Slade's Feisty Mate (Saber Chronicles Book Two) (2 page)

While she worked, changing reservations to
different floors and making a list of requirements for the visiting
pack, she wondered what her best friend was up to at the fights,
and whether or not Aubrey would get to meet any of the fighters.
She’d been told that all of the fighters lived in RVs near the
arena where the fighting took place, so she didn’t expect any of
them to come to the hotel to stay. But maybe she’d see some of them
around Belle Terra. She bet that the fighters were all big muscly
guys who were good with their hands. In the morning, she’d grill
Aubrey about her night, and maybe she’d be able to go to the fights
the following weekend.

As excitement bloomed within her, she picked
up her cell and dialed her grandma. Like herself, Gretchen’s
grandma liked to stay up late reading romance novels. The first
romance novel she’d ever read had been given to her by her grandma.
Gretchen’s mom didn’t approve of romance novels, so her grandma had
snuck the book to her one afternoon. Gretchen had been hooked from
the first page. She loved the idea of a handsome guy sweeping a
beautiful woman off her feet. She knew it was far from real-life,
but she thought there were probably guys out there who liked to be
romantic.

“I just shipped you a box of books,” her
grandma said when she answered the phone.

Unlike Gretchen who read on her digital
reader, her grandma still read paperbacks and scoured used
bookstores and estate sales to find them. When she read them, she
would send a boxful to Gretchen. She had two bookshelves in her
bedroom, overflowing with books. As she read them, she gave them to
Serena, who enjoyed them, too, but not as much as Gretchen and her
grandma.

“Thanks. I’ll keep an eye out for the box.
How’s your hip?”

Her grandma had been caught in a trap when
she was in her forties, and her hip hadn’t set right, causing her
pain as she aged when arthritis set in.

“It’s going to rain, so it’s aching.”

“I’m sorry. Are you out of the numbing balm
that Serena made for you?”

“Almost. I’m glad you called. I was going to
ask you to have her make me some.”

“I’ll email her as soon as we’re off the
phone. She went for a fly, and sometimes she can be gone for a day
or two.”

“What’s up, my darling?”

Gretchen leaned back on the couch and closed
her eyes. She told her grandma about her conversation with Alpha
Johner. As her grandma shared the wisdom that came from living for
seventy-five years, Gretchen relaxed and wrapped up in a quilt. Her
grandma always made her feel better about whatever she was dealing
with. After they’d spoken for an hour, Gretchen said, “Thanks for
everything, Grandma. I need to get back to work or it will be dawn
before I know it.”

“Call me and let me know what happens with
the visiting pack.”

“You know I will.”

“I love you very much, little wolf.”

“I love you, too.”

Turning to the laptop, Gretchen got back to
work. Talking to her grandma had eased some of her worries about
what the full moon would bring. If she happened to meet her
truemate in the visiting pack, then she’d consider herself
amazingly lucky. If not, perhaps one of the wolves would catch her
eye, and she could have some fun.

Her wolf growled in agreement.

Chapter 2

Slade watched his brother, Alaric, as he and
his mate headed toward a private elevator at the supernatural
hotel. He’d been in supernatural hotels before, but this one looked
really classy on the outside, with marble columns and
fountains.

His younger brother, Galen, said, “I’m
fucking starving. Let’s get in and get settled.”

Alaric’s mate, Aubrey, was the human sister
of the vampire master of the city, who also happened to own the
hotel. He wondered why Aubrey hadn’t been changed by her brother
into a vampire, but he decided it was a really personal question
and he wasn’t going to ask his new sister-in-law anything personal
until he’d known her at least a week.

His baby sister, Lia, sighed wistfully.
“What?” he asked, shouldering his bag as they walked toward the
glass front doors.

“I’m happy for Alaric, but now I’m anxious
for you two to get your mating dreams so I can find my
truemate.”

Slade and his family were saber-tooth tiger
shifters and the last of their kind. They had mating dreams that
would grow in strength when they drew closer to their truemates.
Alaric had been having mating dreams for a year. They’d joined the
NWFA because it was difficult for shifters to move from state to
state without a lot of governmental red tape. Shifters had a lot of
rights, but moving across the country made humans twitchy for some
reason. The NWFA could easily move wherever they wanted, and Slade
and his brothers enjoyed the fights and the money that they earned
with their wins. That night, Alaric had been the big winner. Not
only had he been the last fighter standing, but he’d also found his
truemate.

