Taking Nicole (Vegas Mates Series)(#4) (9 page)

“I’ve learned to make do. The overwhelming desire to shift fades with time. My wolf speaks to me on occasion. She’s sad, but she knows we don’t have a choice. Our mate is locked in the cages and neither of us is willing to leave him behind.” She took the brush from Nicole and set it on the vanity top.

Nicole nodded silently, enjoying Tempe’s touch in her hair as she wove her long locks into a loose, wavy braid. She missed her sisters. She and Sam used to braid each other’s hair every night at home. The twins always kept their hair shorter, but she and Sam loved their long locks and kept them trimmed just above waist length.
 

So much had happened over the course of the last year. It was overwhelming to think that this might just be the beginning of the rebellion. The royals held so much power, so much wealth. A glance around this room was example enough. She thought her parents were wealthy and powerful, but her grandparents took it to a whole other level.

“Earth to Nicole.”

She glanced up and gave Tempe’s reflection in the mirror a smile. “Just thinking about family.”

“You have sisters, right?”

“Three. One older and two younger. The younger ones are twins. But you’d never be able to tell. They keep their hair different colors and styles and try to dress as differently as possible.” She smiled thinking about how hard the twins tried to create individual identities. Even so, they did everything together and rarely were separated for more than a few hours at a time.

“You’re lucky. I’m an only child. Your sisters sound like fun.”

“We are lucky to have each other. I just hope I get to see them again.”

Tempe held up the dress and Nicole slipped her arms through it and stood to smooth it down her body. It clung beautifully and hugged in all the right places. Aaron would love it. So would those other men who had drooled over her last night.

“Isn’t there something less ... sexy I could wear?”

“Not if you want to keep your grandparents appeased. They expect you to “inspire” the suitors, and I’m not getting beaten because I failed to dress you properly. Suck it up.”

Nicole snarled and stood from the vanity, whirling to face Tempe.

“Nicole! Stop. She doesn’t deserve your anger. Save that for Carlotta and Reginald.”

She sighed and held her tongue. Her wolf was right. Poor Tempe was just trying to survive, too.
Yelling at this poor woman wouldn’t solve anything.

“I’m done getting dressed. Did you pick out shoes, too?”

Tempe nodded and grabbed a pair of zebra-striped stilettos from the floor next to the vanity.
 

Nicole took the shoes and walked to the door.

“Aren’t you going to put them on?” Tempe asked, worry lacing her voice.

“Not till I get downstairs.” She opened the door and glanced up, expecting to see Aaron’s soft brown eyes staring down at her. Instead, blue eyes watched her intently from the face of a guard she’d never seen before.

“I’m walking you down to breakfast. Aaron said to tell you he’ll be back with you shortly.”

“Oh.” Nicole nodded and shut the door behind her. “Thank you.”

She strolled quietly behind the large werewolf shifter. They took the closest elevator to the bottom floor. A smile tugged at her lips each time he glanced at her bare feet and then to the heels hanging from her right hand.

He paused in front of the dining room doors and glanced once more at her shoes.

She nodded and slipped on the beautiful, but torturous, heels. Whoever had invented stilettos should be shot, drawn and quartered, resurrected, put back together, and then made to walk around in them for hours.

“I’m ready.”

He nodded and pushed open the white lacquered doors, revealing her grandparents at the large table, along with the four suitors from last night.

What the hell are they doing here?

“They want you,”
her wolf drawled out slowly.

Shut up.

Only the delicious scents wafting from the trays of eggs, bacon, and biscuits kept her sharp tongue from sharing her inner thoughts. Food was the way to any shifter’s heart. Apparently that concept was not lost on royals, either. But, again there were no donuts.

“Maybe Greeks don’t eat donuts.”

That’s a terrible thought, but I’m beginning to wonder.

“Ah, Nicole darling. Come sit here next to me,” Carlotta said, gesturing to the empty chair on her right. “So glad you finally made it down. I was worried I’d have to send someone up to help Temperance get you out of bed.”

