My Wild Pet (Whispers from the Imperial Cage #2)

Chapter 23

CHAPTER 23

Gabriel

Solitary confinement is a living nightmare. The room is just a cube of cold metal. If I stretch out my arms, my fingertips touch both sides. If I raise my hand, my knuckles graze the ceiling. I’m stuck in this cold, silent, dark box that amplifies all my thoughts, doubts, and fears.

Of course, I’ve been here before. Especially in my first years. Every time I resist Aefre. I mean, really resist him. This is where he puts me. It’s meant to break me, to make me question everything. And mon Dieu, it’s working.

Why do I care so much about Briar? Why did I explode like that, knowing exactly what Aefre would do to me? Why did seeing her, so exhausted, ignite something uncontrollable in me? I’ve seen others pushed to their limits before. Je suis passé par là moi-même. I have been there myself, but this? This is different. She’s different. Or maybe... I am different?

My mind flies to the thought of Fifi and I hold back a shudder.

I lean back against the cold wall to calm myself. My collar vibrates faintly, a constant reminder of the control they have over me. It’s not just a tool—it’s a weapon. And Aefre wields it like the master trainer that he is. He can control my thoughts, warp my emotions, make me question what’s real and what’s not, all with a subtle pulse from this damned thing.

And now I can’t stop wondering—what if what I feel for Briar isn’t real? Est-ce que je peux me faire confiance? Can I trust myself to know what’s real?

I bite the inside of my cheek, trying to stop myself from thinking about Fifi again, but this time, it’s no use. Unbidden, the memories flood in. Fifi. My steadfast partner who I left behind. The one I failed.

I shake my head violently. No. Briar isn’t a replacement. She’s not a second chance. She’s different. She’s... elle-même. She’s mine.

And I think I love her. We’ve barely spoken, just a few stolen glances and whispered words. And yet, when I see her, it’s like I’ve known her forever. Like she’s a part of me I lost long ago.

Or are those feelings only Aefre’s manipulation?

I slam my fist against the wall. Merde. Pain shoots up my arm, but it’s nothing compared to the chaos in my mind.

“Briar,” I whisper her name into the silence. It feels real when I say it.

But Aefre has made me completely reliant on his version of reality. I know this. I see it in the way he controls other pets and I’m no different.

But in my heart, I can’t believe that this isn’t real. It’s just too… too real to be an illusion.

I love Briar.

When I saw her in the medical center, something broke inside of me. And it wasn’t about Fifi, or Aefre’s manipulations. It was about her . That jealousy and anger can’t be faked by any collar. Love doesn’t work that way.

I don’t think.

I press my forehead against the cold wall and say her name like a prayer for transparency in all of this, “Briar.”