“You’re right. He won’t relinquish control over your future, but he did say he no longer wants responsibility for your safety. You’d have to secure your own if you don’t want the mate he chose for you.”
“Protect me? Boris never protected me. He ordered me never to leave our property. A good security system would do the same.”
“That’s why you need a job on Council grounds. Only.” Anton corrected Nyx.
“What are you talking about?”
Anton rubbed his finger over Nyx’s downturned brows. “This campus is heavily guarded. This is the only place you would be safe from your chosen mate.”
“Safe?” Nyx laughed. “He wouldn’t hurt me.”
“Unwilling arranged matings are no longer allowed. My interpretation of the law ensures Boris must respect your decision to refuse the male he picked. It doesn’t mean your chosen mate has to abide by your choice. Knowing this, Boris asked me to consider hiring you.” Anton’s voice hardened. “My stance on forcing females into matings is no secret.”
“People know what your father did to your mother?” She looked at him as if he’d betrayed her.
“No. They don’t. As I said, my track record is clear on this issue.”
Keeping his rage in check grew harder the longer he spoke. He hated the loophole that allowed males to avoid punishment for forcing a woman into a lifetime bond. No matter how many ways he argued against it, primal law overruled him. For now. Come next month, that would change with or without the lost first Alexander’s book outlining their women’s rights. As eldest councilman, he’d simply make a new law that trumped the previous one. Then make sure it passed, one way or another. The signature of the eldest councilman trumped everyone’s.
“Boris thinks he’d…he’d…” Nyx took a step back. “Boris thinks Harvey would mate me against my will. Is that what you’re telling me?”
Anton filed the name away. He didn’t know any single jaguar shifters with that name, but soon he’d learn everything about the male who’d almost stolen Anton’s true mate.
“Yes. That’s exactly what Boris suspects. Forced matings are a reality all unmated, mature females face. And since Boris no longer lives at your childhood home, he can’t guarantee you’d be safe there. The Council grounds are heavily guarded, though. I agree with him. Here, you’re safe.” Anton motioned to the woods. “Guards patrol the fence line. Plus, all visitors must register before being allowed on the campus.”
“Violent things still happen here.” Nyx twisted her fingers together. “I heard about Brock Kane.”
“Brock didn’t die on campus. The murder of a councilman on campus grounds is illegal.” Anton glanced at her. “And while your safety isn’t guaranteed on these grounds as you’re not a member of the Council, you can still benefit from the additional security living here offers.”
“And killing a councilman off campus isn’t illegal. That’s why Council members rarely leave these grounds, right?” Nyx spoke as if she knew the details of the councilmen’s Code of Conduct. It wouldn’t be all that surprising if she did. Her uncle was a councilman.
“It’s one reason. Not the only one.” Taking a vacation was selfish. Too many cases sat open waiting for a Council member to address their species’ needs.
Nyx tilted her head as if judging him. “Brock died in a fight, right? That’s what I heard, anyway.”
“Brock didn’t die in a simple fight.” Anton flexed his free hand, cracking his knuckles. Rage gripped him as completely as it had the day he’d learned of Brock’s death. Anton might not have agreed with Brock on many things, but the ancient male didn’t deserve what happened to him. “Brock was betrayed. Assassinated. Targeted by a bunch of cowardly males who ganged up on an ancient male.”
Nyx’s inquisitive gaze mapped his face. “Rumor also has it Brock’s assassination was planned by another Council member.”
Anton had heard the same rumor. He believed it too. Once he learned who’d ordered Brock’s death, Anton would be able to eliminate another betrayer to the Council. Hopefully, the last one. “It wouldn’t surprise me. There have been a number of members who chose to betray their vow to the Council in recent years. They’ve been removed from service.”
“Do you think it could’ve been one of them? I’d imagine they’d be bitter after losing their title and being kicked off Council grounds.”
Anton tipped his head and studied Nyx as she had done to him moments ago. “A Council member signs on for life. Death is the only way off the Council.”
