Page 50 of Nicolette

A warning growl rumbled through the room, and Marco threw his hands up in the air. “See, no touching. We’re all good, man.”

Rambler closed his eyes and took a few long deep breaths. “I’m sorry. I wish there was a way that I could control that response, but it happens before I even realize it.”

“We get it, and it’s only temporary,” Polo assured him. “Once the two of you mark each other, then our threat to you is gone. We’ll manage until then. It’s not the first time we’ve had to survive pissing scary people off.”

“That’s very true. I feel like it’s a gift we have,” Marco agreed, bobbing his head. “Let’s hurry and sit so we can eat before something else happens and we’re left with empty stomachs.”

We managed to do that without any further snarling or threats as food was passed out. I was surprised when a box was set in front of me, but I suppose I really shouldn’t have been. After forgetting to feed me all afternoon, I was sure Circus and the others were overcompensating. Flipping the lid open, I found a steak sandwich smothered in onions with fries. It smelled amazing, and I could see how juicy the meat was. I had to hand it to the shifters, they knew how to have an appreciation for well-cooked food.

Everyone dug in, and it was almost like we were back at the house, just the seven of us together. It certainly put my lioness at ease not having to watch out for others who might be making moves on our mates. Comfortable conversations flowed as we played twenty questions—Marco’s idea, of course—in an effort to help all of us get to know each other better. We started out with the basics of favorite color, food, season, movies, shit like that.

Then Dice had to up the ante with his next question. “How did you end up in a contract with The Broker?”

Chapter 20

Nicolette

That was the question I’d been waiting for since they dragged me half-dead out of the Lucky Shot. It was a logical question, and I’d be curious too, if I was in their position. No one ended up in the life I did without being desperate and making some huge mistakes. They’d accepted me with no questions asked, but I also understood that they would want to make sure I wasn’t going to bring trouble to their front door.

Fuck, I mean, there would already be trouble for the sheer fact that I was still under contract, and they stole me right out from under LC’s nose.

“My mom was super sick, and when she had to be put in the hospital for round-the-clock care, I couldn’t afford it. So I went to LC and made a deal out of desperation, as anyone would, not bothering to really understand what I was giving up. Why the fuck would I think to look and make sure I didn’t have to have the money paid in full in two days if my mother died before the matter was settled? At that point, I was just trying to work enough to keep the lights on and food on the table,” I explained.

“So it was just you and your mom?” Polo asked, poking at the food still on his plate.

Leaning back in my chair, I let out a sigh feeling it was best to just tell them all of it. “Mortas killed my father when I was little, right in front of me, as a warning that when he came for me, I better not fight it. Well, years and years went by, a blip to a vampire, I’m sure, but long enough for me to feel like that was the least of my worries. He’d gone to Mortas to ask for a small vial of his blood to heal my mother. That’s when I learned my father’s family had been something along the lines of indentured servants to Mortas. You see, my father was a bear shifter, and Mortas’s animal to call is a bear. I have no idea how he got out of the deal, but Mortas was fucking pissed my father dared to show his face asking for a favor.”

“Hold on,” Marco cut in, waving a hand. “Your dad was a shifter? How are you human? Even if your mom is human, there is a ten-to-one chance you’d have been born a shifter too.”

“I’m the product of my mother and an unknown donor. Didn’t know that about myself either until that day, but I never said a word to my mom. She was going through enough pain. I didn’t need to add that onto her plate,” I explained.

“He didn’t want you at risk,” Dice stated as he rolled his pair on the table, ending up with snake eyes. “He was a smart man but a fool for going to a vampire for aid.”

“Now that I’ve met my fair share of them, I agree with you a hundred percent,” I said, tilting my head back and closing my eyes. “I really try not to think about what my life would be like if he’d never gone to Mortas for help in the first place. Mom probably still would have died, but our life as a whole might have been better.”

“Neko, you can’t live in the world of what if. Unfortunately, you have to face the reality of what’s in front of you and make the most out of it,” Circus reasoned. “Not allowing yourself to think of a future is a survival tactic, and I get it. The life you had up until now was one you had no control over, but that’s all changed. You’re free to experience a whole different life.”

Lifting my head to look at him, I admitted something to them I’d been mulling over all day. “I don’t know how to live a life of my own choosing. Like I get the idea or the concept, but how do I do that when I don’t know what I want out of life? My one and only dream was to be free from LC and leave The Grid and this city to explore the world. I figured I’d find out what I wanted through trial and error or exploration. However, now I’m here, a feline shifter with the rare ability to have mates. Mates, that I might add, who run a massive MC and control half of The Grid. Do I actually have choices in all this?”

None of them answered, and honestly, I didn’t think they could at this point. There was no way to know how things were going to unfold between us or where I was going to fit in. I didn’t say it for them to have all the answers, but I wanted them to know what I was thinking and feeling.

“Nicolette, you will have as many choices as I can give you,” Nine answered. “You’re right. In some areas, you might not have the option to do things differently, but I would like to believe that with the seven of us working together, those times will be few and far between. Something tells me these first few weeks will be the hardest, but having communication like this will help.”

Rambler nodded his agreement to Nine’s thoughts. “Plus, if we’re all being honest, we’ve created the environment that we needed to make things work. I’m fairly certain if we tried, there are others that we could hand something off to, making our workload lighter. There hasn’t been a reason for us to make time for someone in our lives, but I’m sure I speak for all of us when I say you change everything.”

“They don’t call us fated mates because we expect you to fit into our lives,” Polo commented. “To me, it makes sense that if we’re destined to be together, then together, we’ll find the best balance between life and work.”

“Polo and Rambler make good points,” Nine added. “Savage Pride creates the money we need to support everyone in the pride the way I want to. That isn’t going to change, but there are many things outside of that which can be altered. Once you also find your purpose within the pride, it will help give all of us a sense of where we need to make adjustments.”

I stared at them, bewildered by the conversion that had just happened between them all. “Do you have any idea how unusual this whole thing is? Men don’t listen to women’s concerns, then offer solutions that are fair and thoughtful. They most certainly don’t admit that there are changes that could be made because they purposefully kept their life overly busy as a single person.”

Circus flopped across the table and flicked me on the nose. “Silly Neko, what is it going to take for you to stop treating us like humans? Shifters might look human most of the time, but we absolutely don’t think like them.”

That had me questioning everything in my life and how I viewed the world. “Are there any others that have been bitten and survived in the pride?”

Sinking back in his seat, Circus nodded. “There are about ten, but only three that I would trust to speak with you.”

“Why only three?” I questioned.