by Jade Waltz
Tracing my nestmates threads, I found Xylo and Odelm nearby. I opened my eyes and turned my head in their direction to confirm their location. They were lying haphazardly on a round couch across the Royal Commons, unconscious to the world.
“What happened?” I asked V’dim confused.
“We don’t know.” He paused as he continued to comb my hair. “Z’fir and I followed Xylo after he became worried about you and Odelm. We walked into the master bathroom to find Odelm savagely attacking you against the shower’s wall. Xylo tried to calm the situation, only to join in. After you and Odelm… found your release, the three of you collapsed, requiring Z’fir and me to carry each of you out of the shower.” His hand softly fell to my cheek, and he gently guided my head to turn toward him. Our eyes met, and he searched mine. “I have been tending you since then.”
I couldn’t piece together what he said. I remembered Odelm being upset about me offering the princes to sire my offspring, and I remembered giving both him and Xylo rights to try. The last thing I could recall was my mouth tasting odd before I re-marked him—and him telling me to run. After that, my mind was blank. My body felt satiated and drained, but there was no pain.
I pulled my arm out from underneath the black blanket and found no marks along my skin. The cuts Zirene had caused were missing—no evidence left behind.
A series of chirps sounded nearby. My communicator quickly translated them into Galactic Common, echoing what was being spoken.
“Mine. Mine. Mine.”
“Caught. Caught. Caught.”
I turned my head to the direction of the chirps, wondering who was being claimed and what I saw made me gasp.
Kaede was on the floor on his hands and knees, my three cubs attacking him. He was in the same new black bodysuit as earlier, but his cape was draped on a chair nearby.
Meti was on his back, gnawing on one of his horns as her bushy tipped tail rapidly swooshed back and forth. The twins were double-teaming Kaede, standing on their hind legs as they yanked his long, dark blue hair in separate directions.
Kaede growled softly—clearly trying not to wake me up—as he shook his head back and forth, trying to free himself from his three attackers.
The twins lost their grip, stumbling to the ground as Meti held on tightly, her claws gripping his bodysuit’s collar, refusing to let go. Kaede took advantage of the twins' position and put his weight on his elbows as he clawed at their stomachs.
“Caught,” Kaede declared, smiling. His wide grin showed all of his teeth—as if he was intimidating them—as his fangs glistened.
I’d never seen him so happy… so relaxed… so attractive. Something about the scene made my stomach flutter, whether it was their happiness or how precious the moment was.
This was the cubs’ first time being active.
While Xylo has assured me Aldawi cubs only slept and ate for the first five to seven days, I was still nervous about how they would progress and grow compared to other Aldawi cubs. Their noises weren’t words—Aldawi or Galactic Common.
Almost all species’ children had a basic understanding of their native tongue from birth. Some could speak in a few days, while others took a few months. Circuli offspring were one of a few quicker species, capable of activity and basic telepathic communication once hatched, while the Aldawi were like most species when it came to their growth development.
I tried to hold back the tears as I watched Kaede play-wrestle with my three cubs. It was clear the cubs were working together as they tried to take him down to the floor. Meti took the high ground and went for his throat. I could tell Kaede was being careful with them, making sure they would not be injured.
“What is wrong?” V’dim asked, halting the comb mid-stroke.
“My cubs…” I replied, lost for words as tears started to fall.
“Selena. You do not need to worry,” V’dim assured as he continued to comb my hair. “It is a pretense. Practice. Training. Kaede isn’t going to harm your cubs. This is completely normal for many warrior-based species.”
I laid in silence as V’dim worked out the tangles, watching my cubs try to conquer Kaede.
I surveyed the room and noticed Z’fir was missing. My threads to Xylo, Odelm, and V’dim were in the room, but he was distant. Why was he missing when the rest of the clan was here?
“Z’fir?” I asked, slightly tugging the thread, hoping not to floor him as I did Xylo when he first taught me how to communicate mentally.
