Taming The Queen Of Beasts

<strong>ELRETH</strong>

Elreth stepped forward as the Serpent alpha—an oily male she had despised for years—slunk back to his position between the other Alphas, a smug look on his face.

"Return to me, Gerat," she said quietly, trusting that if any didn't catch her words, the others would fill them in.

The serpent Alpha, a dark haired, tall man rolled his eyes, but stepped forward to face her. "Your question will be answered, Gerat. Your challenge will be met, or receive submission."

The male smiled and nodded.

Elreth continued, through her teeth. "However… aside from this Rite, I call you as Queen and Dominant to answer for your own course. You call another tribe to account while offending your Dominant. You too, will answer. You will attend the council tomorrow morning and your peers will call support or challenge for your heart to lead. Return to your place among the Alphas," she snapped. "While you can," she added under her breath.

Gerat narrowed his eyes and his jaw went tight, but he nodded once and stepped back. Then Elreth put the stupid, petty male out of her mind.

"The people call for an answer from those among the disformed, or those who would speak for them. How will they provide?"

She'd expected Aaryn or one of the others to step forward—one of those who'd benefited by being accepted among their ranks while their own tribe ignored or neglected them. So it was a surprise when her own mother called, "I would answer for the disformed."

She slid gracefully through the crowd, leaving Elreth's father among them, though his eyes never left her as she came to stand next to Elreth and bowed her head in submission.

Elreth wished she didn't have to, but she received the gesture. "What do you say?"

Her mother's eyes sparkled like glittering jewels, honed and faceted by anger as she turned to face the people who had rejected and neglected her own dearest friend, and now son by the flames. Elreth's joy sparked in response, waiting to hear what her mother would say.

"As Queen of the Anima, I faced my own challenges, many of you will remember." Most of the older generation in the crowd nodded. "From my first days in Anima I struggled to understand our culture, to show respect correctly, to own my mate. It was a disformed, Gahrye of the Thunder Tribe who reached out to me and explained our ways. It was he who protected me when I was forced to flee to the human world for safety during the war. And it was him who brought me safely home.

"Throughout the years since I have been served as Queen by the disformed—quietly, humbly, but with deep loyalty and commitment. The disformed have been under my care for twenty years—after my safety was betrayed by another Anima, they became my personal guard and have served me dutifully ever since."

Then she turned to Elreth. "I passed their care and attendance to my daughter when she became dominant, and I know they serve her with equal dedication. The skills and knowledge of the disformed are different—they understand Anima in ways many of us do not. They serve with their bodies and their minds. As such, I have provided for them over the years and I know they use the resources given with great wisdom.

"They will continue to serve the royal family even after these generations are dead—and through this, they serve the people. Their services have been hidden to this day, but they will be no longer. I stand for the disformed as allies and strength behind the throne and call for their dedication and strength to be recognized."

Elreth nodded, but before she could open her mouth, another voice rose. One of the trackers from among Tarkyn's troops. He relayed the skills he'd seen within the group—that in some ways outstripped his own. He called for them to be recognized as skilled masters who could serve any Anima with a need for tracking or hunting.

Then a handful of the merchants who'd worked with disformed of their own tribes stepped forward calling for them to be recognized as skilled laborers and servants, providing meat for trade, as well as for eating.

By the time the third had stepped forward, Elreth raised her hand. "The question has been answered. By my eyes and ears, the question is satisfied and the challenge met. Do the Serpent tribe acknowledge it?"

Upper lip pulled back on one side to reveal his teeth, Gerat looked over his shoulder, into the crowd of his people, but obviously finding no support from within them for his rebellious anger, when he turned back he knelt stiffly before Elreth and clasped his hand across his chest.

"The Amphines acknowledge the Disformed," he spat reluctantly, "and we submit to the judgment of the Queen."

Elreth snorted. It was far too little, far too late, but she nodded to accept his submission and turned back to the people.

"What say you, Tribes? Who calls Question or Challenge to the disformed?"

There was a murmur from the crowd directly in front of her as her Father strode forward, as elder and Alpha of the Leonine tribe. Carrying with him, too, the former crown and the weight of both is age and experience, the entire bowl went quiet, waiting for his words.

He stepped off the side of the bowl into the flat at the center, his eyes sliding to her mother. They shared an entire conversation in that gaze.

The urge within Elreth was to turn and look at Aaryn, to remind herself of her own mate and his silent support, but she knew she had to focus on her role as Queen, not on her family. Still, as her father walked to stand before her and kneel, giving his submission, Elreth's heart pattered and squeezed.

She didn't like seeing her father humbled. It meant so much that he offered it willingly, knowing others would follow his example. And as he raised his head to meet her eye, with his back to his own people, he winked.

Elreth had to stifle a giggle.