Page 70 of I Married A Catman

“I wouldn’t have a problem with it,” Ylis said without hesitation.

I chuckled affectionately while closing the bag I’d put most of my weapons within.

“Youwouldn’t, but how many others?” I challenged.

She pursed her lips, reflecting on my words as she finished stuffing one last pile of clothes in the biggest crate.

“That’s food for thought,” she conceded. “But like Ophelia said, I think you should give us a chance. I cannot speak for other Prides, but I can tell you that many of the younger females are not happy with how things are going. We’re especially disgruntled with Moriak’s behavior towards the candidates. Things are changing. You’ve given us much to reflect on since your return. And that’s why I wished you had stayed with us longer. Do not sell us short. You’ve had a greater impact than you realize.”

“Your words flatter me, Ylis,” I said, genuinely touched. “But staying here truly was no longer viable.”

She frowned and nodded. “It is indeed not viable for any male that Moriak perceives as a threat. He’s grown more paranoid than ever since he put you through that ‘test’ the other day. And that’s specifically why you need to take Kazaer with you to your camp. I really like him, and I cannot risk him getting harmed by Moriak.”

“Then claim him!” I said in a self-evident tone.

She shook her head even as she started filling a second crate. “Moriak demands that anyone who wishes to join us participates in the upcoming Levendoc mission. The crew is set to depart in two days from now.”

I bared my teeth, and a series of foul expletives tumbled out of my mouth.

“Kazaer can’t go,” Ophelia said, her voice tense.

“I know,” Ylis said. “If he remains in the nomad camp outside instead of joining the mission, he will automatically be banned from joining our Pride under the pretext that he’s a coward, not devoted enough to the pride, and too rebellious to follow the Alpha’s lead.”

“That’s such nonsense! That’s just bullying and intimidation to try and coerce them into doing his bidding!” Ophelia exclaimed. “Is he seriously expecting every single one of these young males to go on a mission that is a trap from all indications?! Is Rozel truly okay with condemning these innocent candidates just because her sorry excuse of an Alpha is getting nervous?!”

“Like I said, it’s complicated. Things were already slowly coming to a head. You two just precipitated the inevitable. Something will have to give, one way or the other,” Ylis said with determination. “Just keep Kazaer safe for me while we sort things out here.”

“I will,” I promised.

She smiled gratefully. Having finished gathering my things in the bedroom, I left the two females to finish packing Ophelia’s belongings and swiftly went through the other rooms where they joined me shortly afterwards.

The shuttle arrived ten minutes later than scheduled, which served us just fine in the end as it gave us the little extra time necessary to finish packing. As we loaded everything into our transport, a small crowd gathered outside our dwelling. They didn’t speak. Some faces looked sad, others troubled, and the last group glared with unrepressed anger. It boggled my mind that they could truly be angry at me and deem me a traitor.

Then again, Ylis’s words replayed in my mind. If my actions had indeed triggered a fundamental questioning of how things were run here, I could understand their resentment. Some people only wanted the comfort and safety of their routine. Anything that threatened it would be deemed as an assault. Change was a scary thing for many, even though it might be desperately needed.

We exchanged hugs with Ylis.

“You are welcome to visit us anytime,” I said before releasing her from my embrace.

“Count on it,” she replied, her voice thick with emotion.

I caressed her cheek, then turned to my mate to help her inside the shuttle, and then climbed on board. As the shuttle took off, I looked back down at the village that had so radically changed my life twice, first by sending me to prison, and now by setting me onto a new uncharted path.

Fear should have me nearly paralyzed, but as I glanced back at my mate’s beautiful face, it was hope and excitement that filled my heart.

Chapter 17

Ophelia

Despite the impromptu fashion in which we ended up moving into our new place, our first evening in Gyota was quite nice. While I cleaned up the biggest cabin with a breathtaking view of the river, Gaelec went hunting for something for us to eat. At the same time, he placed some motion detectors around a wide radius of our fledgling village. It was one of the few expenses we had done in the city.

They were a bit more advanced than the standard perimeter defense their people used whenever they would go on long hunts that could span a few days, requiring them to sleep in the wild. Roaming males and nomads also used something similar. It could identify whether the detected presence was a person or an animal.

If the former, we would receive a warning on our com system of an approaching intruder. In turn, that person would receive a warning of their own that they had just trespassed into claimed territory.

If the latter, the detector would emit either an audio or visual signal specifically adapted to the creature to scare it away, if necessary. Inoffensive creatures would be ignored, but predators would be chased.

We ended up having a rather romantic dinner on the beach, with roasted meat and some of the vegetables I had packed from the house. We slept on my extremely comfortable inflatable mattress. The intelligent foam inflated with a simple pressure from a button into a queen-size mattress. And in the morning, you only had to press that button again for it to deflate into a compact square shape the size of a folded blanket for easy storage.

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