“Is everything all right, Selena?” Z’fir replied urgently.
“I woke up with you gone… I was wondering where you were,” I asked and cringed right away. I sounded needy as if I was incapable of getting by in a room filled with four other males. “It wasn’t my intention to invade your privacy. I was just—”
“You are fine, Selena. I know you didn’t have any ill intentions,” he comforted. “Even though V’dim and I are the Co-Commanders of the ship, it is my shift to supervise the Destiny to allow the other captains their time off, especially since we are docked. We want to make sure the other two captains and their assistants have time to explore the space station since it has been a while since we docked somewhere. I shall be back soon and before bed… that is, if we are welcomed to join the clan in your nest.”
Instinctively, I pulled V’dim’s faint thread to his and added him to our conversation. V’dim halted his brushing. I turned my head and met his startled face; he was shocked by me adding him to the conversation so suddenly.
“You both are welcome to join us in my nestbed. I am court bonded to you both, aren’t I?”
“Yes,” they both replied at the same time.
“Then, it is settled. I am not going to break this court bond with either of you… unless either of you doesn’t want me to be your nestqueen. I know our agreement was originally political—and if you both want it to be that way, that is fine with me. You don’t even need to share a nestbed with us, but I was hoping we could live as a clan even if the three of us were only close friends. I know traditionally, court bonded nestmates start sleeping with their nestqueen’s clan the first night, but I am willing to delay that if you both need time to process everything.”
There was a moment of silence from them. I studied V’dim as I waited.
He had a more traditional Ulax coloring than Odelm and reminded me of a deep body of water. His skin was cobalt with loose swirls in a variety of blues and violets. His anemone hair was thicker than Odelm’s, too, but a nice indigo shade. The darker coloring made his turquoise eyes pop while Odelm had a youthful aura about him, flamboyant and brightly colored. V’dim radiated maturity, seriousness, and order—like Z’fir.
Perhaps it had to do with the princes being raised together and sharing a nestbrother bond from a young age as they grew up together. It made me wonder if they were capable of being individuals with separate thoughts and dreams, or if growing up together with such an intimate bond create a shared persona split between two life-forms. Z’fir and V’dim were both considered strong in their mental capabilities, especially for being male. Was their connection the reason why their powers were stronger than most males? Did they somehow share each other’s abilities through their shared bond?
“We would be honored to share a nestbed with you and your clan,” Z’fir said.
V’dim cupped my cheek, drawing my gaze to his.
“We won’t pressure you to decide whether you want to make our bond permanent or when. That decision is up to you and only you.” He paused and licked his lips nervously. “We would like to wait until we settle on your moon. A Circuli male separated for a long time from their nestqueen would cause unpleasant effects on his body. Once a male injects their bonding spore, their life is bonded to that female. That is why the Circuli don’t enjoy venturing from our home planet, and why mainly unmated males are in the fleet. Once a member of the Warrior Class becomes mated, their nestqueen would need to travel with them, or they need to retire to a training position planet-side. We learned this the
hard way when we first joined the war against the Yaarkins and all of our mated warriors became weak and sick.”
“Is that why it is so important in your culture for a nestqueen to share her nestbed with all of her nestmates?”
“Yes. Just your presence brings comfort to us. We are capable of being away for short periods, but anything longer than a moon causes our bodies to shut down,” Z’fir explained.
“And you believe you may be separated from me for that amount of time?”
“You are a Seedbearer to an Aldawi prince. Even though you may not be on the greatest terms at the moment, it would be foolish to believe he won’t be taking you to your new home personally. It is his gift to you after all,” V’dim warned.
“We would need to help pilot the Destiny and prepare the crew when we arrive to settle. The more we organize before arriving, the better it would be for all involved. Prince Zirene has the highest tech in the CEG, and the Destiny is an ancient model from their original expansion period. It is much slower than what he has available currently, so we would most likely arrive days behind you. One moment.” Z’fir paused, and V’dim gently stroked my cheek as we waited. “Navigations calculate we should arrive about four days after the Aldawi.”
