Arms wrapped around me, Zirene pulled me to his hard, furry chest. Leaning down, he lowered his head, rubbing it along the side of my neck—the opposite side of where he marked me. A rumble vibrated from his chest.
“I understand perfectly well, my little Nova. If that is what you want, then I will wait until Xylo and his crew are available before having my doctor come to examine you. I am sorry for not making the connection to your time with the Yaarkins sooner.”
I took in a deep breath, smelling him. His warm and spicy scent had a slightly sweet afterglow as it calmed me with each intake. It was made for me.
“Thank you.”
He reluctantly pulled away and brushed my hair behind my ears.
“Freshen up. Take your time. I will leave and wait for you in my office. It is directly across the social room from this chamber’s door.”
Without waiting for my response, he left the bathroom.
Right away, I used the waste unit, then washed my hands, splashing my face before dabbing it with a towel. Satisfied, I left the bathroom and quietly walked over to the bed to check on my clan. They were all still in a deep sleep in the same spot I left them. Slowly, I walked away and made my way to Zirene’s office.
His office shared the same color theme as the rest of his apartment - black, royal purple, and silver. His desk was against the glass wall, facing the center of the office. There was comfortable-looking black cushioned furniture in the middle of the room.
Zirene stood next to the glass wall, near his desk, staring into space.
I walked up behind him and was about to touch his shoulder, but his voice halted me.
“About nine years ago, I was in the middle of a conversation with my brother, Prince Royak, when I first felt you. A tingling sensation traveled from the tip of my tail and up my spine, drawing my attention away. Denial of the whole event plagued me, knowing Novas were almost nonexistent during these modern times. Later that day, I heard a small ringing in my head, paired with the same tingling sensation I felt earlier. I automatically stopped what I was doing and hurried to my bedroom, forcing myself into a warrior’s sleep. That is when I first met you.”
Silence fell between us after his confession. I didn’t know how to respond. Instead, I placed my hand on his shoulder as a low purr radiated from him.
“Since that day, you changed my life. At first, it baffled me that you weren't Aldawi. In all of our recorded history, there has never been a Nova that existed outside of our species. Being paired with you was both a blessing and a curse.” I felt him take in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I am the second in line to the most powerful species in the CEG and ruler of the second star system in the Aldawi Empire. My star system is the closest to this space station and to my people’s greatest rival in power, the Quaww Empire. Regardless of all this, the Fates and the Stars matched you with me.”
Zirene turned around, making my hand fall from his back as he gently brushed my hair off my mark. Glancing up, he locked his amethyst eyes, which I had loved all this time, with mine.
“I spent the next nine years getting to know you and learning everything about you. While also giving you as much knowledge about what is outside of our dreamscape and freedom to enjoy yourself as I was allowed. Outside of our dreamscape world, I led the hunt to rescue you, with the Yaarkins as my prey. It took all of my willpower not to take you away the night we met. Doing so would have prevented us from collecting all the knowledge needed to hunt down the ones who were working with them. The Yaarkins broke our deal, and in response, I had my fleet hunt down their customers. Once we slew their only clients, I returned to capture the Yaarkins and take you away from them.”
Zirene grabbed my hand and slowly stepped back, leading me toward his couch. He sat down gracefully, and I followed as he let go of my hand. His eyes roamed my body.
“By Fates, you are beautiful.”
I could feel myself blushing as I looked away, embarrassed by the direct compliment.
“You are pretty handsome yourself. I am glad I can finally see who you are.”
A black paw-shaped hand lightly gripped my chin, bringing my gaze to his.
“I am sorry for keeping my identity a secret from you. I didn’t know if the Yaarkins would somehow find out—if they could pry any information from you. Not knowing where you were drove me insane, yet I had to put up a strong front when I wasn’t alone. Only a select few knew how much it affected me, mainly Prince Royak and Agent Kaede.”
He looked away and dropped his hand. Standing, he went to the drink dispenser, selecting two drinks before returning to me. He handed me a steaming dark purple beverage in a black cup before he placed his own on the table. I watched as Zirene pulled out a blanket from a cabinet and carefully tucked me in before grabbing his drink and sitting down next to me.
“By the Yaarkins own records, your ship housed the last of their species. We rid the universe of them, but at what cost? They sacrificed their other experiments in order to try to escape. We failed the mission and weren’t able to save those lives… And we almost lost you in the process.”
“But you didn’t.”
He smiled gently at me. “No, because you are a strong female and saved yourself.” His tail brushed against my leg, sending a tickling sensation through me as
