SUNG
Asking Joyce to make her judgement on the wolves that offended her was a power play. It allowed the elders to be seen to appease both him and Joyce, yet place any backlash from the people squarely on her shoulders rather than taking responsibility themselves.
How dare they? How dare they! Did Erwin know about this? He looked at his second but was reassured to find him looking off-balance and smelling even more so. So, the elders had come up with this on their own. Was it a ploy because they did not want to accept Joyce? Or were they genuinely afraid of making the wrong move in his eyes?
"Speak, Gerard," he growled. "I gave this judgment to the elders so there could be no accusation of bias. Yet, you would give it back to the Queen?"
The man turned and bowed to him but did not meet his eyes. "Do not be offended, Majesty. We agree that the actions taken by young wolves were underhanded and dangerous. We will see them punished. But we understand the unrest in the people of Anima, and we wonder whether these young wolf cubs took it upon themselves to address an issue out of impatience or immaturity rather than bloodlust."
"Does it make a difference?" Sung snarled, getting to his feet. "Are there any circumstances that a threat to the Queen is not seen as a threat to the throne and then to the entire community of Anima?"
"When the queen is not yet a queen in truth," the man said bluntly, eyeing Sung. "Sire, you have our support, and we agree with you that time will answer these… questions. However, we cannot fault the people for being confused and the young for challenging boundaries. No one knows how to navigate the current state of affairs."
Sung's back prickled, and he reminded himself it was almost time for the tonic. His healing was progressing well; he could not afford to shift now. But he also could not show weakness in front of men now. He stalked over to where the man stood, speaking to him but letting his eyes fall on each man individually, so they knew he had not forgotten them.
"This, again? How many times, Gerard? You say you support me, you understand, and your years of wisdom agree that time will heal this. And yet… here we are… a question of treason before you, an accusation of murder attempted against the queen herself, and you raise the questions of the people again? Let me ask you, what if the attempt had been on my life?"
The men all shifted in their seats. Gerard's face fell. "Sire, you must know we would not stand for any attempt on your life!"
"Then why would you even stomach an attempt on my queen?" he roared. The men leapt to their feet, only to drop to one knee, hands to their chests. Sung snarled. "I am not asking for your offerings; you have served me and this kingdom well. I have no question about your loyalty to me; I ask you to show your loyalty to her!"
"But… sire… if she does not take you. Or if you do not proceed -"
"You think me fickle and cold-hearted that I would simply discard her?" he asked, genuinely shocked.
"No," the deep voice came from the equine corner behind him, near Erwin. Sung turned to meet the eyes of Brant, the eldest of the elders. "No one questions your character or intentions, Sung," he said slowly. "Only your queens. We do not know her, not her heart or character, nor do we know her intentions. And add to this, she comes from the other world. Her customs are different. We cannot be expected to anticipate her motives."
"And my testimony to her heart and motives are not enough for you?"
"Forgive me, Sire, but all of us have been… blinded by lust at times. We would not fault you for it, having walked through it ourselves. But we also cannot deny that it occurs."
"You think that I -" Sung began but cut off when her voice rose from the far corner of the room, closing his eyes and throwing up a prayer for mercy.
"Why don't you ask me?" she said quietly but firmly.
All the men gasped and turned to look at her. Unless invited to do so, Anima females did not speak in the male council, just as males did not talk in the female council.
The men all turned to Sung, who was left with no choice.
"Wife," he said through his teeth. "Would you take the vow and pledge honesty to the men seated here? Explain answers to their questions, and offer any information, complimentary or not, to soothe their fears?"
"Yes, I would," she said simply. Of course, she had no idea the grilling she was about to receive. And to save her before these men, he could not soften their approach. He would have to let them have free rein, or they would not believe her.
"Very well, please come to the floor."
She got up uncertainly but walked quickly over to join him. He took her hand and led her to a seat in the centre where they could all see and scent her easily.
"Very well, gentleman, ask your questions."
