Joss (Were Zoo Book Nine)

by R. E. Butler

  “Where are all the animals?”

  “Away for the night.”

  She was going to ask what he meant by that, when they stopped in front of the paddock that held the wolves and he crouched down. He moved a decorative shrub to the side to expose a keypad. A lock clicked, and the fence made a shuddering sound. He put the shrub back into place and pushed the fence section, a gate appearing in the center.

  “Whoa, are you nuts?” she asked as he stepped through the gate and held out his hand.

  “You just said you trusted me. I swear on my life you won’t get hurt. The wolves are all gone.”

  “How? You just said the animals were away for the night, but where did they all go?”

  “Let’s just say that they’re not outside anymore, so we have the whole paddock to ourselves. And we’ll also say that I’ll explain everything in a minute.”

  She tentatively stepped through the gate. She couldn’t see much in the paddock because the sun had set. She could see some darker shadows against the night sky, but she didn’t see any glowing eyes or hear any angry growling.

  “You’re holding onto a lot of secrets right now.”

  “Yeah, sorry. I promise it’ll all be worth it.”

  He put his phone to his ear and spoke a few words in a low tone, and in the distance, lights turned on. She could make out a low building and another smaller structure nearby. They walked toward the buildings, and as they drew closer she recognized the maintenance shed he’d told her about on the tour, and what looked like a table with two chairs, and a tent.

  On the table were flickering candles, and two place settings.

  They stopped in front of the maintenance shed, and he turned to face her. “You were right that I’ve got secrets, and it wasn’t just me wanting to keep the location of our date tonight as a surprise.” He sucked in a breath and let out a low grunt.

  It looked like he was struggling with something. She took one hand from his and placed it on his cheek. “Whatever it is, just tell me.”

  He kissed her palm.

  “I like you,” he said.

  “I like you, too.”

  “I want to tell you everything about me. And I want to start by saying that I don’t just work here at the park. I live here, too.”

  “You do?”

  He nodded. “I live here, because it’s not really safe for me, or my people, to be outside in the world around humans.”

  He didn’t say anything for a moment, just stared intensely down at her. She blinked a few times and frowned, the word ‘humans’ sticking out.

  “What do you mean by humans? Are you an alien or something?” She tried to laugh off her question, but there was something really odd about the way he was looking at her. His eyes were suddenly amber and almost glowing.

  “I’m not an alien.” He gave her hand a squeeze and brought it to his lips. “I’m a shifter. I can become a wolf at will.”

  She started to laugh, but it died in her throat. “You’re serious.”

  “Very much. I want to show you, but I want to make sure that you know two things.”

  She eyed him skeptically. “Okay.”

  “First, what I am, what my people are, can’t ever be told to anyone else. And second, the reason I’m telling you this – when it’s such a serious secret – is because I believe you’re my soulmate. The one female on the planet meant for me.”

  Her mind spun. “People can’t turn into animals, okay? I mean, I like you. Really, I do. But are you serious? If this is a joke, it’s not even a little bit funny.” She let go of his hand and crossed her arms across her chest.

  “It’s not a joke. I promise you that I’m serious. Not only with what I can change into, but how much the secret must stay here in the park. I need to know before I show you that I can trust you not to freak out.”

  “I’m not freaking out, I’m a little pissed to be honest.”

  “I’m sorry. I hated keeping this from you, but we have rules in place in these situations. It killed me to not be able to tell you everything that first night.” He put his hand on the back of her neck and pulled her close. She caught the scent of his cologne, and immediately she thought about the woods.

  And wolves.

  “Please trust me,” Joss whispered. “I’m trusting you with a secret that could destroy my pack if it got out.”

  The weight of his words settled on her. She closed her eyes when he pressed his forehead to hers. Tears stung her eyes, and she wasn’t really sure why she was feeling emotional, except she’d finally heard the other word he’d used.

  Soulmate.

