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“Why don’t they approach me?” he asked Harth as they sat. She’d prepared tea for them and Tarkyn found himself somehow warmed by the strange, floral mixture. Harth was finding reasons for them to stay at the fire and he couldn’t tell if it was because she wanted to talk to her pack, or if she just wanted to stay out of the cave.

“They don’t know what to make of you,” she whispered. “You confuse them.”

“Confuse them?”

“Your position in the hierarchy confuses them. Because they’re my kin, the wolves should be leading to show the others how to treat you. But they can’t decide what you are, or where you fit. You’re mated to a low-level wolf who stayed among the humans—we’re all still working out how we fit together after being apart for so long—but you also have that Alpha strength. They can sense it in you. So they aren’t sure whether to throw their own weight around, or submit.”

Tarkyn frowned. “I’m making myself as submissive as possible. I haven’t been—”

Harth snorted. “Tarkyn, I love you, but you’re about as submissive as a bull being stung on its belly. The Chimera aren’t watching your posture, they’re… measuring you. Accurately.”

Tarkyn’s lips twisted. He knew what she meant. He’d been in leadership long enough to spot an Alpha at a quarter-mile spread. They were the ones he was always looking for, the young who carried themselves with presence. Whose confidence usually outstripped their achievements, but wouldn’t for long.

He knew what she was saying, but he’d been actively working to make himself… unthreatening. He wasn’t sure whether to be frustrated or flattered that he hadn’t succeeded.

.....

“It’s a mark of your Queen’s inexperience that you’re the one she chose to send,” Harth said with a wry smile.

“Why? I’m in the perfect position to—”

“Sure, but you’re… intimidating, Tarkyn. You must know that?”

He frowned. “Do the Chimera use their power so forcefully that no one can possess it without being trusted?” he rumbled.

Harth shook her head. “No, but you’re a cat amongst the pigeons. Just like Zev was among you.”

Tarkyn tipped his head. He supposed that was true. But before he could explore it with her further, dark shadows and footsteps rose nearby and they both looked past the fire to see two forms approaching, silhouetted at first by the fires further away, but then they stepped into the glow.

Harth tensed when Kyelle and Lhars were revealed. But Tarkyn was relieved. At least he had a measure of these two.

‘Give them warmth,’ Harth hurriedly whispered in his head. ‘Them sharing a fire gives you… credibility. As long as it goes smoothly.”

Tarkyn nodded and squeezed her hand. He kept his chin low when the pair greeted them, and smiled, thanking them for their greeting.

Kyelle smiled at Harth and moved to sit at her other side, while Lhars kept more space, sitting on the other side of the fire, facing Tarkyn.

It was a joy to see his mate pleased by the attention of her leaders, and beaming at Kyelle. But Tarkyn had to watch Lhars carefully, trying to follow the male’s lead.

While the females caught up quietly and happily, Tarkyn waited. But Lhars didn’t say anything immediately, just watched him. Tarkyn could smell his apparent confusion.

“Is there something you’d like to ask me?” Tarkyn offered gently.

“What are you?”

“I’m… what?”

“What animal do you shift into?”

Ah. So that was it. “My beast is a lion,” he said easily, assuming they’d already heard this about the Anima.

But Lhars tensed immediately and Harth went quiet at his side.

Tarkyn looked between them—surely this wasn’t a surprise?

“The Chimeran wolves have an… ongoing tension with the tigers,” Harth explained quietly. “Our predator groups naturally compete for territory and food… and our Alphas often conflict.”

Tarkyn nodded. “I can understand that. We have had a similar dynamic in the past—the wolves led differently, and some years ago those in leadership began to resent the difference in the approach of the pride.”

“What happened?” Lhars asked, sounding genuinely interested.

“We went to war. The pride won—but we were led by a lion of great strength. The father of our current Queen. She doesn’t come by her Alpha power accidentally.”

Lhars nodded, rubbing his jaw. “You live at peace now?”

Tarkyn nodded. “There was a time when it was difficult and the wolf numbers were… reduced by the conflict. But we learned that the wolves’ leadership had been tainted by powers brought into our world by the humans. Those of us who remained live in peace, and we worked together to beat the humans.”

Lhars’ expression didn’t lighten. “And now the lions remain rulers? Alpha of all?”

“Yes.”

“So… You bring with you the Queen’s authority.”

