Free Nothing to Do With Pride by Amber Kell

growl rolled from his impressive chest. It was an unfair fact of life that all shifters were gorgeous. It didn’t matter what kind of animal—wolves, cats, or even the occasional rat…all gorgeous.
    “No one talks to me like that.” He stood over my desk, trying to intimidate me with his size and power.
    I rolled my eyes and stood up. I barely came to his shoulder.
    “Listen, sugar, I’m sure everyone in your clan thinks you’re the best thing since warmed milk, but I don’t take intimidation well. I gave you the names and pictures of three potential mates—go meet them. If none of them are your match then come back.”
     
    My patience, never very long to start with, vanished completely beneath his incredulous stare.
    “I thought you were supposed to make me the perfect match.”
    “Making the perfect match is all about lining up the right people. The three women I’m setting up for you are potential mates, which means any one of them could be the right one, but it will need a combination of how far each of you are along on your personal evolution to determine a mate.”
    “You can’t just look at them and know?” His examined me closely with his feral gaze.
    Actually, I could point out which one would be his perfect match, but people often fought against their instincts. If I pointed out girl number two, he’d go with number one or three then come back and yell at me about how they didn’t work out. It was best to let the man or woman pick. Once they met—and chose—the one I knew they would pick in the beginning, they settled down to domestic bliss.
    “Go on the dates and be a good alpha.” I patted him on the shoulder just to get another snarl. It was fun playing with the kitty cats.
    I saw the moment the anger faded from his eyes. “One of these women is definitely my mate?” He tilted his head as though he could hear my thoughts if he were to listen closely enough.
    “Yes. I promise one of these women is your mate.”
    A wide, toothy smile crossed his handsome face. Before I could brace myself, he leant forwards and placed a big kiss on my cheek.
    “Thank you, Matchmaker. I’ll keep you informed.”
    “You do that.”
    With the smooth grace innate to all shifters, he walked out of my office. He had a great ass.
    “I thought he’d never leave,” a deep voice spoke behind me. I spun around, my heart racing.
    A tall man in an expensive suit leaned against my filing cabinet. His dark hair gleamed in the dim lighting and his pale, almost colourless, blue eyes shone with an unnatural light.
    Vampire .
    I didn’t even have to check his aura to know what he was.
     
    “Wh-what are you doing here?”
    Few things scared me like vampires. There was something extremely creepy about a person who could walk around after they’d died.
    “I’d like to acquire your services.”
    “No.”
    A frown formed over his unnaturally smooth brow. “What do you mean, no?”
    “I mean no—as in I don’t match vampires.” He might scare me but it wasn’t the first time I’d been scared in my life and I doubted it would be the last.
    “Why not?”
    “Because you’re dead.”
    “I am not dead,” he said in an offended tone. “If I were dead, I couldn’t be talking to you.”
    “Well, you’re the walking dead. It’s the same thing.”
    He took my hand and placed it on his chest over where most people had a heart.
    “Do you feel my heart beating?”
    “Yes.” Strange, but I really could feel the thump of a heart inside his chest.
    “Then I must be alive.”
    I wasn’t sure I wanted to participate in his twisted logic.
    “Nevertheless, I don’t match vampires.” Nothing could get me to back down on that particular vow. I only had to remember my aunt’s ravaged body.
     
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    About the Author
     
    Amber is one of those quiet people they always tell you to watch out for. She lives in Dallas with her husband, two sons, two