––––––––

Unable to pull her hand away from Jenna’s strong grip, she had no way to fight the knowledge flowing into her mind. Good god, the woman, no the Fey Queen, pushed information into her mind, flooding her with details. NeNe held onto the small hand like a lifeline, jolting with each new revelation. Her friends, Lyric, Laikyn, Syn, and even Joz were shifters. They couldn’t tell her because she hadn’t been one. Through Jenna, she could see how hard it had been for her friends not to tell her, but they’d accepted their fate, leaving NeNe to go on without them, the little beotches.

“Alright, mia cara, I think the little female has enough to fill her mind for now.”

NeNe wanted to agree, for crying out loud her brain felt like a scrambled egg that’d been beaten a little too much if that were possible. “I feel fairly positive I won’t go on a rampage when you take me back home.” Dear god, was that croaky voice hers?

Yeah, the only one she planned to maim, kill, and all around dismember was Mac, but nobody would miss that fucker. One of the GD men patted her head.

“What does GD mean. I’ve heard of GQ, which hello, I get.” The one holding Jenna asked.

She growled. “Why can all of you get into my head? For fucksake, is nothing sacred here?” Seeing she wasn’t going to get out of telling them, she looked at the smiling pregnant woman, and then at the sweating man holding her. “Why are you sweating?” she asked instead of answering.

Her words made Jenna glance up at her mate. “Lucas Cordell, are you taking my pain?”

“I bet if she were on the ground she’d have stomped her foot when she asked that,” Damien joked. “Now, back to GD.” He stared at NeNe.

“God Damn. It means God Damn Man.” She looked at the stomach of the tiny woman, a frown pulled at her brows. “Are you okay?”

Jenna nodded. “We need to get back to Earth. Pronto! All aboard the Fey Train. We outta here. You wanna come with, you need to grab one of my goddamn men and hold on.”

NeNe was going to correct her on the pronunciation of GD, then decided to hold her tongue when Damien grabbed her arm, his touch firm just before a swirling vortex of death took her. Holy mother of gawd, what the ever-loving bit of horseshit did she step into this time?

“Girl, you really need to have a conversation with someone. I’m not sure what all is going on in that head of yours, but I’m pretty sure you ain’t right,” Damien said, releasing her quickly before she could punch him.

She growled, not her bear, but a girlie one. “Warn a woman before you decide to take her down a tunnel of darkness and throw in a swirly for shits and giggles. Oh god, I’m gonna be sick,” she gasped, bending over seconds before she yacked up the contents of her breakfast over his shiny black shoes.

“Are you kidding me?” he roared.

“What the hell?” Kellen asked.

“Can someone please open the ground again?” NeNe mumbled, keeping her head down even though the view she had was of an unappetizing one of pancakes that looked better going in.

“Ah, you didn’t get the happy juice I see. Where’s Jennaveve?” Kellen patted her back, seeming to not notice he was extra close to vomit.

“Our Hearts Love wasn’t in the best of moods. Our young are not being very nice to their mama.” Damien glanced down at his shoes, took a step back, and made a motion with his hands.

NeNe glared at him when she saw his shoes were clean, looking as if he’d just bought the damn things. Fucker. “I think you should go see to your, whatever the hell you call Jenna before I let my bear out and eat you.”

She was pretty sure the alpha of wolves sucked in a startled breath, but she ignored him, focusing on gathering her dignity from somewhere around her ankles. Damien lifted his hand to his forehead, gave her a jaunty salute, and ghosted. Damn, why couldn’t she be gifted with those nifty abilities. Instead, she had a beastly bitch inside her who clearly couldn’t hold her cookies. She wasn’t going to split hairs.

“You going to stand there and pretend I’m not here?” Kellen asked.

“Are you going to disappear if I do?” she questioned, turning to see his expression. He may be a big bad wolf, but her bear wasn’t a cuddly little thing. No longer was she going to cower from anyone.

Kellen nodded. “I see we got us another alpha bitch. Just what I need around here. Your man will be glad to find out you’ve come back in one piece. Come on inside, I’ll get you something to rinse your mouth out. And, in case you were wondering, that wasn’t a request.”

She eyed the big guy. Now that she was where she wanted to be, NeNe wasn’t sure what she was going to do with her life. The plan to trek it across the country as far from her family seemed like a lifetime ago. Jenna had said she needed a pack. “You’re a wolf?” she blurted. Gah, she wasn’t usually a blurter, dammit.

