Chapter 11

Ivy was deliciously worn out from spending the afternoon tumbling in the sheets with her mate. Knox made her feel so sexy, like he couldn't keep his hands off her because she was irresistible. She loved when he purred and his eyes flashed to the amber of his cat.

But despite the worn-out feelings that made her lids heavy and made her regret leaving the warmth of the bed, there was a meeting planned and she was excited and nervous to be there.

She stood at the front of the meeting hall with Zara. The large building had a main room that could hold the entire leap, several smaller meeting rooms, and a commercial kitchen for meals. This meeting wasn't going to be catered, though. Knox was clearly still thinking about that one male's outburst at the enforcer meeting, because he'd been speaking to Calix and the other high ranked males since they'd arrived in the hall.

She turned to Zara. "Tell me what happened with Julius. Knox mentioned it but didn't go into any real detail."

Zara faced her. "About a year ago, Julius was at a bar and met a human female who was a bartender. Her name was Rowen, and they were mates. He went to Knox and asked him to make an exception to the mating rule, but Knox refused. It's been a law since the leap was formed. There have never been any leap members who aren't shifters since the beginning, and Knox wasn't of a mind to make that change for Julius."

"He wouldn't choose exile because he didn't want to lose the leap?"

"Mainly because of his family. He was very close to his parents and they're getting up there in years. If he chose exile, he'd never see them again because they weren't willing to choose exile themselves to stay with him." She looked thoughtful. "I can't say I envied him the choice. He lost something either way. He chose his parents and didn't pursue the female."

"That's not the end of the story, is it?"

Zara shook her head, her pretty blue eyes looking grave. "Rowen died a few weeks later. There was a bar fight and she tried to intervene and caught the wrong end of a blade meant for someone else. When Julius found out she'd died, he went berserk. We watched him for a long time because we were worried he was going to hurt himself out of his grief or hurt someone else." She glanced toward Knox, then back to Ivy.

"I can see how he'd be angry that Knox is willing to change the laws for himself but wouldn't for Julius," Ivy said.

Zara shrugged. "It might be unfair in some ways, but it's just like when someone doesn't care about a charity until the disease strikes their family. It didn't matter to Knox that non-shifters weren't allowed to be leap members until he was faced with choosing exile. Alphas aren't perfect. He enforced the laws as he saw fit, and now he's changing them. I think it's a good change and I think the leap will grow stronger for it."

"Do you have a mate?" Ivy asked.

"No," Zara said. "I haven't met my Mr. Right yet. But someday. And it's good to know that he can be any sort of male, not just a shifter. Do you have any single relatives?"

"I do, actually," she said.

Before she could tell Zara about her brother, the doors to the meeting hall burst open and Julius strode in with several other males and females with him.

"Stay with me," Zara said, putting Ivy just behind her. "This isn't going to be good."

"What is the meaning of this?" Knox demanded with a growl.

"I'm here to challenge you for leadership of the leap," Julius declared.

Knox snorted. "You must be joking. You're mid-ranked and there's no way that you have it in you to fight your way to me."

Calix growled next to him, then said under his breath, "How the hell did he slip the guards?"

It didn't really matter. What mattered was that the male looked like he was spoiling for a fight.

"I didn't say fight," Julius said. He lifted a gun and pointed it at Knox. "You took my mate from me. She died because you're an asshole who wouldn't change the laws."

"I didn't kill her," Knox said. "You could have chosen exile and been with her."

"No. No!" Julius yelled. "She's dead because you wouldn't let me keep her safe in the leap. Now you're going to step down and I'm going to take over."

He angled the gun toward the side where Ivy and Zara stood.

"Don't point that gun at the alpha female," Calix shouted. "This is not the way to handle things, Julius."

"Shut up, Calix. You're such an ass-kisser, always toeing the line and following after Knox like a puppy."

"Enough," Knox said. "You want to fight me, then fight me. Put down the gun and put up your fists."

"I think I'll just kill you," Julius said.

From the edges of the crowd, enforcers moved in silently.

Calix stepped in between Knox and Julius's aim, and Knox turned to his mate.

"Zara, get her to Northernmost immediately and keep her safe there. Don't come back until I call."

"What?" Ivy whisper-shouted. "No! I'm not leaving."

