Chapter 33: Chapter Thirty-Three--Could A Cat & Human Coexist?

“No, I’m not okay with it. You should’ve heard her, all worried about someone seeing her to report back to…oh my God.” Bile rose in my throat, and it had nothing to do with my injuries. “She has no idea what dad did to himself. She assumed he was still alive. She never checked in on us. I once told myself that, you know,” I whimpered. “That even though she wasn’t around, she watched over me. That she cared, just a little.”

“That woman is a selfish bitch, who deserved everything she will get. That type never considers the consequences of her actions on the people she left behind.”

“Agreed.”

He petted my cheek. “That still does not explain why you did what you did.”

“I don’t follow.”

“You pretended not to know your own mother, for your own sanity. But was that the only reason?” I didn’t answer him. “I intimately understand the loyalty one extends to the only female parent they will ever have, no matter what they do. You turned around, got my people out of a dangerous situation, while in significant danger to yourself, ensuring we understood the happenings, before passing out. Why?” His attentions moved to my lower back, in slow, soothing circles. I wouldn’t meet his eyes. “I do not mean to sound crass, but as you’ve pointed out, we have known each other for a few days. Why the loyalty?”

I wiped a hand over my face. “I’m not sure I can answer that to any satisfaction. The obvious point, that woman is nothing to me anymore. She destroyed any flicker of residual love I might’ve felt. She was more concerned about staying incognito than chancing seeing her family.” I paused. “The thought of them hurting you panicked me. A physical ache far worse than any injury I had.”

“That means a great deal to me. You did not have to tell us anything. You could have allowed us to go on, continued thinking we didn’t already know they were here.”

Had I heard him, right? “What?”

He smiled downright evilly. “Come on, beautiful. I’m the Alpha.” Not the first time I’d heard this in relation to him. First time I considered what it meant. “Of course I know when people are hunting us. Particularly humans who are constantly sloppy and talk in the wrong places.”

Alpha. Animal society. End all, be all. I shivered. All so ultra-male. Sexy. King of the jungle, and all that jazz.

“Are you cold?”

“You always ask me that at the weirdest times.”

“You are always shivering. That implies being cold.”

“I guess, but it implies other things to,” I managed to get out with a straight face.

“Ahh.” Heat leapt in his eyes. “Is that a human thing? Do males of your race understand what that means?”

“Some might.”

“Intriguing.”

I settled into the air mattress. “I had some questions.”

“Such as?”

“What exactly does being the Alpha mean?”

“I rule my Clan. They answer to me in all ways, and must obey me, whether they agree or not. An awesome responsibility so many uses for their own gain.”

Simple, yet complex. “All right. Next question, does being Alpha make you immortal, or is that a race thing?”

“Where did that come from?”

“When you mentioned mating, forever was attached to it,” I began. He froze in that way I’d come to adore, a blatant reminder and a sign at how far I’d come already. “That implies you are eternal.”

“I did.”

“Then how can something be forever, if I am not?”

He bumped noses with me, inhaling. He did that a lot too. “Good question.”

Good evasion. We’d get back to that.

“How old are you exactly? Thirty?” He looked much younger than that.

“Try closer to two hundred and twenty.”

At least he hadn’t said thousands of years. “You’re such a cradle robber!”

He pulled back. “A what?”

“Old man, who goes after young girls.”

“Is it my fault that my predestined mate is a young girl? Besides, you aren’t that young.”

“Predestined?”

“Yes, we partially covered this before. Sometimes, a cat will find a woman or man who was chosen for us. The perfect match. I have not met anyone this has happened to. The experience has been…enlightening for me, and my people.”

“That’s kind of cold. Not allowing you to choose your own woman.”

He shrugged one shoulder. “I am not complaining.”

I snickered. “I can tell.”

“What is your next question? Or was that it?”

And now, back to scheduled programming. “I still don’t get the whole eternal thing. I’m mortal, and, well, you’re not. So, if some freaky dictator decided I am your chosen mate, what were they thinking? I’m going to die one day. Do they choose you another mate then?” Given the hypothetical conversation, my tone stayed pretty even. My heart, however, stunted in its beat. I hadn’t agreed to anything, but that was the point of this little tete-a-tete. Understanding. Same wavelength. He wouldn’t meet my gaze. “What?”

“I’ve had Roman and Dorian research cats being mated to humans. Apparently, this has happened before.”

I got the impression he evaded me again. What he thought and said didn’t match. How I knew, I couldn’t tell you.