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“Pancakes?” Arkan asks me the question as we get to the kitchen. I am flooded with anticipation and goodwill. The prospect of hot, buttery pancakes made just the way they’d be made on Earth almost makes me cry. I think I might love him.
“You should make her something simple. Warm grains. After her behavior, she does not deserve to enjoy food.”
Kahn has followed us, which is annoying given how large the house is. Surely he has somewhere else to be and something else to do.
“The fuck is your problem?” I turn to face Kahn, annoyed and disrespectful.
“Enough, pet,” Arkan says.
Kahn gives me a death stare and looks as though he wants to come over the table at me. Arkan moves slightly, as if to prevent such an action, should it occur.
“A pet should be taught her place,” he insists. I know he’s saying it to get a rise out of me, because he could be saying this telepathically to Arkan, and he’s not. He’s making sure I hear every word.
Fortunately, Arkan is going about the business of making pancakes, so I know that Kahn’s backseat cooking is not having any real effect on him.
I take a fork from the cutlery drawer and give Kahn a look over the tines. I don’t know why he’s still hanging about.
I can tell they’re arguing in their heads again. I wonder what Kahn is saying. Arkan seems largely impassive, unbothered by Kahn’s obvious judgement. I’m leaning against the kitchen counter. I couldn’t sit if I wanted to. My ass is absolutely burning. I’m not going to sit for days, probably. But the physical discomfort is nothing on the shame I feel with Kahn’s eyes on me. He’s a stranger, an arrogant, cocky, dominant asshole and he thinks he has the right to put his hands on me and punish me even though I don’t belong to him.
I belong to Arkan.
I mean, I don’t belong to anybody, because I am a human and humans cannot be owned. I have to remind myself of that very consciously because my ass is not the only part of me that is aching. I can still feel the effects of Arkan’s mating, and I will never forget it. He said he’d claimed me, and I think that might be true. Sure, I was going to rip him off and run away, but that’s neither here nor there. Arkan has more claim to me than Kahn does, that’s for certain.
The smell of butter in a hot pan immediately improves my mood. Arkan is already starting to whip up a batter. In a matter of minutes, I’ll be feasting on fresh pancakes, and nothing Kahn says will matter. I grip my fork more tightly, refusing to let him ruin the meal. I spent too long hungry to waste opportunities to eat.
“Let her eat, Kahn,” Arkan says calmly.
“I’m not stopping her eating. I’m telling you that this is no place for spoiled little returned pets. I’m telling you…” He goes silent again, but the tension in his face, especially around his jaw tells me that he’s not pleased. His tusks are gleaming as if they yearn to rend flesh.
Arkan slides the first pancake onto my plate, and I start eating. It’s very good. Rich and buttery, and also light and fluffy. I’m immediately in absolute heaven, no longer caring about anything I’ve done, or suffered. I’ll take three more beatings for one more of these pancakes.
5
Arkan
Once we have my pet safely secured inside the crate once more, and inside a well-locked room, Kahn and I pick up all the stolen pieces of decor and return them to their proper places. It is quite an onerous task. She really was quite thorough as she rifled through the treasures and keepsakes of our ancestral home.
“You should have made her do this,” Kahn complains.
“She needs rest.”
“Soft,” Kahn grunts with distaste.
I do not care what my younger brother thinks about how I handle my human. She is not his problem, and he certainly has no authority over me.
Having restored our home, we retreat for drinks. I know he’s not really angry about the human. He has his own problems to worry about, but he’d prefer to grumble about my pet than focus on them.
“We did agree no pets.” Kahn reminds me of the rule that I myself made.
“I know, but this one was on the verge of being destroyed. I had to do something.”
“Could have left her at the shop.”
“Turns out, I couldn’t. Imagine if she had broken out there. We might never have found her. She’s the one you sold without checking, Kahn. You played a role in this mess, so you might want to let the righteous act drop.”
Kahn does not let the righteous act drop. Not even a little bit.
“It’s not like you to select a human who wouldn’t make a suitable pet,” Kahn says. “And that human has close to no signs of being a suitable pet. She’s not submissive. She’s not sweet. She has criminal tendencies. She…”