  “If I believe you,” she said, swallowing against the lump in her throat. “If you’re really what you say you are, does that explain why I want to be with you so much? Why I spent the whole week missing you like a phantom limb?”

  He chuckled and kneaded her neck lightly. “Yes.”

  “I do trust you. And I’m glad you trust me.”

  He leaned away slightly and cupped her face. Giving her a kiss, he said, “I feel like you’re not sure if you believe me.”

  “I... seeing is believing?”

  “Indeed.”

  He pulled open one of the large doors on the shed and she blinked at the bright light emanating from inside. Two couples were standing there.

  “Jeanie, this is Devlin and his soulmate Jenni, and Auden and his soulmate Jess. They’re here to answer questions after I shift. I can’t change back right away, but you won’t have to wait too long. Then, if you’re not freaked out, we can have dinner and talk.”

  She looked out the door, able to see more clearly with the light from the shed.

  Her gaze landed on the tent. “What’s the tent for?”

  “I’m hoping you’ll want to stay with me.”

  “You live in a tent?”

  “What? No, I live underground in a private area with my pack. I can’t take you there until we’re officially mated. That doesn’t have to happen tonight, but I want to stay with you. I want to wake up with you in my arms, Jeanie.”

  Her heart fluttered. “Okay.”

  He kissed her swiftly and took a step away, then unbuttoned his shirt. The dark material was tossed aside quickly, and she sucked in a breath, mesmerized by his sexy upper body. Stacked with muscles, he had the faintest dusting of hair across his chest. The tattoos she’d seen on his arm were fully visible now, the dark ink stretching in swirls and pictures from his shoulder to his wrist. Her gaze tracked his sexy abs, and she noticed his hands were resting on his unfastened jeans.

  She lifted her head swiftly and blushed when she saw he was looking at her with an arched brow. “Like what you see, sweetheart?”

  Her cheeks heated further, and she shrugged with a smile. “You know you’re sexy.”

  “So are you.”

  He gave her a smile laced with heat. And then glanced beyond her to the two couples, clearing his throat noisily. She looked over her shoulder and saw that the two men turned their women away from Joss so they couldn’t see him take off his clothes, and she smiled as she looked back to him. He continued to strip, revealing inch after inch of sexy skin. She’d never watched a guy strip the way he did, never taking his gaze from her as if she were the most important person in the world to him.

  She wasn’t sure if she really believed what he said about being able to become an animal. It was too fantastical. But he was so serious. And there was something about the whole situation that rang true to her, even though the rational part of her didn’t think anything would happen. Except her getting to see him strip.

  He toed off his shoes and shoved his jeans down his legs, revealing a thick, long cock that was fully at attention. He kicked his clothes aside and straightened, his hands loose at his sides, his eyes a bright amber.

  “You ready?” he asked.

  “You keep asking me that.” It took a considerable amount of effort for her to lift her gaze from his pelvis, but she managed finally.

  “Because yo
u’re distracted by my dick and I don’t want you to freak out.”

  “I won’t, I promise.”

  “I’ll change forms and then you can ask the others questions if you want. In a little while I’ll change back, and we can talk.”

  “I’m ready.”

  I think.

  But ready for what, really? Was he really going to become a wolf? What would she do if he didn’t?

  What would she do if he did?

  Chapter Eight

  Joss had never tried to shift while he was turned on, but stripping for Jeanie while she watched his every move had made his body come to life. She thought he was sexy, but he’d never been attracted to a female like he was to her. His mouth watered at the thought of seeing her laid bare for him, tracing her sexy curves with his fingers and tongue. Hearing her call out his name.

  He wanted all of it.

  With her.

  With the two couples turned away, Jeanie was the only one looking at him. He could see that she was skeptical, but that she hadn’t just thrown up her hands and tried to leave spoke to her feelings toward him.

  He inhaled and tried to settle his wolf, who wanted to carry her to the tent and make her theirs.

