Page 74 of Nicolette

“Nine, enough,” Rambler snapped, grabbing the alpha’s shoulder. “He doesn’t deserve to die by your hands.”

My lion allowed himself to be pulled away from Zealot, still seething, eyes wild and chest heaving. “He’s gone. I don’t care how many of you it takes but drag his body to the river and dump him off the bridge. Zealot is no longer a member of this fucking pride and will never be spoken of again for breaking the sacred rules of a challenge.”

If the pride didn’t think Nine was serious about changes being made and consequences being enforced, they sure did now. Three bulky men picked up the bastard and carried him out of the gym.

Rambler walked up to me and pressed a quick kiss to my lips. “I’ll be right back, but I’m gonna take out the trash first.”

That had me smiling even though my adrenaline was still raging just under the skin as I felt the wounds on my back healing. It was a weird sensation, almost like an itch I couldn’t scratch, nor did I want to. Rambler searched my face for a moment longer, and once he determined I wasn’t going to have a meltdown, he left to deal with Zealot.

Dice finally loosened his hold so he could turn me around and look at my back. “He didn’t get you very deep, the fucker. These should be healed in another minute or two, leaving no sign it ever happened behind.”

“Was his ego so fragile that losing to me made him desperate enough to break the rules? I don’t get it. Now he’s lost everything,” I muttered.

Nine tucked his still bloody hand under my chin, raising it to meet his gaze. “He already lost everything the moment you told the pride how he was treating the women. That is something we take incredibly serious within the pride. You let him live, showed him mercy, but that doesn’t mean the rest of them would, leaving him with no choice but to make you kill him.”

“Then why did Rambler stop you?” I questioned.

“Because I would have been giving the fucker what he wanted, and he didn’t deserve that for what he did. Now he’ll have to find a way to survive on his own since I plan on telling the neighboring prides the reason for his banishment,” Nine explained, then wrapped an arm around the top of my shoulders. “Come on, let’s head to the bar, get you a drink, some onion rings, and maybe I might be able to talk you into dancing with me.”

“I should change or at least shower off,” I protested.

“Nope, you’re gonna stay as you are, a visual reminder of what you’ve done for this pride,” Nine decided.

Even though I rolled my eyes and groaned, I was actually proud of him for making his people step up and take responsibility for how they’d been acting. He had taken off the rose-colored glasses and saw things for the reality that they were. It was a perfect place for him to be when implementing the changes he announced tonight.

It seemed things might finally start to even out around here.

It had been years since I’d gone to a club or a bar to go dancing, but here I was, sandwiched between Marco and Polo, with the music thumping and our sweaty bodies rubbing up all on each other. Nine had dragged me out here first after I slammed two drinks and ate a pound of onion rings. I was a lucky girl that the fact I probably smelled like an onion patch didn’t keep Nine from making out with me as he groped my ass on the dance floor. That, my friend, was true love right there, and he was all mine, bitches.

Rambler made it back and slid in behind to take his turn, looping my arms around his neck, so my whole body arched into him. Hands on my hips, holding my ass against his rock-hard cock we kissed, teased, and danced, just enjoying the feel of our bodies touching. Not to mention the explicit dirty talk about his plans for me when we had our next one-on-one time together. I thought I was going to come simply from his words alone.

That’s when the twins saved me—or so I thought.

Our dancing started out playful as Marco was trying to teach me these ridiculous dance moves I’d clearly missed knowing about being at the Lucky Strike. I’d never laughed so hard in my life. My face hurt, and my abs were protesting the workout, but I didn’t give a fuck. Then when the music changed, the twins locked me between them. Kisses were showered over whatever bare skin they could find as Marco ground his cock to my ass as he teased my nipples through the sports bra. Polo was tongue fucking my mouth and rubbing his knuckles over my pussy, making me grateful for how thin the fabric of these shorts were.

That moment was exactly what I’d been missing in my life. I felt adored, valued, and the happiest I’d been since my father was killed. The dreams I’d been searching for were here, with these six men who came crashing into my life only weeks ago. They blew up the life I’d been living, but the difference was they made it so much better as I pieced it back together.

Adding them into a permanent place in my life was exactly what had been missing. I suppose Circus had been right about fated pairs being the missing part of who we were, and I’d been missing six pieces. Now that they were all here, my life could begin, and I could create lasting memories for the first time.

Just when I was about ready to explode between the twins, Circus appeared with a knowing grin on his face. “Can I steal our woman now? I think we’ve been quite reasonable, letting you all enjoy time with her when it’s our turn.”

The twins grumbled, but they kissed me until I was breathless, then handed me off to Circus. I assumed he wanted to dance, but I was abruptly hoisted over his shoulder and carried off the dance floor. He took me upstairs, where it was pitch black, but that didn’t really matter since felines had excellent night vision. Setting me down, Circus spun me around to face Dice, who was suddenly standing an inch away from me.

He lifted a hand and tugged the neckline of my sports bra back, revealing Rambler’s mark. “Tell me you wanted that mark, and you’ve chosen to spend your life with us, dusza.”

“I did,” I whispered. “My life is here with my mates and our pride.”

“Now that you’ve said it, there is no turning back, I gave you the chance to walk away, but once I’ve claimed something, it’s mine,” Dice warned as he slipped his finger in my bra, tracing the border, so he brushed my nipple.

Circus nuzzled my neck as he wrapped his arms around my waist, hugging me tight. “You already know how I feel about you, Neko. Mate or not, mark or no mark, you were never going to be rid of me. I would follow you over the ends of the earth to be by your side. Now I’m happy to hear you want me as I want you.”

“I want all of you,” I admitted. “I don’t want to live life fighting alone anymore.”

Dice cupped my face, his green eyes sparkling in the faint light from the stairs. “You will never fight alone again as long as there is a beating heart in my body.”

“Oh that’s a good line, me too, what he said all broody and sexy,” Circus interjected, his excitement pouring out of him as he squeezed me tighter.

The look Dice gave the leopard would have made most people piss themselves, but not Circus. Nope, that crazy asshole just giggled, that’s right, straight-up giggled with glee. Dice realized this was a moot point and shifted his attention back to me. “Do you trust me?”