Chapter 7
Maddox toed off his shoes and tossed his shirt aside. He undid his jeans and looked at his mate. They hadn’t even spent an entire night together. It seemed wildly unfair that they were pulled from the mating bed to deal with pride business, but it was the way life could sometimes be with the pride. Sugar held the edges of his jacket around herself and returned his gaze. She mouthed kick his ass, and he winked at her. He was proud that his female wasn’t worried he would fail in the fight.
The pride moved to the outer edges of the clearing to give the combatants room. His dad, Jamie, and Paul moved to stand by Maddox’s mom and Sugar. He appreciated their gesture of solidarity. Josef was stripping, a growl rumbling in his chest, as he glared at Maddox.
Chayton said, “This is an alpha dominance battle. Fighting in shift only. When one rival shows submission to the other, the battle is over. Death is off the table.”
Josef snorted in derision, and Maddox actually agreed. It would be easier if he could just kill Josef.
“The battle begins…now!” Anton said.
Maddox reached for his beast that had been riding close to the surface from the moment that he’d left the house with Sugar. It hadn’t felt right to be giving up being alpha. The law was stupid, because Sugar would make a wonderful alpha female. She was strong and sweet, and the females all clearly liked her. But pride laws were important, and no matter how ridiculous he thought the alpha law was, he couldn’t change it. He could, however, ensure that his pride had a good alpha in his place, not a smarmy, rank-chasing male like Josef.
Maddox had trained from a youth to be able to shift fast. It had been a skill that his dad had ensured he would appreciate having if the need arose, and he was grateful for the training. His shift took over swiftly and the lion, out for blood, leaped through the air and landed on a still-shifting Josef. Maddox’s six-hundred-pound body would have crushed him if Josef hadn’t been able to roll away and finish shifting.
Josef wasn’t as large as Maddox in his shift, but he was quick, dodging Maddox’s paw. Josef turned and attacked, and Maddox met him, rising onto his hind legs and sinking his claws into the male’s shoulders, attempting to drive Josef to the ground. Josef twisted out of Maddox’s hold, rolling to the ground and striking at him with his hind legs.
Maddox twisted to avoid the sharp claws and raked his own claws across Josef’s front paws. The claws ripped through the fur on the top of Josef’s paws, gripping deep into the flesh and tugging. Bones popped and cracked as Maddox used his weight to push Josef to the ground. Josef whined and went limp in a posture of defeat. Maddox tugged his claws free and snapped his jaws at the male, daring him to move again. Josef looked pissed but remained on his back.
Taking his eyes off the male for a moment, Maddox looked at Sugar. Her cheeks were wet with tears, but she was smiling. He felt the air move behind him as her eyes widened and she opened her mouth, but Maddox already knew that Josef had gotten up and was going to attack. His heightened senses allowed him to jerk away just as Josef landed next to him, claws sinking into the snow. Josef swiped at Maddox, catching him near his eye and nearly blinding him. The pain was sharp, but Maddox ignored it and rushed at the male, barreling into him head-on. Maddox knocked Josef downward with his paw, causing the male’s head to hit the ground with a loud thud. Maddox grasped the male around the throat, pressing his fangs into Josef’s flesh until he broke through the skin enough to taste blood. Josef went still. Maddox’s lion wanted to kill Josef, but this was an alpha dominance battle, and according to their laws, these battles were not to the death.
When Josef’s growl ceased to rumble in his chest, and his body went limp, Maddox released his hold on his neck and lifted his head, roaring his victory. Now the pride could move forward in choosing another alpha, and they would not suffer under Josef’s reign.
Josef stayed on his back for a long moment and then rolled to his belly.
Chayton said, “Josef, you are hereby banished from this pride for the whole of your life. You have one hour to pack your belongings and leave the pride’s territory. If you return at any time, you forfeit your life.”
Josef let out a disgruntled sound of agreement with his eyes down and his head tipped to the side to show his neck in submission. Maddox sniffed in derision. Josef was a fool. If he’d followed protocol and waited seven days, he might have won the alpha rank during the battles. Instead, his ego had bested him and now he was banished. In the span of a few minutes, he’d lost everything but his life.
Two pride males stepped forward to accompany Josef to his home and to collect his belongings for him since he would be stuck in his shifted form for a few hours. They walked beside the beaten male as he slunk through the pride members and into the woods. Maddox looked at Sugar. She gave him a thumbs-up, and he opened his mouth in what he hoped she recognized as a smile. Leaving his parents, she moved across the clearing to him.
“You’re amazing,” she murmured. She touched the uninjured side of his face. “I’m sorry you’re hurt, but you’re such a fierce fighter. I knew you’d win.”
