Page 2 of I Married A Catman

In my shock and anger, I shot out of my seat and towered over him. Obviously, it had been an instinctive reaction in no way meant as a threat towards him. However, it could be easily perceived as such. I realized my error in a blink. Although he didn’t move from his seating position, the Hell Lord’s hands immediately began to glow as the electric tendrils of his Lumiak crawled over them.

They were electric energy that the Warrior breed of their species could summon at will. At low intensity, it zapped the target with a powerful enough discharge to temporarily incapacitate them. At maximum intensity, it would flat out burn you to cinders.

He didn’t have to say a word. The hard glint in his silver eyes did all the talking. I mumbled an apology as I resumed my seat. He stared at me a moment longer, his stern expression making it clear he would prove a lot less lenient should I make that mistake again. Duly chastised, I lowered my eyes even as my mind continued reeling about his shocking statement.

“Your savings have been siphoned by your Pride. The Matriarchs considered it as your contribution.”

“My contribution!” I exclaimed, crestfallen. “Why the fuck would I contribute to the Pride when I wasn’t even there?! Why did you even allow this without my consent?”

“I didn’t know,” Amreth said in an apologetic tone. “In truth, I only found out three years ago when Argin returned.”

I stiffened, and I felt my blood drain from my face. “Argin?! He was arrestedagain?”

Amreth nodded with a grim expression. “Yes. Worse still, he was sent to another Warden’s sector, but this time in a Dark Gray Q3.”

My chest constricted with sorrow for the older male. He had become a mentor to me two years into my sentence and for the following seven years before he completed his own.

“That doesn’t make sense,” I said, utterly baffled. “Argin saveda lotof credits. He was the one who encouraged me to learn new trades on top of teaching me everything he knew. He kept repeating to prepare a safer future for when I got out so that I would never return here. Why would he commit another crime?”

“Because your Pride did the same thing to him that they were doing to you,” the Warden said, anger audible in his voice. “He returned home to find all his credits gone. But for him to stay, they demanded a steady contribution. As he was too old by then for a Pride to want to keep him otherwise, participating in one of those ‘missions’ was his only hope not to be expelled. He got caught and lasted less than six months in Q3.”

A slow growl rose in my throat. Teeth clenched, I fought the urge to let my claws extrude so that I could tear everything to shreds to vent the helpless fury I felt. The older male deserved—earned even—the right to a peaceful retirement. Our Pride’s greed robbed him of countless years of his life in prison, and then killed him by depriving him of his means to survive.

“As soon as I realized what they had done, I intervened,” Amreth continued in an appeasing tone. “It was too late to save him, but I did what I could to give you a fighting chance once you were released.”

“How did you intervene?” I asked, fighting with my conflicting emotions.

“Seeing what they had done to Argin, I decided to check into your own accounts. As you belonged to the same Pride, I suspected your Matriarchs would behave the same way with you. Sadly, they did. Therefore, I stopped depositing your wages in that account, had your assets frozen, and then transferred into a new account where I added your other earnings from that point forward.”

He removed a small object from his belt which I recognized as a credit stick. Feeling numb, I instinctively reached for it when he extended it to me. I stared at it blindly, still in shock. I wanted to mourn the old male, but thoughts of what awaited me back home clamored for my attention.

“I cannot get back what they already stole from you, but this contains the information on that account with all the credits you earned over the past three years,” Amreth said softly. “Under the circumstances, I took the liberty of putting those credits in a safe investment account. The capital was guaranteed, and it earned you some respectable interests. It’s nowhere near what you would have had without the theft, but it will give you a comfortable enough amount to start off with so that you will not be strong-armed into falling again.”

I gave him a stiff nod. He deserved a far more elaborate response. He didn’t owe me any of this. In truth, many Wardens likely wouldn’t have lifted a single finger had they been in his position when this tragedy unfolded with Argin. For Obosians, the fact that you committed a crime was all that they caredabout, motives be damned other than to justify an even harsher sentence.

“Gaelec,” Amreth said, the sternness of his voice reclaiming my attention. “As soon as you go home, your people will push you down a dangerous path again. Youmustresist.”

Even though he was likely right, I instinctively felt defensive—if not offended—on behalf of my people.

“You don’t know that,” I countered with a clipped tone.

“I do, and so do you,” he retorted more harshly. “I’ve seen too many of your people in similar situations. It becomes an endless vicious cycle with Nazhrals. You have a nice soul, Gaelec. You’re smart, strong, still very young, and with great potential. Do not waste it. Do not allow yourself to be manipulated. I would hate to see you again on Molvi. Be warned that a second offense is a guaranteed sentence at minimum in Q2 but more than likely Q3 or Q4. Do not get yourself killed over this.”

I barely repressed a shudder. He didn’t have to go into further details for me to know that as talented a hunter and fighter as I was, my chances of surviving another journey on Molvi were slim to none, especially in one of the darker Quadrants. He also didn’t have to specify that a second sentence would be far longer than the twelve years I just served.

“Your words have not fallen on deaf ears,” I said in a non-committal fashion.

He stared at me quietly for what felt like an eternity, making me want to squirm. A million thoughts were crossing his mind. With a conviction I couldn’t explain, I realized the Warden was debating whether to say something else. That piqued my curiosity. Obosians were brutally honest and borderline callous in the way they always spoke their minds.

“The United Planets Organization and the Enforcers are launching a massive campaign to put an end to smuggling, piracy, and slaves trade,” Amreth said at last, while appearing tocarefully choose his words. “Be aware they’re setting many traps to catch anyone participating in these illegal activities. Too many allies are negatively impacted by these crimes.”

My eyes widened to hear him reveal such a thing. Granted, it didn’t take a genius to know that all galactic merchants and traders fumed at the rampant issues they faced with space pirates. Obviously, my people weren’t the only ones involved in these crimes, but we certainly played a huge part in it.

“If anyone even remotely hints at a mission involving the Levendoc Corporation, avoid it at all costs. Youwillnotsurvive it,” Amreth warned at last just as the shuttle was entering the docking bay of the spaceport.

“Why are you telling me all this?” I whispered, my confusion audible.

“Like I said, you have a nice soul. Too many decent people get on the wrong side of the law because of bad influences. You’ve been given a second chance. Don’t waste it.”

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