Kelley (Were Zoo Book Six)

by R. E. Butler

  “It’s nice to meet you,” Rhapsody said.

  “Congratulations on your mating, I heard you climbed the fence!” Celeste said.

  Rhapsody glanced at Kelley who was hiding his smile behind his coffee mug. “Does everyone know?”

  He shrugged. “You’re the first female to climb the fence because your soulmate is so awesome. It’s a good story to tell.”

  She couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re definitely awesome. And worth climbing a fence for.”

  “I was telling Celeste about having a girls’ night, and she suggested Friday night. We’ll set up sleeping bags in the employee cafeteria. We can have a bonfire, too,” Jenni said.

  “That sounds like fun,” Rhapsody said.;

  “You’ll come, right?” Celeste asked.

  “Sure,” she said. “What should I bring?”

  “A sleeping bag and whatever your favorite junk food is,” Jenni said. “We’ll meet at ten, after the park is closed and security has swept the park to ensure all the visitors have left.”

  “I’ll be there,” Rhapsody promised.

  “Awesome. See you later,” Jenni said. She and Celeste walked back over to the buffets.

  She stared at them for a little while, and became aware that Kelley was watching her. She blushed a little, but decided she wasn’t embarrassed. “I never really had any friends except my family. I was the only cub. There was a wolf pack near our clan, but we always kept to ourselves and they kept to themselves. And forget humans. Having a friendship with a human who can’t ever know the truth is just too hard.”

  “I’m your friend.”

  She gave his warm hand a little squeeze. “I know. It’s not the same, and you know it.”

  “Yeah, I do. Jenni and the other soulmates are always excited to see new soulmates come into the zoo. It makes it less lonely for them, too. At first it was only Adriana and Celeste who came on the tour and found their soulmates, and because their soulmates are different beasts, they were separated from each other most of the time. There’s date nights and lunches and things, but it’s not the same as having a friend you can actually really talk to.”

  “Maybe one of your cousins or your uncle will find their soulmate soon, and I’ll have a friend in the memory.”

  “I know they’re hoping for that.”

  She shook her head and said, “But you know what? Having girlfriends is nice, and maybe a good thing even, but all I really need is you. Soulmate, friend, family. You’re a triple threat.”

  “And sex on a stick, too. A quadruple threat.”

  “Definitely,” she said with a laugh.

  “Ready to check in with Alistair and see what the rest of the day will bring?” he asked as he pushed back his chair and stood up.

  She gathered their dishes as she stood and said, “As long as there’s a stop in the bedroom on the list, I’m happy.”

  “One, at least,” he promised.

  “I freaking love this zoo,” she said.

  * * *

  By Friday, Rhapsody was falling hard for Kelley. He was the kindest, sexiest male she’d ever known, and she couldn’t believe how fortunate she was that Joy had told her about the zoo. Without that little tidbit, she wouldn’t have ever come to New Jersey. That was a life she was thankful she didn’t have to deal with.

  “Here,” Kelley said, as he pulled a sleeping bag off the top shelf of the closet. “I knew I had one.”

  “Go camping much?” she asked.

  “Not anymore. When I was a kid, the memory would sleep outside at night when the weather was good. My dad’s crazy about astronomy, so any chance he had to be outside on a clear night, he took it. The memory always joined us.”

  She smiled when she saw the look of fond recollection on his face. “Do they still do that?”

  “Yeah.”

  “That’s sweet. Joy liked to spend nice nights in front of a bonfire in her favorite chair.”

  She finished dressing in the new pajamas that she’d ordered through the market. The pink, soft lounge pants and matching long-sleeved shirt were covered with tiny cupcakes. She put on her slippers and grabbed the small tote she’d packed.

  “That’s not my pillow,” she said as Kelley picked up his from the bed and tucked it under his arm.

  He looked a little chagrined. “I want to sleep with your pillow.”

  “Why?”

  “It smells like you.”

  She couldn’t stop the purr that vibrated in her chest. “When you say sexy, romantic stuff like that, I never want to leave the bedroom.”

