A Forgotten Kitten (Sea-anan Saga Book 2) (13 page)

Areo stomped over to the window. She stared at her ship and the altered Seacat insignia etched on the side. “All will soon be as Oren wanted it to be. It’s funny how poor Oceana and so many felines had to be destroyed for Oren to get what he heartily strived for. Soon the Oceanan race will again be pure. When my people arrive, I will leave this place and never return. You will marry a
pureblood.
She will bear you
a pureblooded heir. Then all of Oceanica will live in peace in a perfect little untainted society.
None of you will be harassed by us lowly, unworthy half-breeds, for we half-breeds will no longer degrade ourselves for your kind.”

Sev was wordless. What could he say? He slowly stood from the floor, retrieved his sword, and headed out the door. He refused to
accept that the most prominent Seacats had not been allowed to live peaceful, prosperous lives with their soulmates. That his father would intervene in the destinies of three sets of beings was a hard pill to swallow. Areo’s relatives had not just married lifemates— their Earthling partners were
soul
mates.

His memories of his father were happy ones. Sev recalled a strong, gentle, and merciful king—one who understood and strived to better his race. One whose mind was open to new ideas and possibilities. Sev wondered if Areo’s emotions were cluttering her thinking. How could his father have done all that to Challen, Leonora, and Concheetah? A light went on in his head. Jugar had been there. He would tell him the truth. Sev headed back to the control room.

The control room doors swooshed open, and Sev paused underneath the doorway. He saw Angel and Serena working at their posts. Jugar still sat at the main controls. He did not want Angel or Serena to hear what he had to say.

“Jugar!”

Jugar turned around in his seat.

“I need to speak to you in private,” he announced. Then he exited the room. He walked a few steps away and waited for Jugar to appear.

Jugar came into the hallway, looking at his king’s flustered face as he approached him. “Yes, Sev?”

“I need to know the truth. I was told that my sire…” As Sev related Areo’s story to him, Jugar remained quiet, not disputing Areo’s story. This only disquieted Sev further. “Is it true, then? Did my sire spurn them? Did he take everything they worked hard for away only because their soulmates were humans?”

“Yes, Sev.”

The sensation that tore through Sev’s body was akin to having his soul ripped away. “Then…then what am I supposed to do?”

Jugar’s response was calm—too calm for Sev’s liking. “What we have always counseled you to do. Stay away from her.”

Sev stared at him. Was this a nightmare? How could any of it be happening?

“Go on with your life, Sev. She is not your concern. She will be gone soon.”

Sev glanced over Jugar’s right shoulder at the long, empty stretch of corridor.

“Areo will be fine. She will find someone to love and take care of her. He will give her a lair full of kittens. And you will have your own mate and offspring here.”

Jugar had no concept of the distressing picture he was creating in Sev’s head. “So that’s it?” he mumbled. “Never to be with her…never to hold her…never to experience…” A painful twinge pierced his heart. “What you are telling me…is that I must give up the only woman I have ever wanted. The only one I have ever cared for.”

Jugar nodded slowly. “I’m afraid so.”

Sev’s sights whipped to Jugar’s. “Afraid so? Is that all you have to say?”

“Sev, listen—you are the king. You must uphold the law—”

“Blast the law!” Sev protested. “I’m a man! A man who is in love…” He did not miss Jugar’s jolt. “You can’t tell me you are against my union with her. You’re her
uncle!”

“I’m against seeing those I care for continue to suffer needlessly. And this will only lead to more suffering. That’s why you must end things now, before it’s too late.”

“But it already is too late.”

Jugar’s eyes widened.

“I have fallen in love with her. But then again…I have always been in love with her, haven’t I?” Sev knew in his heart the truth. Jugar’s sad features only confirmed it.

Jugar sighed. “Yes, you have. The two of you have always been in love, though it was forbidden. That’s why I tried to keep the two of you away from each other after Oceana was destroyed. That’s why—under Challen’s orders—I chose this distant planet as our new home and not the one Areo lives on, even though Aaren was only months away from Oceana.”

Sev’s eyes hardened at Jugar’s disclosure. “You knew all along where she lived?” he whispered.

“It was my home as well.”

Sev’s fingers curled. Tightening his jaw, he swallowed his reply. He had lost eight years of his life, not because this was the nearest liveable planet to Oceana, but because he had been in love with a half-blood feline, an act that went against the written law.

Jugar looked grieved. “I feared she would trigger your memories, or worse, remind you of your joint past history.”

“Don’t worry, she hasn’t,” Sev sneered. “I fell in love with the woman I met here. That must count for something. What are the odds of finding each other ten and a half years later and once again falling in love?”

“Not high,” Jugar conceded.

“No, they’re not. Surely things have changed now that we are no longer on Oceana!”

“No.” Jugar shook his head. “The same rules apply here.”

“But—”

“Sev, I understand—”

“Do you?
I doubt it.”

“Sev, listen to me. Not being on Oceana doesn’t change who we are or the laws we live by. Nor does it change the Seacat’s code of honor. We must maintain the integrity of our race and carry
all
our laws over to future generations, no matter where we live. It is our legacy. Besides, you are the king—our leader—the last one who should ever break the law.”

“But I want her, Jugar.
Her.”

“I’m sorry, Sev. You can never have her.”

Sev felt his temper rise sharply. He heard a popping sound in his head.

