Chapter 35 #2
“Agent Kaede, please escort this unwanted captain off my ship. He isn’t to be allowed in my fleet or Prince Royak’s. Transfer his status to the available restricted military roster, and perhaps, our brother will take him.”
Kaede shimmered into existence behind the captain with one of his pistols drawn.
“Lead on,” he barked.
The captain saluted. “You know where I will be once you realize your mistake.”
“The only mistake I made was allowing you on my ship with your history. Change is happening; don’t get lost in the past. If you can’t handle that, then retire.”
The room watched as Kaede escorted the male, unfazed by what had happened.
Was Kaede so feared by the CEG that the captain didn’t try to resist? Or had the captain’s stale beliefs finally caught up with him?
Xylo and Odelm kept their defensive stance until the pair went through the doors. I reached out and gripped one of their appendages, connecting to them through our golden threads.
“It’s okay, loves. He is gone and won’t be able to hurt me.”
“Loves?” they both responded at the same time, their voices confused.
“Yes, loves.” I pulled the males closer to me, forcing them to relax beside me as they wrapped their appendages around my wrists and the rest returned to their defensive position.
“I wanted to test a nickname, a title for you both to see how it sounded. I love you both, yet calling you my nestmates while it’s the same title both princes share… feels unfair to you.”
“I thought you didn’t want to have Favored… or to play favorites. Naming us loves will do that,” Xylo explained.
“I thought it would be my way to say I love you—to both of you—but with fewer words…”
“No… stop, Selena. I like it. If that is what you want to call me, go ahead.” He pulled me closer to him as if he was trying to protect me from Xylo.
“You are right.” Xylo leaned closer to me, filling the newly open space between us. “I am sorry. Forgive me.”
“Do we need to find a nickname for you?” Odelm asked, searching my gaze as he brushed my hair away from my face.
The offer was sweet—but was it necessary? No, not really. I was theirs as they were mine, and that was what mattered.
“I am sorry you had to witness that, Selena. I had hoped he would have learned to keep his opinions to himself until he retired, but it seems that was not the case.” Zirene turned and addressed the trio of workers staring at us.
“If I were you, I would learn from his mistakes, or you will be looking for work elsewhere with him soon enough.”
The three nodded and scrambled back to their stations.
His apology brought me to the present as both Aldawi princes studied me. Was he worried because of my silent exchange?
“And with that, I will take my leave,” Royak announced.
“I will make my rounds, then board the Hope for my own star system.” He stuck out his paw to Zirene, and he grabbed it.
They smiled and shook their enclosed paws and pulled each other into a hug.
“I will miss you, brother. It has been fun. Let me know when you want to do something like this again.”
Zirene chuckled as he pulled away and patted Royak on his shoulder.
“I hate to disappoint you, but I don’t want to go through this ever again.”
“Agreed. Let’s skip the Assembly part.”
By the time Zirene led us to our cabin, the cubs were already in bed. Mwe and Oeta were sitting on a couch in our lounge, waiting for me while everyone else was in their own assigned private cabins.
“Shouldn’t you be somewhere else, Chamber Master?” Zirene hissed.
“Don’t worry, Prince Zirene. I will be on my way after I teach Selena as I promised her.” He stood and stretched his wings. “Then, I will go back to defending CEG and the space station from injustice.”
“Zirene, please,” I begged. “Just let him teach me, then we can be on our way.”
He glanced between Mwe and me, tail flipping wildly behind him.
“Fine,” he hissed. “I will be on the bridge.” He eyed Mwe. “Let me know when you are off my ship.” He turned and left my cabin in a hurry, as if he couldn’t stand being in the same room as Mwe.
“It is because we did not see eye to eye on how to handle the Yaarkins when they first arrived in our galaxy. We have come to terms, but he feels threatened around other males similar in power—other than his littermate, Royak.”
“I hate when you do that,” I mumbled.
“We cannot help it,” Oeta said. “I am sure the Circuli princes can explain it better if you ask them.”
“Where their constant connections are limited to the net they have with their crewmen, ours touch every intelligent being within our range. We can shield them or accept them—with my job, I often forget to shield myself from others when I am not working.”
“It is true,” Xylo said. “It’s harder to shield ourselves for long periods of time…
which is why the princes have been able to control themselves fairly well around you as they fight their natural biological urges to coax you into completing the bond.
” He faced me, brushing my hair back as he stared deeply into my eyes.
“Selena, your soul is beautiful, and your mind is amazing. Not only does it protect you, it protects those who are tied with you.”
“But I am just—”
“A blessing from the Stars,” Odelm murmured as he pressed against my back.
“Change won’t happen overnight. Do not let that captain or any other dimwit tell you differently. They are stuck in the past—which is the reason the Yaarkins were capable of doing as much damage as they did,” Mwe explained.
