Prince of Cats (16 page)

The other Cats’ laughter was cut short as Bray turned and attac
k
ed the heckler.  The other Cats pulled Bray off the bleeding and quickly retreating
Cat
.  Bray said nothing as he
grabbed Ne
om
ee’s hand and led her to the flower garden.  Once there he’d disappeared only to return some long minutes later.  There was blood on his chest and a look of cold, lethal satisfaction in his eyes.

This is my fault.  All my fault
.
 
Neomee’s worried eyes studied his painted back as he’d led her back to their quarters.

Later, t
hat
evening
as
Neomee and Bray
lay next to each other
in their room
she
stared wistfully out the window at the stars.  Then she parted her soft pink lips and b
roke their weeks’ long silence.
 
“Can we leave?”

Bray did not look at her
, but kept his eyes focused on the ceiling of their room
, “What do you mean?”

“When we…become mates.  Can we leave the temple?”

“Leave to venture out or leave forever?”

“Forever.”  Neomee whispered.

“It can be done, but it must be earned.”

Neomee rolled on her side to face him, “Earned how?”

“I would have
to fight for the right.  My service can be ended if I defeat five of my fellow Cats in battle
.”

She couldn’t hide the incredulity in her tone, “You’d have to fight them all at once?”

“No.  I would fight
them one at a time, but I’d fight them one after another.  It is an extremely difficult ta
s
k.”

“
And because I’m your mate they’d just let me leave with you if you won?”

“Yes.”
“
I-is there nothing
I
can do to earn our freedom
?”

Bray chuckled, “Not
unless you are willing to fight to the death for it.”

“
Hmm…
who would I have to fight
?”

“
NO!”  The growled word brooked no refusal.

Silent for a few moments, Neomee finally asked,
“Do you think you’d be able to do it?  Could you best five of your brothers?”

“
Clearly, it is not beneficial for the Priest or the temple to have Cats seeking their leave.  If it were easy to do
,
all Cats would
undertake the task and none would be left to guard the people or the temple; therefore, the task of earning freedom is nearly
impossible.  I imagine
my
selected
challengers
would be twice as
strong as would be chosen for any other
as
I am the Prince of Cats.”

“Are you a Prince?”

“No.  Prince of Cats is the title given to the best warrior.  I have earned the title.”

Silence hung in the air for several moments before Neomee rolled
on
to her back to stare up at the ceiling, “
Bray,” the name felt strange on her lips, “w
hat if I
am
willing to fight to the death for it?”

Bray turned
to study her face
, “Are you?”

She
paused a moment, contemplating. 
“Yes.”

“If it is what you want, then it is what I will give.”

Hope sprang to file. 
“
You’ll let me fight in an attempt gain us our freedom?”
“No.
I
will fight and gain it for you.”

Neomee
sat up, “
No!  I
don’t want you to fight for me
.”

Bray rose from the bed and walked to the window, staring out over the sleeping village.  “It is my duty to provide what you desire.”

Neomee dropped her head, “It’s not what I want.  I don’t want you
risking anything for me.  I’m just a slave Bray
.”

“
You are my mate.  I would do anything for you
, even if it meant death
.”

She
raised her eyes to stare at
his
back, “I’m sorry.”

He
turned to face her, “Sorry?  For what?”

“I’m sorry that your Cat chose me.  I’m sorry that…well I’m sorry for everything. 
Mostly
I’m sorry that I’m not more for you, that I’m not what you would want if you had the choice.”

Bray approached and stood over
her
, “Don’t be mistaken. 
My Cat has not made a choice that I must now live with. 
I
made the choice and my Cat agreed with it.  You
are
who I have chosen because you
are
what I want.”

“To
day,”  Neomee whispered up at him, “the Cats in the hall. 
How did they know
?”

Bray turned from her
,
his expression suddenly cold.
“You do not carry my scent.”

“Scent?”

“When we have consummated our mating bond, you will carry my scent as I will carry yours.”

“For how long?”

“Forever.”

Neomee looked down to fidget nervously with the hem of her gown,
“I
…I don’t want the other Cats
to laugh at our expense.”

Bray strode back to the window, “Well, there is only one way to remedy that.”

Silence hung between them.

Neomee’s whisper would have been inaudible for
any other
man, but not for the Prince of Cats, “Then we should
...remedy that
.”

Bray
glared
angrily
out the window
, “I do not seek to mate
with
you to keep myself from ridicule.”

