SnaredbySaber (2 page)

“We don’t need mates,” Felix said, folding
his arms across his chest. His green eyes—the same green eyes Saber saw in his
bedroom mirror each day—offered a dare.

“They won’t necessarily keep us on the
straight and narrow,” troublemaker Joe agreed. “Women are good for one thing.”

“Your Mission Mate plan is flawed,” Sly
said, with a smirk at his twin. “Ma might think copying an idea our ancestors used
successfully will fix everything, but it won’t. And I don’t want to settle with
one woman. Leo is right. We should focus on the land. If we’re dog-tired we
won’t have time or energy for fucking around.”

Saber fought the urge to knock his
brothers’ heads together. No point wasting the energy. Violence wouldn’t dent
their heads or their confidence. Ever since they’d left Earth with a large
contingent of friends and family to escape the feline virus, trouble had
followed them. Often expensive trouble, with his brothers as the ringleaders.

“We don’t have the luxury of waiting for
the land to become productive.” Saber strove for calm and logical arguments.
“We have to take the assets we possess and use them to support our group. That
means making the resort a success—and finding mates before the males kill each
other.”

“What about the zylon? Their numbers are
increasing again. If they get through the protective fencing and into the
resort, we’ll have dead guests,” Leo said. “Excellent publicity for Middlemarch
Resort. It was lucky I grabbed that zylon this morning before the woman tried
to stroke the bloody thing.”

Saber failed to repress a shudder when he
thought of the possible headlines that could race to Dalcon, their largest
market so far.
Guests at Exclusive Middlemarch Resort Die from Zylon Bites
.

He couldn’t let that happen.

“We’ll go hunting tonight after the welcome
party,” Saber said, wishing he knew what was up with Leo. His normally even-tempered
brother had become moody. He’d been acting weirdly since they’d left Dalcon.
Maybe Ma knew. He’d ask at the next opportunity.

Saber drummed his fingers on the top of his
desk. “You’ve all wandered through the foyer during check-in. Did any of the
women catch your eye? Did you spot possibles for the first captures?”

“I went through the booking forms again
last night. On paper, the two females in chalet twenty-five look good,” Felix
said. “From what Scarlett dug up during her comp research, they have little or
limited interaction with family. We could capture one of them.”

“That was the two females Leo and I saw
with the zylon,” Saber said. “Did they book together? Do they know each other?”

“Scarlett said one of them booked on behalf
of the other. I want a visual before I agree to go ahead. I’ll deliver their
luggage,” Felix said and stood to leave. “If we don’t like them after the
capture, we can change our minds, right? They don’t need to know the capture
might become permanent?”

“You can change your mind if you don’t gel
with your capture.” Saber hoped like hell that wouldn’t happen. “Leo, you
should check them out again too. Help Felix with the delivery.”

Leo muttered under his breath but pushed
away from the wall and stomped after Felix.

“What’s up with Leo?” Joe asked.

“I was hoping you knew,” Saber said.

“We know nothing,” Sly replied with a
mischievous glance at his twin. “Do you need us to do anything? I’ve got
animals to feed and the irrigation system is playing up again.”

“No, that’s fine. Just make sure you don’t
miss the welcome party,” Saber warned. “And if the zylon population is
increasing again, we need you both on the hunt tonight.”

Joe flashed a cheeky grin and saluted.
“Aye-aye, bro.”

“We wouldn’t miss the opening party for Mission
Capture,” Sly said, his grin a replica of his twin’s.

Saber snorted and waved them out. He’d
planned and schemed and lied to get to this point. The captures would work.
They had to because he’d run out of options.

A tap sounded on his door and he
straightened from his slump. “Yeah?”

The door opened and his mother, Anna
Mitchell, walked in. She took a seat in front of his desk. “Everything set for
the welcome reception? Can I do anything to help?”

His mother was tall and slender, her black
hair long and without a hint of gray. She was the sole Mitchell without green eyes.
He and his siblings took after their father in appearance. A widow of five
years, his mother surprised most people when they learned she had six adult
offspring. “No, Ma. We’ve planned for every possible contingency. I just hope
this crazy plan works.”

