A Forgotten Kitten (Sea-anan Saga Book 2) (27 page)

“Beast, you live as well?”

“You sound disappointed, Ambassador.”

Ljeio hurriedly disagreed. “No, of course not. We are all happy to see that two of the ruling clan live, at least.”

Sev and Jugar shared a puzzled expression. The assumption that only two of Areo’s relatives had survived was quite fishy.

“Again, you have been misinformed.” Mike gestured to the seats in the audience. “Please, everyone have a seat. Allow us to explain why you have all been summoned here.” They did. Mike took his seat, allowing his brother to take charge.

“There are many rumors being spread. We are here to clear up many of them. So, bear with me if I repeat many of the things you already know. First off…” Arnold walked around the table and stood in clear view of everyone in the oval room. “Sea Base Ten was infiltrated because of traitors who turned off the alarms. Those traitors—many of whom were members of your races—were arrested. Therefore, no one race is fully to blame here, only Daehog and his Dominion. They have somehow managed to convince some of our comrades that wealth and power is most important. However, Daehog too will soon find out the error of his ways.”

From the back row, a speckled white Ave from the planet Valkyrie shouted, “How? The only ones who can stand up to him are dead!”

“Yes!” One by one, they all agreed with the human-looking birdman.

A beautiful female a medium shade of blue, who sat near Sev and Jugar, pointed at Arnold. “The ruling clan is dead, except for the two of you!”

“Including your queen!” Ljeio added.

Sev involuntarily flinched at the remark. He did not like being reminded of what had almost happened to Areo.

“This leads me to my second point.” Arnold looked at the blue female ambassador. “The ruling clan is not dead, Aquina.” He waited for his words to sink in.

Everyone stopped speaking at once, except for a male Senarian, who never seemed to be in a good mood. Placing all six of his arms on his hips, he stood. “What sort of fools do you think we are? We all know that the only ones who survived are the two of you.”

“But you thought
we
were dead, didn’t you?” countered Mike.

“What are you trying to pull, cat?” the heated Senarian’s voice rumbled. “I will not tolerate more treacheries!”

“Sit down!” ordered Arnold. He was not about to allow the eight-foot alien to challenge his brother. “I will explain as soon as you stop talking!”

“You dare speak to a Senarian this way?”

“I dare speak this way to anyone who challenges me and the truth.”

“What is the truth, Dragon?” Ljeio interrupted.

“The truth is that the McCall, Blaisdale, and Moonstar clans survived. They are, however, scattered. Many have not been able to contact us.”

“Because they are dead!” Aquina heatedly shouted. “If they were alive, they would have contacted Captain Rider by now. It has been a year and a half since the attack on Sea Base Ten.”

“Just because they have been cut off from us doesn’t mean they are dead, Aquina. We have a handful of White Stars searching for them,” replied Arnold.

The Senarian ambassador threw in, “You are wasting your time searching for dead cats?”

“If it were a waste of time to search for dead cats, Sendar,” Areo stood and removed her hood, “then I never would have been found!” She rendered everyone speechless.

Sev tensed the instant Areo started speaking. He gripped his sword’s hilt tighter and whispered, “This is it, Jugar. Be ready.” He intently watched the alien audience for anyone making a suspicious move.

“Right,” replied Jugar.

“This brings us to parts three and four of Dragon’s speech.” Areo made her way around the table to stand next to her cousin. “I am still alive. Several others of my clan have been able to inform us of their good health. At the present, they are helping to prevent any more Sea-anan territory from falling under Daehog’s control. We are also creating a plan to recover that which has been taken from us.”

“Not to mention figuring out how to stop Daehog completely,” added Arnold.

“By the way, all of you are quite wrong about something,” continued Areo. “True, we cats are perhaps the strongest here, but that doesn’t mean that your help is not required to stop this demon. Daehog has three races working together to stop us. Together we can turn the tables around and stop him.” She stared each ambassador squarely in the eyes. “Guildhall belongs to all of us. We should all fight together to protect it.”

“How?” shouted Sendar.

