Neazzos held on tight as Pavryn spun in circles, trying to drag the young cub off. Nocrez playfully chased after them, his laughter filling the air.
"It looks like your brothers need a little help," I chuckled, removing my dress cape. "How about we win you a fishing trip?"
"I will catch you lots of fish, Ma!"
Smiling, I tossed my cape to Xylo, who caught it, looking stunned.
"What are you doing?"
“I’m going to help Meti.” Kicking off my boots, I turned my back on Odelm and looked over my shoulder. "Can you untie my dress, please?”
“Is this safe?” I could feel his cold hands graze against my skin as he worked my ties.
“My brother knows how to restrain his strength,” Zirene scoffed. “Or he wouldn’t be mentoring our cubs.”
“They are cubs, Odelm,” I deadpanned, rolling my eyes. “I can take him.”
Slowly, Odelm dragged his hands along my sides, teasing my skin beneath the seams of my dress. Gripping my straps, he kissed the skin along my shoulder to my neck as he disrobed me.
Closing my eyes, I exposed my neck to him as he wrapped his arms around my bare stomach, pulling me against his chest. “Promise me you will be careful,” he murmured when his mouth reached my ear.
“You have nothing to worry about.” I opened my eyes and glanced at my concerned mates. “Instead of worrying about me, how about you dedicate your time to planning our dates?”
Dragging his hands against my sides, Odelm released me reluctantly.
“If that is what you want us to do,” V’dim replied, stepping closer to Zirene. “Are you sure she will be fine? I know how Aldawi . . . ”
Studying the scene in the pool, Zirene crossed his arms with narrowed eyes. “Selena will be fine,” he promised, his tail loosely twitching. “Stop worrying about her and let her have her fun with her cubs.”
Screeching, I wrapped my arms around my dreamscape male and gave him a quick kiss. “Thank you!”
His amethyst eyes widened in shock. I didn’t miss the amusement that flooded his face as I turned away.
“Let’s go, Meti!”
My silver daughter took off on all fours, and I ran after her, giggling.
This was precisely what I needed after my stressful speech: to have fun with my cubs. It didn’t matter if my mates watched or not, because this was my time to be free.
Meti leaped onto Pavryn’s chest, gripping his bushy black mane. Her growl brought laughter to my lips, the sound like a cuter version of my own.
She bit down onto his mane as she held on tight. Nocrez jumped into action and attached himself to one of Pavryn’s hind legs, impeding the mentor’s movement.
Splashing through the shallow water, I vaulted onto Pavryn’s back with a roar, latching onto his mane. Wrapping my legs around his torso, I put Pavryn into a loose headlock while grappling to get a good grip around his neck from his thick mane.
“Surrender!”
“Or what?” Pavryn challenged, as he tried to thrash us off.
“Or you will have to declare to everyone that mere cubs defeated you,” I grinned, staring at my secret weapon. “I know your weakness!”
“I have no weakness!”
That was where he was wrong.
All Aldawi had one weakness: their ears. The fragile triangular cups on their heads were sensitive to all kinds of touch.
I had learned this one afternoon when Zirene had tried to pin me down, declaring that I couldn’t get out of his grasp. The twitching movement of his ears caught my attention. The next thing I’d known, I had been pinching them, instantly eliciting an extreme reaction that I wasn’t expecting.
Pulling myself higher on his crouched back, I secured my grip around his neck and snaked my hand to one of his ears.
Swiftly, I pinched his ear, earning myself a roar. Growling, Pavryn thrashed around as he tried to free himself from my torture.
One by one, my cubs fell off as I held on tight. They sat along the side, cheering for me as I refused to let him win.
“Yield!”
“Never!”
Smirking, I unhooked one of my legs, feeling his tail trying to grab hold. Then I kicked the back of his knee.
He fell hard, onto all fours, panting.
The water only came up to his elbow, but at this position, it seemed deeper. Nevertheless, I worked my way along his back. Hooking my legs around his shoulders, I sat on his shoulder blades, gripping his neck between my thighs as I pinched both of his ears.
Pavryn lowered his body as he let loose a massive sigh.
“You win, Selena,” he drawled, defeated.
Raising my arms, I let out my best attempt at an Aldawi victory roar to the sky. The sun’s light welcomed me, beaming through the sanctuary’s plexiglass dome.
A shadowy figure caught my eye.
In the corner of the second-floor overhang, Kaede watched me, leaning against the railing with his black-gloved hands clasped before him.
The moment our gazes met, his neon-green eyes locked onto mine.
Nodding, he smirked as he teleported away.
Chapter Six Xylo
Nervous couldn’t begin to describe how he felt at that exact moment.
All night, all he could do was to stare at the night sky with his nestqueen in his arms and wonder about the next day. By the time he was able to fall asleep, Selena had woken him up, excited for the day.
Why had he decided to go first?
Even though all of his nestbrothers agreed not to make this a competition, he had a feeling it would still become one, even if friendly. Odelm was too determined to be Selena’s best mate; he’d already gone out of his way to contact Vagren about arranging a surprise for his date.
Whatever it was, it kept Odelm’s mind busy. Every passing thought was a what-if or a should-I, making it hard for Xylo to focus on his plans.
He was growing worse than Selena when it came to worrying about the future, which was ironic because he was
