by R. E. Butler
“You’re all safe, and that’s what matters. What happened tonight is on the owl king and the nest. He’d do well to stay far away from me.”
She swallowed against the lump in her throat. She didn’t want to have a meltdown in the SUV. “Thank you.”
“I’ll see you in the paddock.”
The call ended, leaving abrupt silence. She glanced down at the floor where Auden didn’t quite fit, half of his body still on the seat. The night’s turn of events was so absurd. If someone had told her that she’d be attacked by people she’d known her whole life over finding her soulmate, she would’ve said they were crazy. But that’s exactly what had happened.
“We can’t get home fast enough,” she said, rubbing his ear. “And by home, I mean the zoo.”
* * *
When she saw the security booth on the employee access road, she breathed a sigh of relief. That was the most stressful drive she’d ever had in her life. Thankful to be on the park’s property, she stopped at the booth and put the window down.
“I’m Jess. Joss is expecting us.”
“Of course,” the male said. “Do you know where you’re going?”
“Not even a little.”
He laughed and leaned out of the booth, pointing ahead. “Take the road to the employee parking lot and find a spot. Turn off the engine and leave the keys on the driver’s seat. I’ll radio to have one of the security guards meet you at the gate to let you in, and then he’ll walk with you to the paddocks and unlock them. Joss will be waiting in the storage barn in the wolf paddock. Here’s a flashlight. You’ll want it because the ground can be uneven.”
“Thanks,” she said, accepting the heavy-duty flashlight. She set it on the console and put the window up, heading to the parking lot to find a spot. After turning off the vehicle, she climbed out and set the keys on the seat, then opened the passenger doors and let the others out. She peered inside when the lions exited and clucked her tongue. “You didn’t claw up the seats. I’m pretty dang impressed.”
One of the lions snorted, and she thought it sounded like a laugh.
The group walked toward a security gate where a male stood with a flashlight. “Hi, Jess, I’m Ezra. Are you injured? Do you need any medical attention?”
“No, I’m fine, thanks.”
He unlocked the gate and let them in. “Good. We heard there was a fight, and I wanted to be sure you were well.”
“Just glad to be home.”
He chuckled as he locked the gate. “It’s funny how fast this place becomes home, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. I take it you haven’t been here long?”
“Just two years.” He flashed the light on the pavement as they walked. “I came here when my pack disintegrated after the alpha died. Joss was a friend of my father’s, and because I’m handy with a computer, he welcomed me.”
“Why would the pack split up? Wasn’t there someone to take his place when he died?”
“Our pack, like most packs in the States, had a father-to-son alphaship. The alpha had a daughter but no sons. She tried to take over when he died, but the males didn’t want a female alpha, and there was a lot of in-fighting. It was too chaotic. It was just me and my sister at that point, so we came here. My sister is mated to one of the males in the pack.”
“Are you mated?”
“Not yet. I hope to find my soulmate soon, but all the unmated males in the zoo feel that way.”
“I bet,” she said with a chuckle.
They left the paved road and walked along a dirt road. “The paddocks are part of a safari tour. Did Auden explain about the VIP tickets for the tour?”
“No.” She looked down at her mate as he walked between her and Ezra. He bumped against her knee with his head and she smiled.
“Our people haven’t been finding their soulmates, so the alphas decided to send out tickets for a special tour to eligible males and females in the tri-state area.”
“To the humans?” she asked, her brows rising.
“Yeah. I’m guessing by your shock that owls didn’t mate outside of shifters?”
“Or outside of other owls, as a general rule.”
“There are groups out there like that, but our alphas decided it was worth a try.”
“It’s been successful?”
“Three mates have been on the tours, and two had the coupons.”
“The third?”
“She booked one herself online. She’s a panther, though, not human like the others.”
“How many human mates are there?”
He stopped and unlocked a gate. The lions sauntered by, yowling at her as if they were saying goodbye.
“Thanks for coming,” she said.
One of them nodded at her.
Ezra locked the gate and they continued walking. “There are five human mates – between two gorillas, two lions, and one bear.”
“No wolves have a human mate?”
“Nope. But I don’t care if my soulmate is a shifter or not, only that she shows up soon.”
“I understand,” she said.
They stopped in front of another paddock and he unlocked the door.
“The light’s on in the storage shed. Go straight there and use the flashlight because the ground can be bumpy.”
“Thanks, Ezra.”
