Page 11 of Right Next Door
He frowned, thinking about the cat creature she had in a box.
It had black fur, like himself, though it lacked the white spots he had on his ears and hands. It was pure black, with gleaming gold eyes. It glared out at Tsok like he was a threat and hissed in a way that was, at once, cute and threatening. Those little paws had surprisingly sharp claws. He didn’t know why, but he assumed that most creatures from Earth would have the same flat, soft claws that humans possessed.
But no, the cat’s claws were sharp and harsh. It struck at Tsok, hitting the bars of its crate in a way that made Tsok think it really would have hit him if the barrier wasn’t in a way.
He was slightly concerned. Not for himself, but his mate had such thin, fragile skin. What if that little beast turned on her? It might be able to do some serious damage. If only he had more time, he would have stayed to ensure the damned thing knew to fear him. Fear was the best way to keep feral creatures in line.
He’d come back to do it later. When he had more time.
There was a great cultural shift going on through his people right now. They had been so deliberately against mates and mating for so long, the very idea of it had become uncomfortable. That was why he had been scanned by True Match to find his mate. He could act as a role model. Let his people know that there really wasn’t anything to fear. That mating could be done safely.
And here was proof.
Tsok was walking away from his gorgeous, delectable mate that he’d just met for the first time. And yes, his cock was achingly hard, but he wasn’t turning into a feral, uncontrollable beast.
He was in control. Proud and strong. The very model of what a kreecharma male should be – concerned first and foremost for the wellbeing of his female.
He hadn’t ravished her, grabbed her, or slobbered over her. He greeted her kindly and warmly, then left her to get comfortable without hovering.
Yes, indeed. It was a perfect first meeting.
Back in his office in the Glass Manor, he returned to his desk. To his datawork.
He was going to keep a journal. He had actually already started. Since the moment he found out he was mated, he was keeping a detailed record of all the changes to his body that he noticed. Nothing medical, he wasn’t getting scanned, but there was more to mating than just the changes that occurred physically and subphysically. His thoughts, his feelings, his musings and concerns – all those were things that couldn’t be scanned. But he could still document them and present his story to his people as proof that mating wasn’t so terrifying.
His people feared that bond. To a point that it had shaped their entire culture. The modern day kreecharma weren’t the same that lived two, three, four hundred years ago. It wasn’t even a matter of the advancement of technology, or the fact that they’d joined the Coalition in that time. Mating was considered so unfortunate that those who, unfortunately, became entangled in that bond were people to be pitied.
There were a few kreecharma, he knew, that kept to the old ways. But they were fringe groups, considered backwards, unintelligent, even cultish. They certainly weren’t anyone that would live in the city.
There were also those that, for one reason or another, mated purely by accident. They weren’t looked down upon like those that chose the path. They certainly weren’t proud of the fact that they were mated, but they bore it like a heavy responsibility.
Well, all except those few that had gone through True Match and found their mate by choice – but safely. Those people were proud, but they were also few. They were also distrusted by the general population. It was no fault of True Match. It was just a natural result of something new challenging the established world order.
That was why Tsok had his mate brought here. It was why he was doing this at all. He, as the char of Kree, needed to demonstrate to his people that this new change would benefit them. That, as a society, they would all be better off if they knew exactly who their mate was, where they were, and what they were doing at all times.
It was for the safety of themselves, of their mates, of society as a whole.
And it was for that reason Tsok left her behind today. Though she was stunning, though he longed to remove his nasal filter and take a deep breath of her scent – which, truly, must be intoxicating – he would resist. He would curb those base urges. He would be a good mate to her, give her everything she needed and as much as she could ever want.
He would adore her in the way of his people.
And he would never actually mate her.
Chapter 5
Misty
“What’s our strategy here, General?”
Misty frowned, looking at her cat. He was, unfortunately, too busy scouting the new area – learning the terrain, checking for any enemies – to pay her any attention.
The two of them were in her new bathroom – the privy, actually. She had been lectured about that thoroughly when Davard showed her here and then wondered why she called it abathroom when so much more happened in here. And when she pointed out that it could be called a restroom, he asked why she was resting in the bathroom. It turned into a whole thing that she didn’t have the energy to deal with after he showed her all the rooms she’d be using. She had rooms, pleural, now. And not just the rooms of the manor. Her bedroom was a suite of rooms, like a one-bedroom house within her bigger house. That was a whole ass tax bracket she never thought she’d reach. There was so much space in this manor, thismansion, she had no idea what to do with it.
So, she hid in the bathroom. The research she did on moving cats to a new place told her that she was supposed to letthem out in one room only at first, let them get used to that, before gradually introducing them to the rest of the house. It apparently reduced their stress since they only had to get used to one new room at a time.
Well, it turned out she was a cat, because she was hiding in the privy herself, trying to get away from all the new, drastic changes in this big ass castle. She brought enough cat litter from Earth to keep The General happy for a month or two, until Davard could figure something else out. The way he looked when she set up the litterbox made her think he was going to find something quickly. The idea of scooping poop by hand seemed to horrify him.
Well, whatever. If that chore became automated, she’d be okay with it. But for now, she was actually kind of relieved to see the simple, plastic box in the corner. It was something familiar amongst all this advanced technology. The toilet that cleaned her ass. The shower that did more than dispense water. The bathtub that would also massage her. So much. And it was great, but these changes would be greater if she wasn’t reeling from the fact that hermatewalked out on her.
