Page 7 of Nicolette

“Our healing abilities are extensive even though people don’t really know we have them. Interestingly enough, it only seems to hurt those who aren’t felines. Suppose it keeps us from being hunted down and used for that skill. Part of it is that it only works when we’re in feline form and all cats have barbed tongues. Probably not something people would be lining up to experience,” Polo rambled on, trying to distract me as he continued to massage my shoulders and neck. “Just a few more passes, and you’ll be good as new.”

Four brutal licks later, Marco stopped his assault on my leg and lifted his head, giving me a sleepy half-lidded eye look. The purring didn’t stop as he rested his head on my stomach, looking far too comfortable lying there. Unable to help myself, I reached out and let my fingers ghost over his fur. It was silky and dense, like I could let my fingers sink into his coat, but I wasn’t going to do that without permission.

“Thank you, Marco,” I whispered. “I really appreciate it, but I’m gonna need to get up now, and you’re like forty pounds of cat in my lap.”

Marco let out a snort and snuggled in closer, telling me how he felt about my plans to get up. It wasn’t until Polo grabbed the scruff of his brother’s neck and ripped him off me that Marco seemed to react. With a screaming snarl, swiping at his brother, twisting this way and that until Polo dropped him on the floor, hissing with his fur standing on end, tail lashing, Marco voiced his displeasure, making me burst into laughter.

This, of course, drew both their attention with curious looks.

“Oh my God, my life is so fucking weird,” I managed to say between fits of laughter, not bothering to get off the medical table until I could control myself.

Human Marco loomed over me as I finally managed to pull my shit together. “Hey, the other fight just ended, so you should see how your leg feels and probably put your pants back on.”

“You think?” I said with a snort. “On the other hand, if it’s another dude I’m fighting, it might give me a leg up to distract him with my womanly wiles.”

Dual-sounding growls echoed in the room, telling me how they both felt about that. Sitting up, I swiveled to look at them.

“You can cut that shit out right this second. The two of you might have helped me and been long-time fans, but that gives you absolutely no fucking right to say what I can and can’t do.” Hopping off the table, I grabbed my shorts and stabbed a finger at them. “If that’s how things are gonna be, then you both can fuck right off out that door and don’t look back.”

I shoved my legs into my shorts, yanking them up as the twins regarded me with surprised expressions. Seeing as they didn’t have more to chime in on the matter, I let it drop. Walking out of the medical room, I headed for my locker and grabbed a fresh set of wraps for my hands. I was superstitious about using the same ones in the next fight, not wanting to take the energy of that round with me into the next.

Quick from years of practice, I unraveled them and chucked them back into the locker to be washed.

“Need any help?” Polo asked.

“Nah, this I could do with my eyes closed, but thanks,” I said, realizing he was trying to make a peace offering.

“I’m sorry about our reactions. It’s the animal part of us we can’t always control,” Marco shared, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. “It would seem our cats feel a little protective of you and didn’t like the idea of others seeing you so vulnerable.”

I eyed the two of them as I secured one wrap and started on the other. “So what’s it like sharing a body with an animal?” Pausing a second, I grimaced. “Sorry if that’s a rude thing to ask. I’ve just never spent much time around shifters. They tend to stick with their own, even here.”

“It’s not rude to ask when you’re friends,” Marco reasoned and sat next to me on the bench.

I let out a chuckle and nodded. “Yeah, I suppose you giving me a tongue bath while I’m half-naked would qualify us as friends.”

They both laughed at that, but it ended abruptly when my name was called over the loudspeaker.

“Looks like I’ll have to make it through this fight first before I get the answer to that question,” I pointed out and shoved up from my seat. “Catch you on the flip side, boys.”

Chapter 3

Marco

My Caracal paced in irritation, letting out disgruntled noises in case I couldn’t discern how he was feeling. Nicolette wanted to know what it was like to have a fucking fickle feline up in your noggin. Well, it was awesome and aggravating as hell.

Just like real cats, the damn things were opinionated as hell, and you had to learn how to manage their needs versus your own. Some days were harder than others, but then there were times like right now when I agreed with his feelings wholeheartedly.

Polo and I followed Nic into the crowd, where people instantly stepped out of her way when they saw her coming. That woman had no idea the amount of respect she’d earned in the supernatural community. There was no way a typical human woman could last all these years fighting and killing whatever was thrown at her if she didn’t have balls of steel. Polo and I discovered this place and her when Nine asked us to check out what was happening in the area that drew such a crowd.

Nine and The Broker hated each other, always fighting for turf or to protect what we already claimed. Damn shrimp of a Supe didn’t know how to keep his fucking greedy hands off our territory, forcing us to have to push back. The ecosystem of The Grid was a fragile one, and if an all-out war broke out between The Broker and Savage Pride, then blood would flood the city’s streets. We of the Savage Pride had ties to the Yakovich Clan, a human mafia group, who we supplied with any and all weapons or explosives they might need. We provided added muscle for their racketeering gigs and had our own specialty group of men who do murder for hire.

The Broker is the king of drugs, smuggling them in and out of the surrounding cities to hand off to the smaller gangs to sell. He’s the biggest loan shark, dealer of skins, and of course, gambling which was what the Lucky Shot was created for.

When we learned of this place, and all The Broker was doing here, when Nine told us to keep an eye on things. Polo and I were more than happy to do just that once we saw The Swurve Reaper in action. After a little digging and eavesdropping, we learned that her real name was Nicolette, but no one really knew much else about her. Both of us thought for sure she had to be a mixed blood, but after tasting her, I could confirm she was one hundred percent human.

“Do you think you did enough?” Polo asked softly as we watched her climb the steps to enter the ring.

“I fucking hope so,” I muttered. “That hit she took caused a hairline fracture in her femur which is why it hurt her so bad. Brother, she’s taken a lot of damage over the years. I could feel the mended muscle, bone, and tendon as I worked. If I’d had the time, I would have moved to help strengthen some of the weak points, but I did what I could.”