“Do you suppose Alaric will want to live here
at the hotel?” Lia asked.

Galen opened the front door. “Probably.
Aubrey lives and works here.”

“I’ll be sad if we have to move.”

“Why would we move?” Slade asked.

“You’re going to start getting mating dreams,
and we’ll have to leave to find your mate, and then we’ll have to
leave to find Galen’s mate, and then mine. I mean…I don’t want our
family to be broken up.”

Slade hadn’t really given it much thought.
He’d kind of expected Alaric to stay with the NWFA and their family
and for them to continue to travel. But it was unfair of them to
expect his brother to keep fighting when he had a new mate, and
living on the road was no place to raise a family.

“Maybe we’ll be lucky and our mates will all
be here in Belle Terra,” Slade said.

Galen, ever the pessimist, said, “Yeah right.
As if we’d be that lucky.”

Slade held open the door for Lia and then
entered the posh lobby. The floors were marble tile, white streaked
with gold, and the dark furniture and crimson rugs added just the
right bit of warmth to what could have been a sterile feeling
area.

Slade’s cat perked up and began to prowl in
his mind. Figuring it was because he was hungry and sore from the
fights, he ignored the cat and turned in a slow circle to take in
the hotel. And then he saw her. Curves for days. Long, red hair
with golden highlights. Bright green eyes.

Pain filled his head, and his cat roared in
anguish as his vision dimmed and he hit the floor, slipping into
unconsciousness. His last thought was a single, snarled word:
mate
.

* * * * *

Rousing from his…whatever the hell that was,
Slade found himself staring at the ceiling of the hotel. Then his
bones began to crack as his shift took over.

“Damn it, don’t shift!” Galen yelled.

Slade was too far gone to stop; the cat was
taking over because he was determined to find his mate and take
care of her. Rolling to his stomach, he rose onto his paws and
roared.

“Are you nuts? Don’t go over there,” a male
voice Slade didn’t recognize cautioned.

“Tell that to my wolf. She won’t stop
growling at me,” a female voice said.

Slade looked toward the voice and found his
redheaded angel standing behind two males. Snarling, he bared his
teeth, and Lia stepped in front of him.

“You’re freaking the wolves out, knock it
off.”

He huffed but sat on his haunches and tried
to explain to his sister, mentally, that he was about to go batshit
crazy if he didn’t get his mate away from the males and somewhere
safe.

Lia blinked at him, and he wasn’t sure if she
really could hear his thoughts or not, although he hoped like hell
she could. It would be handy if he could speak in his shifted form.
Lia planted her hands firmly on her hips. “I think he’s calm.”

“He doesn’t look that way to me,” one of the
males sniffed.

“Don’t be an asshole,” Galen said. “You can
come out from behind the wall of wolf. You know he won’t hurt
you.”

The redhead slipped quickly away from the
wolves. “I know.”

Galen said, “Slade, this is Gretchen Havers.
She’s Aubrey’s best friend.”

“How’s that for a weird coincidence?” Lia
asked.

One of the males said, “He needs to get out
of the lobby. It’s against regulations for weres to be in their
shifts down here.”

“Give us a fucking second,” Galen groused.
Looking at Slade, he said, “We have rooms on the eighth floor.”

“He can come to my room. It’s on the twelfth
floor,” Gretchen said. “Give me your cell, and I’ll text you my
number so you can get in touch.”

“We told our brother and Aubrey that we’d
meet them for dinner tomorrow night. You and Slade can join
us.”

Hell the fuck no. Slade was stuck in his
shift for three hours. He wasn’t going to give up a second of his
time with his mate.

Yowling, Slade shook his head.

Gretchen smiled. “I think he doesn’t want to.
How about breakfast on Sunday in the hotel’s restaurant?”

“Sounds good to me,” Galen said.

