by R. E. Butler
“That would be neat. Do you think we could see the elephants?”
He blinked a few times. “Why?”
She finished the last bite of her burger and washed it down with the soda. “I just like them.”
He didn’t say anything for so long, she wondered if she’d crossed some kind of line. She was about to tell him to forget it, but then he said, “We can, but we can’t go into the paddock like we can with Tank. The elephants are territorial.”
“Oh, well one came right up to the fence to see me. He even touched my fingers with his trunk. It was pretty neat.”
Cael grinned and stood. He gathered their trash and dumped it in a nearby canister then said, “How do you feel about ice cream?”
When they’d finished their cones—both of them had chosen the flavor of the day, which was strawberry cheesecake—they headed back toward the paddocks. He stopped by the booth where she’d checked in and told them he was going to take her on a walk by the paddocks since the last tour had returned.
“I’ve never done anything like this before,” she said as they walked the opposite direction down the path to the paddock where Tank, deer, and antelope called home. “It’s like a backstage pass.”
Cael chuckled. “I’m glad you’re excited. It’s so normal to me since I’ve been around these guys for years, but it’s exciting for me to get to share it with you.”
He moved a shrub near the bottom of the tall fence and exposed a keypad. He entered a code, then there was a clicking sound. He put the shrub back in place and pushed the fence, which turned out to be a gate. It swung open, and he stepped inside and held the door for her. She walked through, and he shut the gate behind her.
The large paddock was covered with grass, with a pond and trees dotting the area.
“How many animals are in this paddock?” she asked.
“We’ve got seven white tailed deer and four antelope, plus Tank.”
They walked toward the big shed, and Cael took her hand. Their fingers linked and she liked the way it felt to hold his hand, like it was such a natural thing to do. She wanted to rub up against him and smell him, run her fingers all over his skin.
And she wanted to growl too.
He handed her several carrots from a counter inside the shed and took some for himself. “Let’s see if Tank’s being friendly.”
The moment they stepped out of the shed and Tank saw the carrots, he made a lowing grunt and lumbered toward them. “He’s so big!” she said, giggling as the moose came near. She couldn’t stop smiling as he got close enough to take a carrot from her, the green top of the vegetable swishing as he crunched loudly.
Cael rubbed Tank’s nose and scratched between his antlers.
“I think he likes you,” Cael said as Tank took another carrot and made a happy humming sound.
“Aw. This is so neat, thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I’m glad I could share it with you. Usually it’s just me and the animals. It’s nice to have someone with me.”
“You don’t have other vets here?”
They said goodbye to Tank and headed toward the gate. When they were back on the dirt path and Cael had locked the gate, he took her hand again and said, “I’m the only vet, but I do have three keepers that help out—Kelley, Indio, and Alistair.”
“You must be really busy being the only vet.”
He hummed and then said, “I am, but I love it.”
They reached the beginning of the tour and the elephant paddock. She grasped the links and stared through them, searching for the elephant that had come so close. She counted three elephants, not four.
“I don’t understand,” she said.
“What do you mean?”
“Where’s the one that came up to me?” She looked up at Cael, her fingers tightening on the links.
“Are you sure he’s not one of those?” he asked, gesturing toward the three that were milling around.
“Positive,” she said. She turned back to the paddock and shook her head. “What happened to him? What’s going on?”
“Why?” he asked softly. He put his hand on her shoulder, and she felt a familiar jolt of awareness.
It was so damn much like when the elephant touched her.
But she must be losing her mind.
“You’ll think I’m crazy,” she whispered.
“I promise I won’t. You can tell me anything, Novi.”
“I felt connected to the elephant that came up to me. I can’t really explain it, but I felt like I’d been destined to see him, and that makes me feel like I’m losing my marbles to be honest.” She turned to face him. He was so sexy, so sweet. So protective in a way she’d never experienced before.
They’d only been together for a couple hours, but she never wanted their time together to end, even though she knew it had to.
“You’re not going crazy,” he said. “You felt a connection to the elephant, and judging by the way he acted toward you, he felt connected to you too.”
“So what, he’s my spirit animal?” she asked, rubbing the space over her heart with her fingertips as she glanced into the paddock again, wondering where he was.
“Something like that,” he said. He grasped the fence links and looked down at her. As she met her gaze, she swore she saw his eyes change from gray to brown for a moment, then back again. The same golden-brown color of the elephant that had touched her fingers.
“Cael?”
“Yeah?”
What was she going to ask him? If he was the elephant? That was not just losing-her-marbles crazy, that was lock-her-up certifiable.
Instead of speaking her mind, because she wasn’t sure she could even articulate the weird thoughts, she cleared her throat and blinked away the sudden sting of tears, and said, “I need to get going. I didn’t tell my mom I was coming here and if I’m too late, she’ll worry.”
Cael cleared his throat. “Of course. I’ll walk you out and we can pick up your photo album on the way.”
With a nod, she looked into the paddock one last time, wondering where her elephant was, and wondering just when she’d started to think of that particular elephant as hers.
