Page 22 of The Royal's Bumblebee
“Proceed.” She stated impatiently, and I chuckled at her.
“My father is the King Xulei of Orna. He and my mother, Queen Zhulula, mated 37 times and she laid successfully each time. I was the last, the youngest.” My smile was sad as I thought of the mother I would never know. “Of clutch siblings, most have moved to the palaces of other Royals in other cities across Thelia. To keep the alliances and bloodlines strong. As is tradition, the eldest 3 and the youngest 3 always remain in the place of their hatching. I am the youngest, largest, and strongest of my line.” I looked off to one side and realised that wasn’t strictly true, and she was going to learn that very soon. “Of the male line, of course. My sister Jajana is larger than me and our father, but she is gentle. In fact, she scolds me at the end of every hunt that I have not yet allowed her to meet you.” I chuckle at the last time she tried to follow me across the bridge to my private nest, and how I had to expand my hood and warn her to back off my territory. She didn’t take it personally of course, but she sulked all the way back to her luxurious wing of the palace. Probably to whimper to our eldest brother. “Allow me to go in order. My father, King Xulei looks like an older version of me. His colours are the same, but his hood markings are more like diamonds, than eyes. He has more scars on his body from many hunts.” Billie nodded dutifully and comfortably held her knees as she snuggled to my side. I coiled my tail around my woman-no, aroundBillie, and ignored her lovely ambrosia scent in the air. “My eldest brother and crown prince, the future King of Orna, is Vrujac. He is attached to our father’s side, and has been since he hatched first, because he has been raised his entire life to take the throne one day. His mate, Sacxi, is a Royal who came to us from another city called Erya. She is our future Queen and is gravid at the moment with their first youngling.”
“Gravid means pregnant?” Billie clarified, and I nodded at her. “So princess Sacxi has an egg growing inside of her?”
“Yes.” I imagined for a moment Billie with my egg growing inside her, but dismissed that right away. One, she isn’t mine. She has not chosen me. Two, she’s human and our species can mate, but we can’t breed. “The second hatched of my father’s line is Jajana, and she is to be honoured this Gcorket. It is the season of Heat, and therefore crown princes from other capital cities have come to present themselves before her. She will scent and observe them to select her future mate. Whomever she chooses, she will become their Queen.”
“She get’s to choose?” Billie nodded up at me and seemed surprised. “In human cultures, the King chose the husband for their daughter. Usually for political gain or a power grab.”
“That wouldn’t work for Ucfeni.” I chuckled at how odd that sounded and before I knew it, I was leaning down to take inmoreof her scent. “You see, the pheromones of our partners have to be complimentary. Or the…mating drive isn’t stimulated. We aren’t attracted to justanyone. Regardless how much power or wealth they may or may not have. Besides?” I cleared my throat and my yellow eyes dipped to look at the water level caressing her breasts in the water… I swallowed thickly and slid my own tail over my pouch to hide the way it rebelliously bulged. “The burden and risk of becoming gravid with a clutch is on the female, so she gets to decide who is worthy of filling her with their seed, not the other way around.”
“That sounds very sensible.”
“Yes. Which is why, in Ucfeni culture, males will carry out great feats to display their worth and skills, along with their scent, for the female they are hoping to woo or seduce.” I stared at her, hoping she would realise I was doing exactly that, but for her.
It’s why I couldn’t help trying to bring Billie gifts to impress her. None of which have remotely interested her. There is a voice in the back of my head getting very excited by the fact she’s going to watch mereallyshow off my prowess today. “The Gcorket festival is full of such displays, such as—” Billie raised her hand up and hovered it near my mouth. I froze, staring at her soft supple fingers and waiting for her to touch them to my lips. I wanted her to. I wanted to kiss and suck on each one. But she didn’t.
“You said there were three older siblings, and three younger siblings. You have only told me of the first and second hatched, Vrujac and Jajana. Please continue in order.” Billie nodded and lowered her hand back into the water. “Please.”
“Of course, you’re right. I’m so excited to share this part of my culture with you, I got ahead of myself.”
“You are forgiven. Continue.” She prompted me and I wanted to continue what should have been her hand’s journey to my mouth, but instead I cleared my throat and gave her want she asked for. I rewarded my patience by curving the last third of my tail around her in the water to hug her against my side. More touching was dangerous, but I’d also go mad without it.I’m in so much trouble.
