Caught Between Two Blue Aliens - Celia Kyle Page 0,72

room that had long since gone silent. Did she really have no idea how radical this was for a Drokten male? Most wouldn’t even consider bringing the children of another species along if they found themselves in the same situation. “Every youth on Drokt will be jealous of them!”

“You’re not listening to me!” she insisted, taking a step closer and glaring up at him. “Look,” she said, taking a breath and trying to slow down. “I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but you can’t just step in and claim ownership as if you’re their father. This will take time.”

“I am not their father, but I am your Azi,” Sevith growled. “And as our Oso, your place is at my side and Hiren’s.”

Her indignant, trapped frustration hit him like a force field. He felt his pride sink, and he realized he had gone much too far. “Jenna,” he said more softly.

She blinked up at him.

“There is much about the human mind that I... have not prepared myself to adapt to,” he said, bowing his head. “I am not always able to understand why humans think the way they do, but I do not want to be misunderstood.” He reached out and took her hand, and she didn’t stop him. “I command the Drokten fleet,” he said in a soft yet firm tone. “I would bring our entire force to bear if anyone dared harm you and those precious to you. So, when I tell you I claim you and your family as my own…” He put her hands to his chest and gazed into her eyes intently. “It is a claim both of love and of protection.”

Twenty

Emotion overwhelmed Jenna and tears burned in her eyes as she stared up into Sevith’s harsh features. She trembled all over, yet felt stronger than she ever had in the past.

It didn’t take a lot of consideration to figure out why. She felt tougher and more powerful by the sheer proximity of her mates. There wasn’t a single problem that could overwhelm the growing desire that blossomed like a sun-soaked flower.

There was no going back if she agreed to his terms. He tried so hard, put in so much effort to understand her and her human ways… It was almost enough to push her over the edge. She blinked back her tears and a warm, adoring smile crept across her face. “You’re really trying. Aren’t you?” she murmured and reached up to cup his firm jaw.

“For you, I would do anything. I’d change the course of fate. I would retrieve the moons of Restar and the chosen stars by hand and give them to you as tokens of my promise,” he replied, in that straightforward way she’d come to appreciate. Perhaps it made him seem a little dense at times, but she could tell he did everything with her in mind.

He readily leaned into her touch, like he gathered strength from the simplest caress from his Oso. They stood together like that, a wealth of shared emotions washing over them both. Jenna’s fears were flushed away and replaced with a shining, golden sensation of protection. She knew now, somehow, without the faintest shadow of a doubt, that her Azi and Bahn would never do anything to harm her. In fact, they would do all within their expansive powers and authority to protect her from harm.

“All my life, I’ve kept myself so busy,” Jenna murmured, peering into the gorgeous, mysterious blue depths of Sevith’s eyes. “I’ve been afraid to let myself slow down and think about what I want. I was afraid to.”

“What were you so afraid of, my Oso?” Sevith’s voice remained just as soft as hers.

Jenna smiled. “It’s silly, but… I guess I worried that if I let myself stop and consider what I want, it would hurt too much. Losing mom and dad and then trying to rebuild after the invasion was tough. But, I mean, everyone lost someone. It’s hard for everyone. I’m not special in that regard. I just have these responsibilities—all these obligations and duties. Don’t get me wrong, I would never give up my brother and sister for any reason, not even to make my life easier. I couldn’t ever imagine a world without them. That’s not one I want to live in.”

“Then you do not have to,” Hiren slowly approached the duo, pausing beside his Azi. Beatrice and Noah followed after him, wide-eyed, but hopeful looking. “I brought them along so we could have a family meeting,”