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Chapter 26: Interlude

If she'd been asked why she was sitting here eating dinner with a lion, she'd not be able to provide a coherent answer. Kunto was personable, warm and intelligent. He'd been a constant in her life ever since her uncle was taken by a member of the Zubari Pride.

He'd been her shadow wherever she'd gone except for while she was within Enforcer Headquarters, flying on patrol or locked up in her apartment at night. His boss, Tendaji had this black lion guard her because of increased interest in any of the Ferals. Since one had been taken already, that left her and the lion's were persistent.

It didn't make her job any easier to have various Prides interfering with herself and her uncle. And if that wasn't bad enough, slavers had to be watched for as well.

She sighed in annoyance. Omegas were bad enough but these skirmishes caused by the Prides made her want to pull her hair out or take her blaster and shoot the nearest lion in the butt.

Her uncle's sudden capture by Dark Kat's minions had set the stage for a wild race to save him from slavers the evil Kat had sold her uncle to for a substantial cache of lethal weapons. She and the SWAT Kats failed to prevent the slavers returning to their country that bordered Megakat City. They couldn't cross the border without extensive time being lost getting permission and even then there was no certainty they would get it.

Her only hope was Tendaji could get him back and he did, less than twenty-four hours later, much to her relief. She had gained a new respect for Tendaji then, appreciating his level-headedness in a crisis and the ability to protect what was his.

The next disaster followed immediately on the heels of the first when the Commander was taken by a rival Pride. Not willing to stand by and do nothing she had bent the law just a little by giving Tendaji the GPS code for her uncle's cell phone, allowing his mate to rescue Feral before Tau could succeed in superseding Ten's mating.

Now her uncle and his mate were gone for about a week while he endured going through the induction requirements for acceptance into the Zubari Pride.

Steele was in charge and Felina did her best to avoid the little prick and did her own duties while keeping on top of her uncle's with the aid of his top assistant Sgt Fallon. Added to her regular duties, she continued her hunt for Dark Kat.

They knew the omega had something major planned due to the amount of munitions he'd stolen over the past month. She felt the clock ticking toward some, as yet unknown, countdown. She spent her off time tracking any lead, no matter how small, hoping to locate the deadly Kat's hideout, unaware she had a shadow stalking her every move.

A few days after her uncle's departure from the city, Felina got a solid lead and decided to check it out when she got off duty. She was wearing civilian clothes but still carried her weapon and badge as she went to check out a warehouse.

She parked near a grocery store and made her way to the warehouse the tipster said Dark Kat had been seen recently. She gone there and had found a clue but had also run into a group of Pride lions on the hunt for her.

She gave them enough hell to make them realize quickly that she wasn't a pampered female but still they managed to overcome her and take her to their temporary lair. While the Leader, Tau, attempted to force a mating and was taking a beating almost as bad as when he'd tried to take her uncle, her shadow had followed her and caused a loud distraction that drew the lions away from Felina. She escaped the bedroom by a window and was racing away when her shadow showed up to direct her to his car. He quickly drove her away from the area.

She demanded he return her to the alley so that she could retrieve her weapon and look a little more for clues. Kunto wasn't happy but did as she asked, even helped her search. Her efforts paid off as she located another piece of evidence.

Pleased with her night's success despite the brief interruption by the Tumbuka Pride, Felina made for her vehicle. She wasn't happy to learn Kunto intended to follow her. She was even more unhappy when he told her why the other pride made a bid for her in the first place.

"What?" She bellowed, uncertain she'd heard right. It sounded too incredible.

Kunto winced, folding his ears down in defense. He repeated the pertinent part again that had caused her loud reaction. "I said, they wanted to breed with you in hopes of getting more hermaphrodites."

She growled at him angrily. He held up his paws in self defense. "How dare they? I'm not a prize to be won." She hissed furiously.

Felina moved closer to Kunto and jabbed her finger into his chest hard.

"I do not intend to be mated to a lion. I have no desire for a family. I'm an enforcer and I've worked hard to reach my current rank and it wasn't easy since I'm the only female that's done so...ever! I have no intention of throwing that away by being tied down with a mate and kittens." She snarled angrily.

