Page 64 of Nita's Redemption

“We will go and be good little warriors for the pack, see what the others can do, make sure our own pack isn’t lacking, and then we’ll go home and show you how much we love and adore you properly,” Tank said. His deep authoritative tone reminded her of his father’s.

“Sounds like a solid plan to me. Do you think the Shadow Ravens are prepared to battle in their shifted forms without killing?” Abe asked.

Nita lifted up slightly, her head hanging upside down gave her the perfect view of Tank’s ass, but it also made all the blood rush to her brain. She looked over at Abe, wanting to gauge his expression to see if he was as worried as he’d sounded. Both the twins were experts at hiding how they felt unless she was inside their heads. Abe didn’t meet her eyes as he continued striding toward their destination. She could hear the voices of dozens of pack members along with the newcomers. With her abilities she’d honed on Olympus, she sent out her essence, a small part of herself that went unnoticed by everyone, even her mates. Nita wasn’t sure why she felt an uneasiness the closer they got to the others. Her wolf had gone quiet while the small section that the demoness females had instilled within her to help heal what had been broken came awake. Bakra had told her to always listen to her intuition, which Nita figured included the demon blood that formed inside her and created something more.

“You look very pensive,” Link growled, holding his hand under her jaw.

The feel of his hand on her gave her a sense of protection and eased the strain on the muscles she’d been using. She hadn’t realized the strain it was causing her to hold herself up at such an odd angle, nor had she paid close attention to the fact they were at the walls of the arena. The noise from the chattering shifters not so muted now.

“Sorry, I was thinking about everything that has happened and what it means to our pack.” A half-truth that would keep her mates from smelling a lie.

Tank shifted her down, letting her slide down the front of him. She loved the feel of his muscles brushing against her body. Hell, she loved the feel of all her males bodies, especially when they were all naked and making love. Gah, she needed to stop thinking about that, or every shifter present would smell her arousal.

“Mmmm, you smell so fucking good. You need to stop thinking whatever sexy thoughts are running through that amazing noggin’ of yours, or we won’t be responsible for the shit that happens,” Tank growled with eyes glowing down at her.

Nita bit her lip, then licked the small wound. “If I apologized, I’d be lying. This mating between us is too new. It’s hard to not think about being with you three, especially when your sexiness is so close to me.”

She giggled and jumped backward, barely escaping Tank’s grasping hands. Oh there was no doubt he could’ve caught her if he’d wanted to.

“There you four are. We thought you might’ve decided to skip the afternoon session.” Lorna held open the huge door to the main area. She had a smile on her face, exuding happiness from every pore of her being.

“If I had my way, we’d have done just that, but these three males have a thing about being honorable. I, on the other hand do not, but I’m trying to learn from them,” Nita mock whispered, winking to show she was kidding.

“Why do I only half believe you?” Lorna asked, slinging her arm over Nita’s shoulder.

Nita looked back, grinning at her males. “Was it the part about them being honorable you didn’t believe?”

Lorna was the one to look back this time, winking at the males. “Maybe, maybe not. I’ve always known these males to be nothing but good boys. However when it comes to alphas and their mates, all bets are off. Come on, let’s get inside before they decide to whisk you away.”

Her three males mock growled and made a lunge for them, missing her by an inch or less.

They all entered the arena on the side where most of the Shadow Pack was waiting. Nita again sent her senses out, drifting over them. The male named Ziggy was crouched down still in his human form, anger wafting off of him. She wanted to probe him to see if she could find out what his problem was. In that moment, he turned his stare toward her. Glowing amber eyes filled with rage had her taking a step backward.

She stopped herself from showing fear. His short brown hair looked as if he’d been running his hands through it a lot. The jeans he wore were the same he’d had on earlier in the day, but he’d taken off his shirt, leaving him bare chested and showing off a chest full of tattoos. As he stared at her, his chest rose and fell rapidly.

“Zig, you need to cut that shit out and do it now.”

Nita broke away from Ziggy’s stare down to see who’d spoken. If her memory was correct the shifter’s name was Lars. He looked a lot like Ziggy only a little younger. She’d bet they were brothers. He had the same hair color and glowing amber eyes.

“Alright, shifters. Looks like everyone is here. Like earlier we’ll be battling two at a time. This is a dual where we are learning weakness within one another, not trying to maim, hurt, or kill one another. If at any time one of you who are in the arena goes too far, you will be removed and face the consequences of not obeying the rules. You’re here either as pack or visiting pack. We are not enemies, so we will not behave as such. Is that clear?” Brock asked, his alpha order clear in each word he spoke.

A chorus of ‘Yes alpha’ echoed throughout. Nita couldn’t help but look back toward where Ziggy had been. The male was gone as was his brother. She looked at the area where the rest of the Shadow Ravens stood, counting heads. There should be eleven including Hurricane but only nine stood with their arms crossed over their chest. Their auras were a mixture of aggression and friendliness. The same colors filled the entire space, which in her mind was normal when they were getting ready to shift and fight for teaching and learning purposes.

‘I don’t see two of their pack members.’ She sent the images of the two males in question to all three of her mates. Before they could shrug off their absence, she sent the encounter she’d had with him and the feelings she’d gotten from him. Tank spun to face her, his growl deep and angry.

“Why didn’t you say something when it was happening?” Tank asked.

Nita crossed her arms over her chest, then dropped them so she didn’t look defensive. “I wasn’t sure what was happening. He was kinda crouched down like he was battling to hold his wolf inside, and then he looked up like he knew I was watching him. Which he totally shouldn’t have been able to do. I used an ability that is not shifter to search,” she admitted.

“Hold up. What do you mean you used a non-shifter ability?” Link eased in front of Tank, lifting her chin with a gentle touch.

She took a deep shaky breath. “When I was on Olympus, the females worked with me to help me heal from the inside out. The female you see before you isn’t the same as the one who left all those years ago. I was broken, almost beyond repair. The things I saw and went through at the hands of that monster.” Nita couldn’t control the shudder the thoughts from her past caused.

“We’re so sorry we didn’t save you sooner.” Abe stood shoulder-to-shoulder with his twin. Both males had sorrow etched within their faces. She wanted to wipe all traces of that expression from them.

“There was nothing anyone could do until the time was right. And when it was...I was a kid who’d been through too much. On Olympus was truly the only place I could heal. The only thing with my healing came some side effects. I was willing to deal with them, and I will never regret what I had to do in order to be the female standing here today. Bakra and the others took me under their wings. Every day, little by little, they peeled back the layers of trauma I was hiding behind. Sort of like an onion. Finally they found me at the core, and those layers were boiled away in a pot like a stew. Mind you, this is how Bakra put it. We didn’t eat the stew, she’d said. I was a little stumped at their way of explaining the process. For me it was like a rebirth that was a couple days later. Only on Olympus, time works differently. I could tell it was longer. I aged as you can tell. They did not. Bakra feared I would get too old and die on them. Again her words. They were my family, keeping me company when the nightmares woke me, and little by little, the nightmares went away, like the onion peels that were boiled to nothing. Zeus came to visit us in our little corner of Olympus. He touched my head and smiled. Goddess, he is truly one of the most...amazing males in all the universes.” Nita grinned at the grunts her males made.

“That all sounds great, but when and how did you get some of the demoness in you? Oh fuck, that sounds like you know.” Link made his hands do obscene gestures that had Tank groaning.

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