AARYN

They slept curled together in the furs.

Aaryn woke with her scent in his nose and for a moment he thought he was dreaming. Then all the events of the past day and night came rushing back. He lay there, one arm wrapped around her waist, and his nose in her hair, trying to convince himself it was all really true.

But the mating bond glowed in his chest. He could feel it, pulsing with his heartbeat—and the echo of it in her.

It was happening. It was really happening.

Of course, his body thought it was happening too. Holding her, trying not to wake her, was a very specific kind of torment when all he really wanted to do was roll her over and plow plunge into her.

He spent some time calculating rations in the event of an actual resource shortage, and remembering that time El had dared him to swim the waterfall pool in winter.

It didn't really help. He was still achingly hard when Elreth woke and stretched, the furs pulling back from her breasts as she arched.

He swallowed a groan and waited for her to wake properly.

She rolled over to face him, smiling, her cheeks pinking. But she immediately put her hands to his chest. "Good morning," she murmured, her voice husky from lack of sleep.

"Good morning, beautiful." His wasn't any better, but that edge of desire threaded into her scent when he spoke. Aaryn was stunned—and ecstatic.

He combed her hair off her face and they stared at each other.

"This is… so weird, and so awesome at the same time," Elreth said quietly.

"Tell me about it. When I woke up, I thought I was dreaming."

She huffed. "I don't want to leave… but I have to. I have a security council meeting this morning. And I want to make sure the elders schedule a meeting before I get stuck in that one. Are you coming to the market for breakfast?"

A tiny sliver of discomfort pierced Aaryn's heart, but he shoved it away. "No, I think the less time people see us together, the less likelihood there is that someone will realize what they're smelling. Also, there's every possibility that I won't be able to keep my hands off you and I'll scandalize the sheep by pulling you into my lap, or throwing you down on a table or something.

Her eyes flashed. "That sounds like fun. Can we do that?"

Aaryn groaned and pulled her into his chest. "Don't tempt me. Seriously, Elreth. Don't. the next few days are going to be hard enough without you making those eyes at me in front of other people," he grumbled.

"What eyes?" she said, peering at him from under her lashes, a wicked grin raising her full lips.

Aaryn growled and rolled her onto her back, burying his face in her neck and kissing here there. She giggled, then sighed, and suddenly Aaryn was lost in the sheer delight of being kissed—deeply, insistently—by Elreth.

But a minute later she groaned and gently pushed him back. "I have to get going," she sighed.

He rolled off to let her free. "What else do you have on today?"

"Just the security council, unless the elders are free this afternoon. But I was going to head up to the training grounds after lunch to review the guards. I need to officially invite Tarkyn to remain the Captain of the Guard. Plus, then next time Uncle Behryn visits I can tease him about how much better of a job Tarkyn does.

Aaryn waited to see if she would bring it up, but she was almost dressed and still rambling about the visit to the training grounds. She would leave in a minute and he needed to clear this up.

"El," he said hesitantly when she took a breath, "Don't you think you need to talk to Gar?"

Her expression went dark and she tugged at the final buttons on her blouse. "I don't need to scent Gar, let along talk to him," she muttered.

"Yes, you do. He's… he's doing good things. He's just being stubborn about telling anyone about it. You can't push him away, El—he needs to know you won't."

She dropped her hands and glared at him. "What 'good things' is he doing, and why do you know about them and I don't?"

Aaryn had to step very carefully. He'd promised Gar he'd never give up his secret. Plus, he couldn't risk the lives of the disformed that were working with him…

"You don't know because Gar's chosen not to tell you—I think he kind of sees you as an extension of your dad. And I do know because a year back when he went through that bad patch, it was my idea. I thought he needed something to focus on, other than how angry he was at Reth."

The year before Elreth's entire family had been rocked when Gar and Reth actually came to blows. Elreth still didn't know all the details about why—only that Gar had gone to the human world without permission, and against tribal law—and neither her brother or her father seemed inclined to talk about it.

The rift between them grieved Aaryn. He was envious of Gar for having Reth as an actual father. And watching Reth stay angry at Gar all this time made Aaryn feel less secure with the former King. Still, Reth was the closest thing Aaryn had to a father. Walking the line between the two men for the past year had been tough. Aaryn wasn't excited about adding Elreth to that particular mix.

"Aaryn, what's he doing?"

Aaryn sat up in the furs, and ran a hand through his hair. "You're my mate and my Queen, Elreth, if you ask me directly, I'll tell you. But know this: Your brother has specifically asked me not to tell anyone—including his family. He wants to do this on his own. I think… I think he's trying to prove something to himself. I really wish you'd ask him instead of me. Or maybe just trust both of us that what he's doing is a good thing and if the Kingdom ever needs it, he'll be better equipped to handle it because he's been… well, training, I suppose."

Elreth frowned. She hated not knowing secrets. Aaryn had used it to tease her countless times when she'd done something irritating. But it could be a problem now.

"He's not just partying, then?"

"No," Aaryn said, with a huff. "He hasn't partied in almost a year, that I'm aware of. Not really, anyway."

Elreth sighed and threw up her hands. "Fine. I'll talk to him today. Assuming I can find him."

"And you'll tell him you aren't going to kick him out?"

"Yes," she growled, turning to find something in the closet behind her.

Aaryn pushed out of the furs and trotted up behind her before she could turn, wrapping his arms around her waist and pressing his lips to her temple. "You're a good mate, and a good sister, and a good Queen," he murmured, holding her.

She sighed and let herself lean back into his chest. "I don't know. Sometimes—"

"I do," he said, turning her around so he could meet her eyes. "It's why I can't quite believe I get to have you."

She groaned and dropped her forehead to his chest. "I can't believe I get you, either," she murmured.

Aaryn huffed. "I promise, I'm doing way better out of this than you are," he laughed.

Elreth's head snapped up and she scowled at him. "Stop saying stuff like that about yourself. It drives me nuts."

Aaryn blinked. It took him a moment to remember it was another of Elia's sayings. It meant that something was really irritating, or made her have problems in her mind.

"Please forgive me, Sire," Aaryn murmured, dropping his head to kiss her softly. "I will do my best never to drive you to nuts again."

Elreth rolled her eyes "You're not funny," she said, but she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back.

He slid his hand up her spine and pulled her in tight. "Actually, I'm hilarious, and you know it," he teased between kisses. "You're just jealous."

She pulled her head back then, she wasn't smiling. "I will be, Aaryn. If I see you with other females… it will be really difficult. Especially before people know, if we're trying to hide this… I'll be really jealous. Please don't touch anyone else where I can see."

"I won't touch anyone else where you can't see, El," he breathed against her lips. "You're the only one I want to touch at all."

"Well, thank the Creator for that…"

She didn't get out the door for several more minutes.