Page 64 of Queen Isabella

Phara

With his fellow alphas by his side, Phara approached their counterparts among the Nemus. Andren, the other hive’s consort alpha, stood in the center. Lehzen, the servitor alpha, was on his right, and Soleno, the legionnaire alpha, was on the left. He knew these males. They gathered with the Nemus for the occasional harvest celebration. You wouldn’t know that now, the way they squared off against each other.

“Do you mean to insult us before we even start by guarding the queen like we are a hive of rule breakers?” the Nemus’ lead consort said so only they could hear.

The way Andren’s brow twitched, the male was truly slighted, though he was also posturing.

Last night, they’d been stunned by the challenge. After everything they’d been through, another hurdle felt unfair. Except this competition wasn’t about them, any of them. It was about their queen. And in that regard, Phara already had the advantage of knowing the sweet creature, so he couldn’t let the Nemus get to him.

Phara relaxed his demeanor as he looked each of the Nemus alphas in the eye. “It is not about you, your comfort or your sensibilities. Our queen has been through much, too much.”

“Then we shall leave it up toour queenif she would like to come forth,” Andren countered.

The way the consort alpha said our queen as if Isa already belonged to them grated on Phara’s nerves, but he shoved it down.

“My queen,” Andren spoke up, “we have prepared a seat for you to comfortably observe theConlatus.”

“Um, okay, sure,” Isa’s voice was soft as it came out from the protective ring of legionnaires. She was nervous.

Phara cringed, hating that she was in the middle of all this.

The legionnaires surrounding Isa parted, letting her through. Instinct had them following her until he, Bellator and Artifex took the prime positions behind their stunning little female. After all, they were still her hive.

Isa stopped well out of reach in front of the Nemus alphas. The trio of males gaped at her. This was the first good look they’d had at the queen. Phara instantly knew what the Nemus were thinking. It was surprising how petite their queen was. Her exotic beauty was equally disarming. He loved her silky mane flowing down her back and her warm, inquisitive round eyes. He melted whenever she stared at him.

Phara saw the instant the Nemus’ gazes shifted from surprise to desire, and he shoved down the vicious growl bubbling in his throat. It was going to be a long day.

“I am Andren, Nemus Hive Consort Alpha.” Andren dropped to his knees and bowed, his head nearly touching the ground.

Isa surveyed the trio as Soleno then Lehzen introduced themselves and bowed in respect. It was unfortunate she’d become better about not projecting her thoughts, because he really wondered what she thought about the rival hive as she gave them her name in return.

With introductions done, the three Nemus alphas rose.

“Right this way.” Andren reached out to put a guiding hand on Isa’s arm and the trapped growl in Phara’s chest tried to get free. He was trying to remain calm, but it was growing more difficult by the moment.

Control yourself. Save this for the competition.

The way Bellator bristled, and Artifex subtly trembled, he knew they were also struggling with this.

“Oh, yep, I see it. Very nice.” Isa sidestepped Andren and quickly walked over to the chair.

Phara couldn’t help but grin that Andren’s attempt to touch her had been foiled as Isa climbed into the seat and got comfortable amidst the soft furs.

“Thank you.” She nodded to the Nemus.

It will take more than that to sway my queen,Phara silently gloated as he grinned at Andren.

“Let theConlatusbegin.” Andren eyed him back.

Isabella

All the Vorto were staring at Isa, making her uncomfortable. Her guys were tense, hanging on her every move, while the Nemus stared like she was some exhibit in a zoo. Andren, the Nemus’ consort tried to help her, but there was no way she was letting some strange naked guy touch her. The notion was laughable, since her whole hive was naked, but she’d grown used to them. Accustomed to it or not, a mob of purple dicks on her left and orange dicks on her right, all crowding in close, was a tad more than she could handle at the moment.

“Let theConlatusbegin.” Andren glared at Phara.

Thank you!Isa sighed when the crowd around her started to disperse.

“The first round is thesaltare,” Andren added as he stepped away, giving her some breathing room.

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