  Reaching into himself, he kept his gaze on her and called for his wolf. The change was swift – from hands and feet to paws, from bare skin to fur. He shook himself out and sat down on his haunches, looking at Jeanie.

  Her eyes were so wide it was almost comical. He sniffed the air, finding the tangy scent of her fear which sat at the back of his throat and made his hackles rise. He didn’t want her to be afraid, but he couldn’t tell her that in his shift.

  He let out a short bark, and Auden and Jess turned around.

  “Jeanie? You okay?” Jess asked. She stepped up next to her and so did Jenni, the two females putting their hands on her in comfort.

  “He’s still Joss in there,” Jenni said. “He’s not a natural wolf. While he’s got wolf instincts, he’s still a man.”

  Jeanie’s chest was rising and falling swiftly as she panted for breath, her brows furrowing as she stared at him. “It’s not possible. I didn’t just see that.”

  She closed her eyes and bit her bottom lip.

  “It’s real. Shifters are real,” Jess said. “Joss is the alpha of the wolf pack, the most powerful male.”

  Jeanie opened her eyes. “The soulmate thing?”

  “It’s part of who shifters are,” Jenni said. “Shifters have soulmates, and they know them on sight. It’s like a key fitting into a lock. It just... makes sense.”

  Devlin nodded. “I’m human, Jeanie. When I met Jenni, I just knew that she was meant to be mine. I couldn’t explain it, because there’s this part of us being human that feels like relationships shouldn’t move so fast. That we don’t go from ‘hello’ to ‘let’s get married’ in two seconds. You said you couldn’t stop thinking about him all week. Did you want to come see him?”

  “Every day,” she said.

  “I’m sure he’ll tell you that he wanted to see you, too, but he didn’t want to rush you,” Auden said. He stepped out and looked between Joss and Jeanie. “Soulmates are precious. Trust me when I say that he wouldn’t be sharing his shifting nature with you if you weren’t meant to be his mate. Our people take the secrecy of shift extremely seriously.”

  “Do you understand?” Jenni asked.

  Jeanie glanced at the lioness. “You’re a wolf?”

  “I’m a lioness,” she said, smiling.

  “I’m an owl,” Jess said.

  “I’m a wolf,” Auden said.

  “I understand the need for secrecy.” Jeanie rubbed the space between her eyes with her thumb. “What now?”

  “Do you have any questions we can answer?” Jess asked.

  “Why don’t you want humans to know about shifters?”

  “Because it’s too dangerous. Humans tend to kill first when they don’t understand or are scared by something new.”

  “You’ve been around for a long time?”

  “No one knows how long exactly,” Jenni said, “but some of our people can trace their lineage back many generations. We think shifters have been around as long as humans, and probably lived among them at one time. Something happened between them that sent the shifters into hiding, though. It’s why we’re fairytales and not believed to be real.”

  “You can pet him,” Jess said softly. “He’s your soulmate. Touching him will make it real for you.”

  Joss straightened, his fur bristling in anticipation as Jeanie stared at him. She slowly closed the distance between them and touched one ear. She jerked her hand away and then giggled nervously. She laid her hand on the top of his head and he closed his eyes, enjoying her tentative touch. She dropped to her knees and ran her hand down his back, which made him want to arch like a cat and then roll over with his belly in the air.

  He let out an appreciative, humming growl. He inhaled, finding her smelling less of fear and more of curiosity, the unpleasant bitter tang giving way to her naturally sweet scent. He leaned into her and she put her arm around him and settled her face on his shoulder.

  “This still doesn’t feel real,” she whispered.

  “Is there anything else we can answer for you?” Auden asked.

  Jeanie turned her head to look at the small group. “I don’t think so. I don’t understand everything, but I do understand how serious this is and I promise the secret is safe with me. I’d never jeopardize Joss’s safety, or anyone else’s here.”

  “Then we’ll leave you two alone,” Jenni said.

