Page 18 of Rescued By Her Guardian

She peered up at him from where she was nestled in his arms. “Okay.”

He inhaled and then said, “I’m alpha of the snow leopard leap.”

“I didn’t have mate an alpha on my bingo card,” she said.

He chuckled. “You’re adorable.” He kissed her nose.

“Why didn’t you tell me right away? And don’t say you got distracted by me, either.”

“I won’t, even though I did. But I let myself get distracted because I’m still processing everything. It’s not a big deal per se, there are shifters who mate humans and other supernaturals like elves and witches all the time. But the problem is that in my leap, the laws state that only shifters can belong in the leap. If a member chooses to mate a magical person or human, they have to choose exile.”

“Exile sounds bad.”

“It’s not great. It means they’re treated as if they’re dead by their family and friends. Or they could always choose to not mate their non-shifter mate and stay in the leap.”

“Has that happened?”

“It did, a year ago, to a male in my leap. She was human.”

He seemed to lose himself in his thoughts, so she let him have the silence. She couldn’t believe that her mate was an alpha. But, of course, he was. He had a natural air of authority that was more than just being a Guardian. She didn’t care that he was alpha, but she didn’t want him to lose his friends and people just because she wasn’t a shifter.

“What are your possible next steps?” she asked. She turned in his arms and faced him, leaning against the couch and capturing both his hands with hers. She couldn’t stop touchinghim. It was like her whole being was tuned to him, her skin humming with his nearness.

He gave her hands a squeeze. “We’re mates, so that’s not changing. I certainly wouldn’t walk away from you for anything. So the remaining choice is to choose exile and leave the leap.”

He stopped talking, his gaze drifting to the side and not holding hers.

“Or?” she prompted after a long moment of silence.

“Or I change the laws.”

“You can do that?”

“I’m the alpha.”

“Sure, but aren’t laws immutable?” There were laws that couldn’t be changed for elves and magical beings, surely there were some for shifters as well.

“Not with shifters. Or at least not with leopards. The alpha is the be-all, end-all of laws. I can change what I want as it pleases me, and if people don’t like it, they can leave.”

“Couldn’t they overthrow you?”

A low snarl rippled from his chest and his upper lip curled. “They could try.”

“Well, for stocking’s sake, Knox, I don’t want someone to try to take you out because we’re mates.”

The snarl ebbed and he sighed, letting go of her hands and rubbing his eyes with the heels of his palms. “No one will come after me. The ranking system for my people means that if someone did want to take me out of power, they would have to fight their way up from their position, and someone might be able to take one or two males out, but not enough to get to me.” He dropped his hands and leaned close. She could pick up his scent and it wrapped around her. “I’m of a mind to keep you with me for the next eighty or so years, Ivy. So the laws will change, and you’ll be my alpha female.”

“Eighty years, is that all?” she asked with a laugh.

He nodded. “The question is, sweetheart, whether you’re okay with living in Kentucky or if you need me to step down from my position, choose exile, and join you here.”

Oh tinsel.

Knox could tell that he’d caught Ivy off guard. The truth was, part of why he was still mulling things over is because he didn’t know if she was okay living outside of Northernmost. Her family was here. He could take a permanent position with the Guardians and leave the leap to his fully capable second-in-command. It would suck that he’d be treated as dead to the people he’d grown up with, and he’d also have to deal with the Maverick and Chase since they worked up here too.

Any way you sliced the cake, someone was getting shafted.

He’d take that knife, though, so that Ivy could have her family with her.

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