Page 39 of Nicolette

Instantly my lioness snarled and charged forward as if she was going to take them down and rip out their throats with or without me. I sucked in a sharp breath as she slammed into my mental wall, trying to force me to shift. No matter how much I wanted to let her do as she so badly wanted, I also couldn’t afford for anyone to see how little control I had over her. I pictured myself grabbing the scruff of her neck and yanking her back.

You need to calm the fuck down, woman. Didn’t he just tell you that none of them have ever slept with them?

She didn’t care. There were demons in the pride, and that was not okay.

Look, I’m sure there is a good reason for it. Maybe we should find that out before you go and maul their asses? Just a thought.

Spinning, she lunged at me, furious that I wasn’t seeing the danger they posed not to our men but the pride as a whole. They could drain everyone dry and kill us all with a smile on our faces.

Give me a chance to find out what’s going on then we can come back to address your fears.

With a low warning growl telling me that I better take this seriously, she backed off. I still didn’t trust she’d behave, so I kept an eye on her until she curled up to take a nap. Even though I knew she was faking it, at least she wasn’t trying to break free.

Once I understood what was happening, I would form an opinion. I’d known a few of the sirens from the Lucky Shot, and they weren’t what people assumed. Just like a vampire needed blood to eat, succubi needed lust.

“What happened?” Rambler demanded, just before I felt gentle hands cup my face.

“She asked about the Calypso sisters,” Polo answered. “Even though we warned her none of us had been with them, her feline freaked out.”

Rambler started to stroke his fingers along my neck in a soothing motion that almost had me purring.

“Can I just say it’s really fucking impressive how she’s controlling her feline right now,” Circus added. “That pussy was pissed, I mean ready to spill blood without a second thought, kind of pissed. Yet there she is sitting so calmly you’d have no idea unless you were sitting here feeling the power roll off her.”

My lioness lifted her head and gave an approving chuff at his words, then sprawled out on her side, accepting the fact I wasn’t going to let her do as she wanted. That told me it was safe for me to return my focus on the world around me instead of worrying about her. Slowly I opened my eyes and stared up into Rambler’s, making me smile. “When did you show up?”

“I came to get the guys since we have work to do but found you in a trance,” Rambler answered, not stopping his hands from stroking my skin. “You okay?”

Nodding, I grasped his forearms and gave them a reassuring squeeze. “Things will be fine for now, but I do need to ask… why are they here?”

“Since that is pride business and they’re females, I’ll fill you in on the details, but that won’t happen here,” Rambler informed me. “You’ll come up to the offices with us, and you can eat there while we go over some things. Once we’re done with the important club business, then we can bring you in to discuss this.”

Rolling my eyes at the need to keep me as far away from club business as possible, I accepted his terms. “Whatever, but I promised her I would get the whole story, so as long as you can promise me that, I’ll be good.”

“Sure you will,” Rambler chuckled. “Woman, I’ve known you less than a week, and I’m fairly certain you’re never going to be good.”

Grinning, I shrugged. “What can I say? Life’s more fun when you rebel.”

“Oh, you are going to drive us crazy, aren’t you?” Rambler murmured before pressing a kiss to my lips.

“Here’s your food and the Tiger Stripes,” Zealot said, talking louder than he needed to as if kissing made you hard of hearing or something.

Rambler let go so I could see what delicious meal had been brought to me, and I found a salad. Now there is nothing wrong with a salad. They can be fucking amazing, but not this one. It looked like a larger version of a side salad you would get at a restaurant. Iceberg lettuce, two cherry tomatoes, some shredded cheese, and two strips of grilled chicken. Oh yeah, and no dressing. This bitch was so dry not even spit would be enough lube to get that shit down my throat.

“Wow,” I said, looking from the bowl to the man who brought it for me. “Out of all the things you could have possibly chosen… you pick the world’s most basic salad?”

Zealot’s face became stormy as he looked at me. “You asked me to bring what I thought you should eat. I even asked if you’d eat whatever I put in front of you.”

“So you think I need to eat a salad?” I blurted my mind, simply unable to understand where the connection was.

I’d been in fucking great shape before becoming a shifter. After the transition, I looked even more toned, with defined muscles and a reasonable amount of body fat. What the fuck was this man smoking to think this was what I needed to eat? Not to mention the caloric value of this was nonexistent, and there wasn’t near enough protein for it to be beneficial.

“That’s what the sweetbutts get for their snack. Dinner isn’t being served for another hour,” Zealot answered like I should have been told this already. “All sweetbutts live here for free, which also includes lodging and food. The lodging is a bunk in the dorm, and the food is the meals we provide at set times. If you need more food, then it will be simple healthy snacks.”

My head was going to explode at the bullshit that was spewing out of this man’s mouth. This time when my lioness stepped up to bat, I was right there along with her. Taking the bowl of water lettuce that you burned more calories eating than you gained, I shoved it into his face before leaping up to crouch on the bar.

“If it’s such a wonderful and nutritious snack, then why don’t you enjoy it?” I snarled, my lioness pushing me to do more to this man.

Did you forget the part where Nine said he would kill us if we proved to be unstable or killed one of his pride? Trust me. I’m right there with you, but damn if I’d rather live a few more years.