SUNG
He was itching to shift and sink his beast teeth into something, but he just rolled his head and kept it under a tight lid because Erwin was already angry with him. He did not want to give his second reminder.
As Erwin sent runners out to find the elders and security chiefs of each tribe, they began to gather in the cave. Sung was relieved that none of them had been close to Joyce; her scent had not mingled anywhere. That might have been more than he could handle.
Then Gerard, who had not heard about the claim, slapped Sung on the back and said, "I saw the queen with her deformed advisor up the stage at breakfast. Bet you did not see that coming -"
A snarl tore out of Sung's throat as the image of Joyce there, next to the male, being touched and smelled, bloomed in his head, and he tensed, bracing, teeth bared, fighting the shift, fighting the urge to run out of the cave and find the little piece of –
"Sung?" Erwin said, low and calm.
Sung froze, trembling. Everyone was staring, but he could not give them his attention yet. He needed to get himself under control.
"What happened?" Gerard said, confused.
Erwin glared at Sung but turned to answer the question. "Your ever-wise king claimed his mate last night, and he is now struggling with her recent choices to put herself so close to another male".
Most of the men's jaws dropped, but Brant, who had seen the most in life, threw back his head and laughed.
At first, Sung wanted to snarl, but then the old man leaned forward on one knee and cackled at Sung. "You mated and claimed her in the same week she took a male cohort?" He spluttered into laughter again, and Sing had to admit that if someone else had done the same thing, he would have called the man a pure fool.
It was not planned, he rumbled.
But Brant just slapped his knee and laughed harder. "And here I thought mating would settle you down, Sung!" he brayed.
Sung gave a flat smile, still rolling his head against the shift, but it was coming under better control. The man's laughter was catching.
"I will admit I am looking forward to things… quieting down," he said quietly, and Brant almost fell out of his chair. The others chuckled too, and it was the perfect response because Sung could take a couple of deep breaths and found his tension eased.
Soon most of the council was there, and Sung was calm enough to begin their business.
"Before the wolves arrive," he said carefully as the men all turned to face him. "I want to warn you all that I intend to question Lucan today. Our queen is installed within the traditions; she had accepted the role and fulfilled the rite of mating, not to mention that she allowed me to claim her," his chest warmed. He paused, his mind flashing on her skin, the way she- no! He had to focus. Sung cleared his throat. "No more padding around the issue; she is here to stay. We as a people need to move together into the new age. This means we all must understand what the wolves are thinking and where they are heading, which could be an uncomfortable conversation. Will you stand behind me if I am forced to challenge him?"
The men all sighed or pressed their lips thin, but in the end, they each nodded or said yes without argument, and Sung breathed even easier. That had gone more smoothly than he had expected, for once.
They discussed minor business until the door opened. Lucan, the Alpha of the wolf packs and Lucine's father and his son, and second for the tribe, Lerrin, stepped in both handsome, prominent, muscular men with grey eyes. Lerrin made a near copy of his father, though Lucan had the grey in his hair at the temples.
They greeted the others, took their seats, and then everyone turned to Sung.
"Good morning," he said to the wolves, who nodded back, but Lerrin had the light of aggression in his eyes, not in his body language. "We are starting late because I asked you to come here. So, I won't drag this out. Lucan, we must have a serious conversation about the wolves and the threat to the queen."
Lucan frowned, his arms folded over his broad chest as he leaned back in the chair. "We have made no threat to the queen," he grunted.
Sung met his gaze evenly. "There was an outright attack."
"And we told you, young wolves were getting excited about their strength. I believe it has also happened once or twice in the pride," Lerrin snapped.
Lucan cut a look at his son but did not contradict him.
Sung shook his head. "None of our young have ever threatened the life of a ruler."
"Which is why its wolves were sent to the camps, not Leonine," Lucan said quietly.
"Those wolves were all barely still in their adolescence. We would not have thought twice about it had they chosen a mate. I struggle with the way you are categorising them. They threatened the queen and launched an attack. Had I not been there -"
"But you were."
"But if I had not been -"
"We might have had a banishment instead. I know we already went through this with Erwin. Did he not brief you, or were you too busy… not mating?"
The hackles on Sung's neck rose, but he did not let it show on his face, though all the men would smell the warning in him.
