by Isabel Wroth
Tarek snarled viciously, but she continued on as though the enraged sound had not been made, “As I understand it, the only reason your brother was made pride ruler when your father stepped down, was because he called a mate first. When people speak of him, it is with pride and fondness, so by all accounts he’s done well, and will continue to do so. But when people speak of you, they are awed, they are fiercely proud, and they know that if war breaks out, which brother is going to lead them to victory. Facts. I did what I thought was best under the circumstances, to impress upon Mr’awl that taking a message to his conspirators was in his best interest. I told him that for now, my crew and I are no threat, but if they continue to antagonize us, or do anything to jeopardize you and the homecoming you deserve, the life, the happiness you deserve after everything you sacrificed for your people, we will become a very big threat.”
Her mate’s eyes narrowed on hers, but the furious snarls continuously pouring from his mouth softened to unhappy rumbles, so she allowed her cat to fall back to sleep and turned to face the two males who were valiantly trying to hide their grins, and failing admirably. “I asked you to meet with me, because I wanted to sincerely thank you. Your care and diligence, looking after my crew prevented Mr’awl and whoever he is working with from putting toxins into their food that might have prevented them from finding their mates. I overheard them complaining to one another about it, and I would be very grateful if that continued to be an obstacle.” The two males did exactly the same thing that Brennaugh and the others had done the night of the festival. They dropped gracefully to one knee and reached forward to press their fingertips to the floor, murmuring, “Asha’na.” In that reverent tone that made her skin prickle.
She jumped in surprise when Tarek’s hand slid around her belly, fingers spreading wide to pull her back against him, his lips cruising lightly over her temple. He sighed when his childhood caretakers stood up and smiled at them with a relaxed expression that hadn’t been there before. “We are delighted to be a continued obstacle in the face of any who seek to bring harm against you.” Te’sha told her, his eyes sparkling with amusement and respect. “With your permission, your numbers have grown two fold, we will need some assistance.”
“I trust whomever you choose to assist. Two of my crew were caretakers of a sort aboard our ship. Don’t hesitate to put them to work, I don’t intend for us to be a burden, on anyone.” Tarek sighed and dropped his head to her shoulder, making her frown and give his face a wiggle, “What?” She demanded, and got another kiss to her throat. “Nothing, my one. You simply refuse to be a meek female that I can manage and insist on exceeding expectations or predisposed notions set down by foolish males who ought to know better.”
“My sincerest apologies. I need a nap.”
Brennaugh cleared his throat and she rolled her neck back over Tarek’s shoulder to look at him, arching her brow questioningly. “No nap?” She huffed, and he chuckled, touching his fingertips to his chest, “I would ask a favor, if you permit me, Asha’na.” She didn’t like the way Tarek growled in response, or how weird it felt for people to call her that. Treat her so…strangely. “Sure, what’s up?” Tarek started to growl again, so she elbowed him, which made Ne’tare choke on a guffaw. “Tara has decided that she wishes to make the conversion, to claim part of my beast as her own.” She smiled wider at the way he said it, glad for Tara’s bravery and her willingness to step into her new life with eyes wide open. “That’s wonderful. Congratulations.” The tips of his ears had pinkened. For a battle hardened warrior, Brennaugh was sweet, and terribly soft where it counted most. “She would like you to be present, to…walk her through it, she said.”
“When?”
“Tonight,”
“She was sterilized, I didn’t experience it for long, but it hurt when my body started to heal itself after taking Tarek’s blood.”
“I have already procured the appropriate tonics to soothe any pain she might feel.”
“Good. So we don’t know why it took so long for us to change, may I ask why now? Ga’rae and Gwen haven’t gotten through analyzing the data they’ve collected thus far.”
Brennaugh cleared his throat and nodded, looking like he was struggling to keep himself from displaying the emotion that poured off his body in waves. Happiness, the smell of it like sunshine, the warmth of it radiant and bright. It was like he didn’t know what to do with all of it, so he just hung onto it tightly, just in case someone tried to steal it from him, or deny its validity. “When we returned here to the citadel, my one asked me if we could stay. She gave many reasons why, and all of them valid, but the one I care for the most is that she didn’t realize how much she had been yearning for a home until she arrived here. For a family. I want that for her, for us.”
She let Tarek take her weight, secretly yearning for the same exact thing, and wondering why she was so hesitant to say so. A corner of her mind to explore later, because right now what Brennaugh was asking of her was huge, special. Because she remembered Tarek’s hoarse voice telling her how when a Sarazen experienced his or her first shift, that the family surrounded the emerging cat to guide them into the change with confidence and security. Tara didn’t have family, she didn’t know what family Brennaugh had, but he was here, asking her to be present for Tara’s change, it hit her hard, the importance of the life they were beginning here. “I would be honored.” She managed to murmur, hugging Tarek’s arm when he curled it up around her shoulders, holding her steady. “You understand what you’re asking?” Tarek asked gently, and some of the joy in Brennaugh’s expression dimmed. His jaw clenched a bit, his stance turning a little defiant while he braced his feet and tucked his scarred hands under his armpits, crossing his arms to make his muscles bulge beneath the fabric of his shirt, and up when his chin a notch.
