Free Captive by K. M. Fawcett Page B

again and I’ll punch your Scottish mouth.” She turned her back on them. “I’m not a freaking dog.”
    A queer uneasiness fell over her. Angry vibes penetrated her body. A moment ago the alien was merely frustrated, but now he was outright mad. Her heart sped up at the quick attitude change. Had she pushed her luck with that about-face?
    She spun back around to see they weren’t alone. A black Hyborean, a foot or two larger than Ferly Mor, was facing off with him. As they repeatedly pointed her way, their snarls and growls intensified.
    Somehow, she had caused this fight.
    At their feet, Duncan looked back and forth from one to the other as if he followed the conversation. His eyes grew wide and his cheeks lost what little color they had. Of the three of them, his body language terrified her most.
    The black alien strode toward her. Its dark eyes pierced her as if arrows shot through her body, pinning her feet to the ground. She couldn’t move. And this time she wanted to.
    Ferly Mor snatched her into his arms, holding tight enough to snap her spine. Sensing desperation, she felt him pleading with the black fur Hyborean. What seemed like days had passed before Black Fur finally nodded.
    The pressure on her spine eased, and Ferly Mor set her on the ground. Legs giving out, she fell on her butt.
    The aliens faced each other. With ceremony, they placed two fingers to their own lips, and then simultaneously slapped their palms on the others’ chest. They used their free hand to cover the one resting on their own chest.
    Addy looked to Duncan for an explanation, but he still appeared scared out of his wits. Though he did have the presence of mind to help her stand.
    Black Fur took Ferly Mor’s silver headband and placed it on his own head as they both walked the same distance from her. Ferly Mor knelt down and held out a chocolate cookie.
    The ringtone sounded.
    She looked from one to the other, sensing them both calling. Was she supposed to go to Ferly Mor or Black Fur?
    A sharp pain jolted her body. It wasn’t nearly the same intensity as in the breeding box, but it was enough to warrant a jump backward.
    The tone played again.
    “Go to Ferly Mor, lass.”
    Another zap and she ran for his furry body, practically jumped into his arms. He hugged her and stroked the hair from her eyes before setting her down with her reward.
    Black Fur shoved the headband into Ferly Mor’s hands, giving him a curt nod that could have meant, “ That’s how you train a human. ” He strode off.
    Duncan squeezed Addy’s shoulders. “Ye did well, lass.”
    “What was all that about? Who was that other Hyborean?”
    Duncan sat, then flopped back in the grass with his hand over his heart. “It doesna matter now.”
    She stared down at him. Like heck it didn’t.
    Ferly Mor tousled her hair before he walked a further distance away, and played the ringtone again. Not wanting repeat shock therapy, she popped her cookie into her mouth and went to him the first time.
    After six more sweet treats, training day—and her abject humiliation—finally ceased.

Chapter Nine
    T ell me,” Addy demanded when they were back in Duncan’s kitchen.
    “Hrmph.”
    “Why are you being so stubborn?”
    “What’s all the shouting about?” Tess emerged from her room and glared down at the two of them at the knee-high eating table.
    Addy ignored her. “I’ve obviously done something to tick off Black Fur. Why won’t you tell me what, so I don’t do it again?”
    “Who’s Black Fur?”
    “Xanthrag,” Duncan answered Tess.
    Tess pulled out a cushion from under the table and knelt on it. “What happened?”
    “First,” Addy said to her, “tell me who this Xanthrag is.”
    “He’s a big-time survival-race breeder. He owns the Yard, HuBReC, and half the humans here. His gladiators have made it to the championships every year for as long as I can remember. And have won most of them.”
    Great. Somehow she’d inadvertently pissed off a very