ELRETH

Gar snarled and his eyes flashed the deep amber of his lion. Elreth growled in response and half-crouched. She'd been wrestling with Gar since she was a cub—and usually winning. She could take him. And she would. He'd embarrassed her tonight. She didn't buy that he hadn't known or thought about what she and Aaryn would be doing. He was the one who'd told her to go after him. Her brother was just jealous because she'd found her mate first. And she had a purpose. And he was still wasting his fucking life partying and—

"Back off, El. I said I was sorry," he spat.

"You didn't mean it. I'm done with your shit, Gar." She pushed right up into his chest and poked him, nevermind that he had inches on her. "Apologize, and ask me to keep you like the housecat that you have turned yourself into, Gar, or leave."

"El, no!" her mother gasped.

Gar seemed to swell in front of her and for a second, her confidence wavered. He really was almost as big as Dad.

But she'd just beaten Dad. And Gar didn't train regularly. He was strong, but he had no stamina—too much drinking. And most of the time, he just didn't care enough to fight, anyway.

Her father joked that the Creator had smacked her with the dominance stick, then only tickled Gar with it, but she wasn't so sure that was true. Something was broken in her brother. She just didn't know why. She'd always been convinced he had it in him to be even stronger than her. He just… wasn't. He wasted his time and himself—and then thought it was funny to shit on her life.

She was done.

As they growled at each other, nose-to-nose, she prepared to take him. If he wasn't going to pull his own immense weight anymore, then he could just disappear off to whatever forgotten corner of Anima he kept leaving them for.

A tiny voice in the back of her head said she should probably look at that thought a little more carefully, but her anger just flared up to cover it.

"Back. Off." Gar's voice was a deep growl that would have put the fear of God into anyone else. But he didn't scare her.

"You stole my first mating from me," she hissed through her teeth. "My True Mate, Gar. Do you get that? Do you have any respect? For anything?"

"Back. The fuck. Off, El."

"Here, Kitty kitty," she taunted him, ignoring her mother's snarl of disapproval from behind her. "I have a big bowl of milk for you if you would just FUCKING HUMBLE YOURSELF FOR ONE SECOND—"

"Elreth, no. Stop." The words were low and calm and touched her right behind her navel. Her mate was calling her. Her breath caught and her stomach was suddenly alive with butterflies.

She couldn't take her eyes off her brother, had to dominate him, but she could feel Aaryn flowing across the room toward her and her heart sang.

"El, don't," Aaryn said, his scent washing over her as he put one hand to her lower back, his voice low in her ear. The urge was there to just fall into him and ignore her brother, but Gar had gone too far this time. He needed to learn.

"I'll give you one more chance, Gar. You apologize and ask me to take care of you, or you take your things and—"

"No, Elreth!" Aaryn gasped. "It's okay, I'm okay. You don't have to—"

"I'M NOT!" she roared.

Gar's eyes narrowed, but he still didn't back down. Instead, without breaking eye-contact, he spoke to Aaryn through his teeth.

"Tell your mate to get her fucking hands off me before—"

Elreth snapped. With a guttural snarl she let her beast bleed through so her eyes would flare. "I am your Queen, Gar! You deal with me!"

"NO!"

He was against the wall, which gave him an advantage, but it also meant he wasn't free to move. Rage making her beast snarl for release, Elreth brought her knee up as hard and fast as she could and when her brother groaned and pitched forward, she used his momentum to tumble him to the floor over a well-placed leg.

She immediately turned and reached for him, but Aaryn was quicker, leaping between them, his hands up and his eyes wide.

"Elreth, please! Don't!"

"What are you doing? Do you realize he sent Dad in to—"

"I'm helping, I promise."

"Helping who?!"

Aaryn wouldn't let her get around him. "Listen, El. Gar is helping us, you can't kick him out!"

"Gar is what?!" she snarled, still trying to get to her brother who was rolling on the ground, clutching his balls, his face beet red.

But Aaryn held her by the shoulders and put himself in front of her, forcing her to meet his eyes instead of Gar. She blinked as he leaned down close and his voice, still urgent, softened.

"He's helping, El. Helping me. The disformed. The Outsiders. Don't make him leave."

Elreth blinked several times. "What are you talking about?"

"I'll explain all of it, I promise. Just… don't banish him."

"Like fuck you will," Gar spluttered from the floor. "You leave her out of this."

A growl began in her throat, but Aaryn caught her again and held her gaze. "Please, El. Please. Trust me?"

Her chest heaved with her breathing, labored because her insides were at war. Every dominant ounce of her wanted to kick her brother out the door. And every part of her heart wanted to listen to her mate. To please him.

She shuddered with the internal conflict.

But when she looked into Aaryn's eyes, her heart swelled. She gave in.

She took a step back, and Aaryn's eyes softened. Suddenly, her rage at Gar deflated. Just vanished. She stood there, her parents behind her, watching her eye her mate who her father had seen her get naked with, her brother on the ground hissing through his teeth because she'd tried to castrate him with a knee and… she didn't care.

She wanted nothing more than to walk out of this room, away from these other people and to pick up where she and Aaryn had left off.

As if he heard the thought, his eyes flashed with heat.

Desire spiraled through her.

*****

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