Page 67 of I Married A Catman

Gaelec shrugged. “They can push all they want. The answer will remain no.”

The Temern’s smile broadened. This time, whatever doubt I might still have that he wanted my mate to stand firm against the UPO fully vanished. In fact, I believed this had been a test and that, had Gaelec answered the wrong way, Kayog might have tried to coach him into taking a different stance.

“You have a difficult journey ahead,” Kayog continued, sobering. “But no challenge is too great with the right partner. Rely on each other, and I have no doubt you will accomplish great things. I cannot stay much longer as duty calls me away. But I will forward to your com the list of items the PMA will personally gift to you. The UPO—although I suspect it will be the Enforcers—will directly contact you in the upcoming days to let you know what programs you are eligible for. I wish you the very best of success and happiness.”

“Thank you, Kayog,” I said, my heart filling with gratitude.

“Yes, thank you, Master Voln,” Gaelec echoed.

The Temern winked at us and then terminated the communication.

Seconds later, my com went off with an incoming message. Before I even opened it, I knew it would be the list he mentioned. I cast it onto the vidscreen so that we could both browse it at the same time.

My jaw dropped as soon as it came into focus.

“By the Gods!” Gaelec whispered, shock, awe, and something else I couldn’t describe filling his voice.

But I didn’t need to read minds to know what powerful emotion was coursing through him. My own throat feltconstricted as I read some of the biggest expenses we would have to juggle being listed as gifts. The major one, which would have eaten more than half of Gaelec’s savings was a state-of-the-art geothermal energy system. The other notable elements included a high-end com system booster, two advanced medical pods, five self-deployable buildings, two speeders, and one-rent-to-buy shuttle.

Although the latter would require for us to shell out some credits, it was the best possible option for us as this type of rental came with full maintenance and repair services, including replacement if it became unusable. Under the circumstances, the chances of us passing the credit approval for a lease on our own would have been slim to none.

Happy tears pricked my eyes as I turned to look at Gaelec. Seeing his eyes overly bright as his own happy tears threatened to well utterly wrecked me.

“We’re going to do this,” I said, my voice thick with emotion. “We’re going to succeed beyond anything we ever hoped for.”

“We are,” Gaelec replied before crushing my lips in a passionate kiss devoid of lust.

A yelp escaped me, interrupting our kiss when the sound of a loud banging rattled the front door. Startled, my mate and I exchanged a confused and slightly worried look as to what this could be about.

“Gaelec Sulwyn, open the door immediately!” Moriak’s voice shouted from outside. “You and your human are to stand immediately before the Matriarchs for treason!”

Chapter 16

Gaelec

My blood boiled with rage as we were all but dragged to the Great Hall by Moriak and his usual minions—Latsa and Olmar—like a pair of vulgar criminals. I didn’t care so much about their treatment of me, but the disrespect to my female was unacceptable. Had I not already decided to leave the Pride, this would have been the final strike.

We entered the Hall and already found it packed, the few stragglers hurrying in behind us. How did the word spread so far and wide in the short time it took them to lay that accusation at our feet and fetch us? As the communal meal ended more than an hour ago, people should have been at home minding their own business.

The usual suspects were sitting on the dais. Rozel looked furious. Oluina grinned with an air of triumphant malice. But it was the worried look on Ylis’s face that unsettled me. Although the accusation was serious, her reaction hinted that things might be worse than I feared.

“You lied to us about your visit to the city and around the land,” Rozel hissed in lieu of greeting as soon as we stopped in front of her.

Although we weren’t handcuffed or otherwise restrained, Moriak and the two guards continued flanking us, ready to intervene at the first sign of trouble. For all that, Latsa and Olmar didn’t seem particularly happy to be performing that duty.

“How did I lie?” I challenged, my voice frosty. “You can check the tracker on the shuttle and on the speeders which will confirm that I have indeed been to the city and the surrounding lands. How does that get my mate and me slandered with the label of traitors?”

“Because they weren’t purely for touristic reasons, like you pretended. You did so because you’re planning on leaving!” she snarled.

I lifted a defiant chin, and stared at her in a way that made it clear I didn’t see how that was a problem.

“I did take my mate on a touristic exploration of her new home world, but I also seized the opportunity to assess our options.”

“That’s treason!” Rozel shouted over the shocked murmurs of the crowd around us.

“How is that treason?” I demanded, undaunted. “From the day I returned, and even more so since my mate’s arrival, you’ve done nothing but constantly threaten us with eviction. What did you expect us to do? Sit by idly with hopes and prayers while waiting for you to reach a verdict? What would happen if you decided to kick us out, and we didn’t plan for an alternative place for us to go? You may be dismissive of our fate, but I have a mate to care for. It is my duty to plan for her comfort and welfare, whatever the ultimate outcome.”

Rozel huffed and waved her hand with disdain. “That’s irrelevant. Granted, we can’t begrudge you looking for a backup plan, but your top priority should have been to make every reasonable effort to convince us to keep you. You have shown no devotion, no commitment.”

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