Kaede had refused to give her the fine details. He sided with Z and Oeta. Revealing everything would only prematurely crush her fragile spirit.
As selfish as it may be, he wanted her as she was—only his.
While he enjoyed being with Selena, how many times he had taken her pained him. After their initial night together had triggered his mating cycle, he had made sure he remained in control each time.
His instincts demanded that she remain in their room and only leave their bed to relieve herself. This was his nest, his home for her to stay, and no other male was allowed nearby. He wouldn’t tolerate their scents tainting his dominion, polluting the air with aromas that didn’t belong.
However, he would take care of her needs, protect her from her dark thoughts of what was to come, and make sure she was treated like the queen that she was.
He would shield Selena from herself if he had to. It was his duty to not only protect her as her guard but as a mate, too.
Finally, he would shield her from himself and his desires.
Kaede had refused to use his Luzatu to subdue her and prevent her from leaving. He didn’t need to, for she had spent the time sleeping and regaining her energy.
Something she would need for the many days to come.
The Stars had tied their fates together, but that hadn’t relieved Kaede of the feeling that he still didn’t deserve to be mated with her.
She wasn’t afraid of him and what he was.
Sighing, Kaede untangled his limbs from hers and forced himself to pull away. He needed to go to the bridge before the embers in his veins relit and became an inferno.
While he could remain in bed with her until they arrived on Destima, the assassin inside him needed to take charge. He couldn’t hide in his room while outside Aldawi territory. An instinct in the back of his mind kept him anxious about the universe around him.
He had thought that once they entered the galaxy’s borders and united with his siblings, he would feel calmer, but he didn’t want to fail once again. They were on their journey home from a rescue mission after Selena had been kidnapped due to his oversight—the mistake that had damaged her whole clan and tipped the scales to make Z the new Sovereign. He had thought placing her into the Cryopod and saving her from the impending battle had been the right choice. If he had known that Xenak’s team had been lurking in the shadows to swoop in and clean up the mess they had created, he would have stayed by her side and chanced both their survival until his siblings could get to them.
That had been his second mistake. One he didn’t want to repeat.
The Fates had led them on this path and crossed her path with Zyxel and her new ambassadors. If this was their will, he couldn’t hold on to his anger about Selena’s new relationships.
They had gifted him Selena and finally brought them together. It was his fear of losing her once again that kept him on edge. He didn’t know what the Fates had in store for them, especially since Selena was the center of attention. Many others were interested in what she was capable of, and now that she was bringing those from outside the galaxy into play, it would only make her a greater person of interest.
May the Stars bless them all.
Scanning the latest report, Kaede sighed, knowing he had better leave while he could still convince himself to go.
While Kaede trusted his Oetsae crew and REI to make sure they were well taken care of for the remainder of the journey, for Selena’s wellbeing, he needed to give her some space to recuperate.
If he remained in this room any longer, her unique aroma and smooth skin pressed against his would tempt him to wake her and hear her moan his name once again.
Kaede lifted the comforter to take one last look at his mate and burn the image of her sleeping, peacefully curled on her side, in his bed into his mind to remember this moment in the future.
Her long silver locks may be shorter, but that didn’t make her any less attractive to him. Her color-changing spots seemed painted by the Stars themselves, delicately adorning her skin with their glow.
Oh, how he had loved making her squirm as he kissed every mark, making them glow a bright violet, signifying the amount of love she had felt.
She was his greatest treasure in the universe—only the cubs rivaled her importance, and any children she may have in the future.
Beneath it all, her fierce passion and loyalty called to him. This female would be the end of him, he knew it, but it was a price he was willing to pay for eternity to be hers.
“Zirene…” she whispered as she flipped over, gripping the sheets where he had abandoned them. Her strained voice broke the room’s silence.
Gritting his teeth, he tucked in the blanket around her and backed away. No matter how far she was from her other mates, she would still share a unique connection with the one male who had rescued him and made his time guarding Selena the worst form of torture he had ever experienced.
How could he compete with the Sovereign of the most powerful territory when he was a mere guard? They were forever connected by the same female—no matter the distance between them.
The same female who had given his life meaning.
Shaking his head, he tried to clear the jealous thoughts that lurked in the shadows of his mind. He needed to get out of their room—and fast—before he did something he would regret.
Grabbing his suit’s disk from the nightstand, he placed it in the center of his chest and activated it. Instantly,
