The Mate Challenge (BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance) (Sassy Mates Book 4) by Milly Taiden Page B

of the moon. She’d stopped walking in the daylight just a few short years back, but she still missed the sun.
    “I have not heard of any reports of a human going into Embraced,” Anton, her oldest advisor said. Anton had been with the clan since her great grandparents’ time. He’d been the one to tell her parents’ of her grandparents’ death. Older than most of the others, he didn’t turn until he was almost sixty, almost four hundred years back. But he wasn’t a blood born like Aria, so he wasn’t as strong.
    Aria, whose family blood line directly connected her back to Miralla Abarca passed their power and strength to each blood born. Though he was older than Aria, he had a tendency of treating her as if she were still a little girl learning how to lead. “You shouldn’t worry over humans, Aria. That’s what we are here for. To take care of those matters.”
    Aria stopped herself from the instant urge to turn and lift Anton by the throat. She counted to ten and back. Lately, she felt as though everyone thought she was nothing more than a child. She glanced back at the group with pursed lips. “I will not ignore what is under our noses, Anton.”
    “Yes, child—”
    “Don’t—,” she gritted her teeth, “call me child again.” Her Spanish accent came through more pronounced when she was angry. At that moment, she was livid. “Matters of the clan are my responsibility. It is not your job to decide what I should or should not worry about.”
    Anton lowered his head in acknowledgement. “I understand.”
    Aria gave a sharp nod. “I want to know if there have been humans at Embraced.”
    “Aria, that goes against the rules. Who would be stupid enough to allow a human in there?” Chantal exclaimed, she stared at her folded hands on her lap. Chantal had been assigned to Aria since her birth. Though Chantal was at least one hundred years older than Aria, she treated her like a sister. As an only child, Aria had appreciated having someone who she could be close to, but that didn’t mean she would allow Chantal or anyone else to undermine her authority.
    Before she got a chance to reply to Chantal’s words, Claude cleared his throat. “Perhaps we don’t know enough.”
    Anton turned his head to glare at Claude. “Foolish boy, of course we know. I know. No one is allowing humans in the club. They know the rules.”
    Aria glanced back out her window. The hairs on her arms raised and for a second she swore someone out there was watching her. Impossible. Everyone was gone for the night and the only people in the mansion were there with her. The guards were out front, so the idea was ludicrous. Still, a sliver of discomfort kept her staring into the woods.
    “Do you have anything in mind about this human problem?” Anton asked. His tone was high with a sort of whininess she hated. He only used it when he thought she was being stupid or dramatic.
    “Yeah,” she snapped. “Try finding out if anyone knows where the human girl is!”
    Chantal rolled her eyes. “How did you even find out about the kid? If we didn’t know, how do you?”
    Aria moved fast, picking Chantal up by the throat and shoving her up a wall filled with books. A collection of priceless first volumes fell to the ground as Chantal’s back slammed on the row of books.
    “I don’t need to explain myself to you,” Aria muttered, her fangs descending. Unlike most humans believed, fangs didn’t just peek when a vampire was going to bite. They descended whenever a spike in emotions happened. Whether thirst, anger, or even sexual excitement.
    “I’m sorry,” Chantal squeaked through the vice of Aria’s hand on her throat.
    She let Chantal fall to the floor with a thump and turned to the others in the group. “I want information on the girl. Who took her and why. I don’t want our clan pulled into a shifter war. If they want to kill themselves, I’m fine with that. The minute it is said vampires are responsible for any human