"Zara," Knox said, putting all his authority into his tone.

"On it," Zara said.

As the enforcers reached Knox, a melee broke out as shots were fired into the air, and Knox had just a moment to see Zara and Ivy escape through the back exit.

Unsheathing his claws, he let his fangs out and howled.

No one endangered his mate.

"Zara, come on!" Ivy said, tugging on her arm. Zara had an iron grip on her forearm and was pulling her through the snow. "I don't want to leave Knox."

"Ivy, we have to go! I do what the alpha says."

"Aren't I alpha?"

"Not officially yet. It's not safe, we need to get you back to Northernmost."

"Okay, fine, geez."

Zara stopped pulling on Ivy's arm and plowing them through the woods. She looked over her shoulder and couldn't see the meeting hall anymore. She felt weirdly disconnected from Knox.

"If I were just to run?" she asked.

"I'd chase you and I would win," Zara said. "I'm faster than you, and honestly I want an alpha female in the leap, so I don't want you to get hurt. Knox's worried about your safety and believes Northernmost is the safest place for you. So open the portal and let's go."

Ivy was feeling pretty dang miffed about the whole thing. "Why can't we just go back to the alpha's house?"

"Because there's no telling how many people Julius has on his side, they could be waiting for us. I'm good, Ivy, I can kick ass. But if I'm outnumbered?" She shrugged and let the words hang in the air.

Ivy rolled her eyes. "Way to make me feel guilty that you might get hurt."

"Aw, you care about me."

"Shut up."

Ivy focused on her magic, drawing a portal to her aid. A portal could be opened anywhere by anyone with magic, but all portals to Northernmost only opened to one place: the Entrance. She didn't like opening a portal without letting anyone in security know, but after hearing how worried Zara was, she thought it was best to just get the heck home.

The portal opened slowly, and she was surprised to see another elf standing near the portal.

"Oh, hi, Bruce," she said. "What are you doing?"

"I was waiting for an escort to go to Orlando for some supplies," he said, his brows high. "You?"

"I'm in danger and my bodyguard is being a real coal-head about my safety."

"Coal-head?" Zara asked with a snort.

As the two moved to the Entrance, Ivy felt something stopping her from moving forward.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"What?" Zara asked.

"There's something stopping us. I don't know."

The hairs on the back of her neck rose and she looked over her shoulder in time to see a bright flash of red light.

And then nothing.

Knox wasn't the sort of male who wanted to kill his own people, but Julius was a danger to everyone and had to be put down. Being an alpha wasn't pretty.

As he surveyed the damage to the meeting room, Calix came up to him.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine," he said. He looked down at his bleeding knuckles, knowing his accelerated healing would take care of the damage soon enough. Julius wasn't a strong fighter, but he was running on adrenaline, making him dangerous. Knox had tried to get him to surrender and accept punishment for his behavior, but the male wanted blood.

That want had cost him his life in the end.

Two other males who'd stood by him—cousins on his mother's side—had died in the fight, and the rest had surrendered, knowing they would be punished with exile.

"Such a fucking waste," Knox said, shaking his head. He didn't begrudge the male his anger at the situation. Knox had been an asshole, but he'd been alpha and it was his right to behave that way. Julius had made his choice to stay in the leap and not pursue a relationship with the human; Knox had only asked him to abide by the laws.

That felt sanctimonious as hell, but truth was truth, and he wasn't alpha because he was a nice guy.

He was only a nice guy to Ivy.

Speaking of his beautiful mate…

He left the cleanup to several leap members and headed outside. From his home computer, he could call the security team at Northernmost and let Ivy know he'd be gone for a few more hours. He could also make arrangements for someone to open a portal so he could join her there when things were finished.

"Knox!"

He spun and found Maverick and Chase racing toward him. Chase was carrying someone in his arms as they ran, and Knox's heart leaped into his throat.

But he knew it wasn't Ivy, because she had a bright red coat. Chase was carrying Zara.

Knox grabbed the doors and Chase carried Zara into the meeting hall and one of the smaller rooms that had a couch inside. She was unconscious with burn marks on her and dried blood around her nose and mouth.

"What the hell happened?" Knox demanded. "Where's Ivy?"