Page 14 of I Married A Catman

“Of course,” she said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “Oluina is great but nearing the end of her reign as Head Huntress. She knows it and hates it. Moriak is in a similar position. He’s trying desperately to stay relevant but is terrified of you.”

“Which I totally do not understand,” I said with genuine confusion. “I’ve made it abundantly clear that I do not want his position or her. Why can that not be enough?”

She glanced over her shoulder at the huntresses still standing outside the Great Hall and gestured for me to fall into step as she started walking towards my residence.

“Because every female is drooling over you, and every male is afraid of you,” Ylis said in a factual manner. “You being a Stellig makes you highly desirable to begin with. But you survived more than a decade on Molvi and returned looking fabulous. Although you haven’t been on a hunt yet, we can all see that you’re even more badass now. Just looking at the way you move, your strength when you pull out the fishnets and carry the crates screams of how lethal you’ve become. They think you’re merely biding your time, assessing everyone before issuing your challenge.”

I heaved a sigh, feeling utterly annoyed. “What will it take for them to get it through their heads that I just want peace?”

“Nothing, I’m afraid,” she said in a sympathetic tone. “The longer you maintain your distance, the more upset the huntresses will grow at you snubbing us all. So, here I am! I can be your excuse not to pursue the other females, and you can protect me from that old pervert.”

I burst out laughing at the sing song way in which she pronounced that last sentence. She was so adorable, I wanted to ruffle the soft mane on her head.

“You know, I’m eight years older than you. People might deem me an old pervert as well if they believe us to be a couple,” I said teasingly.

She waved a dismissive hand. “Eight is entirely fine. It beats sixteen years with him!”

“Fair enough,” I said with a chuckle. “They all expect you to take over the Head Huntress role at the rate you are going. With youchoosingme, the Pride will see me as an even bigger threat.”

Ylis shrugged and gave me a smug look. “They will, which means better protection for you!”

I snorted and shook my head affectionately at her. “How are you still single?” I asked, genuinely confused.

The oddest expression fleeted over her beautiful features, piquing my curiosity. She appeared on the verge of saying something before shrugging again with an air of disdain.

“All the males here are annoying and too whipped by Moriak. Hopefully, there will be some hot new males attending the feast. After all, its whole purpose is getting new blood into the Pride.”

I gave her a sideways glance with a hint of amusement. “But that means I will get in the way of any interesting suitors,” I challenged.

“What you will be is protection,” she countered with conviction. “Half of the males who will show up will be flat out insufferable. You can send them packing on my behalf. Anyway, it’s not like we’re going to be all over each other. We can just act the way we always have, close and affectionate, which will keep people guessing.”

“As you wish,” I said with a smile.

She stopped mid-stride and turned to stare at me. “You truly are the best. I’m really glad you’re back.”

For the second time since my return, she gave me a bone-crushing hug and rubbed her temple against mine before releasing me. My heart ached. It had been so long since I had been embraced with such genuine affection. I missed how much simpler life used to be.

Just as I was releasing her, we both jerked our heads to the left, simultaneously getting the sense of being observed. My heart leapt in my chest when my gaze locked with Moriak’s. He was glaring at us, clearly seething. Next to him, an older male dressed in fancy attire was also looking at us but with a speculative expression.

“Fuck!” Ylis hissed under her breath.

“What is it?” I asked although my gaze didn’t stray from the Pride’s Alpha.

“That jerk with him is Ranor, the recruiter,” she replied, her voice tense. “There’s a big mission coming up in the next few weeks. Whatever you do, don’t go!”

My stomach painfully twisted upon hearing those words. There was no question in my mind Moriak would put as much pressure as possible to make me participate and hopefully get caught again. What better way to eliminate the competition?

“Don’t worry, I have no intention to do so ever again,” I said, anger seeping into my voice.

“Good! Remember that the reason he’s not taking you on cullings is because he fears and hates you. He cannot allow you to outshine him. Be careful. He will start whispering in the Matriarchs’ ears to get them to coerce you to go.”

“Thanks for the warning, but I will leave the Pride before I’m conned into throwing my life away like this again,” I replied firmly. “Anyway—”

My com going off silenced me. I glanced down at the interface on my bracer only to have my jaw drop in shock.

“Something wrong?” Ylis asked with a sliver of worry.

I shook my head. “No. Just a completely unexpected communication. I must take it. I will talk to you later,” I replied absent-mindedly.

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