If he remained in this room any longer, her unique aroma and smooth skin pressed against his would tempt him to wake her and hear her moan his name once again.
Kaede lifted the comforter to take one last look at his mate and burn the image of her sleeping, peacefully curled on her side, in his bed into his mind to remember this moment in the future.
Her long silver locks may be shorter, but that didn’t make her any less attractive to him. Her color-changing spots seemed painted by the Stars themselves, delicately adorning her skin with their glow.
Oh, how he had loved making her squirm as he kissed every mark, making them glow a bright violet, signifying the amount of love she had felt.
She was his greatest treasure in the universe—only the cubs rivaled her importance, and any children she may have in the future.
Beneath it all, her fierce passion and loyalty called to him. This female would be the end of him, he knew it, but it was a price he was willing to pay for eternity to be hers.
“Zirene…” she whispered as she flipped over, gripping the sheets where he had abandoned them. Her strained voice broke the room’s silence.
Gritting his teeth, he tucked in the blanket around her and backed away. No matter how far she was from her other mates, she would still share a unique connection with the one male who had rescued him and made his time guarding Selena the worst form of torture he had ever experienced.
How could he compete with the Sovereign of the most powerful territory when he was a mere guard? They were forever connected by the same female—no matter the distance between them.
The same female who had given his lifemeaning.
Shaking his head, he tried to clear the jealous thoughts that lurked in the shadows of his mind. He needed to get out of their room—and fast—before he did something he would regret.
Grabbing his suit’s disk from the nightstand, he placed it in the center of his chest and activated it. Instantly, his uniform covered him. He headed into the hallway, making his way to the galley.
“LIU, I need you to work with Euouae and keep me updated on Selena’s vitals,” Kaede ordered. “Work with EYN on formatting a nutritional drink for her to be ready when she wakes. I won’t allow her to be neglected under my watch, especially after everything she’s been through.”
“Yes, Captain.”
“Affirmative.”
The galley doors opened, revealing Selena’s whole team of ambassadors surrounding the gathering table. The room fell silent as each halted what they were doing and stared at him worriedly.
Glancing down, he checked to make sure he was fully clothed this time, knowing he had left his room in a rush. When he didn’t see anything amiss, he shook his head and studied the guests.
“What’s the matter?”
As soon as his eyes landed on the lone female, Tori, her eyes widened. Her lavender-eyed emerald mate, Luwyn, wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her body against his. Her Cosmic Soul, Celyze, leaned closer to his mate, glancing at their clan’s leader, Auro, who studied him with pursed lips.
It was as if they were protecting her from him.
Growling, he glared at the Ezzaska and pointed to the Swynemi clan. “Why do they fear me?”
The crimson male tightened his coils and straightened to appear taller as he faced Kaede, blocking the others from his view. Crossing his arms, Zyxel scanned Kaede’s body while avoiding his gaze.
“You are an alpha,” he explained matter-of-factly. “They are protecting what’s theirs.”
“The only soul I am interested in is sleeping in my bed at this very moment,” Kaede clipped, fists shaking. “There is no other, and there never will be. They have nothing to fear.”
“I have warned them about your genetics and potential instincts,” Zyxel explained. “They had the right to know that you may not be able to control yourself and may seek another female to sate your mating lust. Since she was the only other female on the vessel, I decided to let her whole clan know.”
“I am not a monster,” Kaede growled, stepping closer to the crimson male. Their height difference didn’t scare him after working for Z all this time. The Ezzaska doctor didn’t have the confidence nor the aggressive demeanor of his boss. “If I could deal with my mating heat, then I have enough control to know whom I mate with and when. I didn’t fight this hard to finally get the female of my dreams, the one whom the Stars themselves have given to me, only to throw my newly formed connection with her away for the next female I come across.
“I understand that you want to protect Tori from threats you might anticipate if I were fully Ezzaska, but I am not. You already addressed this with me, and I told you that my eyes were only on Selena. Now I repeat: No soul could compare to Selena’s brilliance.”
“You haven’t told us why you are here alone. We haven’t seen Selena since that morning you both appeared with marks on your necks.” His fiery eyes lingered and narrowed at the juncture of Kaede’s neck. “It appears that you are sporting a fresh wound.”
“Indeed,” Kaede hissed. “And I will sport it proudly.”
“We wonder where Selena’s been,” the dagger-wielding twin commented as he stepped beside Zyxel with arms crossed. “We worry about her health and wellbeing.”
