Page 14 of Nicolette

A warning growl rumbled in my throat, spurring Polo into action. Hesitantly he reached out for the bundle and gingerly removed it from his brother’s hold. “It’s gonna be okay, Marco. Nine is going to do what’s needed to help her.”

Marco watched as Polo handed her over to me, his blue eyes glittering with his feline energy. He was more animal than man right then, but I wasn’t worried about him attacking me. His caracal knew I was alpha just as Marco did, and to attack me would mean their death. I didn’t know what I was expecting when I looked down at the woman wrapped up like a burrito in my arms. The second I laid eyes on her, I knew I was fucked.

She was covered in blood, her own and that fucking vampire’s. This close, though, I could pick up her individual scent of cinnamon and bergamot. It was spicy, powerful, and full of life, making my lion chuff happily, enjoying the scent. Leaning down, I rested my forehead against hers, listening to her breathing and heartbeat, which was so faint. My lion called to her in a concerned rumble pushing at my hold, wanting to be there for her.

“We need to move,” I announced, lifting my head as I started up my bike. “If we have any chance of her surviving this, we need to get somewhere safe. Rambler, call Circus and have him meet us at the mating house.”

“That’s farther than the clubhouse, though,” he pointed out.

Hissing at him, I tucked her closer. “Don’t question me and do as you’re fucking told.”

Rambler’s eyes went wide as he realized that my lion was far more in control of things than I was right now. He nodded and pulled out his phone to do as I’d asked. Not waiting for anyone to challenge me further, I held the woman as tightly as I could without hurting her and gunned it out of the parking lot, spraying gravel everywhere.

The mating house was exactly as it sounded, a place for females in heat to be if they chose to breed. A feline heat could last for four to seven days, and it was dangerous for females to be around other females during that time. They were so blinded and desperate to be rutted that they considered all females a threat. So for everyone’s safety, we had a place they could go outside the city limits where no one would stumble upon them while lost in the throes of their heat.

For this situation, it was the opposite issue. Like Marco, my lion wasn’t willing to let just anyone be around this wounded female. Her scent drew him to her, unlike any had before. He wanted to curl around her broken body and heal her, keeping her safe from anyone who would dare to lay a finger on what was ours.

That singular thought had me reeling. Felines didn’t have mates. They didn’t have that one person they connected to like so many other species. We were more of a polyamorous sort, allowing our females to choose who they slept with as well as our males that found pleasure in other men as well as women. There were couples and people who loved each other, got married, and raised a family, but that was their human side. Our felines were more about free love and intimacy without rules. So for my lion to have attached himself so suddenly to this woman had me questioning everything.

Out of the city and in the suburbs, I sped up, pushing my bike to the max, knowing I didn’t have much time. Going well over a hundred, it didn’t take long for the fields to appear, marking the start of the farmlands that supplied many of the cities with produce.

I pulled up the drive. The two-story farmhouse wasn’t much to look at—but that was the point after all. The previous president had set up this mating house, feeling it was best to keep it as secluded as possible since it was a vulnerable time for our females. There weren’t many of them, to begin with, so we made every effort to keep them safe.

Not bothering to put my bike in the garage attached to the house, I kicked down the stand at the walkway to the back door. Dice appeared in front of me, reaching for the woman, but I snarled. He paused and looked at me with a curious expression.

“I’ve got it,” I muttered as I dismounted. “If you could get the door, that would be helpful,” I requested as a way of apology.

Nodding, he entered the code to the door lock, pushed the door open, and headed to disarm the beeping alarm. The place was pitch black with the blinds shut, but thanks to my lion, I was able to see just fine in the darkness. Not bothering to flip on lights, I carried my bundle up to the top floor, where we’d altered the space to accommodate feline heats. There were no rooms other than two bathrooms. The rest of the space was wide open and covered in plush rugs. In the center of the space was a ten-foot by ten-foot mattress of sorts on the floor. We’d given up putting it on a frame after they kept getting ruined. It was better to simply have it on the floor where it could be moved or used as anyone saw fit.

Once a month, a group of pride women would come to restock and set the place to rights, making it a space they wanted to be in.

