by R. E. Butler
Maybe Joy had known that she wasn’t going to be around long and had wanted Rhapsody to have a place to go to start over. She liked thinking that Joy was watching over her even now, smiling down from heaven and urging her to move on with her life and not get bogged down in the sadness that her death had caused.
Rhapsody missed her terribly, but Joy hadn’t stopped living when Wally passed away, and she wasn’t going to, either. She was young and had the rest of her life to live to the fullest. Maybe someday she’d meet her mate and have a child, and she’d name her after her favorite aunt who had meant the world to her.
But for now she concentrated on the road, turning on the radio once she was out of the woods and finding a favorite station. As the music blasted through the ancient speakers, she smiled at the sunny, blue sky and thought that today was a perfect day to start over. Her future awaited in New Jersey.
Chapter 3
Rhapsody woke late Saturday morning, the cheap motel’s lumpy mattress and scratchy sheets making for a restless night. She’d arrived on Friday night, and booked the room for the week. The room had a television bolted to an old pressboard dresser, an uncomfortable full-sized bed with a comforter that was at least thirty years old, and a tiny bathroom. It was old, but it was clean, and she could be thankful for small miracles.
She didn’t want to spend the day in the room, waiting for it to be time to go to the zoo for the safari tour, so she dressed and went for a walk, stopping at the motel office for a cup of coffee and a packaged cinnamon bun from a vending machine. The morning passed quickly, and soon she was putting the finishing touches on her makeup and using a curling iron to add a few loose curls to her long, blonde locks. It was hot outside, the summer sun baking the asphalt until the air smelled of tar and stone. She’d opted to wear a short khaki skirt and an olive-green tank that had lace detail on the bottom to give it a feminine flare.
She was trying not to admit that she was nervous about going to the zoo, and she really wished that Joy was with her. If Joy was there, though, she would have said that Rhapsody was being silly; that she was a kickass panther and the zoo would be lucky to have her join their community. She tucked her ID into the back pocket of the skirt along with the ticket she’d printed out in the motel office, and grabbed her phone and keys from the dresser.
The motel was in the same town as the zoo, so she only had a ten-minute drive. She’d expected that the zoo would be busy because it was a weekend day, and she was right. Not only did she wait in line for twenty minutes to even get into the parking lot, but she had quite a hike to the front gates once she did find a spot. The gates into the park were enormous and made of wrought iron. On either side of the large gate was a tall, rock wall that spanned the park, topped with security lights and cameras.
Once through the gates, she made her way to the ticket taker, and handed the female the ticket for the tour which doubled as an admission ticket.
“Have you been on the tour before?” the female asked as she waved a scanner over the barcode on the ticket until it beeped.
Rhapsody inhaled silently and found the female smelled of the woods, and wondered if she was a wolf shifter. “Nope. I’m only in town for a visit and wanted to do something fun.”
The female smiled brightly. “Well, welcome to New Jersey and enjoy the tour. Here’s a map. You’ll want to head right over to the tour so you don’t miss your time slot.”
“Thank you,” Rhapsody said.
She walked into the park and moved to the side to look at the map. Ahead of her was the security office, and the safari tour was to the left, so she folded the map, stuck it in her back pocket, and walked toward the tour. The closer she got to the tour, the more eager her panther seemed to grow. Her fingertips were tingling and her nose was twitching with curiosity. A wooden sign led the way into the tour, and she stopped at the entrance to the waiting line and handed one of two males at the booth her ticket.
“You’re right on time,” the male said. Like the female at the gate, he smelled like the woods. “Alfie will take you to the head of the line so you don’t miss out.”
“Aren’t the people in line ahead of me?” she asked, taking the ticket back.
Alfie stepped away from the booth and smiled. “Everyone who does the VIP tour has a set time to start, so the people who are waiting in line have later times than you. We’re getting ready to start the first tours, so you need to get to the front.”
“Okay, I didn’t want to tick anyone off.”