Nicole flashed a quick smile at her grandmother and hurried to the chair.

The four suitors stood until she was seated.
 

“The extra sleep agreed with you, Nicole. You look stunning this morning.” Renaldo’s thick Italian accent was like velvet on her ears.

“Thank you,” she murmured.

Of the four men vying for the right to mate her, he would be her choice ... if she had any input. Unfortunately, like her wolf had already pointed out, he was too kind and easygoing to survive in the arena against men like Masterson and the other two who appeared to have trained years for this opportunity.

“Please forgive me for keeping you waiting. You didn’t have to hold breakfast for me.”

“We didn’t,” her grandfather’s voice growled from the end of the table.

“You mean
you
didn’t, Reginald. You never wait for anyone,” Carlotta spat back.

Nicole and the four men stared silently, waiting to see if the angry words would escalate further. She was playing a part. If they had been her parents, she would have told them to go finish their fight elsewhere so everyone could eat in peace. But she held her tongue. Again.

“Do you have plans today, Signorina? We thought you might enjoy a walk down to the coast. Your grandparents own a beautiful stretch of coastline just a half-mile north of the palace,” Renaldo offered.

“Really?” Surprise got the better of her and her voice held true excitement.

The four men smiled in unison and nodded, turning to Reginald for approval. Her grandfather waved toward Carlotta and they focused their attention on her instead.

“Of course. As long as Aaron and Henr ...” Carlotta glanced at the door, realizing her slip. “As long as Aaron and Karl accompany her. She is not to be without her bodyguards at any time.” She glared pointedly at the two men standing next to the dining room doorway.
 

Nicole looked up. She hadn’t even noticed Aaron come in. She averted her eyes quickly and snatched a peach from a basket next to her empty plate.
 

The fruit smelled divine. She held back a moan as she bit into the soft meat of the fruit, slurping the juice before it could run down her hand.

When she looked up again, four pairs of eyes were staring at her, desire hot in their gaze.

That should do it.

“Do what?”
her wolf asked.

Make Carlotta believe I’m playing my part.

Her wolf snorted.

Nicole glanced at her grandmother and received a small smile of approval. She used the damp towel on a small silver tray near her plate to wipe her hand and stood. All four men stood in unison with her.

“Grandmother, I think I would like to enjoy the fresh morning air. Would it be all right if we headed out now?”

Carlotta nodded and Nicole walked purposefully across the room to the dining room entrance. She stopped in front of Aaron and glanced up, trying to ignore the tingles of attraction heating every square inch of her skin.

“Would you send someone to my room for a pair of sandals? I won’t be walking on the beach in these.” She glanced down at her stilettos.
 

“Of course, Miss Demakis.” Aaron glanced at Karl. The other shifter nodded and slipped quietly from the room.

They stood around the hallway for only a few minutes before Karl returned, followed by Tempe carrying a pair of Roman-style, lace-up sandals. Nicole swapped out her shoes and handed off the zebra-print heels. The four suitors started for the door, but Renaldo hung back and offered his arm.

Nicole gave him a polite smile, but shook her head. She didn’t want anyone touching her if she could avoid it. The closer they got to her, the more they’d sense Aaron’s magick and know hers was already starting to bond with it. The only way they weren’t suspicious of Aaron right now was that his scent was expected to be mixed with hers because he was her bodyguard. By the grace of the gods, that was the only thing keeping their secret safe.

He frowned at her refusal, but didn’t comment. Instead, he shoved his hands into the pockets of his dress pants and slowed his pace to match hers. He walked next to her, matching stride for stride.

Nicole took a deep breath. They started up the path away from the palace and over the hill where she ran yesterday. Green grass and rocky terrain made her grateful for the sturdy sandals Tempe brought.
 

“Why are you here?” She glanced at Renaldo.

“I don’t think I understand your question” he said. We are all here for the same reason.”

“You’re not like the other three.”

“You mean I’m not an arrogant ass with a death wish?”

Nicole snorted and tried desperately to swallow a laugh. “I suppose that’s one way to word it. Do you know I’m here against my will and whoever wins this claiming ceremony will be expected to rape me in front of the entire Council?”

