Max grimaced. "It's not that simple to go against your alpha. I notice you haven't asked why I declared duel-right against Nacio."
"I figured you had a good reason."
Max sighed. "I did, but no one else seemed to think so. When I was a kid, my uncle Tomas was the clan alpha. He was in poor health, and his son Nacio was a bully. Everyone assumed that my father would become the alpha after Uncle Tomas passed. But when the time came, Nacio stepped up and claimed that his father had declared him alpha. My father wouldn't challenge him. No one would. So I did. I didn't want to be alpha; I just wanted someone else to do it other than him. I couldn't bear the thought of my clan under someone like him. But I lost, and Nacio exiled me and forbade anyone to speak to me ever again."
Gio growled again, finding it more natural-feeling the second time. "Howdarehe. Is that normal?"
"I don't think so," Max said slowly. "I thought so at the time. My clan was always very old-fashioned. As you can see, we're pretty isolated up here. But once I got out in the world and started meeting other shifters, I started to realize that actually, fighting duels and exiling losing challengers isn't how most shifter communities handle their problems. And Nacio hasn't been a good clan alpha. My sister in particular has had a lot of problems with him. Sofia is the sweetest person in the world, but she didn't agree with my exile and she was outspoken about it. Nacio ended up forcing her to marry one of his friends to try to bring her in line."
"Hewhat? Can he do that?"
Max grimaced. "Her only option was to go along with it or leave, and unlike me, she wanted to stay. She said it was all right. Her husband was a kind man, and as you saw, they had two beautiful girls. But she didn't love him."
"What happened to him?" Gio hadn't seen any signs of a husband.
"Killed on patrol," Max said shortly. "It happens. But I hadn't realized that things have gotten this bad for her. Without her husband to support her against Nacio, he's trying to push her out. I didn't even realize that she'd had to move out of the family estate."
"Should we be walking around on the street? Maybe if no one finds out you're here—"
Max was already speaking. "No. I don't want to hide. Sofia already said that she was going to tell my family if they ask. She can't refuse Nacio; I mean, she literallycan't. He can make her talk." She threw her shoulders back, her hair rippling in the breeze. "But I don't want to hide. I've hidden long enough. It's time to reclaim my birthright in this family, if I can."
"You mean fight him."
"If I must," she said simply.
"I'll help."
"I wish you could." Max looked wistful. "But it has to be one on one."
"Can outsiders challenge the clan alpha? I wouldn't mind fighting him." Gio felt a very uncivilized bloodlust stirring in him. He would love to bloody the face of the man who had defeated and exiled Max.
"I would pay money to see that," Max said with relish. But she shook her head. "It wouldn't solve anything. And I don't know if they would accept you as alpha anyway. It's supposed to be someone in the family." She slid off the wall and held out a hand. "Come on, let's not spoil such a nice day. Would you like to meet some llamas?"
They walked down the hillside, leaving the cobbled street behind, and entered the farmland below. They strolled between terraced fields and meadows filled with late-season wildflowers where sheep and llamas grazed. Black-and-white herding dogs watched alertly as they went by.
"The llamas are mixed in with the sheep to help protect them from predators," Max explained. "A llama is pretty tough in a fight."
"What kind of predators do you have up here?"
"Oh, wild cats, bears, even big eagles and condors will sometimes try to take a lamb or a sheep that's separated from the herd."
"Are any of the llamas shifters?"
Max winked. "If they are, they'll never tell. Like the jackalopes."
She looked like a painting on the sunny hillside, her hair swept loose by the wind. Gio leaned down and gathered a small handful of wildflowers.
"What are you doing?" Max asked, laughing.
"It's all right to pick these, isn't it?"
"Oh, certainly, they don't belong to anyone. They're just going to be eaten by the sheep eventually."
"But not until I have the opportunity to hand you a bouquet." He bowed a little and placed the small bundle of yellow and blue flowers in her hands.
Max actually blushed. "Why are you giving me flowers?"
"Because a beautiful lady needs a beautiful flower."