I hadn’t been here in years but was rather impressed with what the ladies had done with the area. Setting the woman down in the middle of the bed, I unwrapped the blanket to get a better look at what damage had been done. Her already minimal clothing was shredded and covered in blood. The hint of ghoul had my lion growling. I’d forgotten that Marco told me she’d been forced to face off with one. It was the ball that started this whole thing rolling, and only made worse by Mortas being involved.

I stood and shrugged off my jacket, hanging it on one of the wall hooks, then kicked off my boots. With a deep breath, I let my lion free, knowing right now he would be what she needed out of the two of us.

Shaking out my mane, I let out a small roar of complaint as I settled into this form. Padding over to the bed, I climbed up, taking a moment to sniff her from head to toe, trying to discern where to start. Her body was a mess, tearing her apart, but I believed there was still a chance to keep her alive long enough for her to succumb to the virus and accept the changes it was trying to make. I set to work on one of her arms, healing all the wounds on them and cleaning the blood off her in the process. When the others arrived in the room, I didn’t bother to stop what I was doing—the work was too important.

A large tiger head-butted me out of the way and picked up where I’d left off. Rambler and I were the strongest in healing, being the two most powerful felines in the pride. Even still, using as much energy as I had getting her to this point, Rambler was right to have me stop. I settled myself near her head, watching over her and keeping a careful eye on the two caracals seated at the foot of the bed. Dice was the only one still human, sitting in the large window seat, watching for danger. While I didn’t think we’d be followed out here when it came to The Broker or Mortas, it was never wise to underestimate them.

The familiar sound of a bike coming up the driveway told me Circus had joined us. Normally I’d never allow all the leaders of the pride to be in one location like this, but my lion told me we were all going to be needed. When I got such a clear direction like that, I didn’t argue. I’d ignored him once before, and I’d gotten people killed because of it. The mark of a wise man is to learn from his mistakes and never repeat them again, hence why each member of the Savage Pride leadership was here.

Seconds after the engine was cut off, a clouded leopard bounded up the stairs and tripped over his front feet. He rolled into the summersault effortlessly and kept moving forward when he sprang out of it. It didn’t take long to figure out how he’d gotten his name and realized his clumsiness was all an act. The playful idiot did it on purpose simply to entertain himself. He gave me a toothy grin as he padded over to the bed and joined us.

Taking a moment to sniff her, he then promptly curled up and rested his head on her stomach, letting out a heavy sigh.

Almost like a switch had been flipped, I sensed a change in the woman. Her heart beat stronger, breaths became deeper and more at ease, allowing her body to relax. Slowly her scent changed ever so slightly, signaling that her body accepted the virus and her transformation had begun.

Chapter 6

Nicolette

Something brushed against my mind. It wasn’t the same as when someone was trying to read my thoughts. This was almost as if an actual physical being was setting up camp in my head. Then there was a yowl of irritation, letting me know she was tired of being ignored. When I tried to focus on her, she batted me away, unwilling to speak to me. She wanted something from me and assumed it would be obvious, but I was absolutely clueless. A hiss was my response to that thought, almost as if she was telling me to get out of her way and that she’d do it herself.

Since I didn’t see a reason not to let the feline go on her merry way, I stepped aside, letting her do as she pleased. If it meant her leaving my mind, I was all for it. There hadn’t been many things I could keep from others invading, but my thoughts had been one of them. It seemed that was no longer the case.

Pleased with my choice to let her do what she wanted, the feline bounded her way past me and thrust herself to the forefront of my mind. The sensation that followed had me regretting that choice as I felt every bone in my body shatter and rebuild itself into a new shape. What was stranger still was that all I heard was roaring instead of screaming. I didn’t mean like bellowing humans do in horrific pain. I was talking straight up at the zoo, looking at lions and tigers kind of roar. My chest heaved as the sound burst out of me in rhythmic intervals, as I panicked.

Something nuzzled my neck before the feel of a large tongue caressed my body. A snuffling chuff alerted me there was more than one thing here with me, but I wasn’t ready to move or open my eyes until I got a grip on my own body. Shifting, I rolled to my stomach, but my body didn't respond correctly when I tried to push myself up like normal. I realized I was going to have to face this unknown situation head-on, and I slowly cracked open my eyes. Before me stood a leopard, but not the kind of leopard I recognized from pictures or the zoo. He watched me with intelligent yellow eyes as his tail curled, waving in the air betraying his interest.