  He wiggled his brows. “I like being irresistible.”

  She grabbed a hoodie from the closet and followed Kelley out of the house. They took the stairs to the employee cafeteria, and she let out a gasp when she saw that the cafeteria was transformed. All the tables and chairs had been pushed to the walls, and string lights were stretched across the ceiling. In the center of the room was a large square of green carpet, with a fake fire in the center. Red, yellow, and orange gauze fluttered between logs where the fabric was tied to a wireless fan.

  “Isn’t this awesome?” Jenni gushed as she walked out of the kitchen area. “Adrianna’s and Lexy’s mates set this up earlier today.”

  “It’s amazing,” Rhapsody said. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

  “Very cool,” Kelley said. He unrolled her sleeping bag and placed the pillow on it, and then he said, “I’m going to head out.”

  “Movie night with the guys?” she asked.

  He nodded. “I’d much rather be with you.”

  “I feel the same way, trust me.”

  “I’ll come get you tomorrow morning at seven,” he said.

  “Ugh, that sounds too early to get up on a weekend,” Jenni said.

  “We’re going to pack up my old home and bring everything here,” Rhapsody said. “We want to get there and back in the same day if we can.”

  “Well, if I don’t say so in the morning because I’m still passed out, have a safe trip.”

  Kelley chuckled and kissed Rhapsody. She watched him leave, heading back down to the memory’s private living quarters. Since she’d met him, she hadn’t slept a night without him. She was looking forward to the girls’ night, but she was also already missing her mate.

  “I hate being away from Devlin, too,” Jenni said. “It’s hard as hell when you’re so used to the way your soulmate feels next to you at night. I can never sleep right without him curled around me.”

  “I absolutely feel the same way,” Rhapsody said.

  She helped Jenni carry smores-making supplies out of the cafeteria. They rounded the corner of the building and found a metal firepit set up on the patio, surrounded by chairs. Rhapsody took one of the two empty chairs and greeted Celeste, Adrianna, Lexy, and Trina.

  “We were just saying how hard it will be to sleep without our mates,” Rhapsody said.

  “Definitely,” Lexy said. “A few weeks ago, Trina and I went to visit our families and the guys had to stay here because of the tours, and I don’t think I slept a wink.”

  “Is it worse for you and Jenni because you’re shifters?” Trina asked. “Or do you think it’s the soulmate connection in general that makes us want to be with our mates all the time?”

  “I never thought about it,” Jenni said.

  “I think the soulmate connection is strong no matter if it’s shifter-shifter or shifter-human,” Rhapsody said.

  “Or shifter-other,” Jenni added.

  The human females’ brows rose collectively. “What else is out there?” Adriana asked.

  “All sorts of things,” Jenni said with a shrug. “Witches, elves, fairies. Pretty much anything that has a myth or fairy tale about it is based in some reality.”

  “I thought shifters by themselves were really cool,” Celeste said as she poked two marshmallows onto a long skewer, “but a fairy would be awesome to meet.”

  “My Aunt Joy talked about fallen angels, too,” Rhapsody sai
d, “and unique shifters like centaurs and dragons. I don’t know if there are any around anymore.”

  “The more unique the shifter or supernatural creature, the cagier they tend to be,” Jenni said.

  “Speaking of cagey,” Trina said, pointing her smore at Lexy, “you’ve got some news, I can tell. You’ve been acting odd for a couple days.”

  Lexy’s gaze roamed around the females and then she grinned. “I’m pregnant.”

  The cheer that rose up from the group made Rhapsody’s heart melt. They were so genuinely happy for their friend.

  “Congratulations,” Rhapsody said. “How far along are you?”

  “Just three weeks,” Lexy said. “We’ve been so busy with the candy shop that I didn’t pay attention when I missed my period. The other day, Win said he thought I smelled different. As if there was another layer to my natural scent that was like a gorilla. I realized I was late, and he went out and got a pregnancy test for me. We had to tell our family first, of course, which is why I didn’t say anything beforehand. My mom would never forgive me if someone else heard the news before her.”