“When she leaves, you will be able to put her behind you.” Jugar placed a supportive grip on his shoulder. “You will be able to go on with your life, and Areo with hers.”

“That’s it, huh? You’re telling me there’s no way to change the law.”

“We cannot change the laws for personal benefit. You know that.”

“All I know is that you are asking me to give up the only female who has ever touched my soul.”

“That is because she was the only female you were ever close to. Besides, weren’t you getting closer to Serena? She is perfect for you. Spend more time with
her.”

Sev chuckled sarcastically. “You paint it so simply, as if I can turn my heart on and off. You have never found your soulmate, have you?”

Jugar bristled. “No. And neither have you.”

Sev bared his teeth and shoved Jugar’s grip off. He stormed down the corridor, toward the docking bay.

Early the next morning, Areo entered the docking bay. She was surprised that Miko did not have his head inside a compartment of her ship; he was normally fiddling with the circuitry. She tripped over a piece of scrap metal that stuck out from underneath a work-table. She picked it up and tossed it onto the table without giving the unusual sloppiness around her a second thought.

Areo headed for her ship, intending to check on her beacon before getting some breakfast. She jumped into the cockpit and was rendered speechless. The control panels were destroyed. Her lips thinned. Vaulting from the cockpit, she ran into the castle.

“Miko!” she yelled, running into the control room. “What the bloody hell do you think you’re doing?”

Miko was startled at her harsh words and stiffened. “What does it look like? I am checking our equipment. And—”

“Not that! I’m talking about my ship. How dare you!” She snarled at him.

“How dare I what?” Miko challenged, getting up from his chair.

“How dare you destroy my ship? Why the bloody hell would you do such a thing?”

“Indeed. Why would I? And why would you think I did?”

“Because I just came from my ship, and it’s been destroyed from the inside out.”

“You are kidding me, right?”

Areo took a step closer to him, not caring that he was a six-footten margay, and pointed to her face. “Do I
look
like I’m kidding?”

Miko’s demeanor changed. He lifted his left arm and pressed a button on his wristguard. “Angel.”

Almost immediately, Angel replied.
“Angel here.”

“Angel, where are you?”

“Dining hall. I am still eating breakfast. Why?”

Miko rolled his eyes. “Why does that not surprise me? You are always hungry.”

“What do you want, Miko?”
Angel said, sounding annoyed.

“I want you to head over to the docking bay right away.”

“What? Now?”

“Yes, now.”

Areo stood quietly, confused by the exchange.

“But I am in the middle of eating!”
Angel protested.

“I do not care. I said now!” Miko disconnected. He looked at Areo. “Let us go.”

Areo sat before her favorite waterfall, deeply troubled by what had happened.
Why would anyone destroy my ship? Why would they want to stop my signal when it was the key to me leaving this place? Surely, these Seacats resent sharing their home with an alien, even if they are polite about it. So why do such a thing and then deny it? I mean, who else had access to my ship? Who could possibly want me to stay?

Suddenly, comprehension hit. Her lips pressed together.
Sev.

Sssss.

Areo heard the hideous hissing sound. Her relaxed posture immediately tensed.

Sssss.

Oh God, no, not a snake. An enemy I can handle, but not a snake.

Sssss.

She gasped.
It’s behind me! I am going to die.

“I sssure hope you can cook.”
Sssss.

Areo’s eyebrows met. “Huh?” She turned around, perplexed.

The first thing she saw was a pair of dirty, gray boots. Her sights moved up and up and up, pausing on the wicked-looking gun pointed at her. Her gaze went higher. The strange being behind the gun flicked his forked tongue.

Oh, great. I did it again.
Areo guessed that the alien was about ten-feet tall. It was scaly and greenish-gray, and its eyes were bitty black pits devoid of emotion. It had a long and protruding square jaw. In between the lines that Areo figured were his lips stuck out his long, thin, and pale-gray forked tongue. He had no neck. His body seemed like an extension of his head, but with four skinny limbs.

Areo stood from her seat. “Did you say something?” How could she have understood this giant monster? Did he know Earthlish? She scanned the sides of his head. Where his hearing appendages should be, she noticed he wore a device that looked similar to headphones, only thinner, over his ears.

“I sssaid, I sssure hope you can cook,” he said, speaking into the small piece of metal that extended from the headphones toward his mouth.

A translator,
Areo thought. “Excuse me?”

“You are a female, correct?”

“Uuuh…”
What should I say?
“The last time I checked, I was.”

“Femalesss can cook.”

Areo raised an eyebrow, giving him a skeptical look.
“OK,
if you say so. What does that have to do with me?”

He moved back and gestured for her to precede him.

Now both her eyebrows tilted. “Excuse me?”

“You are coming with me.”

“Oh really?”

The weapon he held in his scaly hands started to hum with power. “Move, female!”

“Oooh, I don’t think so.”

“Neither do I.” From behind a tree, Sev appeared, pointing the Sword of Power threateningly at the intruder.

The alien was clearly surprised by Sev’s stealth. Sev positioned himself between Areo and the humming gun. His body trembled with outrage.

He tapped his translator on, then spoke to Areo. “Are you all right, Princess?”

“Yes.” She made to stand next to him.

Sev was not going for it. His left hand pushed her back behind the shelter of his tall frame. “Stay behind me,” he ordered her. “Consider yourself fortunate that she is unharmed,” he spoke to his opponent. “Who are you? What are you doing here on Oceanica?”