By the time they reached her car, she was torn in half, wanting to stay but needing to go.
“Give me your phone,” Cael said.
She unlocked it and handed it to him. He pushed a few buttons, and then his phone buzzed. “I just sent myself a text and added my information in your contacts. Text me and let me know you got home safely, okay?”
“Okay.” She took her phone back and shivered when he tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “Thanks for my photo album and dinner.”
“It was my pleasure.”
“And the tour.”
He smiled.
She went onto her toes and brushed her lips across his. He hummed and as her fingers grazed the front of his shirt, she felt his chest vibrate and that feral something within her responded in kind, but with a low, happy growl.
“I’d like to see you again,” Cael said, his voice rough.
“Me too. I work on Monday, but I’m off on Tuesday.”
“Then I’ll see you on Tuesday.”
She took one last look into his gray eyes and got into her car. She pulled out of the parking spot and waved at him, then headed toward the exit. Realizing her tank was low, she stopped at the first gas station she came to and waited for the tank to be filled by the attendant.
Opening the photo album, she gasped as she saw the first picture of herself and the elephant. The big beast was right behind her at the fence, his trunk on her shoulder through the links.
And his eyes...they were the same gray as Cael’s!
Chapter Six
Cael slept like hell Saturday night. He tossed and turned, his elephant lamenting the fact that their soulmate wasn’t with them.
He should’ve asked her to stay, but he knew she would’ve said no. She hadn’t even told her mom she’d come to the park, and he’d been so di
straught at her leaving that he hadn’t asked her why. He could guess that it had something to do with their being in hiding.
And what the hell was he going to do about that anyway? He had no idea how to help her, but he knew he needed to. His soulmate should never be in fear of anything.
There was a knock on his door, and he pushed off the couch where he’d been arguing with his elephant for the last few hours and opened the door.
Alistair gave him a curious look. “In case you were wondering, I could hear you pacing.”
“Sorry.” Cael opened the door further to let in his alpha and rubbed the space between his eyes with his thumb. “I’m having a hard time.”
“I’m sure.” Alistair sat on the couch, and Cael joined him. “What do you think’s going on? Do you think she’s a shifter?”
“I don’t think so,” Cael said. “I think she might be a hybrid. She smells like a bear, but the scent is diluted. She also seemed fully weirded out by her reactions. If she was a full shifter, then she would’ve recognized me as her soulmate and that I’m a shifter, right?”
“It’s possible,” Alistair said, “but I scented her when we were in the paddock as well, and to me she smells more human than shifter. If she’s some kind of bear, then it’s one we’re not familiar with in our park. But I don’t think the type of bear would matter so much as the fact that the scent isn’t strong. From what you told me about her past, and considering that her father has been after her for her entire life, it seems entirely logical that he’s a shifter and is trying to put her down because she’s a threat to their people.”
“I don’t understand how he can’t see that she’s not a threat to them, though. She clearly doesn’t even know what her father is.” Cael thought about how he’d asked her if she took after her father physically, which had been a leading question on his part to see if she’d tell him that she was a shifter, but she hadn’t. It wasn’t like he’d thought she’d just come right out and say that she was half human, half bear, but a part of him had wanted it to be that simple.
Then they could’ve spent the night together instead of him being miserable.
Which made him wonder if she was miserable too.
“Cael?”
He looked at his alpha. “Sorry, what?”
Alistair smiled knowingly. “It’s understandable that you’re distracted by meeting her and not being able to move forward with her in any significant way. When are you seeing her?”
“Tuesday.”
“What are your plans?”
“I have no freaking clue. We texted a bit when she got home, but we didn’t make any concrete arrangements.”
“I think you should make arrangements for one or more of the bear shifters to meet you when you’re out with her.”
“Why?”
“Because if she’s a type of bear shifter, even only part of her, she should recognize a commonality that may make her reactions stronger. Maybe Justus and Trina can meet you two out somewhere and it could appear as a coincidence.”
“What would the point of that be?” Cael was frustrated as hell.
“To force the issue of her paternity. You said she seemed to stop herself from saying too much about her father, aside from his murderous tendencies. I think that speaks volumes about how she’s feeling torn between her feelings for you as soulmates and her loyalty to her mom and their shared secret. I mean, hell, they don’t even seem to understand what they’re supposed to be keeping a secret.”
Cael nodded. “I’ve been wondering if her mom knows that her father is a shifter or if she just thinks he’s trying to kill Novi for some unknown reason.”
“There are sects of shifters who are deeply hidden and keep their interactions with humans to a bare minimum. If her father is part of one of those groups, he may not have expected a pregnancy to result and then panicked when it happened. Or his alpha may have ordered him to kill her.”
“I hate to say it, but it would’ve been better if he’d just brought her and her mom into their group and kept them close so they didn’t have to worry about the secret.”
“Good point. But he may have been punished for even being with a human, and then when she ran with Novi after he tried to take her from the hospital, it might have become a source of pride for him to track them down. Whatever the reason, they’re clearly in danger, and a male so intent on tracking the two of them down after twenty-some years is not simply going to give up.”
