The Human Pet: A Sci-Fi Romance

Part 33

Tarak

Something must be wrong. Kayla is ringing her bell. Then when the wall unit tells me she wants to have this procedure done...

I gape at the wall. Maybe it does not understand her words? That doesn't matter because I will fix this. I turn toward Rigel. "I forbid it. She will not have this procedure done."

Rigel's eyes flicker back and forth between us. "I thought you both agreed to make decisions together."

"Not this," I say, baring my fangs at him. Unlike Rigel, I do not show my teeth to show that I am content or happy. No, I show them to indicate that I would use them on his neck, and then after I killed him, I would carry her back to my quarters, give her lots of baths, feed her berries, never let her leave, and–

"Please?" she says.

I press my forehead to hers so that the only place we can look is into each other's eyes. "I can't lose you. This device could hurt you."

She is holding that thing—the translator that could potentially take her away from me forever—in her hand, gazing at it as if it is something she wants.

"Please, Kayla, no," I say, trying to take it from her but she closes her fingers around it.

"I thought you didn't like having the wall speak for me. That it is too slow?"

Waiting for the wall to say her words takes a while, but I would rather do that, especially if I might lose her forever. "I would rather wait a full cycle of my star rising and setting to hear your words if it means you will be with me, able to speak and understand." And breathe and stay alive, I think as I hug her.

She curls into me. "The wall translator is limited, and I cannot always find the right word. But if I could put them in my brain, maybe I could find the limitations faster and make new words."

Nothing she says justifies the risks.

Her heart thumps a bit faster than it often does. I plead with her to tell me the real reason and stare into her beautiful green eyes, dancing about and... I can feel it in my blood and bones. She is hiding something from me.

I am a dominant scourge, which means I must protect the ones I love. "This meeting is over," I say, picking her up and carrying her toward the door.

"Please stay, commander. Communicate," he says and

I spin around, getting so close I can see beads of sweat on his brow. "Please don't shut us out," he says like he is unaware that I stand close to him or that if I wanted, I could lean closer to his neck and–

She lightly strokes my arm. "Please, Tarak, don't do this."

I pull away from his neck.

He does a pouty thing with his lips as if he wants to suggest that he is disappointed with me. He is the one who has made a mistake because the only ones that need to communicate are me and Kayla.

I turn my back on him in disgust and go out the door. I stomp down the corridors with my pet in my arms. Other scourges sensibly back away from me, which is good because... I can't be held accountable if I take them out for getting too close to what is mine.

When we arrive at my quarters, I am still upset so I pull her into my lap. I need her to understand me.

"Kayla," I say, kissing the top of her head, her forehead, and her cheek. "This procedure can hurt you. You must not have it done. Tell me that you agree with me."

She stays silent. Maybe the wall unit is broken or did not translate my words correctly.

"Kayla?" I finger her little bell. She knows what I need, so why is she not ringing it?

I will never hurt her, never! The only way to keep her safe, though, is to convince her to go along with my will. I place my face close to her, show her my fangs, and growl "You must not."

She pushes herself out of my arms and backs away from me, growling in a way that I find adorable, yet I am also disappointed at her insistence on this.

I flex my hands into fists. There is only one thing that can calm me. I retrieve a package of the berries she adores from the storage unit and place a pillow on the floor.

I fluff the pillow. "Kata. Kneel for me, I need to feed you," I say as I impatiently wait for the wall unit to translate.

She takes another few steps away from me. She speaks and then...

She growls and the wall crackles. "No."