Chapter 10

Gaelec

W e made sure not to arrive too early or too late to the festivities. The Matriarchs and Oluina—as the head huntress—were sitting on the temporary dais put together for the occasion. The other females sat directly on the ground or on soft cushions in a half circle on each side of the platform. A large bonfire in the center of the area in front of the dais illuminated the space, as well as electric torches around the edges of the perimeter.

I led my mate to a spot at the end of the left half circle. The closer one sat to the dais, the higher their rank in the Pride’s pecking order. As the Alpha, Moriak was the only male to settle right at its edge, next to Oluina.

I barely repressed the urge to snort as I took in his appearance. He donned his finest hunting armor. Even from where I sat, I could tell he oiled his fur to make it look shinier. I would bet a hefty amount of credits that he also applied some dye to make himself look younger. It was laughable. In a way, I felt pity for him and the desperation with which he clung to his position. His time was running out.

A smarter male would spend his remaining time endearing himself to the young Queens who would soon leave us to form their own Pride. Granted, he could never hope to become the Alpha over there. But at least, it would spare him the uncertainty of becoming a nomad.

A loud squeal startled me out of my less-than-charitable musings about Moriak. I jerked my head towards the direction it emanated from, the sound having drawn the attention of most of the other people already present. My jaw dropped upon seeing Ylis running towards a male and throwing herself into his arms. That embrace screamed of a level of familiarity—not to say intimacy—that had everyone looking as stunned as I did.

“Whoa! Ylis has a boyfriend?!” Ophelia asked in a whisper, her eyes wide as she ogled the couple.

“I don’t know,” I replied in all sincerity while stretching my neck to get a better look at the newcomer.

From this angle, I could only see part of his side and his tail. But he looked tall and strong, the flickering and glare of the bonfire making it hard to see any proper details about him. Ylis released the male at last and took a couple of steps back to exchange a couple of words with him.

My back stiffened, and I did a double take, wondering if my eyes weren’t playing tricks on me.

“Kazaer?!” I called out, my voice filled with disbelief.

The male jerked his head towards me. His initial curiosity upon hearing his name gave way to an affectionate smile once he recognized me.

He knew I would be here!

On instinct, I shot to my paws and ran towards him. His smile broadened as he also ran towards me. We collided with enough force that most people would have fallen over. I gave him a bone crushing hug, my heart filling to bursting as he reciprocated. I held him for a few moments, then slapped his back twice before releasing him. Both my hands still clutching his upper arms, I examined him from top to bottom.

“Look at you, little brother… all big and strong! And a Stellig, at that!” I exclaimed, an irrational sense of pride swelling within me as I took in his appearance.

Where I possessed grayish-brown fur and blue eyes, my younger brother was pure black with gray accents, and the same lightning-shaped stripes as I did, marking him as a Stellig. It had been nearly a year since I last communicated with him. It was normal as, having just turned eighteen, Kazaer would have freshly been evicted from the Pride. As a nomad searching for a new home, access to the type of com allowing him to send me messages all the way to Molvi would have been limited.

Now nineteen, if not for the difference in our fur shade, he could have been a copy of the young male I had been back then.

“Of course, I am. Just like my big brother,” he said affectionately before stealing a glance at Ylis.

Could it be?!

It took every ounce of my willpower to maintain a neutral expression on my face. Instead, I forced myself to turn towards my mate. She was still where I had left her, although she was now standing, looking both curious and uncertain as to what to do. I smiled and gestured for her to approach. Ophelia immediately relaxed and returned my smile as she complied. Guilt gnawed at me to have abandoned her so abruptly like this. But seeing my brother, this unexpectedly after over thirteen years of separation, had blown me away.

“Ophelia, this is my younger brother, Kazaer. We share our mother from the Sulwyn Pride,” I gently said to my mate, before glancing back at my brother. “Kazaer, meet Ophelia Moreau. She’s not just my mate, but my soulmate, found for me, halfway across the stars, by the Temern Kayog Voln.”

