Page 68 of Orange Lake
“Zirc,” Coone started but I stopped him with a look.
“We’ll discuss later. Including your punishment,” I warned him.
“Things happen for a reason, Zirc” Roqs said, his hand moving to lightly massage Brin’s hair. “We do not need to rush.”
Always the logical of us. He is the better half of me. My brain knows this but my beast doesn’t say a thing. I know he is frustrated with his beast as well.
“Besides,” Roqs whispered closely to my ear. “We should first look forward to how we are going to punish her, right? And Coone as well.” He gaze sharpened towards Coone who just smirked. I knew without looking down at his pants, he is looking forward to it as well.
I grunt and settled down on my bed taking care not to move her too much. I find it hard to accept she got the crystal at the risk of her own life! I should be the one protecting her. Not the other way around.
Coone placed a firm hand on my arm. I did not notice he moved closer to me. “Stop thinking about what’s in the past. Think about what we need to do in the future. For starters, we have to declare her to the Council.”
My beast internally roared. “You Coone?” I asked dumbstruck. “You who sometimes evade the Council’s guards when you move in and out of our planet?”
He just shrugged his shoulder.
“Why now?” Roqs asked. He too is curious to know what Coone plans.
Coone sighed and sat on the bed. “Settle down, both of you. Especially your beasts,” he said with a glint. “Keeping her a secret will be more difficult even if we are in Crix’s domain. Words will spread far and wide. It is better to declare her existence. Even her gender. Something happened while we were in the Under City.”
The Under City is Crix’s ultimate creation. The City above is for display. But the actual city or mini Kingdom he and his mates rule is Under City. That is where they keep their legal and illegal trade. Above they try to project a very simple life so that the Purple Tribe will not bother them too much having so much power and wealth. But the Under City is what keeps them thriving and wealthier. Their illegal trade is to supply some hard to find crystals and they are able to do this by digging further into the planet but taking care not to cause a catastrophic quake. This land is blessed with so many crystals, I sometimes find it hard to believe that Crix’s Uncle allowed him and his mates to be banished into this land. I think his Uncle put on an act when in fact he doesn’t want to punish Crix who was just a juvenile back then.
“What happened?” Roqs urged when Coone found it hard to explain further.
Coone sighed and simply said, “Let me tell you what happened about the hiscats -“
Both me and Roqs shouted at the same time asking questions.
“Was she bitten or scratched by the hiscat?”
“Hiscats? You mean there is more than 1 hiscat?”
“When did it happen?”
We all paused when Brin started to stir. I growled and purred softly to settle her. I saw the surprise on Roqs face. Yes, I know. I only purr someone to settle down mostly with Roqs. I can see his eyes bit with jealousy.
I used my tail to wind into his ankle, at the same time used my new hand to brush his thigh.
“Go on, tell us about the hiscats,” I looked back to Coone. He did not miss the way I interact with Roqs. When we were newly mated, he will throw a fit. Now, he accepts that I needed this and that for our kind, it is important to find that one true mate with our kind. Or true mates. Looks like my fate is to mate with other species.
“There were six hiscats that appeared in the Under City,” he started.
“Six?” Roqs exclaimed. By the gods, I closed my eyes tightly and opened it again. For Brin to encounter not one but six!
“That must have caused a major lockdown,” Roqs can just tell. If this happened to our tribe -
Coone snorted. “Not just a lockdown but almost caused a stampede. I think it has been ages since a hiscat appeared in Under City. But Brynn.” He paused that caused my heart to stutter. “Brynn likes the hiscat. Instead of running away when a hiscat jumped towards he, he caught it with both hands!”
Coone looked at us grimly. “This is why you should tell the Council. I know there is someone there you mildly trust.”
Both me and Roqs snorted. Trusting a Council is like trusting amusat. You can trust them only while sleeping with eyes wide open.
“The Council will take her away from you. Away from us if they find out she can hold her breath longer under water, and the hiscats are intrigued by them. They will also know eventually how you seem to be bonding with her.”
“I can protect her,” I grumbled.
“But not always. Look what happened today. You will be torn between your duty and the need to protect her.”
