Chapter 370 All a Little Human  

~ SASHA ~

Sasha's lips thinned. Before she could open her mouth, Zev spoke up.

"You all know that Sasha is my mate—my Ardent mate. As such, she isn't a normal human. She has been accepted by the wolves. She is Alpha. That means she is as Chimera as can be."

"She's also proven that she works for our good by bringing the females back," Kyelle offered.

"Something Xar was never able to do," Lhars added darkly.

There was some grumbling, but no other protests were raised by the other Alphas and in her head, Zev suggested Sasha just move on.

"Okay, so we'll keep Nick at the village and agree none of us will allow him to see what we're doing. But this means continuing the patrols and males coming and going from the village. As the females become more comfortable, we may begin to include some of them that want to. But none of them will be forced."

"He's going to notice if he doesn't see any of the females," the Tiger Alpha pointed out.

"I'm telling him straight that the females can't stand to be around him because of their fears of being returned. That we're keeping them away from him on purpose. So far, he's been okay with that. I imagine it will be a problem later if he doesn't start to see them. But for now, he's not protesting.

"If anything significant occurs that needs the female presence, Kyelle and I will work with the females to see if any of them are brave enough to be involved. But we'll do that when it's needed and not before. For now, please allow the females to keep things as they are."

There was further discussion of details and boundaries, and Sasha found herself feeling confident for the first time with the Alphas. It was clear that bringing the females back to Thana—as Zev had told them she would—had raised her in their esteem.

And the fact that she'd stopped apologizing for everything first probably helped as well, she thought dryly.

When they were finally breaking up, Sasha got to her feet and dusted off her ass, her heart buoyed. Although the males had pushed back at times, there was a general feeling of good among them—as if they were pleased, and that pleased Sasha.

She waited, receiving their submissions and individual questions as they began to scatter, until finally only she and Zev, Lhars, and Kyelle were left.

She turned to find Zev and Lhars leaning into each other, discussing something with serious looks on their faces, while Kyelle was moving towards Sasha. Sasha didn't miss that while Lhars spoke to Zev, his eyes followed Kyelle's back.

"Are you well, Sasha-don?" Kyelle said quietly. "It's been a difficult time. I'm sorry I haven't been near to offer more support."

"Are you kidding?" Sasha snorted. "Being able to trust you with the females… gosh, it's the most practical help I've had since I got back. Such a relief, Kyelle. Thank you."

The woman nodded once, then looked over her shoulder at the brothers. "It's nice to see them getting along. It's been many years."

Sasha followed her gaze and smiled softly. She'd seen the tension between the brothers when she arrived, but she hadn't thought about what a change this would be from years of conflict and adversarial poking.

"I'm really glad they have each other," Sasha said, then looked at Kyelle, who was frowning slightly, a line pinched between her brows as if she was trying to work something out. "How were things while I was gone?" Sasha asked casually, watching Kyelle's face for clues. "Lhars obviously did a good job of helping keep Zev in line. He only snuck out once."

Kyelle snorted. "Skhal just about put him back in the medical building when he woke up from that."

Sasha giggled. "I shouldn't laugh. I was very angry that he took such a risk."

Kyelle shrugged. "Males. Sometimes they need to take action even when the action is foolish. I have learned to just leave them. They are… often more capable than I would believe. Or perhaps the Creator simply protects them. I do not know."

It was a nice thought, Sasha realized. "Guardian angels for Chimeran males… I like that."

Kyelle frowned. "Guardian… angels?"

"You don't have angels in your history?"

"They are… messengers from God, yes?"

"Yes."

"But you say they watch over you?"

"That's the tale. That God has a supernatural family, as well as the physical one. And that He sends certain warriors to watch over us and help us avoid disaster. Perhaps that's what you've observed. When I think about it, I saw the same thing in my father and friends in my world too. I should have thought of it more deeply."

Sasha was half-joking, though it was an interesting point. But Kyelle's frown deepened. "But what happens to those who don't serve the Creator, or who… don't believe?"

"I don't know," Sasha replied. "But I have a hunch just the fact that we're talking about it is a good thing. Maybe we'll wake them up and bring them with us in this." Then she raised her voice, "Maybe we can ask them to watch over the brothers so we can leave and go get some rest?"

Lhars and Zev both looked up, Zev's eyes immediately finding hers and locking—that slow, lopsided smile that made her stomach flip, creeping up on his face.

"You're ready for some rest, Sasha?" he said quietly.

Lhars rolled his eyes. "Always a one-track mind, brother."

Without thought, Sasha looked at Kyelle to catch her response to Lhars. But the female was frowning at her own hands.

"I think we're all ready for some rest," she said to Zev, but in her mind, she told him, You promised it would be just you and me tonight.

That I did, he replied, then clapped Lhars on the back. "The Alphas are tired. Let us all go rest and be ready to meet the new day!"

Lhars was still rolling his eyes and Kyelle looked a little disturbed, but Lhars followed her out of the clearing and up onto the trail while Zev stopped in front of Sasha, his hands on her hips.

He's just jealous, he said in her head with a flashing grin.

I'm pretty confident Lhars has zero interest in me, it's that beautiful owl he's aching for.

Zev shrugged. Well, I always did say he was a fool.

Sasha laughed and hugged him. Zev curled himself around her and whispered, "Let's go. I promised you a night to ourselves, and I'm a male of my word."