Page 28 of Nita's Redemption

If she didn’t control herself, she’d roll her damn eyes to the next county. Dear Goddess, doesn’t this child realize that all the males in that... nasty-ass trailer park are huge? “Chloe, we’ve studied every member of that group. You should know the names and some intimate detail about each one of them. If you don’t, then we will need to have you go over the files again.”

A low growl threatened to escape her throat, making Antoinette nearly rip Chloe’s face off. The audacity of Chloe, threatening her superior. She flexed her fingers and unflexed them. Blood dripped from her palms where she’d dug her long black nails into them.

“I know who it is. It’s the one called Tank. They all have such weird names.” Chloe stared at Antoinette with fear and a hint of pride.

Knowing what the younger woman wanted, Antoinette patted her head. “Well done. Did he see you or come close to our salt line?”

Nobody should be able to cross over their protected line without feeling the urge to turn around and go back the way they’d come. “Papa Legba is close. I can feel him deep inside my bones. He has always been more than just one of the keepers of the Dead and cemetery, having mastery over life and death. He will return to the living once we give him the blood of one of those beasts. That is what Mohini was to have done. Seeing her with those males acting like she didn’t even know us is worse than a slap in the face.” Antoinette snarled.

She whipped back toward the altar, grabbing a picture of Mohini, anger mounting. She looked slightly different from the girl today, but years had passed. “She must’ve found a way to stop aging. I will find that out before we take her life along with her males. Yes, it will be an evening of blood and death and rising. Our Loa will compensate us for our sacrifices.” The blood from her hand painted Mohini’s face, making it appear macabre as her sullen look stared back at Antoinette.

“When are we going to try to grab her and force the males to come for the female they’re calling Nita?” Cheryl asked from the opposite side of the altar.

With precise movements she put the framed picture back where it had been, leaving the smear of blood where it was. Soon, I will slit your throat and watch as your eyes dull when your worthless life leaves you.

NITA FELT AS IF SOMETHING were crawling all over her, itching to get beneath her skin. She woke up, scratching at her arms and legs, leaving bloody scrapes in her wake.

“Mi Dušo, what are you doing?” Link asked her, his hands took both of hers in his, stopping her from hurting herself more.

She could still feel remnants of the itching and crawling beneath her skin, but it was subsiding. Her eyes jumped to his then back to her arms. “There were bugs crawling all over me, even under my skin. I don’t know there was... shit, I think I was dreaming, but it felt so real.”

Telling Link she was losing her damn mind was like she’d opened the floodgates to all her insecurities. She scooted up to the head of the bed, pulled her legs to her chest, hoping to protect herself. What the fuck did she need to be protected from she had no clue. These were her mates.

“Nita, you need to calm down, dušo. Nothing will hurt you on our watch.” Abe pulled Nita onto his lap.

‘Hello, Nita. I have wanted to find a way to speak with you. I was going to wait until you all woke up while the males spoke to their humans. I am your wolf Alana, by the way.’

‘Oh my Goddess, I’m losing my mind, guys. Do you hear the female in my head?’ Nita asked her mates.

Link rubbed his hand on Nita’s thigh. “You’re not going crazy. We too heard her, and strangely, we have a wolf as well. I mean, obviously we’ve all had wolves, but we have talking wolves. I guess they’ve been silenced all our lives. From what they say, there used to be a symbiotic relationship between shifters and their wolves.”

“My wolf is named Aztec. He’s pretty awesome. He says your wolf is Alana, who just happens to be the most amazing female in his opinion, which I agree as well. I don’t know if you remember or not, Link, but Alana was the name of the little girl who’d been tied up to the tree. All of us had felt pulled to protect her, you, when we battled the old pack under Seamus years ago. If memory serves me right, we stuck close to where you were during the entire slaughter, ensuring nobody could get to you. We’d been in awe at the poor thing that was no bigger than a child, yet she didn’t cower from any of the wolves from our pack, but...there was something that drew all of us to her. To you.” Abe’s arms tightened around her.

Nita’s memories started falling into place. Memories she’d forgotten, or rather, had hidden by her wolf. “I think my wolf took over when I was a child. She took over when things were the worst, letting me hide in my own mind while she suffered,” Nita whispered.

‘I did what we needed to survive,’ Alana said.

Nita’s eyes went wide. She bit her lip so hard she drew blood. “That night I’d have been killed if it weren’t for you guys. The demoness females came for me once they smelled my pain and fear. I’m not sure what happened after that except waking up in a room on Olympus.”

“Stop hurting yourself, or I’ll have to fix you all the time,” Abe growled, his fingers gently turned her face to the side as he licked at her bottom lip, easing the small sting, moaning at the taste of their mate. “I don’t know how we didn’t connect the little broken female with you. I guess our minds couldn’t or wouldn’t allow us to meld the two of you. Now that we know, I can see the little girl in you.”

‘Our female is amazing. My name is Titan.’ Tank stepped into the room, rubbing the back of his neck. “He’s been talking nonstop for the past half hour. I guess y’all have heard your wolves now, too?”

Nita climbed off of Abe’s lap to walk across the huge bed toward Tank. “What made you so antsy you needed to leave us? And don’t even think of giving me some bullshit answer. I’m pretty sure Alana will talk to Titan, and he won’t lie to her so don’t lie or put me off.”

Tank gave a rumble for an answer, grabbing her around the hips. His lips sealed around hers, stealing her breath. Nita wanted to get lost in the arms of her males and forget about the weird stirring she felt. Hell, that would probably be the best thing, but her wolf was protesting.

‘We can’t, Nita. Something is coming for us. I’m glad our males know who we used to be. They are also aware we are no longer that weak being.’

“Alana says something is coming for us, and truthfully I feel what she says is true.” Nita looked back at her other two mates from the safety of Tank’s arms. They had the same knowing grimace on their handsome faces. She didn’t like hearing her wolf say they’d been weak. They’d been a child.

“The sun will be up in a few hours. I say we try to get a little more sleep. I just contacted my dad and told him what’s going on and spoke to Gray too. My dad said he’d call a pack meeting before lunch but wants us three at his home for breakfast.” Tank buried his nose into Nita’s neck, inhaling her smell mixed with theirs.

Tank’s dad was alpha, which meant there was no way they could ignore his order. Alana gave a little huff, making Nita grin. Her wolf was something else if she thought for a moment she could out alpha the big male. Of course, Nita would never want to challenge him or anyone else for such a position. Sure, she felt secure in her abilities, yet she never wanted to be in charge of others. Nope, not her circus not her monkeys.

“Anyone think they can sleep?” she asked, scratching her nails through Tank’s scalp.

“How about we watch a movie?” Link suggested, getting up from the bed.

---