Nero squeezed my shoulder. “I think you should keep that promise, don’t you?”
“But kin.” My stomach churned. “I still love Kovu. What female would have me knowing I still love another?”
“Many females, Ezah,” Nero said. “Many who have experienced the loss of a loved one.”
I exhaled a breath.
“Ach! None of this even matters.” I shook my head. “You heard Levi. She has feelings for another male. It is why she refused your intention.”
Nero’s offering to make her his intended infuriated me but knowing Levi also had her sights set on another male caused a sick feeling to fill my stomach. I couldn’t deny that I had a strong pull towards the human … I was feeling great jealousy. It was a foreign emotion for me to endure, and I didn’t like it one bit.
“I think she would have refused my intention either way.” Nero chuckled merrily. “She looked as scared as a cornered kit when I approached her.”
That she did.
“She’s very … timid.”
“I’ll say.” Nero snorted. “Look, she may be interested in another male, but that is all it is right now. Interest. You should show her why you are the male she should have an interest in. Who better for her to pine after than a mighty prince of the people?”
“You say that only because you’re my kin,” I mused. “Humans do not care much about our titles here.”
“Even better. That means if she comes to have interest in you, it will be for you and not the title of princess that she would earn by becoming your mate.”
I rubbed a hand over my face. “What am I doing, Nero?” I implored him, hoping he could give me the answers I could not find. “I love and miss my Kovu, but it is Levi who is constantly on my mind as of late. I barely even know her, and I cannot stop thinking about her. When I realise this, I feel like I am betraying Kovu. I hate the feeling it brings.”
“I feel sadness for you, my kin.” Nero patted my shoulder. “You’re still grieving, you will always grieve sweet Kovu, but you have been dwelling in darkness over her loss for decades now. You do not smile or laugh. The most you can achieve is a grin or a snort. You’re pretty miserable to be around a lot of the time, and you just look so sad when you’re not glaring at everyone. I hate seeing you this way.”
I said nothing.
“Feeling an attraction to another female, feeling protective of her, and having her raid your thoughts is the best thing that could have happened to you,” my kin assured me. “This little female could help you, and you could help her. It is obvious she needs not only a protector but also the blanket of safety a good protector brings. You could be that for her.”
My heart pounded against my chest.
“You encourage me to pursue a female who rejected your intention not thirty minutes ago?”
Nero laughed. “I felt honour-bound to ask her. She saved my mother’s life.”
“Honour-bound?” I repeated. “So you have no interest in Levi or an attraction to her?”
“I wouldn’t say no attraction. She’s deliciously beau—not my face!”
Nero leaped away from my raised fist, laughing as he went.
“I have no intention of claiming your human, kin.” He chuckled. “She is all yours.”
All mine. Thanas, that thought excited me.
“How do I take away the interest she has for another male and place it on me instead? She is very timid, so beating this other male during a spar wouldn’t impress her.”
Nero scratched his chin, then snapped his fingers.
“There is only one male we can receive answers from. One male who is an expert in all things human.”
Nero and I shared a look and nodded.
“Kol.”
“How many times do I have to repeat this?” Kol snapped an interval later. “I am not a walking talking human female translator. I learn new things about my mate every single day. Just this morning, I learned she has a tiny hair on her upper lip that I’m never allowed to mention, or she might try to kill me with one of her sandals.”
Nero blinked. “That is very specific, kin.”
“My mate is a very specific kind of female.”
That drew a snort from me, and I was pleased when Kol did not growl at me. I knew my presence was still hard for him, but he seemed to tolerate me … or get past the fact that I almost succeeded in stealing his mate and turning her against him. Most likely, it was the former.
“I thought you said you have no interest in human females.” Kol rolled his eyes. “Isn’t that what you declared to me, Ezah?”
“Yes,” I answered. “But I have an interest now, and I don’t know what to do about it. This female is nothing like Nova, and Nova is the only human female I can compare her to, so I have no idea how to approach her.”