Page 3 of Slade's Feisty Mate
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 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 Two
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.