Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 43582 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 218(@200wpm)___ 174(@250wpm)___ 145(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 43582 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 218(@200wpm)___ 174(@250wpm)___ 145(@300wpm)
I’m irrationally pleased. It’s funny what reaction I can have from such a simple article of clothing, but it’s such an improvement over wearing nothing that I’ll take it.
Lasim lifts me gently into his arms, this time turning me so that I’m propped on his hip. “Can you hold your head up, Little pet?”
“Yes, Daddy.” I reach for the front of the collar I’ve been wearing nonstop since it was put on. “Can you take this off?” Now that I’m fully conscious, I’m aware of the level of humiliation I feel from its constant weight. It reminds me that I’m not free. I’m a pet. I don’t like it.
“The collar is permanent, Little pet. It will never come off. Do not ask me again. It will anger me.”
My breath hitches. “It can’t come off?”
“No. And that’s for your safety. It has a tracking device in it. If anything ever happened to you, I would be able to locate you.”
I stiffen. “What are you afraid might happen to me?”
He carries me from his bedroom and into a large room that serves as a kitchen and a living space. I haven’t spent much time looking around because I’ve been asleep most of the time, but I do so now.
The most important thing to catch my eye is the wall of windows on the kitchen side of the room. Looking out, I know we’re up very high. I think the dwelling is called an apartment, or maybe a flat or loft. I learned a variety of words for the kinds of homes people on Earth once had, but obviously, my educational material didn’t include dwellings on other planets. I have no idea how far from Earth we are.
Lasim shifts me so I’m facing him as he sits in a giant armchair, adjusting me until I’m straddling him. He sets his hands on my back, probably to support me in case I’m not quite strong enough to avoid toppling off his lap. “Word is spreading around the planet, Little pet. People are curious and want a human pet of their own. I was very lucky to have known the man who purchased your friend Luna. I visited them soon after he acquired her and then rushed to get my name on the list, requesting a human pet. There won’t be enough of you to fulfill the amount of interest. People will be disgruntled, and I fear they could decide if they can’t buy a pet of their own, they’ll steal one.”
I gasp.
He nods. “That’s the reality, Little pet. I will protect you with my life, but the only way I can keep you safe is to use every precaution available. The collar is extremely important, but I’ll introduce you to several other safety procedures today.”
There’s a lump in my throat because, even though I’m distressed about being purchased as a household pet, the idea of someone taking me away from the only man I know scares the bejesus out of me. At least I’m marginally familiar with my current fate. I don’t want to face another.
Lasim rubs my back. “Don’t worry, Little pet. I won’t let anything happen to you. I don’t tell you all of that to frighten you, but I need you to understand there are reasons behind every safety precaution I put into place.” He lifts a brow.
“Okay, Daddy.” I don’t like the idea of wearing a collar for the rest of my life. It’s incredibly unsettling. When I consider my plight, I don’t see a way out, which is equally frustrating.
I’m on a planet I’m not familiar with—an understatement since the only parts of it I’ve seen are the cage room where I woke up initially, the exam room where I suffered a tremendous amount of humiliation, and now this apartment. I have no idea what this planet looks like.
What I do know is that every inhabitant I’ve seen has been gigantic. I couldn’t outrun or outmuscle anyone of this size. And where would I go? It’s not like I could make my way back to the space station. Doing so would mean eventual death anyway. And it sounds like the two women who were the first to be purchased—Luna and Adryn—are living in a similar situation as I am.
Suddenly, I have an idea. Perhaps a way to reason with this man who has purchased me. “Do you have other types of pets on this planet, Daddy?”
“We do.”
“Do you have cats and dogs?” I’ve seen pictures and heard of that sort of pet on Earth.
He chuckles. “No, Little pet. I’ve read about your cats and dogs, but the pets we have on Venkoria are different.”
“Are they furry?”
“Some are, yes.” His brow furrows.
“Do they talk?”
He laughs. “I see where you’re going with this, naughty pet. You want to make a distinction between you and other types of pets to prove you’re too advanced a species to be kept in captivity. Your reasoning will not work, Little pet.”