The creases in Nyx’s forehead deepened. “But I’ve read articles where Council members have been put on trial for things like assault, shifter trafficking, and even theft.”
“Yes.” Anton nodded slowly. “Any councilman accused of a crime is given the opportunity to prove himself not guilty, but if convicted, he dies. There is no other sentence.”
“Dies.” The color drained from Nyx’s face. Her chest rose and fell as if she’d run a marathon. “I thought they’d be banned or sent to prison. I mean, I guess I thought a death sentence would be reserved for something horrendous like serial killers or something. That’s what humans do. I’ve studied human law. Boris had many books on the humans’ judicial system in the library at our house. Case studies. History books. He even had some nonfiction ones detailing true crimes. They were fascinating. And fair. Humans don’t just kill anyone guilty of a crime. And…and I thought the Council signed an agreement with the humans to abide by their laws. How can the Council just kill their own members? Wouldn’t that be a violation of the agreement the Council signed? That’s not right.”
Nyx was rambling. He could taste her fear on his tongue.
Anton carefully approached her and stroked his free hand down her arm, settling his fingers over her cold ones. “We agreed to follow human law in the presence of humans. We never agreed to change our interpretation of the laws the founding shifters wrote or the ones the Council devised in the absence of the first shifters’ guidance.”
“Laws that would allow Harvey to force me into a mating if he got his hands on me.”
“You didn’t know that was a possibility, did you?”
Nyx glanced down. “No, I did. Sort of. Boris explained it was too dangerous for me to leave our family’s property. He even explained why. I just didn’t realize it was…legal. We have some shifter law books in our library at home. Not all. I don’t know everything. How could I? Boris never let me leave our property.”
Anton wanted to promise her forcing a female into a mating wouldn’t be legal for long. He couldn’t. While many members of the Council suspected he’d give their women equal rights, Anton didn’t need to confirm those plans.
Dammit, if Bianca hadn’t betrayed him, he wouldn’t have to worry about passing a new law. He’d be able to point to the first Alexander’s book and say this is how our women must be treated. Anton couldn’t do that, though. Bianca had sold the book, then disappeared.
Obsessing over the fact he’d been betrayed wouldn’t help. Focusing on the path lying ahead of him would guide him. He’d have to convince the Council to pass a new law. If that failed, he’d overrule them. Molly was counting on him. She’d never be allowed to remain a pride leader otherwise.
He moved his hand to Nyx’s lower back and urged her to walk with him. “When we get back to the house, I’ll call the security guards and ask them to alert me before allowing your chosen mate on these grounds. Though I suspect Boris has probably already placed Harvey on the banned list.”
Nyx nodded and fell into step with him. This time, their strides matched, and Nyx’s skirt brushed against his leg. “I honestly don’t fear Harvey. Neither does my jaguar. If he tried to force us, we’d stop him. Of that I have no doubt.”
He wanted to ask why she didn’t fear him. The sound of breaking twigs stopped him. Another shifter was near. Probably enjoying a run in the woods.
Anton dropped his hand and eased away from Nyx. He couldn’t tell who’d decided
to enter the area near his house. There were many scents lingering on the breeze, but it didn’t much matter who was close. Nobody could see him touching Nyx.
He straightened his spine. “I’m assuming you’ll be staying on as my secretary.”
Nyx glanced at him before quickly looking away. “Since you made it clear to the librarian I won’t be working there, I had assumed the same.”
The tension in Anton’s muscles eased. He hadn’t expected to experience the anxiety over her answer. “Good. Take the afternoon off and unpack. I have some private calls to make. Over dinner, we can discuss my plans for you.”
Nyx stiffened and pointed toward his house, visible between the trees in front of them. “Didn’t we shut the door before we left?”
Anton turned his attention to the front door. At first glance, it gave the appearance of being shut, but it wasn’t. The latch hadn’t caught. He too remembered pulling it closed.