“Szelor is the third hatched, and he is happily so. Nothing pleases that boy more than spending his days in the palace repository.” She smiled, and I knew where her mind had gone. “He’s also short-tempered and has no patience for anyone. All he cares about is his research, and hebarelyholds his tongue around his older siblings and the King. Anyone younger than him feels his icy temper like a whip.”
“He doesn’t sound very nice.” Billie concluded and I nodded at her with a scoff.
“Szelor would prefer to the company of his own shucked scales, than anyone else.” I looked up and realised that wasn’t entirely true either. “Well, other than the repository keeper’s daughter, of course, but he’s not brave enough to risk telling her how he feels. He doesn’t have the burden of rule or procreating more pure Royals, so hecouldmate with her, but he’s too twisted to dare tell her how he feels. Coward. She hasn’t shown any interest in him, and they spend enough time together, so their scents don’t match. Clearly.”
“Is he a coward? …telling people how you feel isn’teasy.” I looked down at her and frowned. “Especially if you don’t know how.”
“You’re right. Itisn’teasy.” Here I am, literally holding the woman I want so badly I’m fighting off my own mating drive to keep her trust, and I’m judging Szelor for not telling sweet little Tzuta that he likes her. “Regardless, Szelor isnota nice guy. He won’t treat you differently because you’re human. He just doesn’t likepeople.”Billie nodded. “Now for the youngest three. Hatched 35th is Uczaz. What a hunter?” I grinned. “He’s my favourite hunting partner. Quiet, skilled, and saves the chat for once we’re back on our territory. Unlike our middle brother Halas. Thorn in my tail that one. Always in trouble. No matter what. Always where he shouldn’t be, doing what he shouldn’t be doing, talking to who he shouldn’t be talking to, and never,eversorry about it.”
I seamlessly found myself regaling Billie about the time Halas went missing in the palace when we had visitors from one of the outer tribes we trade with. It was only a couple of years ago, but we all still cringed and laughed about it when we did get together. “For a horrifying moment, we thought he might have been taken prisoner by one of the tribal Ucfeni, to be used as leverage or revenge for long-buried grudges. Only, I found the little shucker face first up the skirt of one of the Allico Inc technicians who was overseeing upgrades to one of our city-wide communication hubs.” I laughed, remembering how I startled the pair of them so badly, Halas’s hood widened and inflated her skirt, before the human squealed and kneed my brother in the face in her attempt to flee.
When I finished laughing I looked at Billie to see she was staring at me with the same curiosity she showed when I spoke of Thelia’s seasons.
“Your brother had his face up a human’s skirt?”
“…yes…” I deeply regretted this story. If she was about to ask me why he had his face up her skirt, I might just shuck right out of my scales with humiliation.
“Is that funny because you caught your brother giving oral sex when you thought he had been taken captive, or because he was giving oral sex to a human?”
Chapter 17
Fangs
Izule
“The former.” I hurried to elaborate. “It’s not uncommon nowadays for Ucfeni and humans to…have relationships. We are…anatomically compatible for being intimate…just notbreeding.”I swallowed thickly and struggled not to think about mating with Billie. Especially since she was naked and snuggled up beside me.
“Of course. Your genome has a triple helix and would never result in hybridisation.” Billie nodded and didn’t seem to notice that I was suddenly tense and watching her reaction very carefully. If she gave the opinion that she didn’t find Ucfeni attractive, didn’t think they should be intimate with each other, or thought it was strange, I’m not sure my heart would take it. “Continue?” She seemed confused why I paused my story. How do I take that? Her lack of reaction could be acceptance? Or a lack of opinion on the matter?
I wanted to give hermyopinion on Xeno-pairing, but I didn’t dare startle her.
“I am the 37th and final hatchling of King Xulei and Queen Zhulula. Now you are up to speed with the family members you will meet today, shall I tell you what to expect from the Gcorket festival?”
“Yes. But I’m getting cold.” Billie stood, like an emerging water goddess by my side, and stepped over my right arm to exit the bath. I clamped the middle bulk of my tail down over my pouch. Bones of my ancestors, I willnotextrude and offer myself belly up for her when she doesn’t even offer an opinion on human and Ucfeni mating.
