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Chapter 98: Eyes to the Ground

RETH

"Good morning, Behr," Reth called as his friend started across the clearing.

Behryn shot him a look, stopped to speak with the guard, then strode on towards the cave mouth, Reth falling in step with him as he passed.

"You claimed her. ALREADY?" Behryn growled as their long legs ate up the ground between them and the entrance to the cave. "Are all the Leonine born with the impatient stick shoved up their asses, or is it just you?"

"It\'s a natural step forward—" Reth began.

"You are joking right now, right?" Behryn snarled. "You know mated couples that didn\'t claim for YEARS, Reth. Years! And some never have. Did you really think this is what the people needed? The wolves? With everything else going on, you thought turning yourself into a possessive asshole was the right step forward?"

"I can control it."

"Oh really?" Behryn snorted. "How much do you want to tear out my throat right now?"

"I don\'t!"

They reached the opening, and Behryn walked ahead, pulling the door open for Reth and mockingly bowing in front of it as Reth walked through. When they got into the Greatroom, Behryn leaned his spear into the corner next to the door, then turned to face Reth. "I just passed your wife on the trail and our arms brushed. You can smell her on me if you want. How about now?"

That hot rage shuddered through Reth again, but he clenched his jaw and forced himself to shrug. "I\'ll be fine," he said through his teeth.

"You\'re a forest fire waiting for a spark. What were you thinking!?"

Reth stepped into his friend\'s space and glared up into his eyes, his voice low with. "I was thinking that I am your King, and she is your Queen, and I will not answer to you about what happens with my mate in the dark of the night."

"No. You don\'t answer to me about that, Reth." Behryn\'s jaw twitched. "But you\'ll force me to put men in front of you when you\'re on a hair-trigger, and you\'ll force your people to deal with yet more change, more uncertainty just so… what? So, you can find more pleasure with a human?"

"It had nothing to do with pleasure—"

Behryn rolled his eyes and snorted. Reth\'s hand shot out to take his friend by the shirt and pull him in close, snarling in his face, teeth bared as he growled, "What she is, is so far beyond my pleasure that if you disrespect her in that way again, I swear by the Creator\'s Mane, I will put you down, Behryn. Do. Not. Test. Me."

Behryn sagged immediately, letting his knees hit the stone floor when Reth let him go, hands up in surrender, eyes to the floor. "I\'m sorry, Reth. I\'m sorry. I would never… it wasn\'t intended as disrespect to your mate." Reth stood over his bowed neck, the growl rolling in his throat, letting his dominance be seen and heard. Behryn opened his hands towards him. "Breathe, brother… I\'m sorry."

Reth turned on his heel and began pacing the floor. Behryn didn\'t move, but glanced up at him. Reth ignored the shadow of anger that remained in his friend\'s eyes.

Behryn had overstepped, speaking about Elia that way. But Reth knew that his judgment of the consequences were true. Reth couldn\'t fault him on that. He cursed as he paced, his friend watching him warily.

"I\'m sorry, too, Behr," he mumbled finally. "It wasn\'t… I didn\'t plan to do this. But last night…" He clawed both hands through his hair and paced in the other direction. "It was as if… as if she\'d taken possession of my guts! She was sleeping for the Creator\'s sake—she wasn\'t even talking to me. But everything in me… I had to make her mine."

"She was already yours," Behryn said, his voice tired.

"You don\'t understand. It was overwhelming, the feelings inside me… I don\'t have words. Except to say that nothing else mattered. If she\'d said no, I would have accepted it."

"I should hope so!"

Reth shot him a look, but saw that Behryn was grinning, and softened. "But she didn\'t say no." He stopped pacing then and turned to face his friend. "She didn\'t say no, Behryn. She… gave herself over to me and it was like… it was like something inside me was satisfied. Something that\'s never been satisfied before."

Behryn took a deep breath, his lips thin. "I know what you mean," he finally said, flatly.

Reth frowned. "The Equine claim their mates?"

"No. But… there was a night I wish we did," he said. "I know the feelings you describe. I am envious that you had something you could do about it."

Reth grinned. "You talk a big game my friend, but you heart is even more submissive to your mate than mine."

"Holhye is the Creator\'s gift to me," Behryn said with a shrug. "And when she wraps her legs around me…" He visibly shuddered, his eyes going distant for a moment, his jaw slack.

Reth growled, "I really don\'t need to hear about that." Behryn blinked and focused on Reth again, who sighed. "I just want you to understand. I wasn\'t aiming for this. Didn\'t plan it. I just… couldn\'t help it."

Behryn looked unimpressed, but got to his feet, watching Reth carefully. Reth turned his back and breathed so he wouldn\'t give in to the urge to make him submit again. This was going to be inconvenient. Especially if anyone touched her and she came back to the cave with anyone else\'s scent on her. Reth groaned. There was no way around it, he was going to have to keep himself on the tightest of leashes. He couldn\'t afford another scandal by attacking one of his own people out of sheer dominance.

"What\'s she doing today?" Behryn asked, yanking Reth out of his self-pity.

"Other than being very excited to meet with her Cohorts and begin finding work to do that will probably confuse the people and threaten her place in the pride?" Reth muttered.

"Poor Gahrye," Behryn said, keeping his voice carefully neutral.

Reth huffed. "So, you didn\'t know about that ahead of time, I take it."

"No, are you joking? I would have told her in no uncertain terms to pick a female! Why didn\'t you talk to her?"

"She told me the women\'s council gave her advice. The way she spoke, I assumed she\'d named them to Aymora and gotten approval. I\'m guessing no one even considered that she\'d pick a male."

"How will this work if she\'s in foal? Or unwell? Will you let him into the bedchamber when she\'s—?"

"Perhaps we can discuss those slim possibilities another time?" Reth snarled through his teeth. "Right now, I need to face today."

"And poor Gahrye has to face you," Behryn chuckled.

"You think this is a joke?"

"No, I think you dug your own bed and now you have to lay in it."

They both sat, silently thinking through all the ways having a male cohort to the Queen could be disastrous. Then Behryn shook himself. "What\'s done is done, we cannot change it. So we move ahead. Today. Today is the day to focus on. So tell me, Reth, how bad is it?"

"I almost tore out the throat of the guard," Reth said sadly. "And I can stifle it against you, but… I wanted to bite your face when you said that, about touching her. If someone takes me by surprise..."

"It might be a useful excuse for getting rid of some of the wolves?" Behryn said with a wicked smile. "I\'m sure I could trick at least a couple of them into touching her."

"Until I catch one that is innocent, or someone else gets hurt in the scuffle."

Both men grimaced.

"Perhaps it would be better if we met with the men here," Behryn said finally. "Just for today. Just until we\'re all a little more settled. It will delay us while I call the men together, but I\'m sure they\'ll understand. When is she expected back?"

"Not until after lunch—I\'m meeting her for lunch." Reth swallowed hard. "It might be good to have you and a couple of others there. Just in case."

Behryn sighed. "I did say, when you asked me to Second, that I knew your rule would be interesting."

"Is that the word we\'re using now?" Reth asked dryly.

Behryn snorted. "You know, one day we\'ll look back on all of this and laugh."

"I hope so," Reth sighed. "I really hope so."