Page 76 of I Married A Catman

We spent the next little while giving the females a tour. No words could express the extent of the pride I felt seeing their reaction to what we’d accomplished. To my surprise, Izana left, accompanied by Danel to fetch the couple of hover carts they had hidden a short distance outside our security perimeter and which contained most of the belongings they simply couldn’t part with. They initially planned on using a city shuttle to get the rest of their stuff once they received confirmation that we would welcome them. But seeing the fancy shuttle we now possessed had them fanning themselves.

On the following day, six more males from Nevian—the ones who had been waiting to see how Ylis and the other three females would be received—also came to join us. Things turned quite awkward when I rejected two of them. They’d been problematic in their work ethics, performance, and general attitude. I laughed at their pathetic attempt to make a stink about it, calling me an elitist. But in the end, they had no choice but to go back on their way.

The other four gladly stayed.

It triggered a longer debate among us as to our criteria of acceptance for newcomers, as well as the maximum population we sought, and at which pace we could welcome them. Even with these extra hands helping, it took time to build entire houses from scratch. All these people also required necessities such as beds, mattresses, and blankets. And all of that required credits that were not coming in as we weren’t set up yet to weave our own fabrics and craft various other things.

“Don’t fret so much about it, Brother,” Kazaer said in a reassuring tone. “You warned us the first few months—and maybe even the first couple of years—wouldn’t be an easy ride. But what we’re building here exceeds anything I could have hoped for. We have solid roofs over our heads, food in our bellies, and wonderful companions to rely upon.”

Everyone nodded.

“You’ve given us safety and a place to call home, Alpha,” Faran said, one of the young males who joined us with Kazaer. “None of us fear hardship. We expected much worse as nomads. The question for us isn’t how much work will be required to get this place to where it needs to be, but whether it will always be our home should we temporarily go away.”

My chest warmed with the oddly paternal emotion I increasingly felt towards the younger males. It was all the sillier that we barely had ten years difference.

“You’re a member of this Pride now, Faran. You’re young and in your prime. It’s normal for you to feel the call to roam and find a mate,” I said gently. “When the time for you to set off comes, we’ll be sad to see you go. But know that we’ll wait for you with open arms the day you decide to come back home.”

The air of deep gratitude and affection that burned in every males’ eyes warmed my chest. The thought that I would one day have a similar conversation with the sons I hoped to have filled me with a joy I could barely contain.

“Thank you, Alpha. But don’t think you will be rid of me anytime soon,” Faran said with a grin. “I will see this village properly built and surpass every other in the realm. The day I and any of our males go roaming, the Prides we visit will be the ones begging for the attention of one of the sons of Gyota.”

Cheers welcomed his words.

Sadly, that optimistic mood was dampened the following day, first by a group of roaming males who tried to challenge me as the new Alpha of our Pride. Although I made mincemeat out of their leader, it only marked the beginning of an endless string of random people showing up, acting as if being welcomed in was their due.

The most infuriating case was when a pack of ten females showed up, claiming our village as theirs and demanding tobe instated as our Matriarchs and huntresses. They even had the nerve to demand we expel Ylis and her three relatives who followed her here. My blood still boiled at the sheer entitlement. It boggled my mind that they genuinely believed they were doing us a favor—if not an honor—by settling among us and allowing a bunch of males they had not personally vetted first to stay.

Needless to say we sent them packing quickly. Their wretched leader tried to challenge my mate as new Head Matriarch, thinking it would be an easy win. Watching Ylis giving her the trouncing of the century still had me grinning from ear to ear.

As infuriating as these intrusions were, they achieved something that otherwise might have taken a very long time. It brought us all closer, deepened our mutual loyalty, but above all gave every member of our Pride a sense of ownership. They weren’t just helping me buildmyvillage. We were buildingourhome, and we wouldn’t let anyone take that away from us.

By the fourth week, with a sufficient number of homes for everyone, and our first trade workshop functional, things finally felt like they were settling down. Through her contacts, Ophelia found us a used fishing ship in prime condition. The cost of getting it delivered to us was a fraction of what it would have cost to buy a new one or even to build it from scratch. That day, when the motion detectors went off, we assumed our ship had finally arrived.

The reality couldn’t have been farther from the truth.

The alerted voices outside echoed the shock I felt upon seeing Oluina and two of her huntresses, followed by Moriak, Latsa, and Olmar quickly approaching on their speeders.

I ran to our dwelling to grab my staff. Ophelia—who had been tanning the leather from the creatures our huntresses had brought back—ran towards me with an air of panic. I caressed her cheek in a reassuring fashion.

“All will be well, my mate. They have no jurisdiction here and no power over us,” I said in a soft voice.

She nodded, her expression still troubled. It bothered me to see her absent-mindedly touch her blaster. I wanted us to reach a point where she no longer felt the need to stay armed at all times. We’d had a few close calls in the past couple of weeks, but nothing that actually required her to shoot. I just wished people would leave us alone.

We headed towards the entrance of the village, the rest of our Pride also gathering around us. Their timing couldn’t have been more rotten as Ylis and our other females were out hunting. As they would have received the intruder warning, I didn’t doubt they were rushing back home in all haste.

I didn’t believe things would devolve into a physical altercation. However, if things got heated, no male wanted to be forced to manhandle a female. While we were undeniably stronger, our females were faster. Except for duels, they usually fought as a pack, thus easily overwhelming their target. This meant, should things get ugly, many of us would have to jump in if Oluina and her companions charged us.

I could only hope Moriak would be the one to issue a challenge. My claws had been itching for a long time to give him a new look.

A burning contempt surged within me upon seeing their wretched faces. It baffled me that I had once thought her the sweetest, loveliest, and most beautiful female in the world. As a naïve cub, I truly believed myself in love with her. And yet, in retrospect, all the signs had been there. She didn’t change into someone despicable. I simply no longer was blind to her true personality. And that made her ugly.

As for Moriak, if not for how many lives he had destroyed in his malicious attempts at securing his position, I would feel pity for him. He was only seven or eight years older than I was, butthe past few weeks had aged him before his time. His features were strained, his eyes a bit haggard as if from lack of sleep. I heard of Nevian’s steady decline since our departure. The failed mission had been a major blow that nearly got him evicted. I strongly suspected that he was still on borrowed time over it.

The saddest part was that I genuinely believed that he’d trusted Ranor as to the partial safety of the mission. He likely thought only a handful of people would be caught or harmed. After all, they’d sent a little over three hundred males. With a crew this size, he couldn’t have imagined most wouldn’t make it out.

However, it was the incredulous look on their faces as they took in our village that affected me the most. I should be ashamed of the malicious glee their devastated expressions stirred within me. Even halfway built as it was, anyone with eyes could see that it by far surpassed what they currently had. For all its qualities, their village was dated because of their stubborn refusal to update it.

They had expected us to utterly fail and come groveling back for mercy. Instead, they started reaching out to us—or more specifically to me—over the past ten days. I ignored every single one of their messages.

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