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“I haven’t met him yet. Are they close?”
Ezule nodded. “As a scientist, he’s always remained with Jakkar in some capacity. He’s been by our father’s side through it all while the rest of us have been fighting wars.”
“I’m so sorry,” Cordelia said, running a hand through his hair soothingly. “I can understand how hard that must have been for you.”
Both at losing his mother and not being able to properly grieve with his family. She knew what that was like, and at times she’d thought she’d never escape her grief.
“My youngest brother took her loss the hardest. Even more so than our father. He was a warrior, too, but he chose to forsake everything. His family. His life. His purpose as a warrior. He defected from Aragnok, and he never looked back.”
“Oh my God,” Cordelia breathed. “Why would he do that?” What kind of jerk abandoned their family in a time of distress and heartache?
“Zypher was always a rebel. He hated conforming to the laws that governed us, always longing to be more of a free spirit. When our mother passed, his thoughts on this became amplified. Unhinged, even. Last I heard, he’d become an outlaw, a pirate.”
“And you haven’t spoken to him since?” How awful that must be.
Ezul didn’t answer, but he didn’t need to. Grief was written all over his face, and Cordelia regretted even asking the question.
“We can talk about something else,” she said softly, leaning forward to kiss his forehead. He looked at her gratefully, his eyes shining with a tenderness she couldn’t help but bask in.
“Do you miss Earth?” he asked suddenly.
“Yes, of course. There are a lot of things I miss, but there are things I’m learning to like here too,” she told Ezul saucily, poking his side. He didn’t seem receptive to her teasing though, his face shutting down completely.
“I am sorry for all you have lost, Runa.” She squeezed Ezul’s hand, rising up on her elbows to kiss his knuckles.
“I might have lost a little bit, but I feel like I’m gaining a lot more. Here, with you.”
Ezul’s gaze drifted slowly over her face. “I know we have technically mated, but you have not attempted to mark me as I have you. This is fine. I understand feelings with mating can often take time,” he stated and she sat upright, eyeing him warily.
She was supposed to bite him too? Why didn’t he say anything?
Ezul continued, taking a deep breath. “But part of me wonders if your hesitancy is because you long to return to Earth. If you had the option, would you?”
He was staring down at her so intently, as if her answer had the potential to destroy him or set him free. She’d already thought about this, and it was her fault for keeping her realizations to herself.
Earth was her first home, but it had long since stopped feeling that way. She’d been lonely for years, with no one to love or call her own. Her aunt lived halfway across the world, so even holidays were spent by herself.
How could she ever want to go back when she had so much more here, in just the span of a few short weeks?
The answer to his question was a no-brainer.
“I did want to go back to Earth,” Cordelia agreed, touching his cheek when he looked away from her. “But I’m glad you decided to chase me down when I ran away from the capitol. I’m glad that you’re my mate, and if I am pregnant with your child…?” Cordelia waited until Ezul looked back down at her, his eyes shining with hope. “Then I’ll be so grateful for that as well. I want to stay here with you, forever, for all the days and nights.”
Ezul pinned her to the bed, his lips finding hers as his large body settled possessively on top of her.
They were a tangle of limbs, tongues, and teeth by the time Cordelia managed to kiss her way to his shoulder, biting him hard. She didn’t stop until she felt the sweet, metallic taste of his blood as it filled her mouth.
Ezul’s body shook slightly, his legs spreading hers. He entered her with one heavy stroke. Throwing her head back, a startled cry left her throat, her pussy stretching to accommodate his size.
“You honor me,” Ezul whispered harshly, sinking inside her over and over again. Cordelia clawed at his back, marking him again while Ezul took her roughly, claiming her just as fiercely as she’d claimed him.
Chapter 16
“Iamgladyoucould take the time to see me,” Ezul began as soon as Delilah stepped into the room.
Ezul and Cordelia had only just moved in with Delilah and Sahin, since they had the larger home in the woods that the brothers had once shared, while they all waited for a secured house in the city to become available for the four of them.
Even Kylok had moved back in, vowing to help keep the women safe as more news of dissent had begun to spread. So far it was nothing palpable, only a few more pieces of graffiti, some holopads being hacked into for no discernible reason, and, just yesterday, a fire had been started in a small government building near the capitol.