JOYCE
She'd had no clue! The personal nature… the digging these men would do! When one of them asked if she was a true virgin or perhaps trying to hide her previous activity from Sung, she looked at him, wondering if he would fly into a rage. But he had gritted his teeth and nodded at her to answer the question.
"No, of course not. I am not… in my world, it is not a matter of shame if you are not a virgin when you marry."
The men laughed. "Neither, here, Sire. But a sacrifice must be pure. Did you perhaps discover that your mating would be rejected if you were not and wish to hide that for as long as possible?"
"No! If I had not been what… what they said I was, I would have just said so," the men looked at each other as if they were unsure whether to believe her. "Oh, for the love of – ask me!"
"Ask you what, Sire?"
"Ask me why we have not mated yet!"
Erwin, who suddenly seemed to be hiding a smile, turned to her and asked the question. "Lady Joyce, why have you not yet offered yourself to your husband?"
"Because I did not know I was supposed to," she spat. "Sung and I were… very comfortable together that first night. I thought… where I come from, it is natural that whoever has the most experience would take the first step to… bringing you together. When he waited, I thought he did not want to mate with me. I was upset about it. But I had no idea others would know. And I did not know that mating would be a topic of conversation throughout the entire people! Then the next night, when we were together, we were… interrupted."
Erwin nodded. "It is true. When we entered to tell the king about the silent one, they were together and… engaged with each other."
Joyce stared at him, and she thought he might have blushed. She knew she did.
"Then I was gone until last night when I was injured," Sung said, though technically, he should not have spoken into her testimony. "So, you see, my friends, there is no plot or ploy. Only the misunderstanding of two people new to each other and the creator's sense of humour keeping us apart."
"What I would like to know," Joyce ground out. "Is what this has to do with the wolves attacking me?"
The man Sung had called Gerard spoke up then. "The wolf tribe is, to Anima, the human equivalent of our assassins," he said carefully. "If we were to find out, they had good reason to threaten… they would be forgiven for overstepping."
"Overstepping?" Sung snarled. "That is what you are calling it?"
'Not anymore," the deep voice said from the corner again. Joyce turned to look at the man, who was the oldest in the room. "I believe the lady has been honest with us; we should move ahead with our counsel. I propose a vote to discipline the young wolves to one month in the camps, and if Erwin discovers a plot that the elders were in any way involved, death to any who declared her the enemy."
Joyce blinked, surprised. But the men took only seconds to shrug their shoulders and agree. In less than a minute, Sung had relaxed.
"Thank you, sirs," he said, though the tension in his jaw had not relaxed. "I am glad we could finally get to the bottom of this…."
And just like that, it was done.
Joyce wished that was the last time her sex life would be discussed publicly. Sung squeezed her hand as she walked past to greet the women coming in the door with dinner for everyone, and she squeezed back.
But she felt like she had been wrung out. The meetings dragged on most of the day and late into the night, so Joyce went to bed without Sung feeling exhausted.
SUNG
Sung woke hours before dawn, his nose full of her scent and his body aching to join her. He had dragged himself into the furs well after the high moon. Joyce had left the meetings hours earlier and was soundly asleep when he arrived. His only comfort had been that she had chosen his furs to sleep in. He had slipped between them into the warm pocket she had created and wrapped himself around her. But she had not woken nor spoken, and he had fallen asleep immediately.
But now… now he was awake. Very firmly awake.
Joyce lay with her back to him, her hair scattered over the pillow and her face. Her shoulder pressed up and out of the furs and the wide neck of her sleep shirt. The bare skin was an invitation he could not turn down. He shifted closer to her, noting how much better his ribs felt and thanking the creator for the Anima blood that allowed him to heal so quickly. He had seen how long the human body took to heal itself. It worried him should Joyce have any serious wounds.
Pushing the dark thoughts away, he pressed himself against her back and pulled her hair back off her neck and cheek, so her skin was bare. Then he set his mouth right where her shoulder met her neck, laving it with his tongue, humming his approval at her warm scent. Then she stretched, and he let his hand slide down the inside of her arm to her breast, which he cupped, as he continued to explore her neck and shoulder with his lips and tongue. She came awake slowly, her eyes fluttering.
