Chapter 13

Ophelia

O ver the past two days since the feast, I’d been hard at work reaching out to potential headhunters and browsing through various off-worlder listings for seasonal and hired hands work. Some were hit and miss but many were turning out to be quite promising.

Gaelec and I wanted to have a foolproof plan that even Oluina and Moriak would have no leg to stand on should they want to challenge it. While my mate was getting increasingly aggravated that no new meeting had been called to discuss the matter, I seriously welcomed the reprieve. On top of giving us a bit more time to strengthen our case, it also gave me an opportunity to better understand the dynamics, politics, and culture within the Prides. The goal wasn’t to change their ways, but only for them to pursue the lifestyle they wanted in a safe way for all.

A sudden beep startled me. It took me a moment to realize it came from my com. It had been quiet since my arrival here. It wasn’t exactly like I had a whole bunch of buddies to message, day in and day out. To my surprise, it was a summons from the Matriarchs, requesting my presence in the Great Hall.

Why the fuck do they want to see me now?

They undoubtedly knew that Gaelec was off fishing. Was it an ambush? Were they hoping I would stumble and somehow stick my foot in my mouth in a way that would justify them casting me out? Or were they planning on using some sort of pressure tactics to get me to force Gaelec into behaving the way they wanted?

Too many questions swirled in my head. As I obviously would never find the answer by making myself sick by speculating, I ran to the hygiene room to make sure I was presentable, then headed for the door. I hastened down the side road onto the main one leading to the Great Hall. As expected at this hour of the day, the streets were empty with everyone working.

My stomach fluttered with nerves as I opened the door to the antechamber of the Great Hall, only for my heart to sink when it opened on Oluina. A single look on her face indicated she’d been waiting for me.

Putain de merde! Just what I do not need!

Even knowing that it was pointless, I started marching towards the heavy doors leading into the Hall only to have Oluina park herself in front of me, blocking my way. Obviously, I could try to circle around her and keep going, but that would be pointless and juvenile.

Annoyed, I stopped and locked eyes with her, making no effort to hide how much her presence displeased me.

“Little human,” Oluina said in a haughty tone in lieu of greeting.

“Big Nazhral,” I replied in a similar fashion.

“It’s Oluina,” she said, in a clipped tone.

“And for me, it’s Ophelia,” I said in an obnoxiously polite voice.

She scoffed, irritated that I didn’t seem intimidated or destabilized by her little games.

“Whatever you have to say, your time is poorly chosen. I’m expected,” I said matter-of-factly.

“I’m well aware,” she retorted with a shrug. “But you and I will speak first.”

I rolled my eyes and sighed heavily, making it clear I was not only uninterested but quite annoyed by her insistence.

“What do you want?” I asked, my irritation audible in my voice.

“I thought you should know that Gaelec is only using you to make me jealous, to punish me for moving on back when we all thought he had no chance of surviving his incarceration,” she said with a smugness filled with malice.

I burst out laughing, her shocked and confused expression at my reaction making me laugh even more. Did the stupid female really think I would fall for these schoolgirl bullying tactics?

“No, Oluina, he doesn’t. Gaelec moved on from you years ago. You may still be clinging to the past, but he’s not. Frankly, your behavior is quite embarrassing. You should have far more self-respect than trying to force yourself on him,” I said with a mix of pity and contempt.

“I’m doing no such thing!” she hissed.

“You most certainly are! Since my arrival—and apparently even before that—you’ve repeatedly thrown yourself at him despite him clearly expressing both in action and in words that he doesn’t want anything to do with you. That’s not going to change. He rejected you before he even knew about me!” I said, unable to comprehend how anyone could be so stubborn, borderline obsessive.

“You say that. And yet, he chose you, a pale copy of me,” Oluina said in a superior tone.

I recoiled, failing to see how in the world she came to such an outlandish conclusion.

“What the hell are you talking about? You and I are nothing alike!” I exclaimed.

“My name is Oluina, and yours is Ophelia. My fur is reddish-brown, your hair is red. I’m 5’10, and you are about the same. I have green eyes, and so do you. You are my human copy, just weaker.”

My eyes widened, and my jaw dropped. Even though I believed this was an incredible stretch, I had to admit that I never paid attention to those similarities.

“Now you see it!” Oluina said with an air of triumph, interpreting my reaction as shock and devastation.

I snorted and shook my head at her. “Wow, are you truly so desperate to cling to any straw? You’re right, we do have a few similarities. But that only confirms that Gaelec has a type when it comes to females. It isn’t uncommon for people to have certain preferences. He happens to like tall redheads with green eyes. Big deal. Twelve years ago, my husband was looking for me when he settled for you .”

“He did not settle,” she snarled.

“Oh, but he did. You were the closest thing—and a pale imitation at that—to what he truly wanted. You see, Gaelec didn’t pick me as a copy of you. In fact, he didn’t pick me at all. Kayog paired us before either of us ever even met or knew of each other’s existences. So you were never a factor in what brought us together. And you still aren’t today. Do yourself and us a favor. Just move on.”

