Page 26 of Rescued By Her Guardian

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 anyleap 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.

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