Page 18 of Alien Boss. Human Pet

Great. Just what I wanted—a creepy, oversized alien scientist breathing down my neck and threatening me with… what? More tests? Brain scans? I swallow hard, my mind racing. I need to figure out how to fail without looking like I’m failing. This is going to be harder than I thought.

Winn’s grin widens as he attaches the last electrode to my temple, his cybernetic eye whirring faintly like a camera focusing. The wires dangle around my face, and I resist the urge to swat them away. “Comfortable?” he asks, tilting his head as if he genuinely cares about my answer.

“Oh, absolutely,” I say, voice dripping with sarcasm. “This is how I always imagined spending my Tuesday. Hooked up to alien tech, playingVakutan Tetris. Truly living the dream.”

He chuckles, a sound that’s half-amusement, half-mad-scientist glee. “Good, good! Now, let’s see what you can do.” He gestures to the holographic display hovering in front of me, the colorful blocks falling in slow, erratic patterns. “Control it with your mind. Just… think the blocks into place.”

I stare at him, then at the display. “You’re joking, right?”

“Not at all.”

I sigh and focus on the screen, trying to will the blocks to move. Nothing happens. The blocks keep falling, stacking haphazardly, and I’m pretty sure I’m losing even though there’s no score. “Yep,” I say after a full minute of glaring at the screen. “Still not a psychic. Shocking.”

Winn taps his chin, his cybernetic eye narrowing. “Hmm. Perhaps we’re approaching this wrong. Let’s try something else.” He rummages around in a drawer and pulls out what looks like a video game controller. “Here. Use this first. Learn the mechanics. Then we’ll try again with your mind.”

I take the controller, rolling my eyes. “So, what, I’m supposed to believe I’m going to suddenly develop telekinesis just because I’ve played a few rounds of this?”

“Just play,” he says, his tone annoyingly cheerful.

I shrug and start pressing buttons. The blocks respond immediately, snapping into place as I clear row after row. Despite myself, I grin. “Okay, this is kind of fun. I’m going to be sad when you take this away.”

Winn’s grin turns downright predatory. “Oh, you mean this controller, Ms. Christian?” He holds up one end of a cable, and I freeze, my fingers still poised over the buttons. “The one that was never plugged into the console in the first place?”

I glance down at the controller in my hands, then follow the cable’s path. It’s not connected to anything. My stomach drops. “Wait. No. That’s not?—”

“That’s right,” Winn says, leaning in so close I can see the faint red glow of his eye reflecting off my face. “We pulled a sneaky on you! You’ve been controlling the game with your mind the entire time.”

My mouth goes dry. The controller slips from my hands and clatters to the floor. “Shit,” I whisper, staring at the screen where the blocks are still falling, still moving—still responding to my thoughts.

Winn claps his hands together, his excitement palpable. “Fascinating! Absolutely fascinating! You’ve been suppressing this ability without even realizing it. Now, let’s push further?—”

“No,” I say, standing up so fast the electrodes yank at my scalp. “No more pushing. No more tests. I’m done.”

Winn blinks, his grin faltering. “But Ms. Christian, we’ve barely scratched the surface of?—”

“I saidno,” I snap, my voice sharper than I intended. “I’m not some lab rat for you to prod and poke. I don’t care what kind of alien freak show you’re running here—I’m out.”

He stares at me for a long moment, his cybernetic eye whirring softly. Then, to my surprise, he shrugs. “Very well. For now. But mark my words, Ms. Christian—this isn’t over.”

I yank the electrodes off my head, the adhesive pulling at my skin. “Yeah, well, markmywords—if you try to drag me back into this, I’m taking that stupid eye of yours with me.”

Winn chuckles, but there’s a glint in his eye—real eye, not the cybernetic one—that tells me he’s not intimidated. “Oh, Ms. Christian,” he says, amused. “I think you and I are going to have alotof fun together.”

CHAPTER 10

RAEKON

Pyke and I step into the observation lounge, the hum of the forcefields beyond the glass a constant reminder of where we are. The ocean presses in on all sides, a dark, endless void that would swallow us whole if not for the sheer will of Veritas engineering. I’m pacing before I even realize it, my scales bristling under my tailored suit. Pyke, ever the calm center of the storm, leans against the glass, arms crossed, watching me with that infuriatingly neutral expression.

“You didn’t tell me,” I snap, my voice cutting through the low hum of the room. “You didn’t even give me a heads-up. You just brought her in and tossed her to Winn like she was some lab rat.”

Pyke’s gaze doesn’t waver. “Would you have let me test her if I’d asked?”

“That’s not the point,” I growl, stopping in front of him. My claws flex, itching to tear into something. “You don’t get to make decisions about her without me. Not her. Not Willow.”

“You’re too close to this, Raekon.” His tone is calm, but there’s an edge to it, a warning. “Too invested. I couldn’t risk you sabotaging the results.”

“Sabotage?” My laugh is sharp, bitter. “You think I’d sabotage her? I’m trying to protect her. Veritas doesn’t have thebest track record with psykers, Pyke. Or have you forgotten what happened to the last one?”

---