Total pages in book: 159
Estimated words: 149470 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 747(@200wpm)___ 598(@250wpm)___ 498(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149470 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 747(@200wpm)___ 598(@250wpm)___ 498(@300wpm)
By now my Mom would probably be frantic. Great Aunt Maizy would have called to complain that I was gone, deserting in the middle of the doggy ceremony and Mom would have asked my sister, Taylor, to go check on me. When nobody found me anywhere, they would probably tell Don, who would also be upset. Though probably not quite as much as my family, I admitted to myself.
Still, the point was, everyone I loved back on Earth was no doubt worried about me and I couldn’t even tell them I was alive and well. Sir had talked about taking me to other planets and from there we would presumably go back to his home galaxy and who knew how far away that was? I was literally light years from home and nobody knew where I had gone and that I was never coming back.
Tears came to my eyes, stinging and harsh, and a sob rose in my throat. I choked it back down with difficulty. I didn’t want to wake up my new Master—he might get mad and make me sleep in the crate and after the day I’d had, I simply couldn’t handle that. But I couldn’t quite stop the tears from flowing.
I lay there feeling miserable and trying to cry as quietly as I could for a long time, but finally my tears dried up, leaving a sense of determination in their place. I had to get out of here and get back to Earth. But how?
Well, if Sir had a ship that could take him all over the universe, then other people must too, I reasoned. And he had talked about taking me to other planets. So all I had to do was slip away from him and find someone headed back towards Earth. Basically, if I could just ditch my new Master, I could hitchhike home. See ya later, you big gray dickhead. So long and thanks for all the fish.
That’s exactly what I’ll do the very first chance I get, I promised myself as I dried my eyes on the silver bedspread. The minute Sir turns his head, I’m off like a shot to find someone who can take me home.
Feeling comforted by having a plan, I was able to relax and finally, I drifted off to sleep.
EIGHT
SIR
I lay in the dark, listening to my new pet and worrying about her. She seemed to be in emotional distress and I didn’t know what to do about it. Should I turn over and try to comfort her? But I thought that might make things worse—she was still angry with me and we hadn’t formed our Master/pet bond yet.
We Korrigons, besides having mental, technological, and physical superiority to every other known sentient race, are also able to form special emotional bonds with other species. It’s one reason we are able to keep certain animals as pets that no other race has ever been able to tame.
For instance, my last pet—the one I’d had as a boy—had been a huge Carnosaur from T’Rexian Nine. My mother had felt this pet was excessive, but my father had been certain I could handle it. I raised Rex, as I named him, from the moment he first hatched from his egg and had grown extremely fond of him. Our bond had been strong—so strong that after he died, I hadn’t wanted another pet the rest of my life…well, until I had seen the little human female on the Commercians’ light screen, that was.
It wasn’t just the pale golden glow around her image that marked her as a La-ti-zal, either. There was something special about little one—or “Elli” as she called herself. I had felt an immediate attraction to her—a pull so strong I couldn’t deny it. And the first time I had touched her, I had gotten a little shock—a jolt that the Commercians had warned me ahead of time might happen.
“It occurs when the male touching the Pure One human female is sexually compatible with her,” Charnoth, their leader had informed me. “It is nothing to be concerned about.”
Naturally, I had dismissed his words and ignored the jolt when I felt it. I wasn’t looking for a Sex Pet, as I mentioned earlier—I simply needed a sentient pet from the most primitive planet in this galaxy to prove my point to the Sovereign of my home world. Splendara the Third and Thirtieth alone could settle the dispute that had arisen between myself and my rival, the Overlord of the Southern Continent.
But I had much to do before I was ready to make my presentation at Court. More research must be done on a sampling of planets so that I could get my point across. And then I…
A muffled sob from behind me cut into my thoughts. Little one was still crying—it was a sound that tore at my heart. I’m no monster—I know how difficult a parting from the home world can be for a new pet. And though I could never have any romantic feelings for a pet—even a sentient one—I already felt very attached to the little human female I had bought from Earth.