“I wasn’t strong enough—”
“You will be. If not, you will at least be able to prevent them from harming you.”
Closing my eyes, I leaned into his hand, letting out a deep sigh.
“Let’s do this,” I smirked at Mwe. “Before Zirene comes back and has Kaede lead you off the ship too.”
As Oeta led us past the cubs’ room, I paused and peered in from their doorway, watching as they slept curled up together. Knowing they were safe and sound, I carefully closed their door and turned to Mwe, Oeta, Xylo, and Odelm, watching me with smiles on their faces.
“What?”
“Your cubs are being taken care of, Selena. You have nothing to worry about,” Oeta whispered.
“I just wanted…”
“They are fine. You can spend more time with them once we settle on Destima,” Xylo breathed.
“This way, Selena.”
I followed Oeta into the room next door. It was small and housed a black bed large enough for six, leaned up against the far wall. A chest and a couch were the only other furniture pieces.
“So, how do we do this?”
“We have little time left, so I will need you to lie on your bed. Your nestmates can join you with the lack of space in here,” Mwe directed.
The three of us hurriedly followed his directions. They both faced me, wrapping their appendages around me, giving me their comfort and support.
“Okay, Selena. Close your eyes and calm your thoughts,” Mwe directed.
Once I did, he continued, “You are a shielder, which means until someone touches your mental shields with their mental thread, you will most likely not be able to reach out to them. This is because your walls naturally remember those unique signatures of the mental threads you allowed inside your shield. Your walls will only accept those familiar to you. At least, that is how the few other shielder species’ minds work,” he hummed.
“Have you ever been able to see mental threads? Before or after you joined with any of your nestmates?”
“No, not outside of that one attack in the Dreamdome. I have only been able to see and follow my nestmates—and that is instinctual at best.”
“Then I was correct in my assumption,” he mumbled.
A familiar presence pressed against my mental shields—a black mental thread that glowed the same magenta as Mwe’s glow. I welcomed it, bringing it inside my golden shields.
“Good job, Selena,” Mwe’s deep mental voice rumbled. “Now push me out and try to find me. Once you do, pull my thread.”
Taking in a deep breath, I did what I did to my nestmates and tried to close my shields, blocking all entrances.
I felt my connections with Xylo and Odelm close, muting them.
Their threads were still intact, but a thin veil prevented them from constantly being assaulted by me.
Both males’ appendages gripped me tighter once they were sealed as if they were instinctually trying to keep as close as possible.
The problem was, Mwe’s blackened magenta thread remained.
“That was a good attempt, Selena. But instead of removing a foreign mental thread, such as mine, you strengthened your shields—which is good because that means you can defend yourself against any attacks.”
“So, what do I do?”
“Since you are capable of strengthening your walls, try using them to slice my connection with you. This should not affect your nestmates connections since their bond threads are a part of you.”
“Even the princes?”
The farther they traveled away from me, the fainter the pull from their thread felt.
I could feel what direction they were in, but their threads’ colors had dimmed so much already, they almost seemed invisible.
I didn’t know if it was the distance or because they weren’t permanently bonded with me, but it worried me.
How would they survive for five days like this?
“There shouldn’t be a problem with them because you welcomed them in.”
“But I haven’t accepted their bonding spores yet! We aren’t permanently bonded, and they aren’t here in case I do something wrong. What if this does anything to our connection?”
“Try. If you feel any resistance, then stop, and we can try this when you mate with them. Or you can practice with Oeta.”
Sighing, I nodded and focused on strengthening my shields around his thread’s entrance to my shields. It was a slow process, but after a few tries, my mental walls sliced through his thread, severing it. The remaining piece faded, disappearing as if it was attacked.
I smiled and opened my connections to both Xylo and Odelm, knowing they would be worried about me. A wave of calmness fell on me from Odelm as he sent me support.
“Good job Selena!” Xylo praised as I felt him read what happened while he was closed off from me. “You did the hard part. Now, focus on searching for his thread. Your range should be large enough to find him in this room.”
I nodded as I felt a wave of exhaustion hit me. They were right. This took a lot of energy, but lying down made the lesson easier, especially lying between my nestmates. I could feel their support flow through me.
Reinforcing my shields, I looked beyond my walls and saw Mwe’s familiar black-magenta sphere a short distance from my own. He had multiple mental threads weaving and waving outside of his walls as if available and waiting for anyone to reach for him to establish a connection.
Focusing on the closest thread, I focused and pushed with all my might to send my thread to him.
A blue-green centered thread burned golden, lighting up the blackened void space between Mwe and me and shot itself to its target.
In an instant, my darkened golden thread entwined with his, and a rush of warmth spread to me.
“Congratulations, Selena.”