“You won’t,” Alfie said.
“Have fun,” the male behind the booth said.
Alfie gestured to a roped off line next to the entrance, unhooking the thick rope from the stand and letting her pass by. He joined her and closed the line off, and then he walked with her.
“Are there are a lot of people for the three o’clock tour?” she asked.
“Just four. We have six Jeeps that run continuously from three until eight. We only run four of the Jeeps during each tour timeslot so that we can get the VIPs on the tour and out of the long lines. The first tour hasn’t started yet and you’re the fourth one to show up for the timeslot, so it will be a few minutes before you’ll leave.”
“I’ve never been on a safari tour like this before.”
“I’m sure you’ll have fun. I used to drive a Jeep for the tour.”
“Oh? Why did you stop?”
“I drove with a friend of mine, and he…left the zoo and I didn’t feel like driving without him.”
“Aw. I’m sorry. I know what that feels like. I lost someone close to me and I didn’t really want to stay where I was without her.”
They came to a stop behind three females. Rhapsody glanced behind her and saw the large number of people in the line next to hers.
“They’re all for later tours,” he said quietly.
“Thank you for walking with me.”
He smiled and looked to the trail where four Jeeps were waiting. Each blue-camo-colored Jeep had two males in the front seats wearing blue-camo uniforms. “You’ll be riding with my friends Auden and Jasper. They’ll take good care of you.”
“Thanks, Alfie.”
He nodded and walked back down the line, disappearing around a corner. She turned her attention back to the people around her, opening her senses and determining that everyone in line was human, and most of them were female.
One by one, the three females ahead of her were taken to the waiting Jeeps, and then Rhapsody handed her ticket to a male and he scanned it and said, “How are you today, Miss Caine?”
“Fine, thank you,” she said. “You?”
“Not bad at all. If you’ll follow me,” he said, gesturing to the last Jeep.
“Hi,” a male said as he got out of the passenger seat and offered Rhapsody his hand. “I’m Jasper, the tour guide, and this is our driver, Auden.”
“Rhapsody,” she said, shaking his hand and then climbing into the back seat. On the seat next to her was a black camera bag.
“We have to wait for the other Jeeps to clear the first animal paddock before we can start the tour,” Jasper said. “Because you’re a VIP, I’ll take a photo of you at each paddock and then at the end of the tour, you’ll be given a keepsake photo album.”
She hummed. “Neat.”
“Did you get one of the free VIP tour tickets in the mail?”
“No,” she said. “I came to New Jersey for a visit and bought a ticket online.”
“Welcome to our fair state.”
“Is everyone in New Jersey so friendly?” she asked.
With a wink he said, “Only at the zoo.”
There was a crackling sound over the radio, and a male voice said, “The first paddock is clear.”
Auden lifted the walkie from the front of the radio and said, “Thanks. Jeep Four is heading out.”
“Hold on,” Jasper said to Rhapsody. “It’s a little bumpy.”
Rhapsody gripped the seat in front of her as the Jeep lurched forward and
then moved slowly down a wide, dirt path. It stopped at a wooden gate that opened slowly to admit them, and closed with a loud squeak that made her sensitive ears hurt.
“So a few rules,” Jasper said. “First, don’t put your fingers or hands inside the fences. We are dealing with wild animals here, even if they do look friendly, and don’t go anywhere without me and Auden.”
“Where would I go?” she asked.
“Nowhere,” he said. “We just don’t want you to get lost, so stay with us and you’ll have a fun time, I promise. The first paddock is our elephant memory.”
“Elephant what-now?”
Auden laughed and Jasper grinned. “A group of elephants is called a memory,” Jasper said.
“Is that because they never forget stuff?” she asked.
“I suppose. There are a lot of animal groups with weird names,” Jasper said.
“Yeah, like the gorilla band,” Auden said. “Why the heck would anyone call a bunch of gorillas a band?”