“Yes. She wants peace.” When Lhars looked skeptical, Tarkyn pushed on. “I’ve known Elreth since she was born. She is strong, and can be headstrong. But once she understands a problem and her role in it, she always seeks true solution. She agreed to me coming with Harth despite my role in her court because she deeply wants to explain herself and try to forge connections. Build bridges rather than conflict—”

“Of course she does. Now that she’s losing control.” The voice was dark and cold.

Tarkyn startled. How had the wolf approached without him even knowing it? But sure enough, a moment later, Zev stepped into the glow of the fire, his eyes alight with fierce warning, his body tense.

And suddenly that sense Tarkyn had had, of tension rippling through the people at large was front and center—the tang of fear or unease in the communal scents.

At the presence of their Alpha? His presence should bring greater security, not greater fear!

Tarkyn filed that away for later scrutiny and turned his mind to stepping very carefully, because he clearly had Zev’s attention, but there was also the potential for this to blow up in his face.

Shifting his weight so that he sat relaxed, but in a position of strength, he held the wolf Alpha’s gaze.

“Elreth planned to bring you to the peace table the day you escaped. She was going to speak with Sasha first, then bring you into the talks if you agreed to non-violent means.”

“Sure she was,” Zev scoffed.

Tarkyn didn’t waver. “Scent me for truth.”

Zev’s eyes narrowed. “You blindly follow that bitch. If you’re stupid enough to believe her, that isn’t a measure of her honesty, but your naivete.”

Tarkyn’s teeth gritted. If Zev had been among his ranks, he would have cuffed him and given him reason to try his strength—be reminded who had held power and strength for longer.

But that wasn’t his place here, so he swallowed back the disrespect, and only held Zev’s gaze. “I worked to free you—you know that. We spoke. We saw each other’s lives. We shared pains.”

Zev growled. “My pains were never truly shared by a male who’s been free and powerful his entire life.”

Tarkyn had to give him that point. “Perhaps you could consider, though, that my freedom has allowed me to see the beauty of peace. The reason it’s worth fighting for.”

“Fighting for peace?” Zev asked dismissively.

“Struggling for it. Sacrificing for it.”

“Let me guess who’s going to be doing the sacrificing.”

“Zev,” Lhars said quietly. Kyelle was staring at him too, and even though Tarkyn appreciated that they were trying to stifle Zev’s clear anger, he was uncomfortable, too. These Chimera were all very young, and he knew that if an already aggressive wolf perceived that his allies were shifting alliance, it wouldn’t go well for any of them.

Tarkyn pushed to his feet, drawing all their attention back to him, opening his arms to offer himself for scrutiny. “I may not have endured all the pains you have, Zev—and I don’t envy you yours, believe me. But I have lived as a warrior since I was adolescent—a true soldier. Every day given to the service and defense of others. And I can tell you, from that perspective, war suits no one. It benefits no one—I told you that. No one truly wins when war is the result. I showed you the truth of that, and I believe you saw it. So… do you really want to put your people through that unnecessarily?”

Zev’s lips twisted, but his tone of voice was less aggressive when he spoke. “You’ll forgive me if your measure of “necessary” force isn’t my first guide.”

Tarkyn huffed as if they shared a joke, but his guts twisted, and he instinctively began to measure how he’d need to move to put himself between his mate and this male who simmered with such rage.

“I hope that we can find a way to… be closer to one mind,” he said carefully. The male was obviously tired. This wasn’t the time to try to shift his mind.

But then Lhars got to his feet and took Zev’s elbow. “Let’s go for a walk.”

Tarkyn shifted while neither of them were watching him, putting himself in the best stance to defend his mate, who remained on the ground behind him.

“Fine. I only came to find you anyway. I’ve been with the other Anima who arrived, and I’d like to get your opinion on them.”

Tarkyn watched the brothers turn and walk away together—thankful that Zev didn’t look back. That he’d clearly turned his attention from Tarkyn. And had left him free, too, he realized. That was… significant. Though the wolf was clearly resentful of the fact.

Then it hit him what Zev had said.

Suhle and Lerrin. They were here. Zev had spoken with them—been with them for some time it would seem. And he wasn’t crowing about killing them or imprisoning them. He’d come to find his brother to help assess them.

That was a good sign, right?

Tarkyn prayed fervently that it was.