Page 3 of I Married A Catman

With that, the Warden rose to his feet and headed for the door. Considering how extremely cautious he always was whenever he visited the Quadrant where we were incarcerated, seeing him turn his back to me threw me for a loop. My chest constricted at this extreme display of trust. Granted, he could see my soul and therefore if I harbored any ill intent towards him. Still, he wouldn’t have done this inadvertently. He made a deliberate choice to further drill in his message.

He believed in me.

Do I believe in myself enough to do right with the opportunities presented to me?

We quietly walked down the ramp into the large ship hangar. It was a different area than when I first arrived here. Only a couple of guards hung around in a very laid-back fashion, unlike the processing area with countless security measures that couldinstantly kill anyone foolish enough to attempt a last-minute escape.

A few people briefly glanced in our direction, most politely nodding at my companion. The deference they showed him reminded me that his Lord title stemmed from the fact that he was indeed nobility.

He led me to a medium-sized ship where a few other ex-convicts who had completed their sentences were also boarding. It would transfer us to various bigger vessels that would take us to our respective homeworlds or destinations.

The Hell Lord gestured with his chin for me to proceed. I nodded and started climbing the ramp only to stop at the top. I glanced over my shoulder at the Warden, who was stoically staring at me, waiting for me to get inside for his duty to be completed. For a reason I couldn’t explain, my chest constricted again as if I was saying goodbye to a friend. And yet, our interactions couldn’t have been farther from it over my more-than-a-decade stay here.

“Thank you, Warden,” I caught myself blurting out.

I didn’t know what I was thanking him for specifically, but he seemed to sense what I meant. His glowing eyes slightly went out of focus, and his face softened in a way I couldn’t recall ever witnessing before. Although he was only a few years older than me, his almost paternal expression struck me hard.

“Safe journey, Gaelec. May you find happiness and prosperity.”

I didn’t know what peering at my soul just now revealed to him. Whatever it was, it pleased him. With one final nod, I entered the vessel. As much as I hated the Obosians—more on principle because of their self-righteous sense of superiority—I had tremendous respect for Lord Amreth. In a different world, I would have loved to be friends with him.

Contrary to my initial beliefs, I didn’t socialize or take advantage of all the amenities offered on either of the two vessels aboard which I traveled during the trip back home. My new freedom felt overwhelming, as was the economy cabin paid for by the Obosian justice system to return me to my people. While most customers would find plenty of faults with the room, from its size to the quality of the mattress, to me, it felt overly luxurious.

And everything was too quiet.

Who would have thought that I would resent proper soundproofing one day? However, spending twelve years with the only guards being some of the foulest creatures that roamed the forest surrounding our Quadrant had taught me to fear silence. When the wildlife stopped making any noise, it meant that something terrifying lurked nearby.

It would take me time to shed many of the survival responses I acquired over the years.

But as the distance closed with my homeworld, the trauma of my incarceration gradually gave way to anxiety about my imminent arrival. What kind of welcome awaited me there? Growing up on Melelyn—the Nazhral homeworld—I’d known too many people who had been arrested and sentenced. Very few ever returned home. The majority died in various painful ways long before they finished serving their sentences. Of those who made it out, many decided to start over elsewhere. And then you had those who, like me, went back to their Prides.

As the majority who did so had sustained grievous injuries, they’d often been turned away by their Matriarchs. After all, what use was a male who could no longer provide or protect?

In my case, I’d done a great job of keeping myself safe. I was in excellent physical shape and had acquired a variety of skills that could make me invaluable to the Pride if they decided toleverage them. This gave me hope that I would be one of the few not to be cast out.

The image of Oluina flashed before my mind’s eye. The old pain that I thought long buried came back to the surface. She had been so beautiful, fierce, and wild that I’d been totally enthralled by her. When she chose me as her companion, I’d been over the moon. So few could brag about having the honor of being picked by the youngest female to ever become Head Huntress of her Pride. We’d been so perfect together that I’d foolishly believed we would become bonded mates, a rare occurrence among my people.

However, she discarded me the moment I got arrested. Growing up, I’d seen plenty of females who continued to write and stay in touch with their incarcerated lover or partner. She never wrote to me once. Worse still, my younger brother informed me that the very day my team and I were thrown in jail, she shacked up with Moriak.

That foul male—eight years older than I was—always saw me as a threat. He made no mystery how much he resented Oluina picking me over him. As she was three years my elder, Moriak believed he was a better match for her as a more mature male instead of the young eighteen-year-old cub that I had been at the time. For that entire year, Moriak abused his power as Alpha of the Pride to multiply the ways to try and get rid of me. I was assigned the most dangerous hunts, and he constantly pushed me to participate in the riskiest missions with the prospect of wealth to further secure my position in the Pride.

As he acted in a similar fashion with all other young males who, like me, sought to be invited into the Pride, I merely took it as a compliment and made it a point to accept every challenge for the pleasure of showing off. I’d been such a fool, blinded by love and ego.

Is he still the Alpha?

At the time of my arrest, I had just turned nineteen, while he was twenty-six. Today, he would be thirty-nine. Very few Alphas remained at the head of a pack that long. On average, they lasted six or seven years before a younger, stronger male ousted them. Then again, the longest record belonged to a male from my birth Pride, Aran Sulwyn, who had served for thirty-one years.

If Moriak was still in power, would he still harass me and make my life difficult, or was I now finally old enough for him to leave me be?

The distressing thought plagued me for the remainder of the journey. Regaining my freedom and returning home should have been the happiest time of my life.

Not this.

Chapter 2

Gaelec

As I disembarked the vessel upon landing in the Melelyn spaceport, I couldn’t help feeling hurt that no one came to greet me or escort me back home. It had been a foolish expectation or hope. A glance at the time on my bracer indicated it was only a few minutes after 1:00 PM. This meant everyone would be working or out hunting. It made no sense for them to deprive the pack of their labor only to come pick up one person when a perfectly fine public shuttle system could take care of it.

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