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*****

ELRETH

Everyone in the room took a moment to absorb all of that. Elreth had gathered enough from Gar that she was starting to put the pieces together, but this entire picture blew her away and made thinking difficult. She shook her head. Her mother had been a revolutionary! And her mate was as well! Though one glance at Aaryn revealed that he hadn't known why he was training the disformed. That, at least, hadn't been a lie.

Elreth took a deep breath.

"But… how does this relate to the humans entering Anima? How do the dis—the Protectors—keep us safe?

"

Her father looked at her mother sharply, and the child within Elreth pleaded with him to forgive her for the secrets. But her mother shook her head.

"That's the only thing we've never learned. Never been told. The Creator has never revealed it. All we know on that score is what we've known from the beginning: Something is coming. Something—an invasion or a weapon—that has the potential to wipe the Anima out completely. And somehow the Protectors are the key to our victory against that. The humans they're connected with, too. Though less so. We don't understand all of it. I fear we never will until we know exactly what we're facing. If this happens, I might know more than I realize. But believe me, for twenty years I've been trying to parse this out, and I just can't.

"We only know that they're coming and that we must, absolutely must train the Protectors. And in order to do that, we've had to protect them from the rest of the Anima. They have to be equipped—to their bones—for this battle. If it's coming soon… I just pray we've done enough. I hoped… I hoped it wouldn't be in our lifetime. I hoped my children…

" she trailed off, her breath hitching.

"It's a mother's worst nightmare to see both her children at the center of something like this. Please, El, please Gar… please be careful. So careful. Please don't throw your lives away as we walk through this. It would… after all I've done to protect you, it would kill me, I think.

"

Elreth's father pulled her into his chest and they embraced. Everyone averted their eyes to give them a moment, but Elreth wondered if, like her, her father was burning a little bit inside. Burning that this had been kept from them. Fighting the idea that telling would have brought risk to the Anima. And from her father's perspective, she supposed, that would include any danger to herself or Gar.

Her mother had hidden so much! It was a mark, Elreth supposed, of how seriously she'd taken the warning not to allow anyone to know. But how had she managed it? This whole other life, hidden from the people—even from her family! And surely if anyone could be trusted it was them?

She could understand her mother hiding it from her—out of fear that she'd get adventurous. But her father? And once Elreth was Queen?

Why had she let Elreth walk into this blind—especially when Gar apparently already knew?

What did she think Elreth would ever have chosen that might have hurt the Anima? She couldn't think of any situation in which she—or her father—would have done anything to harm them. Especially when it came to protecting it from an invasion across the traverse!

Her anger simmered. She must have smelled of it, because she saw Aaryn shift in his seat, and her father caught her eye then and she recognized the flash in his. Yes, they were of one mind about this. But then he turned back to comforting her mother and he didn't say anything.

Why?

Elreth wanted to accuse and argue and defend herself. But she knew what her dad would say. It was in the past now. There was nothing they could do except create problems for themselves or others by holding onto it.

And even though she knew that was right and true, it didn't remove the anger on a slow boil in her gut. She did her best to push that aside, however. Because it wasn't going to help tonight.

Tonight they had to decide how to move forward—with her mother's help, and Gar's, apparently.

"So… this is where Gahrye's been? Training the disformed?

" she asked. She didn't miss Aaryn's lack of surprise when her mother nodded.

"That, and helping them learn how to relate to humans. We have some clues that, possibly, the Protectors will be our emissaries. Or something along those lines. We aren't sure how this will all take shape. But the fact that the Protectors can't shift, so will never accidentally do so in front of a human, makes them the perfect Anima to cross and connect with the humans. We may even need to use them as spies. Who knows? We don't know how this will start.

"

"It's already started,

" Gar murmured.

"There's a human here that wasn't invited or informed by the Anima. If one knows, others must as well.

"

Elreth looked at her brother whose face was thoughtful, but not surprised. And Aaryn who was nodding. They'd already had some clue about this, apparently. Even Aaryn, who hadn't known the rest.

Elreth wanted to growl about all that had been hidden from her, but she kept reminding herself, this wasn't the time.

"Do you have any clue how this prophecy relates to the human that we know is in Anima with a weapon?

" she asked tersely.

"Is that something you knew was coming?

"

Her father frowned. That fact disturbed him a great deal.

But her mother shook her head.

"Like Gar said, I have to assume it's the beginning. I mean… the fact that it's only one, it could just be a rogue, someone who came in touch with the Guardians, or even stumbled through by accident, though that seems unlikely. Some of the humans do keep themselves armed at all times. It is possible that this human is just here and doesn't know why or how they came to be. But even then, if they're able to return who knows who they might tell, or—

"

"No, it's not that,

" Gar said softly.

"This is the beginning. There's a link between this human and whatever is to come that was prophesied. There has to be.

"

Everyone in the room snapped their heads to look at him.

"How do you know?

" Elreth asked.

Gar signed and sat back in his chair, staring at the floor in front of him.

"Because I've seen her. She's definitely not here by accident. The question is whether she knows how her discoveries are going to be used by the humans.

"

No one breathed except Elreth, who growled,

"What?

"

*****

NEW BOOK OUT NOW! (NOT an Anima book, but a werewolf romance!) You can find it if you search

"Rise of the Dark Alpha

":

Zev prowled towards her, all shining, brutal beauty, his chin low and those incredible, piercing eyes fixed on her. He didn't stop until they were toe-to-toe and he blocked her view of every other male in the circle.

His eyes dipped to her mouth as he leaned in, his whisper playing on her skin.

"You. Are. Mine.

"

His deep voice twanged in her belly as the howls of the wolf pack rose from behind him to echo across the mountains of Thana, while the other Chimera protested his claim.

Fighting the urge to stroke his broad, bare chest with her shaking hands, Sasha forced herself to tilt her head and raise an eyebrow.

"So bold for a pup who just found his fangs.

"

The other males hooted with laughter.

Ignoring their taunts, Zev's eyes sparked and he leaned even closer, the scruff on his jaw tickling her cheek as he smiled.

"So bold for a human who already knows the pleasure of gasping my name.

"

She shivered when his teeth grazed her ear.

(SEE THE FULL SUMMARY IN THE AUTHOR NOTE BELOW)