He licked her wrist and she giggled.
“I have a gorgeous lion mate,” she said, kissing him on the snout. His whiskers twitched in pleasure. His lion was so happy she found his shifted form pleasing that it was all he could do to not prance around like a show horse.
There was a shout of alarm, and Maddox turned toward the noise. Through the ring of pride members, Josef broke through, with his fangs bared and his hackles raised. He was coming straight for Sugar. Maddox pushed her behind him with his shoulder and leaped for Josef, crashing into the male and rolling him to the ground. Maddox knew in that moment that Josef would never give up in his quest to be alpha. Sugar’s life would always be in danger because of him, and Maddox couldn’t allow that.
Both lions snarled, locked together as they rolled into the clearing. Josef raked his claws against Maddox’s belly, but the scratches were not deep, allowing Maddox to ignore the slight sting. Drawing on all his strength, Maddox rolled Josef under him, sank his fangs into his throat, and twisted sharply. The crack of his neck sounded like a rifle.
Maddox released his hold and raised his head to the sky, letting loose a deep and powerful roar that shook the trees and made the icicles fall from their branches and shatter on the snow-packed ground. The female who had agreed to stay with Josef took one look at his twisted body and raced from the clearing. Maddox was glad he didn’t have to deal with her rank-chasing idiocy any longer.
Sugar rushed to him and fell on her knees, wrapping her arms around his neck with a soft sob. “You saved me.”
He rubbed his cheek against her head with a rumbling purr. When he shifted back to his human form, he’d tell her that he would always save her.
The elders approached, and Maddox moved to put himself between his mate and Josef’s dead body.
Anton said to the pride, “The battle is over, and Maddox is victorious.”
The pride cheered, but Maddox only cared that Sugar was safe.
“Without Maddox in his human form,” Chayton said when the noise had quieted, “he’s unable to officially abdicate his position as alpha. We’ll postpone until tomorrow evening at sunset.”
“Why don’t we just not do it?” Jamie said.
Harlan said, “It’s one of our oldest laws.”
“But it doesn’t make sense,” Paul said. “Maybe a hundred years ago it was important that the alpha and his mate were both lions, but right now we’re in the presence of a powerful, mated pair. They were born for each other. How can we say that a law is more important than what they are together?”
Maddox’s dad stepped forward. “We can vote to eradicate the law.”
“Only if every pride member agrees,” Anton said.
“So let’s vote,” Brent, Jamie’s brother, said. “Maddox just killed a usurper and protected his mate. I’m all for him keeping his rank and for Sugar to be our new alpha female.”
Vario and Gregory, who Maddox had thought would want to fight for alpha, stepped forward and joined Brent, Jamie, Paul, and Maddox’s dad.
“Maddox is a great alpha,” Vario said.
“I’m casting my vote for yes,” Gregory said.
Anton said, “True isn’t here to cast his vote.”
Maddox’s dad said, “I’ll be his proxy. He would vote yes for his brother to remain alpha.”
Harlan called for silence, and the pride quieted. “Alpha Maddox, do you wish to remain alpha with your mate, Sugar?”
“You’re his voice right now,” Maddox’s mom said, looking at Sugar.
Sugar said, “Oh, right!” She rose to her feet and looked down at Maddox. He purred. “Maddox says yes, and so do I.”
He butted his head gently against her hip, and she scratched his head with a chuckle.
Harlan said, “Then let those who would have Maddox remain alpha show their agreement by saying ‘aye.’”
Sugar added her voice to the pride when they shouted aye.
“Those in disagreement, please say ‘nay,’ now,” Harlan said.
The clearing went entirely still, as if time itself were holding its breath to see if someone would say that Maddox and Sugar shouldn’t be alphas. After what felt like an eternity, Harlan looked at Anton and Chayton, and they all nodded.
Harlan said, “The law is so stricken from the record. Maddox remains alpha, presiding over the pride with his mate, Sugar, by his side.”
Anton said, “Long live the alphas!”
The pride cheered, roaring and shouting their excitement. Sugar hugged Maddox and kissed his snout. “Wow. Now that’s a great way to start off our mating.”
His parents joined them, and his mom hugged Sugar. “Let me introduce you to the pride while your mate is unable to talk. I’ll tell you all about his bad habits, too.”
Maddox yowled at his mom, and Sugar looked over her shoulder at him and winked. “I promise to only believe the good stuff.”
He looked up at the sky and at the sparkling stars. It was technically Christmas Day. So much had changed in his life in a short period of time. From bachelor to mated male in the span of moments. He wished he’d met Sugar years ago, but he made a vow that he’d be the best mate. No female would ever be as loved as her, and no male would ever be as lucky as him.