Chapter 1My husband got me a golden retriever to keep me company during my pregnancy.
Sweet, right?
Except the dog had my best friend's soul inside her.
Last life, I treated that dog like family. Took her everywhere. Even slept with her in my arms.
One month later I looked fifty. My baby's heart stopped.
I died on the operating table.
That's when I saw her.
My "dying" best friend Sutton—floating out of the dog, looking fresh as hell.
She stood next to my husband and smiled.
"Soul transfer spell worked like a charm. Been licking her every day, draining her dry."
"She should feel lucky you picked her. Saves us the trouble."
I just floated there. Couldn't do SHIT.
Until I woke up.
Back to the day he brought that dog home.
Call the cops? Yeah, right. No proof.
So I found a puppy mill.
A bitch in heat getting bred back-to-back till her body gives out?
Nature, right?
---
"Find me a puppy mill. The kind that'll breed a dog back-to-back. Fast as possible."
My nails dug into my assistant Bex's hand.
Bex looked lost. "But Ms. Vale, Mr. Reid specifically—"
"Just do it."
My voice came out flat. So flat I shivered.
From the living room came Garrett's voice.
"Tessa! Come see what I brought!"
I let go of Bex's hand. Took a breath. Pushed the door open.
A golden retriever sat in the middle of the living room. Coat all shiny. Pink bow around her neck.
The second she saw me? Something flashed in her eyes.
Not a dog's look.
A person's.
Sutton's.
Last life I died without knowing shit. Wasn't till my soul floated free that I saw everything.
Sutton and me? College roommates four years.
She got sick, I stayed with her. She needed money, I sent it. She was "dying," I even had Garrett check on her.
What'd I get?
She went to Bangkok. Learned some soul transfer bullshit.
Stuffed herself into a golden retriever's body. Had Garrett give me the dog as a "pregnancy buddy."
Every day she licked me. Every day she drained me.
Seven months pregnant, I looked fifty.
Baby stopped moving. I died in surgery.
My soul just hovered there by the ceiling.
Watched Sutton's spirit slide out of the dog and back into her "dying" body in the ICU.
That body that should've been on life support? Suddenly healthy as hell.
Garrett held her.
"She's dead. Her house, her savings, her studio—it's all ours now."
Sutton laughed.
"That's nothing. I drained seven years off her. I'm gonna live twenty more years."
I floated there. Nails digging into my palms.
Thank god. I got a second chance.
Back to the day Garrett brought the dog home.
"Tessa, you spacing out?" Garrett wrapped his arm around me.
"Sutton found this golden. Supposed to be super gentle. Perfect for keeping you company."
The dog sat there. Head tilted up at me. Mouth pulling into something like a smile.
A dog was smiling.
She stood up. Walked toward me. Tongue hanging out. About to lick my hand.
I stepped back.
Last life that's how it went. Every day she licked me. My hands. My face. My belly.
Every time she did, I felt something getting yanked out of me.
Next day, gray hairs.
Day after, sagging skin.
Day after that, cloudy eyes.
One month. I went from twenty-eight to fifty.
Day the baby stopped moving, I was in the ultrasound room.
Doctor couldn't find a heartbeat.
"Ms. Vale... your baby has no heartbeat."
Back then I thought it was my fault. Thought my body couldn't handle it.
Now I know.
It was the dog.
Autually? Sutton.
She licked my baby to death.
"Tessa?" Garrett frowned. "You okay?"
"Fine." I forced a smile. "What's her name?"
"Haven't named her yet. Wanna pick one?"
I looked down at the golden retriever.
She sat there. Tail wagging hard. But her eyes were off.
Too sharp.
Too human.
"Let's call her Sunny."
Garrett laughed. "Cute."
Sunny. Sutton... Sunny.
Wanted her to know I knew. But she'd never guess I knew.
Sunny walked over. Rubbed her head against my leg. Tongue on my ankle.
Cold feeling seeped through my skin.
I looked down at her.
She was smiling.
I crouched down. Petted her head.
"Sunny, let's get along real well."
Smiled as I said it.
