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An angry growl resounded in the small area where stage 6 was located, right on the heels of a very loud and powerful slap.The whole club went still, and Konstantin realized he was the one growling.Yasmin’s eyes went wide even as she held her hand to her abused face.
Motherfucker.
Konstantin was going to kill the piece of shit.
ChapterTwo
Yasmin kissed her son on the forehead before leaving her tiny, but tidy apartment on the Lower East Side.Thank the gods for rent control.It was like a blessing sent directly from the heavens when her elderly aunt had asked her to move in when her relationship ended.
“Be good for Auntie Lisa,” she told Mikey, and the four-year old nodded sagely.
“Yes, Mommy.”
“I love you.”
“Love you too.”
He was so quiet and reserved.Not at all like other cubs she’d known.Yasmin couldn’t help feeling as if she’d made a terrible mistake taking him away.But how could she remain in a Pride where he was a prominent member?There was only one answer.She couldn’t.
“You leaving, Yas?”Aunt Lisa asked.
“Yeah.I’ll be back after three.”
“Okay, and I noticed your heat pills running low.Don’t forget to call the alchemist for a refill.”
“Shit.Yes, I’ll do that,” she replied kissing her aunt’s cheek.
On top of all the other bullshit, female feline Shifters also had to deal with a fucked up biological quirk to ensure survival of the species.If they didn’t use the Shifter version of birth control pills, female cat Shifters were victims of their own bodies.
Once a heat cycle began, a female feline had two choices.One, fuck anything with a dick to satisfy her biological needs and end up pregnant.Or two, endure excruciating pain.Yasmin was not fond of pain.It was a good thing supernaturals had their own pharmacists, usually called alchemists, to battle these things.
The only problem was the effectiveness wore off after time because Shifters had incredible healing and adaptation abilities.Nature would always find a way.Something else to worry about, she sighed.
“You two be good.Love you both,” Yasmin said to her small, but oh so important family.
She still had her parents, but ties were strained ever since she’d refused the role of breeding female and left the Pride.Yasmin had no interest in becoming the Lioness version of a brood mare.She’d had dreams of being a famous Broadway star, but now she just wanted to earn a living and take care of her son.
She was lucky she supposed because she still got to dance.Not how she imagined, but when did life ever turn out the way a person thought it would?No matter.She had Mikey and she would not trade him for the world.
“We are going to play Candyland, and then I thought we could watch some cartoons.Sound good, pal?”Auntie Lisa asked, crouching beside Mikey.
“Yes,” he nodded and offered a small smile.
Yasmin nodded and left the two of them, her heart squeezing in her chest.Money was tight, and the old Candyland board game had been the same one Aunt Lisa played with her when she was a cub.The old woman was sweet and kind.She’d never had any kids of her own and had left their small Jersey Pride when she was young.That was after her fiancé had been killed in Vietnam, and no one had the heart to stop her.
Yasmin had always loved her aunt.She should have asked for advice then, but it was too late now.And she would never regret having Michael.Her cub was everything to her.
When Yasmin had left home, the Polaski Pride, based out of Brooklyn, had seemed perfect for a Lioness moving to the big city from her rural Jersey home.At first, the males had been attentive and interesting.Yasmin was young and too naïve to know better.It had been flattering when the Primus’ son had singled her out.
But fairytales were never what they seemed.Twenty-two and pregnant had left her almost tied to the creep for good.Luckily, he hadn’t marked her.She’d left after her son was born and it had all seemed too easy.That was when she saw the real Tyler Polaski.
Yasmin hadn’t realized how bad he was until he cornered her outside of his father’s territory.The first time he’d hit her, she’d been holding her infant son.The second time, his buddies had hovered over the cheap plastic stroller she’d used with their claws menacingly close to her sweet boy’s head.
Yes, Tyler threatened and terrorized her over the years for sport if nothing else.It seemed he’d made it a habit to hound her whenever he got bored.She was tough though, a Lioness through and through.For the past two years, he’d been threatening to sue for visitation and custody if she didn’t pay him off.So, she did.And she would.As long as he left her son alone.
As an exotic dancer, Yasmin was hardly in any position to fight for custody.Tyler was a Polaski, son and heir to the Polaski Paving fortune.If he took her to court, she wouldn’t win.He made sure she understood that.
She never understood why he was always broke, when they’d first met, what with all the money his family had.But it was true, Tyler never had a dollar on him.Old man Polaski never gave handouts.He’d expected his sons to earn, and Tyler was lazy.Even for a Lion.