“Yep, so is just about everyone you know around here. You’re a bear, a grizzly to be exact, from what we’ve been told. How do you feel about that?” Kellen crossed his arms over his chest, the muscles bulging, making her think his wolf was itching under his skin.

“Is your wolf trying to get out and fight my bear?” NeNe was surprised her beast was actually quiet for the moment. Maybe the travel and sickness had sent the big girl into hiding.

Kellen eyed her up and down. “No, he’s not raking to get out and fight you. Yes, I can feel the apex predator in you, but my wolf doesn’t see you as a threat. Don’t take that as a put down. It just is.”

Coti picked up his phone, looked at the caller ID and groaned. Someone from the club had been calling him every couple hours for the past few days, checking to make sure he wasn’t going crazy. Or crazier. The fact he knew where his unclaimed mate was, yet she was unattainable to him had him on edge. He’d known he couldn’t be around the others of his pack, fear of hurting them kept him locked in his home. “What?” he barked into the phone after swiping his finger across the screen.

“I love you too, man.” Bodhi’s voice was loud, the music in the background making Coti wince.

“Dude, go make out with your mate and leave me alone.” Everyone had mates they could touch, while he’d had one night with his. Why hadn’t he claimed her then and there instead of thinking he needed to do the gentlemanly thing? “’Cause I’m a damn idiot, that’s why.”

“In that we all agree, but I thought I’d let you know your girl is here. Well, she’s outside with Kellen and one of the Cordells. She actually tossed her guts all over the shoes of that slick motherfucker. Funniest shit you ever did see. Whoa, why you yelling?”

Coti looked at the phone and then at himself in the hall mirror as he passed. “I need you to rewind and explain why NeNe is with the Cordells.”

“Not sure on the whys, only know Kellen stormed out of here like his ass was on fire and told me to stay inside and keep my eyes and ears open. I saw and heard your girl, figured you should know.” Bodhi’s voice became slightly muffled. Coti heard him yelling for someone to get off the bar. “Gotta go, Syn and some of the girls decided to get on the bar and dance. Which would be fine, except Turo is being Turo. See you in a few.”

He could picture the ladies on Turo’s bar. Although it wasn’t technically his, since he was the head bartender and the one who usually kept the peace when a fight broke out, the man took his job very seriously. Plus, if he was there, then his mate Joz was probably with the other ladies, on top the bar. He’d let them have their drama, at least their mates were safely with them, while his was...shit she was back and he was fucking off. He ran his hand over his beard, looked down at his black T and worn jeans with a shrug. He snatched his wallet up off the side table next to his bed. After slipping it into his back pocket, he attached the chain to his jeans, stomped his feet into a pair of shitkickers, then walked into his garage. His first thought was to ghost to the club, his inner peace still amazed him since he’d allowed his beings to merge. “Fuck it,” he said, changing his mind and dematerializing. The need to get to NeNe too great. He’d worry about explaining to her about himself afterward.

Outside the club, he coasted on the wind, searching the area before he allowed his body to reform. The sweet scent of woman hit him along with a noxious odor. He walked over, seeing what the nastiness was, shaking his head at the pile. “That’s not a good sign.” With a thought, he cleared the mess away, not wanting to leave a trail for anyone to find. If he could scent her, then others might be able to as well. He’d not been able to find Mac, the soon-to-be dead bastard. Although the overlying scent didn’t remind him of the shithole where NeNe worked, he wouldn’t relax his guard when it came to her safety.

The door swung open, Bodhi’s big body stood in the entryway, his mohawk a little disheveled. “Where’s she at?” he asked the other man.

Bodhi tilted his head toward the inside. “They went into his office, but then, the girls decided they wanted to talk, and well, shit sort of went south at that point.”

He heard some chants, and female growls, but surely, they weren’t allowing the women to fight. “What the fuck’s going on?”

“Sometimes, women need to slap the shit outta each other in order to get their heads on straight, ya know?”

No, he didn’t know. His female wasn’t one to hit anybody.

A deep rumble shook the room, making the fine hairs on his arm stand up. “Fuck me, is that my little warrior?” He and Bodhi moved away from the door, heading toward the back of the bar. In through the back entrance, there was another door that led to a shifter only area, one where they held fights. The cage sat in the center, lights overhead illuminated the area, showing him NeNe surrounded by his female pack members. “Fucking bullshit. They all going to take her on?”

