Chapter 13
CHAPTER 13
Gabriel
Aefre leads Briar into the training center, and I catch my first glimpse of her new “enhancements.” The matching tail, swaying with every step, and the nipple piercings—it’s all so blatantly designed to arouse an Imperial man, not a human. But damn it, it works on me too.
Mon esprit et mon corps, tous les deux empoisonnés , I think bitterly. The Imperials have twisted me so thoroughly through their conditioning that I find a human dressed up like a pet more appealing than a natural human woman. Their collars, commands, and punishments have etched themselves into my mind.
I grip the pull-up bar tighter, ignoring the strain in my arms.
I can’t keep my eyes from Briar as Aefre parades her around pleased with himself. The sight of her sparks something deep inside me—some instinct that I’ve never felt. She’s mine. It’s not a rational thought. It’s raw and primal. It’s my last bit of humanity, I think
I pull myself up one more time, desperately hoping the motion can calm the storm inside me, the attraction, the arousal, the frustration, and the desire to claim her. But it doesn’t.
Aefre leads her closer, looking smug. I want to punch that look right off his face, but I can’t afford to show open disobedience. Instead, I leave my station to greet Briar.
“Ember,” Kaelin warns, “don’t walk away. You’re not finished here.”
I ignore him, I know Kaelin would rather have five things to punish me for rather than just one, so I walk toward Briar.
Aefre blocks me from seeing her face-to-face. “Return to your training, Ember,” he snaps.
“I just want to welcome our new pet,” I say. “Especially since she’ll be taking Fifi’s place.”
“I think yesterday’s little greeting was enough. And she’ll replace Fifi eventually, but today, we have endurance tests to run. You’ll only distract her.”
I step to the side trying to get past Aefre, but he cuts me off, and summons Kaelin with his hand.
Kaelin yanks me back with the threat of punishment and mentions Briar’s rumored past of hurting another human pet. “She’ll bite your penis clean off with those teeth. It’s not safe until she’s properly trained, Ember. Come on now.”
It’s obviously Imperial gossip, but it rattles me. “She wouldn’t do that to me.”
“I’m sure that’s what the other man thought as well,” Kaelin replies. “Now he’s an eunuch serving the Imperial Infantry. You don’t want the same to happen to you. You’re so good looking; they’d probably dress you as a woman too.”
I dismiss this. A pet is a pet. It wouldn’t be nice being ass fucked every day but it’s also not a dream come true being a show pet and having your partner die. “Briar,” I call over Aefre’s shoulder. “They’re going to test your limits today. This will be…” A shock rips through me, courtesy of Kaelin’s ring. My lungs seize, but I force out the rest: “…your toughest day. Don’t die.”
Briar quickly moves to the side of Aefre and mouths a quiet “Thank you” in English.
My heart beats faster at her words.
“For that,” Kaelin says, “you’ll run the obstacle course—until I say stop.”
Aefre doesn’t object, so I have no choice. We usually only run that thing once, maybe twice a week because it’s ruthless on the body. But I’ve learned something today, I’m not as dead inside as I thought.
Briar has awakened something in me. Suddenly, I’m asking myself all the questions I’ve ignored for years: Why am I here? What have I been doing for the last decade—parading around as Aefre’s prized pet?
Mon Dieu , I want more. I want Briar. And to have Briar—to truly have her—I must be free.
And if it means putting her above all else—so be it. Elle est à moi. She’s mine . My humanity. My sanity. My freedom .
Kaelin conjures the obstacle course in a holographic section of the gymnasium. I draw a shaky breath and head toward it, wiping away the last of my tears from that jolt of punishment. It was worth it, I tell myself. Worth it to warn her.
The obstacle course in front of me is a nightmare of shifting platforms, glowing walls, and mechanical traps—crafted to test body and mind until you break.
“This is what you get when you disobey,” he says. “Speaking to her in that primitive tongue—you know better, it rots your brain. You speak Imperial almost perfectly. If it were safe to remove memories on pets, I’d have the doctor strip you of your human languages, to protect you. Instead all I have is punishment at my disposal,” Kaelin says as if he’s doing me a favor.
I grit my teeth as the platform tilts beneath me and I begin making my way through the obstacle course. Behind me, I hear the drones approaching. Kaelin is really pulling out all the stops today. I begin to move faster reminding myself that the drones won’t fire unless I stall.
I’m not even half way through and my lungs are burning. I notice the wall up ahead is too smooth and too tall to climb, but still I try. But suddenly it cracks open, spewing freezing mist that burns my skin.
I press on, as the stinging subsides, swinging from a spinning column slick with foul-smelling blue slime. By some miracle, I land on the next ledge, knees trembling.
“We haven’t got much time,” I manage to say, my mind unable to subdue my thoughts of Briar, “if she’s replacing Fifi. It’s best we train together.”
“Focus on yourself, Ember. Leave the training to Aefre and me. You’re just a pet—you can’t grasp the complexities of it.”
I glance over my shoulder and immediately regret it. A drone zips closer, flashing its lights before zapping me in the thigh. I cry out and stumble onto my hands and knees.
“Keep moving,” Kaelin says. “Or shall I use punishment to encourage you?”
I bite back a retort, forcing myself upright, and forcing my legs forward.
Kaelin’s voice follows me like a bad dream. “She’s not worth it, you know—she won’t survive. We’d still have a better pet if Aefre hadn’t bought Ash. She’s dangerous. She’ll bite your penis off if you get too close.”
I freeze for half a second, then blurt, “Have you had sex with her?” Drones shock me again, sending agony piercing through my body, but I must know.
“No,” Kaelin replies, lifting his ring to shock me even more.
I collapse under the double assault.
