Page 45 of Nicolette

The man held up his hands in surrender. “Yeah, I don’t even know where to begin with that, so I’m going to tell you just to google it, okay?”

“What is a feline exercise room?” I asked, trying to picture what the hell that could be in my head.

“The building is a cylinder, right?” Marco asked, waiting for my answer, so I nodded. “Well, the center of it is hollow from floor to ceiling. One brilliant alpha decided that we needed a place for us to shift and let our feline counterpart play safely. Think of the middle of the apartment building as one epically large cat tree. It has branches to climb, ledges to perch on, tunnels to crawl through, and nests to nap in. All the things a feline could possibly need to enjoy themselves.”

My mouth dropped open at the sound of this place. “Holy shit, that sounds amazing. Can we go there whenever we want, or are there rules about access?”

“No, you are free to enjoy the playroom whenever you want,” Polo answered.

Grinning to myself, I sat in the chair next to Circus, and Dice jumped into my lap and curled up. Before I could think better of it, I started stroking him like he was just a normal house cat. When he started to purr, I knew he didn’t mind, so I kept it up, enjoying the moment with him. When I turned my attention back to the others, all their gazes were transfixed on the cat happily rumbling away in my lap.

“Guys?” I questioned.

“If that isn’t proof enough they are a fated pair, I don’t know how much more convincing you need,” Marco whispered loudly.

“I feel like I’m missing something here,” I said once more, trying to get an answer.

“Normally, Dice hates for people to touch him. Meaning many people have died for thinking they could pat him on the back, give him a side hug, or God forbid a real hug,” Rambler explained. “That is one reason he typically stays in feline form until we need him. Not that he’s any less deadly, but his feline isn’t quite so reactive. He likes the thrill of the hunt too much to let things be over and done that quickly.”

With a new view on the sleepy cat in my lap, I paused my movement. When I was about to pull my hand away, his eye cracked open to look at me. Never did I think I could get such a disapproving look from a cat, but fuck if that wasn’t a clear message, I’d better not stop petting him.

“Okay, okay, I'll keep petting you as long as you promise to tell me if you’ve had enough,” I countered.

He yawned and let out a half-hearted meow before getting in a more comfortable position and shutting his eyes.

“So…” I commented, hoping someone might have a clue where to go with this next.

“I think it’s obvious by now that there is a special bond with all of us and you,” Nine stated. “Seeing as there was absolutely no conversation or discussion before things evolved with you and me, that’s the first thing I think that needs to happen. I’m not saying you need to do it now or in front of all of us, but I want to make sure before you get any deeper in whatever this is between us, you’re choosing to be part of it.”

Rambler came around the desk and leaned on the front of it, arms crossed, looking down at Dice. “Part of me thinks that, for whatever reason, this has to happen in dominance rank. Nine was first, now I’m next, but it seems I don’t have as much of an issue with Dice being where he is even though we aren’t mated yet. I’m not thrilled with Circus’s scent all over you, but I don’t want to kill him. The twins, on the other hand, better keep their distance. At least while I’m in the room until Nic and I have decided what we’re going to do.”

“Fascinating,” I mused aloud. “First, I’m a rather rare feline as a lioness, and now this. Do you think that has something to do with it? Me being a lioness?”

“Not necessarily since Layton’s wife was a tiger, and she is the first we have written record of,” Rambler pointed out. “I’m wondering if this might have happened naturally over the years, but people didn’t think much of it since felines freely love who they want. It wasn’t until the MC came into play that the rules between men and women became more strict and enforced. Previous to that change, the pride lived in a commune in the country before supernaturals were integrated into normal society.”

“Holy shit, you’re saying that journal is hundreds of years old?” I blurted.

“Six hundred, to be exact,” Rambler added. “We’ve always tried to preserve our history, especially since shifters live so much longer than humans. On average, a shifter lives to be almost two hundred years old if they’re not killed before then, back in those days, which is why they lived secluded in a commune. It helped to keep them hidden.”

Supernatural integration with human society happened four hundred years ago, and we were still trying to adjust. Granted, my generation was doing the best, finding a balance in the world, but I think that had more to do with the Supes finally learning how to live with us. To live only two hundred years was short for many other Supes since fae could live to be a thousand, and vampires never died. I didn’t keep track of all the species of supernaturals, but two hundred was the lower age range. It might have something to do with the fact that bitten shifters were human once, and even though a majority were born, there’s still a lot of human DNA in them.

“It takes a little while to adjust to, but the nice part about living with fellow supernaturals is you won’t feel so strange not aging the same because no one else is either,” Nine shared as he let the back of his fingers caress my cheek.

There must have been an expression on my face or something for him to realize I’d gotten a little overwhelmed with that news. “Is it weird I’m kind of glad it’s not longer than that? People say they want immortality, but I don’t think they realize just what that means. Two hundred years is plenty for me to live life and experience everything I want to. More than that would seem too long.”

“I agree,” Nine murmured, but the way he said it made me feel like there was far more to that than he was admitting. “Then we’re all clear on how this is going to go? Nothing will happen unless it has been agreed to by both parties, and the twins will need to keep their hands to themselves around Rambler for now. I’m sorry about that, boys, it sucks, and it’s unfair, but for the preservation of friendships and the leadership of the Savage Pride, we need to make some adjustments.”

The twins mumbled their agreement, and Marco was more put out than Polo, but I think that’s just because Marco was far more expressive.

“Hey, you know this doesn’t mean you’ll never get to hang out with me,” I reminded. “Hell, we can go on dates just the three of us, or two, however you want to make it happen. Rambler just can’t handle it happening in front of him, so we’ll find other ways around it in the meantime.”

Instantly Marco was smiling. “Oh, this is going to be fun.”

“The fun is going to have to wait,” Nine cut in. “We need to get some work done because we have a shipment coming in tomorrow night, and we’ve been MIA for the past few days.”

“Works for me, besides I need time to come up with some epic plans for dates,” Marco reasoned, in a far better mood than he had been a minute ago.

Telling him that idea had been the right move, and my lioness was pleased with my efforts. It was comforting to know she could feel something other than sheer irritation, which was nice. When I finally noticed the room was oddly silent, I looked up to find them all looking at me.