“I understand if you both want to wait until we are settled before we complete our bond,” I closed my eyes and sighed, leaning into V’dim’s chest. “I want to get away from all the politics around me. It’s tiring.”
“I hate to cut this short, but I am needed,” Z’fir apologized. “Selena, please allow V’dim to take care of you while Xylo and Odelm are resting. V’dim will keep me informed until I return.”
“See you tonight,” I replied before releasing his court bond thread.
“It looks like the prince collector has finally woken up from her slumber after being ravished,” Kaede chuckled.
I rolled my eyes and sat up, folding my arms as I looked at him in disgust.
Somehow Kaede’s cape ended up on the floor with the cubs sleeping soundlessly, curled up together on top of it.
“We both know Prince Zirene never informed me who or what he was, Agent Kaede,” I scoffed quietly. “Not that it is any of your business—”
“Everything you do is my business,” Kaede interjected as he walked over to where V’dim and I sat.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know,” I mocked. “So, you know why, and I shouldn’t need to explain myself to you unless you are failing to do your job. Perhaps I should see if I can get you replaced with someone who wasn’t such a—”
“It’s not needed,” Kaede barked, his neon green eyes hardened.
“Then stop acting like an ishing frax and get over yourself.”
Dark blue tentacles wrapped around my torso and pulled me away until my back hit something hard.
“I may be a prince, but I am also a member of the Warrior Class and worked my way up the ranks to Commander and became one of the captains of my ship,” V’dim said, his voice sharp with anger. “Just because you are a walking supply of gadgets, doesn’t mean you can mock Selena. I can defend her if needed. If she wanted to mate with all of the Destiny’s available crew, she could. That is her right and doesn’t make her any less of a being, or anything like the Quaww with their flocks.”
Kaede hissed and flashed his fangs.
“She would never be a part of a flock. I would never allow it.”
“It isn’t your choice,” I stated.
“One moment, Selena.” V’dim wrapped an arm around me, tucking me into his side as his tentacles gave me a slight squeeze. “He has a point. It may be your choice, but you wouldn’t want to be a member of a Quaww flock. Not now, at least.”
“Why is that?”
“Because they share partners, as in one male gathers multiple females in his home and breeds them. The richer and more powerful they are, the more females they can attract and manage. To keep a powerful stronghold, they reward any males willing to join their flock the choice of females to breed with whenever they do a good deed. Males without a flock tend to do anything to join one and have such a right. They would kill to have a chance to be rewarded a night with a female,” V’dim explained.
“And the females have no say in this?”
“It’s cultural. Males have all the power. Females have no rights, but they are pampered and well taken care of. Keep them happy, and other females will more likely want to join that flock. It only takes one male to sire a new generation, so only the best get to breed with a female. For example, if a male is intelligent, their business may be highly profitable, so they would want to attract strong males to breed with their females to create an army in return to protect them. If they consider a female highly attractive, she would have more suitors than those less desired. Finding a male who is considered exotic and convincing him to join the flock would attract exotic females. Breed them, and you have the next generation of members who will keep the flock growing,” Kaede scoffed. “Their system creates extreme loyalists, wanting to please flockmasters and their four governing Windlords. They would do anything to belong, for being without a flock makes you vulnerable.”
“Then why was Qraniebi with you if they are so… bad?” I asked, confused.
“That male is trouble,” Kaede growled. “You are best to stay away from him and any other Quaww. They are bad news, and if you could take anything away from the trial today, remember they wanted you and were almost willing to start a war over it. Stay away from them, and we will do our best to protect you and your clan.”
“We?”
“My sisters and I.” Kaede raised his head proudly and winced, turning toward the wall. “They have been demanding to meet you and your cubs. I keep telling them to give you more time to settle down, but they are becoming impatient.”