The Jeep rolled to a stop and Jasper climbed out. He offered Rhapsody his hand and she got out, waiting while he retrieved the camera from the bag on the seat next to her. She stared at the tall chain link fence, her cat rolling under her skin. She had to grit her teeth to stifle a purr that was rumbling in her throat as she let her gaze sweep over the four elephants, stopping on one in the front. Their gazes locked, and immediately she felt a connection flare to life between them. She knew that she wasn’t looking at a normal elephant, but a shifter.
She walked forward, her cat yowling demands in her head that she move faster. Behind her, Jasper called her name, but she didn’t bother to respond. She only cared about the elephant, and with every step she took it became clear in her mind why she felt so drawn to him.
He was her soulmate. The one male on the planet meant just for her. It seemed impossible that she’d find her soulmate so quickly, but she couldn’t deny how right it felt, too. Grasping the links of the fence she stared at the elephant, feeling destiny thunder down on her. She let loose of the purr in her throat, kicked off her sandals, and climbed the fence.
She had to get to him.
And no fence or well-meaning tour guides were going to stop her.
Chapter 4
Kelley lumbered from the barn on Saturday afternoon. He couldn’t shake a strange feeling that had plagued him all morning. His elephant had been banging around in his skull, urging him to do something. But whatever that something was, he didn’t have a clue.
He paced around the paddock, stopping at the pond for a drink. He watched his friends as they goofed around – Cael and Indio tossing heads of lettuce at each other while Alistair watched with a bemused expression. He wished he could talk in his shift, because he’d ask his friends if they were feeling weird. But since he could only communicate naturally for the next few hours, he would have to figure things out on his own. Whatever his elephant wanted, it wasn’t being really clear. A generic urge to do something was all that he got from the creature.
In the distance he heard the first Jeep with a VIP approach the gate that separated the line queue from the actual trail. The gate creaked as it opened and he walked toward the fence along with the other members of the herd. The Jeep stopped in front of the paddock, and the guide helped the female out and brought her to the fence. They stood for a few moments, the female staring at the elephants as the male explained some facts about their species. The tour had been set up in a way that allowed every shifter in the paddocks to scent the VIPs to discover if there was a soulmate connection. Kelley inhaled and focused on the female, a tall, willowy brunette, but got nothing but bored disinterest from his beast.
The guide – a wolf male named Evan – stared at the elephants, and when none of them made any motion to draw close to the fence, a signal to the tour guide that the female was the soulmate of one of the shifters, he gave a nod to the elephants and led the human back to the Jeep after taking her photo.
The Jeep disappeared down the trail, and a few minutes later a second Jeep arrived, followed by a third. Kelly felt the disappointment start to rise in him, and tamped it down. It wasn’t as if he just magically expected to find his soulmate on the tour with the first Jeep that passed by, but with each Jeep that stopped and then moved on without a connection to him or his herd mates, he couldn’t help but wonder if the tours were effective. Only two of the five recently mated couples had come through the tour, the others had met through different circumstances.
His elephant snapped to awareness, and trumpeted in his mind as the gate opened again and a fourth Jeep approached. He inhaled, moving forward a few steps, his skin prickling and his heart pounding. The Jeep stopped and a petite blonde got out, her tanned legs peeking from under the short skirt she wore. As their gazes clashed through the fence, his elephant roared in triumph in his mind.
It was her! His soulmate had come on the tour!
He couldn’t take his eyes from her, his elephant practically doing cartwheels in his mind. He lifted his trunk to blast a happy sound and alert the tour driver and guide that she was his, when he heard a purring sound. Coming from her. He froze, not even daring to breathe in case he’d heard wrong, but he hadn’t. She was purring.
Her fingers curled over the links of the fence. There was a heartbeat of frozen silence, and then she kicked off her shoes and started to climb. He was immediately worried that she’d get hurt. The fence was ten feet tall and there weren’t any trees for her to climb onto from the other side. He hurried forward, letting out a warning for her to be cautious. She climbed the fence so fast she was a blur, and then she perched at the top of the fence for a moment before swinging over the top and climbing down.