"Okay, I got that, Lieutenant on that subject. However, as for keeping guard over you, I'm sorry, I've been ordered by my boss to keep you safe, especially since your uncle is out of town. What happened tonight may occur again." Kunto said firmly.

"I can damn well take care of myself. Stay out of my life." She snapped.

With that parting remark, Felina climbed into her car, gunned the engine and tore away. Rolling his eyes in resignation and annoyance, Kunto raced after her.

Despite her stubbornness, Kunto couldn't help but be taken with the dark haired beauty. She was tough and took no shit from anyone as Tau learned. He wondered if the idiot's balls had recovered from the double wallop they'd taken from the Uncle and niece. 'Serves him right if he's not able to breed because of it.' He thought in cruel amusement.

Meanwhile, he had to stay as close as he could to this volatile female for her sake and her uncle's. Besides, Tendaji would have him skinned if anything upset his mate more than he already was.

Kunto grimaced at that thought. 'Ten was crazy to bond with such a powerful and easy to anger mate.'

He sighed as he parked a block from Enforcer Headquarters and stepped out of his vehicle to begin his patrol. The black lion had a feeling Felina would be staying rather late so settled in to not getting any sleep tonight.

Felina finally left headquarters sometime after midnight. She was disappointed. The things she'd found were not enough to gain them any lead on Dark Kat. Tired and annoyed, she headed for home.

As she drove away from work, she checked her rear view mirror and scowled. Kunto was on her tail. She really couldn't fault him. He had been ordered to watch her so it hardly matter how much she hated it, she couldn't damn him for following orders.

She soon grew used to his presence at the edge of her perceptions. He always stayed out of the way but was close enough to come to her aid if needed. He was very good, she was forced to admit.

Her uncle returned in an angry mood from his trip and had pounced on her story about her capture by the rival pride with glee. It had provided him with a legal loophole to hamstring the Pride's ability to hunt. Very quickly the guilty pride was under arrest and soon after that, there was a mass migration of prides from Megakat City, at least for the time being.

She had sighed in relief at that. Now they would get a break from the constant vigilance duty. She wished everything else would go back to normal, though. Felina learned from the lion guards around her uncle that there was major concern about the incomplete bonding between Ten and Ulysses.

She gathered, this was a very serious problem and she had to admit, her uncle seemed tense and irritable a lot lately.

During this tense time, Kunto would come closer and engage her in conversation. Sometimes they talked about the tension between her uncle and Ten, other times it was about the new Pride law that was under revision. They would get into a lively and heated debate about the pros and cons of the Pride Hunt.

From these conversations, Felina gained a better understanding of lion culture, though there was still a lot more to be learned.

And that's how she ended up at dinner one night with Kunto. He'd been pestering her on a regular basis, gradually wearing down her resistance to him.

The food was good and so was the conversation. Kunto showed that he wasn't insensitive to her desires to be unmated.

"I can understand your need to keep your freedom, Felina. You're a warrior and have worked hard to gain the respect of the troops under you." He said quietly as he finished his steak and turf.

Felina sighed as she sipped her beer and ate the last bite of her pasta primevera. "Well, that's good to know but will that keep others off my tail?"

"Actually, yes. You've made it quite clear you are not interested in mating and despite the despicable thing Tau did, forcing a mating is not acceptable. When a female says no, it means no." Kunto said gravely.

"Really? That wasn't what we, my uncle and I, were led to believe." Felina said skeptically.

Kunto sighed and gave the same history lesson Dubaku had given her uncle.

"Ah, so. Okay, it makes sense now. So this bonding is really a complete link between a lion and his mate. Is it telepathic?" She asked curiously.

"I'm told it is. I don't know, personally, since I'm not mated, of course." Kunto said with a shrug.

"So the real problem for my uncle is he hasn't been able to open his side of the bond and its causing real discomfort and pain for the both of them." Felina said thoughtfully.

"Yes, that's it in a nutshell. It also prevents Ulysses from hearing his kittens." He said unhappily.

Felina's eyebrows rose in surprise. "You mean, with an open bond, he'd hear them at this stage...aren't they a bit too small for anything to be sensed."

"Well, there wouldn't be a thought or emotion, nothing like that but he would detect their heartbeats." Kunto assured her.