She didn’t understand at all, so hoping for a clue, she looked to Ne’tare and Te’sha. They had mixed emotions on their faces, though they were looking at the floor pointedly, and Tarek was kneading at her shoulder almost a little bit like he was worried. But she couldn’t feel it, their bond still somewhat sketchy, and she couldn’t smell it, because he was a master at containing his scent when he wanted to. Even from her. “I do,” Brennaugh grunted, and Tarek sighed, rubbing his chin over the top of her head, “I don’t. This is important, Tarek. Tara’s one of mine, of course I’d be there for her.”
His hand swept up her throat to tilt her head back against his chest, his thumb gently moving over her jaw while he looked down into her eyes. His face was so gorgeous, his eyes so vibrant and intense. She hadn’t noticed until just now, the angle just right and the lighting just so for her to see that he had two, thick, lacy rows of eyelashes to frame those gorgeous eyes. “It isn’t that, my one. It is the complications that come with it.” She raised her eyebrows to entice him to say more, but he didn’t. He looked back to Brennaugh, “I understand how important this is, for you and your mate. It is much of me to ask, but I must. Wait one more day, give me time to speak to T’mai.”
Brennaugh clicked his tongue and hissed shortly, but gave a tight nod and left with a softer look for her. Te’sha and Ne’tare left, but not before Tarek asked them to keep quiet about what they’d just heard. And by asked, she meant commanded with rigid authority. As soon as the door shut, she turned around and glared at her mate, “What the hell? You told me that when a Sarazen cub comes of age and goes through their first change, he’s surrounded by people who care about him. I mean, I know she’s not a cub, and not technically a Sarazen, but why is it complicated for me to be there with Tara?” Her demand had him pacing away and reaching up to rake his hands through the stripe of his hair. “Clary, I want you to be there. You will be. That’s not the complication at hand.”
“Well? What is it?”
He stopped and mimicked Brennaugh’s earlier stance, arms crossed over his chest, feet splayed, looking for all respects like a commander. A king. A very frustrated king. “Niora,” She shrugged and lifted her hands o
ut to her sides, “What about her?” He huffed, pulling his hand down his face now and it started to penetrate that something bigger was at work here, and she was starting to think maybe it was part of the reason why Mr’awl and his bosses had attempted to keep her and the others from legally mating to their warriors. “She is the mate of the Asho, it is her duty to be present or appoint a subordinate female to oversee a first shift.”
“So she won’t like it that I’m what, taking her job? Tough shit! I’m sorry, Tarek, but I don’t trust her. Not one little bit.”
“That is because you are no fool, my one. But Niora has the ability to help ease a reluctant cat from inside an inexperienced or frightened cub. She attempted to do that to you when you met, as a way to prove her dominance. You didn’t so much as bat an eyelash in response. She does this to anyone she believes she can overpower, indiscriminately. Now, according to Brennaugh and several other witnesses, you not only controlled the beast of a fully grown Sarazen male, a warrior despite his betrayal, you displayed to every male in the room that inexperienced and newly bonded to me, to your cat and your change, just how strong a female you are. You did it again just now, soothing my beast with the power of yours so I would listen, proving exactly how fit you are to rule this pride as my Asho’na.”
She felt like he’d just landed a blow to her chest, the breath huffed out of her and she bonelessly sank into the closest chair with a soft, “Fuck.” Tarek grunted and moved to crouch in front of her, taking her hands in his, lifting them to his mouth to press a kiss to each of her fingertips. “I don’t want that, we haven’t even been here a week and we’re already being plotted against. I don’t even want to think about what would happen if we actually got shoved into taking your brother’s place at the helm.” He nodded, looking at her with deep thoughts swirling around in his eyes, his thumbs rubbing deeply into the muscles in her palms, “All I want is to be your mate. I’ve spent my life alone at the helm, and from the moment you came into that life and took away the loneliness, gave me hope for more, for peace, it is enough. More than enough. But it may not be so simple, my one.” She sighed and leaned forward, scooting off the chair so she could curl into his lap and be cuddled. “I never thought I would have this. You. A home beyond the Aria. Everything at this point is more than I could ever have imagined, but I’m scared I’ll screw it up and ruin everything. More than I already have.”
He tilted her head back and scowled at her, combing his fingers through her hair, nuzzling at her lips softly. “You have ruined nothing, Clary. You cannot be anything other than what you are, and I want you no other way. No matter what, we are together, and nothing will change that. You are mine, and I will do anything and everything I must to protect you. It will be alright. I promise.”
Twenty Nine
While he climbed the stairs to the chamber his brother had agreed to meet him in, he thought hard about how he was going to keep his promise to his mate. It was not just that she was his match, not just that he was the rightful ruler of the pride, not just that he had legitimate claim to challenge his brother. It was not that he didn’t want to rule the pride, his people had a voice in the matter, and they could demand to be ruled by the strongest member of the pride. They could demand he take his place as their Asho, if they no longer held confidence in the current one. If he refused, his brother could be challenged and he would have to prove his right to rule, over and over until the people were satisfied. He rolled his shoulders, nodding to the two warriors who stood outside the chamber, guarding their Asho.