“Can’t you see? The only reason Daehog has the upper hand is because he turned several of our own against our cause. Without them, he never stood a chance. Not to mention, the coward attacked in the dead of night, not when everyone was awake and fully alert. So how can you honestly think he is indestructible? He can be beaten, and he knows it. That is why he wants me and the feline race dead.”

Sev stared in amazement. Areo gracefully walked from one end of the stage to the other. The pride within him swelled tenfold.

“He knows we won’t fall for his tricks, that we would be able to see right through him. We felines will never cower from such a creature while there remains breath in our lungs.
And he knows it.
In our absence, he knew the rest of you would deem him unstoppable and the situation hopeless, lose faith in the Alliance, and run in separate directions. Just as you were doing when we arrived. He believes that without the feline race, there is no one powerful enough to stand up against him. He knows we will never stop fighting until the last feline is dead. We will forever band together with
other warriors of peace to stand against him. Only together as a team will we be the victors.”

They all exchanged glances and thoughts about her words.

“We must not give Daehog what he wants,” Areo continued. “We must not cower from him, or the battle has been lost. We must remain united. That’s the only way to defeat him. Why else would such a being need the help of three races and still have to turn some of our own just to face us? He obviously can’t do it alone.”

“That is easy for you to say. You have not been here. You do not know what has been happening,” snapped Ljeio.

“Yes! Where were you when our homes were being attacked?” inquired Aquina.

“She was recruiting the services of others who will assist us in stopping Daehog,” stated Mike from beside his brother.

Sev spotted the dirty look Areo sent Mike’s way. He was sure the words she shouted in his head were just as evil.

“And who is that?” questioned Sendar.

Sev bolted from his bench and made his way toward Areo with Jugar, ignoring Areo’s look of protest. Once more, he was grateful to Mike. “The king,” he announced in an authoritative tone, removing his hood.

Everyone was surprised to see the two towering, wild-looking, brawny men.

Mike announced, “Ambassadors, it gives me great pleasure to introduce to you my godfather, Jugar. And this is Sev, the Lord of the Seacats, the King of Oceana, the birthplace of all felines.”

You could have definitely heard a pin drop now.

“Do you now see why I’ve been telling you that everything is going to be all right?” said the captain, coming from behind the table with Bill. “The Seacats have returned to their homeworld and brought back help.”

Sev decided since he was now the emperor, he had better start acting like one. “The ruling clan is not dead. They are fighting for what they have always fought for—the Code of Oceana and peace. Many are cut off, yes, but they are still fighting, believing you will
keep up your end of the contract by uniting and fighting against all those who oppose us.”

“Since when does the Sea-anan Empire have a male ruler?” asked Ljeio.

Resigned, Areo went along. “Since I truly believed in my heart that everything was going to be all right, there was no reason for me to postpone my wedding to Sev. It was going to be a surprise,”— she sent Mike another killer look—“but things don’t always work the way I plan them.”

Sendar snickered. “You think that we are gullible enough to believe that? I say you made this male your king because you cannot stop the Dominion yourself.”

No one noticed the group of hooded beings that arrived at one of the side entrances.

Affronted, Sev fixed his sights on the giant. “Are you insinuating that my wife is weak? I will have you know, my queen took down two Acondas alone with only a branch as a weapon. She also single-handedly destroyed two Dominion mother ships while severely injured before arriving on our new homeworld of Oceanica. Can you do that?”

Jugar added, “The king and I returned to help out of loyalty to our fellow felines, not because they asked us, which they didn’t. They had intended to return without us, to confront Daehog without involving us. But we refused—”

“I am the hereditary and anointed ruler of Oceanica,” interrupted Sev, still fixed on Sendar. “I didn’t marry to become king, or fight against some demon. I married the feline I have loved since I was a kitten. Our union was inevitable. It would have occurred whether Daehog had appeared or not. But since he had the brainless audacity to threaten the life of my soulmate, I can’t allow him to go unpunished. That’s why I’m here.” He gestured to Jugar. “That’s why we are both here—to stop Daehog.”

Sendar coldly stared at them. “You honestly think that three half-breeds and one pureblood, led by you, a mere cub, stand a chance against such a powerful being?”

Sev stood at attention. He was about to bark a harsh reply when Areo’s words stopped him.

