Taming The Queen Of Beasts

<strong>GAR</strong>

Gar's name kept bouncing off the air around him. As he waved to yet another friend who'd just been raised to Protector, he shook his head.

It was surreal.

A line of dancing Protectors nudged past, singing and calling and Gar pulled Rika out of their path, keeping her close to his side. He wished they could stand aside to watch, to give his heart a moment to breathe, but he was in the thick of the chaos so could only use his height to turn and watch and try to take it all in.

The people, unified. His family weeping together. His mate at his side, startled, but fascinated. And the Protectors…

The friends, partners, and co-conspirators of the most important work of his life danced, literally danced with joy around each other, him and his family.

These were his people. And they were going to face the greatest challenge the Anima had ever faced in their history. Some of them wouldn't survive it. And yet, in this moment… right now, their joy bubbled over. And for once, finally, the wider Anima shared it with them.

Mindful that Rika was tense and still struggling with the crowd, Gar didn't dance with them, but he couldn't stop smiling. He watched his friends, his family, join hands, stomp, and sing—and be joined by the rest of the people in a cacophony of celebration that threatened to take him off his feet.

Then, just when it seemed they might actually calm, Elreth tipped her head back and roared, "Tomorrow we feast!" and the chaos erupted again.

Gar shook his head again, his chest shaking with the impossible beauty of it all.

"Pretty amazing isn't it, when you realize you had a hand in changing people's lives?" His father's deep voice murmured at his shoulder. Gar turned to find his dad, holding his mother in an exact reflection of the way Gar held Rika—tucked into his side, under his arm.

"I can't quite get my head around that yet," he said honestly, quietly, below the noise of the crowd.

His father chuckled. "You never will, believe me. No matter how many wins you have, you'll still sit in the silence later and shake your head and wonder when you're going to let them all down. You'll still twist up on the inside when they decide you're biggest, or strongest, or… whatever," his father sighed.

Gar gave him a sidelong look. "Strongest?" he asked dryly.

His father growled good-naturedly. "Be thankful for your ancestry, Gar. The day will come when your own son will give you that look and you'll know for certain you can still kick his ass, but you'll be too loving and mature to prove it to him."

Gar snorted.

His father raised an eyebrow, but kept his smiling gaze on the dancing hordes in front of them.

"Reth, stop," Gar's mother said quietly, patting his father's stomach. "Let's enjoy the moment."

"I was just sharing it with him!" Reth protested.

Gar grinned at his mother, but she was watching the crowd too. Her eyes sparkled with joy, though he saw the underlying sadness there, too. And he understood. This was a victory, and one that had been too long coming. But… it wasn't a war that should have had to be fought.

Then he saw his father's hand tighten on her shoulder and it occurred to him that… he and Elreth… they were next.

Gar blinked. He'd joked about his father being idolized by the people, but the truth was, to the Anima—to Gar himself—Reth Orstas Hyrehyn was like the WildWood itself: immovable. Imagining a world without him was beyond Gar's comprehension.

And yet… and yet, he saw, suddenly, his sister and himself, growing into their parents' shoes. His father had become King when he was younger than Gar was now. That made Gar blink. He thought Alpha of the Protectors was a weight to carry, his father had carried all of the Anima.

His sister did, too.

It was humbling, suddenly, to see his family and understand what they had achieved. It made him feel small.

As if she felt his sudden unease, Rika squeezed his waist and looked up at him. He looked down at her and they both smiled.

His One. Another unbelievable thing.

Watching him carefully, Rika stayed under the shelter of his arm. She felt… right there. She fit. His heart thumped and his throat wanted to growl whenever they were bumped by another male, or someone stared at her too long—many of the Anima were still stunned that she was there. But they were also so overcome by the sense of celebration, no one bothered them.

Gar knew the questions would come. But for now he just thanked the Creator that Rika was smiling. She didn't truly understand the magnitude of what had happened. But he'd spoken to her enough about his frustrations over the bigotry and oppression towards the disformed—the Protectors—that she understood this was mightily important to him and his family.

She was trembling though with the tension of it all, so when someone called for the people to go to the Market, for the alcohol and the music, Gar ushered her through the crowd to the edge of the bowl where they stood aside while the disformed and their closest supporters raced past them to retrieve their clothing and hurry back to the Tree City.

Rika let out a long breath when the bulk of the Anima had passed out of the Hallowed Grounds.

"That was… really amazing," she said a little shakily.

Gar looked at her quickly. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," she said, then smiled. "I am."

He stared down at her, wondering if she was solid enough for a kiss. He was just reaching for her face, enjoying the sight of her smile broadening, as Aaryn appeared in front of him—dressed now—his eyes dancing.

"Gar, I need to talk to you brother," he said and Gar noticed that not all of the light in his eyes came from joy.