Taming the Queen of Beasts

ELRETH

Gar's upper lip curled back. "Maybe not to you, El. But she's my mate. And I will interfere with anyone who tries to touch her when she doesn't deserve it."

"You are not the judge of when she deserves to be handled!"

A tiny noise broke in the throats of Aaryn and her father. Gar grinned.

Elreth snapped her head to glare at them, standing to the other side of the room.

"What?"

Their father cleared his throat. "I just… when your mother was held… I reacted similarly."

Aaryn held her eyes and signed. 'I would die before I'd let males touch you with threat in their eyes.'

The words were a spear to her heart—and made it sing. Frustration surged—she was sick of stifling her instincts to lead just for the sake of alpha male bullshit! The guards weren't going to hurt Rika unless she proved to be a traitor!

But the look on Aaryn's face, and the empathy in her father's expression when he looked at Gar…

For fuck's sake. She turned back to Gar, forcing herself to soften her tone.

"I will accept that you are… protective, brother," she said carefully. "And that any male of the bond would feel that way," she said dryly with a glance at her mate and father. "But that doesn't change the fact that she comes from our enemy camp and there is a significant threat to our people. You cannot be my War Chief and also a barrier to our victory."

"I'm not," he said through his teeth. "I'm telling you to stop treating her like a traitor when you have no proof!"

Elreth rolled her jaw. "Take a seat, both of you," she snapped. "All of you," she added, looking around the room. "Captain, order your guards to allow no one to enter who has not been invited by name, and once inside, no one is to leave without my permission. We are here to figure this shit out and none of us are leaving until we do!"

Tarkyn nodded and moved towards the door, obviously going to communicate instructions to the guards outside. Elreth stayed on her feet, watching them all as the room began to rumble as everyone moved to their seats and murmured their thoughts to their neighbors.

Gar turned to face Rika. The human woman was tense, and wide-eyed, but she had her chin up. A show of strength for them, apparently. If only she knew…

Elreth sighed. She wished she could just walk away. Stop fighting with her brother. Stop having to force the elders to her will. Stop trying so desperately to see through the fog towards the future.

She wished she and Aaryn could go back to their honeymoon and forget everything that had happened since.

For a moment, she wanted to weep. But she shook her head and set her jaw. She would not give in to the urge. It was time to get to the bottom of what was happening with the humans.

She stalked to her seat where she could see everyone and sat firmly, looking around the circle and the lower-ranking elders in lines under the window. Under her eyes, the murmuring stopped. She nodded.

"We are in need of a truth seeker," she said when the room was quiet. "Who feels confident to scent a stranger for truth?"

Jayah, the healer and wolf elder who was close to her mother, raised her hand. Elreth wondered if this was challenged if any of the people would contest her honesty given how close she was to Elreth's family. But in truth, Elreth had known all the elders for as long as she could remember. It was impossible to find anyone truly independent for this. It was why she'd asked instead of ordered, in case this meeting was later relayed. She would not be accused of choosing favorites.

She nodded at the female. "Thank you, please come stand with Rika." Then she looked around the room. "Where are the disformed? And Marryk and Hannah?" she asked the room.

"They're on their way," Aaryn said quietly from near the door. "We sent a second messenger that the meeting was starting early."

Elreth sighed, but knew she couldn't be too impatient.

"Very well," she said and turned to the elders. "I've called you back early because it occurred to me that there were aspects to Rika's story that needed more clarification, and I was concerned that we may have missed something in her first accounting. Please listen carefully, and Jayah, please scent Rika as she answers."

Rika looked at the woman suspiciously, but Jayah only nodded at Elreth, then gave a comforting smile to Rika. Elreth took a deep breath.

"Rika, please tell us again, very specifically, when did you first hear about Anima, before you had visited?"

"It was almost two months ago," Rika said. Elreth looked at Jayah, who nodded subtly, so Elreth continued.

"How had the humans become aware of our world?"

"One of the team had come through a gateway that we'd been aware of for some time, but it was different to the others we were familiar with. They'd been trying to breach it, but we'd lost one staff member already, so it was some time before they sent another. He entered Anima for a few days, then came back."

"Just a few days?"

"Yes."

Elreth eyed Jayah, who was continuing to sit close to Rika, her nostrils flaring, but no concern showing on her face yet.

"And what did he learn in those few days?"

Rika glanced at Gar, then back to Elreth. "He found the Anima. The people. And we realized… we realized it was more than we thought."

Elreth's nerves fizzed. "What was more than you thought?"

"He observed the Anima people—the people the bosses had known of and been seeking. He brought back reports of their strength and speed, and their ability to shift… everything."

"And had he made contact with the Anima he observed?" Elreth asked quietly.

Rika frowned. Her eyes dropped to the floor and her forehead wrinkled deeper. "I… I don't know. I don't remember if he'd actually spoken with them."

Elreth looked at Jayah who was leaning in slightly, her nostrils flaring and resting as she sucked in the woman's scent.