"Do you have something you wish to say, Lucan?" he asked quietly.
"Do you have an accusation for me to answer, Sung?"
"Not an accusation, but a question, yes."
"Well then, sire, please, ask away," Lucan said, straightening in his chair and leaning forward to get closer to Sung.
Sung leaned forward too. "Are the wolves still for Wildwood? Are they still for me?"
"Why would you even question?"
"Because no one else has tried to forcibly remove my queen from this world," Sung growled. The words punched through his ribs like an arrow, and he could not speak further for a moment, his mind full of images of his beloved, broken and bleeding.
"Little bit hypocritical, isn't it, Sung? When you were the one who brought her forcibly into it?"
"What are you talking about?" Sung snarled. "The wolves were the ones-"
Lucan leaned forward, almost coming out of his chair, his eyes alight with the strange predatory stare. "It seems to me that you are very, very good at taking things that don't belong to you, Sung. So, why would you begrudge another doing it?"
The growl was so low that it started in Sung's toes.
JOYCE
Joyce's jaw dropped as Talia stepped into the wide, walked to its middle, and then turned to face her, looking slightly anxious.
All Joyce could do was gape. The house was a tree. She stood inside a tree that was not perfectly round but more oval and had to be almost fifty feet long and close to forty wide. This ground floor was snug with rugs, a small fireplace with soft chairs set around, a kitchenette on one side, and a table with four chairs next to it. Next to the fireplace were wooden stairs that looked like they had been carved out of the tree and climbed to circle the outside. Joyce frowned up at them, startled to find they rose to ca rectangle hole in what had to be the floor of the next level, as if this entire home had been hollowed out of a living tree.
"Talia, this is amazing!" she said breathlessly.
Talia blinked. "It is just a home, though it is a great location. I was blessed that my parents built it when Wildwood was not as big. It is quite desirable now and makes selling my weaving much easier."
Joyce turned around, staring at everything decorated in lines and fabrics that somehow managed to be abstract yet giving the impression of leaves, branches, and trees. And like the doors, the whole structure of this room looked as if it had grown there and had been discovered rather than built.
"How did they do it?" She asked, awed.
Talia looked around, clearly confused by Joyce's reaction. "They just… built it?"
Joyce gave her a flat look.
"I have never seen this thing you can do, making things look like they are a part of the landscape rather than things!" Joyce noticed even the stones around the fireplace looked like they had been deposited there by a river rather than stacked and mortared in place. Joyce shook her head, but since the others were all staring like they were unsure what to say, she smiled and said, "Talia, I love your home."
"Thank you," Talia said, her cheeks pinking. "And if you would like things like this, speak to Sung. Any master builders can achieve this for you."
Joyce nodded. "I will. Thank you."
Talia ushered them all over to the seats in the dining room, and as they settled in, Joyce's chest began to burn with frustration again. Now that her distraction was passed, she found herself gritting her teeth.
Why didn't anyone explain to her in detail that females did not appoint male cohorts? Why had they let her blunder into this? And what was she going to do about it?
Once they had all taken seats and Talia gave each of them a glass of juice that was sweet and crisp and reminded Joyce of orange juice, they all turned to her.
"I wish you had told me," she said directly to Khloe. "When the women's council explained that my chosen patronage might not be well received, I understood that, but had I known I was committing an even greater blunder…" she dropped her head into her hands. "I just want to get my feet under me! I want the people to -"
"Forgive me, Joyce, but your feet… they are underneath the rest of you. are you having some kind of problem with them?" Talia asked nervously, looking down at her legs.
Joyce groaned, "It is just a saying. It means I feel off-balance. Like… like something might push me over at any moment."
Khloe touched her hand. "I am sorry, Joyce. It never occurred to me that you might… I just had not thought. Leonine is so possessive, and you and Sung seem so close; I never thought. I will try to anticipate these things to come. Still, sometimes I do not know the differences between humans and Anima, so it can be difficult to anticipate."
Joyce nodded. That was fair. "Well, from this point forward, the thing we can all do is make a promise. You will tell me every time, right at the moment, if I am doing something that offends people or seems strange. And I will promise to listen to you without getting angry. I may… I may still do what I am doing. I can't know what my decisions will require. But I promise you I want to know if I am doing things differently, so at least if I am going to piss people off, I know I am doing it, okay?"
