“What do you mean you found Raj and Zeke? You said earlier you had nothing to report.” Being back in the elven realm was testing every one of Cathair’s last nerves. Angry at himself for believing he lived in a land of milk and sunshine when doggie doo-doo and stink bombs were a more apt description, Cathair knew Valouf lying to him would be the very last straw.

“We didn’t find them on the underworld,” Valouf said. “Truth be told we didn’t look very hard, although we went as ordered. Any mad man would know two elves wouldn’t retreat to a realm where they could end up in stasis for ordering a cup of coffee.”

“Where did you find them?” Marius asked. He didn’t seem to have a problem with Valouf being in his quarters; something Cathair was grateful for. Cathair was struggling as it was; trying to get the picture of his father physically fighting out of his head. Was the influence of the dark elves that far reaching already? Had it already infected the elven realm?

“They were in the Sanitarium, looking no healthier than Tansin did the last time I saw his body.”

“Did the caregivers give you any indication how long they’d been there? Where were they found?”

“They just appeared.” Valouf spread his hands in the “what can you do” gesture. “No one has any idea where they’ve been since they sparred with your mate; no one will admit to being friends with them or knowing how they got in that state. Cat, I have to tell you, this whole business is freaking me the fuck out. What the hell did your father do to piss off the seers? Surely they have the answers.”

“The seers suggested it was time for Gofan to retire from the council. The Head Elder didn’t agree.”

“Well, fuck. Where does that leave me and my men?” Valouf’s voice rose and Marius growled warningly. “Look, it’s all right for you. You’ve got a mate and a home to go to. Without you here, there’s nothing to stop the council from pulling a stunt like they did this morning. My whole team could’ve ended up in stasis today.”

Cathair noticed Valouf didn’t mention the danger to himself, but then Valouf had always been like that; putting the needs of others first. All at once he was struck with how difficult the whole business with Tansin had been on his friend. Valouf’s loyal heart must have ached while his mind tried to fathom out what to do.

“I won’t disband the military, even though it is within my power to do so,” Cathair said slowly. “The men, barring a few exceptions, deserve the honor and privilege that comes with their positions.”

“It’s a shame you can’t disband your council,” Marius said, licking his lips that were edged with coffee foam. All at once, Cathair wanted to be the one doing the licking, but it was hardly the time or place. “Surely, your seers could recommend others who’d do a better job than the idiots I saw in the council chambers today.”

“Disband the council?” Cathair looked at Valouf as Marius’s words trickled through his lust. “Is that even possible?”

“Only if you’re prepared to rule the realm yourself,” Valouf admitted after a moment’s thought. “And you can’t do that from Cloverleah.”

“I don’t see why not.” Marius smiled as he put down his coffee mug. “See, the problem with you elven folk is that you set too much store in rules and protocols that were contrived by your own people. You need to get out more. Well, maybe not at the moment with the threat of the dark elves hanging over our head, but honestly haven’t you heard of delegation?”

“I don’t understand what you mean,” Cathair said. “Our ruling families have had a council run by the strongest families since the beginning of time.”

“And how’s that working out for you? Cloverleah isn’t just about different species coming together in mating bonds.” Leaning forward, Marius held up his hands, ticking things off. “Shawn is a shifter guardian – the strongest magical shifter with links to the Fates and only one in the US; Diablo is the cat shifter king. Jax is ruler of the Western realm in the fae world and his mates, Aelfric and Fafnir are Sidhe princes. Vadim is one of the oldest and most powerful vampires in existence and ruler of the Atlanta coven. Vassago is king of the djinn; Nereus is the son of Poseidon, ruler of the waves…need I go on? All of these men have responsibilities in accordance with their position, but they all live in Cloverleah. Hells teeth, Poseidon lives in Tulsa with his mate’s pack less than an hour’s drive from our pack.”

“If we did disband the council, we’d have to stage a military coup,” Valouf leaned forward and Cathair was surprised to see he was excited about the idea. “But how could we get the High Elder and the council members to back down? It’s not as though we could put them in jail. We don’t have one because anyone could just zap themselves out of it.”

“What do you do with your criminals? Not that I’m suggesting your father’s a criminal, my mate, but surely not everyone here is clean and law-abiding.”

“I’d have charged him as a criminal if anything happened to Valouf and his team in the Underworld this morning,” Cathair said grimly, thinking hard. “Criminals are fitted with a binding cuff. It stops them from using magic and they are usually placed under house arrest. The thing is, you guys all came back in one piece; something I’m grateful for. But I can’t charge the council with any crime.”

“Hasn’t anyone ever challenged the High Elder and the council for their positions because they are stronger and more fit to lead?” Marius shook his head. “Life would be so much easier if you have that option. Shifter groups do it all the time.”

“Valouf?” Cathair arched an eyebrow at his friend. Crossing his legs, Valouf narrowed his eyes, tapping his teeth as he thought about it.

“There’s a rarely used unstable clause,” he said finally, clicking his fingers. A giant red book appeared on the coffee table between them and Cathair recognized it as the Elven Protocols and Procedures book. It outlined everything from record keeping, use of magic in certain areas of the realm, the military requirements and the responsibilities of council members. Always preferring to fight than study, Cathair hated the hours he’d spent trying to learn all the mumbo jumbo the book contained.

Valouf, though, seemed perfectly happy flicking through its pages. Muttering to himself, he jumped from section to section; reading a passage here and there, before going to another page. Seeing his friend was so engrossed, Cathair dropped an arm over his mate and pulled him closer.

“If I became High Elder, that would make you the first lady,” he teased in Marius’s ear.

