Page 10 of I Married A Catman

“It sounds like you love the life you’ve lived so far. May I ask what changed, which is now prompting you to look for settling down?” Kayog asked in a gentle tone.

“There are no actual changes of heart,” I corrected. “My current life isn’t quite conducive to finding a mate. As my last mandate just ended, and I happened to be near Persea, I figured I would seize the opportunity to see what miracles you could perform for me. Maybe you could help me find both love and my next career move.”

He cocked his head to the side in that way birds often did when observing something. He narrowed his eyes, instantly giving me the inexplicable urge to squirm.

“Why do I feel there is more to it than you’re telling me?”

My cheeks heated to be thus called out while one of the motivations that prompted me to seek him out in the first place came back to the fore. With my ridiculously pale skin, my face had to be crimson right now. The corner of his beak quirked with amusement in light of my tattletale physiological reaction.

I cleared my throat and shifted in my seat. “Well, I try to keep abreast of galactic news in various ways during my missions. I’ve grown quite fond of the work of a reporter named Malaya Velasco.”

“Ah yes! Malaya is such a delightful young woman!” Kayog exclaimed.

The almost paternal affection that lit up his eyes did something funny to me. I heard of the Temern’s reputation for being a truly caring person instead of the typical business-driven agent. It further fueled my sentiment that I had been right coming to him, even though the chances of him finding me a match were likely slim to nil.

“I read the story of her unlikely marriage to an Obosian Hell Lord. I’m not going to lie, Lord Kronos is insanely hot!” I confessed with an embarrassed giggle that had the Temern bursting out laughing.

“The Obosians are quite appealing to women. Those horns, bat wings, and piercings seem to work wonders,” he added in a gently mocking tone.

My cheeks burned even more as I nodded sheepishly. “It’s the whole demon, dark elf, badass justice defender mix that just makes them beyond irresistible.”

He chuckled some more while waiting for me to get to the point. I licked my lips nervously, tucked a strand of my fiery hair behind my ear, and went for it.

“In the media coverage of her official Obosian wedding, Malaya’s new husband’s best friend, Lord Amreth, was prominently featured. To say that I was heavily drooling would be the understatement of the century. Finding out that he’s single only had my toes curling even more. So…”

“Are you asking me to introduce you to Lord Amreth?!” Kayog asked, visibly stunned.

Mortified, I pressed my palms to my cheeks. Truth be told, I didn’t really know how to answer honestly. In the back of my mind, yes, I hoped he could introduce us, wave a magic wand, and make this scrumptious-looking beast of a male fall madly in love with me.

But of course, that wasn’t how it worked.

“Honestly, I would have loved for you to deliver him to me on a silver platter,” I confessed sheepishly. “Since that’s not going to happen, I wouldn’t spit on you finding me my own perfect mate, ideally an Obosian. But I’m open to pretty much anything else.”

“I see,” Kayog said, rubbing the bottom of his beak as one would their chin while pondering something. “Unfortunately,you are not Lord Amreth’s soulmate, nor are you meant for an Obosian.”

I stiffened, bristling at such a swift and definitive statement. That he ruled out Lord Amreth, I could see. But Obosians as a whole?

“How do you know that? Maybe you haven’t met him yet?” I challenged before a terrible thought popped into my head. “Or are you sensing something off with me that would make them not want me?”

He snorted and shook his head before giving me an indulgent smile. “No, Ophelia. Not at all. You have a delightful soul, one that an Obosian undoubtedly would appreciate. But I already know who your mate is. I just did not expect it would be him.”

My eyes widened, and my jaw dropped. “You already know my mate?!”

He nodded, his silver eyes sparkling with mischief that had me both excited and worried.

“I do. Honestly, I didn’t really expect to find his mate. By human standards, he’s definitely alien. Although part of his species is deemed advanced, his lifestyle qualifies as primitive. Unlike Lord Amreth, he doesn’t have wings or horns. Instead, he has fur and a tail.”

“Fur and a tail?” I echoed, my mind racing as I ran various species through my head.

My stomach knotted as I narrowed down the potential candidates. The almost mocking glimmer in his eyes seemed to hint I would not be too crazy about the answer.

“Are you saying he’s a Yurus?” I asked with a hint of worry.

In principle, I wouldn’t mind too much to be mated to one of them. They had come a long way from their barbaric past. With their half-minotaur, half-orcish appearance, they weren’t hard on the eyes. But their genetically violent nature made me a little skittish at the prospect of marrying a Yurus.

Kayog’s mischievous smile expanded as he shook his head. “I said no horns, remember?”

“Right!” I replied, feeling silly for forgetting. “Then who…?”

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