Her breath came more quickly, and she leaned back into his chest.
"Is it morning?" she rasped.
"Not yet," he said against her skin.
Her hand slid down to where he cupped her breast, and he thought she might remove it. But after a moment, she only pressed his hand harder. Sung's breath sped up. His arousal was plain, but he did not want to frighten her.
"You were incredible last night," he whispered in her ear, then nipped her earlobe. She shivered, and goosebumps pebbled the skin on her neck and back. "I like seeing you… defiant."
"Sung?"
"Yes?"
"I waited for you last night."
"I know, I am sorry, I had missed so many -"
"Sung?"
"Yes?"
"Shut up and kiss me," she rolled over to face him, and with a purr of desire, he pulled her in, but she was already there, kissing, her tongue against his, her hands all over his back and shoulders. She seemed frantic, and Sung was surprised. She had been asleep just a second before. Had she had a dream?
Then she arched against him and gasped. "Please, Sung!" But her scent held more fear than desire, and he pulled away to search her eyes which flew open as soon as he stopped kissing her.
"What is wrong?" he said, trying to calm his breathing.
"Nothing? Why?"
"You are afraid of something. What is it?" To his shock, her face crumpled, and she buried it in her hands, her shoulders shaking with tears that he'd had no warning were coming. "Joyce, love, what is it?" he was alarmed. Had she been hurt? Had she had a nightmare? He stroked her hair and back and crooned to her, pulling her into his chest, but she only sobbed harder. "Sweet girl, please. What is wrong?"
"They killed the romance!" she cried, and if his hearing was not so sharp, he would have thought he had misheard her.
"What? Who?"
"Those – those men. With all their questions and… like this is some kind of plot or plan. Like I am trying to trap you and Khloe with all her instructions. I can't… we need to just get this over with so they will all stop talking about it, and then maybe we can enjoy it!" She buried her face in his chest and clung to him.
Cursing himself for an insensitive fool, Sung held her, stroking her until she calmed. When the tears finally eased, and she pulled back far enough that he could see her eyes puffy and still shining with unshed tears, he sighed.
"Do not worry about them. Any of them," he said, stroking her hair off her face. "Do not worry about the timing. They will all survive a few more days, weeks even!"
"Sung, don't be ridiculous. You have entire tribes working on assassination attempts just because we have not done the dirty; we need to get it done!" she tried to pull him in, but he stopped her.
"No, Joyce. I would not do that, and I would not let you do that. This is between us. I promise it will stop being their business the day it happens. They will stop caring."
"They care now!"
"Only because they do not understand it. I know it is frustrating, but I promise you… we can take our time. Our own time. I will handle the critics until then."
"But you shouldn't have to! It is so unfair!"
Sung rolled over onto his back so his most insistent body part could stop being brushed by her legs and making the argument for her. He pulled her into his side and sighed, raking his free hand through his hair. "No, you are right. It is not fair. But… life is not fair. So, for now, my people are confused, and some are angry. But when the time comes, they will get over it. Until then, I will deal with it. None of that means that you have to rush into anything."
"But -"
"No, Joyce, I will not be moved on this," he had not meant to make it an order, but he knew it sounded like one. She went very still in his arms, and he sighed again. "How about we get our minds off this and… Are you hungry?"
"Not really," she sighed. Sung frowned. "What I want is a shower. I miss showers."
He turned his head. "Did anyone not show you the bathing pools?"
She shuddered. "Yes, but… I am not going to go have a bath with all those people!" her voice got so high it was almost a squeak.
Sung smiled. "No, I meant my bathing pools."
She blinked. "No."
His grin broadened, and he pushed the furs back, leaping out of bed. "Come on then, I have just the thing."
SUNG
He took her hand to lead her through the dark when she was out of the furs.
"I did not think to check if anyone had shown you this," he said, smiling, "but I will admit, I am kind of glad I get to do it."
