I let my fingers trail aimlessly against her back as I recalled what had happened that day.

"The funny thing is, I didn't go into that Pet Store expecting to leave with a pet," I admitted.

Khloe's head tilted up a bit more to meet my eyes, one of her brows raised.

"Really?" She asked.

I nodded.

"Really. I had no interest in looking for another pet until after the blood moon, and the truth is, I had gone into the store to look for another pet for Xander since I thought that he would be needing another one pretty soon."

I paused for a moment, trying to recall the exact moment when I had changed my mind. I remember it being a fairly quick decision, despite me not even wanting a pet.

Looking back on it, it might have just been the feeling of pity I got when I saw her condition, mixed with the terrified look that she held.

My silence was apparently causing Khloe to become impatient, judging by the almost un-blinking stare she was giving me.

"You caught my attention because you were the only one that was looking at me," I began.

I remembered finding it odd that the one who easily looked the most terrified was the only one that met my eye. And my curiosity only grew when she quickly looked away.

"I think I changed my mind about getting a pet as I approached your cage. From just one look at you, I could tell that you weren't the kind of human that caused a lot of trouble, so the blood in your cage was strange."

I felt Khloe's muscles tense, apparently making the memories of her condition that day pop back into her head.

"I remember the Pet Master's answer when I asked what had happened to you angered me a bit. I knew that pet masters are usually relentless, but I had never heard of one punishing a pet for what you had done."

My hand trailed its way up to the back of her head, feeling her hair between my fingers.

"I had noticed that you were the only pet in that store with visible injuries and with a collar tightened as much as it was. I guess as I kept thinking it over and asking questions, I began to feel bad for you in a sense. I knew that given your anxiousness and blood type, you were most likely going to end up as either a blood or sex slave that was kept tied up and gagged whenever you weren't being used." I stopped myself short after I had spoken that last word.

I probably could have left out that last part, but as terrible as it sounded, it was true.

All the pets like her usually never end up in a good spot, and it would most likely be even worse for her given her background as a rogue.

She didn't say anything, just stared straight ahead as she thought over my words. She was visibly uncomfortable as she did so.

I cleared my throat before continuing, "So, I soon came to the conclusion that given what you've already been through, you probably wouldn't be that difficult to handle. So I bought you.

I decided to leave out the fact that she has my most favorable blood type, and that was one of the reasons I initially wanted to buy her.

Khloe still didn't say anything, but her breaths did begin to shake.

What I wasn't expecting was for another tear to fall from her eyes, causing me to freeze.

What did I say? This story was supposed to have the opposite effect!

Before I could even say anything to her, she was wrapping her arms tightly around my waist, pressing her face against me as she cried.

"Thank you," Is all she said.

"W-what?" Is all that I could make come out.

Her sudden change was very unexpected for me, and I honestly didn't even know what was going through her head.

"For choosing me," She replied, "I mean, I knew that I was lucky for being bought by someone like you, but I didn't fully realize how lucky I was."

Some of the tension in my body eased when I realized that her crying wasn't a bad thing.

I guess hearing about what could have been really affected her.

A breathy laugh escaped my lips as I hooked my arms around her lower back, setting my chin atop her head.

"No need to thank me, Khloe. We both got lucky."

Even though she didn't quite know what she does to me, I thought that she should at least know that much.

"You really think that?" She questioned.

"I do," I replied without hesitation.

I did get lucky. Without a doubt.

Little did I know that when I walked into that pet shop, I would leave with someone who would have such a huge impact on me. Someone who was so unbeatably kind and full of potential.

Little did I know that the pet on the other end of my leash would be a girl who Id end up wanting to protect more than anything.

I let out a long breath as I pondered this further.

Lucky...

I had never thought about it that way, but now that I have, I don't think I could explain my situation with a better word.

One of my hands trailed up to the middle of Khloe's back, holding her tight against me.

We both felt lucky for such different reasons, and for some reason, that fact was kind of off-putting.

I haven't really thought about it, but Khloe may never know why I feel so lucky to have her.

As much as I want to tell her how much she means to me, I don't know if I should.

That's such a weird position for a pet to be in, and I don't know how she'll take it.

For now, I guess I'll just cherish these moments that I get to have with her.

All I can do is just hope that I can figure something out... Figure something out so that we can both be lucky together.