Page 19 of China

“I wouldn’t think so. I mean, at the very least I got him out of the way so an alpha battle can take place.”

“If killing him would make someone the interim alpha, why didn’t someone just take him out? Like you did.”

“Because I killed him to save your life, which is an extenuating circumstance. He was trying to kill an innocent and wouldn’t stand down when I told him you were my mate. Our laws are pretty clear—a mate can be defended to the death, and even an alpha isn’t immune against retribution for harming, or attempting to harm, a mate.”

“So it’s okay that you killed him because you saved my life, but if one of the other guys decided to take him out because he was an asshole, then he wouldn’t be interim alpha?”

“Right. If that happened, the one who killed the alpha would be exiled and the elders would take over until an alpha battle was arranged. You can’t profit personally from killing the alpha for no reason. There’s not too many ways to legally take out an alpha without also being exiled yourself.”

He parked in a dirt area next to the house. There were males milling around outside. China exhaled as she undid the seatbelt and then opened the door. She hopped down with a grunt, thinking it would be nice to have another step or two to help her get out of the high truck.

“I should get you a step ladder,” Oz said as he came over to her side.

“I was just thinking the same thing.” She gave him a smile and he returned it.

She took his hand and they walked up the stone steps of the wide front porch. The front doors were open, and she could see more males standing around inside the grand foyer. Angel was waiting on the porch and greeted them, then followed them inside.

“Nice to see you,” a tall male with graying-blond hair said as he came over to them. He shook Oz’s hand and then China’s. “I’m Vince, one of the elders.”

“This is my mate, China,” Oz said. “Let’s meet in the office.”

“Of course,” Vince said.

Oz led the way to a big formal-looking office with a huge desk and leather chair in one corner and a large oval table surrounded by chairs in the center. The walls were dark wood, and the floor was some kind of gray stone. A chandelier hung over the table and appeared to be made of real deer antlers.

Oz pulled out a chair next to the head of the table for China, then took the chair at the head. One by one, the other three elders came over to introduce themselves to China, followed by the rest of the males. When the table was full, the others stood toward the end so they were facing Oz.

“Everyone’s been briefed on what occurred last night between me and Benecio?” Oz asked when the room was quiet.

“Yes,” Vince said. “I’m certain you wish to get back to your new mate, so we’ll get straight to the point: you’re the interim alpha, which means until the full moon battle, you’re our leader. You need to move into the mansion.”

“I’m not going to do that,” Oz said. “I have zero desire to move for one week.”

Tiberius, one of the elders, said, “But you’re going to battle for alpha. You could win.”

China glanced down the table and saw the looks of disbelief on some of the males’ faces. She didn’t appreciate anyone thinking her mate was less-than. He was badass and had taken out a dangerous male.

“I’m not interested in battling for alpha,” Oz said. “I’ll lead in interim this week, but I’m not intending to upend my life for a position I’m not going to fight for.”

“What do you mean?” Voll, one of the males, demanded.

Oz stared at the male for a long moment, and then said, “I mean that I’m going to step down from the battle. I will lead as I said, but only until the full moon. Before the battle begins, I will claim right of no-contest.”

China didn’t know what right of no-contest meant, but she could guess he was claiming a law related to the alpha battle wherein the interim alpha could step down without fighting.

“That law does not apply,” Drager, one of the high ranked males, said, his voice a barely contained growl.

“It most certainly does,” Oz said. “I know the laws. I killed Benecio to save my mate’s life. Since I didn’t kill him during a sanctioned alpha battle, it is well within my rights to—”

The males started arguing. China was surprised, since Oz was so confident in his knowledge of the laws.

A male named Tolis slammed his palm on the table and everyone went quiet. “This is different, and you know it is. There’s no way that the pride will accept an alpha battle if you aren’t participating. You can quote laws all day long, but you know as well as I do that what you did was along the lines of a heroic act, and the pride will want you in the battle.”

China’s heart seized in her chest. Seriously?

Oz growled softly, giving her hand a squeeze. He sighed. “You’re right. But I’m not willing to fight for real. I don’t want to be alpha and I’m not going to hurt anyone to get a position I don’t want in the first place.”

“You can defend your position,” Mark, an elder, said, “but you have to honestly fight. You can’t just phone it in. Throw a few punches and then concede to one of the contenders and you’ll be done.”

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