RETH

After more kisses and a groaning goodbye, Reth dressed, packed a travel roll, and made his way out of the Cave, every muscle in him pulling him back, towards Elia. He was still twitching from the shock of having the mating interrupted, his skin feeling all at once, too loose, and too tight. He wanted to growl, he wanted to roar, and he wanted to run back to the cave and lock the door and plunge into Elia.

Sometimes being King sucked.

Behryn waited for him in the clearing, talking quietly with the other Leonine men he’d brought for the hunt. The moon was high and almost full, the light as bright as daylight to Reth’s eyes. He made a quick scan of the clearing checking that the Equine guards remained with their backs to the cave, watching the forest around them. He hated leaving Elia—but he hated the idea of someone coming after her while he was gone even more.

“Make sure the guards take shifts while she’s here,” Reth said to Behryn as he joined the men. “I don’t want her unattended any moment she’s alone, and I don’t want sleepy men making mistakes.”

Behryn nodded, but Reth looked back at the cave and frowned. He’d never required guards on his own home before, but the fact that he didn’t feel comfortable lifting it while he was gone told him how serious the situation was. “You’re certain I’m necessary for this?” he said, rolling his shoulders and stretching his neck. His damned skin wanted to shift, and he didn’t want to give up the mental space to fight it.

Behryn scowled and pulled him aside, away from the other men. Reth gave his full focus to his Second. Behryn didn’t pull him out of bed for nothing, and he didn’t try to keep a conversation private for fun.

“What is it?” He asked.

Behryn gave him a flat look. “I’m certain you’re needed for this—the one youngs don’t have the strength of character yet—but I’m also certain you’re about as erratic as a colt feeling his oats right now. What the hell was that, Reth?”

Reth glared at him out from under heavy brows. “You need me to explain it to you, Behr?”

“I need you to tell me why I just saw my King almost take beast form without a choice. I haven’t seen you do that since your first mating.”

Reth snorted. “Damn, I’d forgotten about that.”

“I’m serious, Reth. What’s going on?”

“What’s going on is that I was about to take my mate for the first time, and four men busted down my door while my mate was unprotected. You want to try it, Behr, and see how steady you feel in the moment?”

But Behryn wasn’t going to give in. “I’ve seen you under every kind of stress and pressure for the last decade, Reth. I’ve never seen you fight for control like that. Your eyes shifted.”

“It’s just the mating bond wearing on me. I’m sure after I get to enjoy my mate, and she gets to enjoy me, it’ll pass.”

“Well that’s not going to happen while you’re on the trail.”

“No, it’s not. Your timing was impeccable, my friend,” Reth tried to joke, but he grimaced against another ripple in his back and had to tip his head.

Behryn sighed. “Maybe we delay a day and let you guys—”

“You are not about to tell me you just interrupted us for something that doesn’t need immediate attention?” Reth snarled.

Behryn stared at him. “No. I’m about to tell you I think you’re in a lot more trouble than you think if you don’t get this under control, and I’m measuring which risk is greater: Letting a Silent One reach the females, or letting my King loose to become one Himself.”

Reth rolled his eyes, but he was still twitching and trying to hide it from his friend. “I can’t think of a better way to blow off some steam than to go head to head with a big Silent One. It’ll be nice to smack something and not have to hold back.”

“Unless, of course, you lose control and we lose you.”

“Behryn, please. The chances of me going that deep are so small—”

“If you’d asked me a week ago, I would have said the same thing. But I just saw your skin bubble when you didn’t want it to. Your eyes changed, Reth!”

“Yeah, I heard you the first time,” he grumbled, hiking the travel roll higher on his shoulder. “It was bad, I get it. But like I said, there’s nothing we can do about it now. You guys killed the mood, well and truly. And besides, I don’t want to rush that. It’s her first time.”

Behryn stared at him for a long moment, then inhaled deeply and raised an eyebrow. “Her scent is following you,” he said. “Interesting.”

Reth shrugged as if it was a response, but really he was trying to get to the itch between his shoulder blades. “I told you it would just take time. Before we go, tell me what you’re seeing in the wolves—if I’m gone… are we leaving the people vulnerable?”

“I don’t think so,” Behryn said, scanning the forest around them. “You’re off saving the world and the people love you for it. No one’s forgotten that Silent One from a few years back. If the wolves try to talk you down while you’re doing that, they’ll meet a lot of arguments, I think… As long as we keep a good guard on Elia. She’s the only weak spot.”

Reth growled in his throat and Behryn nodded. “Don’t let her out of Warrior sight.”

“It’s a little tough when you don’t want her to know that we’re following her, but we’ll do our best. She won’t be alone and unguarded, you can be certain of that.”

Reth nodded and clapped his friend on the back. “Thank you. Okay, the sooner I take care of this guy, the sooner I’ll get back and we can sort all of this out. Which direction is he?”

“When the scouts left he was three days East. But he’d only just caught the scent, so he’ll be travelling faster now.”

Reth growled again and beckoned to the other Leonine to come closer. “We better get moving then. Thank you, Behryn. And don’t worry, dominance is what I do best,” he grinned. Behryn rolled his eyes.

“That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.”