AARYN

He wasn't sure how she'd done it, but Elreth had convinced all of them to come up to the head table for dinner that night. Aaryn was reluctant—people were going to guess! But Elreth insisted. She had Dargyn and Rak come up as well, and let Huncer and Lhern sit to the side so they weren't bothered by the noise of the young Anima around her.

They were all tense and nervous, which in the males meant they ate a ton, and kept making inappropriate jokes.

In Elreth and Gwyn it meant picking at their food and looking at each other silently a lot.

Aaryn was nervous about Gwyn being so close to Elreth for this, but she was doing a great job of not putting him on the spot, and Elreth needed him there, so… in the end he just gave up to it all and got through the meal.

But when Elreth stood and Huncer called the market to hear her speak, his heart began to pound.

Elreth looked confident and happy. But she didn't meet anyone's eyes at the table as she waited for the people to quiet.

There had already been some drinking, so the crowd was a little noisier than usual. But soon they settled and Elreth spoke to them, her voice strong and echoing across the market.

"Thank you for coming tonight. It's an exciting night for me. I am very, very pleased to tell you that the Creator has revealed not just a partner for me, but a True Mate!"

Almost everyone applauded that. True Mates were viewed as a blessing to any Anima, and improved the chances of offspring, which was important to just about everyone.

Many of the younger females were staring at Elreth wide-eyed, scanning the males at the table and obviously whispering to each other, guessing as to which of them it would be. Aaryn felt uncomfortable under their scrutiny, but he knew he had to get accustomed to it. Once they were mated, there would be no more sitting at the floor tables for him.

He sighed.

Elreth beamed. "I know there's been a great deal of change lately. I appreciate that you have not given up patience with me. I hope you will continue to follow where I lead as I do everything in my power to bring WildWood to its greatest and strongest place ever!"

More applause and Elreth glanced down at him then, then back to the people. There were a few murmurs, but she spoke over them.

"I am truly grateful for the wisdom and strength of my True Mate and certain many of you have probably already guessed. But I will tell you, no matter what, our hearts are for you. We both wish to see the Anima as a whole thriving and growing. So please, join me in welcoming my Mate to the Royal family, Aaryn Rhees Storhmyn le Hyerhyn of the Running Fang!"

A great leap of applause and cheering initially made Aaryn's heartrate spike as he stood, took Elreth's hand and bowed his head to the people. But even with the cacophony of the disformed and those throughout the tribes who were related to them, or supported the cause, he didn't miss the exclamations made by some.

"A wolf?"

"A disformed?"

"True mates, are we certain?"

He caught Elreth's eye as she smiled at him, and he signed 'here we go.'

She nodded and, as she turned back to the people, signed back, 'we go together.'

"Aaryn and I will walk the Flames and Smoke under the Elders as soon as we can do so. Please, join us to celebrate!" she roared to the crowd. "The Anima take yet another step forward, yet another leap into history. It's time to enjoy ourselves!"

There was another cheer, but Aaryn heard more and more unrest, too. Murmurs and dark looks in some clusters, concern and shaking heads in others.

There were more people clapping and smiling than not, but he had hoped the dissatisfied wouldn't be quite so noticeable at this point. But when he turned to look at Elreth, to see if she'd noticed, she was smiling at him and every negative thought flew out of his head in the face of her love.

They would do this. One way or another. Together.

*****

ELRETH

As the tables were shifted aside to make room for the dancing, the musicians began.

Despite the clusters of her people who had not celebrated, the Market had become a party, and Elreth couldn't stop smiling.

She didn't have to hide anymore. She didn't have to pretend—or lie.

She and Aaryn were known to the people and everyone would become accustomed to the idea—even those who didn't agree, or thought it disqualified her.

Her optimism from that morning had stuck. She knew it was going to be a battle, and there would no doubt be some difficult times. But something inside her fizzed with joy.

Aaryn had never looked more handsome than he did in the feast clothes of the wolves—no shirt under a short-vest with a necklace of teeth falling to his chest. After the afternoon they'd spent teasing each other's bodies, Elreth wanted nothing more than to push the vest off his shoulders and to lick her way down his chest. But even as her cheeks heated at the thought, she caught his eyes.

He must be able to smell the desire on her, because despite the tension in his eyes, he leaned in with a wicked smile and whispered, "May I have this dance with the Queen?" offering a hand for hers.

"It would be my pleasure," she said and took his warm hand in hers, stifling a giggle when he pulled her into his chest and started walking her backwards across the stage.

They were acting worse than her parents, and she couldn't find it in herself to care. She was near giddy with desire and hope and excitement for the future.

So, rather than insisting that she needed to be dignified, when he walked her behind the others and most of the people couldn't see them, she slid her hands under his vest, running her fingers up and down the rippling on his stomach.

He grunted and hissed, "Not here!"

She raised an eyebrow. "I thought I was the one who got embarrassed about an audience?"

"It's for your sake I'm saying it," he growled, dropping his head to nip at her neck. "If you don't stop doing that I'll end up taking you on one of the tables, right in front of the nursery herd."

She laughed, but took her hands back, just in case he wasn't joking.

Then she let him lead her down the stairs to the floor and onto the dance floor.

**** GET EXCITED! ****

The flames and smoke are coming early in August! But remember: Don't buy new privilege until after 9:30am on 31 July. Pacific date/time (Los Angeles) otherwise you'll have to re-purchase it after the monthly reset. And I have a VERY exciting opportunity for Top Tier readers in August, so watch this space!