Now that the mating was over, the waiting began. Shakil had wanted desperately to stay in Megakat City near his mate but the clan had other ideas. After spending only two days with Ulysses he was sent off to a far off city on clan business.
Ulysses sighed, they were just getting to know each other better since the heat cycle broke the ice than any of the times they'd spent over the past two months. He shrugged off a surprising feeling of melancholy and dug into reports on the mess Viper and the slavers had made.
In the Kamau Clan enclave...
"This business with Shakil leaves a bad taste in my mouth. It's disgusting, vulgar and besmirches the Kamau reputation." An older tawny tiger rumbled from his huge oak desk in a richly appointed study.
"My cousin always had some nasty proclivities, Uncle." A crimson colored tiger in his thirties sneered drinking a glass of wine as he sat indolently in a leather chair.
"Yes, true. My spy here tells me the situation may get worse. It seems this male whore of Shakil's has just gone into heat. As of this moment, he may very well have conceived the kitten Shakil must have to consummate this union. The clan's stance is to watch and wait until a kitten is born. My nephew will receive no help during his whore's pregnancy. I am not inclined to wait until that male delivers. That kitten will never be born!" The older tiger snarled slamming a fist onto the desk setting everything on it to shaking.
"But Uncle, that flies in the face of clan law?" His nephew protested.
The older tiger's brow furrowed angrily. "It is the clan I am thinking of in this matter. No Kamau has ever taken a male as a mate and especially not the clan heir. Shakil is not bringing disgrace down upon us. We would be the laughing stock of the other clans." He snapped.
"Well what do you plan to do to stop it? You can't kill this male. He's too well known and holds a place of importance in that city." The younger tiger said reasonably.
"Whatever you might think of this male, I know for a fact he is a formidable warrior and has uncommon luck. The amount of danger he has faced in his five years as Chief Enforcer would have killed any one else. " A dark furred tiger mix interjected solemnly from where he stood in the shadows. "Just recently, luck favored him when Shakil spirited him away from the Tiger's Den and again when the slavers had him in their paws not once but three times but lost him to the omega that showed up unexpectedly and those vigilantes that rescued him. Trust me when I say, he will not be an easy target." He warned.
"Impressive, but it doesn't matter! The honor of the Kamau Clan will not be tarnished. I want that male watched carefully. If he is pregnant, I want every effort made to force him to abort it. He will be harried constantly, he will not know a moments peace until that occurs. I will ensure Shakil will not be around to protect him. See to it!" He snapped to his nephew and his spy.
The crimson tiger grimaced unhappily but nodded agreement and got up from his chair and left with the tiger mix.
The older tiger turned to look out his window that overlooked the exotic gardens and ponds that were spread throughout the enclave. He brooded. 'My brother would let this go its natural course but he's a fool. He cannot see the damage such a union could cause the clan but I do and I will see to it that that male never becomes a Kamau Clan member.' He promised himself.
Two months later...
"I'd rather keep this a secret. If it gets out my life will be in even more danger not necessarily from your clan but from my enemies." Feral argued.
"But Ulysses, the pregnancy must be publicly announced just as the birth must be witnessed or the clan will not believe it." Shakil argued back urgently. "I agree the situation is not good considering who you are but unfortunately, it's necessary."
"I don't like it! You might as well put a bullseye on my back and say shoot me!" Uly snapped.
"I understand. I really don't like it either." Shakil soothed. This argument had only one outcome and Uly knew it but it didn't make either of them happy.
"We must get you to Megakat Hospital and have the test done there with the press on hand to validate it and the sooner we do this the better." The tiger said firmly escorting his mate to the door of Feral's temporary quarters in Enforcer Headquarters. He'd moved most of his valuables and personal things to this apartment due to the increased threat of his being snatched.
Feral had been extremely unhappy when his relationship with Shakil had been released to the public. It only increased his humiliation, though the public never learned anything about how the Commander ended up being mated to Shakil. His therapist helped him handle this added stress before it could overwhelm him. It didn't help that Shakil could not be around enough to ease it more gradually.
