“That’s enough,” Zirene barked, raising his hand. “He can stay if my Beacon wills it, but until she makes the decision, I don’t want to hear you airing your grievances. There are more important matters at hand. If they are indeed fated, then there is nothing we can do to stop it.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Kaede
“Kaede.” Zirene sighed, shaking his head. “As much as I would love to send them back to where they’ve come from, we both know I can’t. They’ve seen too much. Besides, all we can do now that news about them has spread across the moon is host them until Mwe arrives. Let him deal with them. If they do something wrong, you have my permission to handle it.”
“I’ll handle it by grounding Zyxel and wiping that cocky smirk off his flawless face,” Kaede muttered, glancing at the vidscreen, taking in the serene view. Selena slept peacefully among her healing clan; their limbs entangled as they reached for their nestqueen—reminiscent of how things were before the day he had failed her. “How do you think she will take the news?”
“Truthfully… there’s enough happening that I think she will take it in stride—another change to take in. Selena doesn’t hold grudges. Believe me, I know. While it took her some time to forgive me for my misdeeds, she did allow me to remain in her life and join her clan.”
“But she just accepted me—”
“And she won’t push you away over something beyond your control,” Zirene reassured him. “Out of all of us, you are the one who believes in the whole Cosmic Order the most. Why would the Stars lead you two down this path if it weren’t the Fates’ will?”
“I trust in the Stars—I always have—even though I tried to resist their direction. Selena crashed into my life the moment I came across her files many years ago. I became infatuated with her, needing to know where she was and everything about her. I tried to convince myself it was just my instincts, that I was doing what I was designed to do, hunting the prey you assigned to me. Yet as soon as I met her on the Destiny, the full effect of her allure stunned me. We’ve shared an undeniable attraction ever since.”
Kaede reached for Selena on the windscreen as if he could grab her and feel the softness of her skin. “A connection. The very thing I tried my darndest to defy. How could I guard the woman I had become obsessed with? The one you assigned me to.” Lowering his hand, Kaede peered over his shoulder at his clanbrother. “You and I aren’t that different. Not anymore. We are stars within the same constellation, with Selena as our center point. I refuse to resist her call as much as I refuse to abuse it. Ever.”
“And I won’t stand in your way.” Z gestured to the chair in front of his desk as he pulled out a pair of short crystal glasses and a bottle filled with shimmering iridescent liquid. “She may be my Nova—and the Aldawi Beacon—but I know I can’t deny her mates access to her.”
Kaede studied the powerful male before him and realized that for the first time, he wasn’t afraid to meet his eyes. His boss may be one of the most powerful beings in the galaxy, but Kaede didn’t feel any jealousy for once. He wouldn’t trade positions with him, a leader and public figure. There was already too much attention fixed on him ever since he had returned with Selena, and once word got out that he had brought outsiders into the galaxy, he would gain more.
He could no longer lurk in the shadows as he had always done in the past—not when his duty as Selena’s mate would require him to be by her side when no one else was. It was something he would have to accept with time, and he would because he took his new position within the clan proudly.
Throwing himself onto the cushioned seat, Kaede accepted the alcoholic beverage from the Aldawi male. He had always considered him the savior of his family. Gone were the ethereal flames and hostile lines on his face; instead, his eyes were a royal purple—a sign he hadn’t ultimately returned to peace. His sagging shoulders betrayed that he was tired and barely able to hold it together under all the recent stress as their mate remained in a deep slumber.
“I am not lying.” Z gave a silent toast to the vidscreen before lifting a glass to him, locking eyes with him. “You are now mine, more than ever.” His gaze flickered to the new mark Selena had given him the night before. “You are my eyes and ears, for it is your duty to protect our mate, especially when I am not around to do it myself.”
“I always have—and always will.”
“I know. I know.” Z threw back the drink and sighed. “Look, Kaede. This isn’t easy for me. You know about my kind and the Nova-Shadow bond. I was just betrayed by my sire, but I refuse to follow the same dreadful path my leaders have set before me, continuing the curse of my family’s name. I know I should feel hostile towards you, but somehow, I don’t. Whatever this is”—he gestured between them—“our connection through Selena—the more I wrap my head around it, the easier it has become to accept. You are not a threat but an ally with the same goal: to love and be loved by our shared female.”
“We are of the same constellation. It is said that it’s only natural for us to feel this way.” Kaede pointed to the vidscreen. “That is why it was so easy for our Circuli clanbrothers to work as a unit. Not only is it instinctual for them to care for their nestqueen, but paired with their biological triggers, I can see why the Stars led them to her first. She needed a strong foundation before we could officially join her.”
“Their own species’ needs gave her the strength to stand on her own two feet for the first time as a free female, and now, as a CEG citizen,” Zirene muttered, refilling his glass before offering Kaede more. “It makes sense in the grand scheme of life for her to surround herself with submissive males when there’s us… hardened vets from the Yaarkins War who killed many to free the demi-humans and search for her. No matter how much we wish it, our hands are stained with too much blood to be with her first. The Stars must’ve known this.”
“It doesn’t matter now.” Kaede finished his glass and accepted Z’s offer for a refill. “We are both hers.”
“And we are both sires of her offspring.”
“Different situations,” Kaede bit out.
“Both products of love,” Zirene corrected. “I know I should’ve taken my chances and told her what I was doing—what I believed needed to be done to protect her—but I couldn’t risk someone breaking the mental shields I helped strengthen and exposing everything. It was the same reason I didn’t tell her who or what I was until you brought her to my side. Those are the mistakes that I will forever carry with me. I love our cubs and don’t regret creating them; my only regret is how and why they were made. But you, Kaede? You have what I wished for, as crazy as it may seem. You and Selena created life out of your love for one another. That is something you can’t deny.”
He downed his glass again and let out a deep breath.
“I won’t waste time being jealous. It took nine years for her to reach this point, and I don’t want to wait longer to finally be able to have her in my life. I refuse to create havoc and delay the clan coming together as a unit simply because I can’t have her to myself. I already accepted that as soon as theDestinydiscovered her. You and I traveled different but parallel paths, and in the end, we achieved the same thing.”
As much as Kaede wished he could form the words needed to counter that speech, he couldn’t. Zirene was right. Instead of responding, he took a sip of the fruity beverage, feeling it burn on the way down just like the bitter truth of their positions.
They were the same—two strong males within her constellation, who had chased Selena across the galaxy to find her, love her, and now both were her children’s sires.
“Look, Kaede.” Z stood and shadowstepped in front of the desk, using his tail to move his glass and bottle to the side as he leaned against it. His eyes held no malice or challenge when he locked gazes with Kaede, something he rarely did unless he genuinely viewed another as an equal. “What do we need to do to get rid of this awkwardness between us?”
“You mean your sudden need to claim me?” Kaede threw back the rest of the drink and let out a pitiful chuckle as he placed the glass on the desk. “I know that it’s going to take time to get used to being clanbrothers after spending years as boss and employee. If giving me orders in the bedroom is what it takes for you to feel less threatened by me, then so be it. I am used to following your lead and don’t need to be in charge.”
“I promised Selena I wouldn’t treat you as an employee any longer,” Z confessed, letting out a huff. “Not like it would matter. You usually did what you wanted, how you wanted, to get a mission done.”
