Prey

Chapter 25 - Leoni's Honor

"She is a disgrace. She will never be one of us, Drogaxe. Not even if she gives you pups."

I growled, my quick successive chittering filling the room. I glared at the female who stood before me. Her beady orange eyes were filled with malice. This female had pushed me enough and I was nearing my limit.

My walk through the city had been pleasant until she cornered me. She did not bid me hello or say anything but speak ill of Leoni. The female was one of the ones who fought to get my attentions; I just wasn't interested in mating until meeting my hybrid, the hybrid I couldn't kill out of thousands. So far I had kept Leoni at the dwelling which she seemed perfectly content with for the time being. Females knew I had brought a mate home and there was no doubt the news of me actually claiming a female had spread through the clan like plasma fire.

Passerby whispered amongst themselves about her. Every Yautja I spoke with was shocked, many disgusted. A good portion of my clan hated hybrids.

It would be a fight to get Leoni accepted. They would accept Leoni. I wouldn't settle for less. She was here to stay. A member of the clan. My mate. And also my weakness.

My dear hybrid Leoni was my weakness.

I would kill for her again if she asked. It was my duty to provide and protect.

"You will speak of my mate with respect, Seeva. She is a brave warrior and I am proud to call her my mate." Fisting my chest I roared in her face, straightening my back so I towered over the faded yellow and brown female.

She would not make me regret claiming Leoni for my own.

"And you are a fool. I could bear you full-blooded pups. She cannot."

"I care not for the appearance of the pups I seed her with. A child of ours will grow to become a fierce hunter. Better than any you have borne and will borne." A growl escaped my chest as her beady orange eyes narrowed to slits. Insulting my mate was not going to win favor with me, only aggression. If she wanted to challenge me then I would happily accept.

"Your mate will fight me to the death in combat. Rakar has already accepted my formal request."

"My sire underestimates my mate and so do you."

She scoffed, her mandibles clicking together. "She will die. Hybrids are filthy. She had manipulated you, Drogaxe. The half-ooman has made you weak. A weak Yautja." A clawed finger pointed at my chest before she turned on her heel, her shoulder-blade length dreadlocks hitting me in the face as she stormed away.

Rage burned through my veins on my path towards the temple that sat in the middle of the city. The large building's sides glinted in the sunlight as I forged a war path through the crowded streets, Yautja moving out of the way when they noticed me. It took all of my years of practiced discipline to refrain from trying to kill all who stood in my way.

My sire was going to answer for accepting that weak female's request. I would never rut that female. She wasn't soft like my Leoni nor was she so emotional; qualities I admired in my mate. The female wasn't a companion like Leoni, neither. I couldn't sit there and enjoy her talking about her home world, memories of childhood, or her excitement over a successful training session. And unlike Seeva, my mate was willingly submissive in the nest.

The sweet sounds of her release and pleasure was music to my ears. I enjoyed how she grew heated with need when I would show the little shit how strong I really was when she egged me on, pushing my limits of discipline to the very edge and sometimes beyond.

Having Leoni as mine was a gift from the gods and I would not let anyone take what honor she has earned back. I wouldn't step in to ruin what little she'd built in the clan, as that would make her seem weak and she would be forced out. It would be something out of my control.