“Why don’t you go cuddle with him?” Maxsim suggests, and we all stare at the alpha in shock.
“That’s cruel, Maxsim. You know what happens when we touch his fur,” Echo scolds him, and Maxsim shakes his head.
“So, my love? You are needy, and he can tend to you just as well as I can. We’ve seen his cock. It has all sorts of interesting ridges and bumps. It might soothe your need for a knot.”
I’m unable to stop my mouth from dropping open in shock. Oh my sweet alpha cat. I think I just fell a little more in love with him.
“You won’t care?” Echo asks, and Maxsim shakes his head. “I just want what’s best for all of my family, and you both need it.”
The rest of us are quiet, but I get up and go sit in my alpha’s lap. “Why don’t you both go? Goodness knows he needs it, and none of you are needed for the Syndicate takedown. The three of you can watch the children.”
Maxsim shakes his head and gives me a kiss before standing up and putting me on the ground. “I will help tend the bear, but I will be coming on the mission. My mother is sending cats, and I am to lead them.”
“What if we are meeting on a planet like Rilu?” I argue, and he shakes his head.
“No matter, I will still be joining the fight, even if the rest of the cats can’t.” He gestures to the amulet around his neck.
I accept his argument and the two of them leave to look after our bear. I would really like to be the filling in that delightfully furry sandwich, but it’s going to have to wait.
“I say Brannock sends that message confirming we have the orb and asks for the location of the meeting. Once we know, we can tell your grandparents and our allies, and we can all rendezvous.” Xavier watches Maxsim leave with envy in his eyes and I smother a smirk. Such a manwhore, but I can completely relate.
Brannock is sitting on the couch with Nik, who is feeding our new infant. She’s guzzling milk, and I think she might be a bit rough in her hunger, because Nik keeps wincing.
“Are you okay, Nik? I smell your blood,” Saxon asks. He has blood in his cup, but I can smell that it’s Xavier’s.
“Yes, the little one is very hungry and is not being very careful, but I am used to it. Hali is the same way.” He smiles down at the baby and runs a finger over one of her spikes. “She is very cute, but she needs a name. We can’t keep calling her baby or she or her.”
“My sister didn’t even want to discuss it,” Zeydan says wearily. I’m worried about him. He looks the most exhausted of us all. I may suggest he teleport down to Earth to absorb more power, because he’s going to need it with what is to come.
“Well then, I think you should decide,” Caspian says to him. “And it’s good that we are raising her. She is half god, after all.”
The room falls silent, and I hear Xavier whistle.
“She could take the goddess of death’s powers,” I mutter, but Zeydan shakes his head.
“I’m not sure she could. She will have elemental god powers, and they are slightly different from death and life powers.”
My heart sinks. I hoped that there was someone else who could take them.
“But Lila, there is another option,” Link says. He looks as tired as Zeydan, and I am going to make both of them go to bed very shortly.
“Who?” I ask, not sure where he is going with this.
“Your father is half god, which is more divine than you. He would be more than suitable to take death’s powers.”
Zeydan sits upright, all signs of being tired disappearing. “Yes, you’re right. His life genes would make him compatible with death’s powers, like Lila is. I would think he is an option, but I would have to discuss it with Liliana and, of course, he would have to be asked.”
“No,” I state firmly, shutting down that idea without a second thought, and Link gives me an understanding nod. “He’s been through too much. We aren’t going to ask him. Let him live his life free from captivity without having to add worrying about numerous planets and races under his control.”
“Your brother, Bastien, is a choice too. Maybe your dad could be the keeper of the powers until Bastien is old enough,” Xavier suggests, and I glare at him.
“Actually, whoever gets the power won’t have to worry about planets and races. Most of them have been free of our influence for so long that we are not planning on announcing our presence. All of us have made lives for ourselves in other ways,” Zeydan explains. “Well, all but Sanshia, but she is free to do the same thing. We don’t want to disrupt that any more than the Galactic Council wants us to make a reappearance. No, we all plan on staying on the peripheral of our creations and only stepping in again if we need to.”
“Someone will need to keep an eye on Sanshia for a while. We wouldn’t want her to become bitter and twisted like Vivax did. If there was ever a trigger for cruelty, rape and an unwanted pregnancy would be at the top of the list,” Nikos muses as he puts our new baby over his shoulder and gently pats her back.
“What about Ember?” Tirrian suggests. “I always liked that name for a girl. It has fire connotations, and that seems suitable since she will be half fire goddess.”
We look at Zeydan, and he smiles at my dragon.
