Falling in Love with the King of Beasts

RETH

She looked at him with such anxiety, Reth wanted to growl at his own stupidity. "Yes, of course I'll explain."

But where to start? He reached for her, then realized she couldn't see his hand, so he rested the back of his hand on her knee, palm up. "I always find difficult conversations easier when we touch. Would you… hold my hand?" he asked carefully.

She swallowed, but pushed the hand that wasn't holding the furs closed over her chest out between the edges and laid it on his.

Reth wanted to groan. Her skin was so soft, and her hand so tiny. Anima females were smaller than the males, also. It wasn't that he was unused to it. He was just affected by her—his mate—in ways that were new.

He cleared his throat, and closed his fingers to hold hers, letting his fingertips trace the underside of her wrist as he spoke. He felt her shiver, but her smell indicated that she enjoyed the touch, so he didn't stop.

"There were many, many forces at play yesterday, Elia. You were caught up in a political plot. And I'm sorry I didn't explain, but it was so critical that I appear untouched by what the wolves were doing… the thing I need you to know, to be absolutely certain of, is that I had no idea you were the chosen Pure One. When a blood Rite is called, the ruler is at the mercy of the people. Each tribe chooses a sacrifice from their own ranks that they believe is their best chance of victory—it's a great honor for the tribe whose sacrifice wins. They gain great standing among the other tribes. Because I'd ruled for nearly a decade without finding a mate, because the tribes were beginning to wrestle for that position, they demanded a Rite. To keep the peace."

He swallowed and looked at her small hand in his, her skin so much paler than his own—to his eyes she almost glowed. "It is one of the few calls I cannot refuse as King," he whispered. "I wanted to. The blood Rites are ancient. I believe we've evolved beyond them. They turn my stomach, frankly. But the people… the people called it as their due, and I couldn't refuse. So, it was up to them—to identify the sacrifices, to choose their own, and to choose a Pure One."

"Why do you call me a pure one? Is that the… virgin thing?" she said, and her scent increased as the blood rushed to her cheeks. Reth wanted to stroke them.

"In part," he said, his voice rough. "The Anima are originally descended from humans—you hold a fascination for us. Our races are… cousins, I think you would call them. We call you the pure ones because your bloodlines were never combined with anything else. Your race is pure. But yes, the human sacrifice must also be untouched. Never mated. And without family ties. So their disappearance will cause the least amount of concern."

She shifted her weight and he could feel her disapproval. "This idea that just because I don't have family I won't be missed… you don't understand the human life very well," she muttered through her teeth.

He sighed. He knew it better than she thought. But he also knew there was little point in arguing. The real problem was that the Anima didn't value human relationships—believed them shallow and confused. To which there was some truth, in Reth's experience. But the Anima simply didn't understand that relationships developed over time, by choice, had a unique flavor of intimacy the Anima had never experienced, because their very existence was so automatically intimate—and established at birth.

Reth cursed under his breath and ran his free hand through his hair. "I can't possibly explain all of it now, but I will. I promise. The thing you need to know is that you were chosen by the wolves. Because their power has grown amongst the tribes during my reign, they were viewed as the strongest tribe. So their elders were given the choice for the human sacrifice. I had nothing to do with it. I didn't know you'd be there when I walked into that clearing, you have to know that, Elia."

"Okay," she said, sounding confused.

"I think… I think they were deceptive in their choice," he said.

"How?"

"They were supposed to find the strongest bloodline, the best warrior, the best candidate among the humans for our queen. But the truth is, a human sacrifice hasn't won the Rite for twenty generations. Your kind are generally much weaker than ours. And taken by surprise. The wolves… I believe they attempted to bring someone to the Rite that they measured as an easy target—someone their sacrifice could defeat quickly. They didn't anticipate your intelligence. Or your willingness to truly sacrifice. A Rite hasn't ended in a Ruler's choice in even longer—perhaps almost fifty generations. But even if the wolves had known that was coming, I don't think they believed I would choose you. We Anima are a touch arrogant when it comes to our bloodlines—and the weakness of the human warriors. They believed you would die quickly and without a fight. And even if you didn't, I think they believed I would have killed you, rather than mate you."

"Wait, what?!" she gasped.

Reth swallowed. "Last night, when you and Lucine were the final combatants, by the terms of the Rite, one of you had to kill the other. If you both refused, or were unable to fight, I should have killed one of you myself, and mated the other. But with Lucine defeated—but not dead… you shamed her, Elia. I know you didn't mean to. I understand your heart in it—and I applaud you for it. But our people don't understand. To them, death at the hands of an enemy is an honorable way to die. In our culture, if you meet an enemy in battle, the only time you would refuse to kill would be if they were incapable. There is no honor in killing a child. Or someone who is mentally touched. To refuse to kill in our culture is to say that there's something wrong with the other Anima. By refusing to kill Lucine—who would have killed you without thought—you told her people that there was something wrong with her that made her an unequal opponent. The Anima know that wasn't true—so it was an offense to the wolf tribe."

Elia looked at him in horror.