For the briefest instant, I feared my sibling might have a negative reaction to her. That thought had not crossed my mind when I first began the introductions. After so many years apart, I couldn’t say how Kazaer evolved or what influences might have affected his perspective on the world and other species.

To my relief, although his eyes burned with obvious curiosity with a hint of awe, he gave her a friendly smile. “It is an honor to meet you, Ophelia Moreau, even though Kayog is quite a few years late in finding you. But good things always come when they are meant to arrive.”

My mate’s cheeks heated as she gave him a shy but grateful smile.

Kazaer returned his attention to me, this time with a mischievous glimmer in his blue eyes so identical to mine.

“Your mate is a good omen, Brother. It appears you have brought us one of Luen’s daughters.”

I burst out laughing while my mate unconsciously touched the freckles on her cheeks with that same adorably timid smile.

“I most certainly have. But you haven’t told me how the two of you know each other,” I asked, glancing in turn at Ylis and him.

“After your arrest, I came to recover some of your personal items I believed you would want to keep when you returned, like your Obsidian knife. Ylis gave them to me,” Kazaer said, sounding like he was trying too hard to be nonchalant. “She and I kept in touch afterwards so that I could give her updates about your welfare.”

To give her ‘updates’? Yeah, right.

I bit my tongue not to say it, but I suspected my eyes spoke volumes judging by the way his nose twitched, a telltale sign for him of embarrassment.

“So are you only here to come see your big brother, or are you wishing to join our Pride?” I asked.

“Seeing how picky you are, I figured Nevian Pride might be a good place for me to settle… if they would have me.”

The subtle way he glanced at Ylis when he added that last part confirmed my suspicions. My heart swelled at the possibility that two of the people I cared about the most might end up together. I couldn’t have wished for a better female for Kazaer.

“That would be wonderful! See that you do our bloodline proud,” I said, slapping his shoulder. “But come, sit with us before we get chastised for hogging the floor.”

He smiled and fell in step with us. To my pleasant surprise—and to everyone’s general shock—instead of taking a seat at her official place on the right side of the Matriarchs on the dais, Ylis sat down with us, next to my brother.

Ophelia’s pleased smile confirmed she also perceived the chemistry between the two of them and approved of it. Feeling shameless and eager to help move things along in the right direction, I turned to my brother with a mischievous expression.

“I was supposed to run interference for Ylis tonight, in case some undesirables pestered her. But since I have a mate, that responsibility now falls onto you, Brother.”

“A duty I am more than happy to tackle,” he replied with a bit too much enthusiasm.

To my delight, the young huntress took on a demure expression I’d never seen on her before as she smiled timidly at my brother.

“You’re most kind,” she said softly.

“You can always count on me for anything you require,” Kazaer said. “Never hesitate to ask.”

I couldn’t wipe the stupid grin off my face. It made no sense that I should feel like such a proud father, and yet I couldn’t help it. This was turning out to be a wonderful start to an evening I dreaded since my return.

My eyes flicked to the other young males who were trickling in. I caught myself assessing the competition that Kazaer might face, although he clearly had a great head start on the others. Quite a few of the hopefuls had great potential. Throughout the night, our females would talk with the ones who piqued their interest to evaluate them. Those who successfully passed the personality test with enough females would be invited to return over the next few days to pass some skill tests. This not only involved their ability to fight wild beasts, but also their trade and crafting competences.

With everyone now gathered around the bonfire, the festivities began with a brief speech by the Head Matriarch welcoming everyone and reminding them that any misbehavior—especially from the visitors—would be met with a swift and harsh response.

And then our younglings took the central area to present their own performance, the show including a mix of dance and battle choreographies. Although fascinated, my mate seemed confused by the intensity of some parts of that spectacle. It didn’t take a genius to see it went beyond mere artistic expression. But she didn’t understand the purpose.

I leaned in to whisper to her. “Males are not the only ones having to sell their worth. Our females must also demonstrate the quality of their Pride. This first part is to show what strong and healthy offspring they can birth, what great mothers they are, and the excellence of the education and training they can provide. At the end of the evening, you do not want a prime male to walk away to seek a different Pride because they were not impressed enough by what we have to offer.”