They rode together in silence to the hospital. Shakil had contacted Ms. Briggs and received her aid in setting up this press conference. Callie wasn't happy about putting Feral in further danger but she understood the reason this had to be done.
Megakat Salvage Yard...
"Hey Chance, look it's Feral!" Jake said having glanced up at the TV from the engine he was tuning.
"Huh!..."Chance grunted distracted from the fan belt he was reinstalling. He looked up at the TV as well.
They both listened as Ann Gora interviewed Feral and his mate Shakil with Ms. Briggs standing nearby. When it was over they looked at each other grimly.
"Great! As if his life wasn't already in danger from the slavers, being pregnant will make him an even bigger target for some of the omegas." Chance said sourly.
"They don't have a choice, Chance. I checked out the Kamau Clan, Shakil is from, buddy. Shakil must have a kitten to show if he wants to keep Feral as his mate. His clan will not protect or defend his choice until that kitten is born. Until then, Shakil must protect Feral at all costs. It's considered a right of passage for their males. The fact that Shakil has chosen a male has put him at odds with his clan. They couldn't keep it a secret because then the clan could accuse Shakil of manufacturing the pregnancy and birth to keep Feral. Everything must be publicly announced. I don't envy Feral at all." Jake explained shaking his head.
"Crud! I'm willing to bet Feral didn't like that part at all." Chance growled in sympathy.
"No bet! I'm certain he and that tiger had some hot words about it." Jake said with a snort as he returned to his engine.
Chance stood there thinking for some minutes, finally he said, "You know Jake, I think we better keep a closer eye on Feral. My instincts are screaming that he is in for a really bad time during his pregnancy." He said thoughtfully looking over at his partner to see his response.
Jake looked up in surprise and frowned a moment. "Yeah. I think you're right buddy. It feels weird to be so concerned over someone we hated so much. But after hearing what he's endured, I can't really be pissed at him anymore." Jake said quietly shaking his head.
"You're right there partner. It still makes me sick to think about it." Chance said wincing at the memory of what Feral had told them had happened to him.
Jake just nodded solemnly and they both returned to their work trying to put those unpleasant thoughts away for now.
Some two weeks later...
"Uncle, look out!" Felina shouted firing at something just over her uncle's head.
Feral ducked and saw a sniper fall from a warehouse window to the street. Everyone looked around warily for anymore surprises. They were here due to a botched robbery that had raced through downtown Megakat City to end here at the docks. The robbers had not been willing to give themselves up and had managed to escape their vehicle for a nearby abandoned storefront. They had been trading gun fire for some minutes when Felina had spotted the sniper. There were apparently no more hidden gunners and within ten minutes they finally captured the robbers.
Tired, Feral left the cleanup for Felina and had his Sergeant take him back to headquarters. Sighing, he ordered lunch to be delivered and got ready to sit at his desk when Steele burst in his office.
"Sir, we had a brief power outage over the whole grid and our backup didn't come on. I'm having the reason checked out now but the outage temporarily froze out computer core. The techs said nothing was lost and that it would be back up again within a couple of hours."
"Great! That's all I need for today. Have you checked to see if there was any sign of Hard Drive?" He asked wearily.
"Yes sir, Hard Drive is still in Alkatraz Prison." Steele answered promptly.
Feral blinked at Steele in surprise. "Who are you and what have you done with Steele?" He asked in amazement.
Steel blushed pleased that he had surprised the Commander with getting something right for once.
"Well, very good work Steele. I'm pleased and frankly surprised. If you'd only do this more often I'd think better of you." Feral rumbled. "Keep me apprised of the repairs. Dismissed!"
Smiling with pride, Steele saluted and smartly about faced and strode confidently out the door closing it quietly behind him.
Feral shook his head, 'Will wonders never cease...a near competent Steele.' He sighed and returned to the work on his desk.