He locked the gate behind them. The other wolves padded off into the darkness, and she and Auden headed for the illuminated barn in the center of the fenced area.
The door opened, and they walked in.
“You made it back in one piece,” Joss said.
“Yeah,” she chuckled. She looked around the storage barn. There were beige uniforms hanging on hooks, boots lined neatly against the wall, and long tables filled with tools. “This looks like a real zoo storage barn. I pictured it being just a façade, a place where you and your people shifted.”
“Occasionally our zoo is inspected by the state, so it must appear to be a real zoo in every way. We do have normal animals here, like giraffes and deer, but the rest of the paddocks that hold the shifters are set up the same way, as if our people were normal animals.”
“Smart.”
He chuckled. “Well, we’ve been doing this for a long time. You learn what humans are looking for and ensure it’s all up to code. Let’s head downstairs and we’ll talk in my den.”
“What about the others?” she asked, glancing at the door.
“I’ll send someone up in a few hours to let them in after they’re able to shift back to human.”
Joss walked to the center of the room and grasped a handle in the floor, lifting it to reveal a set of stairs leading down. Auden had told her the shifters were able to get into their paddocks from their private areas, but she hadn’t realized they’d come up into the barn.
Joss’s home had the same fake rock façade as the others, appearing like a cavern carved into a mountain. Auden stayed by her side as they walked into Joss’s home, and she greeted the males who were sitting on a leather couch in the family room.
“Have a seat.” Joss gestured to one of two empty recliners.
She sat and Auden leaned against her legs, resting his head on her knees.
Joss took the other recliner and said, “Now that everyone is back in the zoo safely, I’d like you to tell us what happened at your nest.”
She nodded, resting her hand on Auden’s head for support, and detailed the events of the night. That her parents had known about the king’s planned ambush and been part of it was baffling. Her whole life, she’d known her parents supported the king no matter what, but that they’d agreed on trying to separate her from Auden in such a violent way was upsetting.
“Your friend in the nest is sure your parents were in on the king’s plan?” Joss asked.
“Yeah.”
Thomas, one of the pack enforcers, rubbed his chin in thought. “Did she have any insight into why they were so intent on you mating with the male they’d chosen?”
Jess shook he
r head. “No. I’m able to contact her by email, so I’ll ask her to keep an ear out for an explanation.”
“I just don’t understand,” Brent, another enforcer, said. “You’re mated. Even if they don’t like it, you and Auden are soulmates, and that’s not something that can be written off easily.”
“Owls don’t get soulmates,” she said. “At least before me, there weren’t any I’ve ever heard of. Mates are chosen by the elders, not the heart.”
“The important thing is that you made it home safely and no one on our side was injured,” Joss said.
“Thanks for suggesting we go with backup.” She didn’t want to think about what might’ve happened if she and Auden had been alone. He was a fierce male, but they would’ve been seriously outnumbered.
Joss nodded. “We’re going to step up security around the park overnight. You’re not to leave the park alone for any reason, and you’re not to be in the park during the open hours without an escort as well.”
“I understand,” she said. “I’m sorry about all this.”
“What are you sorry about?” Brent asked. “It’s not as if you asked for your people to try to forcibly mate you or tear you away from your soulmate. The actions of your king and parents are that of small-minded people who cherish traditions over people.”
“I think I’d like to go home, if that’s okay.”
“Of course,” Joss said. He stood and walked her and Auden to the front door. “If you need anything, let me know.”
“I will.”
She left with Auden and they walked to his den. When she opened the door, she could hear someone moving around inside. Even though she knew it was impossible for anyone to be in the den except for another wolf, her heart still clenched in worry and her mouth went dry.
“Oh, hey! I’m Evan, Auden’s little brother. You must be Jess.” The young male walked down the hall carrying a box. “Sorry to intrude. I didn’t know when you guys would get back, and I needed to grab a few things. Hope you don’t mind.”
“It’s your place, too,” she said.
“Not anymore.”
“Sorry.”
“Why are you sorry?” He set the box down on the coffee table and shook her hand. “You’re my brother’s soulmate, and that makes you my sister. I’d never begrudge Auden his happiness, even if it means I have to live with Mom and Dad for a little while.”
She smiled. “You’re sweet.”
Auden let out a grumble and gave her a disgruntled look. Evan laughed.
“I don’t think he wants you thinking anyone is sweet but him.”
“Probably not,” she said with a chuckle.
