Prince of Cats (6 page)

“Save it!  Our deal is off.  If
someone is going to die at his table, it’ll be you and not me
!
”  Sabah shoved her way to the
serving area before snatching up a second carafe of wine and storming angrily back out into the dining hall.

A loud crack sliced the air and Neomee turned to see the Slave Master scowling at her.  “Get back to work!” he bellowed.

Neomee
dropped her head and forced her feet forward. 
What have I done?

***

Bray overreacted and he knew it
. 
I shouldn’t have gone to the dining hall
, he self-admonished.  He’d intentionally worked through lunch to avoid seeing Neomee.  He’d felt guilty about his interest in her after dreaming of his deceased mate, but after training had ended he
realized two things.  One, he was famished and two, he’d secretly been looking forward to seeing Neomee at the evening meal.

He growled in frustration as he paced back and forth on the wall overlooking the mouth of the temple.  He’d threatened to kill one slave and had terrified his Neomee.  He winced,
m
y Neomee?
  He couldn’t start thinking of her like that, it would only cause problems. 
Perhaps Madu is right.  I should mount her and get her out of my system.
  But the thought of forcing something so intimate on
her
seemed wrong.  She deserved to be
approached respectfully,
to be
seduced. 

The thought of seducing her brought a smile to his lips but it faded just as quickly.  He wondered where she was and if she was still afraid.  He’d seen the terror in her eyes when he’d entered the kitchen.  She’d intentionally tried to avoid him and that was the biggest mistake she could have made.  His Cat saw it as a chance for pursuit.

He didn’t even want to think about
what her attempt to
avoid
him
meant.  He’d scented her arousal when he’d touched her, so he knew she was interested in him…sexually at least.  But his pride was a little wounded that she wasn’t flattered by his attentions.  He was, after all, the revered Prince of Cats.

Prince of Cats was a title given to the guardian Cat who proved himself most worthy. 
It wasn’t a royal designation, rather an indication to all slaves, Cats,
town’s
folk and visitors that the guardian Cat deemed the Prince of Cats was the most well versed in knowledge of the temple, the Gods, in fighting skill, and in tracking and killing.

Bray hadn’t sought out the title, but once Sanura died he had nothing else to devote his life to so he’d given his all to the only thing he had left, being a guardian Cat.  It didn’t take long
for him to ascend the ranks and once he challenged and bested Hondo,
he had taken the Prince title.

Being the Prince wasn’t all servitude and dedication. 
Choice of women, sleeping quarters, station assignment, and being in charge of the time, regiment, and length of training were a few of the perks.  More importantly, he carried the respect of his brethren Cats…well, except for Hondo who hated Bray for the loss of his sister and his title.

He stopped pacing and bent to brace his hands on the wall, staring down at the townsfolk as the
y
milled about the tent-covered vendors
trading for
dried herbs, fruits, and nuts
.  From atop the wall, life
outside the temple seemed so much simpler.  He heaved a great sigh wondering
again,
for more times
than
he could count
,
what it would be like to retire his position as a guardian Cat to seek out a menial existence
as a farmer, which was the profession of most men who resided outside the temple
.

It wasn’t typical for a guardian
Cat to step down from service
.  Typically
,
they spent their lives in servitude until such time it was deemed they were no longer fit to bear the title of guardian Cat.  At that time they would be rewarded for their service with a tract of land, small dwelling, choice of mate—if they hadn’t already claimed one—and an undisclosed amount of
billon
coin.

I
n fact
, it was so frowned upon to step down from service that
the right actually had to be earned.  Any Cat seeking to prematurely leave their station was required to defeat five of his fellow guardian Cats in consecutive battle
s
.  The task was so daunting that Bray only remember
ed
two Cats ever having tried the feat
.  Not only had both men failed, they’d died in the attempt
.

Straightening, he
forced his mind from foolish thoughts of retiring his guardianship.  He had no
reason to even consider it
.  It’d be different if he had a mate, children…a family.  Both men who’d died attempting to gain their freedom had done so in hopes of spending their days in a peaceful existence with their mates and children
.  Bray on the other hand had no mate and therefore no reason to risk his life only to spend it alone away from the temple.

Instead, he’d stay and spend his life in servitude.  His lips quirked,
And I shall take advantage of my title to bring my days more pleasure.

Chapter 6

Although no word was ever mentioned of Neomee’s attempt to avoid him
,
the Prince Cat continued to
torment
her
. 
He’d grab her during meals
to
nuzzle her neck or stroke his hands down her bare arms.  Her
traitorous
body would react and he’d growl at his
fellow
Cats when the
y
seemed to notice. 

She
’d
approached the
Slave Master
and begged to be placed on a different
station in hopes of avoiding the Prince Cat, but the
Slave Master
refused
.
 
“And I should explain to the Prince why you
are
absent for his amusement?  I will not.”

