Page 96 of Nita's Redemption

‘I think one of the females might’ve pissed her pants.’ Tank’s laughter accompanied his words.

“Our mates were, or rather are shifters. Only they are not men who shift into their other form. They are beasts who only became male when they’re in heat. Do you know how often they’re in heat?” Cheryl screamed the last word like an accusation.

“I have never heard of any such shifter.” Nita shrugged negligently.

“Well, I guess it’s time you meet the rest of your family. Nita, meet your uncles and cousins.” Cheryl pointed behind Nita. The rattling growls were loud as the crocodiles slithered into the clearing.

Link stared in horror at the sizes of the beasts that came into view. Almost a dozen of the huge reptilian things came to a halt several feet from where Nita, Bakra, Menka, and Ezra stood.

“See, I told you those crocodicks were actually shifters,” Bakra declared.

Ezra shoved her in the shoulder. “Now is not the time to declare who is or isn’t correct.”

“I didn’t think there were crocodiles in America, save for some in southern Florida,” Tank muttered. They were all eyeing the things that were rattle growling, sizing them up since they were more than likely the true threat.

With Nita and the other females pinned between the crocs and the crazy bitches, Link’s own beast was howling to destroy. The same emotions were flooding him from the males of his pack who were doing their best to keep hidden.

‘Link, I just asked Hurricane if he’d seen these types of shifters before. He said he’s run into gators he’d been sure were shifters before. They weren’t very social and stuck to themselves, going so far as to hide in the deepest parts of the swamp water where Hurricane and his pack couldn’t sense anything but swamp. He also said there’s been talk of a congregation of them along the southern tip of Florida and a sighting of another group of them in southern Louisiana as well.’ Tank breathed out a frustrated sigh.

‘From what I can see, those things are definitely crocodile shifters. Which if my memory is correct means those bastards are true predators. They’re ancient fuckers that have been around since the dinosaurs. You combine that shit with the ability to shift into humans, and brother, we’re no longer top of the food chain. In fact, those predators just might make us prey unless someone has info on their weaknesses.’ Link pictured what he knew of crocodiles. Their soft underbelly’s could be considered a striking point.

‘Hurricane said that like their counterpart, if we can get their jaws sealed shut then the crocodiles would be rendered somewhat defenseless. Mind you, they still have extremely sharp claws on all four legs, and they can move fast as fuck.’ Tank sent the images Hurricane showed him of crocs running out of the water and grabbing large prey like deer. The image was brutal with the crocodile raking the big buck with its claws, rendering the killing bite and blow as the deer stopped moving almost instantly.

He didn’t want to be caught by those sharp teeth or ripped open by the claws of the greyish creatures, but he’d do anything to protect his female.

‘Looks like we gonna have to jump on the backs of those fuckers and tape their traps shut.’ The grating rattle was loud and honestly a little eerie. He wouldn’t admit that out loud to anyone, knowing the males would give him shit.

‘Don’t forget they also have armored scales on the backs of their bodies that make them hard to kill, not to mention every damn inch of them happens to be a weapon.’ Abe said. His twin was smart when it came to many things. He’d be more alarmed if Abe hadn’t chimed in while Tank and him were mind-speaking.

‘Crocodiles also have a dermal armor that’s highly developed in dorsal longitudinal rows with cervical rows being distinctly separated from those of the back region. Oh, and don’t forget their bite is much worse than anything we’ve ever come across. If they clamp down on us, it’ll be with the power of thirty seven hundred PSI, compared to a normal human whose bite is a hundred and fifty PSI. As a male shifter, our bite is probably in the thousand range, which means they are three times stronger. We need to be smarter.’ Abe sent them images to show what he meant.

Link shook his head, hating the idea that they were outpowered by anything, let alone things stalking their female. His wolf growled low in his throat as they realized the crocs had moved closer. ‘We don’t have time to dick around, brothers. I won’t sit back and watch our females get chewed apart.’

The fire between the bitches, Nita, and the other females began to dance back and forth, making Link’s hackles raise. He sent the image to the males with him. The females clearly weren’t harmless like normal humans. From the scent and color of the smoke billowing upward from the flames, he recognized the sulfuric odor that told of their evil deeds. He’d seen what could happen when people dabbled in the dark magic. He and his pack had lost loved ones and had nearly lost their Fated Mate because their old alpha had gone to the dark side. None of them were prepared to close a blind eye again. Why these females had chosen to do such a stupid thing he didn’t know, and frankly, he didn’t give a fuck.

‘We’re far from alone, Link. Our pack is here,’ Tank growled through the pack link.

With a low growl, Tank and Hurricane motioned for several of their pack to move forward. The crocodiles were too close to their females to stay motionless any longer.

Nita and Bakra stood back-to-back while Menka and Ezra did the same. She and Ezra were watching the females and the flame. While she wasn’t discounting the croc things, she also knew better than to discount the power of a lunatic or two.

“Alrighty then. So it looks like you got you some splaining to do, Chloe dear. What are those croco-things?” Nita hiked her thumb over her shoulder.

“I really hope none of these males was the creeper who tried to crawl up between my thighs and give me head all those years ago. I mean, like I said, I have nothing against that except well, it’s weird. You know, when you’re chillaxing with your girls, and all the sudden, bam, you feel hot breath on your nether regions, so you look down. It’s a fucked up sight to see beady little eyes staring back atcha as this half male, half crocodick, is positioned with their reptilian tongue out as if they’ll die if they don’t get a taste. I get it. I’m very sweet and all the boys want my milkshake, but I was not, I repeat not, shaking it in the yard, or lake,” Bakra said.

“It was a damn swamp, B. That’s why those lizard things were coming out of it.” Menka interrupted Bakra’s story.

“Swamp, lake, beach, it’s all the same if there’s water, sun, and a nice place to lay down.” Bakra shrugged her shoulder.

Ezra bumped Nita’s shoulder. “We were there trying to catch our breaths and heal some wounds after we battled some demon foe. Can’t remember which one and where. I mean we do that a lot, but I remember that situation because I was regrowing my arm. It was kinda gnarly, and B said she knew a place we could chill in safety for a while.”

“But did we die?” Bakra yelled.

“What are you foolish females talking about?” Cheryl asked.

“I think they’re saying that your crocodicks tried to do sexual things that they had no consent to do, and it was creepy because they had beady little eyes staring up at them, which also grossed them out.” Nita finished with a shrug, watching their expressions as she finished.

“They would never do that unless they were in heat, and they’ve been with us for the last fifteen years,” Choe yelled.

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