“So you’ve said, but what does that mean for you?” Zyxel tilted his head toward Selena, his attention flickering between them. “I was just telling Selena that you are part Ezzaska before you returned. This is a dangerous game that you are playing.”
“Enlighten me.” Kaede grabbed Selena’s cup and took a sip, smirking at her silent objection. The beverage tasted bitter when cool, but it still satisfied. “What’s so bad that you are willing to risk angering me by warningmy mateaway from me?”
“I know how venomous Ezzaska are. When an alpha male goes into heat, it lasts fordays—sometimes even weeks. He continues mating until he burns off his mating hormones. Your claim that you are mates makes things difficult.”
“How so?” Selena asked, her voice laced with concern as her worried eyes searched his. “Doesn’t that solve the problem?”
Zyxel shook his head. “Alpha Ezzaska don’t take life mates. In fact, it’s the beta who bonds with a queen to provide and care for her for life. Alphas mate with any betas or queens they encounter to spread their seed far and wide.”
“How often do they go into heat?” Selena squeezed Kaede’s leg as he rubbed her side to give her reassurance. “What does it mean for Kaede?”
“It means that somehow, if the Stars have willed you two together like you claim, that he will breed you—and only you—until the fire in his veins is no more,” Zyxel replied seriously. “If he has Ezzaska breeding venom, then he will inject you until your arousal becomes unbearable unless he quenches it. When a beta or queen is the only available Ezzaska around, even if they are tired or unwilling, the alpha will inject them with a paralyzing venom and rape them endlessly. It’s a terrible part of Ezzaska nature that comes once every year.”
“I will never take Selena unwillingly,” Kaede hissed. “Even when she tempted me to mate her in the past, I denied her because I would never take advantage of someone who wasn’t completely ready. It’s insulting that you believe that I would lower myself to rape.”
“That’s not what I’m implying,” Zyxel insisted. “I wanted to warn you both about your genetics, especially since you have displayed a lot of Ezzaskan characteristics.”
Kaede absorbed Zyxel’s warning.
Now he knew the reasoning behind hisBahzylandLuzatuvenoms. He had been spliced with alpha Ezzaskan genes, including the venoms used to subdue and mate his prey.
However, Selena was his fated—his star—and he wouldn’t choose another.
“REI, swear to me that if I ever attempt to assault Selena, you will knock me out,”he pleaded, drowning in Selena’s concerned stare.“Promise me that you will make sure I never take advantage of her or our connection.”
“Your will is mine.”
“We will be fine, Kaede,” Selena whispered as she leaned over and lightly pressed her lips to his. “I know you won’t hurt me. The Stars brought us together for a reason. We will work through this... together.”
“I won’t push my problems onto you,” he grumbled. “You have enough pressure to deal with, especially once we return to Destima. Let me deal with my troubles.”
Rolling her eyes, she shook her head. “You aren’t alone anymore, Kaede.”
Her words struck him.
Indeed, he wasn’t alone anymore—but that didn’t mean he wanted to become needy.
While he respected all her mates, her Circuli males were dependent on her to fulfill their instinctual need for a nestqueen. They yearned to be chosen for the opportunity to sire her children; some, like Odelm, were more desperate than others.
Kaede had never fathomed fathering children, nor joining bodies with a female. He never had the desire to do either. He was designed as a specialized assassin with the drive to kill, free of those urges…
Until Selena had woken them from the depths of his very being, buried underneath all that he was. She had activated something within him, and now he had to deal with his awakened instincts that he didn’t know existed.
“I know,” he breathed.
Sighing, he kissed Selena’s forehead and turned to the crimson doctor.
“EYN, a round ofOssotea, please.” Flicking his wrist, he gestured to the table. “And clear the mugs.”
Instantly, the dirty dishes disappeared and fresh mugs of steaming tea replaced them. Smirking at the others’ expressions, he grabbed his cup and absorbed its warmth.
“Thank you, EYN.” Lifting his cup to the ceiling, he toasted the Oetsae before taking a sip.
“Summon me if you need anything else, captain,”EYN replied.“I will gladly be of service.”
“Now that that’s settled.” Kaede nodded toward Zyxel, addressing the doctor who had started this conversation. “You say I carry the genes of an alpha, but what about you? Based on your explanation of your species’ mating practices, one alpha tied to Selena is already abnormal. Two? That should be impossible.”
Pursing his lips, Zyxel’s forked tongue nervously tasted the air and his fiery, slitted gaze flicked toward Selena.
“Study him, REI,”Kaede ordered.“Something is off about his behavior.”
“On it.”
“Kaede,” Selena murmured as she squeezed his leg, drawing his attention. “I haven’t claimed him as mine yet, and I don’t know when I will. Until things are settled between us and our clan, there is nothing for you to worry about.”
“I’m not an alpha, nor am I interested in you, Kaede.” Zyxel’s eyes narrowed as he scanned Kaede, purposely avoiding his gaze. “Selena is the only one I want to be with. No one else.”
“He is hiding something.”
“I know.”
