Page 13 of I Married A Catman

“You know I will pester you relentlessly until you give in. In a few months, I promise you will personally message me to thank me for helping you make the best decision of your life.”

And against my better judgment, I caved in.

Chapter 4

Gaelec

Iplaced the last batch of cleaned fish in the cooling unit then pulled off my work gloves before washing my hands. The stares of my companions weighed heavily on me. More than two weeks after my return, I felt more like a stranger than ever. The males kept their distance, studying me, a few of them undoubtedly reporting my every move to Moriak.

I didn’t know any of them. Males rarely lasted more than five or six years with a Pride. Ten pretty much constituted a record, unless they were among the extremely few who managed to form a permanent mate bond with one of their females.

Aside from Moriak, the other two males I had encountered before were far older and worked in different parts of the village. I foolishly hoped they would rekindle the friendship we once had. However, they were here on borrowed time, their expert skill being the only reason they had not been evicted yet. It made complete sense for them to avoid drawing unnecessary attention by associating with me.

It sucked beyond words to be in my current position. The males didn’t want to incur Moriak’s ire by befriending me. And the females were growing steadily annoyed with my indifference towards them. Sure, I could force myself to cozy up to one of them. But aside from the fact that I didn’t want any of them, doing so would be an all-around lose-lose for me. Any female I pursued would infuriate Oluina, on top of whatever male had previously secured her favors or was working towards it.

The thought of giving in to Oluina made my stomach roil, not to mention that it would cause an all-out war with Moriak. There was simply no winning.

Why can’t they just leave me alone?

Despite the gloves and protective clothes I wore to cleanse today’s catch, I still reeked of fish, no matter how much I scrubbed. I hated that task. Instead of gutting the slimy things, I wanted to be optimizing our buildings and revamping our infrastructures. But the Matriarchs were too rigid in their desire to keep things just the way they were. My tongue burned with the need to insist, but I didn’t want to make myself more of a pest than necessary.

Then again, a part of me believed their reluctance partially stemmed from the fact that they didn’t know if they would keep me. Having me begin significant modifications that no one else would be able to finish or maintain would put them in a precarious situation. And that made sense.

Should I just leave?

That question was now a constant companion of mine. Every other hour of every day, I would weigh the pros and the cons of just moving on elsewhere. But where?

I couldn’t return to my birth Pride, even though the younger brother I kept in touch with would have been extremely happy about it. But our Matriarchs would not allow it. Anyway, it didn’t make sense for a male to stick around in their birth Pride as allthat females present had a direct bloodline with him since they were all his sisters, cousins, or aunts. And going to another Pride would put him in the same position that he was currently facing. The Alpha and other males would feel threatened by him, while the females would want to use him as a breeder.

Maybe I should just go to the city.

Except I wasn’t made for it. The short time I spent in similar environments, whether during my journey back here or while on the few missions I performed before my incarceration, the packed population hubs had felt overwhelming to me. Too many people, too many blinking lights and technology shouting for your attention, too many vehicles threatening to run people over from all sides, and above all not enough nature.

Heaving a sigh, I walked out of the fish plant on my way home. I would take an intensive shower to try and scrape off more of the lingering stench and then go for a run through the forest to clear my head. However, as I turned onto the main street, I spotted Ylis chatting with a couple of young huntresses in front of the Great Hall.

“Gaelec!” she exclaimed, waving at me.

After a quick goodbye to the other females, she ran towards me. I stared at her with curiosity, wondering what had her so excited.

“I’m not sure if you’re aware, but there’s a feast coming up next week. I was wondering if you would accompany me?” she asked with a huge grin.

My stomach dropped. We had not seen each other much since my return as Moriak appeared to conveniently assign tasks to me on the type of schedule that limited my ability to spend time with the females, which suited me just fine. She was the last person I expected this from. Shifting uneasily on my paws, I searched for the most diplomatic way of turning her down.

She snorted and gave me an amused look of disbelief. “By the gods, Gaelec, relax! You may be a Stellig—and a hot one, too—but I’m well aware that you’re not interested in me that way. I might have been offended if I didn’t also only think of you as a big brother and the best trainer.”

My face heated from embarrassment at the same time as my shoulders slumped with relief. I would have hated to alienate the one person I considered a friend here.

“Sorry,” I said sheepishly. “But the Queens have been a little intense lately.”

She laughed, although I didn’t miss the glimmer of commiseration in her blue eyes.

“Yeah, you shouldn’t have come back all muscled up like this,” Ylis said teasingly. “You’ve got all the females going into heat. But hey, having me by your side should help keep them at bay.”

I snorted. “Are you trying to piss off Oluina?” I asked teasingly.

To my surprise, some of her amusement faded, and her face slightly hardened. “Absolutely. She needs to get over herself. And at the same time, I’ll get Moriak to fuck off.”

I stiffened, outraged anger immediately surging within me. “He’s trying to move in on you?” I ground through my teeth.

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