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“Calm down!” Slade said, growling thewords.
“Mine,” he groaned as he went to his knees,his bones cracking as his beast tried to force him to shift so hecould hunt for his mate and protect her.
“No, don’t shift!” Lia grabbed his face andstared at him. “Don’t you dare shift! If you go into your formhere, you won’t be able to find her. Jonathon won’t let you out ofthe center in your shift, and you’ll never see her. Let me go findher, okay? She’s obviously a VIP. I can get her and bring her toyou after the fights.” She slapped his cheeks. “Okay? Are youlistening to me?”
He swallowed hard and breathed through hisbeast’s rage. “I hear you.”
Forcing back his beast, he shook his head andstood, his knees shaking and his heart pounding. “She’s actuallyhere. I can’t fucking believe it.”
“Fucking-A, that means I’m next. Yes!” Sladepumped his fist in the air.
“I hope like hell your mate shows up fasterthan his,” Galen grumbled. “I’m damn tired of dating my righthand.”
“You guys are gross,” Lia said, making aface. “We’ll celebrate after we get you and your mate together.Meanwhile, get your head in the game and kick some ass. You’ll needthe money from the fights to put down a deposit on a nice place foryou and your mate.”
That thought, more than anything else, drewhis attention to the upcoming fights. Lia was right. He neededmoney to provide for his mate.
“Kick ass, man. The night is yours,” Sladesaid, clapping him on the shoulder.
Alaric cracked his knuckles and rolled hisneck. “It certainly is.”
Chapter Three
Aubrey sat in her brother’s limo, and throughthe tinted glass, she watched the crowd surrounding the entrance tothe NWFA building. The renovated high school football arena wascovered in lights and looked like a coliseum from ancient times.She could picture gladiators fighting for their lives and crowdscheering for blood. She sat between Gabe and Lance, who she’dchosen as her private guards. They both wore solid black suits.
Her own outfit was chosen by Star, a memberof her brother’s kiss. She was a stylish woman, and whenever Aubreyhad to go to a party, she always let Star dress her. The black,floor-length gown had a slit up to the middle of her thigh, withtiny sequins and seed pearls decorating the tight bodice. Thestrapless gown gave her great cleavage, and a single, seven-caratdiamond pendant—a birthday gift from her brother—was nestledperfectly between her breasts.
The limo crawled forward on the street.Paparazzi lined the curbs and the red carpet leading up to thefront gate.
“This is the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen,”she said.
“There hasn’t been anything like this inBelle Terra before,” Gabe said. “There are a lot of local bigwigshere, in the human and shifter communities. Plus, you’rehere on behalf of the kiss. Everyone is always interested in whatthe sister of the master of the city is up to.”
“I’m really just a girl.”
Lance snorted. “Hardly. You’re gorgeous andsexy as hell. Plus, you run the supernatural hotel and are friendswith all the shifter leaders. Even without Caleb being the masterof the city, you’d be a big deal on your own.”
She didn’t really think that was true, butshe knew that there were people who believed she had a lot morepower and influence over her brother than she actually did. Theywere simply siblings who loved each other dearly and happened towork together. She sometimes had a hard time remembering that themaster of the city was her brother, who, when they were young, hadonce frozen shaving cream and told her it was ice cream.
The limo stopped in front of the red carpet.A wolf from the front passenger seat got out and opened her door.Lance exited quickly and held out his hand to Aubrey. Camerasclicked rapidly as the paparazzi took pictures of her as sheemerged from the limo. Questions were shouted at her, ranging fromwhat designer she was wearing to why her brother wasn’t with her.She ignored the questions, anxious to get inside the arena and awayfrom the prying eyes of the media. Lance and Gabe surrounded her,walking her swiftly through the gates.
“Miss Aubrey, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” atall, lanky man said after looking over the invitation that Gabehanded him. “My name is Krel, and I’m Alpha Black’s assistant. He’swaiting for you in the staging area.”
As Krel turned to lead them, she saw that thetips of his ears were pointed, and she suspected he was a fairy ofsome kind. Inside the gate was a line of stands selling NWFAmerchandise. They moved to the right, and Krel pressed a badgeagainst a security panel next to a steel door, and a lock clicked.He held open the door, and then led them down a long hallway.
“Alpha Black will give you a tour of thestaging area, and then you’ll join him in the owner’s suite for thefights. Have you ever been to anything like this before?”
“No,” she said. “I hadn’t heard of this sortof thing.”
“We’re unique. Our fights are sanctioned bythe governing council of shifters, and there are strict rules. Noone can be forced to fight, and the fights are not to thedeath.”
She was glad about that. She didn’t want towatch someone die.
Two guards stood in front of a set of steeldoors. As they approached, the guards opened the doors, and theyfollowed Krel through. A man wearing an impeccably tailored suitstrode forward.
“Aubrey Night, it’s a pleasure,” he said,bowing over her hand and kissing the top. “I’m Jonathon Black.”
“Thank you for the invitation. These are myguards and friends, Gabe and Lance.”