He held an arm out, stopping Nyx from moving closer, then mouthed wait before surveying the house and grounds around it.
Something about the open door bothered him. As if whoever had entered hadn’t wanted Anton to know they were in the house. Each time the door closed, the camera in the foyer turned on. The angle captured the visitor’s features and recorded the time of entry. If the door didn’t close, the camera didn’t turn on. The feature was standard in all councilmen’s homes.
Dammit, he should’ve installed a second camera to record continuously.
A small tug to his sleeve drew his gaze to Nyx. Her widened eyes held fear. “Harvey’s here. I smell him.”
A haze slipped over his vision, stealing colors and reducing the world to the sharpened gray his cats experienced when they controlled his body. Tiny golden hairs pushed through his skin. Anton fought the lion, but he had no hope of stopping it. Primal law ruled him.
His lion’s victorious roar echoed in his head. Its huge clawed paw raked across the barrier between their souls, shattering it with one swipe. The snarls of his jaguar and tiger added to his lion’s demands for blood. They wanted out. Now. It couldn’t happen with Nyx next to him. He wasn’t in complete control when his cats took over.
On a growl, he dropped the notebook and ran forward. His back hunched and shoulders widened, splitting his shirt. His thicker thighs ripped his pants. Furred, deformed claws replaced his hands. Feline fangs filled his mouth. Most importantly, the power of three dominant predators flooded him as the half-man, half-beast form he embraced during his famous fits of rage claimed him.
There’d be only one outcome to this. He’d walk away with blood on his hands.
Chapter 9
A blast of energy washed over Nyx. She’d thought she’d understood what it meant for a shifter to be considered powerful. The sight of Anton in his werecat form obliterated her definition. He became the standard she’d compare all men against. No one would ever take the bar from him. She knew it in her soul.
The moment he slipped through the front door, the energy dancing over her skin faded. Goose bumps covered her arms. Her teeth chattered. Fear, or the loss of Anton’s presence? Nyx couldn’t tell. Nor did it matter. She had to act. If she didn’t, Harvey would get his ass handed to him. His injured self-esteem would turn him into even more of an asshole.
Nyx grabbed the notebook Anton had dropped, then ran. She bumped her shoulder into the door. It banged against the wall with an ominous thump. No sounds of fighting greeted her. Maybe the sight of Anton as half man, half beast stopped Harvey from causing a scene, leaving him as speechless and frozen in place as she’d been.
She stepped inside and set the notebook on her suitcases. None of her things appeared disturbed, but Harvey had definitely been here. His scent lingered in the open foyer.
Inhaling, she stepped forward and let his smell guide her. The farther she walked, the more her pulse sped. He’d gone directly to the service corridors where she’d spent the night. There was no denying it. He’d come for her.
Why? Because she hadn’t gone to him the night she matured as she was supposed to?
Her butler had driven her from their home in upstate California to this secluded section of Ohio. It had taken them days to make the trip. She’d never had more fun in her life, eating at human restaurants and seeing the world beyond their family’s private land.
The tone of the messages Harvey had left on her phone over the week had grown darker. He’d promised to punish her for disgracing him. She’d rolled her eyes with each threatening text. He was too pathetic to be worried about.
Besides, Boris had promised her she’d never have to mate anyone. Which was true. Sort of. Boris couldn’t force her to mate anyone. It was against the law. But he could arrange for Harvey to get his hands on her. And if Harvey got her alone…
No! Nyx wouldn’t think about that fate. This was some sort of controlling stunt. Somehow, Boris must’ve guessed how her feelings toward Anton confused her. Boris wanted to make sure she followed through with their plan—Anton off the Council and her in his spot.
A game. That was all this was. Harvey hadn’t actually meant to hurt her. He likely wanted to yell at her for not following through with their mating plans. He’d make a scene. She’d throw him out. It’d be over.
Nyx rushed down the hall. The first whiff of blood reached her. Her heart raced. Not a game. This was not a game.