Ophelia’s eyes widened at this revelation. She had not considered that aspect. It wasn’t surprising considering most of what she had heard and seen about us so far presented the males as being completely voiceless and helpless in all of this. While we undeniably enjoyed far less rights and opportunities, we were not entirely deprived of choices.

The cubs concluded their performance under loud cheers as their mothers—and the few sires still among us—puffed out their chests with good reason. For all my gripes with our Pride, I could never take away the great care and devotion every female showed the younglings. They were happy, healthy, and given all the tools they required for a bright future based on what our society deemed ideal—flawed though it was.

A few of the elder females herded the younglings back to the sidelines, a handful running back directly to their parents. Simultaneously, the Queens and huntresses—Ylis and Oluina included—took the stage. The tension Moriak failed to hide as Oluina made her way towards us gave me no small amount of malicious glee.

The rhythm of the drums and haunting melody of the flutes filled the air as the females launched into their own version of the dance and combat choreographies. It had an undeniably more sensuous and erotic edge to it as the females flaunted their assets. My joy at seeing Ylis exclusively perform in front of my brother was quickly dampened by Oluina nearly shoving Ylis out of the way so that she could dance in front of Kazaer and me.

Gasps and shocked murmurs reached my ears despite the loud music. As outraged as I felt by such shameless behavior, it pleased me that so many noticed and disapproved of such disrespect, especially towards my mate and me. Making a seductive spectacle in front of me implied that she did not recognize or respect my formal union with Ophelia. Doing the same in front of Kazaer was a bit more questionable.

The Queens and huntresses usually showed unspoken deference to each other by not pursuing a male one of them already clearly expressed her interest for, unless that male didn’t reciprocate—which made him fair game again. Anyone with eyes could see that something was brewing between Ylis and Kazaer. In fact, quite a few of the Queens cast envious glances in my brother’s direction but kept their distance as he had undeniably been claimed, and he gladly welcomed it. Oluina should set her sights elsewhere unless Kazaer blatantly rejected her cousin.

On top of that, the age gap was significant enough to raise eyebrows in a negative way. At thirty-four, Oluina was fifteen years older than my brother. So long as the youngest party had reached maturity, such a pairing was not forbidden. But as the general guidance recommended a gap no greater than five years, this specific instance stirred many disapproving frowns.

To my delight, although knowing that Oluina was the Head Huntress—Kazaer made it a point to ignore her. He ostensibly turned his body sideways to face Ylis. She had been forced to move slightly to the right to make room for her cousin rather than openly fighting Oluina over such rudeness. Most males would be beside themselves with excitement to have caught the eye of the Head Huntress. Unless they committed some kind of unforgivable blunder, winning her favors pretty much guaranteed their acceptance into a Pride.

Not wanting to grant her the attention she absolutely did not deserve from me either, I made a show of also turning away from Oluina to stare at my mate. She smiled at me in that way I was quickly growing addicted to, her green eyes flicking between mine. I smiled back and caressed her lips with my thumb before leaning down and kissing her. I didn’t know if my aggravation with the wretched Head Huntress had dulled the extreme sensitivity of my whiskers, but this time, no itching or tickling ruined the moment.

Yes, my wife’s lips felt wondrous against mine. I could get used to this and even crave it. I broke the kiss only to have Ophelia’s gaze flick towards my nose. When it didn’t twitch, her smile broadened even as her eyes widened in joyous surprise. I chuckled then leaned forward to rub my temple against hers, marking her with my scent. She beamed at me and then snuggled against my side. I wrap my arms around her, drawing her closer even as I wrapped my tail possessively around her waist.

An angry hiss reclaimed my attention. Her eyes throwing daggers at us, Oluina turned away in anger before stomping to another area where more of the young visitors were gathered as they enjoyed the show. Although I initially meant ignoring her as a clear message, kissing my mate had genuinely wiped Oluina from my thoughts. I could only hope, for her sake, that she would soon come to terms with the fact that whatever had existed between us was long dead and would never return.

