Page 123 of Pets in Space 10

Tyvaron

Idrop my prey on the cave floor.

It wriggles.

I move to block the entrance. No escape.

Small. Soft. Warm.

Not like others.

Skin pale. Eyes wide.

I am not hungry yet. It is for later.

I have time to watch. And stare.

It smells right.

Familiar. Wrong. Right.

Memory stirs.

Deep. Buried. Old.

It is prey.

She is prey.

But she is not food.

Mine.

I breathe her in. The scent curls inside my chest.

It burns. But not like pain.

Different.

Good.

The metal pulls at my mind. The collar tightens.

The commands scream.

Kill. Obey. Fight.

I have to go. Before the pain grows worse.

She curls against the stone. Far from me.

Small sounds. Weak hands. Tiny stick.

I do not understand her sounds.

Her eyes meet mine.

No scales. No claws. No fangs.

But she does not submit.

Strange.

Brave.

The pain claws deeper. The order comes.

Fly. Hunt. Destroy.

I snarl. The metal tightens.

I stretch my wings.

I must go. No choice.

But I will return.

She is mine.