AARYN

He was working really hard to not let his tension show—to not outright challenge Dargyn, to not slam Rak up against the wall for letting his eyes fall on Elreth with that look of consideration—as if he hadn't really seen her before. And Gwyn.

He knew her tell: the way she went really still and kept flipping her hair out of her eyes instead of using her hand. Whenever she got tense it was like she was afraid to move too much or she might give herself away.

Which meant she wasn't as far past her feelings for him as she'd told him. Which wasn't a surprise, but it was something he really, really didn't want to deal with right now. So he gave her a little smile and left it at that, praying that she was mature enough to decide the rest was up to her to work through.

Elreth was his True Heart's Call. He wasn't letting anything get in the way of that.

But then they asked whether their parents knew and he was plunged down—like he'd been thrown into an icy pond—remembering his mother, who was laying in a bed in a dark room, alone, while he pawed at his mate here in the cool night air.

He was a real ass sometimes.

Elreth was about ready to swallow her own tongue, her cheeks flaming red, and at first unable to even look at their friends. But as everyone got past the shock, she did manage to look them in the eye.

Especially Gwyn, he noticed.

He squeezed her at one point to remind her that there was no threat.

Now they just had to figure out how they were going to handle this. "Look, guys, the consequences of this are huge. This isn't just a joke for us, this is our lives—and it's going to affect Elreth's rule. You can't treat this like gossip."

They all nodded and made the right sounds, but Aaryn's chest was tight. All it would take would be one wrong word in the wrong ear and this piece of news would travel through the WildWood faster than an Avaline on the wing.

"I actually think it's really cool, Elreth, that you're… that you won't let politics stop you," Dargyn said suddenly.

Aaryn was immediately uncertain, but the male wasn't challenging. His shoudlers were forward and he didn't hold Elreth's gaze. He didn't even look at Aaryn.

"Honestly," Dargyn went on, "I sometimes wondered if the disformed thing… if that was what stopped you two—"

Aaryn tensed, but Elreth hissed and flowed out of his hand toward Dargyn, whose eyes went wide as the other two stumbled out of the way.

"Don't even finish that sentence, Dargyn!" Elreth snarled, getting up in his face. "There is nothing—absolutely nothing—wrong with Aaryn. He is just as Anima as you or I—for fuck's sake, I'm half human and no one seems to care about that!"

Dargyn submitted immediately, not even holding her eyes. "I didn't mean it that way!" He put his hands up in surrender. "I meant that… I didn't see a problem, but I wondered if there was pressure on you, or… whether the women's council told you to pick someone from the Pride."

Elreth growled, but eased back to give him more space. "No one has ever told me who I can or can't mate," she said, low and hard. "And if they try to they'll find it a very uncomfortable experience."

"We know, El," Gwyn said, eyeing Dargyn like she thought he was stupid. "And we're behind you. Both of you. We'll… we won't let people tell you that you shouldn't."

She looked at the other two and they agreed quickly.

Aaryn wasn't sure whether to roll his eyes, or hug them. "Well, now that we have that out of the way," he said dryly, "I'm glad you all are on board, but we're serious about not telling anyone. Anyone at all. This can't get out before we announce it because we aren't sure what the response is going to be. That's why we're meeting with the Elders in the morning."

He wasn't concerned about Gwyn—she was a Cohort, she knew the importance of keeping Elreth's secrets, but the other two… he stared back and forth between them, but they were both looking at El.

It was an uncomfortable few minutes while they all tried to find their way around this new reality, but finally he and Elreth were walking out of the market—along with their friends. Gwyn walked alongside Elreth, smiling, but looking a little pale, while the three males followed them, Rak still trying to tease, but no one really paying attention.

Then Elreth stopped at the junction in the middle of the market and turned. "We need to get that soup for your mom, Aaryn," she said as if it were just another day. He couldn't believe he'd forgotten. Creator's Light, he was a terrible son.

Swallowing hard he nodded and turned to weave between the tables towards the kitchen, while Elreth waved to the others, then they finally were alone again… among all the people.

Elreth darted ahead of him to find the server she'd spoken to at the table earlier, and by the time he made it to the kitchen proper, she was already waiting with a covered pot on a tray.

"I'm assuming you have the bowls and stuff you'll need?" she said with a grin.

Aaryn took a deep breath, inhaling her scent, along with the rich mushroom soup, and… just everything. He couldn't believe they were here. He couldn't believe she was his.

He couldn't believe his mom chose now to do this.

Shoving away the angry thought, he took the heavy tray and nodded for Elreth to open the door to the outside.

Within minutes they were at his treehouse. There was no sign of light, or life, inside as they approached. He sighed heavily.

This was going to suck.

Elreth put a hand to his back as they reached the tree house. "It's going to be okay. We'll get some food into her, then we'll go looking for some help," she whispered, then hurried ahead of him to open the door and let him in.