The three men on the path a few paces ahead stopped and turned back to face her and Renaldo. Their faces were clouded with shame and disbelief. Even Masterson, the one with the deadly eyes seemed off put.

Answers that question.

Renaldo spoke first. “We were not told you were here against your wishes.”

The others shook their heads, agreeing with his statement.
 

“The tradition is barbaric and antiquated, but we were never told you were being forced into it,” Masterson said. “All of us were requested by the Antipas family to participate. We assumed you personally chosen us.”

“What can we do to make this more agreeable to you, Signorina?” Renaldo asked. “I fear it is too late to back out of the ceremony entirely.”

Nicole sat slowly on a large boulder and sighed. “What if it’s not too late? Would you stand with me if I appealed to the Council?”

Masterson folded his arms across his chest and shook his head. “It’s about time someone bucked this antiquated system of forging alliances. However, I do not want to be on the receiving end of my parents’ wrath. They expect me to win or die. To them, there is no honor in between.”

The others nodded their heads in agreement.

“Besides, what could you possibly say that would give either your grandparents or the Council pause?” Renaldo asked.

“I’m not sure, yet.” She stole a quick glance at Karl and Aaron. They were standing quietly a few feet away, but neither acknowledged her.

He wasn’t going to help. He could say whatever he wanted, but in the end he would protect his sister. She couldn’t blame him. Every move he’d made thus far was calculated and meant to keep his sister safe. Nothing had changed yet. His sister was still in a cage, stuck in leopard form. The sacrifice was admirable and she would’ve done the same. She was … in a way.

The other two suitors were strangely quiet. Nicole turned back to her left. They were standing behind Masterson, both scowling. Aaron and Karl were a few feet behind and to the right of them, muscles tensed ... waiting for something.

Magick was tense in the air around them, and she could feel tendrils of it whipping around her, antagonizing her wolf and the other men’s wolves. Her skin prickled and she knew her eyes were flickering gold, as were Renaldo’s and Masterson’s.

“Whatever you’re thinking about doing right now,” Nicole snapped, “you better not.”

“You don’t scare me, little bit,” one of the other suitors drawled. “I think we should just have the fight right here and now and solve your issue of being publicly marked and taken.”

“You mean raped. There’s no PC way of saying it. And if you haven’t noticed, I have two shifter bodyguards standing just behind you. I’d say both of them would help me tear you apart if you dared to put a paw on me without my permission.”

The two quiet suitors glared at Aaron and Karl, grumbling under their breath about being pissed, but neither backed down. The growls that were rumbling in their chests quieted as Aaron and Karl stepped closer.

Nicole turned back to Renaldo and Masterson. “I do not plan to go through with this ceremony without a fight. Even if it comes down to fighting one of you.”

She caught Aaron’s and Karl’s surprised glances, but refocused quickly on the suitors.

“I hope it does not come to that, Signorina Demakis, but we all must fight for our survival in this society. I can understand your rage.”

“Perhaps.” She turned away from them all and hurried down the path to the beach, halting only when she reached the line in the sand where dry met wet.
 

The froth of the seawater washed up and slid back down the stretch of damp sand with each rolling wave. The gentle roar of the churning water was cathartic. The scent of salt hung pleasantly in the air. She had never lived near the ocean before. Maybe a visit to Uncle Phillip in Los Angeles was due. A change of scenery couldn’t hurt, if she got out of this mess in one piece.

Sand crunched behind her. The men had followed, as if they really would’ve left her alone. They could spout all they wanted about understanding her choices or how this custom was barbaric and antiquated, but when it came down to it, they would all fight to the death to claim the empty seat on the lower Council. The seat her father’s death and the Demakis family rebellion had opened. And she would fight them. If that was her only option at the end of this fucking ceremony, she would die fighting the winner.

Warm sunlight bathed her face. She lifted her head toward the light, closed her eyes, and inhaled the salty air. It filled her lungs and invigorated her.

We can do this.