ELRETH

Trying to shake off the deep sense of unease she'd found watching her parents act so hostile to each other, Elreth tugged Aaryn into the cave, then turned and closed the door. He slipped around her to pick up the bar and set it in place to lock the massive door and she forced herself to grin.

"Someone's making plans for—oh!"

Aaryn didn't even speak, just pulled her into his arms, then turned her so she was against the cave wall and took her mouth, sucking in deeply through his nose when their tongues began to dance.

Elreth, though taken by surprise, fell into the kiss gratefully, letting her hands trail up his arms, then wrap around his neck, and arching into him.

He gripped her tightly at her waist and growled, "Never let that happen to us," against her mouth. Before she could answer he was kissing her again. But she could feel him trembling under her hands.

She let her head fall back so she could speak, but he took that as an opportunity to kiss down her neck, which made concentrating very difficult.

"Whats… wrong?" she gasped, then whimpered when his tongue tickled the skin below her ear. "Why are you shaking?"

"Because I want you, and it's driving me fucking crazy," he growled, then pressed into her, the pressure of his hips grinding making her mouth fall open.

She loved what he was doing, but his mood had shifted so suddenly, she was uneasy as well.

She tried to soften the kiss, took his face in her hands and slowed him down. But he didn't want to let her, sliding his knee between hers until she straddled his thigh again, then pulling her hips against him.

"Aaryn… I… what's wrong?" She would have been embarrassed by how breathless she was so quickly, but he was already panting.

"Nothing," he growled. "I just want you."

She knew that wasn't true. She knew him too well. Recognized the tension in him. And even though his desire had been hidden from her for so long, his stress hadn't.

She put a hand to his chest and pushed him until he pulled far enough away to meet her eyes, his silver-white hair falling between their locked gazes as his chest rose and fell quickly.

"Aaryn," she said softly. "What's wrong?"

He stared at her a moment, his jaw twitching. Then he blew out a breath. "I thought they were indestructible," he said. "I thought True Mates never did that to each other."

She snorted. "I'm sorry, but have you met my parents? They don't fight a lot, but when they do—"

"Not like that, El, and you know it," he said firmly.

She pressed her lips together. He was right, of course. But… "I know that was scary. I don't like it either. But Mom said they will get past it. And she's more sad than angry. I think… I think we just have to let them work it out. She did tell me to make sure I never lied to you—or let you lie to me. So that's all we need to do, I guess? Just make sure we don't lie to each other? He obviously thinks she's been lying a long time. She said she was, but she had a good reason for it. I don't know how there can be a good reason for that, but… maybe? Mom's pretty up front."

Aaryn made a noise in his throat and shook his head. "It's my fault," he said quietly.

"What? Why?"

"Because I'm the one who told him the thing he didn't know—and I knew he didn't know it, too. I was mad. He was judging me, and—"

"Wait, Dad was judging you?" she asked sharply. "How?"

Aaryn gave a lopsided smile and stroked her face. "Not like that, El. You know he's been good to me since we were kids. I just meant, he got all up in my face about being Alpha and how that worked with the throne, and he didn't believe me when I said we were always behind the throne and… anyway, I knew that your mom knew about us and hadn't told him."

Elreth blinked. "That's what he's mad about?"

Aaryn nodded, though his face was tight. "He wouldn't have found out if I wasn't trying to take him down a peg. It's my fault."

Elreth dropped her eyes to look at his chest, her head spinning. There seemed to always be another layer to this whole issue around the disformed.

She understood why they'd hidden—on a personal level, she got it. But as a ruler? She knew the risk her father had to have felt, especially after his history with the wolves, knowing that there was another group gathering, appointing an Alpha… and to know his mate knew it, and hadn't told him…

"Please don't ever do that to me, Aaryn?" she said softly, stroking his chest. "Please don't ever lie to me about something like that."

He took her face in his hands and stared into her eyes. "I promise you, I will never hold anything back from you that is my story to tell."

She didn't smile—didn't find that as comforting as he wanted it to be. But she knew what he meant. They'd both kept secrets for friends many times. And he had an entire pack—practically a tribe—that probably gave him their stories and… "I trust you," she said softly, with as much conviction as she could."

"Good, because I trust you, too. We're going to do this, El. We're going to do it differently than your parents did. Than anyone did. But no one has to be okay with that except you and me, right?"

"Right." She did smile then. Then she sighed. "I wish we could just go to bed and forget about everyone else for a week."

"You think a week would be enough?" he quipped, then nipped her earlobe. When she laughed and tried to pin her shoulder to her ear, he growled and kissed her shoulder instead. "I love you, El. I wish I could show you all of it, right now and forget about everyone else. But just be confident, I love you."

"I love you, too," she sighed.