Page 17 of Mercy

He nodded. “There are two ways to challenge for rank: for a male to fight his way up from omega status to picking a particular male and fighting him for his place. Generally, what will happen is a new omega will want to get out of that status as soon as possible, so he’ll choose a few spaces up the ranks and request to fight for that position. The alpha can agree or decline. If he agrees, then the two will battle it out and the winner takes the rank. If it’s the same male, he keeps his position and the other male goes back to his former rank. In the case where the new lion wins, the former lion gets bumped down a rank. So say he’s fourteenth, he’ll get bumped to fifteenth.”

She breathed out in thought. “I guess it’s kind of like a job. You come in on the bottom and work your way up by applying for better jobs.”

“Yeah, except humans don’t have to physically fight.”

“Good point.”

“There are twenty-four males ranked in the pride. I’m tenth. It never mattered to me what my rank was, but there are males who care very much.”

“Why?”

“Status, I guess. I think if you’re not alpha then it doesn’t really matter. But there are females who only care about high-ranked males, which we’d consider to be the top five.”

“Like Madison who was supposed to mate Duke before he and Ree got together?” Mercy had thought the lioness’s behavior was ridiculous. She only wanted to be with Duke so she could be alpha female. It hadn’t mattered to her that Duke and Ree were a couple, and she’d been willing to bring war against the Kedrick pride in order to claim the position.

“Exactly.”

“It’s weird, though, isn’t it? I mean, the alpha female doesn’t have any power, right? The females aren’t ranked.”

“She has authority through her mate. So it would be a position of importance, but you’re right – there isn’t any real power to the alpha female position.”

She hummed in thought. “Do you think there are shifter groups that are matriarchal?”

“I’ve never heard of any, but I’m sure there are some.”

He parked in the designated spot in front of the apartment complex. As they walked up the stairs and into the apartment, she said, “Thanks for talking to me about the pride stuff.”

“They’re your people now,” he said, setting his bag on the floor in the bedroom closet. “It’s important to me that you know as much as possible about the pride and my kind, so I want you to ask me anything and everything.”

“Good. I just have one more question.”

“Yeah?”

“Can you take me to bed now?”

His answer was a happy growl.

ChapterSeven

Monday night, Barron left Mercy in the apartment and headed for work. He dreaded the long night without her, but it wasn’t as if he could just have her hanging out in the bar during his shift. He wouldn’t be able to concentrate on anything but her, and therefore he wouldn’t be doing his job to the best of his abilities.

He parked his motorcycle in the employee lot behind the bar and set his helmet on the seat with a sigh. He grimaced at the way his lion was pacing and agitated.

“You good?” a deep voice asked from behind him.

He glanced over his shoulder and saw Mayhem carrying a trash bag toward the dumpster.

“Hey, Hemi. Yeah, I’m good. Just pissed I guess.”

“Who we killing?” The male opened the dumpster and tossed the bag in, letting the lid clang shut.

Barron chuckled and climbed off his bike. “No one, I’m just irritated because I had to come to work and leave Mercy at home.”

“Right, right, your heart-match. I wanted to say congrats to you, but I didn’t get a chance before everyone shifted to hunt. So congrats.”

“Thanks.” He met the male at the back door. “My cat doesn’t like leaving her.”

Hemi grasped the handle and opened the door, following Barron inside. “She could work here. I heard Duke and Titus talking earlier about putting out feelers for waitresses and bartenders.”

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