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“...most of the guards are still out monitoring the Chimera. Now that we’ve established the boundaries of the territory they’ve claimed, we’ve kept them as distant as we can.”

Harth bristled at the description of her people being watched, but Tarkyn only tightened his grip, sending feelings of calm and reassurance as Elreth continued to speak.

“As far as we know, they’re all too far away to be keeping communication with any that are here. But that physical distance doesn’t only work against them. It works against us as well. We’re sending runners every three hours. But I find it frustrating, Tarkyn. There are too many bodies consumed with the enemy leaving too many gaps in our own defenses. Too many holes in our view. Too many potential hazards. I need your eye on this-and I need your willingness to follow it to its conclusion, whatever that might be.”

Harth stiffened. She felt Tarkyn reaching for her through the link, but Elreth-scenting her disapproval-turned to her. “We haven’t touched your people. We have only observed-I heard your plea that your people have been caged. I do not take pleasure in creating fear. But I also cannot allow my people to be overrun by unknown warriors. We increase our risk by not containing them properly when they have made their home in my land and I have left them to it-which is more than they deserve!”

“The Creator brought us here!” Harth pleaded.

“We will see,” Elreth said, her voice laced in unease.

It was like talking to a stone, knowing that whatever you might say, it would not budge. Harth despaired for a moment, ever finding common ground with this woman. But as if he heard her thoughts-and perhaps he did? Tarkyn turned to her, turning her chin to face him.

‘I asked you yesterday to trust me,’ he said, his deep voice resonant through the link.

.....

‘I do.’

He nodded. ‘So I’m asking you to hold onto that while I try to build a bridge here. Please, Harth?’

She tightened her grip on him. ‘What are you going to do?’

‘Humble myself, so she knows I’m true,’ he returned promptly. ‘Pushing Elreth rarely works unless she is already shaky. What she needs now is reassurance. Trust me, Harth. Trust me. And please... for my heart’s sake, please don’t move. Please just let me handle this.’

And with that he suddenly let go of her, squeezed her hand, then stepped forward, towards his Queen.

Elreth watched him. They’d all see something pass between the two of them.

Harth’s fear spiked when his steel warmth was gone from her side, but watching him stride forward, still strong and no longer shaking, his eyes fixed on his Queen, her heart quickened. He was... stunning.

He stood before his Queen, spacing his feet shoulder-width apart, then thumping a fist across his chest in a salute she’d seen the other soldiers give him at times.

Elreth nodded once, obviously urging him to speak. But to Harth’s surprise, instead, Tarkyn held the salute and knelt, dropping his chin and bowing his head, his arm still clasped to his chest, the other at his belt where, she was sure, he was accustomed to holding a weapon.

“You know that I serve you, Sire. You know I always have-you and your father before you. My life has been given to this land, these people-your family.”

Elreth watched him, but her brother, Gar, nodded.

Then Tarkyn raised his head and met Elreth’s eyes from his position debased in front of her, and even Harth could see the way her cold distance wavered at how he lowered himself for her.

“She is my mate. I am responsible for her and any offspring that might come from our bond. You and I have spoken in the past... My King and I have as well. I have always supported you in giving family priority of your time and presence. Your father taught me that. Sometimes it is... necessary. But I am vowed to you and I don’t reject that. So tell me, how do I fulfill both my love for my mate and the need to be close to her, when you see her and her people as being at odds? Tell me, Elreth, how do I serve you and care for my mate?”

Elreth’s forehead pinched, but her mate, Aaryn said dryly, “Welcome to the battle of every mated male alive.”

That snapped the Queen out of her confusion. “You think only males battle with this?” she growled at her mate. “That’s pure Alpha male bullshit.”

The Queen and her King glared at each other, but then her brother stepped forward, the massive male moving surprisingly lightly. “Tarkyn, Captain, I walked this road with my mate. Perhaps I had... a little more space. Fewer demands on me from the hierarchy at the time. But I understand the battle.” Then he turned to his sister. “There’s only one way to find out if she’s going to betray us.”

Elreth’s expression went dead. “No.”

“She told the truth about their purpose in being here. I scented her for truth.”

“You said you couldn’t be certain, that she scents differently.”

“I could be certain she believed what she was saying-I only don’t know if she hid anything.”

“And when you all discussed this-without me-did you question what strategies or plans her people employed after they arrived? Whether they hid themselves intentionally? How long they’ve known about us?”

Gar and the other males all look at each other. “We got interrupted,” he said uneasily.”

“Creator, give me strength,” Elreth muttered, but then she shifted her attention to Harth. “Harth, will you answer questions willingly about what you know of your people’s goals? Their plans? You have fierce warriors-”

The words burst from her. “My people want NOTHING except peace. They want NOTHING except to be left to thrive and grow and live without the controls of someone else over them. That’s all we’ve ever wanted. It’s why we came here! We didn’t even know you were here!”

Elreth’s mouth pursed. “Why do they have such fierce warriors if all they want is peace?”

“Because we were made! The humans created us and trained some of them-especially Zev. He’s... he’s the example they use, the model they tried to follow with the others. Plus, we lived in a land that was... harder than this one. We are hunters and protectors and... why can’t you see that we just want to live?” she pleaded.

“Because, your Alpha appeared to have a lot more than survival on his mind. He vowed to destroy anyone who touched him or his mate.”

Harth heard Tarkyn’s breath stop. She swallowed. “What would you do if you were in his position?”

Elreth looked stern at that.

But then Tarkyn cleared his throat. “El... I need to tell you that I learned... there’s a unique element to the Alpha’s bond. If we kill Sasha, Zev will die-and visa-versa. Their souls have been unified in some way that links their physical lives. And with her being human and so much weaker... It seems... it seems when he stands in protection of his mate, he stands in protection of his own life as well.”

Anger and a fierce sense of betrayal rocked through Harth.