Page 55 of The Hidden Guardian

“Convincing, I see. And? Any suitors in particular that appeal to you?”

She shrieks, swinging her legs onto the couch underneath her. “I don’t want to jinx it, but there is someone. Trefaun. He has his own cave, and he’s only a century older than me, but he’s going to ask my father for permission to court me.”

“He needs permission? Don’t they preach about urges and instincts. Why would he need permission?”

“The Alpha order, remember?”

“Oh,” I pause. “So because of this Alpha order no one can … harm you? But they can finger fuck you all they like?” My voice comes out sterner than I expected. But she must know how wrong this sounds.

“Oh my Gods, Autumn, they can’tharmme, and I have to give them permission to finger fuck me thank you very much.”

“Why can’t he give this Alpha order to the whole pack? Why are wolves allowed to force themselves on anyone unmated?”

“It would be taking away their most basic instinct, there would be chaos. With no Queen to control them … they would revolt against her. Restricting them from one eligible Guardian is one thing, but all of them. Some wolves would never stand a chance.”

“Yeah, the nasty and conniving ones who don’t deserve a Guardian.” My mind wanders to that dark onyx wolf.

“But they are our best warriors. If they don’t have a Guardian, they wouldn’t stand a chance outside the cave … I guess there’s a balance to everything.”

“A balance, but at what cost? Our freedom? Our rights?”

“I don’t know, this is all I’ve ever known. The Queen was gone before I was born.”

“This Queen … she kept the balance?”

“So I’ve heard. Without her, it was left to the wolves, and the cave descended into chaos and blood. That was before the Alpha War, and an Alpha rose up and started issuing orders and making laws.”

“What happens if the Queen comes back?”

“Oh, she’s not coming back … she’s dead,” she states calmly.

“Wow, how do you know that if no one knew where she went?”

“It’s been said the cavern used to be alive. These scarce vines and flowers you see all around are nothing compared to what it looked like when a Queen sat on the throne. The Moon Flower is one of her creations. This place used to be covered from floor to ceiling in plant life and flowers. The waterfall outside used to gush, and the lagoon outside used to have so much water it created a river going south. The wolves were powerful, something to be feared. This place is a shell of what it once was.” Her voice is soft, reverent for a place she’s never seen. I admit, I wish I could have seen it in its prime too.

“Renall didn’t tell me any of that.”

“Well, you couldn’t really understand him if he did.”

“Actually, we’ve been able to communicate with touch lately.”

“Really?” Her ears perk up, surprised. “Without the Joining?”

I nod since Onai knows where I stand on the Joining. “Do you know how that could happen?”

She shrugs. “I guess it’s not impossible; your bond has strengthened. Maybe you are soulbonded.”

“Besides making love all night, I see you have been practicing your gift?” She points all along the walls of the cave.

“Uh, no, not practicing per se.” Heat floods my cheeks.

“No?”

“It just sort of happens when we … I get excited.”

“Oh … oh Goddess, I’m staring at your plant babies. My eyes. My virgin eyes.” Onai rubs at her eyes.

I playfully nudge her. “Oh shush, I’m sure you saw worse just walking up here.”

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