They all nodded. Talia bit back a smile.
"Now… how do I fix this shitshow?" she cried, dropping her head into her hands. "What are you facing here? I have already named Gray, and I did it for a reason. He is good. He helps me understand other people. And he can scent things… but you are saying it will cause problems with Sung?"
Gray swallowed hard. "I am guessing he was a little focused on… claiming you?" he said, blushing.
If someone did not say something, their heads would explode from the rush of blood. Joyce was not sure she had ever seen a grown Anima blush. Of course, she blushed too.
Khloe cleared her throat, and Joyce thanked the God Sung believed in that she started to speak. "The damage, so to speak, is done, Joyce. Now it is time, I think, to make the most of what you have. There will be… complications. And some concern among the people. But hopefully, everyone will eventually become used to it. It is not that it has never happened before. But generally, the primary advisor is not… different. Only because they are expected to follow you into every situation with discretion and… well…."
"If you are naked, and your husband is possessive, it's kind of difficult for Gray," Talia said bluntly.
Joyce choked on her juice. "Why would Gray need to be there when I am naked?"
Gray dropped his head into his hands.
"Perhaps you are in childbirth? Or ill? Or… there are any number of rituals and ceremonies -"
"WHAT?" Joyce gaped at Khloe. "You have naked ceremonies? What for?"
"Everything," they all said at the same time.
Joyce dropped back in her chair and covered her face in her hands.
What had she gotten herself into?
JOYCE
They were still sitting at Talia's table an hour later, and Joyce felt like they had gotten nowhere. "So, you are telling me people won't help my advisor directly because he is male?"
"And deformed," Khloe added carefully.
Joyce nodded. "Okay, then what about a survey?"
"A… what?" Khloe asked.
"A survey of the people."
"What is a survey?" Talia asked faintly.
Joyce shrugged. "It is asking many people the same questions to get a general feel for what the majority think or feel. Suppose you think people won't let Gray near to scent them and discuss things with them. In that case, you two could ask questions and have conversations. Still, he could be nearby, listening and scenting," the three of them looked at each other, and Joyce gritted her teeth. "Would it work?"
Khloe turned back to her first. "Your thoughts about Gray listening would work. But… Anima does not do surveys. As a rule, most people who do not have roles in ruling don't discuss these things. We simply… align where we believe we should go and allow others to do the same."
"Will they be offended by having questions asked of them? If they know, I asked you to?"
"Not offended," Talia offered. "But… they will find it strange. And you said you want to know that. Well, they may feel… even more separate from you if they feel like your processes are alien to ours…."
Joyce groaned and dropped her face into her hands. "Does anyone have any ideas about how I can get some information from the people and move forward without weirding them out?" No one answered her, and Joyce was feeling the lack of sleep from the night before. "Okay, this is not getting us anywhere. Can we meet again tomorrow? And in the meantime, please think about how I might learn the best way forward without just stumbling ahead."
"The best way forward with bringing the deformed and the ostracized… back into the tribes?"
"Yes."
Khloe's shoulders rose and fell with her breath. "Okay, I will think about it."
Talia and Gray shrugged and nodded, and Joyce could not discuss anything else. "I am going back to the cave," she said sadly. "If you think of anything, feel free to come to find me there."
She tried to make an effort to compliment the house again and be enthusiastic about starting their work slowly. Still, when she left, her shoulders were slumped. Then she got up.
SUNG
"You can say what you wish, Lucan, but my secrets are known in these circles. If you attempt to twist them, you will find little sympathy," Sung said boldly and clearly, never taking his eyes off Lucan.
He knew the wolf did not want to admit Lucine had broken the rite because it would question all the wolves' plans and decisions. After all, the pack had to have been involved. Then their conspiracy in choosing Joyce would come to light, and Sung would have the people's sympathy. It would crack Wildwood half like an egg but in Sung's favour. The wolves were admired by the tribes but also feared.
He knew it, and Lucan knew it as they stared each other down.
Lucan snorted without humour, a sound that among the Anima meant a person's scent was offensive. Sung bristled but did not move, though he marked Erwin getting quietly to his feet and shifting to be in reach of Lucan.
