Chapter 2 #2
Gasps rolled through the lobby.
“You know what you just did, don’t you?” Royak asked gently.
Selena was calling Zirene out for keeping everything about them a secret, changing all of his meticulous plans right before his eyes.
Selena looked directly at Zirene. Her eyes burned with a passion, which in any other situation would have made him purr in response.
She was his equal in every way—intelligent, passionate, and caring—yet he’d never seen this fiery side of her.
She’d always had her sassy moments but never the commanding presence she held now.
If she were an Aldawi, she would have been lethal defending what was hers.
“You are going to claim me as your mate, right now. You sired my cubs, and I won’t settle for being just a Seedbearer, where you only come around whenever it suits your needs.
” She removed her daughter from her sling and held her close to her neck.
“I know traditionally, based on his income, the male would give his Seedbearer private land to live on.” She pulled her nestmates closer to her and tilted their heads to expose their matching bite marks at the base of their necks.
“Well, I want to claim you as my own, too. This will establish you as a part of my clan.”
Laughter rolled from Royak. “It seems you have found your match, Zirene. May the Stars and Fates smile on you. She just made your plans easier while stating her own.”
How could she know about their laws concerning Seedbearers and their gifted land?
The law stated they could only provide Aldawi offspring to the male who established a deal with her.
By impregnating her without her consent, she took it a step farther and stated he must allow her to mark him as a mate.
She offered herself to be marked by him because that is what royals did to their Seedbearers.
She would fulfill both roles of Seedbearer and mate to him, so she could keep her clan protected.
Kaede’s reports about her dream to live peacefully as a large family came back to him.
What she didn’t know was he’d already prepared the land for her and made plans to deal with the Circuli. He didn’t need to mention that until they had some privacy. Hopefully, sooner rather than later.
Zirene stepped next to his brother and looked down at Selena.
The top of her head came up to the middle of his chest. Her small stature and fragility seemed like it couldn’t contain the fiery attitude that radiated from her.
He gazed from her nestmates to his daughter, pressed against the side of her neck, then his eyes trailed up to meet hers.
They stared at each other in silence, her eyes saying many unvoiced thoughts.
She still didn’t trust him fully. He could see the betrayal, hurt, and anger swirling in them as she tried to hide the one thing he didn’t want her ever to feel—fear. She was doing this for their cubs’ future, not caring that it would put a target on her.
Zirene turned away from her and scowled at Karwyln on the ground.
“Selena is my Nova. Her cubs were sired by me and no other. As I am your Prince, she is my Mate, meaning you treat her as you treat me. She is allowed non-Aldawi Consorts, and they are welcome to join her clan on the land I will provide for her to raise my cubs. You will treat them with respect, for they are hers as she is mine. Understand?”
“Yes, my Prince,” Karwyln mumbled.
He addressed the rest of the room. “Do you understand?” Each guard submitted and agreed when his eyes locked on them. Zirene turned to his brother and met his gaze.
“Will you honor me in witnessing our marking and confirm it for the Empire?”
Royak studied those behind him and nodded. “It would be an honor to witness such a bonding. The sooner it happens, the better. It will save us a headache later on.”
Zirene nodded and faced Selena. “I agree to your terms. When do you want it to happen?”
“Right now.” She jerked her chin. “Allow everyone in this lobby to witness to prevent any doubts.”
He would not demand that she allow him to take her in front of everyone, as tradition suggested.
It would push her farther away from him.
He wanted to love her and for her to love him back.
He knew she was only doing this for their cubs’ future.
He would have to make it up to her and prove to her he was to be trusted and wouldn’t hurt her again.
“If that is what you want, I accept.”
She nodded and pulled their daughter away from her neck, gazing down at the sleeping cub. His eyes followed, and he stilled at what he saw.
His daughter was tiny and could easily fit in one of his paws.
She resembled a miniature version of his brother, Royak, but her fur was the same silver of Selena’s hair instead of Royak’s white.
Unconsciously, he stepped closer and lightly traced his daughter’s tiny body with one of his fingers.
A quiet purr sounded as she opened her eyes to focus on his finger. Her eyes matched his.
“Prince Royak, I believe your niece looks like you but has my silver color hair, instead of your white fur, and Zirene’s amethyst eyes,” Selena beamed. “Would you like to hold her as we complete some unfinished business?”
“I would love to, but typically male Aldawi don’t—”
“I am not an Aldawi, and I believe Zirene would feel honored if you held her while you witness our marking,” she growled.
Zirene felt like an adolescent once again at how Selena carried herself among them.
Even their other siblings and the royal guard had never been this comfortable around them.
Was it the fact the Fates made her his Nova?
Or was it that she was raised outside of society and was unaware of the social standards around her?
Perhaps, after the last nine years, she had grown accustomed and comfortable with him, and being with him in person felt the same to her as if they were in their dreamscape.
“Yes. It would be an honor.”
Selena passed their daughter over and tilted her head, her fiery eyes locked onto his.
“Are you ready?”