Page 10 of Nicolette

I knew this was what he’d say, but I had to try doing the right thing before I said fuck it and threw the rules out the window. “That’s bullshit, Nine. Once she’s been bit, their claim over her is gone. As the leader of the Savage Pride, along with being the strongest feline shifter, the Supernatural Law says she’s to be under your care.”

“Until such time as she is no longer a danger to herself and others,” Nine countered. “If you’re going to quote the law, then say the whole damn thing, Marco. She would be under my protection for a time, but once she’s able to re-enter the world safely, that protection ends.”

“Yeah, and we can use that time to find the right way to keep her safe,” I argued.

Another pause and harsh whispers told me that one of the others must have thoughts on the matter. My guess was Dice since the fucker loved a good fight.

“Tell me why this means so much to you?” Nine ordered.

Oh shit, it had been Circus who’d been whispering. The damn leopard might be rattled in the head, but the bastard could read anyone like a book, rooting out their deepest desires and truths.

“Look, I don’t fully understand it myself, but my caracal is obsessed with her. He wants to heal her, then bring her back to the den where we can keep her safe. Nine, I’ve never felt him this angry over anything, not even when my parents were killed. None of it makes any sense to me, but I won’t lie, I’m losing my shit over this whole incident,” I blurted, the words falling out of my mouth, trying to get him to understand how important this was.

“It was always your plan to one day ask this of me, wasn’t it?” Nine challenged, but I could tell by the tone of his voice he didn’t need me to answer. “As my brother, I want to give you this, Marco, but as leader of this pride, I have to put their needs ahead of even my own. If I thought we could take on both The Broker and Mortas, there would be no question. However, if this became a battle and you brought them to our doorstep tonight, I’m not sure we would win. Half our crew is spread out working with the Yakovich Clan, handling the takeover of the Neechie Clan.”

How could I have forgotten that was going on right now? I was supposed to be sent along, but last minute, Nine changed his mind and kept me here.

“You’re right. This is a risk I really shouldn’t take right now,” I admitted, pushing off the wall. “Just remember, this time, I gave you a heads up.” Then with that, I hung up, turned my phone off, and shoved it back into my pocket.

Taking one last look up at the sky, filled with stars I couldn’t really see with all the light pollution from the city, I steeled myself for the trouble I was about to start. For me, there was no other option, no turning my back on her for the greater good. If that made me weak and selfish, then so be it.

I refused to accept a reality where I couldn’t do anything to save Nicolette.

So damn the consequences, I was going to do exactly that.

Chapter 4

Nicolette

The pain I was in told me I was still alive, but fuck, how I wished that wasn’t the case. How the hell had I managed to survive an attack from a ghoul with only a knife? I suppose that’s up for debate seeing as I’m not really alive, more like half-dead and too goddamn stubborn to die.

When a cool hand brushed along my skin, nails catching on every wound I had littering my body, I groaned. Had the ghoul come to finish me off after all?

“If it isn’t sweet little Nicolette all grown up,” a voice murmured. The sound of his voice instantly pulled me into a memory of my childhood…

Dad and I had been grocery shopping when these men appeared out of nowhere, snatched us up, and brought us to this scary home. Now we stood in a dimly lit room that sent shivers down my spine as I clung to my father’s hand.

“What you’re asking for is unreasonable, Master,” my father spat. “My wife is sick, and no one can help her, but to surrender myself to you for a tiny vial of blood is never going to happen.”

“Unreasonable? You dare to tell me what is unreasonable after all I’ve done for you?” the scary man yelled.

He moved so fast as if he just blinked across the room from where he’d been sitting to grab my father by the throat. “Your father begged me to let you go, to release you from the blood contract your line has had with me for centuries. It is only from my benevolence you have freedom and that child who’s holding onto you so tightly. What if I snatched her away? I released you, but there’s nothing saying I can’t make your daughter take your place. If you won’t give what I ask, maybe she can.”

“You can’t force her to take my place,” Dad retorted. “She doesn’t hold a drop of my blood in her veins. I made damn sure of it.”

The scary man bared his teeth and snarled. “So that human woman you so desperately wanted to be with tossed you aside for another? Such is the way of humans, so fickle, and she left you the brat too. Why do you still care for her spawn when it holds no relation to you?”

“Anna didn’t toss me aside. We got a donor so we could ensure something like this could never happen,” Dad announced triumphantly. “Nicolette is my daughter in every way that matters. She will learn vampires can never be trusted to keep their word. I’ll make sure she knows all they do is lie and manipulate. So, by all means, go right ahead and try your dirty tricks. Nothing you do will change the fact she has no ursa blood in her for you to control.”

“She might not have bear in her blood for me to call on, but I promise you, one way or another, I’ll have her,” Scary man taunted as he turned to me. “The next time you see me, Nicolette, you’ll beg for me to save your life and turn you into the one thing your father and his ancestors despised. For now, though, I will teach you a valuable lesson.”

With a sharp twist of his hand, I heard a sickening snap, and my father’s body went limp. The scary man released Dad, letting him crumple to the floor. I cried out, kneeling next to him as I begged him to get up so we could leave.

“Nicolette, the world is a dark palace full of death and destruction. Love and other sentimentalities will only ever bring you pain, suffering, and in the end… death. Trust no one, love nothing, and when I come for you, I believe you will make the right choice.”

Rage burned in my chest as I remembered everything about that day. Having to tell my mother what happened and the fact that Dad was never coming home broke us both. I was only five when that occurred, and Mother managed to hold it together until I was thirteen and could start finding odd jobs to help with money. When I was fifteen, they took her to the hospital, and that’s where she stayed for two years until she died. I hadn’t even gotten to be there for her funeral. If she even had one, because I doubt The Broker did anything more than cremate her.

Now standing over me was the bastard that started it all, the fucking corpse that single-handedly destroyed my life. If Dad had still been alive, none of this would have happened, and I’d still have a family. Yet this arrogant bloodsucker decided to ensure I lived life in a perpetual hell. Now he was going to pretend to be my guardian angel. Too bad, motherfucker, I took your advice to heart—especially the trust no one bit.