The wolf glared at him, elbows on his knees, those cold eyes staring.
"Well, Lucan?" He asked. "Make your claims, and when we are done shovelling your lies, you will still answer the questions because I would not be distracted from them today. The wolves have been actively undermining the Queen of Wildwood. You will soothe our fears today or leave here under guard, but you will answer my questions."
Lucan rolled his eyes. "Always such a picture of integrity and nobility," Lucan sneered. "If your people knew your truth -"
"They do, Lucan. Make an accusation, or answer a question, challenge me if that is what you wish to do, but enough of this fucking manipulation and bullshit. Are the wolves for Anima? Do you plot against your king and his queen? Or will you submit?"
"We are already submitted. You leave us no choice!" Lucan snarled.
"You have every choice in the world, Lucan, but you are stronger on my side than as my enemy. At least openly. Is that your ploy? Pretend to be loyal while you seed dissension?"
"I seed nothing but contempt for a king under the thrall of a weak human who is leading him by the cock -"
Growls and snorts filled the room as Sung shoved to his feet, and everyone but the wolves stood with him.
There was a crystalline moment where Sung was poised for violence, and he had to force the beast back. If this was the moment, Lucan would be the one to select it. He would not pick a fight for dominance that was weak in itself.
"Do you challenge Lucan?" he said so quietly. "The elders will stand back and let me face you but also ensure you do not cheat. Everyone knows I won dominance without wolves, Joyce, or anyone else's strength behind me. And if you cannot do the same, you will be banished. Make no mistake."
His hands were clenched into fists against the shift, he would not unleash it unless Lucan did first, but he was calm. Perrin stared at his father, clearly torn. But Lucan did not stand.
"I make no challenge for the throne. I do not want to be king," he spat.
Sung nodded. "Then hear this from one who does and is. I will find out if you are covering a plot against me, my queen, or any of my cohorts. You will be banished rather than killed if you tell me yourself. But if you tell me there is no plot, and I find out you lied…" he stepped forward, leaning into Lucan's face, letting the light in his eyes flash. "I will kill you myself."
Lucan just stared. "You threaten me, Sung?" Lucan finally said. No one else spoke.
"I speak true, Lucan. As ruler of the Anima and as your Alpha."
Lerrin tensed next to his father, but Lucan did not flinch. "So quick to call yourself Alpha overall when you cannot even rule your wife's heart."
Sung smiled smugly. "Somebody has not been paying attention this morning."
For the first time, Lucan looked uncertain, but he recovered quickly. "Perhaps, you know how it goes, Sung. You have been a touch distracted the past couple of weeks…."
"I would not have been distracted if the wolves were not making trouble."
"My people do not make trouble; they fear! They are concerned for their futures and the futures of Wildwood!"
"Then you, as their Alpha, call off their 'concern' and control your people," Sung growled, "or I will do it for you, and I assure you they will be far more fearful of that! It can be arranged if they need a demonstration of their king's strength to bring them back into line!"
"Is that a threat, Sung? Against your people?"
"That is a promise. I will not risk Wildwood for the sake of Lupine pride."
"Pride? Pride, Sung? Really? You accuse me of pride?"
"I accuse you of inciting your people to treason because you lost what little more than a chess game is."
"You call the future of Anima a game of chess?"
"No, I call the wolves' manipulations a game of chess. What if it had gone as you had planned, Lucan? What if Joyce had been killed and I had mated Lucine? Would we still be standing here?"
"Of course not!" There was a slight noise near the front door, but neither turned.
"Then do not tell me this has nothing to do with the wolves and their power."
Lucan was on his feet. "This is not purely about power. It is about having a queen that cannot be bested by a ten-year-old. One who does not create a social shit show every time she opens her mouth, who could offer something to the strength of the people rather than applauding the weak!"
A small feminine gasp sounded, and Sung whipped his head around to find Joyce standing just inside the door. The men turned and got to their feet only to drop to their knees when they saw the claiming.
Joyce's eyes were wide and disturbed as Lucan, two breaths after everyone else, cursed and dropped to a knee, saluting her. A murmur of acknowledgements of the queen rose in the room, but Joyce just stared at Sung, her eyes pained and embarrassed. And he could only stare back, his eyes pleading with her not to listen.