“If you become High Elder, your first order of business would be to change my designation,” Marius laughed. “Hasn’t this realm ever had a male-male pair running the place before?”

“My great-grandfather maybe?” Cathair shrugged. “I’m not sure. I would be the first High Elder without an heir, which isn’t allowed under our laws.”

“Who knows? Maybe one day you will have one.” Marius tilted his face, searching for a kiss.

“I will never lay with anyone but you, my mate,” Cathair growled as he dominated the lips offered to him. He’d never thought himself a possessive person, but just the thought of having to be with someone else brought all his protective instincts the fore.

Marius gave as good as he got and Cathair quickly got caught up in the lust and need being around Marius seemed to bring on. Marius was on his lap, his shirt under his armpits, their cocks rubbing against each other through their jeans when a loud and decidedly fake cough reminded Cathair they weren’t alone.

“You can change the heir rules while you’re in charge too, so demons can be prevented from entering the realm, but the half-breed children could be given the option to return. That would give you a chance to consider surrogacy or adoption for your successor,” Valouf said with a wink. “Now straighten yourselves out and pay attention. I’ve found something.”

Marius slipped to the side, his arm still firm around Cathair’s neck. “Spit it out,” he said, “Me and the big man here have got things to do.”

Valouf smirked as he stabbed the book with his finger. “There is a clause buried so deep in all this bureaucracy it took me a while to find it. Whoever originally drafted these rules, must have worried about the potential harmful long-term effects having power might do to a council member or High Elder. They worried someone might become so insane with power they might do something reckless like declare war on another species for example.”

“I don’t see how that applies.” Cathair was still thinking with his dick, making it hard for him to focus. Marius’s bare skin teased the side of his torso and the bulge in Marius’s pants was pressing into his thigh.

“We are at war with the dark elves,” Valouf said simply. “You’ve got to admit, even though the focus of their evil is on earth and Cloverleah in particular, if other paranormals hear these troubles are caused by the offshoot of our kind, then they’re going to attack us.”

“The dark elves do want to control all paranormals on earth,” Marius agreed.

“It still seems like a weak argument to justify taking over the council,” Cathair protested.

“I don’t think so,” Valouf shook his head. Peering down at the tiny text he read, “…and in such time when war looms, be it directed to or by the elven kind, the Battle Lord, after taking counsel from his soldiers, will rise up and take control of the council, becoming the absolute authority until such time as the danger is past.”

“Sounds more like a prophecy than a law,” Marius commented, but Cathair was thinking about what his father had told him, back when he first learned of his assignment to Cloverleah.

“The seers said it was time for one of us to join the battle,” he whispered, repeating his father’s words. “They knew,” he added in a louder voice looking up to see Valouf and Marius watching him. “The seers knew the dark elves were waging war on all paranormals. That includes us. You only have to look at how that bastard Tiber filled Tansin’s head with lies and made him turn against his own to realize that.”

“Gofan’s nightly chats around the fireplace about how he’d make a better High Elder than your dad probably didn’t help Tansin’s state of mind,” Marius agreed.

“I honestly didn’t know Tansin wanted to rule this realm. I just thought he wanted to get into your pants.” Valouf’s face was marred with sadness and Cathair remembered how close his and Tansin’s wife were.

He reached over, patting Valouf’s hand. “You never did tell me where you were going to find your true mate,” he said, summoning a grin. “Are you going to be happy ruling this realm in my absence or do you need to go searching on another realm?”

“Me?”

“Who else? You lead the soldiers now Tansin’s unfit for duty. You know more about the day-to-day running of this place than I do.”

“The Seers told me my mate would be another elf. I only know he will be male. I always hoped I’d find him among our ranks, but….” Valouf sighed.

“Look in the library,” Marius said suddenly. Valouf wasn’t the only one looking at him in shock. “What? You do have a library, don’t you? It’s just a gut feeling I have. I can see this gorgeous little guy, buried under books and papers, hiding in a corner doing some obscure little job and probably not getting out much. He’d be a perfect mate for a soldier.”

“Blond or brunette?” Valouf said quickly.

Marius laughed. “How the hell should I know? I’m not a seer, but if you have an elf mate and you haven’t found him yet, he’s going to be in the last place you’d look.”

“He’s got a point,” Cathair nodded, “and there’s no reason why you can’t find your true mate now. Your children are grown and you said your wife was getting restless and wants to travel.”

“Let’s focus on putting the soldiers in charge of this realm, first, shall we?” Valouf said, his cheeks a bright red. “One of the dark elves has already shown himself to Marius, so the attacks are going to start ramping up from here. The council has lost the support of the seers which according to this monster of a tome, suggests dark elf involvement. My bet is on Tansin’s father. How’s your father going to take this, Cat?”

“In a weird way, he’ll probably be proud of me.” An ache developed in Cathair’s heart. “If he’s the decent man I’ve always believed him to be, and Gofan has influenced him in some way, then stripping him of his power and preventing him and Gofan from causing any danger to our people will be a relief.”

“You do know it was Gofan who gave the order for us to go to the Underworld this morning, don’t you?”

Cathair shook his head.

“Your father was there, of course, and didn’t say anything, but it was Gofan calling the shots.”

“If we had the time, I’d talk to my mother and see if she knows what hold Gofan has over him,” Cathair said sadly. He looked at his mate waiting patiently. “But we don’t. My mate and I need to get back to Cloverleah. There’s no telling where the next attack on them will come from next.”

Valouf watched him for a long moment and Cathair wondered what he was thinking. But then his friend nodded and looked back down at the book. “Okay, first thing we need to do is summon an honor guard….”