Page 11 of I Married A Catman

My voice trailed off as I gave him a horrified look. His shoulders shook with barely repressed laughter at my reaction.

“Please don’t say he’s a Nazhral?!”

“I don’t need to since you did on my behalf,” he replied teasingly.

“Oh God!” I exclaimed.

Resting my elbows on the table, I buried my face in my hands, crestfallen.

“Aww, Ophelia, don’t be so sad,” Kayog said in a sympathetic voice. “Gaelec is a good male. And he’s your soulmate.”

I parted my fingers to peer at him. “So he’s not a pirate or a hardened criminal?” I asked in a small voice.

He frowned and gave me a slightly disapproving look. “You know, you shouldn’t assume that someone is a criminal just because of their species.”

Fighting the urge to further hide my face behind my palms, I dropped them to clasp my fingers on top of the table, my cheeks burning with embarrassment.

“You’re right. I’m sorry,” I said, mortified.

“Don’t be,” Kayog said in a much gentler tone. “Nazhrals have a very bad reputation. So it’s understandable that you should have that instinctive reaction. Gaelec is not a criminal, but he’sindeedan ex-convict.”

I recoiled and gave him a ‘What the fuck?!’ look.

“What?! You just shamed me about assuming that he was a criminal only to turn around and tell me that he in fact used to be?!”

He held my gaze unwaveringly. “I chastised you for assuming that every member of an entire species are criminals. The factthat he happened to have committed a crime in his past does not mean that it applies to every single Nazhral.”

I pursed my lips and gave him a stiff nod.

“Furthermore, Gaelec isn’t an unrepentant hardened criminal either. He was young and got manipulated into committing the act that led to his incarceration,” Kayog explained, while typing something on the keyboard of his computer.”

“How young was he?” I asked with genuine curiosity, although still not thrilled about that pairing.

The Temern quickly read something on the holographic monitor of his computer. I assumed he had pulled up Gaelec’s file.

“He was nineteen and served twelve years. In fact, he was released only two weeks ago! The timing could not have been more perfect,” Kayog said enthusiastically.

“Released from where?” I asked. “Where did he serve his sentence?”

“He was on Molvi,” he replied in a factual manner.

“Oh, my God! That’s just too much for me,” I said, unconsciously shaking my head. “They only send the worst criminals there!”

“Don’t be too quick to judge,” Kayog gently chastised me before blowing up the holographic monitor and setting it so that it would display its contents on both sides, allowing me to read it as well. “Here, take a look at his release report. It just so happens that the very Lord you were fawning over was his Warden.”

My eyes widened at this revelation. What were the odds? Still, I greedily read the report. To my shock, it was extremely positive. Obosians were not known to sugarcoat anything.

“And here is what your mate looks like,” Kayog added, activating the small 3D holographic projector on top of the table.

I shamelessly examined the rather hot male that appeared. I didn’t quite know how I felt about his undeniably feline traits. Granted, he was clearly humanoid enough not to be confused with an animal, but I always assumed I would end up with someone a lot more human-looking, like an Obosian, and the dryad-like species called Edocit, or even a four-armed Zamorian.

“Are we even compatible?” I asked sheepishly.

“Of course. Humans are incredibly adaptable and compatible with a majority of species, which is why most of my pairings involve one of you, man or woman. Although rare, there have been unions between humans and Nazhrals. Their genes are dominant, so the offspring usually look entirely Nazhral.”

“I see,” I said, scratching my nape uneasily.

My reluctance didn’t stem from his appearance or what any children we might decide to have could look like. His body looked phenomenal, and his face attractive. But I didn’t know if I wanted to become involved with someone who dabbled in criminal activities. Also, twelve years on the worst prison planet had undoubtedly affected him. What kind of post-traumatic syndromes would he display? Had his stay there hardened him? With him having been released so recently, what were the odds he would go back to his old ways?

---