Satisfaction flashed in her eyes.
Bex came in from the balcony. Face white.
When I grabbed her earlier, I traced two words in her palm.
Puppy mill.
She knew what I meant. Not some legit breeder.
The kind hidden out in the sticks. Rusty cages.
Female dogs bred one after another till they couldn't anymore. Then tossed.
I went back to the bedroom. Locked the door. Pulled out my phone.
Last life I was too nice.
So nice I got killed and didn't even know how.
This life?
Not planning on being nice.
Garrett knocked. "Tessa, why'd you lock the door? Sunny hasn't had dinner."
"I'm tired. Gonna nap. You feed her."
Silence outside.
Then: "Alright."
His footsteps faded.
I heard him in the living room. "Mommy's tired. Let's not bother her."
Sunny barked once.
That bark? Pure gloating. She thought she had me.
Chapter 2
Bex showed up next morning.
Dark circles under her eyes. Clearly didn't sleep.
"Ms. Vale, I found one." She handed me her phone. Voice low.
"Next state over. Four-hour drive. Guy goes by Mack. People call him 'Mackie.' Takes any job."
I scrolled through the photos.
Rusty cages. Filthy water bowls. Walls covered in pictures of bitches—litter counts scrawled under each face.
Six litters. Nine litters. Twelve litters.
Some photos had red X's over them.
"Price?"
"Eight hundred per litter. Guaranteed she'll get knocked up. For... for back-to-back breeding, he'll work out a deal."
"Ask him. Twelve litters straight. How much."
Bex's hand shook.
Didn't ask why. Just typed.
Three minutes later the phone buzzed.
"Mack says he's never done an order this big. Twelve litters, the dog might not make it."
I typed back: If she doesn't make it, that's on me.
Long silence.
Then one word: Deal.
I locked my phone. Leaned back against the headboard.
Curtains weren't fully closed. Light squeezed through. Landed on my pregnant belly.
Last life my baby died at seven months.
This life he's not even born yet and I'm already collecting debts for him.
From the living room came Garrett's voice.
"Sunny! Come here, Daddy's gonna brush you!"
Sunny barked happily.
I closed my eyes.
Just wait.
Wait till Garrett goes on his trip.
That's her death sentence.
Day three, Garrett finally said it.
"Business thing in Seattle with investors. Gotta go."
He stood by the door tying his shoes. "Three days. Take care of Sunny for me."
"Okay."
"Call if you need anything."
"Okay."
He leaned down to kiss my forehead. Then petted Sunny's head.
"Watch Mommy, alright?"
Sunny wagged her tail. Rubbed her head against his hand.
The door closed.
I stood by the window. Watched Garrett's car leave the complex. Disappear at the corner.
Waited three minutes.
Made sure he wasn't coming back.
"Bex."
Bex came out of the kitchen. Car keys in hand.
"Put Sunny in a crate. Load her in the trunk."
Sunny sat on the couch. Head tilted. Tail still wagging.
She didn't know what I was about to do.
Thought I was still that dumbass from last life who let her lick me to death.
I walked over. Crouched down. Looked her in the eye.
"Sunny."
She stuck out her tongue to lick my face.
I didn't move.
Her tongue touched my cheek. Wet. Cold.
"You know what I hate most?"
I looked at her. "After you lick me, you look at me like... like I deserve to get sucked dry."
Sunny's tongue froze.
She tilted her head. Confused.
Dogs don't get confused like that.
But Sutton would.
I stood up. Wiped the drool off my face.
"Bex. Crate her."
When Bex came over, Sunny started backing up.
She felt it.
Something was wrong.
She tried to run.
Bex grabbed her. Shoved her into the crate.
Sunny thrashed inside. Claws scraping the plastic.
I carried the crate out. Loaded it into the trunk.
The second the trunk closed, Sunny stared at me through the plastic door.
Eyes full of... not fear.
Venom.
Yeah.
That look.
Last life when she pressed on my belly and crushed my baby? That's the look she had.
Car started.
I sat in the passenger seat. GPS destination: Mack's Breeding Farm.
