“For someone who wanted to be outside so bad, you shouldn’t have a frown on your face,” Zirene teased. “You should be relaxing and enjoying yourself amongst the clan. Is there something I should do to help you relax?” He pressed his nose against my neck, inhaling my scent, as he wrapped his arm around me from behind.
“What do you have in mind?” I purred, exposing my neck more to him.
“We could do anything you want.”
“We could…”
“But after I had my way with you, there wouldn’t be time for you to spend with your new earthborn human friend, Tori. So instead, I would have to tuck you away to sleep the rest of the day away.”
“That sounds like a challenge.” I chuckled as I instantly felt myself become slick from his suggestion. “But you are right, so I’ll have to postpone.”
“Yes, later.” He nipped my neck as he squeezed my thigh. “I can have that arranged.”
Pulling away, he jumped over the backside of the couch and sat down beside me. Peering at him, I leaned over and studied his royal purple eyes and how they reminded me that he wasn’t entirely himself. There was a part of him lost in his own darkness, needing me to help pull him to the light.
“Tonight,” he promised as his eyes traced my body. “We can make up for all the time I’ll be away, busy today.”
“Don’t promise any promises you can’t keep,” I countered. “If you aren’t in my bed by the time we retire for the night, I will make my way to your office and drag you by the ear.”
“I should say the same to you,” Zirene replied, his tail flicking onto my bare stomach. “Maybe I want you to come into my office to try to teach me a thing or two.”
“Perhaps I will then.”
“I will look forward to it.”
Sighing, I glanced over at my other mates and took in their relaxed states as they continued to be one with nature.
“I know that there are a lot of things to do, especially now that I’m here and brought more responsibilities to handle. But I still don’t want you to overwork yourself, Zirene. I want you to push me away into my nestmates’ arms because you know that we would take care of each other.” Rolling over my side, I placed my head on his chest as he wrapped an arm around me. “I love you, and I don’t want you to overwork yourself. I want you to remain a part of my life—and I’m ecstatic that you’re making Lunkai the Aldawi Capital, but I’m also worried that you mean that you would be spending more time behind a desk instead of having me standing beside you to share the burden.”
“I promise you, once the Assembly decides how we should handle the outsiders and after our cubs settle back here on Destima, I will carve a time out of my day to spend it with our clan.
“I may be the Sovereign, but I’m also your Shadow and mate. I will not neglect you because of the responsibilities I have; I will make sure of that. I’ll always find time for you and the clan.”
“That is all I ever asked for,” I whispered, cupping his cheek, feeling its softness under the palm of my hand. “I am not delusional in thinking that just because I’ve barged into your life and now that we have cubs, that you have to drop everything because of me.
“I am your Beacon—and I want to be there by your side to help rule—to establish all the changes you want to make to correct the damages your ancestors have done to the Aldawi. I don’t want all the responsibility to fall on your shoulders and your shoulders alone. So let me carry part of your burdens.
“I may not be an Aldawi, but I’ve given birth to them—and I am mated to you. I’m capable of studying and learning anything I need to know, so I’m capable of helping you in any way possible. Just please don’t shut me out. That’s all I ask. Don’t shut me out. If you need help, let me know.”
“I promise I’ll let you know, my little Nova,” he replied, leaning into my hand as he locked his eyes to mine. “But promise me that you will stay safe and continue to relax with your other mates while I’m gone doing business. Promise me that you won’t do anything extreme as you heal—as the clan heals. I don’t need to worry about you while I’m stuck behind the office. I need you to enjoy yourself, live your life, even when I’m not by your side. I have taken away some of your freedoms without your consent to protect you. And now that you’re back, I want to make sure that you have the means to enjoy yourself. This is why I will fight tooth and claw to make sure your outsiders and the rest of their crew on their asteroid will have a place to live, knowing that is what you want.
“You’re right. Humans were the CEG’s responsibility, and they let their protection slip during the Yaarkins war, so I am going to make sure the Assembly doesn’t forget about that. I’ll correct their past mistakes and sponsor them. I’ll swear them as citizens myself if I have to, claiming they are now ours to protect them. But to get that far, I need to make sure that I have all of the foundations set in place before we rush off and gather our cubs.”
“I understand,” I muttered, feeling the weight from all we needed to do come crashing down on me. “I’ll remain here and enjoy myself with my new friends. I’ll make sure you don’t need to be worried while you’re gone, but promise me you’ll return to my nestbed tonight.”
“You can count on that,” Zirene purred as he leaned down and pressed his lips to mine. “I will look forward to having you in my arms tonight, but I must go.”
“I love you…”
“I love you, too.”
As soon as the words left his lips and in a blink of an eye, he was gone.
While I was used to having Kaede teleport wherever he wanted, witnessing Zirene do it right in front of me surprised me. He hadn’t always shadowstepped—at least not so blatantly—but now that I was back in his life, I wondered if it would be more frequent. I would have to ask him about when we should prepare for our cubs to start shadowstepping, mainly because I didn’t want to be the first one to teach them.
Kaede often joked about losing oneself in the void. I couldn’t bear the thought of losing one of my cubs accidentally, even if suit shadowstepping was different from the Aldawi instinctual capability.
The thought still haunted me today.