I almost felt sorry for her as she fisted her hands with anger. I couldn’t begin to imagine what it must be like to be so desperate to have something you never could. It boggled my mind all the more that I knew deep in my bones that she wasn’t even in love with him. She just had this sick need to win. The fact that anyone could reject her simply didn’t compute. In her mind, it meant she needed to fix us until we saw the truth that she exclusively held. Otherwise, it could only mean that somebody was conspiring against her to steal what was rightfully hers.

“If you think to make him Alpha and take my place in this pride, you are sorely mistaken!” she snarled in a menacing tone.

I burst out laughing again and shook my head at her with genuine pity. “You poor girl! Seriously, look at me,” I said, spreading my arms wide, glancing down at myself and then back at her. “I’m not as big, as strong, or as fast as a Nazhral female. I can’t hunt like you do, nor do I want to! Like I’ve said before, the only thing I care about is Gaelec. And he has stated time and time again that he has no interest in becoming the Alpha. All he wants is safety for himself, for other males, and for the entire Pride.”

I ran my fingers through my hair, feeling both discouraged and overwhelmed that we were seriously still rehashing this nonsense. Why was it so hard to get through to them?

“You’re possibly the next Head Matriarch of this Pride. If Gaelec is right—and we both know he is—then your Pride will steadily decline and risk facing extinction. Instead of fighting him at every turn and making his life difficult, you should leverage the knowledge and experience he’s acquired during his time on Molvi. He’s ready, willing, and eager to put all of it towards the improvement of this village. If you all keep pushing him away, then it will be your loss and someone else’s gain. Don’t let others benefit from the treasure you currently have in your midst because you’re too blind to see it. Now if you’ll excuse me, I am expected.”

I circled around her and pushed the heavy doors open onto the Hall.

My stomach knotted as I entered the room to find Rozel, the two other Matriarchs, Ylis, and a handful of other young huntresses sitting on the elevated dais at the end of the spacious area. It felt like standing in front of a jury without a lawyer during a trial for murder.

At least, Ylis’s sympathetic gaze made me feel a little less alone. I could only pray she would run interference if the others became a little too belligerent.

“Come in, Ophelia Moreau,” Rozel said in a solemn voice while waving me in.

Although not ominous in and of itself, the absence of warmth in her tone, and the cold glint in her eyes didn’t bode well. The way her gaze followed her daughter coming in behind me before she hastened to her seat near Ylis on the dais had me even more nervous. Had she known Oluina was going to corner me outside? Had she instructed her to do so?

“I will get straight to the point,” Rozel said, putting an end to my wandering thoughts. “Your presence here defies our rules. We’ve been debating at length without coming to an agreement as to how we can possibly justify letting you stay among us.”

That hit me hard. On my way here, I mentally rehearsed answers to the hypothetical questions I expected that would be thrown at me, all of them revolving around how I could contribute to the Pride and Gaelec’s ideas for missions. This specific question had not been in the cards.

I pursed my lips, not wanting to rush into an answer before I fully comprehended the root cause of their problem with my presence.

“Before I answer, I would like to ask a couple of questions to better understand the issue,” I said carefully, and proceeded when she gave me a stiff nod. “If one of your Queens or huntresses had fallen in love with a human, would you ask her to leave or forbid her mate from coming here to live with her?”

Rozel waved a dismissive hand. “That situation isn’t comparable. All the females here are of our bloodline. In any Pride, the only females allowed are all closely blood related.”

My stomach knotted, but I kept a stoic expression as I nodded slowly. “If that is an immutable rule, then I fail to see the point of this conversation. However, if it is not immutable, then I would like to discuss what you feel could be done to mitigate your discomfort about something that no one can change. My blood is my blood.”

“It is a golden rule that is strictly enforced by every single pride on Nazhral,” she insisted.

“Then it sounds like your decision is already made,” I said with a sliver of annoyance that she kept circling around the answer instead of just being blunt. “In which case, I would respectfully submit that it is a little narrow-minded. All laws and rules evolve with time.”

“Rules are made for a reason,” Rozel countered, sounding a little miffed, no doubt due to my comment about narrow-mindedness.

“They are,” I conceded. “But they’re always based on the circumstances of the time they were established. Back when your people first created these Prides, you didn’t know of the existence of off-worlders. Therefore, the chances of a female of another species marrying one of your people was never even a possibility. Times have changed. If I’m here today, you can be certain that more will come. There are already countless humans in your capital city. I bet if we do a little digging, we’ll find out that some of them are married to Nazhrals. And more of your males are likely to meet their off-worlder mates, especially if you adopt the safe missions Gaelec suggested.”

“We never consented to go that route,” Rozel immediately said, sounding defensive.

“Rozel,” I said in a reasonable tone as if speaking to a difficult child, “you saw Ranor’s reaction when Gaelec named the company involved in that lucrative mission he was coming to recruit people for. If a Warden informed my husband of the fact that it was a trap, then you know it is true. Sacrificing your males will give your Pride nothing.”

I glanced around the room to assess how hostile my audience was. To my relief, aside from Rozel and Oluina, the others seemed receptive, although a bit guarded.

