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12
CADE
Cadekept a sharp look-out for any more attackers.Heknew exactly what the pack of males had wanted with his female.
Theywanted to breed her,whispered a primal voice in his brain.Theymustnotbe allowed.Noone but you must breed your mate!
Cadegrowled deep in his throat—he agreed with the voice completely.Hisfemale must be protected at all costs from strange males or any other dangers.
Hewould keep her safe, he promised himself.Therewere many strange smells here in the new place and not all of them were good.Hewould have to remain alert.Hisfemale was a highly desirable target and all males would want her—would want to breed her.Butthat wasn’t going to happen.
Cadepromised himself no one would breed her but him.Hewould kill anyone else who tried it.
13
ANDI
Thetown seemed pretty small when they finally reached it.Thehouses were all single story and round with round doors and windows.TheyremindedAndiofHobbitholes in the oldLOTRmovies.Theywere painted pastel shades of shell pink and baby blue and mint green and there were neat white stone paths that led from each round door to the broad, smooth sidewalk which scrolled along in front of all the houses.
Andistepped onto the sidewalk, which seemed deserted, andCadefollowed.Shewondered who she ought to speak to and what she ought to ask for.Aplace to make interstellar calls, she supposed.Andalso possibly someplace to stay for the night, since sleeping in the dark and powerless ship with a huge hole in the floor didn’t appeal to her at all.
Therows of houses went on and on and they didn’t encounter a single other person.Andiwas beginning to despair of finding anything she needed or indeed, anyone to talk to, when the sidewalk made a bend and they suddenly found themselves in front of what appeared to be a shop of some kind.
Therewas a sign out front with strange, angular alien writing on it.Andistared at it a moment and, thanks to theTranslationBacteriain her bloodstream, the alien squiggles resolved into words she could read.
“GoodieOo-lah’sLuck-luckEmporium!” the sign exclaimed. “FreshestBoom-boom juice in town!”
Andihad no idea what “Boom-boom juice” was but the store looked open—at least, the lights were on inside—and she thought maybe she might meet someone who could point her in the right direction.
“Comeon,” she toldCade, who was still behind her, sniffing the air. “We’regoing in there butIwant you to stay close to me, okay?”
Again, she had no idea if the bigHybridunderstood, but he watched her attentively and seemed willing to follow when she walked towards the store.
Anditugged at the round door which surprised her by rolling to one side instead of pulling open.Shenoted that theZo’rathiansmust be a fairly tall people, because neither she norCadehad to duck their heads to walk inside. (Ofcourse, they had seen some of the males already, but it was hard to judge their height when they were all on their hands and knees.)
“Hello?” she called, as she stepped into the store, which was crammed from floor to ceiling with all kinds of strange looking products.
Andisaw rows of what looked like miniature fishing poles with tiny hooks already baited with some kind of purple substance on the end.Whatcould those be for?
Therewas also a display of what seemed to be sports bras in all sizes…only they all had their nipples cut out.Afterthat, were a row of women’s blouses, also with the nipples cut out.Whatin the world was going on here?Wasit part of theZo’rathianculture to show your nipples?
Andireally hoped not.Shealready felt vulnerable enough not wearing a bra under her red wrap dress.Also,Cadehad already tried to suck her nipples once—it had felt really good butAndistill felt guilty about it.Whatwould her bigProtectorsay if he found out that she’d allowed that kind of thing between them while he was out of his mind?Itwouldn’t be at all appropriate, even if itwaskind of hot.
“Hello?”Shecalled, but got no answer so she wandered deeper into the store.Shestill hadn’t seen any of the advertised “Boom-boom juice” but shehadfound a display of what looked like dog collars and leashes when a voice behind her said,
“CanIhelp you?”
“Oh, yes—please!”Anditurned to see an older woman with olive green skin and faded pink hair cut in a short bob.Shehad a friendly looking face and she didn’t seem disturbed to see two people who were obviously foreigners in her establishment.
“I’mGoodieOo-lah,” she said helpfully. “Areyou wanting a control collar for yourManimal?”
“I’msorry, for mywhat?”Andiasked, frowning.
“YourManimal—him, there.”GoodieOo-lah gestured atCade. “How’dyou get him to walk upright like that, anyway?Ain’tseen a male walking that way in ages.NotsinceTheIncident.”
“TheIncident?”Andisaid, feeling confused. “Whatincident?”
“Oh, you know—when all the males turned intoManimals,”GoodieOo-lah said. “It’sbeen ten years gone now since it happened but we’re still getting used to it in some ways.T’wasn’teasy on women who’d had a husband they could depend on most all their lives to suddenly have to restrain ‘em, ya know.”
