Taming the Queen of Beasts

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*****

AARYN

Inwardly, he winced at the position he'd put his mate in. He knew she'd see this more clearly when she was calm. She knew Gar's value, even if she found his attitude frustrating.

What had been a surprise was the lack of surprise amongst the elders.

That bore further investigation.

But in that moment, his mate was wrestling with herself as surely as she'd ever wrestled with her beast for control. Her scent was shot through with red-hot rage, with indignation, and with a healthy thread of fear as well.

Aaryn's heart went out to her. She'd always been sensitive about the assumptions made about her and her brother—how everyone had assumed he would be the future heir, merely because he was male. He'd teased her with it when they'd been younger. But of course, once he'd rebelled and wanted nothing to do with Reth, he'd found the entire situation even more uncomfortable than her.

Aaryn could see her there, fighting with herself for control. Reminding herself—and them—of her dominance.

She was angry that she had to face this old fear again.

But also, he realized, nervous that perhaps she'd been wrong.

He wanted to gather her up and tell her how magnificent she was—make sure she remembered how much she'd achieved and who she was. What she had become to the Anima. He knew, in that moment, it wasn't the first female dominant that sat in that chair—it was a teenage Elreth, with all the hang ups and fears of her youth.

Aaryn leaned in and put a hand to her knee. "There is no threat to you in this," he murmured.

It was the wrong thing to say. She turned a glare on him, so pure it made his hackles rise.

"I do not fear my brother's dominance for myself," she snapped. "I fear his arrogance and self-obsession, and how it might have serious consequences for an already struggling people!"

Aaryn sat back, an apology in his eyes. He wasn't measuring her well. Too many things crowding his mind. "He is exactly what they need," he said again. "I am certain of it. They will grow together—he will… he is equal to this challenge Elreth. It will be the making of him, if he lets it."

"That's the key, though, isn't it?!" she snapped. "If he lets it. The only thing Gar can be relied on to do, or be, is unreliable."

"He has always been more responsible when other people's wellbeing is on the line."

"Except mine!" she countered. "And no matter what Alpha position he has taken, he is not Alpha over me!"

"No, he's not," Aaryn smiled. He wished he could reach for her again, but he didn't want to fuel her anger further.

Elreth blinked then and remembered where she was, and who was listening.

Tarkyn cleared his throat. "The Alphas… they often need some time to find their feet. The others in the tribes will help him."

"That would require him listening to them," Elreth snarled. "The disformed have already been in difficulty, already have an even harder road to walk in the coming months. We cannot have them led by someone who might throw them all off a cliff for a whim!"

Aaryn frowned. He knew Elreth struggled to trust Gar, but she was usually one of his biggest supporters against others. Defending her family was instinctive for her.

Why was she suddenly on the attack? Especially before these people.

"Perhaps we should bring him in?" Aaryn suggested. "Ask him some questions? Not even just about being Alpha—he spent the afternoon with the disformed. He might have learned things about Hholdyn, or what the disformed are doing. He might be able to inform us of other elements in play."

Elreth was staring at him like she didn't know him, and Aaryn knew he should have been shaking. Should have been terrified of the Elders learning about the disformed work with the traverse and bringing humans into Anima. He should have been terrified that this step with Gar would undermine the work they were doing to bring the disformed into their own tribe with the support of the Elders.

But he found he wasn't really feeling anything. He'd gone numb inside. Which was a blessing in that it kept him calm. But he shouldn't be this calm.

He should be feeling something… shouldn't he?

"It certainly wouldn't hurt for all of us to speak with him," Lhern said with a glance at Huncer, who'd been strangely silent during this exchange.

Huncer nodded. "And I agree with Aaryn—it would be worth speaking with him not just as the new Alpha to this group that is so problematic at the moment, but also to see if he has learned anything important that could help us." Then she turned to Elreth. "It may be that his response to that—to us, to being summoned for questioning—will give you either reassurance about his ability to fulfill this role, or the grounds to challenge it if you turn out to be correct."

Elreth shook her head in disbelief. But Aaryn was impressed by the fact that she didn't bite back. She trembled with the desire to do so, but held herself in check.

"Tarkyn," she said finally, "can you send one of the servants to find my br—to find Gar and summon him here. I do not know where he will be. If he's not at dinner, I suspect they would need to check the disformed cave, or his own Tree. But… regardless, make sure he it is impressed upon him that his Queen calls for his attendance, alongside the elders?"

Tarkyn nodded, a twinkle in his eye. "I'll talk to one of the guards outside. We'll find him."

Elreth gave a little shake of her head—apparently not comforted by that assurance. But once Tarkyn had trotted to the door to speak with the guards outside, she turned to the Elders.

"I will… ask that you evaluate his appropriateness for this role. I will attempt to keep my personal biases out of this. If you believe Gar is right for this role, I will not fight it," she said quietly.

Huncer smiled for the first time in a while and Aaryn breathed a little easier.

"But until he's here, perhaps we can discuss those patrols we were going to address tomorrow," Elreth continued, her jaw tight. "We might as well make use of this time, right?"

Everyone murmured their agreements, but Aaryn wondered if they'd caught the tang of her scent. Whether this day would end with her actually biting out her brother's throat.

He and Tarkyn shared a nervous glance as the Captain returned to his seat.

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