"Have you seen my Coyo shin guards?" I called out to Shale from my workshop.

"They're hanging in the third-floor hall panel."

The layout of our city townhouse in Karwarak on Menthla was multitiered and always required several days of acclimating before I felt at home.

I darted up the coiling staircase and found armaments along with a belt buckle I fashioned from the skull of a human cyborg.

Tonight was the secession ceremony. Shale was scheduled to announce that I would no longer be his Adjutant and I would appoint Dran as my replacement for Nexus' Special Envoy to Mentha.

I needed my best armor.

"Have you heard any updates on the monastery?" I cantered back through the hallway.

"Not yet," Shale yelled back. "Oru has completed her extended Dread. There's a debriefing scheduled with the council tomorrow morning. I intend to address the delay in communication."

The boys were outside in the street singing with a group of razkur younglings.

Shale assigned them each a personal guard. He wanted more, but I was able to persuade him down to single digits so as not to interfere with their playtime. Riffing with the street bands was a highlight for the boys, as none of the Zhaguai pups on Sahei could sing with them.

"Later today, I would like to take the boys into the craftsmen district," I called out while descending the staircase. "Lost Coyote has explained to me that it is tradition to bring a present to the celebration commemorating a triad's many cycles of bonding."

I trotted into the main room, rubbing the smudges off my belt buckle. "Do you think Mourning Crow would be interested in such a gathering one day?"

"Perhaps..." Shale sat cross-legged on the mat in our central room staring at my freshly polished armor laid out across the floor. "I am for it."

Then my mate thrummed under his breath. "If Lost Coyote insists on it, I suppose we have to."

I fought the urge to grind my fangs and let my frustration fade with a sigh.

Shale tossed and turned all night after returning home from the boys' hunt. I tried comforting him and he let me, but I knew it was a fleeting substitution.

I entered the main room and crouched beside him.

"Do you wish to challenge my Adjutant?" I was mindful to keep my tone measured and quiet.

Shale finally pried his eyes off my armor and shook his head. "She has earned her rank."

I remained still, by his side, watching him seethe with each exhale.

"My approval is non-essential," he grumbled in resolve.

"I can't move forward without it."

"You are no longer hindered by stigma and gossip," Shale turned to me. "There is no need for me to speak tonight. You and I are at our strongest when we are together."

"That will never change," I clicked patiently. "But if I stay, my station will become a crutch."

"I would never hold you back."

"But my presence hobbles you," I countered.

Shale let out a consternated huff.

"Speak truthfully," I kept my eyes on him. "Would you give any other Adjutant the freedom to run such an expansive side project?"

Shale's chest rumbled with a rolling hiss.

"The command of the Primary comes first," I crooked my head. "We knew the risks of impaired judgment when we first became mates, but our goals were united on the merger of Menthla into the Nexus."

Shale crossed his arms. "I didn't realize our ambitions had strayed so far off."

"We have borne offspring," I put my hand over his shoulder, brushing the faint scar left over from Crazy Wolf's pouch. "Two bright and curious pups who need each of us to do what is necessary for their potential to flourish and be recognized. Our choices impact their path."

"You believe I was wrong to abjure Peleon," Shale stood up with a snort.

"What do you believe?" I rose with him. "My mate."

Shale pulled his face away with a snarl. "You say that like an accusation!"

"I am here to listen, mate."

"Why do you keep saying that?" Shale spoke with his back to me. "Mate!"

"It is what we are."

Speak, mate... I know this is eating you alive.

Shale flexed his arms in a petulant demonstration of strength to dismiss the conversation.

I know your bearer dredges up memories of being separated from Tharu, but the two of you have been locked in a miasma of silence for so long that you can not long recognize the path leading out.

"Your mother responded poorly but she did not kill your brother," I clenched my jaw and braced for Shale's fist.

Shale eyes glared at me like red hot lasers, but he didn't strike me.

"Zhaguai are limited when it comes to dealing with loss," I held firm. "You and I know this well."

"These matters have nothing to do with one another!" Shale threw out his hand and tried to storm away.

"They are one and the same," I opened my arms but kept my feet anchored in the same spot.

My mate roared and whipped his head in denial, but I was pleased he remained in the room.

"I am not your brother."

"Of course you're not!" Shale spun and thrashed his long quills.

But he did take one large stomp closer.

"I don't believe your bearer would speak falsehoods," I inched toward him. "Especially to you."

"No," Shale pulled his eyes away. "Despite all her faults. Peleon never lied to me or Tharu."

"What is the point of being Zhaguai if we can't confront our failings?"

"There is no evidence that she wishes to improve," Shale growled. "She doesn't even acknowledge that she made a mistake!"

"Then challenge her!"

Shale's face went pale. This was not what my mate wished to hear.

"Blood for blood..." I chittered coldly.

"It won't change the past."

"Then what will salvage the future?" I lunged at him. Technically, for the next few hours, I was still Shale's Adjutant.

Very well, my Primary... I will put you upright one last time.

"What's done, is done," Shale threw his palms up. "I will not recant my decisio-."

In one fluid swipe, I knocked Shale off his footing.

He grabbed my arm before I could scratch him, but that was exactly where I wanted his attention.

A second later, I had him on his back staring up at me in horror. As predicted, he didn't expect to be taken down with a graceless maneuver I honed especially for the free-for-all joust.

I had him pinned. Me on top of him, with his right leg up and over my shoulder.

Shale's eyes went wide as he cinched his fangs shut. We were both intimately aware that this position offered easy access to Zhaguai females.

"Relax, mate," I leaned closer, craning his leg higher and dragging my claws down his chest to open five gooey blue cuts. "When this happens, know that this is a venture we will share with Mourning Crow."

I pinched my claw tips under his knee. "And that I will do everything in my power to make you beg for our union."

This was my moment to strike!

I locked my scaled lips with his and kissed him deeply.

Shale growled until his hands sank into my cranial quills and his heart thumped against my chest.

I liked that he was never gentle with me.

"After today," I let him breathe. "I will cease being our Adjutant but I am not going anywhere. I am with you always."

Shale's body decompressed in my arms.

I lifted off him and pulled him to his feet then pressed my forehead and horns to his.

"I secede from you in rank only, to make our family stronger. For you and Mourning Crow," I held his face while tenderly stroking his face with my quills. "And for our sons and daughters to come."

Shale stood speechless in front of me, clasping my shoulders and nodding reluctantly.

"Now go find your bearer and make your voice heard!" I pointed at the door. "Do not return until you have atoned and, at the very least, thanked her for protecting our sons."

...

Thank you for reading.

Hmm... I wonder what's going on with Lost Coyote and Dran.

Let's take a peek next chapter...👀🔥❔❓

...

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~A. E. Shelly (a.k.a. Oloo)