She was still in the sleep shirt she had found. It was sleeveless and hung almost to her knees. But she had not noticed the laces at the front had come untied during the night. Sung turned away and focused on… something other than the view.
He led her out the bedroom and through the great room opposite the front door. Behind the space he used for cooking, there was another natural curve in the wall. He kept a door on it because the wind howled through in the winter. Pushing the door open, he prayed the moon was out enough that she could see and he would not have to light the lanterns. Her gasp of surprise was answered enough as he led her through to the oval-shaped space that was entirely private with high rock walls with a thin but very tall waterfall bubbling and splashing at the end. He had always loved the bathing pools but suddenly realised they would be much more fun with a mate.
Steam rose in the air over the two pools, so close together that their edges lapped and made them look like a figure eight. In truth, one was as dark and deep as the sea and much cooler because the above-ground waterfall emptied into it. The other was only waist deep, with slick mud squished between your toes and hot from the volcanic vents underneath. His father had taken the time to have benches carved out of the rocks under each surface, and he prayed a blessing over the man as he led Joyce towards the hot pool first.
"My advice," he said, picking his way across the slick rocks and holding her hand to make sure she did not fall, "is to start in hot water. And when you start to sweat, jump into the cooler pool and rinse off. It is a shock, but it wakes your whole body up. And Khloe said it has some good health properties, though I could not tell you what that would be -" Her tug on his hand stopped him, and he turned quickly. But she was smiling, staring straight up where the moon and stars were visible at the top of the hundred-foot drop to where they stood. Sung looked up and smiled too. Then back down to her. "One of my favourite views," he said, staring at her wide smile.
"Sung, it's beautiful," she looked at him then. "Thank you, you are right. This is much better than… than rushing… things."
He could not deny his disappointment that things would not be rushed. But he nodded, happy that her tears were gone, replaced with that beaming smile.
"We have as much time as you need, my love," he said, then swept a hand towards the pools. "And in the meantime, we will get you very clean!"
She laughed and followed him towards the warm mineral pool. Sung waded to the other side of the pool. He kept his back turned so she could take off her sleep shirt and get into the water without his eyes on her. However, his body tightened, knowing what was happening behind him while waiting.
When he heard the water ripple as she stepped in and imagined the water swallowing up her thighs, stomach, and breasts… he groaned.
"Are you okay?" she asked, her voice echoing in the rocky chamber.
"I am fine."
"You can turn around now."
He turned with his eyes just above water level, intending to find her face, expecting her to sit.
Instead, he found her thighs deliciously white in the moonlight. He blinked, then yanked his eyes to her face. She was blushing; he could smell the blood pooling under her cheeks, but her smile was bright, and she did not cover herself.
"I need to get used to this, right?" she said, then ruined the effect by swallowing and looking down at herself.
She stood on the bench, so the water only covered her knees. Sung waded across, not taking his eyes off hers, though dear creator above, he could see every curve and dimple. He was on the slit floor of the mineral pool, so he lifted her at her ribs, sliding her down his body until she stood with him, the water covering her well above her waist. Then he cupped her face with his hands and kissed her long and slow, dipping and tasting, trying desperately to keep her focus on him and his touch, nothing else. Her hands splayed on his back when they finally broke apart, and she was breathless.
"You are so beautiful," he murmured against her jaw. She tipped her head back to give him access to her neck again, and he growled his approval.
"Sung," she whispered as he kissed his way down the column of her neck. "I think out of the two of us, you are the one who qualifies for 'beautiful', oh!" she gasped as he nipped the skin under her ear, then kissed it to soothe. Goosebumps rose under his tongue, and her nipples hardened against his stomach. His breath began to rasp. He let one hand slide down to her breast, paling its weight, then slid his thumb over the tender point so her breath caught.
"Joyce," he groaned, kissing her deeper, pulling her in.
She came willingly, one hand cupping his neck to pull him down for her kiss, the other sliding up his side, her fingers playing along his muscles like the keys on a piano. Then she dropped her chin to kiss his chest, right in the centre, over his heart.