  “So that’s two of us,” Celeste said. “I’m three and a half months along. Jupiter said that he was told growing up that shifters who live in the same area tend to have children around the same time. It has to do with a natural drive to build up the next generation.”

  “Oh, man, I’d love to have a baby with Zane,” Adriana said wistfully. “I hope Jupiter’s got that information right. All of us could be pregnant at the same time. How awesome would that be?”

  Rhapsody said, “I can’t wait, either. I was an only child and so is Kelley. We both want a big family.”

  “Hey, if you have enough kids who can shift into panthers, the alphas might open another paddock just for you guys,” Trina said. “That would be cool.”

  “We need to toast,” Adriana said, lifting her mug of hot cocoa from where it sat on the edge of the firepit.

  Everyone lifted their mugs. “What should we toast to?” Jenni asked.

  “How about to our amazing mates?” Celeste said.

  “And our friends, old and new,” Jenni said, smiling at Rhapsody.

  “Our future children,” Rhapsody said, staring at the firepit. “May they always have each other’s backs.”

  “Hear, hear,” Adriana said, lifting her mug in cheer.

  Rhapsody clinked her mug with the others and took a sip, then settled back in the comfortable chair. She was thankful for a lot of things in that moment, but none more than her new friends.

  Chapter 10

  Saturday morning, Rhapsody’s phone alarm chirped and she silenced it quickly, whispering an apology to the females in the room. Only Lexy had woken up, and she squinted at Rhapsody and then smiled. “Safe travels,” she whispered.

  “Thanks, see you soon,” Rhapsody said.

  She gathered her things and hurried to the bathroom to change into street clothes. Just as she came out of the bathroom, Kelley opened the door into the cafeteria and smiled at her.

  “Ready to go?” he asked, handing her a travel mug of coffee.

  “You are the best mate ever,” she said, taking the mug.

  “I aim to please.”

  They walked out of the cafeteria and into the early morning. Rhapsody shielded her eyes from the sunshine with one hand and took Kelley’s hand with the other.

  “Did you have fun?” he asked.

  “I really did. They’re a great bunch of females. Two of them are pregnant.”

  “Oh? I knew that Celeste was pregnant. Who else is?”

  “Lexy. Just a few weeks along.”

  Rhapsody told him what Celeste had said about females becoming pregnant in groups to start the next generation.

  “I’ve heard that, too,” he said. “Like it’s nature’s way of ensuring that the next generation will continue.”

  “It’s pretty cool if it’s true.”

  “You could be next,” he said, giving her a wink.

  Even though they weren’t planning to stay overnight, Kelley had packed a bag just in case, and he set it on the floor in the second row of the SUV and then opened the passenger door for her. He turned on the SUV and she entered her home address into the GPS.

  They stopped for breakfast on the way, and then met up with the wolf alpha at his home.

  “Good morning, Max,” Rhapsody said when he answered the door. “This is my mate, Kelley.”

  Max shook Kelley’s hand. “Welcome and congratulations. Come on in, I’ve got the paperwork ready.”

  Ayana gave Rhapsody a hug when they stepped into the front room. “Congratulations.”

  “Thanks. Sometimes very good things happen when we leave home.”

  Ayana chuckled. “That’s so true.”

  Rhapsody read through the paperwork. It was the simplest of contracts, just an exchange of money for land. She signed where someone had placed yellow sticky notes, and then she clicked the top of the pen and set it on the papers.

  Max handed her an envelope and she opened it, seeing the crisp money.

  “Thank you,” she said.

  Max smiled. “Thank you for trusting us with your clan’s territory. If you ever want to come back and go hunting for old time’s sake, give us a call.”

  Rhapsody shook his hand and then hugged Ayana. “I’m going to finish packing up. We’re trying to get back home tonight if we can.”

  “Sure thing, but there’s no rush. Take whatever time you need,” Max said.

  “Do you need a hand?” Ayana asked.

