AARYN

Aaryn fought the urge to bare his teeth when the males both laid sparkling eyes on Elreth. Eyes that sparkled a lot more than they ever had before.

Rak, a tall, weedy Bird with messy blond hair, was all smiles. "Do I have to bow?" he said as he reached them.

"Oh, please, Rak," Elreth said, her cheeks pinking.

But Dargyn, who was only steps behind him, made a show of it.

When Rak stood back, ruffling his hair, Dargyn dipped his chin and dropped to one knee in the dirt, his fist clenched to his chest. "Your Majesty," he said. "Let me be the first—" he glanced at Aaryn, "—to congratulate you and offer my vow," he said clearly, raising his voice so those at the tables nearby would hear him clearly. "I acknowledge you as Queen. I am your servant."

Elreth's face was a strange mix of gratitude and a wince.

As a Lion, Dargyn was huge. As tall as Aaryn, and a little broader, though not as dominant. But he had the dark hair and blue eyes that all the females—even those outside the pride—favored. And he'd been blessed with the build of a fighter. Even if he wasn't.

Aaryn tried hard not to measure himself against Dargyn. The truth was, he'd take the Lion down with one arm tied behind his back—not even in beast form. But that had never stopped Dargyn being popular. And Aaryn couldn't fault the man's character. He was a good friend who stayed solid in crisis. And he was good at calming Elreth down when she got angry.

Better than Aaryn, who was usually the one to set her off in the first place.

For a split second, Aaryn wondered if he should have offered Elreth the vow earlier in the day. Shown his submission. But it was too late now as she shook her head and quietly thanked Dargyn, but urged him to his feet.

He could tell she wanted to say he hadn't needed to do it, but she was aware—as Aaryn was—that actually, it would only help her to have popular members of the pride show their loyalty early.

"How can we serve today, Sire?" Dargyn asked her with a wink.

Elreth put her face in her hands and took a breath. "You can stop with the titles, first," she said through her teeth, glancing at the people around them who watched curiously. "But… will you all join me at the head table? I don't want to sit up there alone."

"Of course!" Rak beamed and Dargyn nodded, smiling.

Gwyn smiled too, but as they all turned and Aaryn didn't follow, she held back.

Gwyn was a lion too. Her hair was a rich gold that shimmered in the evening light, but her warm brown eyes were pinched. "Aren't you coming?" she asked Aaryn quietly, aware of the audience.

Aaryn shook his head and tried to ignore the pit that opened in his stomach when, ahead of them, Dargyn put a hand to Elreth's back to guide her around a bench that had been slid into the aisle. "No," he said through his teeth. "I need to sit with my mother."

Gwyn frowned. "It's a special occasion, surely—"

"No," he said firmly. "I'll see you all after the meal. Go have fun, Gwyn, I have to go."

He stepped away from her, taking a different aisle through the tables, though he was still moving towards the front.

Gwyn stood, her hands clasped in front of her, watching him go. But he ignored the feeling of her eyes on the back of his neck, instead picking out his mother near the front, but at the end of a table. Alone.

As the mate of a wolf that had been part of the mutiny twenty years before, none of the other tribes trusted her. And she was so quiet and unwilling to conflict with people that she hadn't ever corrected any of the assumptions people made about her.

She also hadn't helped Aaryn when he was a cub and facing outright hatred from his peers. But she loved him, and he hated seeing her there, alone. Always alone.

He'd urged her to look for another mate. There were few unmated wolves—very few wolves in general in the Tree City now. But there were many disformed. And having raised one herself, she didn't have the same prejudices as others.

When he reached her, she looked up gratefully. "How are you, son?" she asked as he pulled out the bench to sit at her left. "Is Elreth okay?" His mother liked Elreth and had always encouraged him to pursue the relationship she sensed that he wanted.

"She's fine. A little overwhelmed, but she's going to be fine," he said distractedly. It looked like his mother had already eaten, but she would sit with him while he ate. And if he was there, those lions at the other end of the table casting angry glances at her were less likely to say something rude.

While he tried not to give time or attention to the Anima that tried to put him down for his disformed state, Aaryn had a clear reputation for standing in defense of his mother. Most of the Anima left her alone when he was near.

He was distracted then as his mother leaned into his ear and made her voice small so no one else would hear. "Has she spoken to you about becoming a Cohort?"

She sat back then to measure his response.

Aaryn blinked. "No!" he hissed and looked around, praying no one else had heard her. "She'll be choosing females."

"Her mother didn't," she pointed out.

"Mom. Stop. I'm not going to be a Cohort."

"Okay, okay," she said, smiling, but he saw the tightness at the sides of her mouth.

"Is there something wrong, Mother?"

She shook her head and took a drink while Aaryn waited for her to respond. "I just… I want to see you happy is all," she said.

"I'm very happy, Mom. Don't worry about it," he said, accepting a plate from one of the servers. But he became very interested in his food as his mother didn't respond, but examined his face closely.

He didn't know why. He wasn't lying.

Not really.