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

 
     
    Chapter 1
     
    Aubrey Night looked at the envelope and the
wax seal that kept it closed. The wax was navy and thick, with a
circular imprint that looked like a medallion with a snarling wolf
in the center.
    Her name was written in beautiful calligraphy
in the center of the ivory envelope. Glancing at her assistant,
Gretchen, she said, “Who dropped this off?”
    She shrugged. “A guy in an expensive
suit.”
    “Was he human?” Aubrey was human herself.
    Gretchen, a wolf shifter, said, “I think he
was a fairy of some sort, but he also smelled like wolf.”
    “Really? Do fairies work for wolves? Does the
delivery guy work for the people who sent the letter?”
    “You’re asking me questions I don’t know the
answer to.”
    “Because you’re always such a wealth of
information,” she said, smiling.
    Gretchen and Aubrey had been friends since
high school. Aubrey’s brother, Caleb, was turned into a vampire
seven years earlier. He became master of the city of Belle Terra
three years ago, and he opened a supernatural hotel and made Aubrey
general manager. She’d immediately brought her best friend in as
her assistant.
    “Well, not on this. Sorry, babe. The seal is
from the National Were-Fighting Association, though. That’s the
only thing I can tell you.”
    Humming in her throat, she slid her finger
under the flap and opened it, pulling out the card inside. The
heavy paper was burned around the edges, giving it a gothic feel.
She read out loud.
    “Jonathon Black requests the honor of your
presence at the opening night games of the National Were-Fighting
Association on Friday, October 1. Please join him in celebrating
this ancient tradition, with opening ceremonies to take place at
seven p.m.”
    She pulled out four VIP badges and one
parking pass.
    “Jonathon Black is an alpha wolf from the
West Coast. I don’t know what he’s doing here. Did Caleb approve
the NWFA to set up games in Belle Terra?”
    “According to the address, they’re outside
our city limits. I don’t know if Caleb knows, but it’s not
technically our territory.”
    “Are you going?”
    “Maybe.” Aubrey looked at the invitation for
the fights the following night. “I’ll see what Caleb says.”
    Pushing away from her desk, she left her
office on the first floor of the supernatural hotel and stopped at
the security desk. Because her brother was the master of the city,
she never went anywhere without a guard. Sometimes vampires who
thought they were more powerful than him tried to take him out or
get him to step down, and becoming collateral damage in a fight
over the city wasn’t Aubrey’s idea of a good time.
    “I want to go see Caleb,” she told Gabriel,
one of the wolf shifter guards who watched the hotel’s comings and
goings from behind a large circular desk in the lobby.
    “I’ll go,” Lance, another wolf guard, said as
he stood.
    Gabe made a face at Lance, and Aubrey
chuckled. “I know I’m irresistible guys, but don’t fight over me.
There’s plenty of me to go around on the full moon,” she said,
wiggling her brows.
    They both growled, their eyes filling with
heat and lust. Aubrey had known Lance and Gabe since they came to
Belle Terra with their alpha, Sky, two years earlier. Although she
was human, the alpha had invited her to join their full moon
celebrations, and she’d enjoyed hanging out with the wolves. They
were a fun group, and the males were notoriously horny. She’d spent
several full moon nights tangled between the two ripped males.
    “That’s in a week, you know,” Gabe said. “I
hope you’re well rested by then.”
    Winking, she turned and walked with Lance out
of the hotel. She hooked her hand on his arm as they walked the
three blocks to her brother’s office. She told Lance about the
invitation she’d received.
    “You going?”
    “I’ll see if Caleb thinks it’s a good idea. I
don’t know. Does Sky know about it?”
    “Yeah. Some of the underground fighting
groups sanction