Page 65 of Nicolette

“Takes a load off my fucking plate, so no. I just wanted to make sure if anyone complains that, I can send them right to you,” Zealot explained. “I have better things to do with my time than break up catfights between women.”

“Huh… see, here I was thinking you didn’t do a goddamn thing for those women. Good to know I was assuming wrong,” she quipped, taking another sip of her drink.

Zealot leaned forward, planting his hands on the bar, trying to be as intimidating as possible. Everything within me wanted to get up in his face and tell him to back off, but this wasn’t about the women, not really. This was a dominance battle between the two of them, and to interfere would undermine Nicolette.

“You know nothing about what I’ve done for those girls, so I’d watch your tone when speaking to me,” Zealot warned.

Nicolette set her drink down to the side and pinned her gaze on the man before her. “Who are you to tell me to watch my tone or anything else about my person? Are you my mate? You’re certainly not my alpha since I clearly have more dominance than you, yah fucking prick. There you sit on your high horse, lording over those that you’ve been put in charge of to look after and keep safe. They might be fed, clothed, and have a roof over their heads, yet all the while demeaning them for their station in life. Do you think most of them want to be a sweetbutt, reliant on the likes of you to care for them? This is an MC, yeah, but it’s also a fucking pride, first and foremost. So get your head out of your ass and stop acting like such a chauvinistic human who treats women like they’re property.”

“What did you just say to me?” Zealot snarled. “A chauvinistic human—”

“Sorry, do you not know what that word means?” Nicolette asked, cutting him off. “It means you believe that males are superior to women, which gives you the right to treat them like shit. Such as feeding them a fucking iceberg lettuce salad, keeping them in bunk rooms, and not giving them the support they need to further their education or status within the pride.”

“I will not allow some fucking cunt to come in here and tell me I’ve not been doing right by those women,” Zealot roared. “They chose to live this life. I didn’t force them. If they wanted to do better for themselves, then they need just fucking do it like all the rest of us.”

My jaw dropped at the disrespect Zealot was showing Nicolette right now. This was no longer a pissing contest where he was trying to prove he was higher up on the pecking order than she was. Now it was a straight-up attack on her, showing just how little he cared at all about the women he’d been charged with. Nine thought it made sense to put him in charge of the single women since he ran the bar and could keep an eye on them while they were there. It was becoming crystal clear we’d made a mistake.

“That is enough,” I snapped, shooting to my feet.

“Do you realize who you’re talking to? Have you forgotten the fact that we are feline shifters? A species that respect our women, acknowledging that they can and are leaders in their own right within our pride? You’ve allowed yourself to become so disillusioned in your thinking. You do realize that in showing such disrespect, Nicolette has every right to challenge you. Not just any challenge but one where it’s up to her whether you live or die? Lionesses are the providers and caretakers of the pride, but they are also the ones alphas listen to. You want to know why?” I questioned, not really waiting for a reply. “They see all that happens within their pride to advise their alphas and point out the bad seeds.”

“You should know she’s already been doing this, and Nine is taking note,” Marco added, backing me up. “Did you think what happened with Amaretto was just about selling Nicolette out? That bitch has been selling us all out for years. It just took someone with fresh eyes to see the truth and draw it out. What is she going to find under the shit you’re spewing?”

Zealot actually jerked back as if he was afraid she’d pull it out of him then and there.

People were entering the bar, and I knew by the sound of their steps it was the rest of our crew. They’d been lingering outside the bar listening in since Zealot screamed at Nicolette, but like myself, they didn’t want to undermine her. However, this had become something else entirely, and it needed to be dealt with by the leaders as a whole.

Chapter 26

Nicolette

Oh how my lioness wanted to rip this motherfucker’s throat out to keep him from speaking anymore. I didn’t know if a shifter could come back from that, but I was willing to risk it just to find out the answer. Something told me if it didn’t kill them, I’d be doing it more often than not as an effective means to prove a point. My mind, however, kept going back to the comment Polo had made about challenging Zealot, and I was in half a mind to do it. If we made it a public event for the pride to see that I wasn’t fucking around, it might help to settle things down faster.

“Zealot, I challenge you,” I announced just as the rest of my guys arrived. “It’s clear to me that you’re not ever going to respect me until I pound it into your head. So that’s exactly what I’m going to do. At the end, when I have your throat in my hand, pinning you to the ground, if you apologize to me along with admitting that I’m more dominant than you, I might let you live.”

Zealot scoffed. “That will never happen, but if you want to put your life on the line, that’s your choice.”

“You’re right. It is my choice. See? You’re learning already.” I goaded, then spun on the bar stool to look at those who had just joined us. “Now, what are the rules to this challenge?”

Rambler started to rub his temples as he muttered to himself. “Damn woman is gonna be the death of me. Thinks she can up and challenge this asshole without even knowing the rules.”

“There are two options the challenger can pick from, human or feline. Once the choice has been made, you are forbidden from fully shifting into one or the other during the fight. To do so would show blatant disregard for sacred feline traditions and would be put to death,” Dice informed me as he closed the distance between us. “Once a challenge has been called, only the person who issued it can revoke it. The fight must be between the two parties it directly relates to. There are no stand-ins. Along similar lines, they fight it one-on-one, no tag team or doubling up. When the challenge is issued as a means to determine status within the pride, the winner is given the ability to show mercy to the loser or make an example by killing them. If life is taken, there will be no repercussions as challenges are a protected right within the feline species.”

Damn, when Dice had something to say, he said it all. It was clear and informative and made me realize that I’d been really fucking lucky to make the challenge first. It gave me the ability to pick what form we fought in.

Yet there were two more questions I had. “How soon after the challenge is issued does the fight need to happen? Also, are weapons allowed?”

“Within twenty-four hours. As for the weapons, no, you’re only permitted to use what skills you have with the teeth and claws you were given. This is also to ensure neither party has an advantage over the other for any reason,” Dice explained.

I clapped my hand together as I made my choice. “All right, it’s settled. Tonight at six o’clock, with the whole pride present, Zealot and I will fight in human form.” Turning back around, I locked eyes with the man I was soon going to have crying at my feet. “Until then, get the fuck out of my face, and don’t speak to me again till we’re ready to fight.”

Zealot didn’t look like he was going to listen, but Nine stepped up. “You heard her. Walk the fuck away from my mate like she told you to.”

With a snarl, the man turned on his heel and stormed off into the kitchen. A moment later, Trixi peeked her head out and looked over at us. “Um… you still want your food?”

“Fuck yes, I’m starving,” I answered.

She flashed me a smile before she ducked back into the kitchen, only to reappear a moment later with three plates. Once again, Trixi nailed it with the order, as I got a fried chicken sandwich with all the yummy fixings and a giant side of onion rings.