Page 4 of Nita's Redemption

“Thank you, child. If you’re hungry, you can come with us. We never have too many for another to join.”

Again, the words were said as if she was asking, but Nita felt the mental push trying to make her go with the group. She had two choices. She could ignore the female’s obvious power play and show her she had her own abilities or go with them. Both had downfalls. Fuck.

“There she is. I told you I saw her. Nita B, why didn’t you stop at the game store?”

Never had Nita thought she’d be overjoyed to hear that deep, annoying baritone, yelling her name in public as if nobody else was in the vicinity. She pushed her power out to the trio, sealing their shifter sides from the females. “Hi, guys. Sorry, I was trying to surprise you, but I didn’t see you there. You must’ve been in the back or something.”

Tank was the son of the alpha of the pack and took on the leader role of the trio. He was also slightly larger than the twins, Abe, and Link, yet all three of the males were huge compared to most humans. She took a step backward in their direction, feeling their heat as she moved closer to them.

“Ah, you know how much I love surprises.” Tank came up next to her, bringing her into the shelter of his larger frame. His big arm draped over her shoulders as if he did such a move all the time. Abe stepped up to her other side while Link took up a position behind her. The perfect triangle, protecting her from all sides. She knew without a doubt, should an attack happen from the front, one of them would move in to shield her, while the other two would do their best to remove her from the situation. Silly boys.

“Oh, look at those muscles that have muscles. Which one is yours, child?” Antoinette asked.

Nita grit her teeth at being called child again. “Thanks for the offer, ladies, but we have to go.” Giving no one a chance to speak, she grabbed one of Tank’s hands and one of Abe’s as she looked over her shoulder and met Link’s eyes. Her voice firm, she asked a simple question. “Where’d you guys park?”

A panty melting grin split Abe’s lips. “This way, my love. We already picked up lunch. All your favorites.”

The shithead winked as he nodded at the ladies moments before he lifted her off her feet, making her drop the other two males hands. Her oof became a squeal the second he tossed her over his shoulder, then she couldn’t control the growl when the foolish male slapped her ass. Oh, he was going to pay for his dumbass moves. Of course, she wouldn’t admit to anyone that the heat from his slap felt anything but bad, when in fact she kinda liked it. What was wrong with her?

“You smell delicious, my Asha.” Abe spoke too low for the women to overhear, but Nita felt it through every fiber of her being.

She wracked her brain, trying to come up with a witty comeback yet was stumped when she recognized what Asha meant. While they tended to act like jokesters and gamed more than they seemed to study, they were all very intelligent. The word Asha translated into desire, wish, or hope and was associated with Aisha or life in Swahili and Asher, which meant happy in Hebrew. It was a powerful word connected to the ash tree that symbolized protectiveness. Although she was a mix of several cultures thanks to the demon-seed sperm donor and her beautiful goddess of a mother. She didn’t think the others were aware she had any connection to the Indian culture, yet that is exactly where her name came from. Her mother was a mix of Hindu, Indian, and of course, African. Nita thought the three parts of her from her mama were the best parts of her, never mind the DNA she had from the male who claimed her mama. Seamus, in her estimation, was a sperm donor, and that’s it.

TANK KEPT HIS BODY between Nita and the females. He and Link recognized the distraction Abe was making with the display of carrying Nita the way he was. Not that he didn’t long to feel her curvy little body the same way, or better yet, naked and under him, but he was patient.

He’d felt power wash over the three of them the moment they’d come close enough to touch. They’d spoken within their private path, banking down their shifter side so that they appeared as human as possible. His instinct had roared out a warning seconds before their female had blasted a barrier over them, protecting them. Such a good Fated Mate. Oh yeah, the eldest female was something. He just didn’t know what, her aura almost saturating the air.

“If you fine ladies are looking for good eats, try Jake’s Barbeque just down the block. They got burnt ends you can’t miss, and some of the best baked mac and cheese I’ve ever tasted. Don’t tell my auntie I said that, though.” Tank spoke in a slower southern drawl than normal, winking at the women before he turned and walked behind the others with an aw shucks air.

“Such nice boys. I wonder which one is her boyfriend. Oh, you think she’s with more than one? You know in this day and age they call it a throuple or something like that. Why, if I was a young thing again, I’d have me a couple of strong young men like them.”

“Lord help us. Chloe, you can’t handle one man. What makes you think you can handle two, let alone three? Wait, what the hell is a throuple?”

“A throuple relationship is a relationship involving three individuals. The word throuple was created from two words. You know, three and a couple. In such a relationship, one person is intimate with the other two, and vice versa. Oh wait, what is it when there’s four people? Would that be a fourple?”

Tank heard what had to be someone slapping another, followed by an exclamation of pain. Abe and Nita turned the corner, with her raising herself up so that she could see behind her. He and Link created a wall, preventing any prying eyes to see beyond them, as well as keeping her from looking at the females they’d left behind. When they hit the corner, he worried she might glimpse the others, but her eyes never left his. What she was looking for, he wasn’t sure, but she gave a slight nod, then relaxed back down. He had an inkling of what she planned, which he should’ve alerted his friend about, but the fool was getting to carry their female, a first for any of them. Payback was a bitch in his mind. So when her little hand hit Abe’s ass in a not so slight swat, Tank’s lips twitched into a full-blown smile.

“Oh, I know you fuckers are back there laughing, and I also know I have a tiny little red handprint on my ass. I’m heading to a tattoo artist to get it inked there forever.” Abe gave her ass another slap that had her jerking over the fool’s shoulder.

“Don’t you dare, Abe Adams,” Nita growled.

Tank knew Abe dared a whole hell of a lot. Their female would learn that... in time.

The feeling of eyes watching them had the hairs on the back of his neck standing up. The females who’d been a little too interested in their Nita were clearly watching them, which wasn’t good for the humans if they had any bad intentions. Tank might be the son of the alpha, but when protecting what was theirs, he was all protector.

‘I think we got us some looky-loos following us, and it’s not our sexy asses they’re interested in,’ he said through their spiral path.

‘I felt that, too. Let’s head on into Jose’s Grill and see if they decide to follow. There’s a back exit we can take. I’ve already reached out to some friends for a pickup.’

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