Four-hour drive.
Sunny barked the whole way.
Not normal barking.
Sharp. Constant. Almost not like a dog could make.
Bex gripped the wheel. Hands shaking.
"Ms. Vale, this dog's bark is... off."
"Just drive."
I closed my eyes.
Last life when I died on that operating table?
I screamed worse than this.
Chapter 3
Mack was rougher than I expected.
Short fat dude. Bald. Thick-ass gold chain around his neck. Had on a floral shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Shitty tattoos all over his arms.
He crouched down. Looked at Sunny. Pried open her mouth to check her teeth. Flipped her ears.
"Nice bloodline." He stood up. Kicked the crate with his boot. "Bit old though."
"Can you breed her?"
"Yeah." He grinned. Yellow teeth showing.
"Long as she's not fixed, I can breed anything. You want twelve litters?"
"Yeah."
"Lemme be clear. Twelve litters isn't one-and-done. Gotta space 'em out. One at a time."
"If she bounces back good, breed her every two months. Twelve litters, that's two years. If she doesn't bounce back, might collapse by litter six or seven."
"What happens if she collapses?"
"Can't move her legs. Organs shut down. Dies."
He said it casual. Like talking about tossing out old clothes.
I looked down at Sunny in the crate.
She lay there trembling.
She understood.
Last life you drained me for seven years.
This life I'm making you pop out twelve litters in two years.
Fair, right?
"I'll pay extra," I said. "Breed her till she can't take it anymore."
Mack grinned. "You're alright."
He called two workers over to drag Sunny out of the crate.
One guy held her head. Other grabbed her hind legs.
Sunny fought hard. Claws scraping white marks on the ground.
She twisted her head around. Eyes locked on me.
Not a dog's eyes.
Human.
Sutton.
She stared at me through that dog's eyes. Mouth opening and closing.
Not barking.
Talking.
I couldn't hear it.
But I read her lips: You're insane.
I smiled.
"I'm not insane." I crouched down. Met her eyes. "I just stopped being stupid."
Sunny got dragged into the back shed.
Mack offered me a cigarette. I waved it off.
"First litter tonight," he said. "Got a German Shepherd lined up. Shepherd and golden, pups'll be big."
"Don't cheap out on the studs. Use multiple if you want. I want quantity, not quality."
Mack looked at me. Cigarette between his lips. Laughed.
"Alright. I'll go all out then."
Bex stood behind me. Face pale.
"Ms. Vale... that dog, the way she looked at you just now..."
"What about it?"
"Didn't look like a dog."
I didn't respond.
From the shed came Sunny's scream.
Not a normal dog sound.
Too high. Too sharp.
Like a woman crying.
Mack frowned. "That bitch is loud."
I didn't reply. Turned and walked toward the car.
Bex followed. "Ms. Vale, we leaving?"
"No. We're staying."
"Staying here?"
"I wanna watch." I opened the car door. "Every single litter. All of them."
Bex opened her mouth but said nothing.
Just got in the driver's seat.
I leaned back in my seat. Hand on my belly.
Baby kicked me.
I smiled. Whispered.
"Don't worry. Mommy's getting justice for you."
Midnight, Sunny's cries woke me up.
Not screaming.
Whimpering.
That low constant sound coming from deep in her throat.
I got out of the car. Walked toward the shed.
One dim yellow bulb lit the inside. Mack wasn't there. Just two workers smoking and chatting.
In the cage Sunny lay in the corner. Hind legs shaking.
Her belly was already swollen.
First litter.
Knocked up.
The worker saw me. Stubbed out his cigarette.
"Ms. Vale, it's done. German Shepherd. Got her first try."
I nodded. Walked to the cage. Crouched down.
Sunny lifted her head to look at me.
Her eyes were red. Corners of her fur wet.
Tears.
Can dogs cry?
They can.
Sutton was crying right now inside that dog's body.
I stuck my finger through the cage bars. Poked her belly.
"Congrats. First litter."
Sunny flinched. Pushed herself back into the corner.
"Don't be scared." I stood up. "This is just the beginning."
