Page 111 of Magical Midlife Conclave

Armendale straightened, bared his teeth, and lurched forward.

Austin still didn’t slow. Didn’t show fear. Didn’t even stutter a step. He slammed into Armendale like a feral beast. The polar bear rolled the smaller cat over and over, biting and ripping at him the whole time, but seemingly doing very little damage. Austin allowed the leopard to get up and get his bearings before he launched at the other man again. This time the bites and scrapes were more severe.

Now it was very clear even to Nessa that Austin was toying with the other alpha, something that became even more apparent when he surrendered to his beast. The change in vibe was unmistakable. The beast gave no quarter. It gave no sympathy and zero mercy.

Austin laid into Armendale with a ferocity that had Nessa leaning back harder into Tristan. Austin tore into Armendale. He was obviously the superior fighter, but with a ruthlessness that rivaled even the Elder’s. He was all over the leopard, beating him down into the pavement and then sinking his teeth around Armendale’s jugular.

“No!” Jessie threw her arms forward.

Austin yanked his great head. Armendale jerked on the pavement, but his throat didn’t rip apart. Austin tried to find purchase, but Jessie had him blocked with a spell.

“You will not kill him!” Jessie shot spells at the big polar bear and walked into the fray. “We think he’s the worst, fine, but his people depend on him, Austin. There is no one ready to take his place. You need to let him live.”

Austin tried to rip the leopard’s throat open again.

“No!” Jessie bent, hands still out, probably replenishing her spell. “Think of his people. His pack is healthy and prosperous. It’s a peaceful pack. He needs to live to take care of them. This infraction is not worth the danger you’d put his people in. You punished him. It’s over.”

The polar bear stood over Armendale’s limp body, growling at Jessie. He wanted to finish the job. Nessa didn’t blame him. But Jessie did have a point, damn her.

“No.” Jessie walked closer. She ignored the other shifters that stood, heads lowered, watching her. “No.” She put her hand on Austin’s nose, even as he growled. She knew he would never hurt her. “I will not put his people in danger—not for his pride or your anger. Or my anger. I hate this guy. He’s a piece of crap, but he’s their piece of crap. We’ll allow him all the pain he’s entitled to and dump him and these other idiots outside of the territory to heal in a heap, but we’ll let them live.”

Austin stared at her for a long moment before standing up on his hind legs and roaring into the sky in obvious frustration.

Tristan tapped Nessa on the shoulder with the claw of his free hand. He pointed to the side.

The entire bar had poured out into the street and were now watching silently. They’d witnessed what Armendale had done and the mercy Austin and Jessie had granted. This team signified true leadership—not just for their people, but for the greater good. They didn’t put their grievances first—they looked after even their enemy’s people.

Tristan pointed at the sky.

Aunt Florence dangled from a gargoyle with a long-distance camera, getting the footage. Patty was held by a different gargoyle, phone in hand, now swooping low to get close-ups. Live-streaming, probably. She’d expanded her social media presence to the shifter information channels, at least for the conclave.

Somehow—probably because of Jessie’s surveillance, which Cyra was all too happy to handle with a collection of gargoyles—they’d known what would come and had set everything up accordingly. At this point, after dealing with all the gargoyles and the various shifter packs so far, they realized that seeing was believing. Rather than just kick Armendale out of town right then and tell people why, they let people see for themselves, live-streamed by the two biggest and best busybodies Nessa had ever known. Thank God for Ulric’s relatives.

Nessa laughed, dropping her head onto Tristan’s big shoulder. They’d handled it. They’d tamed the chaos of a conclave in less than a week and found a way for Austin to show the world that he was the king of the shifters. No naysayer could take his crown away from him, not when he proved he’d earned the right to wear it.

“They’ve done it.” Nessa felt tears come to her eyes. “They’ve actually done it. Both of them have. The shifters and gargoyles—and garhettes!—are on board. They’ve finally proven what we’ve always known—they are worth gold.”

Tristan didn’t reply, probably because speaking wasn’t the easiest with a gargoyle jaw, before rocketing them skyward again.

Later that night, she lay in her bed, staring at the ceiling. Her room was dark, the shades drawn. The house was quiet. Everyone had come home from the bar after a fun evening. There were still some enforcers in town, and a bunch of alphas, but everyone got along. Everyone seemed relieved that the conclave was winding down early.

No one outwardly mentioned what happened with Armendale. Austin hovered over Jessie like she was a fragile vase, and Jessie touched him constantly, like he might vanish if she didn’t have contact, but that was the only sign that something major had happened.

And something major had.

No one had gone through with challenging Austin in the sanctioned events. No one had properly seen him fight. They’d all felt his power and heard the stories. Given all the other rumors were true, they probably didn’t want to be the guinea pig. Everyone was incredibly thankful Armendale had gotten that honor. Austin’s fighting had widened eyes.

Also, someone had finally taken on Armendale and shown that he was no contest.

The Elder had even come for drinks, wearing the same clothing Phil did. She apologized to Jessie for her failure. She hadn’t lost control in a lifetime—no one was sure whose lifetime or how long that might be—and praised Jessie for her ability to push the Elder over the edge.

“We really know who won that fight, though,” Jessie had grumbled, still sore about losing. Nessa hadn’t been able to stifle her laughter. “I cheated, too. The shifters you allowed me let me know which basajaunak weren’t you. And we had a couple people telling me where you were. And you know, I’m sure you heard Tristan⁠—”

“We are only as great as our family,” the Elder said. “You listened to and trusted your shifters—I wondered if you would. That is why I assigned them to you. You never lost sight of your team in the sky, even though they didn’t have a part in all this. You didn’t discourage the vampire and Warden from helping, and you believed me when I said I would be the only one to attack you.”

Nessa had leaned forward at the name, but she hadn’t been able to ask about it.

“Unfortunately, you also believed me when I said you’d be safe. I committed a grave offense. You would be excused in killing me for such an offense, but I know you won’t. I’ve been watching you closely. I must make this up to you another way. There is no other option if I want to retain my honor. But anyway, we’ll discuss that another time. I am tired and sore and wish to get horribly drunk. Where is the brew? Phil, did you smuggle some in like I asked?”