“It worked for our ancestors,” she said,
her gray eyes flinty with determination. “The original Saber Mitchell met Emily
Scarlett at the first Middlemarch dance in New Zealand.”

“But we’re going to keep the women against
their will. I don’t think our ancestors went to that extreme.”

Anna made a scoffing sound. “Females enjoy
a man who takes control, one who protects them and makes them feel feminine.
Every guest at the resort is dying to use the capture-fantasy room. Many of
them fantasize about forced sex. We’re providing a legitimate service, and the
women who are chosen will be lucky to secure one of my gorgeous sons in
return.” She reached over and patted his hand. “Don’t worry, son. Everything
will work out for the best. It did for our ancestors. You only have to read
Emily’s diaries to know how happy she and Saber were together.”

Saber prayed his mother was right. “Did
Scarlett finish researching the Tigrus race? I want to know how compatible
they’d be with us.”

“She said she sent the last of the information
you requested to your private mini-tab.”

“Thanks.”

Anna stood and glided to the door. “I’m
going to mingle with the women and check that everything is going smoothly.”

Once again Saber stared at the closed door
and hoped like hell this crazy plan went the way they hoped.

He slumped in his chair, exhausted—both
mentally and physically. Tired of fighting for survival. Tired of looking after
their people.

Just tired.

* * * * *

The welcome party was in full swing when
Saber walked into the function room flanked by his brothers. His nostrils
flared, quivered at the scent of lust thick on the air. His stride faltered as
the wave hit him, reminded him he was a healthy feline male who hadn’t had a
woman for months.

Felix gave a soft whistle while Leo cursed under
his breath.

“Everyone seems happy,” Joe said in patent
understatement. “Even Laurence is smiling for a change.”

Music played and several females were
dancing with employees. Laughter and excited chatter battled the music, and
some of the tension lifted from Saber’s shoulders. Everyone looked happy. In
fact, all the men they employed were talking or dancing with their guests.
Doing their job, including Laurence, the brother of Saber’s dead fiancée, which
marked a change.

Taking care to keep his breaths shallow
Saber said in a low voice, “Go and check out the women on our list. Dance with
them, speak with them and come to a decision. We need to cement our plans.”

As his brothers wandered off, Saber
observed the partygoers. A flash of red caught his attention, and he turned to
watch a woman progress to the bar. She wasn’t exceptionally beautiful like some
of the other women, and was on the skinny side, yet something undefinable kept
his gaze stitched in place. The red gown followed the lines of her body, its
short length showcasing her legs and cupping her backside. Her footwear
consisted of a series of crisscrossed black straps and heels that elevated her
height. She chatted with the bar staff, shared a smile with the other women who
sat at the bar and politely turned down a request to dance.

Interesting. He hadn’t noticed any other
woman saying no. Most were here to enjoy themselves and interact with the men.

Saber stalked closer, his mind taking in
the small details and matching them against his brothers’ tastes. Honey-blonde
hair, swept into some complicated style that made a man think about messing it
up. A slight, petite frame. Bright blue eyes the color of the cornflowers his
mother used to grow swept over him, dismissed him without pause.

Saber felt his mouth drop open and snapped
it shut. Her rejection rankled. Miffed, he took a step toward her before common
sense reasserted itself.

He wanted mates for his brothers.

He wanted them settled.

Happy.

This was business, and his own physical
needs weren’t paramount.

Saber changed direction and hit the far end
of the bar. He signaled for a drink and turned to survey the room before his
gaze tracked back to the woman. Another female joined Blondie. Tall and regal
with ruthlessly short black hair, she was dressed in a deep-blue dress with a
dramatic slit up one side.

His attention shifted back to Blondie—just
in time to see Felix swoop. Minutes later, Leo joined them and started chatting
with the friend.

Saber watched for a few seconds longer,
batted back the surge of inappropriate resentment and decided everything was
going well. He wasn’t needed. His brothers knew what to do, and for once they
were following orders. He downed his drink and stopped to chat now and then,
pulling out his rusty social skills to flirt and drag responding smiles from
their female guests. Some of the women were stunning beauties, others not so
much, yet their smiles and excitement, their enjoyment, made them all rate a
second inspection.

