by R. E. Butler
Dancer’s Fated Mate
Arctic Shifters Book Six
By R. E. Butler
Copyright 2018 R. E. Butler
Dancer’s Fated Mate (Arctic Shifters Book Six)
By R. E. Butler
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Cover by CT Cover Creations
This ebook is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination and not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locations is coincidental.
Disclaimer: The material in this book is for mature audiences only and contains graphic sexual content and is intended for those older than the age of 18 only.
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Editing by Hot Tree Editing
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Special thanks to Shelley & Joyce for beta-reading!
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Coming Next from R. E. Butler
Contact the Author
More Works from R. E. Butler
Arctic Shifters Book Seven…Coming November 2018
Dancer’s Fated Mate (Arctic Shifters Book Six)
By R. E. Butler
An invitation to spend Christmas with her cousin is too good for Gabriella Fitzpatrick to pass up. When she awakens in the early morning hours and can’t go back to sleep, she walks into the front room and faces a polar bear, who miraculously changes into her cousin’s husband.
Declan, the second position on the sleigh team, has been waiting forever to find his fated mate. Five of his friends have already found theirs, and he knows it’s just a matter of time before he finds the one female on the planet for him. Just before dawn on Christmas Eve morning, he answers a call in the security office. One of the shifters who lives in the human world shifted in front of a human and doesn’t know what to do. Mrs. Claus tells Declan to use magic to wipe the human’s memories.
When Ellie wakes up, she vividly remembers watching a bear become a human. Declan promises she wasn’t hallucinating, and that he can also change into animals, including one of Santa’s reindeer. He calls her his fated mate and takes her to North Pole City to show her the truth of his world. Will she be willing to stay in NPC with Declan, or will she want to stay in her world forever?
Chapter 1
Declan looked at the plate of food in front of him but ignored it in favor of the beer just to the right. Taking a long drink, he settled back in the chair and glanced around the tavern. It was a typical Friday night in North Pole City. A week before Christmas Eve, his people were getting ready for the coming flight around the world. He and seven of his closest friends were quad shifters who worked directly for Santa Claus, known as SC to those who called NPC home. Quad shifters were able to shift into four animals – polar bear, arctic fox, snowy owl, and the all-important reindeer. There were normal shifters in NPC, like his father and grandfather, who could shift into three of the four animals. Only those who could shift into the reindeer were quads, and quads were rare.
They were also gifted with a wonderful type of mate – a fated mate, the one female on the planet who was perfect for the quad, his exact match in every way. Of the eight quads on the sleigh team, five had found their fated mates, beginning with the Blitzen reindeer, Arian, who found his in a human named Charli. Four more quads had found theirs in swift succession, leaving three unmated including himself, Jack, and Vaughn. None of the females in NPC – who were all elves – were their fated mates, which meant that like the five before them, their fated mates were going to come from the human world down below the top of the world.
“What’s got you looking so serious?” Vaughn asked from across the table.
Declan inclined his head toward the other end of the table, where Roi and his fated mate, Dreama, were talking quietly, heads together and both wearing secret smiles.
“Ah. Yeah, I think about that, too. Like a lot.”
“Think about what?” Jack asked.
“Fated mates,” Declan said. “Specifically why ours are taking so damn long to show up.”
“Maybe this will be our year,” Jack said.
“You really think all three of us could find our mates at the same time?” Vaughn asked, one brow arched comically high. “Even SC couldn’t pull off that kind of magic.”
Declan laughed. “I don’t think he’d want to hear you say that.”
Jack took a long drink of beer and set the bottle down. “My mom asked if I wanted to have Mrs. C mate-match me.”
Declan nodded. The thought had crossed his mind before, as well. Mrs. C could perform a magical spell and match up a couple within NPC. The match would be perfect – the couple would be just right for each other – but it wasn’t the same as having a fated mate.
“She probably wants grandkids, right?” Declan asked.
Jack nodded. “My dad told her I needed to wait because I’m a quad. She just doesn’t want me to be alone anymore.”
“Moms,” Vaughn said with a wry smile. “Helpful and not helpful at the same time.”
“Before the team started finding fated mates, I might’ve gone to Mrs. C. Now that five of us have found them, there’s no way in Hades I’d do a mate-match spell. Even if the match would be right, it wouldn’t be perfect.”
“Plus,” Jack said, “I’ve always wondered what would happen to our fated mate if we mate-matched instead.”
Declan frowned. “What do you mean?”
Jack’s shoulders lifted in a shrug. “If we would opt for a mate-match instead of waiting, what would happen to the female meant to be ours? Would she just… I don’t know, live her life never knowing something was missing, or would she never be able to settle down because whatever male she chose wasn’t her one right mate?”