"Wow! That's amazing." Felina said in awe then her face fell. "So it truly is important and explains why my uncle is so irritable right now."

"Unfortunately, yes."

Before Felina could say anything else, her radio sounded off.

"Lt. Feral, here!"

"Felina, I need you back here for a special mission, asap." Her uncle's voice boomed from the radio.

Felina got up quickly! "Be right there Uncle. Out!"

Kunto got up also and threw down some cash and was hot on her heels as she made for her vehicle and peeled out for Enforcer Headquarters.

Only a couple hours later and he was on hand when she found her uncle had been captured by Dark Kat. He stayed by her side as an urgent search was begun.

He was frustrated when she took to the air in her own chopper sometime later but was summoned by Tendaji to join their own chopper flight. Soon, they were flying in the wake of the Turbokat after learning Razor had placed a tracking device on the Commander.

For hours they searched the city in a grid pattern until two things happened. Tendaji had a break through with his mate and the SWAT Kats had found the signal at last.

After a fierce battle with Dark Kat and his creeplings they finally rescued Feral. Because of the newly opened bond, the pair desperately needed to join...now. Kunto was resigned to cooling his heels as Felina left to do her report and he and the rest waited for the pair to be done.

He yawned and desperately wanted sleep when Dubaku finally signaled it was okay to carry the exhausted pair to the chopper and home.

After a long night's rest. Kunto returned to his guard duty of Felina. Things were more calm with the capture of Dark Kat though there still was a bounty on Feral's hide by his slave owner. What they were going to do about that, Kunto didn't know. He personally felt they should just go in and take care of the sadistic asshole...permanently.

He might just bring that up when Tendaji was back to work. He and his mate were still sleeping last he heard. He, like the whole pride stationed at Megakat City, were relieved to see Tendaji finally happy and relaxed.

It was quitting time and Kunto quietly and easily, slipped up to Felina's side as she reached her vehicle.

She sighed and looked at him askance. "So what do you want?"

"I'd like to take you out to dinner again and hopefully it won't be interrupted by an emergency this time." He said with a small smile.

"I don't know. I'm not sure I feel like getting changed and going out." She said reluctantly.

"Then don't! We can go to one of your favorite cop hangouts and just have a beer and a sandwich. What do you say?" He wheedled.

She eyed him drily. "You are so persistent."

"It's how we are." He said innocently, shrugging his massive shoulders.

"Alright. I have to eat anyway. Follow me." She said as she opened her car door. 'You will anyway.' She thought in sour amusement.

She was pleasantly surprised when they succeeded in finding a table in the usually packed little pub she liked to frequent and was served rather quickly.

They ate in relaxed companionship until their hunger was eased.

Kunto eyed her quietly. He could see just how tired she was. She'd been on high alert for much too long. He had too, come to that.

"How would you like a soothing massage?" He asked quietly, finishing his meal.

She stared over her glass of beer at him, narrowly. "Why would I let you do that? I hardly know you and I'm not sure I trust you."

"Oh, you wound me. We've been in each other's company one way or another for a couple of months now. I should think that would be enough for you to trust me." He said with a hurt expression.

She snorted at his insincerity. "Yeah, right. Truthfully, I'm not so sure about any of you lions and you must admit past history gives me the right to feel that way."

"True but I'd hoped along the way I'd been able to convince you otherwise, at least about the Zubari Pride. Look, we do like to be with a female just for mutual gratification without the requirement of bonding. I like you a lot and just thought you could use some company. I definitely think you could use a massage since I can clearly see just how tense you are and how tired." He said smiling warmly at her and carefully taking her paw in his, gently massaging each finger as he talked.

She stared down at his paw and had to admit what he was doing felt really good. If he was that skilled at just doing her fingers, how good would he be about her other tight muscles. She sat still and debated with herself. He was right, she actually did trust him. He'd proven he was honorable and brave.

She'd not taken anyone to her bed in quite some time and it was telling. She finally came to a decision.

"Alright, on your honor, nothing more than a simple nights enjoyment, nothing more." She said flatly.

He felt his heart leap but kept his face smooth, hiding his emotions. "Agreed."

They settled up the bill and left in their own vehicles meeting up at her apartment.

'This should be an interesting night.' Kunto thought eagerly as he caught up with her and they walked into her building.