Chapter 28
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Kaede
Kaede paced angrily in his room as he tried to rid himself of his need to watch Selena, to study the moves of her and everyone around her.
His addiction to her was dangerous—not just for her and her clan, but the Aldawi Empire as well.
One missed moment could mean her death—or worse, her kidnapping—by those who would love to torture and use her as bait against Prince Zirene.
Selena’s importance to him made her a prime target for those who wished to bring Prince Zirene to his knees.
That didn’t include the value of her capabilities.
He heard the whispered murmurs and saw the long, stolen glances others made around her.
They saw her as an object. A prized possession, capable of unlocking secrets to create many things—hybrids, clones, mass breeding, even harvesting all her eggs to create a new army—all the things that had been forbidden by law to prevent one nation from taking over the galaxy.
The Quaww didn’t enjoy being second best. A few minor species rode their tail feathers, hoping they could rake in the benefits.
If they found any means to take the Aldawi down, the rest of the CEG would crumble.
The Quaww were only in it to protect themselves from outside threats.
Now that the Aldawi had gotten rid of the invading Yaarkins, the Quaww were beginning to believe they had no reason to continue playing nice with the others.
He would be a fool to believe that just because Selena won her case, everything would be smooth flying from here on out.
Deep in Kaede’s bones, he felt they were still in the midst of an asteroid field and had just come to a break. The question was, how long did they have to breathe before things got hectic once again? Would they ever escape?
This was why he needed to fight whatever he—she—they did to change him the day she went into labor. Did it have something to do with her bringing forth his cock from its sheath? Or did it have something to do with him finding his release for the first time?
Each time he scented her, he felt something he’d never felt before—a great need to rut her, pin her down, and use her for his own will. His cock was always hovering at the seam, waiting to release itself from its prison whenever she was around.
The problem was, his body knew her blood, thus she was his prey. He could easily track and hunt her down whenever he pleased, as tempting as it was sometimes. This was why he was avoiding her. He needed to get ahold of himself. He wasn’t hers and would never be.
Yet in the back of his mind, there was always a thread of hope that by some slim chance, the Fates and Stars would allow them to be together; he mustn’t be like them and take.
Kaede promised himself he would never force Selena to do such a thing. Their one time together would be the only moment they would have for him to cherish—even though the circumstances weren’t favored.
He settled for making sure she was happy—and safe—for she deserved to have that in life and not have others take that away from her.
He hissed in anger at the thought of what Prince Zirene did to her. After everything he did to her, she was starting to forgive him—only for him to abuse the trust and everything they had built together for useless secrets.
How could he be so dimwitted?
Even with the short time Selena spent with him, Kaede knew she preferred being told the truth and having all the facts from the beginning.
Yes, Kaede knew he had been blunt with her, but after she cooled down, she realized he was right, even if his way of expressing it may not have been the most tactful.
Something about her always made him say the wrong thing.
But it didn’t matter, for he could not—would not—pursue Selena.
She was Prince Zirene’s Nova, first and foremost. Xylo was a mistake, her foolish actions resulting in their court bonding, and she didn’t want to break it because she hoped he would always protect her.
She took Odelm in because she pitied him.
And the banished Circuli princes? The only reason she court-bonded with them was to reward them and protect them from their mothers. That was it—a political arrangement.
Kaede was furious Selena had gathered these Circuli males who didn’t deserve her.
He was the one who hunted for her for nine years—who fought and killed to bring her to where she belonged. If any male other than Prince Zirene should be at her side, it should be him.
It should be him watching her right now, guarding her on her first night away from her nestmates willingly.
Kaede halted in his tracks and growled, turning toward his display wall.
In a moment of rage, when he’d ported in from his argument with Selena, he had put the four drones assigned to following her on passive mode, not wanting to be reminded of her dismissal of him in favor of his sisters, whom she had just met.
How could she blindly trust them?