Bodhi grabbed his arm. “You know our females aren’t like that. If they’re all in there, then there’s a reason, Coti. Don’t do something stupid, brother.”

He shrugged Bodhi’s hand off of him, picking up his pace till he was outside the cage. “NeNe, what the hell is going on?” he yelled.

NeNe turned to face him, black eyes stared out at him. “Don’t,” she snarled.

“Fuck, her bear’s in control.” He walked to the door, knowing the big beast would tear the females apart.

Kellen stepped in his way. “No, let them be. They got a beef they need to settle, or the pack will never be level, feel me?”

Coti pointed behind Kellen. “She’s going to go killer bear on those females, and then all you are going to be mateless,” he warned.

“NeNe’s in there, and I’m banking on the fact she still loves her friends. Loves them enough to not kill them. Smack them down a little for being beotches, her words not mine, yes. Kill, not gonna happen. Come on, let’s get on with it then,” Kellen yelled.

Unable to believe the alpha of his pack was taunting NeNe, he waited, knowing he’d step in before she did something they’d all regret. He met Rowan’s intent blue gaze across from him, knowing the man had to be worried seeing his mate in the cage, but the ex-SEAL nodded, then looked back at the women. Bodhi, Turo, and Kellen surrounded him, the three men clearly thinking to hold him back. He mocked Kellen’s stance, folding his arms over his chest. “NeNe, do what you gotta do, armina. I need to talk to you.” Her head swung around, pinning him with an angry glare.

“Dude, she looks ready to bite your head off. I’d shut the fuck up if I were you,” Xan said. “I’m glad my girl never pissed in your female’s pool.”

“Please excuse him, sometimes I forget to walk in first with a warning sign,” Breezy announced.

Xan grinned, wrapping his arms around his mate. “And what exactly would that sign say? Warning, sexy man walking?”

Breezy snorted but a sigh escaped as Xan’s hands slid under her top. Coti turned away from the couple, jerking as the cage rattled. A feminine cry of outrage erupted from the center. The tiny woman mated to Turo, named Joz, jumped back up, but he’d missed why she’d landed against the far side. “Can you shut up, so I can focus?” he growled the angry words directed at Xan.

“FYI, your girl just tossed little Joz across the cage like she was a doll she was tired of playing with,” Bodhi explained.

Joz stood up, her hands flexing at her sides. “Ah, you wanna play like that?” She ran at NeNe, jumping up and kicking out toward NeNe’s head.

The sound of the other woman’s foot connecting with NeNe, along with the way his mate’s head twisted to the side as if in slow motion, made Coti’s stomach drop. His mate lifted her hand, wiped her lip, then turned to face the women who stood in a group. “Nice kick,” she said, cracking her neck. Her nails clacked together, black claws had sprung out after Joz’s attack. “Next time, don’t stop when you got the momentum. All you did was piss me off.”

“Aw, sheot, I think we might’ve bit off more than we can chew,” Lyric whisper yelled.

Syn clapped her hands. “Ain’t nothing we ain’t done before, girlfriend. Remember that one time,” she laughed as Lyric said, ‘At band camp’, finishing Syn’s sentence. Both girls laughed and gave each other a high-five, then like two crazy women, they attacked.

If Coti hadn’t seen them in action before, he’d have wished for a recorder, so he could hit rewind and see exactly what they’d done. Instead, he focused on NeNe, and her reactions. She spun, trying to figure out where they would attack. Only problem was each female moved fast, and in opposite directions, punching, kicking, and then moving out of NeNe’s range. The scent of his mate’s blood filled his senses, sending his beast a rocking.

“Settle, Coti. She’s got this,” Kellen pointed at the cage.

NeNe fell to one knee while Joz leapt over her from behind. She reached up and grabbed one of Joz’s feet pulling hard and fast. Joz hit the mat, the wind knocked out of her. NeNe put her face close to Joz’s, her hand now holding her throat. “Submit,” she roared.

Lyric jumped on her back, some sort of war cry that hurt his ears coming from her mouth, her fist beating at NeNe’s head. Fuck, his woman’s dome was taking a beating, but she didn’t even rock from the hits. Instead, she reached up with her free hand and tossed Lyric up and out of the cage, yelling, “incoming”. Her aim was true, giving Rowan a chance to move a step back and catch Lyric.

Syn stood in front of NeNe where she held Joz, her face bruised and battered. “If I were to say, run and aim a kick at your head, what would you do?” he heard the female ask.

