Page 28 of Pet: Genesis

Remus watches my suffering intently, enjoying every second of it when he finally decides to speak.

“Would you like to rename this one as well, Pet?”

1. Translated: "It's an honor to have our great leader attend my facility."

2. Leviathan equivalent to leader, ruler, god

Chapter Nine

Iris

Remus is evil. Pure and simple. I look at my friend, her eyes vacant of any will. Margot now belongs to Remus, and he loves to remind me of that fact. He loves dangling her life in front of me. He loves the position of power I have put him in by being unable to control myself. I don’t know if Margot would have been better off in that facility, but I hate that she’s here like this.

“Iris. Eat.”

I tense at the sound of Remus’s voice. He’s sitting across from me at the table, his eyes focused on the electronic screen in front of him. He always seems to be focused on other things, which makes me wonder what kind of responsibilities come with his role in Leviathan society.

“I’m not hungry,” I murmur, my eyes drifting back to Margot.

My words catch Remus’s attention, and he looks up at me, his amethyst eyes burning bright as he studies me. I’ve learned to read Remus’s emotions through his eyes. When the purple is still, he’s calm. When the blue begins to match the intensity of the purple, he’s excited. And when his eyes begin to tremble from the pupil dilating, he’s angry. Right now, however, he seems amused. A small smile plays on his lips, and he angles his head ever so slightly to focus his gaze, proving my point.

“I thought you’d be pleased to have the woman you fought so hard for in that facility here with you,” he says. He loves toying with me, trying to find ways to push me to the edge. I look at him, mustering all the strength that I can.

“She’s a slave,” I murmur begrudgingly.

Remus quirks a brow at my outburst but plays along nonetheless.

“No, she’s a servant. If she were a slave, she would be back in the training session you found her in, preparing to live the rest of her life in despair with only hopes of death,” he says matter-of-factly.

“How can you say that? I felt what she’s feeling. You put an inhibitor on me at the facility,” I say, slightly raising my voice. Now, Remus looks confused, and his smile widens as he realizes what I’m talking about, laughing.

“You are truly guileless,” he says.

Margot shifts and begins walking toward the table without hesitation. The closer she gets, the tighter the knot in my stomach grows. She stands silently next to Remus, her gaze filled with no sense of awareness.

“What you felt was not an inhibitor. Not a fully functioning one, anyway. What you felt was a mild inhibitor that allowed me quick access to your nervous system,” Remus explains.

Margot turns around, and I instantly feel nausea at the sight. Something resembling a small chip rests on the back of her neck, just like the other slaves in that facility. Remus continues watching me steadily, his excitement growing. This is another test. It has to be. And I’m about to fail it miserably.

He knows it, and I know it.

“Your friend feels nothing. Her mind has been locked away. You cannot control a body if there is a will to live or fight. The mind is a muscle. The more you exercise it, the stronger it becomes. And eventually, the wearer would break out of their... vegetative state,” he says.

I’m up before I can think, snatching the small knife off the tabletop. Tears of frustration burn my eyes, accompanying my fury. Remus watches me with a delighted grin, pleased to have gotten under my skin so easily, as Margot turns around to face me.

“What are you going to do with that, Pet? Kill me?” he asks.

My hands are shaking, but his words are slowly beginning to penetrate my rage-filled haze.

“Let’s play this out logically, shall we?” Remus stands, walking around the table as he speaks. I bring the knife up, holding it steady in front of me. And even though I am gripping it as tight as I can, I don’t think I will have it for much longer.

“You kill me, and you have an entire race at your neck, thus destroying any chance humanity had at survival on this planet.You injure me, and I, in retaliation, send your friend back to the facility where she can live out her life with free will. But she will kill herself within seconds of being placed into Leviathan society to fulfill her training.” Remus is directly in front of me now, his height and mere alien aura causing me to tremble as he leans into me in amusement.

“These are both options that will never happen. And do you want to know why?” he murmurs.

His smile fades, and his gaze drops to the knife in my trembling hand. His eyes meet mine as he reaches for the knife, pulling it out of my grasp with ease. He holds it up directly in my face, placing his thumb on the tip, and I watch in horror as he bends the blade, the sharp tip not coming close to penetrating his flesh.

“Because nothing on this planet is strong enough to bring me down...” He reaches for my chin, holding my gaze steady in his. “Nothing.”

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