“And you shouldn’t be thinking about that, either. But, I understand. Her faux tail stirred your human instincts to mate. Maybe if you’re good, we’ll let you breed her—supervised, of course, and with a muzzle. That is, if she survives today.”
Rage floods my veins remembering the last time I was rewarded with sex under their watchful eyes. Both Aefre and Kaelin held our leashes as they coached me through it just like they do in my training. There was no véritable passion . It was choreographed physical sex with an audience with Fifi. And instead of bonding us closer together, it drove us further apart.
That’s not what I want with Briar. I want so much more. I want to feel something real. With her, it could be different.
But another part of me is already aroused by the thought of having sex with Briar tied up with a muzzle on. And I hate myself for it. For wanting her, even if Aefre and Kaelin arrange it and were watching, holding our leashes, and instructing me how to plunge in and out of her body. I am ashamed of what they have made me, a grateful human pet.
I push to my feet, ignoring the flare of pain, and hurl myself at the next ledge with all my rage. My fists clench around the smooth platform edge, but my determination flares.
“This disobedience sets a poor example for the other pets,” Kaelin says.
A cruel smirk tugs at his mouth. Quel salaud. Bastard . I refuse to concede for him today. The platform cracks beneath me, forcing me to dive for another ledge. My knee hits the hard edge, pain shooting upward, but I keep moving.
At last, I collapse on the final platform, my body throbbing, and drenched in sweat.
Kaelin steps up, his smug expression unchanged. “Better than I expected. But you’ll do it again. Understand? You don’t train humans—we do.”
My glare says it all, but he waves me off. “Back to the start, pet.”
Va te faire foutre , Kiss my ass, I think, but I don’t dare speak it.
“Faster, Ember. Or is your fixation on that female pet draining all your strength?” Kaelin taunts.
I don’t answer. I focus on the course. Another series of spinning pillars awaits, glistening with that awful blue substance. I jump to the first one, gripping it desperately. A sudden jolt of pain hits my groin—Kaelin’s little setup, no doubt. I let out a strangled curse in Imperial, letting him know I see through this.
“Ah,” he says, voice full of fake sympathy. “We wouldn’t want you to become a eunuch, would we?”
My mind flashes to the human eunuchs I’ve seen before—the memory forced, possibly by Kaelin’s ring. I almost lose my hold on the pillar, my body shaking with the effort.
“Remember those eunuchs,” Kaelin purrs, stepping closer. His ring twinkles, and I realize he’s planting these thoughts and images in my mind.
All at once the obstacle course vanishes and I fall to the ground. The forced memories still running at full-blast through my mind. Men without penises forced to urinate through machines. Their purpose to serve the poorest men in the Imperial fleet. I’ll never forget the horror. A fate worse than death.
“Get your injuries checked, then report to the attendants for cleaning, before I reconsider and send you to solitary,” Kaelin barks.
Every muscle in my body quivers as I stand and limp off the platform. I ignore the curious stares of the other pets. I’ve never been so furious, but at the same time, I haven’t felt this alive in years.
I pause at the exit, the door already open, but I can’t leave without checking on Briar. My eyes sweep across the busy gymnasium until I spot her at the far side—chasing a shifting platform, sweat drenching her skin, that damned tail plastered to her legs. She’s almost lost her footing twice in the last minute.
Normally, I wouldn’t risk another punishment for stepping in. But watching her struggle like this, I refuse to stand by and say nothing.
Aefre stands at a central console, tweaking the course.
Briar stumbles again, nearly falling off the platform, something that could be fatal if she was unlucky with how she fell. I’ve seen more than a few pets die on their first day of endurance training.
“She’s had enough,” I call out in Imperial, my voice echoing through the gymnasium bringing everyone to a halt. Pets and trainers stare. Not good for me, but for some reason I don’t care.
Aefre glances up at me. “Ember, you may speak my language, mimic my mannerisms, but don’t forget you’re a only pet. Return to your training, unless you want further punishment.”
“She’s exhausted!”
A faint trace of curiosity crosses his face. “She’s stronger than you think. We did the same to you once. Maybe you’ve forgotten.”
“She’s not some animal you can push until she drops dead,” I say.
Kaelin starts to shout something at me, but Aefre lifts a hand to silence him. “What would you have me do, Ember? Coddle her? Stop challenging her? Do you think Ira would accept second place at the Grand Championship? Ash can do this.”
“Let her at least breathe. You’re pushing her too hard.”
Right then, Briar collapses, knees hitting the platform hard. I rush forward instinctively, but Aefre’s voice cuts me off.
“Don’t you dare touch her. We wouldn’t be in this mess if you hadn’t let Fifi die during the Bond Breaker.”
The ring on his hand glows, and suddenly I can’t speak. My throat locks. He’s silenced me by my collar.
“Ash will learn to be a champion pet,” he continues. “She’ll thrive under my hand, just like you did. Look—she hasn’t cried once. She’s stronger than most human females who would have been sobbing in a corner by now. And not once has she fallen off the platform. Trust my methods.”
Aefre forces my head toward her with that cursed ring, and I see the raw defiance in Briar’s green eyes—tired, but still burning.
“If you want to protect her,” Aefre says, “then leave her alone. She doesn’t need a crutch. She needs to be pushed to rise.”
I clench my fists but step back.
Briar pushes herself upright. I can’t read the expression on her face. She sees me but says nothing, just goes on, stumbling yet determined.
Against my body’s instincts, I can’t help thinking maybe Aefre’s right.
I look at Kaelin then, we make eye contact. Is he planting thoughts in my head? Did Aefre sense it too, and that’s why he hasn’t punished me more for this? I’ve never openly questioned his training methods even when other pets died.