Then she swallowed, her eyes shining, and in a clear voice, told the men to stand up. "Thank you, all of you," she said. "But I didn't realise you would be here. I did not mean to disturb you. Please, continue. I will… I will go to the other room." And she disappeared.
Sung gazed after her, his heart leaving the room in her wake, but with Lucan there and his accusation of distraction… he could not risk it. So, he was forced to turn back to face the man he was quickly beginning to see not as a combatant but as an outright enemy in his ranks. Then he caught the expression on Lucan's face, the sheer malice and contempt, and his beast roared and begged for release.
"Take your eyes off my wife!" The snarl began in his toes and rolled through his whole body as every man in the room slowly turned to put themselves to the floor before him.
Except for Lucan.
Even Lerrin knelt, but Lucan only bowed his head, hands fisted at his sides.
Sung's entire body trembled. When he spoke, it was with the growl in his throat and eyes he knew would shine in the dark. Erwin shifted nervously and tried to catch his gaze, but Sung stayed focused on Lucan.
"You have only one choice, Lucan, One. You put your people in their place. No more whispers behind hands, no more attacks, no more plots on me or my mate or the inhabitants of Wildwood."
"There are no plots," Lucan snarled.
Sung tensed, every hair on his body raised. "Either there are plots, Lucan, or you have lost control of your packs. So, what is it?"
"The only control that has been lost is yours, Sung."
Sung roared, and the men yanked Lucan back away from him as Erwin stepped between them, calling Sung down.
"Breath, brother, breathe. He is not attacking. He disagrees with you. No one here challenges you or your mate, Sung. Ease, brother, ease. Please!"
Sung stood, his breath heaving, his back rippling, Erwin knelt in front of him but spoke smoothly, confidently, hands raised to try to stop him, and he walked the line.
"Speaking of losing control," Lucan muttered.
Sung felt his body surge, but he fought back with a stifled roar and a puttering growl. He knew his eyes still glowed, but he did not move from his place in front of Erwin and did not shift.
"Get out of my house," he said in a voice so dark even Brant blinked. "Get out of my city if you cannot live in peace."
"I have touched no one! Nothing!"
"You have aided your people in violence, and you will admit it, or you will be watched, corralled like a common dog. Is that what you want, Lucan?"
"You cannot banish me for doing nothing!"
"Oh, I won't," Sung said and smiled like a predator on prey.
The two sheep in the room dropped to a knee at the sight of his smile, but he let it remain.
Lucan did not back down, but his eyes grew wary.
Then Lerrin stood. "I will take him out, and we will get it under control," he said reluctantly, and Sung blinked.
"What was that?"
"I will take him, and we will talk to the people together. The wolf packs… do not challenge for control. Some factions were getting out of hand and… and we should have stopped them before now."
"Hush, Lerrin!" his father hissed.
But Lerrin's jaw was tight, and he faced Sung. "He did not make plans, but he enjoyed them. And I can… I can talk to people. We can settle things down."
Sung turned his head slightly, measuring the man for deceit. But wolves were excellent liars. So, was it a trick? Or genuine?
Lucan growled like he was furious with his son, but that meant nothing if they had planned it. Sung turned to Erwin, who had gotten to his feet but was standing close.
"What say you?" he asked, tipping his head toward Lerrin.
"I say at some point, we have to give them a final warning and let them show us if they will stay in line." A couple of the others murmured their agreement, so Sung nodded.
"Very well, Lerrin, this is your shot. The one and only you can thank your father for that. Pack discipline begins the next time I catch a wolf creating trouble for me or my wife. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Sire."
"And if you can bring your people through this, it may be time for Lucan to have his challenger."
Perrin did not answer that, though Lucan snarled. But the men began moving them, escorting them out and back to the wolf pack, while the eldest of the elders shuffled in their wake until only Erwin remained.
He waited until the last of them was out of the cave mouth and into the clearing, and then he folded his arms. "That could have -"
"Not now, Behr, please," Sung said wearily. "I need to go comfort my wife."