“That’s both an interesting and disturbing thought,” Vaughn said. He lifted his beer and said, “Let’s just commiserate on being lonely right now, and hope to crap that our fated mates are waiting for us to find them this Christmas.”
Jack and Declan lifted their beers and clinked the tops together.
Because NPC was a protected and magically secure city, it was only open twenty-four hours each year, from dawn on Christmas Eve to dawn on Christmas Day. Half of that time, the sleigh team was racing around the world with SC delivering presents, but during the rest of the open time, their people could come and go as they pleased.
“Well,” Declan said, finishing his beer and picking up his fork, “whatever this Christmas brings, let’s just hope that all three of our fated mates are waiting for us so we can all have a Merry Christmas.”
“Cheesy, bro,” Vaughn laughed, wrinkling his nose. “Way cheesy.”
“I dig it,” Jack said. “Cheesy or not.”
* * *
The week passed quickly as the town prepared for the Christmas Eve run. Not only was Declan on the sleigh team, but he was also second-in-command of the security team that patrolled the city. His best friend, Rhys, was the leader of security and the Dasher position on the sleigh team. He’d been fortunate to
find his fated mate, Merri, when a case of mistaken identity in the human world had some members of the security team bringing her to NPC in error.
Along with his security work, he also had to prep his harness for the trip, which meant several hours with a polishing cloth to make all the hardware shine, as well as checking and rechecking to ensure the harness itself was in excellent condition. One year, Arian – the Blitzen position – fell from the sleigh when his harness broke. He could’ve died, but he was fortunate enough to land in the backyard of his fated mate’s house. It was possibly the strangest meeting of fated mates on record, but it had a very happy ending.
Now if he could only get his happily ever after, he’d be all set.
He checked the bank of monitors that showed the various security cameras around the town. Everything was white in NPC, from the buildings to the homes. Then he grabbed his heavy coat and headed out to patrol on foot. Even though no one could get into NPC who wasn’t a resident, shit happened, so the security team patrolled every shift. He didn’t mind as it gave him a chance to be out in the fresh air.
After he’d walked the entire city, he returned to the security office. It didn’t surprise him that there were at least a dozen people waiting outside the office for him even though it was less than an hour before sunrise. Their people had to log in with security and pick up a wristband tracker to keep on them at all times. SC had declared that no one could leave NPC without a tracker, which was just one more way to keep their people safe. If an NPC resident was outside of the city after dawn on Christmas Day, they were locked out for a year. It wasn’t a good situation to be in.
“Just a sec everyone,” he said as he opened the office door and hung up his coat. He sat down in front of the bank of monitors and opened the box of trackers. As he turned to call in the first person, a call came in on the emergency line, the red flashing light a warning that there was a problem in the human world related to one of their people. Declan reached for the phone just as Mrs. C’s face appeared on one of the monitors. She’d used her tablet to video the security room. He pressed the screen to answer her call.
“Mrs. C?”
“Declan, there’s a problem!”
Chapter 2
Gabriella’s cell buzzed just as she turned her car on and plugged in the charger cord. She wasn’t surprised to see her cousin’s name appear on the screen.
Neve’s voice was filled with excitement as it echoed over the car’s speakers. “Tell me you’re on the way!”
“I am. I just had to stop and get a coffee.”
“Yum. I’d ask you to pick up one for me, but it’ll be ice cold and gross by the time you get here.”
“I did get you and Tom some donuts, though.”
“Woo hoo!”
Ellie could picture her cousin pumping her fist in the air. Neve, like Ellie, was curvy, and they both shared a sweet tooth that Ellie was pretty sure was hereditary. “I’ll be there in three hours and,” – she looked at the GPS screen – “seventeen minutes.”
“I’m so excited that you’re coming for Christmas this year.”
“I can’t wait to see your place. It took you long enough to get unpacked.”
“Well, what can I say? I’m a perfectionist.”
Neve and her husband, Tom, had met two years before. The whirlwind romance ended with Neve moving to a remote town and a cabin in the woods. It looked very picturesque from the photos Ellie had seen.
She missed her cousin terribly. They’d grown up practically as sisters, living next door to each other, going to the same college, and even sharing an apartment. Then Tom had swept Ellie off her feet and they’d moved away.
Thank goodness for technology, or Ellie would’ve felt left in the dust.
Shifting into gear, Ellie pulled away from the coffee shop and said, “I’ll see you in a few hours.”
“Be careful. I can’t wait to see you.”
“Love you.”
“Love you more.”
The call ended and Ellie turned on the satellite radio to her favorite holiday station, singing along to Christmas classics as she headed for her cousin’s home. She was pretty sure Neve was going to ask her to move to town, because she’d asked her several times over the last two years. But Ellie loved her job working for a local florist. Layne was in her seventies, a spry gal who shared her love of flowers with Ellie. She might move if it weren’t for Layne, who had given Ellie her first job in high school, but she considered the woman like a second mother. From the moment Layne had asked her to start by trimming roses of their thorns for bouquets, Ellie had been hooked on all things floral. Her favorites were the Christmas flowers – poinsettias and amaryllis – but she’d been cultivating beautiful roses, too.