He wove through the guests and employees,
the lustful scents starting to get to him.

“Saber.” His sister Scarlett waved him over
to where she was sitting by the terrace doors.

He dropped onto a seat beside her. “What
are you doing here?”

“I wanted to check out the guests, get a
feeling for them.” She delicately sniffed the air and grimaced. “Sucks to be a
shifter sometimes.” Her gaze drilled into him. “I didn’t get to spend long on
reception because you had me running background checks all day.” She leaned
closer, lowering her voice a fraction. “One of the women in chalet twenty-five
doesn’t have any family, although there was some scandal about her accusing her
in-laws of murdering her husband. Nothing came of her allegations, and I
haven’t been able to discover anything recent on the subject.”

“Pity we don’t have time to visit her
residence and ask questions in person. I worry we’ll miss something important,”
Saber said. “What about the other one?”

“She comes from a military background,
although sources say she doesn’t spend her leave with her family. She seems
closer to an aunt—her mother’s sister. If we grabbed her, the military might
become involved. The woman with no family might make things easier.”

Saber tapped his fingers on his thigh. “True.
Or maybe we should scoop up both women. If they both disappeared we’d have some
breathing space, rather than leaving one behind who might cause problems and
raise the alarm.”

“Good point,” Scarlett said. “We’re
treading a delicate line with our capture plan.”

Low, throaty laughter came from a neighboring
couple. It was sexy and suggestive and the insinuation transmitted with ease.
The resort employee stood and held out his hand to the woman, a Dalcon local,
Saber thought.

“Care for a walk along the beach?” the man
asked.

The laughter was a purr of response this
time as she accepted his hand and stood.

Saber shot a glance at his sister. “You
shouldn’t be here, Scarlett. It’s not right.”

Scarlett reached over and rapped her fist
against his skull. “Hello? Hello? Is anybody there?”

Saber ducked out of reach. “Cut it out.”

“Then stop treating me like a kid. I know
what sex is, Saber.”

“Who told you about sex? Tell me so I can
shoot their kneecaps.”

“Saber!”

Saber grinned, silently acknowledging his
sister was an adult. She wasn’t a cute kid tagging after him anymore. “We’re
going hunting for zylon once this winds down. You wanna come?”

“You’re on. Bet I catch more cute fluffies
than you.”

“You can try,” Saber said.

Romantic cooing sounded outside and
Scarlett grimaced. “Ugh, I’ve seen enough. I’ll see you later.” She stood and
sashayed out the terrace doors. She paused to remove her shoes before stepping
onto the sandy beach.

Saber watched his sister until she blended
with the darkness. They had a couple of days to observe and decide. Maybe this
capture scenario was bizarre and risky, but he was doing it for his family.
Once they were settled the burden of responsibility would lessen, and he
wouldn’t need to worry as much about his family’s future. He could relax.

* * * * *

The door to the Dalcon restaurant burst
open, the heavy wood crashing against the wall.

Robbie Campbell leaped to his feet, his
cane toppling to the tiled floor with a clatter. “Who—who are you? W-what do
you want?”

“Where is she?”

Robbie gaped at the mountainous bald guy
blocking the doorway. He stared at the broken door lock then back at the man.
He swallowed. Hard. His heart stalled for an instant then battered his ribs
like a captured wild creature attempting escape. “Who are y-you looking for?”

“Stand aside, man,” a second voice said. A
feminine voice.

The nanosecond Robbie heard her imperious
order, he stiffened, cursing under his breath. This wouldn’t end well. He felt
it in his gut.

The woman stalked into the empty
restaurant. “Where is she?” she repeated, crisp and to the point. Her voice
didn’t match her regal station or her high-class grooming. Her hard expression
didn’t go with the outfit either, and Robbie would bet the woman’s titled
Dalcon friends didn’t often see this side of the Dearbhorgaill matriarch, not unless
they landed on her shit list.