Page 4 of Nicolette

Chapter 2

Nicolette

An arm reached out and caught me before I almost ate shit, stumbling down the stairs. Looking up, I found one of the twins I’d seen earlier before the fight. His blue eyes shimmered with awe and interest as he helped me down the last two steps.

“Careful there. We wouldn’t want the stairs to defeat you after such an impressive win,” he teased with a smirk.

I let out a huff of laughter as I pulled my arm from his hold. “Don’t worry. I’d have caught myself. They say I have cat-like reflexes for a human.”

“How delightful is that,” he commented as he fell into step with me. “Do you have feline in your blood?”

“I fucking wish. It would certainly make fighting so much easier. Actually, any drop of Supe in my blood would be welcome.” I sighed, feeling my hip screaming at me from the blow I took. “Pretty sure it would help to be a little tougher to knock around and heal faster.”

“You should have someone look at that,” another voice suggested.

I tried not to react as the other twin appeared on my right, putting me in the middle of them. This close, I could clearly tell they were identical twins, but the one on my right had a slightly more square jaw than the one on the left.

“Did you two need something?” I asked, coming to a halt.

“Only the simple pleasure of your company,” Left Twin said, stepping in front of me.

“Buy you a celebratory drink?” Right Twin offered, standing next to his brother, both blinding me with their sexy smiles.

Narrowing my eyes at them, I weighed the risks of saying yes, but then reminded myself that I might not live to see another day, so what did it matter? “Sure, why the hell not.”

They parted and gestured for me to lead the way, so I did. I headed for the end of the bar that wasn’t quite so busy because of the harpy sitting there. She was another of LC’s fighters but had only been around for a few months and didn’t seem to understand the concept of getting along with others. After lashing out and attacking some of the patrons, most steered clear of her, which was exactly what she wanted.

When we approached, the woman glared at the two men, her lips curling back to hiss at them. To my surprise, both of them hissed back in a manner that seemed far too normal.

“Didn’t peg you for one to spend time with feline shifters, Swurve.” Hemera sneered.

“Gosh, I didn’t know you liked to be pegged, Hemmy. I’m sure I could arrange for that to happen if you back the fuck up out of my business,” I shot back with a bright smile.

Hemera hissed again, turning back to her drink. “Fucking bitch.”

“Right back at ya, girl,” I said, moving a few seats down.

Hemera and I were actually pretty cool, but the woman always had a feather up her ass on fight nights. I knew not to take anything she said personally since she treated any living, breathing creature like they were scum on the bottom of her shoe. Harpies were grade-A bitches, and everyone knew it. She just tended to be a little more stabby than others.

The two men, who were apparently feline shifters, watched Hemera with suspicion as they took a seat, one on either side of me. I took a moment to study them further, noticing they had lithe muscles, and moved with a grace only a Supe could manage. If I hadn’t been distracted by how attractive they were and their vibrant eyes, I’d have picked up on it sooner.

“What’ll ye be having?” Nomolin asked as he walked up to us.

“Whatever the lady would like, and two beers,” Right Twin answered.

Nomolin cocked a brow at me, knowing that typically I didn’t drink between matches, but that blow to my hip needed something to dull the pain. “Double shot of bourbon neat.”

“Swurve,” Nomolin challenged.

“Look, the first fight was rougher than I planned. No one gave me a heads-up he was part berserker. It’s just to take the edge off the pain, so it doesn’t slow me down,” I explained.

“Right, and you think this next fight is going to be easier? If he’s throwing mixed blood at you to start, he isn’t going to back down for round two,” Nomolin argued.

Slumping on the bar, I faced down my friend, knowing he was doing what he thought was best. There was a time when I didn’t handle myself well and drank far too much, almost costing me everything.

“Nom, I’m not giving up, I promise,” I said in a low voice. “I plan to make it to the end. Then I’ll come up with some kind of plan.”

“The master’s calling your number, you brave, stupid girl,” Nomolin muttered. “I’ll get you the drink, but I’m cutting you off for the rest of the night, you hear me?”