Asteron

ASTERON

" I am not coming back to the palace, that's the end of it. Clan Roaan can meet with me in Mazos along with the northern clan leaders," I growl at the holo-comm where Phinade's face stares out at me. "My mate's pregnancy progresses at pace, and I want my young born here."

"At the royal lodge? Highness!" Phinade splutters.

"I do not give a horn or a hoof about protocol. My young will be my heir wherever they are born, and the clan leaders can suck my knot if they think they're ordering me to attend to their whims," I growl.

Phinade blinks at me, and his expression hardens.

"You have made a wise choice, sire," he says.

"I have?" I'm momentarily sideswiped by his approval. "I mean, I have."

"The clan leaders need to see you and your queen as one force. That she is with young only goes to strengthen your position. Mazos is an excellent choice for any meetings, given how much the inhabitants approve of you," he says, voice hollow due to the transmission.

"Which is exactly what I've been saying for the last three comms, Phinade." I narrow my eyes. "Why the sudden change?"

"I have come into possession of some information, sire." Phinade beams at me. "Information which suggests Clan Roaan is considering supporting the crown."

"What? When did you discover this? And why?"

Phinade opens his mouth to speak as my Ginny comes into my study.

She is wearing a dark blue gown shot through with gold of the softest Zio silk, it has molded itself to her form, and she looks deliciously filled, and the desire to rip the clothing from her and devour her breasts and pussy on the spot is very, very tempting.

"You know you may speak in front of my queen, Phinade," I inform him, holding out my hand to have her join me.

"Hi, Phinade," she says with a wave.

He dips his head and smiles at her. They've warmed to each other in the last few nova-months. For my Ginny, who has a big heart, this does not surprise me in the slightest. But Phinade…he's an excellent vizier, if not the best at making friends.

Still, he has kept court politics at bay all these nova-months, allowing me time with my mate, for us to get to know each other, to ready ourselves for the arrival of our young.

It means our bond, the one my inner Xnosson bull recognized immediately, has grown stronger day by day. I think even Ginny believes we were destined to be together across the stars. The bigger her belly grows, the more impatient I get, not just to meet our young, but to fill her once again.

Now my inner bull knows she can be bred, he wants to keep her that way.

All of this could entirely be induced by the flood of her milk I consumed earlier, but I do not care. If Ginny and Phinade are getting on, I am happy.

"My queen." Phinade gives her a bow.

"You were saying, Phinade?" I prompt before he can wax lyrical once again about her clothing choices.

Phinade could easily have another job working for Daeldan.

"Sire, yes…my sources within Clan Roaan suggest taking a bride has gone down well with Minoran, their leader. He sees the choice, which he believes he suggested"—Phinade snorts—"as proof of your intentions towards Xnos."

"What intentions does he think I have?"

"Unlike your father…who did not take another bride after your mother passed, he sees your marriage as proof you have the interests of the clans at heart, not the crown."

"Why?" Ginny says. "I mean, I'm pleased chose to do what he did in looking for a bride, but why would getting married make any difference to his intentions?"

I look at Phinade, and he is silent.

"My father did not take another bride after my mother because all he wanted was an heir. But then even when he had me, he cut me out almost entirely. He was going to keep hold of the crown no matter what." I run my hand down my left horn, which could do with sharpening. "I'm aware some of the clans saw his choices as merely cementing his control over them."

"But it seems the clans are coming to understand you are not interested in control, merely being their leader, Xnos' figurehead."

"I have all I will ever need. I don't want any more from the clans. I'd just rather they all worked together for the good of our planet, rather than fighting among themselves."

"Good luck with that," Ginny replies. "Humans made many attempts to work together, and even with our planet filling up and some parts becoming uninhabitable, we still couldn't agree on a solution. And we were still throwing explosives at each other," she grumbles.

"Xnos was united under my grandfather, and I believe it can be united again." I pull her close to me, resting my hand on her stomach as I kiss her lips.

Phinade coughs on the comm. I glare at him.

"There is the other matter, sire, of the Habosu and the humans?" Phinade says.

"The Habosu?" Ginny queries.

"You did not think I would ignore such a threat to my queen and her people, did you?" I smile at her. "Phinade has been looking into it for us. What have you found?"

"It's more complicated than I expected, given how the Habosu normally operate," Phinade says.

"You have experience with them?" Ginny asks.

"They used to trade on Xnos under my father, a practice I put paid to as soon as I came to the throne. Despicable business practices," I growl. "They were not happy, but it was one thing the clans did agree with me on. The Habosu were easily dissuaded from returning to any of our spaceports."

"I have found out they are also not supposed to be trading with the humans, or at least the humans who inhabit the cruiser, Britannia . This is by galactic decree," Phinade says, while a number of expressions cross his face. "Because the humans are not considered sophisticated enough for such trade." He executes a quick bow. "My apologies, my queen."

"No apologies necessary, Phinade," she replies. "Given Kevin was so far out of his depth he couldn't even see the surface, I completely agree. So." She sinks onto a chair, one hand on her back. "What are we going to do about them? Britannia can trade, but it can't survive if a species is taking advantage."

"We will need to go to the galactic council with our concerns," Phinade says.

Unable to stop myself, I groan.

"What is the problem?"

"Xnos' elected member to the council is Minoran, leader of Clan Roaan, the clan we have to convince to support us."