

“How did this happen?” I ask. My voice cracks as I speak, and Petra notices. She moves across the room to a small cabinet, openingit to reveal water. She comes toward me, holding it out for me to drink, giving me a sense of deja vu from our first encounter. The cool liquid feels amazing against my throat.

When I look at Petra, she’s watching me with a strange expression before the door opens to the room. A woman I’ve never seen before comes in with fear in her eyes as she scans the room, focusing on Petra. They begin conversing in their foreign language with familiarity before Petra nods, looking back at me with a soft smile.

“It would seem my work here is done. He wishes to see you.”

Once Petra removes her medical devices, she releases me to see Remus. As I walk up the familiar hallway, my nerves get the best of me. The Leviathan that entered the room looked terrified. Is Remus angry? What will he do when he sees me? Is he upset with me? Is he going to hurt me? I round the corner of the hallway and let out a soft gasp. The living room’s usual bright glow is gone. It’s dim. The only light comes from the world outside of this place. The floor-to-ceiling window gives me the view of heavy rain pouring from the sky.

My mother used to say the rain washes away a loved one’s footprints from the Earth once they’re gone. I can’t help but wonder how many more of us have been killed today. How many more of us are having our footprints washed away right now? And how close was I to becoming one of those footprints?

“Iris.”

I tense as Remus’s voice pulls me out of my thoughts. He’s standing near the window, looking at the beautiful scenery beyond. His back is to me, yet he knows I’m in the room. I forcemy legs to move, making my way over to where he stands until I am directly behind him. I keep my eyes down, unsure of how to approach him in his foreign mood.

He’s still looking out the glass, silent.

He draws in a deep breath before turning to face me. Out of pure reaction, I hold my breath, letting this terrifyingly alluring creature study me. His eyes hold an emotion that I can’t comprehend. His purple gaze shifts slightly, and he reaches out, grasping his hand in mine. His grip tightens, and I suddenly feel a light tingle that spreads over my flesh. It isn’t the usual chill that I get when he feeds, but the opposite. It’s warm.

Pleasant.

With each second that passes, the feeling of warmth spreads over my whole body. I watch him in awe as he runs his thumb lightly over my knuckles in silence. This is a new characteristic that I’ve never seen from Remus. He always has something to say, whether it’s a threat or just a snide remark. But right now, he’s completely silent. My eyes slowly shift to his body. He isn’t wearing a shirt, so the symbol that usually pulses with life is visible. Right now, however, the pulse is slow. It’s calming the longer I study it.

Remus’s vivid gaze finally lifts to meet mine, and he steps in closer to me, the heat from his body seeping into my own. He’s still staring at me with a blank expression. The only tell I have of his emotional state is the way the colors of his eyes shift. The purple is brighter than the blue. He seems to be searching for something as his eyes shift across my face. He releases me, gently running his hands along my arms before pulling me into an embrace.

My breathing hitches in my throat. He’s hugging me. Remus is hugging me. He’s holding me so close and allowing me to feel more warmth radiating from his body to my own. He’s almost too warm. But at this moment, it feels nice. I don’t know how to react, so I remain in his embrace, allowing him this moment. Whatever it means to him.

And without a word or explanation, he just continues to hug me.

“That’s out of character for the Leviathan ruler,” Jude says, staring at me in confusion as he tries to process the story I just told him. Remus has barely spoken to me in a week. He only ever calls my name or tells me it’s time to eat. We haven’t even slept in the same room since that incident, nor has he touched me sexually. He’s being uncharacteristically careful with me as if he regrets what happened.

Today, Remus is meeting with more Leviathan, and instead of meeting at his home, they meet in a public place. The building itself is lavish, and the top floor holds an outdoor courtyard where the Leviathan’s “pets” have been cleared to roam. As I look around at the surrounding humans, I see that some of them aren’t in as bad shape as Jude. Zaya followed through with her threat of marring his face. He now sports a fresh scar that starts at his temple andends at the bottom of his chin. He notices the direction of my gaze and gives me a soft smile, revealing his dimple.

“It doesn’t hurt. Not anymore anyway,” he says softly.

“I’m sorry,” I say after a moment. If it weren’t for me, he wouldn’t have that scar on his face. He wouldn’t have gone through whatever torture Zaya gave.

“You have nothing to apologize for. It would have happened sooner or later. Zaya is... insatiable. She loves it when I’m in pain. It was just a matter of finding a reason to place a new one on me,” he says jokingly.

“How can you be so lighthearted about that?” I ask softly. He thinks about his response momentarily before looking back at me with a shrug.

“What other way is there to be?” he asks. Now it’s my turn to shrug.

“Remus doesn’t need a reason to hurt me. But he doesn’t like leaving the wounds that he puts there. He always heals me after,” I say absentmindedly.

Jude stares at me for a moment before looking back over the courtyard.

“I couldn’t imagine being the slave of Remus. Before you, he never took inhabitants from planets. At least not for personal pleasure. He used them for torture and to show their people what would happen. But to covet one the way he does with you? It’s unheard of.” Jude’s expression grows distant as he gets a haunted look on his face.

“If only you knew some of the things he has done... I don’t think you would be able to stomach his existence,” he says. I watch Jude in interest, my curiosity getting the better of me. He speaks as if he’s familiar with Remus over the years.

“Do you remember when they first arrived? Did you see what exactly happened that day?” I ask.

Jude looks surprised by my question. “Yeah. I was only fifteen at the time. Me and my friends were out enjoying the summer. One second, we were doing cannonballs in the pool, and the next the world just ended. People were running and screaming. It was terrifying. I don’t know how I made it home. The world became a blood bath. The city I had known my entire life was destroyed. Shortly after, he appeared. Remus. He told us to surrender.”

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