Page 64 of I Married A Catman

“Don’t worry about me. So far, I’ve seen nothing that makes me freak out,” I said in all sincerity. “I’ve helped rebuild entire villages from scratch after they got devastated by a natural disaster. Granted, we had some additional support and decent equipment from the charitable organizations I worked for. But like I said, I’ve been looking into what kind of aid and programs we might get some help with. I think we’ll be fine. The challenge will be getting a few more hands on deck. It will be harder to get aid for only two people.”

He nodded, a serious expression on his face as he reflected on my words. “We will have a few people with us. I’m not worried about that. And once the word spreads, I wouldn’t be surprised if we start benefiting from the presence of a few older males who just got evicted. They will be only too happy to find a new permanent home where they can thrive.”

I returned his smile despite the sliver of worry that sparked deep within. I didn’t know and understand his people well enough just yet to truly know what to expect of roaming males. In my mind, all I pictured were a bunch of raiders and poachers, ready to descend upon us and appropriate everything we would build here.

We would need to further discuss the matter based on how many people ended up choosing to join us, whether from our current Pride or elsewhere. The prospect of being the sole woman among a whole bunch of single males who’d been discarded by their previous females didn’t exactly make me feel safe. No matter how badass a fighter Gaelec was, if everyone else turned on us, there wouldn’t be much he could do. I could fire a mean blaster, but seeing how fast those Nazhrals moved, I could only take out so many attackers before I became overwhelmed.

Casting out those grim thoughts, I refocused on the task at hand as we finished plotting out our new village.

The next evening, we flew to the capital city, once again under the pretense of Gaelec giving me a tour. In reality, we wanted to shop around for base materials, equipment, tools, and check out what governmental services might be available for Prides.

To our shock, there turned out to be quite a few, including some aimed at providing advanced education focused on new technology.

“I wonder if the Matriarchs know about this,” Gaelec mused aloud.

I chewed my bottom lip while reflecting on it. Simply navigating the interface of the self-serve kiosk in the Office of Citizens Services was super complicated. Someone as resistant to change as Rozel was might have been turned off by this—assuming she ever even saw any of this.

“I don’t know,” I replied at last. “Governmental programs like these are often needlessly complicated. Applying is a headache, meeting the qualifications can be quite a challenge, and getting proper assistance navigating the process is nearly impossible. On Earth, some of our leaders would create similar programs purely for political gain and as a nice talking point. They would brag about all the things they did for us. But at the end of the day, they made them extremely hard to access specifically so that they would never have to spend any budget on it.”

“That’s rather devious,” Gaelec said with a frown.

“That’s politicians for you,” I said, my voice making it clear I didn’t have too high an opinion of people in that field. “I’ve filled in these kinds of forms in the past. So I have no problem playing with it.”

We left the governmental office and returned to our shopping—although it was simply browsing to get an idea of what kind of dent our budget would suffer once we were ready to make the move. By the time we were done, I was beyond ready to get the hell out of the city.

The capital was your typical metropolis. Everything was too big, too busy, too noisy, and especially too flashy. I was surprised I didn’t have a seizure from all the blinking lights and animations from the giant screens everywhere trying to draw people’s attention. Even the signs outside the various businesses and venues felt like they were screaming at me.

Although I wasn’t clinically diagnosed with agoraphobia, being surrounded by so many people rushing in every directionmade me dizzy, almost nauseous. I didn’t understand how people could enjoy that life where they all looked constantly stressed and either running after something or being chased by someone. I felt exhausted just observing the city dwellers’ interactions.

Flying back out to the Nevian Valley felt like stepping into another world. It was insane the drastic difference in lifestyle between two classes of the same species. The Capital City might have been anywhere on any other advanced planet, with a diverse population from countless other worlds and high-tech galore.

As much as I disliked the current Pride we were living in, I would pick that life any day over drowning in the glitz and whirlwind of that urban jungle.

Struck by an idea, as soon as we got home, I sent inquiries about any available UPO support programs for developing member planets. Even though the Nazhrals’ home world sat high on the naughty list, they remained official members of the organization, and therefore were entitled to some benefits.

Three days later, after we returned home from one of the few times we participated in the communal meals to help hide what we were planning, my com beeped with a new message.

“Oh putain!”I exclaimed when I saw the name of the sender.

“What is it?” Gaelec asked, immediately tense.

“It’s from Kayog,” I replied. “He wants us to have a call in twenty minutes, if possible.”

Gaelec immediately frowned, his almost angry expression taking me aback.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, wondering what might have happened between them since our marriage that would have prompted such a negative reaction.

“You are already mated,” Gaelec snarled. “You’re mine,mysoulmate. The Temern doesn’t get to change his mind.”

I gaped at him for a second before bursting out laughing. He was so stinking cute, even as he stared at me with an expression equally hurt and outraged that I hadn’t instantly sided with him.

“Oh, sweetie, whatever Kayog is messaging me about, I assure you it’s not to try and hook me up with someone else. He’s never wrong, remember? He already paired the two of us, and I don’t want anyone else but you.”

Gaelec scrunched his face, feeling equally silly for his overreaction and touched by my words. I walked up to him and slipped my arms around his waist.

“You’re cute when you’re jealous. But you have no reason to be.”

He harrumphed and then leaned forward to kiss me. It was far too brief for my liking. At the same time, if we indulged further, I would undoubtedly miss the call with the Temern.

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