Page 21 of Purrfectly Mated

His ears perked up. The car had definitely stopped in front of the house. Just great. Now he needed to go see who this fucker was.

Hunter saved the spreadsheet he’d been working on and powered down his computer. Listening with his Tiger, he focused on the sound of unfamiliar voices. One was angry.

Blake, as usual.

He shook his head and stood up. Hunter wondered not for the first time if he’d made a mistake appointing his college buddy as his Beta when he’d come back home to Mount Maverick. He’d been emotional with the death of his only remaining parent and taking up the mantle of Neta had not come without challenges.

Tigers did not live in large groups like other Shifters. The Pride of his birth was small, with about less than sixty adult tigers all together. Living away from them while at school had been rough, but he knew it was necessary for him to develop the skills needed to run the company.

Money was a necessary evil, even for Shifters. Maverick Development was responsible for the well-being of the pride, and it needed to be solvent. Hell. It needed to be more than that.

The recent improvements to the homes and healthcare of members of his pride did not come cheap. But he wanted to be a good Neta, and caring for those men, women, and cubs was his honor and privilege.

Fucking Blake, he thought again when he heard the other man growling.

Blake Segal had been a loner when they met in college. He grew up in D.C. and was a single Tiger Shifter in a big city.

He’d been alone for some time. It struck Hunter as odd and a little sad when he’d met him. Shifters in the city tended to do poorly. Having no one to run with, noNetato help control the animal within, made it difficult to blend with the humans around them.

Sometimes a Shifter went rogue, leaving the others no choice but to turn them in. A rogue Shifter was too dangerous to leave on his or her own and often, they would be hunted by the Council of Shifters.

That secret organization had representatives across Packs, Clans, and Prides. They created the laws which all agreed to abide by in order to keep the Shifter secret. Every Alpha, Neta, or Shifter group leader swore fealty to them when taking their position. Hunter had too, just like his father before him.

When Blake had asked him if they could team up together, Hunter had agreed. It seemed like the smart thing at the time, but just lately Blake had had trouble controlling himself. His angst was ramping up Hunter’s own Tiger. Making it impossible for him to withstand the Shift for more than a week at a time.

Lately, it was even less than that. One of the Pride elders had suggested that having a mate would soothe his animal. That bit of advice had only spurred on new rumors that the Neta was losing his grip.

Hunter saw only one way to end the gossip. Finding his mate. It would squash those rumors questioning his ability to run the Pride and, on a personal note, he was ready to settle down.

Hunter wasn’t opposed to the idea of a mate. Not in the least. A woman around the place would be nice. One who could cook would be better.

Wow.

He ran his hands over the top of his shaved head. Hunter sounded like a chauvinistic asshole, even to himself. No wonder he was single.

Fine, he swore to readily admit to anyone who asked that he wanted a woman who would actually enjoy being his mate. Not some forced or arranged mating with a female Shifter who would sooner slice his balls off than fuck him.

No way did he want to deal with that. Hunter was a romantic at heart. He wanted a woman who was sweet, kind, who liked to cook, wanted to make love with him, and have his cubs.

Fuck yeah.

The thought of cubs made his Tiger chuff impatiently. The beast wanted young. So, yeah, that meant Hunter did too. But he couldn’t be a dick about it.

It was the 21stcentury, for fuck’s sake. Hunter might want a mate who could bear him many young, but he had to be open to her own plans and ideas. He knew this, and ideally, would not try to keep his mate tied down. But wouldn’t it be nice if she wanted him and a family as much as he did?

Not that he thought women could only be wives and mothers. Just look at his sister. She ran her own business in town. Hunter simply didn’t see himself with a career-oriented woman.

He was too possessive and demanding for that. Hunter wanted someone soft and pretty, who smelled good, who wanted to be the mother of his cubs.

Shit. Might as well throw in the towel now.

He was tired of eating what the unmated males in the Pride cooked nightly. The meat was either raw or burnt, unseasoned and bland. Fuck, nothing tasted good anymore.

The only time food was decent around the Pride House was on the nights Jessica cooked. She was a great sister, but she was no great cook. Her meals were merely edible in comparison to the crap the guys served.

Maybe he should just hire a damn chef instead of trying to find a mate who could cook? Might be easier. His cat scratched at him, and he sighed.

Okay, so he was intrigued with the notion of a mate. But Hunter didn’t have time to sniff one out on his own. He knew none of the Pride females were his, so yes, he contactedUncle Uzzi’sMagical Matchmaking Servicefor help.

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