She ran faster. The door at the end of the hall—her room—stood open. Anton’s back blocked the view to the space beyond. Tattered clothes hung from his normal human form. Blood dripped from his human fingers.
She stopped and braced her body with a hand planted against the wall. Her mind supplied her with the other details she didn’t want to see but couldn’t deny. A black-and-amber tail was visible near Anton’s feet. It didn’t move.
No sign of blood, but she smelled it. A lot of it. Something rancid tainted the scent of blood. She couldn’t place the smell. Her jaguar understood its significance, however. Death hung in the air.
“Stay back, Nyx.”
Barely decipherable, Anton’s growled voice demanded obedience. Nyx felt the strength of his command in his tone. It skipped over her skin as if his voice had a physical force. She stepped forward anyway. Anger drove her.
“You killed him.”
Anton glanced over his shoulder. “As was my right.”
Nyx focused on the unmoving tail by Anton’s feet. “He didn’t do anything to deserve death.”
“He was trespassing. Only my constituents are allowed on my property. This male isn’t one of mine.” Anton crouched and picked up something from the floor. She couldn’t see what. His back blocked her view. “And he meant to hurt a female under my protection. I was completely within my right to end his life.”
“Hurt me?” Muscles tensed, Nyx curled her hands. “That’s ridiculous. Even if Harvey got his hands on me, he’d be focused on sex.”
“And you’d allow the sex?”
The deep growl to Anton’s voice made him sound as if he was personally enraged by the possibility. She snorted. Killing a man had fed Anton’s primitive side, turning him into a beast. She should be running for her life. Too bad she couldn’t work up the fear to do so.
“No. Harvey couldn’t have overpowered me. I might be smaller than most shifter females, but I’m quick. And feisty.” That was what Boris had always said, anyway.
“I’d say Harvey knew that too. He’d prepared for it.”
“What are you talking about? Harvey was—”
“Prepared to force you into a mating.” Closing the door behind him, Anton faced her. Between his bloody fingers, he held a C-shaped piece of metal. “He would’ve succeeded too.”
She studied the shiny silver metal. Too big for a bracelet and too small for a belt. She’d never seen anything like it. “What is that?”
Anton approached her. Gaze focused on the metal object he held, Nyx backed up until the wall stopped her retreat. She didn’t want that thing he held anywhere near her. It sca
red her. She couldn’t explain why. There was nowhere to go, though. Her only other option was running.
The predatory look in Anton’s eyes overcame the instinctual urge to flee. He’d chase her. She locked her knees as he closed the distance between them. Other than the blood on his hands, she saw no other sign of a fight. Likely there hadn’t been one. She’d witnessed how fast Anton could move in his werecat form. Harvey hadn’t stood a chance.
Nyx pressed her back into the wall as Anton stepped in front of her, crowding her. The scent of blood clung to him. Her stomach flipped. Her heart beat faster.
Anton held the open circle in front of her face. “Do you know what this is?”
From this distance, the clasps on the ends were visible. “No, not exactly. It looks like it forms a circle.”
With a loud snap, Anton locked the ends together. Dozens of metal prongs emerged from the previously smooth interior of the circle. Anton eased the metal circlet away from her face as clear liquid oozed from the tips of the prongs.
“Do you know what this is?” Anton repeated in a dangerously low voice.
She swallowed past her tight throat. “No.”
“Kick off your shoes, Nyx.”
“What?” No doubt her expression matched the confusion in her voice.
“Do it now.”
Without bending, she kicked off her shoes. Anton crouched, never taking his gaze off her, and snagged them.
“Hold your shoes by the heels and press the soles against the metal prongs.” He handed her shoes to her but didn’t release them. “But keep your fingers out of the ring, Nyx.”
The seriousness in Anton’s tone stopped her from questioning him. Her hands shook, but she did as he commanded and gently pressed the soles of her expensive shoes to the prongs. Nothing happened.
“Now push the soles against the points.”
Forbidden Mate_Shifter World Page 8
