gained consent prior to clasping her hand. Her scent wafted up and brought calm and relief. Waiting was going to be difficult, but the added strength of his fever crystal would get him through.
“Okay,” she whispered against his chest. “I’ll do it. I’ll clasp your claw and test compatibility.”
“You will? Right now?”
“Noooo. Not right now, silly. After this is all over. At the end of one moon cycle, when everything in my life settles and I feel you and everyone I care about are safe, I’ll test compatibility with you, if you’d still like. You’re right, we should at least try, right?”
‘You and everyone she cared about?’ He grinned. “Right. I can accept this waiting period as long as you agree to stay in this room with me every night until you are ready.”
“You’re bossy as hell,” she remarked.
He smiled, loving how she was becoming familiar with his ways. “Yes, I know,” he replied. “And so are you.”
“Heh,” she grunted.
And then they both fell asleep.
Zayzon woke to the comforting sound of his Bride’s even breaths.
She was still in his arms. He stared down at her strange, defenseless human features, loving the softness therein. She lacked ridges, fangs or claws and yet his female was fierce with a quiet strength. Her strong nose, the sparkling dark eyes, full of life.
There was no way he’d ever let any being cause her harm. She was the mother of future Illibrium miners. She was his life partner.
He wondered what it would be like, enflamed with the mating instinct. He and his brothers were celibate, as were all Xylan until the moment they touched their mate and responded to the rush of pheromones. He’d always wondered why mated pairs were so fixated on each other. It always seemed odd. And pleasure mating he viewed as downright disgusting. But, for the first time in his life, he found himself curious about this sex act so many beings were obsessed with.
He loved the idea of having the ability to tend to her needs. To fill her with his seed and watch her grow large with his offspring. Finding one’s mate and initiating testing meant breeding. He inhaled, filling his lungs with her scent. There it was again, that tell-tale sign that let him understand where she was in her present cycle. If they tested soon, he could impregnate her immediately. And then he would be a father.
He turned to stare at the ceiling, contemplating fatherhood.
Feet pounded down the hallway, interrupting his reverie. They were all awakening from their afternoon nap and readying for evening meal.
Lila shifted in the bed and her eyes blinked open. “They’re so loud,” she groaned.
“Get used to it,” he answered. “We’re all loud. In fact, I’m the loudest of them all.”
She let out a rough chuckle. “It’s true.”
There was a bang on the wall that connected his room to Chief’s. “Get up,” his brother shouted through the barrier. “Bring her with you.”
“Who was that?”
“My oldest brother.”
“Chief?”
“Mmm.”
“Wow, the walls here are thin.”
“Yes.”
He swept the covers aside and sat up.
“Oh gods,” she yelled out and rolled over, putting her back to him. “You’ve gotta warn me before you do that.”
He chuckled.
“Are all Xylan males that…that big?”
He grinned and glanced down at his cock at rest, wondering what it would look like and how it would feel when he was able to become aroused. Able to spend his seed within her body. “I’m bigger than most.”
“I don’t even know how that’s going to work. Will it even fit?”
He inhaled her arousal and a growl rumbled in his chest. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you can take me.”
“You’re always so confident. I’m jealous, I wish I were the same.”
He stared at his beautiful Bride, with her spill of wavy dark hair and that nose. That proud, elegant nose. “You’ll learn,” he stated. “Living here, with me and my brothers, will teach you confidence.”
“Okay, I hope so.” She pulled the tiny bot she’d named Max out of the restroom where it had been working and placed it back in her arms. He chuckled at the sight.
Minutes later he was dressed and walking with his Bride back down the hallway and out into the commotion that was his family compound.
Heavy was stomping around, tossing items aside and finally settling into a comfortable seat near the fire. Rook, Trunk and Chief were drinking ale and playing a game of sticks. Scar stared intently at his tablet. All of them were in the front room, next to the huge, rustic fireplace.