“You may not be aware of this, but my arrival here was delayed because Nazhral pirates attacked our vessel and failed. Our cruise ship had a literal defense fleet onboard. They swarmed the pirates and obliterated them.”

“What ship?” a female I didn’t know asked, her voice tense. “What was the name of the vessel you arrived on?”

“The Behemoth,” I replied carefully.

The female took a shuddering breath, and her face contorted with a sorrow she failed to hide. She shook her head as if in denial while blinking away the tears that threatened to surface. One of the females next to her gently rubbed her back in a soothing fashion.

“Did any of the Nazhrals survive?” the Matriarch named Pryia asked—Ylis’s mother.

I cast a hesitant look at the younger female still struggling to rein in her emotions, before looking back at the Matriarch.

“Hmm… Unfortunately no. The Nazhral vessel was obliterated. There were no survivors.”

The younger female emitted a choked sob and ran out of the room.

“Andrane!” Ylis called out after her.

But she left without looking back. The female who had been trying to soothe her cast an apologetic look at the Matriarchs before going after Andrane.

“Her brother was part of that mission,” Ylis explained in a tired voice. “He turned eighteen two months ago, so he had to leave our Pride.”

My heart ached for him. The poor boy never even had a proper chance to live. He’d likely been sent on that mission as a requirement to join whatever Pride he had approached. What a pointless waste.

“You must understand that more and more ships like the one I traveled on are doing the same now. Piracy will soon have no chance of succeeding at all. If you pursue this, you’ll only be sending these males to their deaths,” I said in a pleading tone. “I’ve researched the law changes on Molvi that Gaelec mentioned. He’s right. They won’t allow Prides to receive a single credit from the prisoners’ work. And right now, the United Planets Organization members are so fed up, they have begun applying sanctions on your planet.”

Rozel shrugged. “We have nothing to do with those sanctions. What happens in the capital has little impact on the Prides.”

“That’s partially true, but you need credits to buy all the things that you cannot create here from the capital, especially equipment,” I argued. “If Melelyn starts facing multiple embargos, you will feel the pain from it. It always trickles down to everyone.”

“Which is why we need the credits from the missions,” she retorted stubbornly.

“But that’s not viable!” I exclaimed, my annoyance seeping into my voice.

“It has worked for generations during all of which we also heard the same threats that you are mentioning now,” Rozel countered dismissively.

I narrowed my eyes at her. “That may have been true in the past, but it won’t be any more with all the crackdowns. Tell me, how many successful missions have your people accomplished of late?”

She didn’t have to answer. The uneasy looks that multiple females exchanged told me all that I needed to know.

“You have the potential to chart a new way for the Prides,” I said pleadingly.

“You ask too much from us,” Rozel snapped.

“I ask for nothing,” I replied stiffly. “All I’m doing is making suggestions on a safer way forward. At the end of the day, I’m here for Gaelec. I will do whatever I can to help him and his people. But I promise you that if you continue down your current path, you will suffer extreme losses. The Enforcers are and will continue to crack down hard on this. What would it cost you to give this a try and establish yourself as a leader instead of trying to play catch up after everyone else has finally wised up to what they need to do?”

“It is not our way,” Oluina argued.

“But it could be, if we so chose,” Ylis interjected. “The Osuan Pride does something similar.”

Oluina huffed and made a dismissive gesture. “They’re a bunch of weirdos!”

“Weirdos who prosper,” Ylis retorted harshly. “Unlike other Prides, they do not evict their males, who get to leave in their own time to seek out a mate. Those males are extremely sought after but are very picky.”

“What you mean is that most of them are self-righteous snobs who think themselves too good for the Prides and end up just going to the city instead,” Oluina said with disdain.

“They’re not acting as snobs,” Ylis said with a hint of irritation. “They simply avoid Prides in order not to be used and then discarded the way we do with our males. Can you blame them?”

“Whatever their motives, it is neither here nor there,” Rozel interjected, annoyed. “In the end, safe missions are not lucrative enough. Like you, we have been doing our research into Gaelec’s statements. We would not be able to survive on the meager proceeds from your safe missions.”

“That’s only because your males are untrained!” I argued. “Their education is far too basic as it entirely revolves around trade, hunting, and crafting. There are tons of virtual mentoring programs available that could be provided here. Gaelec benefited from it on Molvi. Better trained males could secure better paying missions. I can’t hunt, but I can definitely help you with that.”

“That is if we allow a human to remain among us, which is against our rules,” Oluina said snidely.

“If you—”

A sudden ruckus outside interrupted me, drawing our collective attention. Moments later, the heavy doors to the antechamber burst open as a female ran in.

“Gaelec returned from the hunt!” the female announced, her voice filled with excitement.

“What hunt?!” I exclaimed. “Gaelec went fishing this morning.”

Oluina burst into a malicious laugh. “There was a change of plan. He went on a Sikkal culling. Didn’t he tell you?”

“Where are the others?” Rozel asked. “We would hear their report.”

“He’s alone and covered in blood,” the female replied.

“WHAT?!” I shouted.

I didn’t wait for her response and bolted out of the room.