As strange and mostly unappealing as I initially found Ophelia, I no longer doubted that she was my soulmate. The speed at which she had me melting for her was mind-boggling but also incredibly thrilling. I was falling for her, and finally seeing her beauty despite our differences.

With the females’ dance finally ending, it was now the males’ turn to prove their worth. Their performance had a clear battle focus to it. It was mainly a show of dexterity, strength, flexibility, and speed.

The young visitors couldn’t have gotten up quickly enough, many of them making a beeline for the females who had caught their attention the most. Despite how she had shamed herself, Oluina still had a respectable number of candidates crowding in front of her to try and gain her favor. Yet it remained far less than how many her cousin attracted. Older males, already members of our Pride, but who feared imminent expulsion, also joined the dance to prove that they compared and maybe even surpassed some of the newcomers.

For all that, Kazaer crushed any potential competition. He was so insanely impressive that even Ophelia gaped at him in awe. The silly insecure part of me almost regretted not taking part in it to show off my own skills to her. But it might have sent the wrong signal that I was open to other females’ attentions, which would have been a slap to my mate.

“He’s magnificent, don’t you agree?” Ophelia asked Ylis, who was all but drooling at my brother.

A silly grin settled on my lips when the young huntress nodded vigorously.

“The best we’ve seen since I’ve been old enough to actually care,” she admitted sheepishly.

It was a relief considering how many other males came around where we sat to try and catch Ylis’s attention. But she only had eyes for my brother. Moriak was livid. A part of me was surprised he chose not to perform, especially seeing how Oluina was openly expressing her willingness to pair with someone else. At the same time, considering the fitness level of the new candidates—particularly my brother—the Alpha would have been put to shame. The last thing he needed was to further draw attention to the fact that he was no longer in his prime, by Nazhral standards.

With the last dance concluded, food was finally served during which males and females mingled and engaged in discussions that could lead to some formal invitations.

“I’ll be right back, my mate,” I said, caressing her cheek before heading towards the table near the spits where meat was being cut off the Sikkals.

I grabbed one large piece from it, and a raw steak from the bowl of pre-cut Padag. After rubbing some spices on the latter, I brought them over to one of the skillets sitting near the multiple small cooking pits. People could use them to sear some of the seafood and other slabs of meat for a few seconds before consumption. Seeing me slap the ‘already cooked’ Sikkal steaks drew countless bewildered stares my way.

My ears flicked this way and that to better listen to the growing murmurs around me. I repressed a smile at the countless dismayed whispers as people wondered if I had lost my mind. When they saw me put the steaks on the plate and proudly stroll back to my mate, their disbelief cranked up another notch.

Kazaer frowned as he looked at the contents of the plate before gaping back at me.

“Isn’t that a little burnt, Brother?” he asked cautiously.

“It appears Gaelec is trying to murder his human mate!” Moriak exclaimed loudly enough for all to hear, before I could answer.

“No, Alpha ,” I said, pouring as much disdain and mockery as I could in his title. “I’m merely catering to my mate’s specific human needs when it comes to cooked meat.”

Paying him no more mind, I extended the plate to Ophelia, who accepted it with a smile.

“I studied cooking temperatures this morning. This Padag meat compares to Earth’s lamb. I rubbed on it the closest mix of the herbs and spices your people deem preferable for it.”

Ophelia nodded with an air of gratitude before reaching for the piece of Padag and taking a bite from it. She closed her eyes and emitted a moan that resonated directly in my cock.

After chewing for a few moments, she opened her eyes to look at me with awe. “Wow! That cook is perfect!” she exclaimed before taking another voracious bite.

I puffed out my chest while smugly glancing at the crowd. Their stunned looks failed to please me half as much as Moriak’s livid expression.

This truly wasn’t his night.

To my surprise, a cub named Armiss came sniffing around, his little nostrils flaring even as he stared at the meat with an air of confusion.

“Do you want to try?” Ophelia offered in a gentle tone.

“It’s burnt?” the youngling asked hesitantly.