At night, Neomee plotted her escape and during the day her belly was in knots wondering what humiliation the Price Cat had in store for her.
  Worse, she couldn’t deny that some small part of her actually looked forward to his hands on her.
 

Some days he simply watched her every move
.  Most
other
days
, he wasn’t satisfied until he licked
her lips
or sniffed her
hair
in front of the entire dining hall. 

The other slaves
now
avoided her completely.  Neomee
couldn
’t blame them, for she herself had no idea where the Prince Cat’s intentions lay.  With any luck, she’d be gone before he could see them through.

The Honoring of Osiris Festival was
mere days away
and as it rapidly approache
d
the tension Neomee felt seemed to be matched and amplified by the Cats
.  Even her fellow slaves seemed to feel some tangible change in the air. 

While the Cats grew more restless and excitable, the slaves grew more submissive and docile.  The slaves worked faster and quiet
er hoping to go unnoticed
while the Cats grew louder, more violent
,
and
more demanding.  None more so than her Prince of Cats.

He no longer waited for her to come to his table to pour his wine before he began his harassment of her.  Instead, he’d had the Slave Master
inform her that upon the
slave’s
arrival to the dining hall, she was to be stationed
and waiting
directly at his table. 

Some days he pulled her onto his lap, others he’d pick her up and sniff h
er, but everyday he touched her, and struggle as she may she couldn’t help but being drawn to him.  He made her feel fragile and special and she was fighting to keep from believing that she was.

As she
stood at his table awaiting his arrival she listened to the other Cats discuss the
Honoring of Osiris Festival.  Some Cats were to be honored for their bravery and
service to the Gods, while others were to be
‘
bound
’
. 

Neomee had no idea what they meant by the term ‘bound’, but it couldn’t be too bad as the Cats seemed to be looking forward to it. 

She bristled when her Prince Cat arrived.  He
claimed his seat at the table, but she felt him look at her
.  She didn’t meet his gaze.

“And you Bray,
are you to be bound at the Festival?”

Bray…is that his name?

“He has not
earned
the right to be bound.”

Neomee peeked up to see a l
ar
ge sinister looking Cat glaring
at Bray from the
table
opposite
theirs
.

“
Hondo
, we have all earned the right.”  The Cat
sitting across from
Bray chastised.

The Prince Cat, Bray, did not respond as he turned his head so his eyes could follow Neomee as she passed
with her pitcher
of water
.
 

Out of the corner of her eye, Neomee saw Bray’s eyes following her, so she quickened her pace
when she was close to passing him
.  Too late.  Bray sprang from the table and grabbed her around the waist.  N
eomee gasped as the pitcher
she
carried slipped from her fingers
. 

Bray pulled Neomee back tightly into his frame as he spun he
r to face the room full of Cats.  H
e held her arms extended out at her sides.

“
Perhaps I shall
be bound!
” he declared loudly.  “
What do you think
of my options?
”
  Bray spoke to
his fellow Cats
and a loud roar went up as
they
all rose and crowded closer. 

Neomee’s pulse raced while she
tried to control her breathing and squirm from his tight grip on both her wrists.
 
Her
breathing was frantic as she struggled against his strength, but she froze in place at the looks on the faces of the Cats greedily staring back at her. 

Instantly
, she was released as Bray spun her to face him.  The look of confusion on his face
terrified her as his eyes traveled down her
slight
frame.

“Amon!”  Bray growled, “
Get behind me!”

As Bray shoved Neomee behind him, she was shaking her head in confusion as she too looked down at herself. 
What on earth could have caused…
  Neomee gasped in shock as she realized what
had
happe
ned
.
When
she’d dropped the pitcher
of water it spilled down the front of her white
linen
gown.  S
he w
ore no under garments.  The
soaking
wet
gown was
now completely see through and
clinging to her
lithe frame
like a second skin.
 

She
heard a feral growl before she was shoved back by Bray’s massive frame
.  The force sent her crashing into
the wall
then
sliding to the
ground
. 

Her eyes darted over her shoulder and she discovered that Bray
was fighting one of his brethren Cats
.  T
he raucous shouting that filled the room sent chills down her spine. 

She
crawled to the far corner of the room, using her arms as best she could to cover her breasts.  Watching Bray fight, Neomee couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if he lost.

What are they even fighting for?  What does this mean?
 

Bray
had just finished
best
ing
the first Cat
when
a second attacked. 

Fear clouded
Neomee’s eyes as she watched
in shock.  She
was never so glad to see the
Slave Master
in her life as he ran to her
, ever present whip in hand
.  The
distress
on his face lent
urgency
to his tone, “Are you mad?  Would you have them tear
themselves apart to get to you?
  Away!  Away with you now!”  The
Slave Master
hauled
her up by her arms and ran with her from the room.