Slade's Feisty Mate (Saber Chronicles Book Two) (5 page)

Gretchen was thrilled. The suites on Aubrey’s
floor were amazing. They had three bedrooms, a full kitchen, and
great views.

“Wait, sweetheart,” Alaric said as Aubrey
made the motion to push her chair back. “We need to talk about the
fights.”

Slade’s hold on Gretchen tightened. “I’m not
fighting anymore.”

“Neither am I,” Alaric said, “but first we
need to break our contract with Jonathon and figure out employment.
My mate is
not
supporting our family.”

“I’m still fighting,” Galen said. “Until I
find a mate, I don’t have any problem being part of the NWFA.”

“Fine,” Alaric said. “After I take the girls
shopping, I’ll pick you guys up, and we’ll go see Jonathon.”

“How hard will it be to break your contract?”
Gretchen asked.

“Not hard. It’s not a real contract with any
kind of ramifications for us leaving. It’s more of an oath to fight
in the NWFA until we find our mates. He got a year’s worth of
fighting out of us,” Slade said.

“For employment, why don’t you work at the
hotel? We’re always looking for security guards,” Aubrey said.
“I’ve got openings for guards on every shift. And I’ve got a
hostess opening at the restaurant here, and I could use another
concierge, Lia.”

“Oh, fun! Maybe I’ll meet my mate and shift
in public the way Slade did, scaring the crap out of everyone.”

Slade growled and Lia laughed.

“Be nice to your sister,” Gretchen said.

“I’m your sister, too,” Lia pointed out.

“That’s so cool. I’ve got two sisters and two
brothers now,” Gretchen said.

“Our family is growing fast,” Lia said
wistfully. “I hope I don’t have to wait a long time to meet my
mate. How about you go take a nap, Galen?”

He rolled his eyes and stood. “I’m going to
hit the gym and train. Call me when you’re ready to head to
Jonathon’s.”

“Is he okay?” Gretchen asked as they all
stood and left the restaurant.

“It’s stressful to have mating dreams and not
know how to find your mate. If he’s dreaming about colors, it
probably has to do with something concerning his mate, but who
knows what the hell it means. If he keeps having vague dreams, then
he’ll want to leave to try to find her. He’s probably stressed
about that, too,” Alaric said.

“Are you glad you skipped the mating dreams?”
Gretchen asked Slade as they parted ways from his family and headed
out to the parking lot to drive to her parents’ home.

“Yes and no. I’m thankful I found you so
quickly, but Alaric said the dreams were very sexy, so maybe it
would have been nice to have one or two dreams.” He held open the
door to the SUV he shared with his family, and she got into the
passenger seat.

“Reality’s better than any dream,” she
said.

Kissing her with a soft growl, he said,
“You’re better than everything.”

* * * * *

Her parents’ home was a modest three-bedroom
ranch in pack territory. When Slade stopped in the driveway, she
saw her grandma’s maroon four-door sedan and was thrilled she’d
been able to come to meet her mate.

As Slade came around to open her door, he
growled loudly and his fangs elongated as he stared behind his
vehicle.

She looked behind her and saw four males from
her former pack. Frowning, she rolled down the window. “What’s
wrong?”

“They said they’re making sure that we don’t
overstay our welcome,” he said.

She blinked in surprise. “Oh, the alpha must
have sent them. We’re in pack territory, and I’m not part of the
pack anymore, and you’re definitely not a pack member. Just ignore
them.”

“You’re allowed to visit your parents,” he
said, not taking his eyes off the males behind them.

“We are, Slade,” she said, reaching to
comfort him. “Next time, my parents can come to the hotel.”

He glanced at her, his eyes pale gold.
“Fine.”

“My touch calms you?”

“It’s our truemate connection,” he said,
opening the door. “You settle my cat.”

“I’ll remember that if I ever piss you
off.”

“It’s not a magic button,” he said, shooting
a glare at the males in the driveway.

“I have one of those.”

“What?” He turned to look at her, his brows
drawn in confusion.

“A magic button. It makes cream appear.” She
wiggled her brows, and he groaned, wrapping his arm around her and
drawing her close.

“It’s not nice to tease the cat, baby.”

