Cat on the Fence by Tatiana Caldwell Page B

scoffed. “The Pride has all of these rules and
restrictions and ridiculous customs,” she said, rolling her head in circles to
emphasize that she was repeating herself.
    Alex laughed. “I see a trend. Miss Karabi Minstry doesn’t
like rules and restrictions and customs.”
    She shook her head in earnest. “No, I don’t. I’m a
free-spirit type. And the Pride has many rules, restrictions and
customs. Ugh, and hierarchies. Between the Pride and Papa, I had no idea how to
just be me until I left all of it behind when I turned eighteen.”
    “Ah,” Alex said. He lay back on the bed and rested on his
elbows. “Give me some examples of these rules.”
    Karabi opened the drawer of her nightstand and pulled out a
trade paperback and handed it to him. “Here. See for yourself.”
    Alex took the book and flipped through it. At the top of
each page was a rule, followed by paragraphs of explanations. Some of the rules
only had a paragraph or two, others had up to several pages. He read out loud
just the titles of the first ten.
    “Neither the identity nor the whereabouts of any Werecat, or
of the Pride itself, should be revealed to a non-Werecat or non-relative.
    “A Werecat should not intentionally harm another Werecat who
is a member of or a guest of the Pride.
    “Due to the declining birthrate of Werecats, every fertile
member of the Pride, regardless of sexual preference, should attempt to
procreate by mating with other Werecats.
    “Only the Pride Council Members have the authority to
determine punishment for rule breakers.
    “All members of the Pride are expected to be dedicated and
active participants of all the Pride events and customs, and to obey and uphold
Pride rules.
    “Fertile Werecats not in monogamous relationships are expected
to participate in the Mating Ritual every quarter.
    “Queens (fertile, female Werecats) have the right to choose
which Toms (fertile, male Werecats) they will mate with.
    “A.H.F.A. (available, highly fertile and of age) Queens are
expected to mate with at least two sexual partners during the Mating Ritual.
    “All newly identified single Strays must be introduced to the
Pride—no hogging Toms or Queens all to oneself!
    “Sexual activity must only occur between bodies all in Cat
form or bodies all in human form. There is to be no sexual activity between
bodies in mismatched forms! (Feline species need not be the same.)”
     
    Alex stopped reading after rule number ten. “Wow,” he said.
“There are almost two hundred pages in this book. These are a lot of rules. And
they’re very specific and, um, personal.”
    Karabi crossed her arms. “Exactly!”
    “How many are in this Pride?”
    “Two hundred.”
    “Are those all the Werecats in the world?”
    “No, there are other Prides,” Karabi said.
    “Can’t you just join some other Pride, then?”
    Karabi shook her head. “Although we know there are other Prides,
it isn’t open knowledge who or where they are. Prides tend to keep to
themselves, and stay hidden. I don’t know much about them, nor them about us,
likely, but from what I do understand about Werecats, I suspect they all have
very similar rules.”
    “Why wouldn’t all of the Werecats in the world just band
together? Form one big Pride?”
    “Language barriers. Regional and cultural barriers. Conflict
over who gets to sit at the top—there can only be one king, right? Plus, just like
with cats, the bigger the Pride, the harder to ensure that all members are
taken care of.”
    “Still,” Alex said. “It’s like a family?”
    Karabi tilted her head. “What?”
    “So, this Pride is like an extended family?”
    “Of sorts, kinda,” Karabi said. Then she snorted. “More like
a big, nosy, rule-enforcing, freaky, orgy-having extended family, I guess.”
    “Hmm,” Alex said. “Well, that’s way more family than I’ve
ever had the fortune of having.” The look on his face was an odd mixture of
sadness and intrigue.
    “Take it from someone who’s