Gretchen closed the distance between them and
knelt in front of him. She was even more beautiful up close. Her
eyes were green like spring grass, flecked with gold. Her hair was
like melted rubies and sunshine. She smelled sweet like
butterscotch, and he wanted to find out if she tasted just as
sweet. He purred and she smiled, her eyes darkening.

“Wow, that’s sexy. I wish I could purr.” She
stroked his ears and rubbed his nose. “Those are some wicked
looking canines. I bet you’re an amazing hunter.”

His cat was so pleased that their mate was
happy that his cat was trying to get Slade to roll over so she
could scratch their belly. Which he was not fucking doing with
other males in the lobby. Ducking his head, he bumped her knee and
then gestured toward the elevators.

“Oh, right. Let’s go, sexy.”

She straightened, and he moved to walk
between her and the males. “Don’t you have responsibilities,
Gretchen?” one of the wolves said.

“I’m almost done with the alpha’s work,
Farley. I’ll call my cousin and have her finish up.”

The male didn’t seem to like her answer, but
she ignored him, walking swiftly to the elevators where Slade’s
family waited. “Are you going to be in trouble?” Lia asked as the
elevator doors opened and they moved inside.

“No. A pack is visiting, and we’re putting
them up in the hotel. I had to move some reservations and upgrade
some people to free up a whole floor, but it’s no big deal. I’m
guessing I’ll be a little busy with Slade. Chloe can finish up my
to-do list. I just need to give her a call.”

“I can help, too. I don’t think I’ll be busy
since I’ll still be waiting for Galen to find his mate.”

“What? Why would you have to wait for your
brother?”

“It’s how it works for our kind. Mates are
found in age order. We’re actually supposed to have mate dreams
that lead us to our mates, but I guess since Alaric found Aubrey,
when Slade saw you, his cat just reacted and he didn’t get the
dreams,” Aubrey said.

“That’s…weird. I suppose, though, that there
are people who think there are weird things about wolves.
Offhandedly, though, mating dreams and passing out when you meet
your mate tops the list for me,” Gretchen said.

“To be fair, Alaric didn’t pass out when he
met Aubrey. That’s all Slade,” Galen said.

Slade growled darkly, and Galen made a face
at him. “As if you’d kill me in front of your new mate.”

The door opened and Gretchen said, “I guess
I’ll see you Sunday morning?”

Lia held up her cell. “I’ve got your number.
Welcome to the family, by the way.”

“Thanks,” Gretchen said.

When the door shut, Slade rose on his hind
legs and braced his paws on either side of his mate’s head against
the shiny, wood interior. He nuzzled her neck, careful not to
scratch her with his canines. A purr rumbled from his chest, and
she giggled and rubbed her palms over his fur.

“Me with a big cat,” she said softly, tilting
her head to give him better access. “Now that’s not something I
ever expected.”

He licked her throat, and she shivered, the
scent of her arousal spiking in the air. There was a soft tone
before the door slid open on their floor. Slade lowered himself and
followed her out. She was wearing tight jeans and a long-sleeved
top with some kind of swirly design on it. He watched her butt as
they walked. Man he was one lucky cat. His mate was too sexy for
words.

Using the thumb pad, she unlocked her door
and let him in. He bumped against the doorjamb, leaving his scent.
The room was small but tastefully decorated. As he walked into the
family room, he bumped against the furniture. He wanted to make
sure that anyone who came into her home knew she belonged to
him.

“Are you really putting your scent on my
stuff? That’s such an alpha-male thing to do,” she said from the
kitchenette before she bent over and looked in the mini fridge.
Slade padded over and bumped the back of her knee. She squealed and
then laughed, pushing away his head. “I’m going to order some stuff
from room service. I already ate my leftovers, and I had them send
up some things to your other room.”

He followed her to the couch and, after she
made him swear not to claw up her furniture, they sat down and she
ordered raw steaks and a chocolate milk shake. Settling back
against the couch, he put his head in her lap and purred.

“We’ve got about twenty minutes until the
food arrives. How about I give you the skinny on me and then when
you shift back, you can tell me about yourself?”

As if he’d waste time talking once he
returned to his human form. Not hardly. The cat and the man were in
firm agreement – as soon as possible, he was going to mate
Gretchen.