"You are mine," she whispered against his skin. "I do not care what they say or what they think. You belong to me."
Sung roared his agreement.
JOYCE
Joyce had kissed men before. She had even engaged in other… activities occasionally. But the truth was, she had never truly wanted a man before. She had always felt slightly afraid or, on one occasion, downright bored. Being in Sung's arms, she forgot all of that. It was as if his touch lit fireworks under her skin, little points of light and heat that sparkled and trailed to fade away long after his fingers had moved on.
He made her feel alive. The warmth of the water, the gentle hiss of the waterfall in the next pool, and the echo of the rocks… all felt like a cocoon of love and heat.
She wanted more.
But, remembering that Sung was so intent on her being the one to choose, she did not know how to show him. So as his breathing got heavier, and his hands began to shake as they danced in all places she had always tried to hide, she found a pressure building inside her, low in her belly. It made her want to do more. It made her feel hollow inside.
It made her feel like he was the only one to soothe the ache. Then he began walking her slowly back to the pool's edge.
"Sung…" his name was gravel in her throat.
He pulled away just far enough to meet her gaze, his hair falling into his eyes. He peered at her through it like he had that first night when she had compared him to the lion in the grass, without any idea how appropriate the metaphor was.
"Yes?" he rasped, his fingers curling to cup her neck, his thumb stroking her jaw.
"I want you," she said breathlessly. "I don't care about what anyone else thinks. I just… want you."
He blew out a breath and dropped his forehead to hers, his eyes squeezed shut like he was in pain. "Is your side hurting?" she gasped, pulling away. She had forgotten about that.
"No," he breathed, keeping his arms in an iron cage around her. "I am just trying to remind myself of all ways you have been pressured by every damn Anima -"
"No, Sung. That is not what I mean. Look at me," he opened his warm brown eyes that looked black in the moonlight and stared into hers. "I want you whether it matters to anyone else or not. I want you now. Today, I have been waiting for you all this time. I don't want to wait anymore."
He huffed. "It has been a week. The elders are just being stubborn. It is not unreasonable -"
"No, Sung, you're not listening. I have been waiting for you. I didn't even know it until now, but I have had choices before. I have had men who wanted to be with me. And it never felt right… this -" she put her hand on his chest. "This feels right. I want this; I want you."
A shudder rocked through him as she went up on her tiptoes, pulling him down and tilting her head to bring their mouths together, open and gasping, her tongue searching for his. Then, when he still did not move except to kiss her, she moved her hand down his chest, his stomach, low, to the place where she could feel his arousal, like velvet-covered steel, nudging at her belly.
But before she had even reached for him, he caught her hand and rasped. "No, no, not… not now, Joyce. I want to do this right, and that… that might not help."
She frowned, but he grinned, pulling away suddenly to kneel and pick her up. She yelled and threw her arms around his neck, but he carried her to his chest as he waded through the rest of the pool, stepped up on the bench, and went out completely, trailing water in his wake.
"My shirt!" she squeaked, clinging to him as he walked.
"I will get it later," he growled, kissing her as he carried her out of the moonlit chamber and back into the cave.
She giggled and pulled his hair back off his neck as he walked her into the great room, then opened her mouth against the cord of muscle at his neck and sucked. Sung groaned and stopped, cursing, to sit her on a side table against the rock wall, bracing one hand against it as his entire body trembled.
"Light!" he croaked. "Do that again."
With a soft laugh, she let her tongue follow the proud tendon on his thick neck, then kissed the hollow at his throat. He groaned, his fingers tight in her hair, shaking.
"You like that?" she whispered against his jaw.
"Joyce," he rasped. "Fuck."
"That is the goal," she giggled.
He took her mouth then, desperate and wild, strange noises in his throat that called for her, his hands pulling her legs around his waist so when he rolled his hips, it brought them skin-to-skin in ways that made Joyce pant. She clung to his back and held on tightly as he trembled and shook, kissed the side of his neck as he pressed against her, threatening to take her at any moment. His slide against her made that pressure build even higher until she gasped too. He kissed her again, and she clawed a hand into his hair, desperate to be closer, always closer.