“They can introduce themselves tomorrow over breakfast,” Xylo interjected groggily. “That is, if that works for everyone. Some things need to be discussed tonight.”
“And Selena needs to be fed,” V’dim added.
Xylo sat down next to me and brushed my hair back, tucking it behind my ear. I leaned into his touch as I searched his worried teal eyes.
“Do you want to tell me what happened?”
“Are you all right?”
Xylo gave me a warm smile. “Other than wanting to know what happened to our clan, I am well enough.”
I glanced over at Odelm, who still hadn’t moved from his location, and peered at the sleeping cubs as I tried to form the words.
“Odelm was… hurt. I offered the princes the chance to sire the next offspring before you and him.” I grimaced at the memory. “He believed he wasn’t good enough to have a chance—not with the princes and your mental capability or the fact that you were my first.” I returned my gaze to Xylo and licked my teeth, noticing a pair of lumps near my fangs. “Something came over me, and I bit him.” I chuckled at how ridiculous that sounded. “It was as if some part of me needed to remind him he was mine, and I wasn’t going ever to let him go.”
“Did you notice anything different? Any changes?” Xylo’s eyes roamed to Kaede for a split second before returning to mine. “It is important for me to know.”
“There was a slightly tangy taste in my mouth right before I bit him,” I confessed.
“Stars… that changes everything,” Kaede murmured.
“Changes what?” V’dim asked.
“She gained my Bahzyl venom,” Kaede said in disbelief. “Thank the Stars, it isn’t Vusyte. All we need is you going around, killing whoever you have the urge to bite.”
Xylo removed his hand as his face turned serious. “What can you tell me about Bahzyl?” he asked as he stood up and studied the room for a moment. “I need to know what aftereffects it has. Selena’s bite somehow triggered Odelm’s manhood to become active outside of her heat cycle and blinded him in a lust rage.” He walked over to a table with multiple medical gadgets to pick up his scanner and returned to me.
“Bahzyl puts the victim in a paralyzi
ng state of arousal and would remain in their system until they burn it out. It varies between victims.” Kaede cringed. “Other than that, there are no lasting side effects.”
“Can it be controlled?” I asked, worried every time I had the urge to mark one of my mates—or bite someone in defense—I would inject them with Bahzyl accidentally.
Kaede met my gaze and licked his fangs, his black forked tongue flicking in and out as he studied me. “You didn’t inject Prince Zirene when you marked him on the day of your arrival. I can control what glands to use and when. I assume it is the same with you. You weren’t trying to mate with him, so the venom wasn’t needed.”
What he said was true. I wasn’t trying to comfort Zirene when I marked him. It was political, even though we had a connection and a history together. Odelm’s bite was different. I wanted him to know how much I loved and cherished him. I needed to show him how much he mattered to me. Wrapped up in my thoughts and feelings about him, I must have triggered my new glands to release their venom as if my body was telling me I needed to be united with him.
Was that the reason why mine didn’t paralyze like Kaede’s? Or was it because my body only absorbed that effect from his venom?
I fell silent as Xylo examined my arm, although my injuries were long gone.
He explained firsthand what had happened from his point of view.
When I injected Odelm with Bahzyl, his mating rage poured over his connections with both Xylo and me. While Xylo’s body wasn’t capable of performing, through both of Odelm’s and my bonds with him, he needed to join us. Odelm almost fought him before I asked him to allow Xylo to aid my release. While Odelm ravished me, Xylo focused on kissing me. My release made Xylo’s legs give out, the effects echoing through Odelm. When Odelm climaxed, he collapsed because of the rush that coursed through him.
“If my Bahzyl did that to both of you, what would happen if I accidentally use it on either of the princes?” I faced V’dim. “You both have shared a nestbrother bond since you were hatchlings. I am afraid of what would happen to the crew if I caused either of you to faint like I did when you searched me on the Destiny.”