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His mate was with child. The thought made him deliriously happy, his heart constantly pounding with both adoration and fear, wondering if he was enough to keep his mate and child safe from the chaos that seemed to be growing within the city, and likely their entire world.
The ‘imaginary’ dissenters were very much real. More graffiti had sprung up throughout the city, but in the span of just a few days, their tactics had become much more serious than just a few murals scrawled on the side of buildings.
There had been a breach at the capitol ten days ago. Not physically, but technologically. Hackers had attempted to infiltrate the database and steal classified information.
No one knew if the data breach had been successful, and if so, what they’d been after since all the files on Cordelia and Delilah had remained untouched, secured behind a firewall.
Aside from that, dissenters were spreading propaganda and false ideologies, hacking into holopads around the world and leaking misinformation, most of which centered around human women being a blight on their population. The human women would allow them to repopulate, when the dissenters only believed Aragnok deserved to perish.
They’d even gone so far as to start fires at various establishments, primarily against those residents who had voiced their happiness that the Aragnokan race might survive with the help of the human population.
No one had attacked the women, not yet anyway, but Sahin and Ezul weren’t taking any chances when it came to their mates. Their safety and wellbeing was paramount.
Guards had been posted outside of their home, though Vermile had assured them he didn’t believe there would be any straight-on attacks. Ezul and his brothers strongly disagreed, however. If dissenters were comfortable enough to torch buildings, they were comfortable enough to do much worse. It was clear they were becoming more brazen with each new strike.
Cordelia rolled her eyes, squeezing his hand and bringing him back to the present. “I’m fine, Ez. And I’ve got another one for you: ‘heart’,” Cordelia stated confidently. Ezul’s lips twitched.
They’d been playing a ‘game’ for weeks now. His Cordelia would guess what Runa meant randomly, and he would tell her whether she was right or not. She refused to let him tell her the meaning, claiming that he was taking the fun away from her.
He assumed this was another human custom, so he was more than happy to indulge her.
“No, Runa. Your guesses grow further away each time. At the rate you’re going, we will have a slew of children before you realize the meaning.”
Cordelia sighed dramatically as she began to lead him toward the dining area. “I think I’ve exhausted all the sweet nicknames you could have given me, which just makes me think ‘Runa’ means something dreadful, like ’gross chick with bad breath’.”
“I can assure you it does not,” Ezul told her seriously. “Though, had I known it was an option–”
She turned, swatting his chest playfully. Ezul took her in his arms, lips finding hers in a drugging kiss. Cordelia sighed in contentment as Ezul pinned her to a nearby wall, his hands roaming over her body. His mouth traveled down until he was licking the mark he’d renewed on her shoulder just that morning.
“We can’t do this here, Ez,” Cordelia whined softly, her hips brushing against his while he continued lapping at her bare skin. “You’re supposed to be introducing me to your brother, not teasing me! I’ll let you do that thing you’ve been wanting to try if you pump the brakes right now,” she added in a silky voice.
Ezul pulled back, eyeing her seriously. “Do you mean it?”
“Mm.” Cordelia gave him one last lingering kiss before walking quickly into the next room, tugging him along behind her. “Come on, tiger. It’s time to meet your brother.”
He followed along happily, his heart swelling with pride that he’d found someone so wonderful to call his own.
Despite her confident appearance, Cordelia felt like a nervous wreck as Ezul took her hand in his, leading her to the dining room table that currently seated only one Aragnokan.
He was a bit shorter than his brothers, a little less muscular, sporting gray skin like Jakkar and black, unruly hair like his brothers. The wide flare of his nose was another trademark among the family, as was the serious expression etched onto the younger man’s face.
He was handsome, and he’d probably be a lady magnet if there were actually any ladies within a one hundred mile radius of him.
“Little brother,” Ezul began.
The man at the table popped his head up from where he had been studying his holopad, turning toward them both.
“Ezul! It is so good to see you.” He sent a shy glance her way, fidgeting with the hem of his shirt as he stood. “I presume this is your mate, Cordelia?”
“Yes.” Ezul brought her closer to his side, an arm wrapping possessively around her waist. “Cordelia, this is Cazar, my younger brother.”
She waved politely, smiling when Cazar eyed her greeting with interest.
“Is that an Earth custom? I am in the process of learning what I can of your planet, but this motion seems unfamiliar.” He waved back slowly and far more regally than she had. “Fascinating.”
Ezul’s lips twitched before he schooled his expression. “I had hoped to introduce her to you sooner, but I heard you were fixated on an experiment.”
“Ah, yes.” Cazar scratched the back of his head awkwardly, his cheeks deepening in color until they were almost black. It was kind of adorable, watching him blush. “You know how carried away I get.”