"Sung," she gasped as the hardest part of him slid against the softest parts of her. And even though it twisted her stomach into a spiral of desire, it was not enough. "Sung, please!"
"Light, Joyce, are you certain?"
"Yes!"
With a growl of frustration, he leaned in, cupped her bottom with both hands and lifted her to carry her through the rest of the cave and into the bedroom.
Taken off guard, she grabbed at his shoulders. "What I thought…."
"I am not screwing you against a wall on your first time," he muttered through his teeth, then kissed away her protest.
"But we can try it another time, right?"
His eyes lit up. "Start a list," he growled, shouldering the bedroom door open, then kicking it closed behind them and tumbling her onto the sleeping platform as she laughed.
SUNG
Restraint had never really been an issue for him, but she wound him so tight that he felt like he would explode when he entered her. He needed a moment to get himself back under control. So, when he tumbled her back, he regained his control. He did not follow immediately when he tumbled her back onto the furs, and she laughed. Instead, he stood back to look at her, sprawled there, her hands reaching for him, a beaming smile on her face.
"Come here, beautiful," she giggled.
He snorted. "We will discuss that later," he growled.
He let his fingers trail so lightly up the side of her leg that she shivered, and her knees fell open. His chest rose and fell like a bellow, giving away his increasing need. He could not quite believe this was happening. Joyce was here in Anima forever, and she was his.
Thank the creator.
"Sung," she pushed herself up on her elbows. "Why are you not coming up here?"
"Because I need to remember this," he said hoarsely. "I have wanted this for so long… I thought about this, dreamt about it. Joyce… you have no idea…."
Her face went serious, and she pushed herself up to kneel in front of him, one hand on his chest, the other on his shoulder, her breasts bouncing as she straightened.
"Sung… this is our life now. We can have this whenever we want. You do not have to… this does not have to be perfect. If we get it wrong, we will try again. If I do not like something, I will tell you. Stop overthinking and just… show me, please."
He pulled her into a searing kiss; how had she reassured him then? Then, still kissing her, crawled up onto the platform with her, leaning her back until she lay flat and he covered her completely. The mating call huffed in his throat without his will. But she sighed and clawed her fingers into his hair, kissing him, frantic for all the right reasons this time. He cupped her thigh, then dragged his hand slowly up her leg, hooking her knee up and over his hip as he rolled against her again, seeking that perfect slide that had made her mouth drop open last time.
Listening carefully to what made her breath catch and cry, he stroked, kissed, and thumbed until she was panting and her hips writhed. Deep in his chest, something came alight inside him as he nudged at her. She shuddered and gasped, her hand slapping his back when she clung.
"This will hurt," he gasped through his teeth. "I am so sorry, but I can't stop it."
"It's okay, it's okay!"
"But it will ease with time, love, I promise."
"Sung, please!"
With one long, shuddering thrust, he entered her, expecting to take his time to work his way to the barrier. But she was so ready and open to him that he slid to the hilt, crying her name as she gasped and became his. She tensed around him and under him, and he froze, trembling. Breath heaving, he waited, one hand cupped over her head, the other holding her leg.
"Joyce?" his voice shook.
"I am fine," she whispered. "Just… just give me a minute."
"I am so sorry, my -"
"Sung, I swear I will never sleep with you again if you apologise to me one more time."
He snapped his mouth closed, and she laughed, and it squeezed her around him so beautifully that he almost lost the shred of control he had left. He groaned and dropped his head to her shoulder, inhaling deeply as that warmth in his chest spiralled out, twisting together with her scent and the pounding of his pulse and snapping a lock on his heart that he could feel. It was as if the shape of her under him and the warmth of her hands on his skin, and the whisper of her voice were the keys, and only he could open it.
Sung shook, and his breath caught,
"Are you okay?" Joyce asked in a small voice.
"Yes, yes… I just… I love you, Joyce," he breathed. "I love you."
***