Page 64 of Nicolette

“Interesting,” Nicolette murmured as Trix headed our way.

“Now that the food is settled, I’ll be right back with your drinks. Do you have any allergies, beautiful?”

“Ah, no… do shifters have allergies?” Nicolette questioned.

Trix shrugged. “I’ll be real with you. I ain’t got a fucking clue, but since you were human not too long ago, I figured it was better to be safe than sorry. See, I’m kind of attached to my feline. My panther and I have been together since birth, so I’d like to keep her around till the day I die.”

I froze at her last comment as I looked at Nicolette out of the corner of my eye. Trixi’s one downfall was her twisted sense of humor, and I wasn’t sure how that was going to go over so soon. We’d all had two days to wrap our heads around what happened. For our girl, it had been far less.

“You’re a panther? That’s so fucking awesome, fits you perfectly. Also, I agree, to lose that part of yourself would absolutely suck,” Nicolette responded, leaning forward on the bar, her green eyes bright with laughter. “Now, enough stalling and trying to get a rise out of me. How about you impress us with your skills, and let’s see if you can nail my drink with no further information.”

“Yes, mama,” Trixi said with a flirtatious undertone. “I love a woman who knows what she wants, even if it won’t be me.” Then, with a wink, she turned on her heel and started to pull things together.

“Please tell me there are more people like her in the pride?” Nicolette begged, sitting back and looking at both of us.

I shook my head, letting my expression fall to a more serious look. “I would love to tell you there is, but let’s be honest… no one but her could pull off hair like that. It would be so awful for so many people. Could you imagine what neon yellow hair would look like on Zealot?”

Nicolette tried to keep her face straight and serious, to match mine, but she lost it as the man himself walked into the bar. I’m sure she was picturing him with a highlighter mullet just like I was, but failing at keeping her shit together.

The grumpy bar manager looked over at us, and his frown deepened upon seeing Nicolette. Instantly I was on alert. We didn’t want any trouble today, but if Zealot decided he was gonna start shit, then I was going to end it real fast.

“Here are your drinks, and the food should be up soon,” Trix shared as she set one glass before each of us. She propped her chin with her fist and lounged on the bar waiting for us to taste our drinks.

I grabbed mine, knowing it would be perfect because Trixi had never guessed wrong in the three years she’d been bartending.

“Holy shit, that’s amazing. What is this?” Nicolette asked as she took another sip.

“That is what I like to call the dark horse because, beautiful, no one ever saw you coming,” Trixi teased with a toothy smile.

Slamming my glass down on the bar, I fixed Trixi with a look. “Look, I know you’re just being friendly and your usual self, but I’m going to need you to tone it down a notch, or I’m going to start believing that you’re going after my woman.”

For the first time ever, I’d made Trixi speechless as her jaw dropped. “Po, did you just tell me to check myself?”

“Yeah, I did,” I snapped, staring her down as I sat tall in my seat.

Trixi stood and lifted both hands in surrender. “My bad, boss. I meant no harm and would never think to disrespect you or her like that. Sorry you felt like I went too far. I’ll pull it back a little.”

“Thank you, Trix, you’re really a good friend, and I want to keep it that way,” I assured her, my anger cooling instantly.

She flashed me a smile just as a bell rang out from the kitchen. “Proud of you, Po. I know the guts it took for you to do that.”

Before I could even respond, she was off to grab our food. A hand rested on my forearm, and I traced it back to Nicolette, who was looking at me with a worried expression. “I hope you know that even though I played along, there was never a chance. Women are amazing, but they are not what I’m looking for in a partner or mate. If I’ve made you feel uncertain, that wasn’t my intent at all.”

The affection and respect I held for Nicolette just grew with that check-in in my emotional well-being. For too long, I’d live in a world where people didn’t give a fuck about who you or anyone else was. If you fucked up, you paid the price, and it was normally a beating. Try to talk back or defend yourself, and it only made the beating all that much worse. Trix had been right, speaking up was a big deal for me, but I was quickly finding out there wasn’t much I wouldn’t do for Nicolette.

“No, neither of you did anything wrong,” I assured her, covering her hand with my own. “I could tell my caracal and I were both getting agitated at the situation, so to keep it from being a major issue, I nipped it in the bud. Just like you want to do with everyone in the pride, stop the problems before they happen.”

Leaning in my direction, she planted a kiss on my lips that I easily gave into and caught the back of her neck to hold her in place. I wasn’t a man who was particularly a fan of PDA like most felines were, but as I said before—there wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do for this woman.

“Aww… you two are making me nauseous,” Marco teased. “I think a kiss would make me feel better, though.”

Nicolette chuckled and gave him the kiss he requested, but whereas I enjoyed the tender moment, he had her moaning and fisting his shirt. Zealot walked up to us and cleared his throat loudly, breaking the two apart. Marco glared at the man, feeling as equally distrusting of him as I was. This asshole had made it clear what he thought about Nicolette on their first meeting, and I didn’t think his feelings had changed.

“Nine tells me you’re now in charge of all the sweetbutts and single females in the pride. Said if I have questions or problems to come to you,” he informed her.

My brows shot up at this. How the hell had Nine managed to have that conversation with the man?

“As alpha female, that is my role in the pride. You got an issue with that?” Nicolette inquired, her tone even and conversational, even if her question wasn’t.