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Zoran settled himself onto a cushion within the circle of warlords gathered for a Council meeting. He was the only mated warlord present among those who had traveled to Earth and back. The others had whisked their mates away to their own territories, leaving him to update the warlords who had remained on Zephyria to protect their people.

He controlled the frown threatening to manifest in his expression. That was not quite true. Aklan Phyrz and his new human mate, Sonja Mathis, would spend only a senna on Zephyria before returning to Earth and negotiations with human governments. And while several warlords who’d made the trip had not found mates among the human females, only one had found a mate and refused to claim her. That female had joined the other unmated humans in the compound Alara had readied for them.

Under other circumstances, the shame would ruin that warlord’s family. Given the chain of events, Zoran could not find it in himself to chastise Nyklan any further. Perhaps in time, his sister’s mate would heal enough to claim his human. Only Nyklan could mend that breach, though Zoran prayed the unknown female—for Nyklan had refused to name her—would find her own way into Nyklan’s heart, healing him of one of the most vicious griefs ever to be visited upon a Xeruvian.

The other warlord sat now in the council circle, brooding. Since he was there, Zoran intended to make full use of his knowledge. Why not? Such would save energy for brooding of his own.

As the final warlord settled into the circle, Zoran straightened, catching every eye in the circle. Though news had likely already spread, he began with a simple truth. “The mating instinct calls us to human females.”

Low murmurs raced around the circle, echoing back from the field protecting them from the storm brewing around the open Council Grounds. Zoran had chosen this place, here among the jungles of his jutji , for a reason: let the warlords be reminded of their nature. Xeruvians were predators at heart. They would need those instincts, that fierce tenacity, to save their people.

“My own mate bears my mark,” he continued. “I knew the moment our eyes met that she was mine.”

“What of the others?” someone called out.

“I can only speak for myself. The others will share their stories in their own time.” Zoran nodded at Nyklan. “Brother, what of your impressions of the human females?”

Nyklan answered without hesitation. “They are not as weak as they seem. Fragile, perhaps, certainly more delicate than our own females, but ferocious when cornered. Aklan Phyrz’s mate fought alongside him to escape the grasp of her own people. She came willingly, bearing his mark, and will not be parted from him, by all appearances.”

Kaelan Drexus leveled a shrewd gaze on Nyklan. “And yet, you refuse to claim your own female. Are they so flawed, then, that they can so easily be shunned?”

Nyklan snarled, his eyes flashing hotly. “That is no concern of yours.”

“Such is every warlord’s concern,” Kaelan said flatly. “If the instinct can be repudiated, then another male must be given a chance.”

Nyklan jumped to his feet, his muscles taut as his hands clenched into claw-tipped fists at his side. Zoran rose as well, to keep order if nothing else, and managed not to sigh when Kaelan slowly rose and faced Nyklan.

“Why?” Nyklan growled viciously, the word scarcely recognizable as speech. “You opposed this path. What say have you in the matter?”

“As much say as any other male here,” Kaelan said, “now that the issue has been settled.”

Several other warlords, even those who had supported attempting to mate with other species, voiced agreement.

“Then speak of other females, vyirkolen ,” Nyklan snapped back. “Do not prod me about a female over whom you have no say.”

Kaelan snarled as he attacked, his fangs bared, claws out. The warlords beside him bounded into action, attempting to contain him while Zoran wrapped his arms around Nyklan’s torso and bodily shoved him out of the circle. They landed heavily on the packed earth.

Nyklan grunted once, then let his hands drop to the ground as Zoran slipped to the side, his knee pressing into Nyklan’s chest. “Let me go.”

Behind them, Kaelan clicked his teeth. “Yes, Zoran. Let the gyngi go. 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.”

The frustration bled from him so suddenly, his head spun. “I do not know how.”

“Of course, you do. The instinct will guide you, if you but listen to it.” Her expression softened, and she cupped her palm over his jaw. “I believe she longs for a substance called chocolate . Perhaps you could start there.”

“ Chocolate ,” Zoran murmured, knowing he mangled the human word. “Do you believe she will love me?”

“How can she not?”

He clicked his teeth once in raw humor. “So says every mother.”

“So this mother knows.” Her hand dropped away, and she stepped back. “Accompany an old woman home, then go find your mate. She awaits your fetching.”

“Fetching?”

“A human thing. I believe it has something to do with pets, though for the life of me I cannot pinpoint the connection.”

Zoran remained baffled as well, though he would go about this fetching if Mia insisted. First thing on the morrow, he would oversee delivery and disbursement of the human supplies they had ferried from one planet to the other. Perhaps among those he could find some of this chocolate his mate coveted.