I was trying to leave my hut when Chase physically blocked my exit. It was clear that he had something to say and he wasn't going to allow me to leave until he said it. If my cat had been with me he would have seen his behavior as a challenge. I however was too tired to see it as anything but another annoyance. Realizing Chase wasn't going to give up I finally said to him
"What Chase? What is so important that you felt the need to stop me from exiting my hut?"
Chase must have been expecting my attitude since he pulled himself up tall and looked me squarely in the eyes before saying in his best diplomatic voice
"Do you really think you made the right decision rejecting your true mate? I mean the queen makes sure to emphasize how poorly your mate is doing every time she brings the children. By the sounds of it, you mate Laura's health deteriorates more every day.
I didn't want to do this but as Regent it is my job. The pride is concerned that under your current conditions you might not be able to make the best decisions. They are becoming afraid of you and well, they might just start looking for a replacement if you can't pull yourself together."
I was just a little shocked at Chase's words. Even without my cat I could feel Chase was attempting to dominate me. I took a step forward and growled low in my throat. I watched my Regent Chase turn a light shade of red. It was hard for him to question me and my decisions. As his Leo Chase's instincts told him to accept my decisions. Questioning them was hard to do even if it was obvious they needed to be questioned. Chase swallowed hard and continued to stare me in the eyes showing that he wasn't going to back down. I probably should have just let Chase know that I had already decided to try to make it right with Laura but I was enjoying the display of balls Chase had just shown. Just for fun I gave him a 'how dare you question my authority look'. That caused Chase to visibly shake but he pushed on with his mission and said
"Look, I don't want to question your judgment. You were my friend before you were my Leo. I'm doing this as much for you as for the pride. I just mean well..."
Chase was fidgeting with his hands and he looked like he was in some type of physical pain. I wanted to laugh but what the hell I had gone this far so instead of letting him off the hook I bellowed out in my strong Leo voice
"Spit it out Regent Chase! I am tired of feeling like we are in the middle of a ball dance together."
I purposely used his title to discount our friendship. I knew Chase understood when I watched his jaw drop and his eyes went to the ground in submission. For a moment I thought he was going to give up. Then despite his clear discomfort he continued with
"Well Leo Jeremy the truth is you're not doing that great either. You've been sour and angry and you're scaring the hell out of the entire pride. I think you should try to give it another go with your mate. Maybe her stupid dog has learned its lesson."
The moment the words were out of Chase's mouth it was clear that Chase expected some type of nasty rebuttal at the least he anticipated angry words from me. Perhaps he thought I would abuse my position as Leo and punish him for his words. Chase's reaction kind of surprised me. I know I was busting his chops but dang it, Chase knew me and should have known I was just being difficult. Chase was not only my regent he was also my best friend. We'd grown up together and shared almost every one of our major life milestones.
He's been at my side through thick and thin. Chase knew me better than anyone else in the world. The fact that he'd been uncomfortable having this conversation was a testament to just how poorly I'd been behaving lately. Then again Chase should probably have pulled me to task a lot earlier than now. I rejected my mate nearly four months ago. Chase allowed me to wallow in my own crap all this time. Each month my attitude and my desire for life diminished. Clearly my pride was suffering because of my mental condition.
I was beyond depressed and started to think of doing some pretty radical stuff. Just this very morning I toyed with the idea of stepping down as Leo and going into the jungle and letting my beast go wild. I wanted to give up my human side completely. Life was just becoming too much of a chore. I'd been having such a hard time getting through the days. My cat hates me and completely disagrees with what I did. We actually argued about who was at fault. I kept telling him that it was Laura's fault but he just didn't care. My cat knew he was the dominant beast and was still willing to submit. I can recall his last comments with such clarity
"I don't care who's at fault. She is the other half of us. When she suffers we suffer. We are nothing without her. Make it right or lose me too."
It's been over a month since my cat has talked to me. When I shift he forces me to the back of his mind. I've never known a Bastet that was at such odds with its cat. If not for my cubs I just might have given up on life. The babes were the one ray of sunlight left in my life. Then just before Chase asked for an audience I had an uninvited visitor. Laura’s brother Liam burst into my tent and drove my body to the floor. Then while Liam held me down against my will he forced me to listen to him. He didn't say anything that I hadn't already known.
In fact he barely spoke of Laura or her condition. Liam never asked me to forgive Laura. Most importantly Liam was very clear that he would not beg me to help or save Laura's life. In fact, I was pretty sure he sounded jealous of her current condition. To my surprise, instead of talking about Laura and me, Liam talked about his life and his desire to find his mate someday. When Liam was finished talking he asked if he could share something with me. I agreed and he finally let me get up off the floor. I brushed myself off and watched Liam pulled out an iPhone from his pocket.
Liam scanned through some pictures making sure that I saw each one. I had no idea why he wanted to show me pictures of a mummified body. I was pretty sure they were images from a museum in Egypt or something. When I looked at Liam questionably he said in a voice that was devoid of emotion
"Oh, you don't recognize your mate? That's Laura. That's what she's become since you rejected her. It's the closest thing to death that we hybrids can achieve. Don't worry about it though I am pretty sure she is well past feeling anything” Then Liam tossed his phone at me
"Keep it; it might be the only thing you can share with your cubs someday when they ask if you had a true mate”
Then before I could say anything Liam turned on his heels and took off. It took me exactly three minutes to realize that I had been an idiot. There was no way in the world I could leave Laura in that condition. How could I have allowed things to get this bad? I made the decision to try to make this right. I was just about to leave for Rena's camp when Chase had begged for an audience. I'd tried to tell him twice of my intentions but he just wanted to blurt out his concerns. I looked back at Chase and knew I had to put an end to his misery. I'd already hurt him and my entire pride enough. I smiled broadly at him and said
"You are right Chase! I think I will go to Rena's and collect my mate."
Then I pulled him into a warm embrace and said quietly into his ear.
"I am glad that you said something. I count you as my best friend. If you didn't say something who would have? Run the pride for me will yuh? I don't know how long this is going to take."
Then I picked up the duffel bag I dropped on the floor when Chase pushed me back in my hut and started out on foot towards Rena's camp. I was only walking for about fifteen minutes when I was surprised to hear my cat say
"It's about time you came to your senses. Shift so we can get to our mate faster"