  “No, it’s just Joy’s house that still had furnishings in it, we’d donated everything else before she passed away. And I’m almost all packed up anyway.”

  “Well good luck to you,” Max said.

  Rhapsody thanked the alpha couple and left with Kelley. He opened the passenger door for her, and shut her in, then climbed behind the wheel.

  “I think the zoo’s alpha wolf is more serious than Max,” Rhapsody said as she told him how to get to the dirt road that led up to her clan’s territory.

  “I was just thinking the same thing,” he said with a smile. “How big is this wolf pack?”

  “Thirty or so, mostly middle aged with grown cubs and some elderly. Joy and Ayana were always good friends, I think Max has just been biding his time until he could have our territory.”

  “Why?”

  “The clan was here first, and our territory was bigger than theirs. The wolves were definitely happy to hear that I was thinking about leaving.”

  “At least they didn’t try to force you out.”

  “Yeah, that would have been awful.”

  He stopped in front of the home she’d shared with Joy since her parents passed. “That’s weird,” she said.

  “What?”

  “There’s something on the door.”

  She got out and walked up the porch steps to the front door. Tacked to the door was a piece of paper with her name on it. She pulled it off the tack and opened it.

  “Please contact me as soon as possible to discuss the future of your clan. Alpha Mayella,” the note read, followed by a phone number.

  She stared at the scribbled sentence a few times, drawing a blank at the name.

  “Who is Alpha Mayella?” Kelley asked.

  It took a moment, but finally a memory clicked into place. “Before my parents died, our clan traveled to visit another clan in Michigan. I remember thinking the trip was a waste of time, but when we were on the way home, I heard my parents talking when they thought I was asleep that they’d hoped I’d mate one of the males from the clan.”

  Kelley’s brows rose. “But they didn’t tell you that was the purpose of the trip?”

  She shook her head. “I asked my mom about it after we were home and she said that it was just something that panther parents did – brought clans together to see if matches could be found.”

  “The other clan had males your age?”

  “Just two that I remember,”
she said, “the alpha’s sons. I wasn’t interested in either of them, my cat just yawned the whole time we were there.”

  Kelley grinned. “I don’t think your cat ever yawns around me.”

  “Never,” she said.

  Unlocking the front door, Rhapsody pushed it open and crumpled the note in her hand, tossing it in the kitchen trash. She paused and inhaled deeply, picking up the familiar scents of the old house, like Joy’s favorite rose soap and the lemon oil that was used to clean the furniture.

  “Where is your parents’ home?” Kelley asked as he shut the door.

  She looked out the window and smiled at the house of her childhood. “The one with the green shutters.”

  “Did you spend a lot of time with Joy when you were growing up?”

  “We were all very close. We ate and worked together. It’s kind of like your memory, but in the woods and not underground.”

  She looked around the family room and said, “I need to finish boxing up the kitchen stuff I want to take, but my clothes and toiletries are already packed in the bedroom.”

  “I know you said you only wanted to take the rocking chair, but I could go rent a trailer and we could take whatever else you’d like.”

  “You’re sweet,” she said, “but I’m happy with the rocking chair. The furniture is old and worn, and I have all the knickknacks and family heirlooms that are important to me.”

  “Will the pack move into the houses?”

  “I don’t think so. I expect they’ll knock them down.”

  “The other houses are empty?”

  She nodded. “Joy was friends with a woman who worked for a charity that supported battered women. She’d come with a cargo van and a few workers and take what she could sell at their second-hand shops to benefit the shelter. She came after Joy passed away and took a lot of things from here. Joy would have wanted her old stuff to go to help someone in need.”

  He gave her a sad smile. “I wish I’d gotten a chance to meet her.”

  “Me, too.”

  They worked together to finish packing, loading up the old rocking chair into the SUV and surrounding it with boxes and bags of her clothing, toiletries, canning supplies, and an old set of dishes that had been a gift for her parents’ mating. Just looking at the white plates with the ring of blue flowers made her smile.