If the Circuli were capable of crying, I believed Xylo would be right now. His pupil-less teal eyes came alive while locked onto mine. Time seemed to slow to a standstill as I waited for my cosmic scholar to reply.
I needed this.
I needed to stabilize my life by controlling what aspects I could and establishing a sense of order. Every day of the last two months had brought chaos—waking up in the colony ship, boarding the Destiny, defending my citizenship at the CEG Space Station, and moving into our permanent home on Destima. All while mothering three gorgeous cubs and becoming the mate of five males, each with a unique history, while trying to balance our clan life with ruling my gifted moon.
I was surprised I hadn’t collapsed into a raging fit yet, unable to function.
Was I holding on because of the layers of support my bonded nestmates offered—whether emotional, mental, or spiritual? Or because I had finally gotten a chance to live outside the prison I’d grown up in?
Xylo knew why I’d chosen this moment to honor him, but that didn’t change the fact that he deserved it. He had always been there from the beginning—the beginning of my new life.
Yes, Zirene had been the one to put things into motion. Our Nova-Shadow bond had compelled him to hunt for me, but he was no more important than those who came after him.
Each member of my clan added value to the group, something that I was lacking, and each had joined for different reasons.
Xylo had been an accident. I hadn’t known I was creating a bond until it had been too late, but I didn’t regret my actions. Odelm’s bond had been intentional. I’d been drawn to him because I hadn’t wanted someone who was already protective of me to suffer as a severed male.
My Circuli princes had also bonded to me on purpose, to save themselves and their crew from a life as refugees. We were still developing our friendship, and I needed to spend time with them individually, but the ease of our group date had been just the beginning. After rushing into bonds with my other mates, I was looking forward to taking things slowly, and I could tell they needed time to work through their feelings, too.
“Selena,” Xylo breathed, slowly closing his eyes as he sighed. “This is the greatest honor a nestqueen can bestow upon a member of her clan. You know that I never even dreamed of becoming a Favored—or siring your offspring. I don’t need that honor to make me feel complete or any more of a male. Maybe my view is biased by my experience growing up looking different from other Wudox, but I believe that the true measure of a male isn’t by his appearance or his ability to attract a female. It’s whether he can take care of not only his nestqueen but also his nestmates as well.” He shook his head. His thin, green, grass-like hair swayed lazily. “How is it helpful for a nestqueen’s nestmates to continually fight for her attention? Logically, I’ve always believed their effort is worth more when combined to lift each other up, wasting less time and energy on meaningless disputes when they could be focusing on the clan and the nestqueen instead.”
He cupped my face lovingly, tracing my ticklish cheek with his thumb. “Yes, I will accept your title, not because I demand or need it, but because you believe I should lead your nestmates. May the Stars bless me and show me what you need—what our children need—because you are the center of our universe, and we should never lose sight of that.”
Taking command, his lips met mine as his vines wrapped around me. I almost didn’t notice Odelm dropping my hand—this moment was Xylo’s alone. He would get his time next.
Xylo’s hands cupped my ass as he lifted me onto his lap, maneuvering me to straddle him as my legs curled around the petal blades at his waist. Combing my fingers through his lush hair, I bit into his soft, fuzzy lips as they made mine tingle, earning a moan from him. His vines pulled me tight against his body. This was our moment, and we were claiming each other once again.
I nibbled at his bottom lip, absorbing the fantastic tickle of his soft, downy fuzz, tasting his unique sweetness. He opened his mouth, inviting me to sample more of him. My tongue drove inside and danced with his. Moaning, I took in more of his addicting sweet flavor, my own secret supply.
His hands tightened on my hips, holding me still as his vines gently stroked my body. Their soft touches flowed across my skin, sending arousal spiking through me.
It had been a while since my mates had indulged in my pleasure, but there was something else I needed to do before we moved any further.
Another male that needed to be claimed.
Pulling back, I ended our kiss and pressed my forehead to his. His vines were already untangling themselves from me before I voiced, “There’s something else I need to declare.”
“I know,” he whispered, his eyes locked onto mine as he gave me one last peck on my lips. “You. Honor. Me.”
I gasped at those words, earning me a smile from him. They’d been amongst the first he had ever sent to me after I’d first kissed him, establishing our courting bond.
“Go claim my Second, my nestqueen,” he teased. “Don’t keep
