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Hopefully this nest-guardian stuff wouldn’t turn out to be too taxing, as she hadn’t done particularly well in PE. Always chosen last for team sports—that was her athletic legacy.
While Beryl might not grasp the gravitas of belonging to one of the Founding families, Zylar had carried that weight long enough to be
well-acquainted with it.
“Save your fearsome threats for the meeting to come,” he said.
“There you go, some common ground,” she said, smiling. The translator must have fritzed because Zylar took a step toward her, churring, and he said seriously, “No ground that you stand upon could ever be common, Beryl Bowman.”
“Now that you mention it, humans usually sleep with fabric, something soft to lay on and to cover up with, if it’s cold.”
“You require materials to build a nest?” That was unexpectedly adorable.
As he watched her peruse the goods, a foreign thought surfaced,
rare but inexorable. She’s mine. I stole her. I’m keeping her.
Adrenaline kicked in—fight or flight—and with both nestlings screeching in her ears, she reacted, kicking the climber in the skull with all her might. As the combatant fell, she shouted, “This is Sparta!” Because obviously.
His beta tendencies and lack of self-esteem might even be what had gotten him passed over in prior Choosings. But Beryl wasn’t in the market for an alpha asshole, so that worked out great. If you had to be abducted by aliens, it was good to wind up with one who respected your boundaries and preferences.
Snaps fell back onto his butt, staring at the seedlings with wide eyes. “Am I…a father?”
I deserve her. I deserve to be with her.
“Have faith,” they said in an eerily serene and confident tone. “The ancestor trees have promised. Vengeance shall be mine.”
avaricious
“You have been a true friend, Beryl Bowman. I will remember. And so will the ancient grove. Always.”
Love meant treasuring someone else’s happiness more than your own. And he did love her, fiercely, endlessly, with both of his beating hearts.
“I took away your homeworld,” he said softly. “But you gave me the universe.”
“Kindness is its own reward. Cruelty exacts its own price. Peace and prosperity, my beloved friends.”
