“All is forgiven as long as you forgive me, too.”
He smirked, choosing to respond out loud. “I’m afraid if I don’t forgive you, you may return to your savage ways and attack me. At least this time you are not pregnant; I don’t want to fight off a pregnant female ever again. I’m too old for that much excitement.”
“I won’t, but I can send my cubs after you if you need entertainment to keep from getting bored with your stagnant life.” I chuckled when his smirk suddenly dropped. “I don’t want you complaining that there isn’t anything for you to do around here.”
“No, please!” Chyox begged. “Anything but your cubs! I don’t know how your nestmates put up with them chewing on their appendages.”
“We play hunter-and-prey,” Xylo replied. “If we tire them out by playing, the cubs are less likely to chew on us.”
“Seriously?”
“I would like to save my tentacles.” He looked between my clan members. “When is the next game?”
“It depends,” V’dim replied, flicking his gaze to Xylo. “When do you think Z’fir and I can take Selena on our date?”
“Our?” I asked, confused. “You don’t want to take me on individual dates?”
“We felt more comfortable staying together on the first date,” Z’fir explained. “If that’s okay with you?”
I waved the princes off. “I’m fine with whatever you two want. I was just offering to go on individual dates to be fair to you both. If you want us to go together, then we can, no problem. I don’t want to force you to separate if you’re uncomfortable with it.”
Dropping Chyox’s tentacle, I untwined my mental thread from his and watched him close his eyes and sigh. I cataloged his mental signature in case I ever needed to call on him. Now I had three mental threads collected for future use—Mwe, Oeta, and now Chyox. I should probably slowly start gathering the rest of Xylo’s research team, and whoever else may be of value to reach out to.
“What have her readings been like while we were asleep?” Xylo asked the Senior Healer.
Chyox opened his eyes to reply. “Everything seems normal. The small swelling on her forehead is the only remaining physical evidence of her injury. Her brain scans look healthy. I recommend giving her at least a day’s rest before she attempts any extracurricular activities.”
“What type of extracurricular activities?” Zirene asked, lifting an eyebrow, his tail swishing.
Chyox averted his eyes to my Wudox mate’s blooming shoulders, his coloring tinting a nervous brown. “Of the reproductive persuasion.”
Zirene laughed, a loud bellow that filled the room and surprised its occupants.
“You need a nestqueen, so you can understand how impossible that is.”
Chapter Fifteen Selena
I was bored.
Xylo had insisted that I sit in our nestbed to make sure I didn’t overexert myself, but I didn’t understand how something gentle like floating in the pool could hurt me.
What if you are suddenly attacked by Xenak? You could drown before any of us could help you!
A bubble bath was out of the picture, too, for the same reason.
I didn’t know if they were still concerned about my attack or my resulting injuries, but they were doing nothing but hovering.
Finally, after a whole morning of my mates glued to my side, I’d had enough. I had sent them away to do their jobs. They had enough responsibilities to keep busy for the afternoon, and I was restricted from doing anything until tomorrow. There was no way I could survive being stuck with the five of them watching my every move all afternoon.
“I know it’s my job to watch over you, but you could at least do something interesting rather than just lying there in bed,” Kaede grumbled from his seat at my desk.
“Am I not exciting enough for you?” I raised an eyebrow. “I would’ve thought, with all the trouble you keep saying I cause, you would be happy with a change of pace.”
The male smirked as he shifted his crossed feet on my desk, leaning back in his chair. He had made himself comfortable while he stared at the displays on his portable computer system. If I didn’t know better, I would’ve thought he belonged there.
“There’s a difference between living normally and stopping the universe from constantly coming after you, but it seems like if it’s not one extreme, it’s the other with you.”
“What do you suggest we do?”
He flicked his gaze in my direction. “Why don’t you work on your contracts? Haven’t you wanted to draft up an agreement with the female Aldawi? A trade deal? Something along the lines of you selling their creative work on Destima.”
I shook my head. “I don’t know how I would go about getting through to someone in charge. I know how stubborn the Aldawi can be regarding the opposite gender.”
Kaede chuckled as he kicked his feet off my desk, meeting my gaze. “You forget that I have connections everywhere, and you, Selena, are someone of importance within the Aldawi empire, whether the people like you or not. By accepting your title from Prince Zirene, you can easily throw your weight around the empire. No one wants to piss off your Shadow,” he teased. “Especially within his territory.”
“So?” I asked, not entirely on board with what he was saying.
Sure, I was connected to Zirene, but I also remembered how the members of the Assembly had treated me. Several of them had thought I was an unnatural abomination, and shouldn’t be classified or protected as a citizen. I refused to believe that claiming my titles and Zirene’s royal last name would make me immune
