Xylo studied Zirene as he ordered another drink, wishing he was an Ulax for once so that he could sense his emotions.
“No. There has to be a reason. It is not our place.”
Zirene sat down across from him, his amethyst eyes locked on Xylo.
“I know you are having a silent discussion. The reason I told Kaede to keep his identity a secret from Selena wasbecause I wanted to gauge how she was reacting to all the surrounding changes. I know she felt self-conscious about how she looked compared to the other females aboard the ship she was on. I plan to introduce her to the demi-human community living onDestima.”
“Exactly how large of a population are we talking about?” Odelm asked.
Zirene took a sip of hisXowyn.
“There are five hundred and thirty-seven second-generation trans-humans living onDestima. Kaede, his five half-sisters, and Selena are all prototypes of projects separate from the rest. The demi-human population lives in the walled building Selena helped create. Kaede and his half-sisters live in their base on the highest point of the moon, overlooking the clan’s property and the surrounding islands. The academy houses over one hundred thousand Aldawi warriors being trained and updated for the fleet. My goal was to make her moon a special military base to keep her protected while I am away.”
Xylo couldn’t believe what Zirene told him. Everyone believed the human race was extinct due to the tragedy that happened to them. Now, Selena would have a small population of others similar to her. She would finally have a place to belong.
“What about Kaede? He shared his DNA with Selena through his semen when he helped her dilate when she was giving birth. With him not knowing what species he is spliced from, we won’t know what traits Selena adopted from him,” Odelm commented.
“It is something we need to monitor. Kaede has spent a lot of resources trying to figure out what the Yaarkins did to him. There are no creatures or species in the Euph Galaxy that share the same traits as him. I am assuming he is either a spliced combination of what is available in the Euph Galaxyor a species native to where the Yaarkins came from. No matter what, he is loyal to both the Aldawi Empire and to me. His instincts would drive him to be the perfect guard for Selena.”
Odelm sighed. “He has hurt Selena with his avoidance of her. I am afraid of what would happen between those two once he comes around. Part of me wishes he would stay away and guard her from afar, but I know that may not always be the case.”
Xylo nodded. “Her thoughts about him confirm what Odelm said. She feels betrayed and used by him because you ordered him to befriend her to keep tabs on her. Now that you are around, his friendship with her is no longer needed. Whenever those two meet, it will be a heated discussion.”
Zirene leaned back and took another sip of his drink, eyeing both Odelm and Xylo.
“Kaede has never strayed from his missions and is one of my best warriors. If he believes avoiding her is something he needs to do to keep himself from distraction, I will not interfere. He is in charge of keeping Selena and our cubs safe.” A growl escaped him. “By taking in her blood when he bit her, he can now trace her location if they are on the same planet. He has always used this skill to hunt a target when he is on a mission. Even though I do not agree with what happened, I will overlook it if it will help keep her safe.”
“When are you going to explain all of this to Selena?” Xylo asked tightly.
“Leave that to me,” Zirene sighed and locked his eyes with Xylo. “I know I messed up with Selena. It will take a while for her to fully trust me and be once again as comfortable with me as she is with the both of you. I kept my identity from her and forced her to become a mother, knowing everything would be hectic in her future.” He took in a deep breath, as his ears flicked back, before letting it out.
“How about I monitor the cubs at night in the spare bedroom so you both can comfort her and sleep through the night until we arrive atDestima? I know the three of you haven’t been able to spend time together as a clan at night because of the cubs. Selena isn’t ready for me to join you guys in the same bed yet, and until she asks me, I won’t force myself in it. I am hoping she will agree to spend some alone time with me to work things out while we are onDestimaand explain everything we have discussed here during that time. To that, our cubs will need to be taken care of and watched over so she won’t worry about them. That is what I am hoping you two will agree to do. Let me watch over the cubs at night while we are still here, and when we are onDestima, you will watch the cubs while I try to court her at night.”
Xylo felt that Zirene’s offer was fair. They hadn’t been able to have any time to comfort Selena at night since the cubs were born. Trading the responsibility for the cubs would benefit everyone involved.
He kept his gaze on Zirene as he asked Odelm.“What do you think?”
“I believe it is a reasonable request. We’ve had the cubs in our bed with us, and our focus has been on making sure they are taken care of while Selena recovered. Zirene is correct that by doing so, we haven’t been able to spend time sleeping with Selena. It is an honor to do so, but I miss waking up entangled with both you and her. Trading time with the cubs would allow us to treat each other as equals, regardless of our ranking or career. Selena wants her clan to respect each other and get along, and this would add to it.”
“Then it is settled. If Selena ends up sleeping with Zirene someplace without us on one of those outings, we need to make sure she knows it is fine. They need to rekindle what they originally had, and we should support them both in doing so.”
“Even though it would feel odd not sharing a bed with ournestqueen, I understand the reasoning and would rather have her happy. At least we will still be able to feel her.”
A smile crossed Xylo’s face as he nodded at the Aldawi prince. “We both agree to your terms. It is for the betterment of our clan for both of you to work out your differences. We hope one day soon, you will share the same clan bed with us where you belong.”
Zirene relaxed in his chair. “Thank you both. I will remember this.” He glanced at Xylo and his nestbrother. “It is getting late. How about you both help me move our cubs to my spare bedroom, and we all go to bed? Tomorrow is an important day for us all, and it will be here before we know it.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Selena
A gentle squeeze from an arm draped over my waist woke me from my slumber. My dreams seemed so lonely without Zirene after spending almost every night with him in the dreamscape. They didn’t feel the same with him missing.
Opening my eyes, I surveyed the dimly lit room. Both nestmates had their appendages entangled around me as they slept—Odelm’s arm rested on my stomach as Xylo’s hand held a few strands of my hair. They both faced me as their deep breathing tickled my exposed skin.
It felt odd waking up without both breasts feeling full. Sadness gripped me at the thought of my lost production, even though my body had had enough time to heal from the pregnancy completely. Somehow I felt more well-rested than I should be. The cubs should have woken up by now for a feeding. I scanned the room once more, wondering where the cubs were, since they weren’t curled up in our bed.
Fear gripped me when I couldn’t find them. They were missing from our room.
