บท 27: A Queen
Zua'the tucked his little mate into bed as one katutxoa after another jumped up onto the platform, studying him for a moment before nestling down against the hirini. Axis had made sure to properly clean the black medvjed fur that had originally caught her attention, and now she was refusing to let go of it.
Confident that she would be safe while her males were in the other room, he dimmed down the lights and softly closed the hatch partway. There was a large, round display screen in the room that showed the stars and space outside of the ship.
Hopefully, if she woke up and no one was around, that would help her relax a bit. After all, he didn't see much difference between the darkness of space and the darkness of water.
Letting out a long sigh as he forced himself from her side, he moved over to the audience room.
It had been decided that Ba'dqeel would have her in his rooms since they were the biggest on the ship. While it wasn't strange for himself and He'dtaalh to come in and out as needed, it might cause some stir to have a member of the Njeriuujk royalty in the room.
When He'dtaalh pointed that out, Ba'dqeel simply shrugged his shoulders and said something to the effect of 'My ship, my rules'.
Now, the fracker had their mate sleeping in his space, her scent taking over the room with every breath and sigh she took.
"What's next?" asked Axis, going over to the modulator and making himself a hot cup of kahvi. The drink would make sure that he was alert enough to continue the conversation with the other males and not be left in the dark when it came to their mate.
After all, he was the only male here who was not a Nycteromys, and that might put him at a disadvantage.
"We get more furs," grunted Ba'dqeel, his nose wrinkling at the scent of the furs already invading his sanctuary. It went against everything inside of him to allow the things onto his ship, let alone into his room.
But the female he had known for only two days had already managed to tear his world apart before rebuilding it so that everything was centered around her.
"Is that necessary?" sighed He'dtaalh. He had already resigned himself to the fact that on the next planet or trade station they crossed, he would be bringing his tiny heart furs.
"Are you sure she isn't nesting?" asked Axis, taking a sip of his drink as he walked over to the viewport. Looking out at the vastness of space, he marveled at the fact he now had a mate. It was unheard of for one of them to find their other half, and yet, he had managed to do just that.
Now, all he had to do was make sure he could stay at her side, no matter what.
The other three heads turned toward him so fast that he could hear the groans of their horns.
"Nesting?" grunted Zua'the as Ba'dqeel's eyes went wide. "Do her species nest?"
"Not that I am aware of," sputtered Ba'dqeel, pulling out his communication device and frantically dialing a number. There was only one male in this entire universe to seemed to know what was going on, and Ba'dqeel needed answers.
Even if he had to peel a layer of flesh off one at a time.
"I really am too busy for your shit right now," growled Da'kea, and Ba'dqeel could hear his mandibles clicking in agitation. "If this has something to do with our species, go find another ambassador. I'm on parental leave."
"Parental leave?" asked Axis, coming around so that he could see the screen in front of Ba'dqeel. The other two males quickly followed suit until all four of them were in the picture. "What's that?"
"It means leave me the frack alone," grunted Da'kea before he turned to look at Axis. "Why do you have a Njeriuujk on your ship? Didn't you call me yesterday about a human female?"
Axis remained silent, not bothering to speak to the Saalistaja until he saw his younger brother appear on the communication device. "Midnight Along the Vast Fields?" he asked confused.
While his father had crowned him heir and sent him out into the universe to find his younger brother, that didn't mean he was actually looking for the male. Why couldn't he have found a deeper hole to hide in?
"Call me Midnight," replied the Njeriuujk male. He appeared to be completely different compared to the last time Axis had seen his brother, but the most disturbing part was that they now looked more alike than ever before.
"You found your mate," interjected the two males at the same time, their eyes narrowing on the other like they were the biggest threats in the universe.
"Fuck," hissed a third voice, and yet another Saalistaja appeared. "That means that Mei Xing isn't the only one out there."
He'dtaalh and Zua'the stiffened as the three males on the other side of the device shared a look.
"The only one what?" demanded Ba'dqeel. He might have appeared to be calm and composed as he asked the question, but his hearts were pounding hard. He wanted to reach through the comms and kill the three males, but since he couldn't do that, he would try to get as much information as he could out of them.
"This is not the time or the place to be holding this discussion. I'll send you coordinates for our home world, and you will come to us," grunted Da'kea, his words short and clipped.
"I know where your home world is, and we aren't going," smiled Ba'dqeel, showing more than a bit of his fangs.
"This isn't a negotiation; there is no compromise. You will bring the female you have to the coordinates I give you, or I will send Jun Li to track you down," sneered the Saalistaja.
"And if I refuse?" asked a female voice entering the room. She was still dressed in nothing more than a light green bedsheet that the males had found her in before. But even wearing nothing but scraps, she had the grace and confidence of a queen.
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