“No, the coldest part is keeping Uncle Hauk tied to her and not going through with unification. It’s selfish and wrong on every level.” There was a lot of hatred and venom in those words.

“How so?”

Thia cursed Dariana under her breath before she spoke. “How much do you know about Andarion male anatomy?”

“They’re huge compared to humans.”

She snorted at that statement of the obvious. “Anything else?”

“No. Not really. Other than the fangs, claws, and eyes. Why?”

Thia lowered her tone before she spoke again. “They are creatures with very strong passions and urges.”

“Yeah, the whole I-would-rather-kill-you-than-look-at-you kind of gives that away.”

“Yes, but that’s not the only thing they’re aggressive about. Unlike humans, Andarion males have to…” Thia’s face turned absolutely red in the darkness.

“You okay?”

Fanning her face, Thia glanced to Sumi. “No idea why I’m telling you this, other than to illustrate what a bitch Dariana is, but… the males have to be… drained, for lack of a better word. Kind of like a lactating woman. If they don’t get regular release, it’s extremely painful for them and causes all kinds of problems and even severe illnesses for them. It’s why they mate early and tend to have extremely,” she dragged out the word, “large families.”

“Oh.” Now her face was as red as Thia’s. “So why’s that a problem? I’m sure any female would be more than willing to…” she cleared her throat, “drain Hauk.”

Including her.

Thia snorted. “He can’t. Ever. That’s why she’s a whoring, conniving Queen Bitchtress.”

Sumi arched a brow. Why not? Was there something physically wrong with Hauk? “You’ve lost me again.”

Thia released an irritated breath. “Long ago, to protect the purity of the lineages, the Andarions set down stringent laws. Adultery, which covers both married and pledged males, is punished severely and publicly. And…” Thia held her index finger up for emphasis. “Adultery by their laws means an Andarion male can’t touch any female, except his wife or pledged, without being removed from his lineage.”

Whoa. Wait a minute. Was Thia implying…

“Are you telling me Hauk’s a virgin?”

Thia visibly cringed. “Well… this is really awkward suddenly. Given that he’s my beloved uncle, my thoughts never went to that particular conclusion. I was speaking of celibacy, generic Andarion customs, and total bitches. But… now that you’ve mentioned it… considering his age when he was first pledged, and that the only time he wasn’t pledged, he was undergoing surgeries and physical therapy…” She bit her lip and nodded. “Yeah. That would be a safe bet. One that makes me want to hurt Dariana even more now that I know. What a minsid whore!”

Wow. Sumi sat back in total stupor. So no one had ever climbed aboard that giant piece of sexy male and taken him for a ride.