“Agreed. What should I do, Alistair?”
“What do you want to do?”
“Go get them and bring them here. Like right now.”
His alpha chuckled. “Okay, let’s call that plan b.”
Cael blew out a breath and let his head fall back onto the couch cushion. “Get Novi to realize that she’s not fully human so I can show her my shift. And then bring her and her mom to the park to stay so they can be safe.” He lifted his head. “Could they stay in one of the apartments?”
The alphas had built an eight-unit apartment complex at the back of the park, accessible by two security gates—one leading outside the park and one inside. The complex had been built because there were human soulmates who needed a viable place to live where their families could come visit without them knowing there was a secret city underneath the park. The complex had been finished over the winter, and all the units were empty.
“I’ll speak to the alphas once the sun is up this morning,” Alistair said. He rose to his feet and stretched with a yawn. “In the meantime, you should try to get some rest so you’re not such a grump when you talk to Novi. Make plans for Tuesday and get in touch with Justus and Trina, and then I’ll call for you when I’ve had a chance to talk to them.”
“I don’t like keeping a secret from her,” Cael said.
“Of course not. It goes against our nature to keep secrets from those we love, but you must for now. If you were to reveal your true self to her and she and her mom disappeared, it could put us all at risk.”
“I know.” Cael walked his alpha to the door and said goodnight.
“You found Novi, Cael. That’s the difficult part.”
They said goodnight and Cael shut the door. He stared at the couch and the space in front of it where he’d been pacing for what felt like hours. Alistair was right—he should try to get some rest. Otherwise he was going to keep pacing and be an exhausted mess for work. Even though he’d found his soulmate, he’d still need to be out in the paddock in his shift for the VIP tours that afternoon, and he had responsibilities to the norms as well. He climbed into bed, exhaustion plucking at him from all sides, and finally passed out, his last thoughts on Novi and what their future held.
Later that afternoon, Cael answered a text from Novi as he climbed the steps into the shed in the elephant paddock.
I’ll be out of touch for a few hours when I’m out in the paddocks, he texted.
Okay, she texted back. I’m supposed to be sorting through some clothes that were dropped off last night anyway. I’d rather talk to you though.
Me too.
I’m so tired, I slept like crap last night.
Cael was secretly pleased that she hadn’t slept well either, but he wasn’t such an ass that he was going to let her know he was glad she’d been in turmoil. Oh? Just not tired or was something on your mind?
She sent him an eye roll emoji. I think you know that I was thinking about you. How did you sleep?
Like crap. He included a laughing emoji followed by a yawning one.
I’m bummed I had to work today and tomorrow, it would’ve been nice to see you. I’m looking forward to Tuesday.
Me too. Is there anything you want to do in particular?
Nope. You can plan what we do.
Immediately his thoughts strayed to his empty bed, but he pushed them away and texted, I was thinking dinner and then we’ll see where the night takes us.
That sounds perfect. Gotta run, a customer just came in. Have fun with the animals, and give that elep
hant a kiss on his trunk for me.
I will.
He put his phone on the counter just as the door opened and an elephant made a grumbling sound. “I know, I know. I’m coming, Kelley. Give me a minute.”
Kelley made an impatient sound, and Cael glanced at the clock on his phone and realized that the first tour was going to start in less than ten minutes. He’d lost track of time texting with Novi.
He stripped swiftly and shifted, ducking out of the shed and closing the door with his back leg.
The first Jeep holding a VIP guest came by a few minutes later. Cael hung back while the others stayed close to the fence, scenting each passing guest to see if one of them would be their soulmate.
Novi coming on the tour gave the unmated males and females in the park hope that the free tickets were actually working. He certainly could say with all honesty that without the ticket, he probably would’ve never met Novi. Now that he had her in his life, he wanted to keep her close.
Once the tours were done, Cael found Justus and Trina in the candy shop in the park, where Trina worked with her best friend, Lexy. Lexy was mated to Win, one of the gorillas.
The shop was empty, so Cael explained the situation. “Would you be willing to casually run into us somewhere Tuesday night?”
“Sure,” Justus said. “You really think she’s part bear?”
“She smells like it. Her eyes turned blue and her nails got dark, and she growled too.”
Trina finished tying a bow on a clear bag of colorful taffy and said, “I don’t think we should meet up at dinner. You need time to chat and get to know each other first. Maybe an ice cream shop?”
Cael pulled out his phone and searched for ice cream shops. “There’s Calaways Parlor, that’s only about ten minutes from her house.”
“I’ve had their ice cream, it’s really good,” Trina said. “There’s a Japanese steak house near there. That was always my favorite place to go for my birthday. It’s exciting and fun to watch and gives you something to talk about, and the food is really good.”
“That sounds perfect,” Cael said. He opened the restaurant’s website and made a reservation for two for six thirty on Tuesday night. “Let’s meet for ice cream around eight.”