They were his sisters and wouldn’t do anything to harm her, but they also were known for getting carried away. It was something they couldn’t afford to do—especially when they weren’t on their own turf.
He refused to believe it was jealousy he felt, so he settled on the one thing that mattered—she was punishing him for keeping his distance from her.
The distance he created in hopes of learning to control himself around her and calming the instincts that had been begging him to track, claim, and protect.
He fell back onto his bed and shut his eyes, allowing his drones to flood his inner vision, sending their feed directly to the A.I. part of his brain and allowing him to expand himself in as many directions as needed.
His control over the drones was personal—they were a part of him in a way no one else in the galaxy could experience. His experience was more personal than ones in dreamdomes used to build worlds or pilot Prince Zirene’s fleet.”
The Aldawi implants were simple imitations of the ones Kaede and his half-sisters had, the Aldawi’s capabilities only a mere fraction of true versions they had.
No one knew that Kaede secretly had a back-up plan if anything went awry.
He’d implanted a self-destruct program he could trigger anywhere and at any time if anyone betrayed him, Selena and her clan, or the Aldawi Empire.
He would not allow the Aldawi Empire to betray them, and with his newfound ability, he could make sure she was safe from harm as long as he had a drone near.
Without his drones, he’d depend on his AI to hack into the system and wreak havoc until he could get to her.
He scanned through his drones; they were all on autopilot and doing whatever task he assigned them.
Most were patrolling aimlessly around the space station as they listened to random conversations.
Others were following specific targets—politicians and questionable citizens—in hopes of finding any secrets they may be hiding.
A select few of them were stalking Selena and her clan members’ every move, making sure they were safe from those around them.
Hundreds of screens minimized, leaving only the six surrounding Selena.
Kaede snarled at what he saw.
Selena was grinding herself all over Qraniebi with his hands all over her.
Something about her movements seemed off. Kaede commanded his drones to focus on her as he zoomed in the extended vision they gave him.
Her eyes were cloudy as she stared aimlessly around the room. Her face and exposed flesh were flushed and sweaty, as her spots glowed pink—something the Ulax saw as arousal, displayed when one was flirting or trying to court someone.
Something triggered deep inside Kaede, and dread filled him.
In an instant, he jolted to his feet as he minimized the screens in his visor, giving him enough space to actually see with his own eyes.
Kaede closed his eyes as he felt his body shift as if it collapsed into his uniform’s core.
In an instant, sounds of the club assaulted his ears as his feet touched solid ground once more.
A slight feeling as if his body was expanding washed over him.
Now wasn’t the time to readjust himself.
He refused to take a precious moment to settle the slight uneasiness that happened whenever he ported.
He opened his eyes and locked his gaze on Qraniebi.
His drones marked him yellow—an ally, but could be a potential threat.
The others in the room glowed orange— nobodies who could be either friend or foe.
There were no reds—enemies—in the room, and the only greens—friends—were his half-sisters on the second floor, looking down at him.
He hissed but refused to look up and acknowledge them.
They were playing a game —something he didn’t have the time or need for.
Licking his fangs, Kaede flipped his wrist, snapping his infused blade into his hand as he stepped behind Qraniebi. Kaede grabbed hold of the blue and green feathers on top of Qraniebi’s head and pulled it back, pressing his blade to his neck.
“I don’t care who you are, but you won’t get away with whatever you did to Selena,” Kaede hissed in his ear. “Release her before I slit your throat right here on the dance floor for all to see.”
Qraniebi jerked and halted his movements, pale green eyes widened.
“I don’t know what you are accusing me of. I am teaching Selena how to dance and have done nothing to her.”
Pages from his half-sisters pinged frantically. He ignored their desperate pleas, not caring what they had to say, for they did not protect Selena during their watch.
“Release. Her. Now,” Kaede growled, pulling Qraniebi’s head farther back. “Do it.”
Qraniebi glared at Kaede as he opened his wings, revealing Selena and released his grip on her ass.