“Tell me about it,” Zyxel muttered, shoulders drooping. “How am I supposed to give a gift to her when she has everything she wants?”
“I don’t think you get it,” Xylo countered. “She may get everything she wants, but she doesn’t want much. Most of the things she wants are things like spending quality time with her. You can’t buy time. While she may enjoy trinkets and gadgets, the best thing that she loves is simple things like walks on the beach or spending quality time hanging out with her and the rest of the clan. “
Xylo followed his mental thread to his nestqueen and smiled at how much joy she was radiating through their connection. It had been a long time since he’d last seen such a smile from her.
She was home where she belonged.
He hoped he could bring more of those smiles to her, for she deserved it.
“If time is so important to her, then I am at a loss at what I’m supposed to do.” Zyxel sighed. “Because she just recently got her clan back, and I know all of the time that she wants to spend it with you guys instead. It’s going to be a long time before she ever entertains the idea of being with me.”
“Perhaps that is so.” Xylo shrugged, not wanting to comfort the male who was full of complaints. But, of course, Zyxel and Odelm would get along perfectly. “But doing things like this—” Xylo lifted the bag Zyxel had gifted Selena and gave it a quick shake, “—is one way to make yourself noticed.”
“Do you think I have a shot?” Zyxel asked.
Xylo flicked his gaze at him and saw his eyes matched the hopefulness in his voice.
He pitted the male.
While the Circuli didn’t have fated mates, their genetics required them to unite with one another. So having an instinct to give a nestqueen their mating pores to mentally and biologically tie themselves to her was a requirement in their genetics. The only way unmated males got around it was if they had formed a bondmate with another unmated male to prevent themselves from spiraling.
He didn’t want to shatter the hopes of the male who had given them such a priceless gift—but he also didn’t want to put his hopes up. It was up to Selena and what she wanted to do for him. He had to use his own merit.
“I believe the best thing for you to do is to take your time with her,” Xylo said as he watched his nestqueen and Tori try to pull Oeta into the water. “Don’t smother her—or pressure her, for that matter. There are only two things she wants, and that is to get her children and to spend time with us. So if she ever invites you to hang out—then accept and do what we’re doing right now. Do it. Use that time to get to know her better, get to know us better. The only reason Kaede has naturally become a part of the clan is because he’s been around us since the beginning. She’s known him as long as she’s known us—and they’ve always been interested in each other even though neither of them would ever admit it. If it weren’t for the fact that they spent their whole time resisting each other, they would’ve probably been together before she met Zirene. The Stars had other plans for them like they always do.
“I don’t want to discourage you, but I also want to tell you the truth.” Xylo shot a glance at the desperate male. “Maybe it’s your best interest to try to settle things with Kaede. Unlike the rest of us, he would be happy to hold grudges as long as he lives because, for him, any action against him or our clan is unforgettable, and depending on what it is, unforgivable.”
“Thanks for the advice.” Zyxel let out a hard sigh as he looked longingly at Selena. “It’s just so hard to search all these years for my fated one, and I finally found her, but instead of her being destined to me, she’s also destined to others. It just hurts to see her so close yet so far away.”
“You and Kaede have that in common.” Xylo chuckled. “If he is capable of waiting as long as he did, then you are too.”
“I sure hope so.”
“Xylo?”Selena pathed as she stepped closer, eying them both. “Am I interrupting anything?”
“Nothing important,” Xylo replied as he gave her a reassuring grin. “Did you have fun?”
“I did.” She bit her bottom lip as she peered at the bag in his hand. “Would you like me to rub that on you?”
Xylo shot a glance at Zyxel, unsure how the male felt about the exchange, but he wasn’t willing to deny his nestqueen something she wanted to do, especially when trying to help him mend.
“I’d be honored for you to do that to me.”
“Where should I do it?” Grabbing her gift from him, she pulled the canister out of the bag and placed it onto the table. Unscrewing the cap, his nestqueen raised the canister to her nose, closing her eyes as she inhaled. Coughing, she leaned over and smacked her chest as she took in deep breaths. “It has a strong aroma. Are you sure it’s safe?”
Xylo glanced at Oeta, who was studying them from the poolside. She nodded.
“I scanned it with a medpen, and it didn’t trace anything wrong with it.”
“Should we use it?”
“I don’t see why not,”Oeta replied.“The male wouldn’t attempt to do anything nefarious. I believe he honestly wants to help your clan, and you shouldn’t question his gift, even though if it were anyone else, I could see why.”
“It’s completely safe,” Zyxel replied softly. “You can even rub some on your scar if you want to see if it would get rid of it.”
“I don’t want to waste such rare resources on something superficial as a scar.” She touched her chest, tracing the length of the jagged pale mark. “I would rather use this on my Favored so that they can be happy once again.”
“I am happy, Selena,” Xylo countered, shaking his head. “You are my happiness.”
