Free Taking Nicole (Vegas Mates Series)(#4) by Krystal Shannan Page B

her now. He wanted to taste her perfectly creamy skin and mark her now, before he risked losing her forever.
    “Kate better get here soon.”
    I just hope she can help.
    “If she really is Kate Aribas, the Goddess Isis, she will do more than help,” his leopard said.
    The confidence in his leopard’s voice was reassuring. Maybe he wouldn’t die trying to keep his mate from being taken from him. Unlikely .  
    No one ever got away from the royal families unscathed.
    He knew in his heart he couldn’t stand by and watch the ceremony happen without trying to step in. If the goddess could just help his sister get her freedom, he’d willingly die to save Nicole from spending a lifetime chained to one of these royal pricks.

CHAPTER FIVE

    Nicole opened her eyes and stretched. Light from outside streamed through her open curtain. Cursing whoever opened them, she sniffed the room.
    “You have to stop sneaking in here in the morning.”
    Tempe shrugged and held up a lavender sweater dress. “You’ve been summoned to breakfast.”
    “Damn.”
    She slipped from the covers and crossed the room to the vanity where Tempe stood. A pair of panties and a bra were laid out for her. She slipped on the lacy thong and the white lace pushup bra.
    “Do you ever sleep in pajamas?”
    “Nope. You never know when you might need to shift.” She sank into the chair in front of the vanity and ran a soft brush through her long hair. “I love shifting. Don’t you miss it? Do you talk to your wolf, Tempe?”
    “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