The woman would be his downfall.
Anton snuck a quick glance at Nyx. Although he walked at a brisk pace, not shortening his strides for her as he’d done before, she kept pace with him. Well, she jogged. If the scowl on her face was any indication, she wasn’t happy about it. Or maybe her annoyed expression stemmed from the scene back at the library. His irritation certainly did.
His reaction to Tsar, the head librarian, offering Nyx a job had been childish. His territorial claim on Nyx he’d made in front of the councilmen outside the library had been worse. He hadn’t been able to stop either primitive response.
Cracking his jaw, Anton quickened his pace. He needed the privacy of his tower to regain control and think. His instincts had to be reined in before someone suspected Nyx’s true value to him. If he was lucky, his fellow councilmen would attribute the possessiveness to his normal behavior. He did vehemently protect what belonged to him, and Nyx was his secretary. Considering he couldn’t keep any help for long, his behavior was plausible. He hoped.
Nyx grabbed his arm. “Slow down.”
He didn’t want to. He wanted to get as far from Nyx as he could. She unhinged him. A thousand years of discipline down the drain. At the first hint of losing Nyx, he’d transformed into a male driven by his animalistic urges. How would he ever be able to let her go?
Or watch her die as old age claimed her body? Single shifters might live a few hundred years, but eventually, they died. When Nyx did, he’d be alone.
“Anton.” She tugged hard on his sleeve. “Slow down.”
Her tight grip pulled the collar of his shirt partially down his shoulder. She wasn’t letting go. If he kept walking, he’d drag her along with him. She’d fall.
He stopped and faced her. “Can’t you keep up?”
A feminine sound of frustration accompanied her shove to his chest. “I’m in high heels. They are not made for jogging. My feet are killing me.”
The black heeled boots she wore belonged in a porn video. The knee-length skirt and jacket did not. They fit the image of a modest woman. Together, the boots and clothes lent Nyx a sexy, sophisticated aura. The confident air matched her perfectly. Still, he couldn’t help but wonder how a short miniskirt and halter top would look with those boots. Better yet if she paired them with lingerie.
Swallowing hard, he forced his gaze from the boots that hugged her calves as if molded to her body and met her eyes. “Then walk at your own pace. I’m confident you can find your way back to the house.”
“Why are you running away from me?”
“I’m not…” He couldn’t lie to his true mate. The moment he joined their souls—if he joined their souls—she’d have access to his memories. If she focused on this one moment in time, she’d know he’d wanted to get away from her.
Her warm brown eyes cooled, then narrowed. “You are too running.”
“Not running. I’m walking briskly. I have things to do.” Technically, true.
“So do I.” Nyx crossed her arms over her chest. “And you’re preventing me from doing them.”
“I’m preventing you?” Anton laughed, surprising himself. He’d been irritated seconds ago. “How do you figure?”
“I have to apologize to you. I can’t do that if you keep run…” Nyx closed her eyes on a deep breath as if she was counting to ten. “I can’t do that if you’re walking briskly away from me.”
“Apologize to me? For what?”
Nyx peeked at him through cracked eyelids. He got the impression she was judging him. Or trying to understand him. “For putting you on the spot.”
“About?”
“You never officially hired me, yet I acted offended that you’d dare not want me. That wasn’t right. I put you on the spot. In front of other councilmen.” Nyx studied his face. “That’s why you said the things you did, right? About Boris surrendering his role as my guardian and you taking his place. It was an act. Boris wouldn’t just relinquish control over me. I’m the only Mercer female. I’m important to him.”
“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.
And 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.
Regret surfaced. 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.