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Sophie makes a sound of outrage. "We're pretending to be mated so we can buy food. I've been wearing a disguise."
"Oh. Well, that's far less exciting than what my mind was coming up with." Bethiah taps at her wrist communicator. "Let me pull up the file. This one's a human, too. You all know each other, right? Maybe you know this one."
I glance over at Sophie, my mood sour. I heard the disgust in her voice when she told Bethiah that we were pretending. Of course she'd never want to be with anyone like me. I just let myself get too swept up in the moment. Too distracted from her touch. I won't let that happen again. I scowl at my cousin and Sophie both, waiting for Bethiah to finish talking about her bounty so she can leave.
"Not all humans know each other," Sophie murmurs, glancing over at me.
I ignore her. "Just make this fast. I can't pilot on an hour of sleep, and I don't want to stay here any longer than I have to."
"Some praxiian looking for his pet that ran off," Bethiah says, tapping information into her comm. "No vid scans of it, alas. I'm told she's young and pretty and her name is Grothtauk."
My translator chimes in with a response. Grothtauk is praxiian for “Sleepy one.”
I glance over at Sophie, remembering what she said earlier. She's gone utterly pale, her mouth tight. But she manages to shake her head. "I don't know her."25SOPHIEThe bounty hunter won't stop talking. She just keeps prattling on, talking about the solar storm and the prices at the bar, and I just want to put my head in my hands and scream. And scream. And scream.
There's a bounty on my head. Of course there is. My owner wouldn't let his precious fuck-toy disappear and not try to retrieve me. I figured it would happen, but I was also hoping it would end up like most “missing pet” posters—largely ignored by the public. I just didn't think anyone would try to retrieve me, truly.
The urge to hide is overwhelming, but there's nowhere to go.
"Ah well, that's life," Bethiah says, sprawled out on the bed as if she belongs here. "So when are you two heading back to that pit you call home, Jerrok?"
"As soon as the storm is over." He crosses his arms over his chest and looks every inch as surly and gruff as the first time I met him. "Wasn't like I wanted to be here overnight as it is. We just got caught in the weather."
"This ended up being lucky, though! A brief family reunion."
"So lucky," Jerrok says sarcastically.
Bethiah seems immune to his lousy mood, ignoring it as she glances over at me. "So how are those big strapping va Sithai brothers? Did you take them all for a test drive like I told you to?"
"No," I choke out. The thought of touching one of them repulses me. They were nice to me. I don't want to repay niceness with my body. I want to be normal again. I want to want someone again before I feel like climbing into bed with them. "I'm not interested."
"Praxiians made you hungry for a furry type of guy, hmm?"
"No! I don't want anyone! At all!" The urge to run away hits me again, and I look over at Jerrok. He doesn't look thrilled either, his shoulders tense and his mouth flat with irritation. I'm not sure if he's irked with me or with our visitor, or if he's just being his normal cranky self. He just scowls, body rigid. I remember how nice he was when I woke him up, how soft his face was as he stroked my hair. That man is gone, and old, grumpy Jerrok has returned.
Maybe he's thinking about letting his cousin retrieve her bounty on me. It has to be obvious that it's me, right? Bethiah hasn't figured it out, but that doesn't mean she won't. How many runaway humans—on the run from praxiians, no less—can there be?
The urge to flee becomes overwhelming, and as Bethiah starts to chatter again, I turn and head toward the lavatory, locking the door behind me. There's no seat-like toilet here like there is on Earth, so I sit on the floor instead, burying my head in my hands and waiting for the panic to subside. I hear Bethiah talking, surprise in her voice, and then Jerrok snapping back at her. I can't make out what they're saying—nor do I want to. I just want this all to go away.
I miss Sleipnir. I don't feel safe without him at my side. He'd eat Bethiah and then I wouldn't have to worry about being dragged back to my old master. I'm filled with intense longing for my carinoux. He's only been mine for a few days now, but I didn't realize how much he affected my mood.
