So shocked by that thought, Sam nearly missed as the woman wandered away, and Arden leaned down, hissing at her, "You should not have embarrassed me so Major, in front of my guests. Tomorrow you will learn why you should not cross me." With that, he left her, wading back into the sea of partygoers.

Chapter 35

Sam was back in the sterile lab, inside her usual cage. After the last of the guests had left, two men she had not seen before approached her cage. Sam had backed as far away from door as she could manage, but had been startled when the second man, carrying a long pole, went around behind the cage and prodded her with it, poking her uncomfortably. With the man herding her towards the door, she'd had no choice but to submit to being placed back into the carrier. They had returned her to her cage and left, leaving Sam alone to spend the night restlessly awaiting the return of Jason Arden, wondering what was in store for her.

Light from the window indicated that it was late morning before the door opened and Arden entered. Two large Dobermans followed the man, and sat at Arden's command in front of the door, which had been left open. Sam grew worried, the dogs were large and menacing looking, and she didn't know why Arden had brought them.

"Good morning Major, I hope you are well rested." He was smiling that false smile again.

If Sam had been expecting the man to give her a lecture about her uncooperativeness from the night before, she would have been surprised. Instead, he removed what appeared to be a newspaper clipping from his pocket.

He smiled at her before continuing. "I always like to start my morning with the paper. You can imagine my surprise when I found this story, here let me read to you the headline, 'Doberman mauls cat', oh my," Jason did his best to sound shocked, "Poor Mr. Sparkles was killed when a neighbor's dog escaped and attacked him. Other neighbors were unable to stop the animal as poor little Mr. Sparkles was torn to bits. Oh dear, such a poorly trained animal." Arden looked down at his pair of dogs with pride.

"Don't worry Major, my dogs are much better trained. They will only attack when provoked, or given the proper commands. I would trust them with a baby. Why don't you come meet them, Major."

At his words, another man entered, she thought it was the one with the pole from the night before, and she backed away. The man merely reached in and dragged her unwillingly from the cage before depositing her on the floor in front of the dogs. Remembering her encounter with the stray dog Sam sat stock-still. These beasts made that dog look like a harmless puppy in comparison. The dogs sniffed her before settling back in front of the door, cutting off any escape.

"There, you see Major? They are perfectly harmless. I think I'll just leave you to get acquainted." Arden started to leave the room, before turning to the dogs, and stating firmly, "Guard." The dogs snapped to attention, and Sam's eyes widened in shock. From the doorway, Arden turned to face her once again, an evil smile on his face. "Last night, Major, you refused to move. Since you seemed to prefer to remain motionless, if you wish to live and remain unharmed, you will not move until I return. They will only attack if you move. Remember that Major."

Sam was left alone with the dogs, shock and fear holding her in place. She eyed the dogs warily, and felt her tail twitch involuntarily. The dogs growled and Sam quickly wrapped her errant tail tightly around her legs to keep it still. She allowed herself to breath again as the dogs quieted, and lay down across the open doorway.

There was no way for her to tell how much time had passed since Arden had left the room, but Sam was sure it must have been hours. Lack of activity, poor sleep, and little food took its toll and Sam grew more and more tired, her legs trembling slightly from the effort of keeping herself still. She badly needed to lie down, but was afraid the dogs would take her movement as an escape attempt and attack.

Just when she thought she could stay upright no more, a voice called to the dogs, and they got up and left. Sam immediately collapsed to the floor; no energy to even care that she was now in front of an unobstructed open doorway. Vaguely, she was aware that Jason Arden had crouched in front of her, and turned her head so that she could see him, resigned to whatever else he had in store for her. He reached towards her, stroking her softly. Sam would have recoiled from his touch if she had the energy, and Arden seemed to sense this. He smiled.

"You are mine, Major Carter. I hold all the power. I say what you can and cannot do. I can control if you live or die, or how you are treated." As he spoke, he continued to stroke her, and there was no affection in his touch. He was touching her because he could do so, and she was powerless to stop him.

All her anger, and pent up frustration from the past few days surged through her, and suddenly, energy she didn't know she had came out of nowhere. Exhaustion and anger clouded her judgment and Sam found herself twisting under Arden's stroking hand, and sinking her teeth as deeply as she could into his hand. She tasted blood before suddenly finding herself flying into the table leg.

Dazed and still weak from her latest ordeal, Sam was aware of Arden shouting and people coming pounding into the room. Hands grabbed her roughly before she could gather herself to make a break for the door and Sam felt something being slipped over her head. She could feel small straps around and under her chin and more went around her face and behind her ears. He had ordered her muzzled! Sam tried to twist and get it off but found she was being stuffed into the carrier. Sam wondered why she hadn't been placed in the cage.

With her now secure, Arden approached. He was cradling his right hand, and Sam was satisfied to see a small amount of blood oozing out between his fingers. His eyes smoldered with rage as he regarded her behind the metal grate.

"I see you have not learned your lessons Major. Very well. If you wish to act like an animal, you will be treated like one. Take her to the kennel, and be sure she is muzzled at all times." Arden left without a backwards glance, and Sam was carried from the room.