T’mai was waiting for him, standing at the highest balcony at the citadel, looking out at the valley below, the other side of the mountain and the lands beyond. There were almost two decades between them in age, and yet they were almost identical, where his hair was golden, T’mai’s was black. But other than that, they could have passed as twins. He knew his brother was aware of his presence, but he said nothing when he stepped up beside him and looked out on the view of his home. “I forgot how beautiful it was,” He murmured, and T’mai nodded, “I forget too sometimes. I know what you want to say,” He arched his brow and leaned forward to brace his forearms on the stone rail, breathing deeply of the scent he remembered from his younger days.
The cold air that whipped up towards them as the sun set and the stars came out. He looked towards the far away mountains, to where his mother’s pride came from, wanting to take Clary there and show her how brightly the stars shone from the top most peak. How the sky turned purple as the light refracted through the atmosphere, “Do you?” T’mai grunted and pulled a hand down his face, the façade of Asho falling away to reveal his little brother. “There is a male in the cages right now who came to me and revealed that he had played a part in attempting to keep you from your mate. He revealed several others who were accomplice, also in the cages now, but none of them know precisely who gave their orders. They thought it was me, but I vow to you it was not.”
“It had not crossed my mind that it would be.”
T’mai’s eyes flashed when they shot to him, reflecting the light of the rising moon and the surprise that chased across his face. “Not at all?” He drawled, and got a smirk in return, “No. You are clever, brother, but not that clever. And you are still unable to hide your scent to conceal a lie.” T’mai snorted, crossing his arms with a tight look on his face, and after a long silence he broke it again. “The traitor explained to me how your mate was able to control his beast. He confessed his crimes because he was compelled to do so.”
“I know.”
“She is incredibly gifted for one so new to their change.”
“She is.”
“She cares deeply for you.”
“And I for her.”
“Niora believes it is only a matter of time before you challenge me, or the people call for your return to ruling the pride.”
“Niora is wrong about the first, and it is conceivable the second could happen. But I tell you truly, brother, I have no desire to rule this pride. I’m tired, I’ve had enough of command. I want nothing more than to sire cubs with my mate, and build a life with her.”
“Niora is not my one.”
That, got his attention. He stood up and frowned at his brother, searching his face, his scent for the truth of that, and T’mai nodded, looking more tired than he felt. “For the first…fifty cycles or so, I believed she was. Her scent, it made my beast crazed for her, all I could think of was being with her. Everything father described about the mating urge, I felt it. Festival after festival, we did not conceive, I could not hear her thoughts inside my own head, and then, as soon as enough time had passed and our rule was cemented, that urge to possess her went away, she quit allowing me into her bed, blaming me for our lack of offspring. I confided in father, he assured me it was normal, that I had no reason for concern, that such things happened among our people all the time. But the bond was created and we would just have to find a way to be content. So I found a way. But I see you with your mate, and I know now, my mating is flawed, weak. I don’t even know if it was true, or if in light of the treachery that has come to light, if somehow it had been manipulated. Father sent you away and commanded me to take your place, but it should not have been mine, because the female at my side is not my one.”
“She is cold and unkind, T’mai, but that does not mean-“
T’mai shot him a quick look, shot another over his shoulder to where the two warriors waited patiently. Luckily with the way the wind whipped around them, and the softness of his brother’s words, there was little chance of them hearing. “I ran across one of the human females the night you arrived.” He admitted, and his brows shot up even further. T’mai said no more, but the expression on his face, the pained flush made him curse furiously and lean heavily on the railing. Only one human female had not been called by a male during the festival, and now he knew why. His brother had not been in the forest to claim her. Fuck. Fuck! “She will be dead if Niora finds out. If whoever the architects intent
on seeing me and my mate separated, find out. Niora will be dead when the pride finds out that somehow your mating was false.”
“So might I be, when that happens. I have no right to ask it of you, but I need you, brother. I need your help.”
He cut his brother off with a hiss, bursting into motion to pace back and forth on the balcony, “You have every right. You are my brother. How long ago did you approach our sire?” T’mai shrugged, sighing heavily, wearily while he rubbed at his brow and clenched his jaw. “More than a hundred festivals ago.”
“Then by now, he is not the only one who knows. It is possible the plans now aimed at me have been in motion this entire time.”
“Whoever is responsible, wants me weak?”
“Weak, and distracted.”
“You are the pride’s strongest warrior, brother. I bow to your experience, what should we do?”
His beast paced with him, lips curled back, snarling in fury at deception that went back for far longer than he could bear to think about. His brother, manipulated all this time, and him, banished from his home so he would not see it and put a stop to it. “They want us to be at odds, that much is clear. So we have precious few options. We can continue along the current path with the knowledge that all around us, conspiracy is breeding and that our friends may well be our enemies.”