He’d never seen anyone climb so quickly, and the moment that she raced to him and hugged his foreleg, he knew she was a shifter. He could not only feel the purr that vibrated in her chest, but he could scent that she was a cat shifter of some sort. He’d only ever known lion shifters, but she didn’t smell like a lion.
He curled his trunk around her waist and drew her even closer.
“Oh,” she said, her voice thick with emotion, “I knew you were mine.”
“What the hell!” Jasper yelled, rattling the fence.
“I’m shutting down the damn tour,” Auden called from the Jeep. “Fuck.”
Alistair, Indio, and Cael moved in front of Kelley, separating him and his mate from the trail outside the fence, just to be sure no one saw a human in their paddock. Alistair made a curious noise and the female shuddered and hugged Kelley’s leg a little tighter.
“I’m a panther shifter,” she said. “My name is Rhapsody Caine.”
Kelley lifted his trunk and trumpeted loudly in triumph. The herd lifted their trunks and sounded calls of joy that echoed throughout the park.
The chain link rattled and Jasper said, “Hello? Someone tell me what’s going on. This isn’t how things are supposed to happen.”
Rhapsody cleared her throat and shouted, “I’m fine.”
“I’m sure you are,” Jasper said dryly, “but you can’t be in there.”
Alistair faced the fence and made a few noises, and Jasper said, “Okay, okay. I’ve called the security team. Take the female into the shed and do it fast. I’ve shut down the tours, but we can’t leave them that way for long. Security will meet you in the main hall.”
“They’re not going to take me from you, are they?” Rhapsody asked. “I know I broke the rules, but I don’t want to be separated.”
Alistair swung back around and shook his big head no.
“Oh, good.” She let out a relieved breath.
Alistair pointed to the barn with his trunk and Kelley gave her a nudge with his. She put her hand in his trunk and held it tightly, and they walked together to the storage shed. He pulled the door open with his trunk and she hurried inside. He followed and closed the door. When they were safely out of view of prying eyes, he let go of his shift and returned to his human form. The moment he was back to human, Rhapso
dy was in his arms, climbing him like a tree and hugging him tightly.
He chuckled and held her close, burying his face in her neck.
Fuck she smelled good. Like love and home and sweet dreams.
“I’m Kelley London.”
She nipped at his neck with her teeth and a hard shudder raced down his spine. “Mine.”
He liked her possessiveness. He was feeling it, too.
“You’re a panther shifter, Rhapsody?” he asked, looking into her beautiful blue eyes. They flashed from blue to gold, then back to brilliant blue.
“Yes. Black panther.”
“How did you get here? Why were you on the tour?”
“I’m all that’s left of my clan. My aunt told me about this zoo and said I could come here and maybe find my soulmate. I wasn’t sure that would happen, but I thought that maybe I could meet some shifters and…” her voice trailed off, her eyes looking everywhere but at him.
“And what, sweetheart?”
She blinked those big, beautiful eyes at him. “I left home to come here. I have this little house in my clan’s territory, but I’m by myself now. My aunt wanted me to find my soulmate so I wouldn’t be alone, and she thought this was a good place to start. I thought if I found my soulmate that I could stay with him here, and that makes me sound like a big, old mooch.”
He smiled and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “You’re not a mooch, I promise. Shifters are supposed to stick together. Even if you hadn’t found your soulmate here, I’m sure the alphas would have welcomed you. It’s not as if they’d turn away someone who knew the truth of this place. Are you really the last one of your clan?”
“It was my aunt and me for a long time, and then she died a little while ago.”
“I’m sorry you lost your family. I’ve never met a panther.”
“I’ve never met an elephant.”
“Are there other clans around? Have you ever met other panthers?”
“When I was younger our clan met up with some other clans, but panthers stick to family groups, so when no one felt connected to a soulmate, we parted ways. I probably could have reached out to one of them, but this felt like a better plan.”