Page 10 of Slade's Feisty Mate

Her brow arched. “Yeah.”

“I don’t have to shift on any particular day. I do it when I feel like hanging out in my cat form. You’re tied to the full moon, though, right?”

She nodded and took a bite, chewing thoughtfully. “When the full moon rises, I almost can’t help myself. I mean, if I really wasn’t able to shift, I could do it, but my wolf gets pissy if I can’t go hunting and running around the woods like an idiot.”

“You need to be with your pack?”

“You’re my pack now.”

He frowned. “What?”

She finished her toast and brushed her fingers together to clean them of crumbs. She put her plate on the tray and pushed it to the edge of the bed and then joined him, leaning across his thighs and meeting his gaze. “My pack is exclusive to wolves. Only wolves who are part of the pack are allowed in the hunting territory, so you wouldn’t be able to be with me. Since I don’t want anyone to see you naked, I’m pretty sure you don’t want me stripping in front of unmated males either.”

He growled in agreement, and she smiled.

“I’ll leave the pack. After we meet with your family, you can take me to my parents and the alpha can meet us there so I can leave.”

He stroked his fingers up her arm, and she shivered. “Is there a ceremony or something special that he’ll do when you leave?”

“No. There are some packs where the alpha makes the announcement to the pack, but Alpha Johner isn’t that formal. When we have pups, they’ll be part of our pack.”

“Cubs,” he corrected. “Saber genetics are dominant.”

She hummed. “Pups. In case you haven’t heard, wolves are awesome, so our kids will naturally take after me.”

He tugged the sheet away from her body as he leaned in to kiss her. “You are awesome.”

“What about your family?”

“If we’re going to have a crapton of kids, we need to get started. Now.”

He pushed her gently to the bed and she wrapped her arms around him. “How many is a crapton?”

“I’ll let you know when we’re done having kids.”

Her brow arched as she smiled. “We’ll never be done, my sexy mate.”

Chapter Five

Sunday morning, Gretchen sat between her best friend and her mate in the hotel’s restaurant and nibbled on a strip of bacon. She was especially hungry for meat and knew it was because the full moon was looming on the horizon. After she and Slade had made love and then declared that both wolves and cats were equally awesome, and their children, whichever parent they took after, would also be awesome, she called her parents to announce her mating.

They were happy for her and excited to meet her mate. She hadn’t doubted for a moment that they would be. There were wolves in the pack who thought wolves should only mate other wolves, but Gretchen was thrilled her mate was a sexy saber-tooth tiger. Her parents offered to contact the alpha, but Gretchen wanted to do it herself. It had been a quick conversation. He was too busy to meet her or her mate, but he wished her well. Her cousin, Chloe, was going to continue to handle the visiting pack, and Gretchen would remain the pack’s contact at the hotel for any needs they might have.

She would need to find a place to shift and hunt on the full moon, outside of pack territory of course, and she wasn’t sure where that would be.

“What are you thinking about,” Aubrey asked.

“Hunting.”

“Caleb has some property outside of Belle Terra. It belonged to our grandparents,” Aubrey said. “He inherited it.”

“What did you get?” Gretchen asked.

“I got to go to college,” she said. “And a nice car.”

“Is it around other shifter territories?”

“No, it’s neutral.”