Dusk was falling when he finally called it quits and left his office for his temp quarters. Yawning he unlocked the door and strolled in. He took off his coat and tie, dropping them on the couch nearby and removing his boots. He released his harness for his weapon and dropped it on the couch as well. The actual weapon was locked in his office, however, he'd begun to carry a smaller piece in a pants holster and a knife in his boot. He felt almost paranoid carrying so many weapons but he just didn't feel safe anymore even in Enforcer Headquarters.
Stretching, he padded silently for the kitchen planning on making himself a light dinner. He had just reached for the light switch when a flicker of movement caught the corner of his eye. He immediately dropped to the floor just as a silent shot thwacked into the door frame. Kicking out with his legs he caught the sniper, knocking his feet from under him.
He quickly reared around and pinned his assailant to the floor and clocked him one in the jaw. The male was out for the count. Panting, his heart hammering, Feral staggered to his feet and grabbed the phone nearby.
"This is Feral! Send a team and CSI to my quarters immediately then have Level One search initiated for the entire complex. An attacker was in my quarters, I want to make sure there are no others." He barked hanging up before hearing the acknowledgment from the surprised watch command.
He went back to his prisoner and held his small handgun on him in case he regained consciousness before help arrived. Within minutes, a small team of officers arrived at his quarters.
'This was getting ridiculous! Now he wasn't safe within Enforcer Headquarters but there was no where else he could go. I'm going to just have to step up security within the building.' He thought grimly, watching as the prisoner was hauled away and CSI began collecting evidence.
The next morning...
"Uncle, I heard there was some excitement here last night." Felina said looking her uncle over in concern.
"Yes! Someone tried to take me out last night in my quarters. The perpetrator has clammed up and made sure to leave no trace of where he came from, no ID, no listing of him from his finger prints, the ultimate invisible Kat." Feral snarled irritably.
"So we don't know if it's from the slavers, the omegas, the crime syndicate, or the Kamau's." Felina said grimly.
"Why did you add the Kamau Clan?" Feral frowned at his niece.
"It's a big clan, Uncle. I'd be surprised if there weren't someone unhappy about Shakil taking you as a mate. They might try to prevent the union forcefully." Felina said.
"I'm surprised that that didn't occur to us but I'm afraid you may be right, Felina." Feral said thoughtfully. "But I've increased security within Enforcer Headquarters and I have bodyguards that Shakil saddled me with so I don't see what else I can do. I refuse to be made a prisoner by these idiots." He growled.
"I understand Uncle and I agree that there isn't anything else we can do right now." Felina agreed with a sigh of frustration.
Salvage Yard...afternoon...
"Chance!" Jake hollered as he entered the garage.
"Yeah." Chance called back raising his head from under a car hood at the back of the garage.
"I just heard the recent gossip at Enforcer Headquarters when I dropped that sedan off." Jake said his face grim.
"By that look on your face, I'm guessing what you heard was bad...?" His partner grunted wiping his paws off on a rag.
Jake went to his side and growled, "Oh yeah, it's bad alright! Feral was attacked in his quarters last night. He's alright and his assailant is jailed but not talking."
"Well crud, how the heck did someone manage to get in. That place is almost like Fort Knox." Chance said in unhappy surprise.
"There was a power outage that knocked out their computers for a few hours. It's obvious to me, whoever has it in for Feral did it." Jake said angrily. "Feral's already cleaned house so he's safe again but there is no telling for how long."
"Man, this bites. None of this is going to stop until Feral has his kitten and whoever it is seems determined that that will never happen. We're all doing the best we can to cover his back. I don't see what else we can do, Jake." Chance said in frustration.
"I know, buddy but I'll tell you now...when we find out who is behind these sneak attacks, I'm going to make sure whoever they are will never forget the SWAT Kats." Jake growled angrily. "Feral should only have to worry about his pregnancy, not about staying alive."
Chance just raised a surprised eyebrow at his friend's unexpected fury. Wisely, he didn't respond to it and returned to his work. Jake grumbled to himself and went down to the hangar to work on the Turbokat to help him dump his anger.