{"product_id":"their-human-receptionist-whispers-from-the-imperial-cage","title":"Their Human Receptionist (Whispers from the Imperial Cage)","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e \u003cdiv\u003e \u003cdiv\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFive hundred and thirty-five days.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThat was the contract. That was what I told myself when I left Earth. A number. A deadline. A way home.\u003cbr\u003eI was so naïve I almost deserved what came next.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Celestial Spire is the most exclusive hotel in the galaxy. Twelve thousand rooms. A hundred species. Staff who smile and say nothing. Staff who keep their eyes down when guests walk their humans through the Grand Lobby on a leash.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI told myself it was not my business.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI told myself that right up until I recognized one of the humans on the floor.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRafe and Lorian own the Spire. Imperial-born. Sovereign Directors of the Ascendant Alliance. They are silver-skinned and silver-eyed, and they share everything. Their Empire. Their bed. Their obsessions. And they have decided I am one of their possessions.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI should have run the first time I felt it. Instead, I stayed. I learned. I let Rafe record my reactions with the patience of a scientist. I let Lorian into spaces in my mind I did not know existed. I wore the Venus Lock they gave me and called it a condition of employment. I told myself I was still free because I could still say no.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThen the Championships began.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHumans collared. Displayed. Trained to perform for an arena full of aliens who paid for the privilege of watching them break.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI made my choice. I helped the human pets escape. I burned everything I had built and stood in the wreckage waiting for punishment.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThey did not execute me. Instead they bought me.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBoth of them.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMy collar. My contract. Their rules. Their bed.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnd the thing that kept me awake afterward, the thing I cannot say out loud even now, is this.\u003cbr\u003eWhen Lorian locked the collar around my throat and Rafe watched, I felt something I had not felt since I boarded that ship and left everything I knew.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI felt like I was exactly where I was supposed to be.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis is a love story. Just not the kind you survive unchanged.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e*\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMy Human Pet\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e — The private cage\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMy Wild Pet\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e — The competitive arena\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTheir Human Receptionist\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e — The Empire that built the cage\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMy Prized Pet\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e — The sanctioned cage\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHis Beloved Human Pet\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e — The cage that became a home\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMy Human Wife\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e — The chosen alliance\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eControl evolves, but so does rebellion.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAll books are standalone.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books Prime","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45923574153407,"sku":"6762f351-356f-4390-86ed-60687fa92e08","price":24.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0761\/7550\/7647\/files\/b953245d6587ae93ce999b34c2e5a256.jpg?v=1785205100","url":"https:\/\/books-prime.com\/products\/their-human-receptionist-whispers-from-the-imperial-cage","provider":"Books Prime","version":"1.0","type":"link"}