Page 35 of Pet: Torment

“You and I are whatever I say we are, Iris. Do you really think that I would take you from your home world if I thought you were going to die in a few years? From the moment you and I bonded, your life became intertwined with mine. Have you not noticed yet how different your body is?”

I flinch as he lowers himself to the bed, pressing his palm against my cheek. My body instantly calms from his touch.

“Thatis your body calling to me, being one with me. You will live as long as I live, Iris. And your body will continue to change and adapt as it should,” he says.

I tense when I feel him in my head, and I tremble as I look at his expression.

“I don’t need to relate to you. I can feel everything that you feel for as long as you feel it. These rules and limitations you place upon yourself—on me, they do not apply to me.”

My mouth is dry from his revelation, and I don’t know how to take in the information as he shatters everything that I’ve been holding on to without remorse. I blink back my tears, but I know it’s useless as he lingers in my mind, knowing precisely what I’m feeling at this moment.

“So, when you said to choose life…there never really was a choice, was there?” I whisper. I don’t want him to answer. But I ask anyway.

“You’re a smart woman, Iris. What do you think?” he asks.

I want to vomit at the realization of all that it means. There never was a choice. And I see now why Remus was so impatient when it came to me missing my world. In his mind, it didn’t matter until he peeked into my mind and realized how much I missed it. Everything up until now has been a means to get me to accept my “decision” and love this world as my own…love him as my own.

But there never was a decision. Only a means of getting me off Earth without too much of a fuss. I pull my face away from his touch, forcing myself to look him in the eyes.

“I didn’t choose you, Remus. I chose life,” I say.

Remus once again laughs, revealing the sharp canines that put me in this position in the first place. He leans even closer to me, his lips lingering over my ear.

“But I chose you.”

Chapter Sixteen

Iris

My body remembers what my mind barely thinks about. The tension in my muscles that comes with stepping out into the cold is something that has yet to go away. When I lived in the blight, the cold signified the oncoming plague of death and sickness. But now, even though my body is wrought with tension as Istand in the center of the snow-filled courtyard, my mind is at ease.

Remus’s revelation has been difficult to come to terms with. At the back of my mind, the idea of my life one day ending was my small way of winning the war. But as with everything that involves Remus, even my life is out of my hands. It makes the brief conversation Sky and I shared feel so naive. Even after witnessing the destruction that comes with these aliens, we still thought we had a way out.

It’s laughable.

I slowly open my eyes, taking in the snowscape. The pale lavender color is comforting, and I know immediately why. It reminds me of Remus. Everything aboutXyrannisdoes. Even the planet in the atmosphere that I can’t seem to look away from. Remus and I have been doing this dance for a long time now, and it has spanned galaxies at this point. I always think I am one step ahead when in reality, Remus is ten steps.

I shudder as I think of the emotion shared with me when Remus opened the bond between us. The obsessive need to be everything that I desire was overwhelming, but not as overwhelming as Remus at that moment.

“I chose you.”

I am the first thing Remus has chosen for himself outside of his purpose asAureon. And the desire that comes with it is stifling—frightening even. The only thing that has kept Remus somewhat in check has been his emotional attachment to me—that is the only thing keeping him anything remotely similar to human. And that is slowly disappearing for some unknown reason, as is his usual control.

My mind drifts to our moments on Earth when we first encountered one another. Remus was cold, cruel, and vicious. There was no warmth in his gaze, no desire, no kindness. But over time, it changed. He changed so much that I grewsomewhat comfortable around him. Especially the night I ran off with the rebels. He was so different that night, keeping me by his side and emphasizing his desires to me. The Remus I’ve come to know exists because of his attachment to me. Otherwise, the Remus Noah warned me about would be present. And after sharing the bond with him briefly, I can see that he isn’t that far from returning to it.

The sound of Remus’s approaching ship pulls me from my thoughts. For the past few days, he has avoided me, and I him. Even though it is the reason we got into it in the first place, I am glad for Iriel’s trial, as it has taken up most of Remus’s days. But today, he has returned early. I’m sure Iriel’s trial is nearing its end.

I turn away from the mountainside to move closer to the house. And I know within seconds that Remus is close. Even though the chill is to my bone, I still recognize the tingling warmth the bond provides when Remus is near.

As I reach the top of the hill, Remus comes into view in all his otherworldly glory. He looks too perfect to be real as he stands in the snow with clothes that should cause him to freeze to death. As I approach, I note that the snow’s soft fall forms a bubble around him as it avoids his skin. It reminds me of the forcefield I felt against my fingers when I tried to get his attention that day.

Remus smiles as I approach, and my heart flutters as I take in its beauty.

“You’ve come to me for once,” he says.

My body reacts to the sultry tone of his voice, warming as I approach. Internally, I am excited to hear him—to see him. And it’s been this way ever since we had sex. The headaches, the body aches, and even the exhaustion have all disappeared with us getting closer. And my body doesn’t want to give that up, no matter how bitter I am.

Remus’s amethyst gaze shifts over me carefully as he ensures I am okay. His smile drops as he notices something. “Have you been out here long?” he asks.