Page 25 of The Alien's Pet

He looked concerned and he hated the look of pity on his face. Hehatedthat look.

"I heard what happened with Karin. Is there anything I can do?"

"No!" Korrev snarled back. "Does Alice know about Karin's escape? Did they plan this together?"

"Of course not!" Kyvan looked offended, almost angry. "My little Alice is safe in my quarters. She has hardly spoken to Karin. She's been too busy focusing on healing her injuries."

"Well, someone had to have planned this." Korrev kicked a chair over angrily. "Someone must have convinced Karin to do this.To leave me."

Kyvan hesitated a bit before he spoke. "You forget that Karin was deeply unhappy. She was not even your mate; she was your pet, an even lower position. You punished her cruelly even though I warned you against it. How does it surprise you that she left?"

Korrev gave him a cold smile. "I will still be speaking to Alice on this matter. I'm sure she has something to say."

"You will not!" Kyvan snarled back. "She is resting and she has just announced she's with child. You will not disturb her, Korrev."

Korrev raised his eyebrow and simply said, "I am king." Then he headed to Kyvan's quarters to speak to Alice. If he found out Alice had a hand in this, he would consider it betrayal.

He was a king very few people would cross.

Eleven

Karin didn't know how long she had been stranded. She had stopped counting the days weeks ago, but she knew it had been more than two months on this unnamed planet. She had bitterly regretted leaving ever since.

There was no one here. Hadn't been since she had first arrived. She didn't know if it was a blessing or a curse. She only knew she would rather get punished every day than be here for one more second.

She would get on her hands and knees and beg for forgiveness to Korrev if only he would take her back. Karin would swallow her pride and be his pet and the mother of his children if he would only take her back to Krotev.

Karin couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh. She had spent all this time trying to gain her freedom back, and when she had, she was miserable. But in her defense, she had wanted to return to Earth, not this unknown planet.

Karin had found an emergency supply kit on the back of the ship when it was clear the stupid thing wouldn't fly again. For weeks, she had tried to communicate with someone back in Krotev by pushing every button she could find, but with little luck.

The emergency supply kit had held four gallons of water and a ton of food since Krotev aliens usually needed a lot of food to survive. She hadn't been worried at first about her food/water ration, but she was worried now.

She only allowed herself half a glass of water a day and very little food, in order to make sure the food lasted as long as possible. But every day, she saw her supplies dwindling, which made her nervous. If she didn't find extra food or water fast, she was going to die a very painful death.

Once or twice, the thought of ending it all had crossed Karin's mind, but she was too afraid to do so. Instead, she decided to try her best to survive.

She was still wearing the uniform she had stolen as she did not have any other clothes, but it was dirty and unkempt. Not to mention, she desperately needed a bath. She felt very dirty and her hair desperately needed shampooing. But there was no way she would waste her precious water source to clean herself.

Karin woke up one day feeling very tired. It seemed she was tired often because she didn't get the proper nutrients. Often, she felt like the only thing she did was sleep. Sleep was her escape. It was the only time she felt decently happy, because in those dreams, she was often on Earth, treating herself to an after-work drink, or back on Krotev, sleeping in Korrev's arms while he called her his pet.

"Food, Karin," she mumbled to herself as she walked away from the spaceship to continue exploring. "Find food first, and then you need to find water."

She was trying to remain hopeful, but it was terribly hard. She didn't have much energy left, her lips were chapped, her body dirty, and her stomach hurt all the time because she was always hungry.

There were a couple of trees on this planet, but nothing that grew any type of the strange fruit she had seen on Krotev.Sometimes if she was feeling desperate enough, Karin would swallow some of the leaves or put some in her half cup of water in a weak attempt to make tea.

This time, she would have to walk even farther if she wanted to find food or water. But this planet was dry. It wasn't surprising no one had bothered living on it for years.

She walked until she felt her feet were swelling from so much exercising. She allowed herself a sip of water, but no more.

Karin stiffened when she saw a bush a few feet away, filled with bright orange berries. She used the last of her energy to race towards them. It almost seemed too good to be true. She took one of the berries and inspected it.

It was small, round, and plump, a bright orange color which reminded her of oranges. She would kill for orange juice right about now. Karin had no way of knowing if they were safe to eat, but she was so hungry, she would eat wood right about now. She placed two berries in her mouth and ate them hungrily. They were delicious. They kind of tasted like candy. Karin doubted she had ever tasted anything so glorious. She ate two. Then four. Then six, until she felt her belly was full and satisfied.

Then Karin started to feel sleepy. Her miraculous discovery earned her a well-deserved nap. She managed to make a soft little bed in the bushes. After she woke up, she would search for water. Maybe her luck was changing.

Karin closed her eyes. She began to dream.

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