In a very bear like way, NeNe tilted her head. “I’d catch you like I did Lyric, then I’d probably knock you and this stubborn one’s head together. Both of you submit and we call it done,” she rumbled.

The sound of an angry growl had him looking over at the door to the bar. Turo stood with one of his babies, an AR-15, in his hand. “Joz, don’t make me unload this fucker. Submit.”

“Fine, but I’m not showing her my throat,” Joz growled.

NeNe released her. “I don’t want your throat. I don’t want anything from any of you. You all thought I was nothing but trash, while you were too good to hang out with me anymore, well now, I’m trash that just whooped your asses.”

“Baby, I’m gonna need you to hold that gun for a bit,” Joz called out, then the crazy little female wrapped her legs around NeNe’s head, flipped her over while Syn hopped on her chest. That same damn war cry came from outside the cage, then from inside as Lyric joined the fray. He made to stop them, coming up short as his alpha, along with the mates of the other women, blocked his path.

“You all realize I can dematerialize and ghost right through you, right?” he asked them.

Each man nodded but didn’t move.

“Just for clarification, if I scent she’s hurting, physically, nothing will stop me. I won’t hurt your females, but I will get mine. Feel me?” He looked Kellen in the eye, not blinking.

“I would expect no less,” Kellen agreed. “When they finish, and you settle shit with her, we got shit to sort out. I gave you a reprieve, because you weren’t level. I can tell you’re as level as you’ll ever be. I’ll give you twenty-four hours.” Kellen stepped aside, turning his back to Coti.

He knew his alpha wasn’t disrespecting him, just letting him know he trusted him not to do anything stupid. If Kellen only knew, stupid was his middle name. However, he kept his feet planted while the women held NeNe down, screaming back and forth.

“Can any of you understand what the fuck they’re saying?” Xan asked.

Breezy elbowed him in the stomach. “Sssh, they’re talking it out.”

Xan looked around, whisper yelling to Coti. “Is this like one of those telenovela things where you have to understand their language to get it?”

“That’s what I just said,” Slater agreed.

LeeLee rolled her eyes. “Be quiet so we can hear.”

NeNe pushed her beast back, listening to her friends yell as they explained why they’d kept their distance. Yeah, she got they had to keep the whole shifter business a secret, but they still could’ve called her.

“Beotches, if you don’t get your skanky asses off me, I’ll bite whatever part of you is closest to my mouth. Syn, that’s your left tit. You like that tit, don’t you?” She warned the other woman.

Syn moved back, shoving NeNe’s arm back toward the floor. “Now do you understand? Lyric and I have always been this way, so it was easy for us to blend into the human world. We didn’t have uncontrollable shifts. Joz here, she’s not as controlled as us, or wasn’t. She’s got super wolf over there for a mate. He’s been working with her, plus a dragon or something in her line.”

“Plus, we had all this shit hitting us, accidents that nearly killed us, yet here we are a couple days later looking fine. How do we explain that to one of our besties? If we told you, then Jenna would have to come and mindfuck you. Trust me, you do not want that.” Lyric shivered.

She huffed out a breath, her arms falling beside her, making Syn and Lyric collapse as well. Their oof made her smile. “Newsflash, I got the mindfuck from Jenna, it was a doozy.”

Joz touched NeNe’s teeth. “My what big teeth you have.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Wrong fairytale, that’s for the wolf. I’m a damn grizzly bear.” She shivered, thinking again how different she was from her friends.

“Well, I for one think that’s fucking awesome. I mean, hello. When someone claims they’re being a bear in the morning, you can actually mean it. Am I right?” Lyric asked, her smile bright.

NeNe lifted her head up off the mat, staring at her friend. “Did I hit you too hard? You got a few screws loose or what?”

Syn lay down beside her, staring up at the ceiling. “Yeah, she’s a little looney, but we love her. But seriously. Imagine when you have kids, we can say, don’t mess with mama bear.” She held up her hand, waiting for someone to high-five her.

She closed her eyes, hearing a loud clap followed by another, knowing her ex-friends, maybe still friends, were slapping palms. “I’ll totally bitch slap you all back into yesterday if you don’t quit it.”

“Alright, ladies, I’m gonna have to ask you to break it up,” Kellen called from the side. “I have a mate and four little ones at home I’d like to go see, but until I know the shenanigans around here are over, I can’t.”

“Did he just say shenanigans?” NeNe asked in a tone loud enough everyone heard.