Neomee rose from the bed and crossed the room silently.  As she approached, he continued, “If I
were concerned with being ridiculed, I would not have allowed my Cat to choose a
slave
as a mate.”

Neomee caught herself just as her hand was inches from his shoulder. 
Slave?
  “Oh.” 

Bray spun at her proximity,
lost in thought
he hadn’t heard her approach,
but Neomee was alread
y turning from him.  Hurt,
she
walked from him as he caught her wrist. 
She
stopped, but didn’t turn
to face him
. S
he didn’t want
him to see how his words had stung
.

“
Lily
…”, the pain in
his
voice revealed his regret, “
Ne
om
ee,” he corrected himself, “
I’m
sorry.  That’s not what I meant;
it’s not what I feel.”

Turning slowly, she
looked up
at him, her eyes glistening
with unshed tears, “
Don’t let them make fun of us.”  The silent plea in her voice was what Bray had been waiting for, hoping for.

“Never.” 
He
bent to scoop her up and carr
ied
her to their bed. 
He gently lowered her before
he stood and removed his knife from its sheath on his hip.
 
Neomee’s
breath caught as Bray bent and slid the knife under one strap of her gown.  The cold blade felt wonderful on her too hot flesh.  Bray was careful as he cut one strap then the other.  He slid the sharp knife between her ample
breasts and carefully slid the blade down until her gown lay pooled around her
body
,
exposing
her lean
frame. 

Naked
save for the collar possessively cl
asped around her slender throat, Neomee reached up to touch Bray’s cheek when he crawled over her.  Pinned beneath her Prince of Cats her breath
ing hitched
at the hungry desire she read in his eyes.
 

Suddenly, a
voice at the do
o
r
way
bellowed
,
“
Perfect!
”  It was the Priest.  “I’d heard you had not yet mated your slave.  And here I’d come to take her from you, but apparently this is a most inopportune moment.”

Neomee gasped in shock as
she attempted to cover her exposed breasts.  S
he pulled from
under
Bray and quickly
roll
ed
clumsily to the floor as she
reached for
her tattered gown
.

Bray
sprang from the bed and stalked aggressively toward the Priest not at all bothered by his own nakedness.
“
Leave!
”

Bray’s warning
growl
had the Priest backing out the door with a wicked grin on his face
as Bray fought to contain his Cat
, “By all means, it is about time you had another mate.  Consummate, seal the bond, …” the Priest licked his lips as he glanced at Neomee’s
naked
flesh, “
pierce her with your intentions
.”  Then he was gone. 

Dazed on the floor, Neomee realized that in all that had transpired she’d forgotten to ask him about her…
h
is other
mate
!

Bray’s shoulder
s and head sa
gged as he exhaled deeply.  He moved
to sit on the opposite edge of the bed facing away from Neomee.
  They sat in silence for several moments, neither one moving.

“Ask!
” He growled.

“
Tell me about her.
”  Neomee couldn’t keep the disappointment from her voice.

Bray
knew she was already
retreating back into herself, her desire that he’d reveled in mere seconds ago, now recoiled so
quickly that the scent of it that had
over
whelmed
him earlier, now barely
lingered in the room.

“She
was
Hondo
’s sister.”

“
And she
died?”

“
Yes.  She was my mate
.
” Bray exhaled harshly as he ran a frustrated hand through his hair.
 
“Hondo introduced us, we were mated immediately.  A few years later when
H
ondo’s
mate had been murdered
, I thought he should have some
time
away from his station to reflect, to mourn
.
 
If I hadn’t forced Hondo from his station, asked to be allowed to take his shift
,
I would have been with
Sanura
when
she was attacked
.  I could have…
would have
protected her
…
saved her
.”

Sanura.
 
“That is why
Hondo
hates you?”

“He didn’t want to
be on forced leave from his station
.  Said he was fine.  I thought he needed more time, as did Sanura.  I persuaded the Priest to
force Hondo to take a break from his station
,
and
in return I’d
temporarily replace him
.  He swore he didn’t need the time.  Begged the
Priest to let him keep his s
tation
.  The Priest agreed with me.
  While I covered for Hondo, thieves entered the temple t
hrough the window in my room.  They k
illed Sanura while she slept.
”

Neomee couldn’t bring herself to apologize for forcing Bray to relive such horrible memories. 
He belonged to someone else
.
“Did you find her killers?”

“
No.  We Cats, all of us, scoured the city.  We found no sign of the thieves, no scent to follow, no clues, it was as if they’d disappeared.  I have not avenged my mate.”

The possession in his tone made Neomee’s belly drop. 
My mate?