Claimed by the Primals

Chapter Thirty-Two

I found Warrick in the middle of the river just down the hill from the building we were using for training. He was still in his full anubi glory and stood knee deep in the rushing water. It was the first time where I really got a good look at him like this. The only other times were in that alley in the middle of the night and at Lana's when I was barely conscious.

Regal is the word that comes to mind. Tall, with lean yet powerful muscles up his arms, legs and torso. Sleek, velvety black fur reflected the clouded-over sun a beautiful silver. His tattoos didn't appear with the change except for the gold markings around his neck, arms, and hips. And the ones on his face appeared only in this form. They pulsed with power in time with his claws flexing and unflexing in an effort to contain his anger.

I wasn't really sure what I was interrupting, so I walked towards him slowly and quietly. He still heard me coming and rounded on me with a snarl, expecting, I think, either his father or one of the other anubi. There was instant regret in his eyes when he saw me flinch, and his shoulders drooped.

The closest I could get to him without walking into the river myself was an old wooden bridge in such disrepair that only the lower half of the railing remained. I kicked my shoes off, sat on the railing, and dipped my toes into the chilly water. "And here I thought I was the one with the rough family dynamic," I teased gently, hoping to break the tension.

Despite himself, Warrick laughed. He followed me to the bridge and stood a few feet away, easily standing against the current. "You still get first place on that one," he said. In that form, his voice is lower, darker, and rougher. So much closer to how Kade sounded, yet somehow, he maintained that musical hum to it. "My mother likes to say that a family is built on a foundation of love and trust, while a pantheon is built on tradition and honor. Being a descendant of the first son of Anubis often means you can have one, but not the other."

"Is this why you didn't want me to be trained by the anubi?"

"Yes," he turned his muzzle up to the overcast sky. "Kade went through hell with my grandmother, and it took me years to realize how cruel she has been to us both. I don't want you to go through that. You've been through enough."

"Why? What happened?"

His ears twitched back, and his chest expanded in a deep breath. A low whine came from the back of his throat as he released a sigh so heavy, it looked like he was deflating. "Rajya thinks the bloodline of the first son is dying out. Of her generation, of all her siblings and cousins, only she had anubi children. Of them, only Menes had anubi children of his own; Amara and me. The only reason she even allowed Menes to mate with my mother was because she agreed that her first child would be his."

"She sounds like Godric," I shifted uncomfortably on the railing, fighting the nausea and the twisting in my gut.

"Same shit. Different clan," he nodded, and a deep sadness rose in his bright red eyes. "For a long time, Nimat was her favorite. She showered him in attention and gifts and ignored all of Esraa's other children for him. While we had lessons with each of our fathers depending on their pillar of the pantheon, Rajya monopolized Nimat's lessons. He knew, and still does know, more about our anubi history than even I do. When his presentation did not go the way she liked, her favor turned to me, completely passing over Jad and Ren, as Menes was not their sires.

"I had seen her favoritism, though I did not quite understand what it meant. I admit I was jealous of him, and I drank in the attention from her as any child would. Nimat was angry and confused, of course, and begged for her attention back. Teta called him a failure and a disappointment. When she wasn't around, we would fight. Not a sibling squabble, but truly fight with hate and anger in our hearts. Our fathers tried to intervene, and my mother begged Menes to do something. But he would not stand against his matriarch. It ruined my relationship with my eldest brother for a long time, and if it weren't for our sister, I do not think we ever would have reconciled."