“It’s called anticipation. We’ll meet with my
parents, and you’ll try to hide your massive erection from them
while I do my best to wiggle my butt provocatively in front of
you.”

He growled in exasperation. She slipped from
his arms and laughed, winking at him as she darted up the sidewalk,
shaking her butt as much as she could without looking like she was
having a fit.

When Slade caught up to her, he grabbed her
roughly and pulled her back against his chest. “I’m going to punish
you when we get home.”

“With your tongue? I like that kind of
punishment.”

He bit her neck gently, and the inside of her
body turned to liquid. “My tongue, my fingers, my dick.”

Shivering at his sexy threat, she wiggled her
butt against him for good measure. The front door swung open, and
she shoved her sexy thoughts aside as her mom grinned broadly and
said, “Come in!”

Hugging her mom, then her dad and grandma,
she introduced Slade as her mom shut the front door. “Sorry about
the assholes at the end of the drive,” her dad, Joffrey, said. “The
alpha is making a point. I guess he doesn’t want you to think that
you can leave the pack and then come and go as you please in our
territory.”

“I hadn’t planned to,” she said, rolling her
eyes.

“Of course not. Next time, we’ll come to the
hotel,” her mom, Beth, said.

“Sure! Just let me know when, and I’ll make
the arrangements.”

Her parents led them into the family room,
and she sat next to Slade, who put his arm around her and kissed
her temple. Her mom served snacks and drinks, and then her dad
said, “Gretchen said that you fight in the NWFA.”

“I did until Gretchen and I met. My brother,
Alaric, and I are quitting. We only took an oath to the owner until
we found our mates. My youngest brother, Galen, will continue to
fight.”

“She mentioned something about mating
dreams?” Beth said.

“Our kind are led by mating dreams, but I
didn’t get them because I met Gretchen right after Alaric found his
mate, and the dreams appear in age order. If I hadn’t physically
met her, I believe I would have dreamed about her that same night.
The closer we are to our truemates, the more vivid the dreams
become.”

“That’s neat,” Beth said. “I think mating
dreams sound like a really interesting way to find your
truemate.”

Her grandma, Anna, said, “How do you plan to
support my granddaughter if you’re not fighting anymore?”

“Grandma!” Gretchen said.

“What?” she said, indignantly. “You deserve
to have a male who takes care of you. That’s what truemates are
supposed to do.”

“Alaric and I are taking security jobs at the
hotel. I’ll be able to provide for Gretchen.”

Her grandma nodded. “Good. Now about
grand-pups.”

“Grandma!” Gretchen’s cheeks flamed with
mortification.

Slade chuckled. “It’s fine, baby. Caleb is
graciously letting us move onto the private suite floor of the
hotel. It’s plenty big enough for a few pups
and
cubs.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful!” her grandma said,
grinning broadly. “It’s customary to name the first girl after the
favorite great-grandma.”

“Since when?” Gretchen said, laughing. “I’m
not named after your mom.”

“Well, her name is awful. It’s Brunhilda. You
should be thankful it’s a new custom,” Beth said.

“I’m glad I dodged that bullet,” Gretchen
said.

Slade nuzzled her throat. “You’d still be
beautiful, Brunhilda.”

“Don’t you dare call me that!” she said,
growling.

He wiggled his brows, and she rolled her eyes
as her parents and grandma laughed. She would happily name their
first daughter after her grandma, and she told her so. “Anna is a
beautiful name for our first little girl.”

Her grandma beamed. “I think you should get
working on that right away.”

Slade purred softly, and she gritted her
teeth, trying to think of things that weren’t at all sexy so she
didn’t get turned on in front of her family. Being wolves meant
they had extra-strong senses and would be able to tell how easily
Slade affected her. And she
so
did not want that.

Elbowing Slade and making his purr stutter
and then stop, she encouraged Slade to tell them about his family.
After a little while, her mom and grandma took her into the kitchen
for some girl talk and left her dad and Slade to get better
acquainted.

“You look so happy,” her mom said, tucking a
lock of hair behind Gretchen’s ear.

“I am. I didn’t know finding my truemate
would feel like this. We’re still getting to know each other, but
part of me feels like we’re old souls.”