JOYCE
She had tried to go to the room and just sit. Accepted that the day had not been what she had hoped it would be, and that sucked, but it was not the end of the world. But the words of that man, a wolf, she was pretty sure, kept echoing in her head.
A queen that cannot be bested by a ten-year-old… who could offer something to the strength of the people…Joyce screwed her face up hard and breathed through her teeth. She would not cry because a bully had been throwing darts. She would not.
But Sung's face, the way he had winced… that, Joyce realised, was what hurt so badly.
Seeing that the accusations hit home for Sung had her undone. She knew the wolves were trouble and did not like her. Did that mean he agreed with them? Or only that he knew others did? Was she to blame for all the problems with the wolves, or would they have targeted anyone that was not a wolf?
She shook her head and pinned her lips together. Still, she could not stop the grief that washed over her when she thought about losing Sung or becoming a burden to him and him just putting up with it because he was so… nice. Was Sung going to regret mating her? That thought, the aching hollow it opened in her chest, broke her, and she sobbed.
She did not want him to be nice. She wanted him happy.
Somehow, she had figured out how to… how had the man put it? Offer something to the strength of the people. She had to, and she would. She would discard this hopeless cause of publicly championing the weak. If all it was going to do was cause more division, it would not achieve what she had hoped anyway. Besides, she had to be seen as strong herself before she could help others.
So, even though it was through tears, she gritted her teeth and vowed. She would remain queen. She would get stronger both physically and in the eyes of the people. And meanwhile, she would help the deformed and ostracised people privately. And once she was accepted and her power was strong, and Sung was not being undermined by her, she would find a way to champion them to the others. But that meant she had to find something to do and a way to bring strength to the people in the meantime.
She took a deep breath and wiped her face, squeezing back the last of her tears and blinking to keep them away. She kept breathing deeply and muttering the plan to herself. She would talk to Sung when he was done, and they would figure out what she could do to make herself less weak. And then she would make these people see that weakness came in many forms. And they were not without their own!
She heard the door slide open and turned to find Sung standing there, his face sad and worried. She blinked, she knew she looked like she had been crying, but she raised her chin and met his eyes. "Something has to change, Sung," she said calmly. "I want to be with you and be happy here. So… something has to change."
"Joyce, I am so happy that you are here."
"It won't stay that way if that is how people see me."
Sung turned and closed the door behind him, then walked carefully to sit beside her on the sleeping platform.
She almost wept when he slid an arm around her waist and leaned in to kiss her hair, pulling her into his arms. She almost let herself fall into his strong chest and give in to the tears. But that was the problem, wasn't it? She kept letting him be the strong one when, really… she was the problem.
"No," she said sharply when he tried to pull her into his chest, and she straightened, bracing a hand on his broad thigh. "I can't keep letting you protect me. Because they do not respect that."
"Joyce, everyone who has criticised you has had to be supported and helped by their mates or their families at some point in their lives. They have just… conveniently forgotten that fact," he growled.
She shook her head. "Not like this. I get it, I do not, but I am starting to understand that I seek like a child to them. No adult wants to be forced to follow a child. So, I need to stop acting like a child with you."
"Trust me, you don't," he said, his eyes hot. He flashed her a wicked grin.
She snorted despite the tears and put a hand to his face. "You know that is not what I meant."
"I know, but… do not let Lucan make you doubt yourself, Joyce. The anima needs what you have and who you are. That is why I chose you. If I'd thought you were just weak and pathetic, I would have made the right choice for my people, no matter how it hurt me. But I knew, I know you are what we need here. You have different strengths. Strengths we need to develop in Anima."
"Then I need to find a way to make them see me."
"That is what I am trying to do!"
"No, me, Sung," she met his warm, brown eyes and smiled. "I need to be the one to make sure they can see and respect me and… want to listen. If we get to that place, I can do anything as queen because I will have won them over. Until we get there, it won't matter what I do. They won't see it as anything but a child playing."
He put his hand over hers. "I am sorry that you got dragged into this," he said in a low voice.
"I am not," she said, sniffing and leaning in. "But I am going to need you to keep giving me these pep talks when we are alone. Lots of support. Lots of one-on-one time, so I can draw from your strength when I am scared or lonely."
"Or horny," he whispered. "Also, then."
She laughed and kissed him. "Yes, that too."