“Mwe was trying to teach me how to strengthen my walls and repel others from within my shields. I didn’t know my temporary connections with the both of you would be harmed in any way, or I wouldn’t have attempted it. My focus was on the task at hand, and with my exhaustion, I didn’t notice the disconnection,” I explained, squeezing Odelm’s hand tightly. “It wasn’t my goal for any of this to happen… and I don’t want you to think any ill thoughts from this incident.”
“Zirene tried to explain what happened, filling in as many details as he could,” V’dim explained.
“He was surprised to hear from us so soon after we left.” Z’fir glanced at the nestmates sitting next to me for a moment before meeting my gaze once again. “Odelm and Xylo confirmed what happened, but it eases my mind hearing it from you.”
“Will you accept us again?” V’dim asked, his voice laced with a yearning.
I turned and faced Xylo. “Is it possible? Can a nestqueen reestablish a court bond with a male they recently rejected?”
“I don’t recall ever coming across such an event in the recorded medical history, but severed males are capable of bonding with another. Odelm is proof of that rare occurrence.”
“You’re saying there is hope, then?”
Xylo bobbed his head, pursing his mouth in thought. “I would give it a high possibility it can be done.” He locked his eyes with mine. “I don’t want to pressure you, but… it would probably give better results if you accepted their bonding spores and completely accepted them.”
“Would their bodies be… biologically prepared to do that?”
Xylo gazed behind me, moving his attention to Odelm.
“You still have a great need to protect and procreate, correct? Even after being severed for over five years, if Selena asked you to be her nestmate and complete the bond without hesitation, do you believe you would be able to do so?”
“Yes—without a doubt.”
Xylo nodded and turned to address the princes. Their faces seemed to have brightened some from the news. V’dim’s coloring was slowly returning to normal but remained dull, not its usual vibrancy.
“Then I don’t see why she can’t take you in once again.”
“Will you have us? Can we join your clan once more?” V’dim asked.
“You don’t have to take us if you don’t want to, Selena. We understand you only accepted us into your clan to protect us from our sisters and give our crew a place to call home.”
“We don’t want to pressure you…”
“Pressure?” I asked, not believing what they just said. I stood up and walked toward the vid-screen, staring directly at the Circuli princes. “Listen to me carefully… you will get here as quickly—and safely—as possible. And when you arrive, I will claim you in front of your crew if I have to. Do you hear me?”
“Selena…”
“No. Call me nestqueen because that is what I am, and your nestqueen wants you here as soon as possible.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven Zirene
The gentle ringing in the back of his head subsided as he stared at his tablet, reading the reports he’d neglected the last month. Now that Selena was awake, he used his implant more freely, not worrying about any sudden headaches or problems from being bombarded by two sides.
The reports confirmed his senior officers could manage the fleet while he was away, patrolling their sectors within the Lunkai boundary without his constant supervision. News about the Caurg officially accepting the trade deal he offered allowed him to contact his head engineers about increasing the rate at which his new fighters were being produced.
The attack on Selena made him wary. It wasn’t a random act or an accident. Something or someone out there reached out to her, not once, but twice, searching for something.
It was his duty to make sure that whatever it was stayed away from not only Selena and her clan, but the Aldawi Empire too. He had just finished cleaning up after the war that had recently ended, and now, the Quaaw seemed like they were preparing to start another, this time forcing members in the CEG to pick sides.
Zirene feared the Quaww would declare war with yet another foreign species invading the galaxy, resulting in a war on two fronts. It was his job to make sure the Aldawi Empire would be victorious, whatever future the Stars threw at him. If it came down to it, he would protect the Aldawi Empire first and foremost, letting all the other species handle both the Quaww and another invasion. The CEG was behind the Aldawi in technology as a result of refusing to clean up what was left of the Yaarkins—now, many leaders were upset about it.
And they would continue to be, because they were lucky he gave them anything. There were already species begging for certain tech and to engage in exclusive trades with him, in hopes he would give them something others didn’t have.
A notification popping up on the corner of his tablet, so Zirene reached out and tapped it.
Xylo was paging the Destiny on Selena’s master bedroom vid-screen as Odelm was contacting their Head Maid, Symi. The minimap on the lower right confirmed all three were awake, while the readings showed they were well.
Good. They were meeting her needs.
Selena was well within her rights to contact the Circuli princes and calm their doubts. That was the reason he made sure her villa had access to all the important locations, including the ability to directly call his tablet at any time. Moments like this proved he was correct with his decision to allow the princes to confirm with Selena herself that what