“That is not our way, Sendar, and you know it. We all signed the contract. We all live in Guildhall.” She pointed to everyone in the audience. “This is our fight—all of us. We will all defeat Daehog and the Dominion. Together.”

Mike added, “Six more of my clan have checked in.”

“Who are they?” asked Aquina.

“Jessica, Jayna, and Gillian Jr. Moonstar. Sphin Blaisdale. Bob and Johnny McCall.”

“That is it?” asked Sendar.

“No! That’s not it!” shouted a hooded male from the entranceway.

Everyone turned in unison. The room grew quiet as a group of twenty hooded beings entered the assembly hall in double file. They stopped in front of Areo and Sev. Nine of the hooded beings knelt on one knee.

“My Queen.” The leader took off his hood and snarled,
“Sire.”
His killer gleam was aimed at Sev.

Sev heard gasps from everyone in the room, including Areo.

“Mathew,” murmured Areo.

One of the other hooded warriors spoke up. “Sorry to have missed most of your meeting, but we were kind of delayed.” He and two others took off their hoods. Half of those in the audience stood from their seats.

“Cian! Mathew! Timothy! Chyla! You’ve all made it back,” Mike happily greeted them, his eyes sparkling with joy.

“We would have been here sooner, but more of your friends,
Sire,
have decided to lend their talents to our cause.” Mathew’s voice sounded clipped. He stepped aside and allowed five others to step forward.

They removed their hoods.

“Seacats, what are you doing here?” asked Sev in surprise.

“Did you honestly think you could leave and not expect us to follow? Our place is with our king, wherever he goes,” stated Miko, his hazel eyes sending him a heated message.

“If you are going to face this Daehog, then we are here to face him by your side,” added Theo. “And we are not the only ones to feel this way. We brought some friends along.” He stepped aside. The remaining twelve removed their hoods.

“Hundra? What are you Amgareans doing here? You should be back on Oceanica.”

The Amgarean queen smiled as she spoke into the translator hooked around her right ear. “When we heard where you had gone and why, my warriors and I chose to lend a helping hand. I left Garean under Marina’s guidance and handpicked several of my best warriors to come along on this journey.”

Her sister Kari moved forward. “You and the Seacats have been there for us Amgareans in our time of need. Now it is our turn to return the favor.”

Sev saluted and bowed to the Amgarean warriors. “I am honored.” He spoke to the ambassadors. “You see? We felines are not dead. We are returning, one by one.” He gestured to the Amgareans and smiled. “Bringing allies from far away to help in the destruction of the Dominion. So tell me, are you with us”—he glowered at the Senarian—“or against us?”

“I am with you, Empress,” announced Aquina.

Sev did not miss how the blue beauty addressed Areo and ignored him. He also noticed how she regarded the Amgarean females favorably and overlooked the males.

“I will notify Lagoona immediately and inform them that the ruling clan has returned with reinforcements. They will be impressed.” She met Areo’s eyes.
“Very
impressed.”

“I am also with you, Empress,” said Ljeio. “I, too, will contact my leader.”

“And I, Empress,” said the Ave.

Areo placed her hand on Sev’s forearm as the ambassadors all agreed to rejoin the Alliance and fight beside her Seacats. She thanked him with her mind, with her eyes full of love. Sev covered her small hand with his and squeezed.

Before the first ambassador left to contact his homeworld, Mathew snatched Areo’s arm and escorted her out the doors. Sev
did not like the roughness Mathew used on his little kitten. He was about to put a halt to Mathew’s rudeness, but Miko stepped in front of him. Sev noticed the ambassadors were looking at him. He could not make a scene. Therefore, he decided to wait to speak to Mathew.

Once the last ambassador had left, Miko spoke. “We need to have a little discussion.”

“Not now, Miko. I have to—”

“Now!” Miko hissed. “Or have you forgotten the title that was bestowed upon me,
Oceanan?”

Sev glanced at the entrance and inhaled. “All right, but not here. We’ll go to Jugar’s chambers. This way.” He led the way.

It was best to get this confrontation over with, since he would have to give his full attention to the battle that lie ahead. Though he did not like being separated from her, Sev figured Areo would be safe with her twin brother. After all, Mathew was the most powerful of the half-blood Seacats.