Page 73 of Nicolette

I refrained from rolling my eyes at him, but it was a serious challenge. “If you’re that worried about it, why don’t you solve the problem and make the first move?”

“What fun would this be if it was over in two seconds?” he countered as he circled, trying to unsettle me.

Funny thing was, he was telling me more than he realized by showing me the way he moved, tracking his dominant foot, and watching for any sign of an old wound or weakness in his body. He was right about one thing, this fight was going to be done in a few seconds, but I decided to play with him just a little. The point of this whole exercise was to show the pride that I could handle myself but also act like someone who should lead and protect them.

Finally, Zealot made his move, stepping in to sweep out a foot followed by a right hook. With remarkable ease, I was able to dodge out of the way before ducking under the punch, so instead of being in front of him, I was now behind. Using my elbow, I took a shot at his ribs, it would sting like a bitch and burn every time he moved, but it shouldn’t slow him down that much. I wanted to rile him up, get him spewing the bullshit he’d said back at the bar. People needed to know who he was under the mask he’d been wearing.

“Fucking bitch, you gonna run from the whole fight? Take a stand and prove to everyone you’re really worthy of taking my place.” Zealot snarled.

Glancing over my shoulder at him, I sighed. “What exactly was it you said the other day? “Sweetbutts live here for free so they eat the food I give them when I choose to give it. Oh, and if you want something outside of that time, you get a shit salad because, in your mind, all women should be fucking rail thin skinny.” Turning to face him, I put my hands on my hips. “Now, I know I’m new at this whole shifter thing, but can I tell you how many times the guys rode my ass about needing to eat all the fucking time. Me and my human brain thought that was ridiculous, there’s no way I could possibly eat that much and not pack it on, yet, no matter how much I ate, I had to fight not to get skinnier than I am now.”

“Did you have a fucking point, or are you just trying to avoid fighting?” Zealot accused, coming at me with punch after punch in rapid succession.

I blocked or dodged them all, stomping on his foot once or twice in the process. He was a halfway decent fighter, but it was quickly becoming apparent he was all bark and no damn bite. The men I was used to fighting wanted nothing more than to fucking smash my face in for being a woman in their ring. This asshole was far too full of himself to be a real threat to me.

“Right, you wanted to know if I have a point,” I said, bringing us back to the topic at hand. “You’re fucking starving those girls and calling it weight management. Shifters burn more energy just breathing than a human does during vigorous sex.”

Deciding that now was the time to start making my point, I attacked for the first time. Darting forward, I hit him in the gut and kicked out one of his legs, sending him tumbling to the floor. Rather than keep going after him, I backed off and let him get up.

“How can you tell me you give a shit about those women when you won’t even fucking feed them a proper diet? Every time you open your mouth, it’s to tell me how I’m never going to be as good as you. Tell me, Zealot, in what area so far am I lacking? I’ve certainly got bigger balls than you,” I taunted.

Once he was back on his feet, I attacked again. This time he was giving it some fucking effort as he fought back. The thing was, he had the speed and strength thanks to his feline, but he didn’t have the coordination.

“It must be the lack of a dick, isn’t it?” I asked as I ducked under a punch, twisting out of the way. “That’s really the only difference I’m seeing here, but please, if I’m wrong, then tell me. I’m the type of gal who’s always open to learning.”

“Men lead, women follow,” Zealot spat out.

Grabbing his arm, I twisted it behind his back and spoke into his ear, “Follow what you’re not leading anywhere?”

“You can’t use a move like this. It’s against the rules,” Zealot bellowed.

“How so? Claw, teeth, and skills, pretty sure I’m within the rules on this one, asshole,” I snapped and decided for the hell to bite his ear hard enough to make it bleed but not take off a chunk. “That was teeth, in case you weren’t sure.”

Spinning him away from me like we were dancing, I tossed him into the ropes, so he bounded off and came back to me. Taking a step to the left, I raised my knee, and the prick slammed his dick right into my knee. He groaned and collapsed on the mat, curling up in a ball.

“Huh… I wasn’t sure that was going to work with you being a shifter. Good to know,” I commented as I squatted next to him. “So, is this the part where you surrender and admit the winner?”

Zealot spat in my face. “Fuck you, whore.”

“Yeah, I had a feeling you were going to pick option number two,” I said with a sigh and stood, trying to wipe away the spit. “I suppose this is where I decide to let you live or not, but since I’m not looking to kill someone quite so publicly in my first two weeks being here, I’m just gonna knock you the fuck out.”

Before he could utter whatever ridiculous bullshit he had geared up, I kicked him in the head. His eyes went wide before he lost consciousness with a pathetic grunt of pain. The next thing I knew, Nine was grabbing my hips and raising me up, so I sat on his shoulder, cheering like he had won the lottery. The whole gym followed suit, shouting, whistling, and clapping as if this was the heavyweight championship of the world or something.

Dazed by the response, it took me a second to realize they were chanting something.

“Nicolette.”

“Nicolette.”

“Nicolette.”

“I present to you… the winner of the challenge, Nicolette, alpha female, and Den Mother to our pride,” Nine bellowed, ensuring everyone could hear. “Pride dinner at the bar. It’s time we welcomed our newest member the way she deserves.”

Another roar of applause and shouts nearly had me covering my ears, afraid I’d go deaf. Nine set me down, grabbed my face, and kissed the hell out of me, garnering more cheers and catcalls from some of the men and even a few ladies. It had me laughing, getting high on the energy of the room, allowing it to sweep me along. Then it all came to a screeching halt as pain shot through my body, and the feeling of someone clawing up my back had me screaming.

Nine exploded into motion, pulling me away from the danger and tossing me to Dice, who was suddenly right there, coiling his body around mine protectively.

The sound of fists hitting flesh had me looking around for whoever had done this to me. My gaze landed on the sight of Nine beating the shit out of Zealot until his face looked like raw meat.