Alaric's Perfect Mate (Saber Chronicles Book One) by R.E. Butler Page A

to-the-death fights, but NWFA doesn’t. Most alphas
are okay with the group and let their people fight. The winners
usually make a few thousand dollars a night, and humans like to get
dressed up and watch our kind beat each other all to hell.”
    “What for?”
    Lance held open the door for her at the
office building. “Hell if I know. Humans are strange.”
    She laughed. “Humans think supes are strange,
too.”
    Supes was the abbreviation that was
used for supernatural creatures, everything from witches to
shifters to fairies.
    Leaving Lance in the reception area, she
walked up the stairs to Caleb’s office. His office, like the others
on the floor, was made of glass, so she could see he was feeding
from the neck of a scantily clad brunette.
    Caleb lifted from her throat and said, “Come
in, Aubrey.”
    “I thought you ate right at sunset,” she
said, sitting down in the plush chair across from the enormous
mahogany desk. He licked the wound on the woman’s neck. It healed
instantly. He set the woman on her feet, patting her butt and
pointing to the door.
    The woman, a regular blood donor for her
brother, gave Aubrey a dirty look and stalked out of the
office.
    “She likes you a lot,” Aubrey mused.
    Caleb pulled a handkerchief from his pocket
and wiped his mouth. “I know. I told her there was nothing between
us but the donations, but she keeps trying to worm her way into my
chamber.”
    “So drop her.”
    “She’s a honey-blood.” At her arched brow,
Caleb said, “Because of her ancestry, she has sweet blood. It’s
rare, and so damn tasty.”
    “You vampires always think with your fangs,”
she said, laughing.
    “And I do usually feed right after sunset,
but I had a meeting, so I took bagged blood to stave off my hunger.
Now, what can I do for my favorite sister?”
    “Only sister.”
    “See? You’re the favorite.”
    Tossing the invitation to him, she watched
while he read and then looked at her. “Are you going?”
    “Should I?”
    He handed the invitation to her and leaned
back in his chair, rubbing his chin with his fingertips. “I don’t
see why not. If you want to go, then do it. If not, then don’t.
Take guards with you, and for hell’s sake, don’t do anything to
embarrass me.”
    “As if I ever do.”
    His brow arched. “During the June full moon,
photos of you and two wolves made it to the tabloids.”
    She blushed. At least she’d still had most of
her clothes on. A tabloid photographer had been recording the
pack’s full moon celebration and had noticed her and her two wolf
pals heading off into the woods and decided to see what the sister
of the master vampire of Belle Terra was doing. He’d gotten an
eyeful for sure.
    “I promise to keep my clothes on.”
    He rolled his eyes. “Good grief, girl.”
    She stood and walked around the desk to kiss
him on the cheek. “I’ll let you know how it goes.”
    “Keep your clothes on.”
    “I already said I would.”
    “Some things bear repeating.”
    With a wave, she left Caleb’s office, met
Lance at the foot of the stairs, and walked back to the hotel.
After spending the evening thinking about the fight, she decided to
go. It couldn’t hurt to see what it was all about. If nothing else,
she’d get to wear a pretty dress and get out of the house for the
night.
     

Chapter 2

    Saber-tooth tiger shifter Alaric cracked his
neck as he sat up in bed, his body drenched in sweat. He’d had
another dream. Normally sex dreams were something he enjoyed, but
during the last year he’d begun to regularly dream about a female
with dark brown hair and creamy skin. Over and over he found
himself rolling around in bed in his dreams with the woman he was
certain was his truemate. The only problem was that he had no
fucking clue who she was or where to find her. When the dreams had
first started, he’d ignored them, expecting to find his mate at
some point. As the nights turned into weeks, he’d decided to
travel, hoping to stumble upon