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Behind them, Kaelan clicked his teeth. “Yes, Zoran. Let thegyngigo. He is no threat to me.”

Nyklan’s fury reignited, and he placed a hand against Zoran’s knee, a counter move they’d learned together when they were young and the universe much simpler.

Zoran pushed down hard, his own claws raised in blatant threat. “Enough!” he roared. “We will not devolve into madness and insults when our people need us most. Can we not set aside old grievances and work together in peace?”

Comments came from all sides, dissonant above the wind and rain.

“We must!”

“Our children need us.”

“Mates for every male who wants one!”

“And every female!”

The last brought low chuckles from those assembled. Nyklan dropped his head to the earth, his eyes tightly closed, and Zoran dared ease the pressure from the other warlord’s chest. He stood slowly and turned, facing the council with manufactured humor.

“If an unmated female cannot find a satisfactory mate among her Xeruvian companions,” he said, “then she is free to find one among the humans.”

“So can we all!” his mother cried.

Zoran’s gaze jerked to hers. She stood outside the circle among the few onlookers who’d come to witness the warlords’ debate. He had missed her arrival and now automatically searched for the female he had left in her care. Mia, however, was not among the crowd. His muscles tightened, and he only just stopped himself from stalking away and hunting her down.

His mate must be protected, always. He would accept nothing less than her complete safety.

“If females are allowed to find mates among the humans,” Kaelan said, drawing Zoran’s attention away from his mother, “then so are all males. We, at least, remain fertile. Every unmated male must therefore be allowed to present his suit to the human females now among us and to the ones willing to travel here in the future.”

“No,” Zoran snarled. “Those who opposed the plan to mate with humans will not be allowed a chance at mating with the females we brought back with us. Though I will not stop any male from manning his own expedition to Earth. In fact, I welcome it. Coordinate with Aklan Phyrz. He returns there soon.”

Kaelan stepped closer, shrugging off restraining hands, his gaze determined. “One day, Zoran Kerus, you will realize the error of refusing us our rightful choice.”

He turned and walked out, and after a few startled looks, several other warlords followed.

Zoran resumed his seat as if nothing untoward had happened. “How goes production on the translators? We may need them in the short term while we learn human languages and they learn ours.”

The remaining warlords settled back into the circle. Across the way, Alara stood silently, her gaze glittering brightly.

When the meeting dispersed, Zoran lingered, patiently answering questions and offering reassurances as the other warlords departed. Nyklan had slipped away shortly after Kaelan and his supporters. His absence had left a noticeable gap in the discussions. Nyklan had been responsible for so much of their mission’s successful outcome. Zoran would have preferred having his brother by fate speak for himself on those matters.

But perhaps Nyklan’s leaving had been for the best. The meeting had settled into comfortable routine. There had even been talk of mounting another mission, this one perhaps sanctioned by the humans themselves. They had, after all, seen what the Xeruvians were capable of. And they would soon know that their females were well cared for. What could possibly hamper future arrangements, if the women themselves understood what opportunities awaited them on Zephyria?

Zoran had held his peace during that discussion. Humans, those in government, at least, had proven themselves untrustworthy and intractable. If there was a way around those obstacles, perhaps the Fates would reveal them, when the time was right.

When he could break free, Zoran strode across the circle to his mother and dove straight into his own worries. “Where is she?”

Alara gazed calmly at him, unmoved by the force of his question. “If you refer to your mate, whom you left in my care without a backward glance—”

“Mother,” Zoran growled.

Unruffled, she continued. “Mia is acquainting herself with the science center. I believe she intended to travel afterward to the compound where the unmated humans will live.”

“She will not remain there.”

“That is her decision.” When he growled again, she snuffled out an exasperated rebuke. “She is your mate, Zoran, not your plaything.”

“I do not think of her as such,” he gritted out. “Yet is it my duty to protect her.”

“From what? The rain?” She snuffled again, waving a dismissive hand. “Your frustration stems from not completely claiming her. If you wish to woo her to your side, you must do just that. Woo her, my son. Court her as a human would.”