  The four said goodbye, opening the hidden door in the floor of the shed that lead down to the underground space. When the door closed behind them, Joss nuzzled Jeanie, and she leaned away a little and cupped his head.

  “You’re a good-looking wolf, Joss. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I’d definitely think you were playing tricks on me. Do you want to walk around outside until you can change back?”

  He nodded and she rose to her feet, and they headed outside and walked around the paddock. For a little while she was quiet, and then she started to talk.

  “It’s the craziest thing. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought this was something that could actually happen. But here we are. You’ve got an animal inside you and so do other people here. I have a million questions but didn’t want to hear it all from the others, I want to hear it from you.” She sighed and stopped, looking up at the dark sky and the three-quarters moon partly covered with clouds. “Can you change back now? I have a question I do want to ask you personally and I want you to be able to answer me.”

  He let go of his shift and returned to his human form, energized by the adrenaline coursing through him and the wolfish tendencies that were still in the forefront of his mind. Pushing aside those animalistic thoughts, he said, “Ask away.”

  “Can I leave?”

  His wolf howled in his mind.

  “What do you mean?” he asked cautiously, not wanting to rush to judgment.

  “I mean, are you going to ask me to just disappear? Like never go back to my house or job? I want to be with you. I mean, I feel like you’re going to ask me to stay with you permanently. But I don’t want anyone to worry about me. If I just... never showed up again, my friends would worry.”

  He let out a calming breath and smiled at her. “I do want you to move here to the park with me, and I don’t want you to keep working at the diner. You don’t have to give up your friends. We’ll come up with a cover story for you involving a job and living arrangements here.” He moved closer until their bodies were almost touching. “Will you be my mate, Jeanie?”

  She gazed up at him, a multitude of emotions flickering in her eyes. She’d told him during one of their video calls that she hadn’t been looking for a long-term relationship. She’d told her friend Regina that she was content to wait for Mr. Right. Joss hadn’t really known what that meant, but Devlin had explained human females often believed their one-
right-man was known generically as Mr. Right. Jeanie had confessed that night, a few days after their meeting, that she thought he was her Mr. Right, but she was scared about how fast things were moving.

  When she didn’t answer his question, he asked, “Are you still scared?” He cupped her face, and she sighed softly and tilted her head a little.

  “Not really. I didn’t understand why I was so drawn to you. That you’re not really human actually makes sense, and in a way it makes me feel safer about how fast I felt things were moving for us. My feelings are so strong, I mean... can I be brutally honest?”

  “Of course.”

  “I’m half in love with you. I can feel some kind of weird connection to you in my heart that I just can’t explain.”

  Joss’s wolf was elated, his heart soaring at her words. Even though she wasn’t a shifter, she still recognized something special between them. “I don’t want you to ever be scared of your feelings for me. I’m not like your ex. I’ll never cheat on you. You’re it for me for the rest of my life.”

  “I know you’re not like him,” she rasped, emotion rising in her voice. “You’re not like anyone I’ve ever known. I want to be your mate, Joss. I want to stay with you. You’re it for me, too.”

  He lowered his head and kissed her, his wolf rumbling out a contented, happy growl in his chest. He drew her against him with an arm around her back, his still-hard cock trapped between them.

  She set trembling hands on his shoulders and then wrapped her arms around him. Deepening the kiss, he stroked his tongue against hers, fanning the flames of desire that engulfed him.

  He eased from the kiss, smiling at her soft moan of disappointment.

  Lifting her into his arms, he walked toward their date setup. “Are you hungry?” he asked.

  “For you. We can eat later.”

  “Whatever you want, sweetheart.”

  “I just want you.”

  “You’ve got me, I promise.”

  He ducked his head and pushed through the tent flaps, putting Jeanie on the mattress on the tent floor. He reached up and found the end of the wire, switching on the tiny string lights he’d hung from the ceiling, softly illuminating the interior. Jeanie gasped as she looked around.