My mate smiled. “It’s not burnt. It’s just cooked in the perfect way for humans. Here, taste it.”

Despite his suspicions that it would likely taste foul, the young male leaned forward and took a tiny bite. The slit of his pupils dilated as his face took on a pleasantly surprised expression. The hesitant way he’d begun chewing gave way to enthusiasm as he quickly swallowed.

“Whoa! It’s not burnt, even if it looks like it. That’s not bad!” the little one exclaimed.

He then went for another bigger bite.

“Hey!” I exclaimed with false outrage. “That’s my mate’s food!”

The little brat stared at me with an unrepentant expression as he happily chewed the large piece he just bit off.

“I don’t mind,” Ophelia said with a chuckle while looking tenderly at Armiss.

“Yes, you do,” I grumbled, with playful displeasure. “Or at least, you will once you realize what a bottomless pit he is.”

The young cub made a face at me as he swallowed his mouthful. Then, to my utter shock, he snuggled against my mate’s side. The way her face melted from a powerful emotion at this unexpected gesture turned me upside down. She caressed the top of his head before scratching the back of his ears. A loud purr vibrated from his little throat as he snuggled deeper against her. She smiled at me with an air of pure joy. At that moment, I realized she was picturing our own offspring cuddling with her.

It awakened an intense longing in me.

We will have a family of our own.

“How come you never purr like that?” Ophelia suddenly asked.

I glanced at Armiss before looking back at her. “I’m not a cub.”

“That shouldn’t prevent you from purring. I’m sure it would sound amazing with your deep voice. Won’t you let me hear it?” she asked, shamelessly batting her eyelashes.

It struck me then that I truly never purred anymore. It hadn’t been a conscious choice, but one dictated by my survival instincts. Considering the therapeutic quality of that sound—since its frequency promoted healing—you’d think I’d use it more often. But our people also only purred when they felt in a safe enough environment to put their guard down and give themselves over to that self-healing. It broadcast to the world that you were in a vulnerable position but trusted that no harm would come to you here.

I had not felt safe enough for that in the past twelve years.

As much as I wanted to please my mate, the prospect of purring made my stomach queasy, especially in such a public setting, and surrounded by so many hostile people.

“Purr,” I said in a neutral voice.

Ophelia gaped at me. Although I managed to keep a stoic expression, I inwardly also gaped at myself. I couldn’t believe I’d just blurted that out instead of coming up with a clever way of worming my way out of doing it.

Recovering from the shock, my mate burst out laughing before giving me a playful tap. “That’s not a proper purr, you cheater!”

Her amusement helped dampen my embarrassment, which in turn allowed my brain to start functioning normally again.

“That’s the only one you shall get for now,” I deadpanned. “A purr must be earned. Not provided on demand. You’ll need to figure out how to draw one out of me.”

Ophelia’s eyes widened for a split second before her gaze darkened. Although my comment held no lurid undertone, the lascivious expression that descended over my mate’s face clearly indicated she interpreted it that way. It instantly sent my blood rushing to my groin.

“Challenge accepted,” she whispered in a voice full of promise.

I shifted, my breeches suddenly feeling a little tight. Clearing my throat, I got up to release some of the pressure.

“I will go cook more meat for you and bring some of the sides while I fetch a plate for myself,” I said.

She nodded with a mischievous smile, visibly aware of how her comment affected me. It broadened when I scrunched my face, and she resumed eating as I headed back to the spits. By the time I returned, at least seven more cubs—mostly males—were piled up against my woman. Many eyes were stealing approving glances her way, including Rozel. Being accepted by the cubs was primordial. They were the heart and future of any Pride. Their strong survival instincts naturally drove them away from threats while drawing them towards those who were safe.

A wave of affection swelled within me as I settled back down next to my woman, careful not to inadvertently squish one of the countless little tails.

But the sound of a shuttle overhead broke the magic of the moment. Seeing Moriak perk up before hastily rushing towards the landing pad had my insides immediately twisting with apprehension. Anything that made him happy was a bad sign.

Minutes later, my fears were confirmed when he returned with Ranor, the recruiter.