While Ellie had spent her youth learning about flowers and flower arranging, taking horticulture in college, Neve had gone to pastry school. They’d talked about opening a shop for both of their passions, a bakery and floral shop in one, calling it something clever like Sugar and Blooms. The dream had seemed like a plausible one for a long time, but then Neve and Tom met and moved away.
Every now and then, she would mention their old dreams, but Neve’s heart wasn’t in building a business with Ellie anymore. She was happy living in the woods with her husband, and she was genuinely happy for them. Someday, Ellie would like to own her own flower business, but for now she was content to work for Layne.
* * *
Neve threw open the front door when Ellie parked in the driveway. “Yay! You made it!”
Ellie turned off the car and opened her door, hurrying to her cousin and accepting a big hug. “Thanks for inviting me.”
“Sorry we couldn’t get together last Christmas. We had to go visit Tom’s family.”
Tom smiled at her from behind Neve. “Welcome. Let me grab your bags for you.”
“Thanks.”
Ellie, Neve, and Tom walked back to her car, Ellie opening the passenger door while Tom removed her suitcase from the back of the car. She handed a box of donuts to Neve, then grabbed her purse and a tall box from the floor.
“Oh, what’s that?” Neve asked.
“Don’t worry about it until later.”
“Ah,” Neve said with a wink. “Obviously a present for the best cousin on the planet.”
Ellie couldn’t help but laugh as she shut the door with her hip and followed her cousin and Tom into the house. “You’re definitely the best.”
“We’ve got the guest bedroom set up for you,” Neve said. “Tour first!”
Ellie put her things on the kitchen table and took what Neve referred to as the “nickel tour” of the three-bedroom cabin. The living room and kitchen were done in country blue, from the braided rugs to the curtains over the kitchen sink window. A huge Christmas tree sat in the corner of the living room, decorated with strands of popcorn and cranberries, pinecones, and white poinsettias.
“The tree is beautiful,” Ellie said.
“Thanks. Tom likes natural decorating for our tree, so no twinkle lights or store-bought ornaments.”
“I think it’s very cool.”
“Tom, did I ever tell you that Ellie’s parents told her Santa is the one who brought the tree and decorated it on Christmas Eve?”
Ellie looked at her cousin, who was smiling, her eyes glittering with humor.
Tom’s brows rose. “Really?”
Ellie shrugged with a chuckle. “I believed it until I was maybe seven.”
“Why did you stop?”
“Someone at school told me that Santa wasn’t real, and even if he was, he wouldn’t deliver trees to everyone because the gift sack wasn’t for anything but presents.”
“Santa’s magic, though,” Tom said. “If he wanted to bring trees to every house, he could.”
Ellie arched a brow as she looked at her cousin, who elbowed Tom. “He’s just a kid at heart,” she explained with a grin.
“Ah, well it’s a nice thought, but life was a lot easier for me when I figured out t
hat Santa wasn’t real.”
“And a lot easier for your parents, too,” Neve said. “No more setting up trees at midnight.”
Ellie looked at the tree, a mixture of fondness and sadness twining within her. Her parents had been gone for three years now. They’d died while out camping, when high winds toppled a nearby tree onto their tent and crushed them. She hadn’t gone because of work, or she would’ve been with them in the tent, too.
Neve hugged Ellie suddenly. “I miss them, too.”
Ellie chuckled and hugged her back, ignoring the sting of tears. “No more sadness.”
Neve hooked her arm around Ellie’s and said, “Let me show you to your bedroom, and then we can have some of those delicious donuts.” She waggled a finger at her husband. “Don’t eat them all before we get back.”
Tom winked. “Promise.”
Ellie took the suitcase from Tom and walked with Neve down the short hallway that led to a bathroom and the three bedrooms. Ellie’s was at the end of the hall and contained a full bed, nightstand, and dresser.
“I’m actually surprised you have electricity,” Ellie said. “You’re pretty far away from town.”
“We have solar tiles on the roof and a generator. Mostly we use electricity for the fridge and water pump, but since you’re used to lights we’ve got lamps plugged in, too.”
“I don’t mind using candles. It’s rustic.”
“That’s me, rustic,” Neve said. “I’ll leave you to unpack while I make some coffee. I got the caramel-flavored creamer you like.”
“You’re the best.”
“Don’t I know it.”
Neve left Ellie to herself, and she unzipped her suitcase and put her things away. She’d been invited to spend a week, and she couldn’t wait to explore the woods, which the window in her room faced.