“I felt that way with your grandpa. We used
to call it getting struck by love lightning.”

Gretchen chuckled. “That sounds like
something Grandpa would have said.”

Her mother’s smile slid away. “What will you
do on the full moon?”

“Aubrey just texted me and said that Caleb
agreed to let us use some neutral territory on the full moons.
Slade is going to hunt with me, of course. Aubrey also said that
Alaric wanted to hunt as well, and so did his brother and sister,
but not on the full moon. They don’t want to intrude on our first
time hunting together.”

“They’re the last sabers, right?” her mom
asked.

Nodding, Gretchen said, “He said at one time
there were other kinds of sabers – wolves, lions, bears – but that
they’re all gone now. I wonder if there are others out there in
small family groups like Slade, just under the radar and not
known.”

“It’s possible. I didn’t know sabers even
existed anymore. It’s no wonder their kind were dying out since
they have to wait for mating dreams in age-order. I’m thankful our
wolves just know each other on sight and naturally gravitate toward
one another,” her grandma said.

On the way home, Slade took her hand and
rested it on his thigh. “Your family’s great.”

“Thanks. I’m glad we were able to meet with
them, even if the alpha did act like a bit of a jackass about
it.”

“I think we got off easy. One of the packs
that fight with the NWFA had a former alpha who made wolves intent
on leaving the pack fight their way out.”

She grimaced. “I’m glad my pack wasn’t that
way.”

“Former pack. Your
new
pack is never
letting you leave, period.”

Leaning against his shoulder, she said, “I
have no intention of going anywhere, except to bed.”

“Are you tired, baby?” His voice sounded low
and soft, the way it did when he switched from sexy, teasing mode
to taking care of her.

“Not remotely.”

He purred. She loved how they always seemed
to be on the same wavelength. It was just one of the things she
loved about him. She was head over heels for him. Their lives
together were getting off to an amazing start.

Chapter 6

Slade stood in the fourteenth floor hallway
and watched as his mate pulled a plastic keycard from her
purse.

“Why can’t you use your thumb?” he asked as
she swiped the card over the first keycard panel next to the door.
Each room had a rectangular panel for the keycard and a smaller
thumbprint ID panel next to it.

“Thumbprints are only for permanent
residents. Guests and staff are given keycards,” she said as she
pushed open the door.

The room was quite large, with a full kitchen
and living room, one door on the right side of the living room that
led to the master bedroom and bathroom, and a short hallway on the
left that led to two more bedrooms and bathrooms.

“The rooms on this floor are pretty much
identical. They all have three bedrooms, three bathrooms, full
kitchen, and living room. The difference is how they’re decorated.
They’re all decorated a little differently.”

“I don’t want to be so close to the elevator.
In an emergency, it would be shut down, and it would be better to
be close to the emergency stairs.”

“Are you expecting to have an emergency?” she
asked, arching a brow.

“Of course not, but I want to keep you safe,
and I’m mentally planning for any issues.”

“Like locked elevators?”

He nodded.

She hummed thoughtfully and said, “Aubrey’s
room is the last one by the emergency door. Let’s check out the one
next to hers. The rooms on the right side of the hallway face the
city, which is a nice view from the balcony, but I like looking at
the river at the back of the hotel, which would be visible from any
rooms on the left side.”

He snagged her around the waist and pulled
her close. “I think the best view is right here.”

Her cheeks pinked. “You say the sweetest
things.”

He leaned in and kissed the corner of her
mouth. “I’m trying to get your pants off.”

She giggled and slapped his shoulder. “Let’s
pick a room so we can move in. Quickly.”

“I like how you think, baby.”

They checked out the rooms closest to the
emergency door, picked the one next to Alaric and Aubrey’s, and
then christened each room in the suite. Twice.

Bellhops moved Gretchen’s belonging into
their new home. Slade left his sweetheart with Aubrey and Lia in
Aubrey’s room to discuss going to Caleb’s club later that night so
he could meet up with his brothers.

Alaric drove their SUV to a hotel near the
arena where Jonathon was staying. The fighters always stayed in RVs
wherever the fights were being held. He and his family had been
living in tight quarters for more than a year. It was nice to have
their own space now.