Falling in Love with the King of Beasts

LERRIN

He was staring at a memory, crystal clear in his mate's mind. She peered through a small crack at the base of a tent, a spot where the canvas had caught on something and a sliver of light cut through.

And inside the tent were six wolves.

Five of them were faces Lerrin knew, though he could only remember names for two of them. But the sixth… the sixth was Asta.

And the reason Lerrin's hackles rose and his beast snarled for release, was because the six discussed mutiny.

"We need to know where he truly points! Yes, his rage for the cat is real. But do his goals align with ours?" one of the males growled.

Asta pursed her lips. "It is… uncomfortable measuring him. He is a truth speaker. But also very adept at speaking the truth you do not know you're hearing. His goals for the cat are entirely in line with ours—he wants him dead. If he can achieve our goals for us, we are in a much better place to take the reins of power when the cat has already been defeated. We may even find working within his circle a better strategy—"

"Do not start with that again," the first wolf growled. "He has already proven soft in the gut. His own father worked around him. He was neutered before he began. We wait only the timing. The time for Lupine dominance has come and we grow impatient. So stand with us and continue to report, or stand aside and allow us to work without you. But do forget, he will bite out your throat himself when he sees what we have on you."

Asta snorted. "I am not disloyal to the cause. I only wish to see dominance among the tribes achieved with a minimum of wolf bloodshed. There are still many here who will stand for the birds and serpents. The fact that they accepted the segregated camp is only because so many of them are comfortable. But you begin killing our allies and some will find it a step too far. And once we reach the Tree City where there is room for all, you will find many of them do not have the appetite for this kind of separation."

"Leave the people to us," a third wolf said, his voice low and dark, from behind Asta. "You would be surprised what people will accept when the pain is not their own. And we will not be killing any of the tribes, only those among them that would fight us. It will be a clean slate. A new beginning. The Cat gone, the tribes aligned, and the wolves in such dominance, they will become the royal bloodline for millennium.

"Now, bring us the report, and we will decide. But in the meantime, we must discuss the ancestry. If we can get the females with pup while we are here in the encampment, their pregnancies will be half-gone before we get to the Tree City. Do we have new numbers yet? I know Gersh was working with…"

  The memory faded and Lerrin realized he was standing in the center of the trail and staring at Suhle, his teeth bared.

He snapped his head to look back the way they'd come, toward Asta—his friend! His second!

The wolf he planned to leave in power during his absence. He took a step and Suhle's hand landed on his elbow. "You cannot tell her you know."

"What?!" he snarled. "I cannot in good conscience leave her in a place of power while I am gone—she is a traitor—"

"I am not certain of it," Suhle said, her eyes darting nervously around. She tipped her head for them to continue moving, but Lerrin stood, rigid, unable to walk away from the greatest betrayal he had ever experienced. "Lerrin, please," she whispered. "I have much to tell you—and I believe when she asked you about meeting with her friends this morning it may that this was what she meant. And if so, I could follow her, we could learn for certain whether she is trustworthy or not."

"Trustworthy?! Are you insane?!"

She gave him a flat look and tugged at his arm until he reluctantly began to move, but his stride was quick and stalking, the hair on the back of his neck standing tall. He wanted to hunt. He wanted to bite. He wanted—

"You heard her say that perhaps they would work with you. She has insisted on that every time I have been able to listen. I wonder if she keeps watch over them for you, rather than the other way around."

"Now I know you are insane," he growled, stalking down the trail. "Suhle, I know your heart is good and you wish to see good in others. But she meets with these people without my knowledge, she brings her power with her—and by association, mine. She has been lying to me. I've asked for reports on any factions causing division or strife—she stood there and listened to those males discuss the females!"

"They were discussing the volunteers," Suhle said through her teeth.

"They—what?"

"Some of the females who support this movement have offered themselves to breed. I cannot be sure, but I believe these group has been identifying the most fertile wolves in their ranks and having them mate regularly, hoping for offspring."

"To what purpose?"

"To increase the numbers of the wolves and thus help the bloodline increase in dominance over the generations," she said simply. But he was finally able to think enough to look at her closely.

She was pale.

"Suhle," he said softly, "I'm sorry if I frightened you. I would never become aggressive with you, even if we argue. I only wish to discipline these—"

"Lerrin, I am not frightened of you. I have told you this. My fear is for you, for what you face today. Tomorrow. And for how we must navigate this while you are gone."

"There will be no navigating," he growled. "My second is a traitor and she will be strung up for it."

"I told you, I'm not certain she—"

He whirled on Suhle, his jaw tight and snarled through his teeth. "She has been lying to me for months. Whether she intended to unify us, or not, makes no difference. She has deceived me and worked at a cross-purposes with my goals. She knows that is treachery in my pack. I will not stand for it. Good intentions be damned—if they even exist."

Suhle took a deep, shaky breath. "But, if she intends to help—or at least to soften this group—"

"It does not matter. Asta is a soldier. She knows. She's knows, Suhle. I know it does not suit your sensibilities, but I will not discuss this further. My Second will die today, at my hand."

"Die?!" Suhle gasped. She stopped walking again and put a hand to his chest. "Lerrin, you cannot kill her. You must let me go to this meeting and see! Make sure her intentions are malicious! If they are not—"

"If they are not, she should have told me what she was doing. She should have been reporting to me about them from the first she became aware of them. But instead she feeds their fire and uses her authority to their benefit." He snorted the air from his nostrils. "Not only will I kill her myself, I will make her an example to the rest of them!"

"But, can't you see Lerrin, that's exactly why you can't do that… yet," Suhle said faintly. "Please, let me show you. Please?"