“Our males are really possessive. Did Auden tell you that?”
“I figured it out.”
“I’m leaving in a week to go to a pack in Virginia,” he said, adding two magazines from the coffee table to the box and picking it up. “Are you going to have your mating ceremony before then?”
“We haven’t talked about it. What’s the mating ceremony like?”
“On the night of the full moon, the pack gathers in the paddock and Joss performs a ceremony, binding the two of you as a mated couple in the eyes of the pack. Then the pack shifts and howls at the moon, and we spend time running around like idiots in our shifts to celebrate. There’s a huge bonfire and meal afterward.”
“When’s the full moon?”
“Three days.”
“I didn’t know that wolf shifters celebrated the full moon. I thought that was just human mythology.”
“We don’t all shift on the full moon or anything like that,” he said, looking thoughtful. “There’s no compulsion where we absolutely have to shift or we’ll go bananas, but all our important ceremonies happen on the full moon. If you don’t get officially mated this time, you’ll have to wait for the next one. Do owls have customs like that?”
“Not tied to the moon, no.”
“It’s cool as hell on the full moon. I love it in the summer when the sky is clear and you can see the moon and all the stars. Freaking amazing.”
“That sounds neat. I’ll talk to Auden. I want to follow your people’s traditions.”
She could certainly do without her people’s traditions after what she’d been through.
“I’ll see you at breakfast tomorrow.”
Evan said goodbye and she shut the door behind him, then turned to face Auden. He sat on his haunches, his head tilted and his eyes full of compassion.
“Your people are so amazing. Twenty-four hours ago, you found me in my shift. Now we’re mated, and I have a whole new family. Even though I had to get shot to find you, I’m grateful for those hunters. Otherwise I’d never know what it’s like to find the other half of my heart.”
He growled softly and jerked his head toward the hallway and the bedrooms.
“You read my mind.”
Following him to his bedroom, she pulled back the covers and stripped, settling on her side and watching as he jumped onto the bed, turned in a circle, and then flopped down with a deep sigh. His ears twitched and he yawned, snuggling closer to her. She rested her arm over his neck and closed her eyes.
She couldn’t believe how quickly her life had changed. Never in a million years would she have expected to be going to sleep with a wolf shifter who called to a part of her she didn’t know existed. She was a wolf’s soulmate, and although part of her was sad at the loss of her parents and nest to their terrible behavior, she’d honestly never been happier in her life.
Sleep stole over her and she drifted away, safe and secure in the arms of her wolf.
Chapter 7
Auden woke when he was able to shift, then swiftly fell back to sleep. Jess was in his arms and safe, and that was all he cared about.
When he woke a few hours later, he found Jess on his phone, cuddled up at his side. He’d given her the passcode so she could check her email.
“Morning, angel,” he said, kissing the top of her head before stretching.
“Morning.” She flashed him a smile. “I got an email from Rory asking if we were okay, so I answered when I woke up a little bit ago.”
“Is she all right? Did she get in trouble for helping us out?”
“She’s fine. No one suspected she helped.”
“Good. I’d hate for something to happen to your friend because of us.”
Jess put the phone on the nightstand and rose onto her elbow. “What Brent said last night is true, though. It’s not our fault that my parents and king decided to try to separate us. I’m still kind of baffled by the whole thing. They must’ve assumed I would be willing to leave you for Miles when I met him.”
“Just so you know, I would never have let you go.”
She smiled. “I wouldn’t have let you let me go.”
“Some parents think they know best. If things hadn’t gone south on the way to meet that male, you’d have mated him. Fate has a funny way of correcting the mistakes we make.”
“True.”
“I wanted to talk to you about what Evan said last night.”
“About the mating ceremony?”
He nodded. “I don’t want you to feel like we need to rush into anything. You and I are mated with or without the ceremony. It’s just a way for the pack to celebrate matings, and wolves will take any opportunity to have a party.”
“I think it’s sweet, though.”
“There isn’t anything we need to do in advance of the ceremony and party, but the females will come get you an hour before.”
“What for?”
“It’s one of our traditions. The male and female go with their families to prepare for the ceremony. Since you don’t have family here, my mom will step in, and she’ll most likely bring other females with her to help you get ready.”
“Did wolves ever have arranged matings?”
“As far as I can recall, not in our pack, but if a male or female is having trouble finding a mate and they’re ready to settle down, they can ask the al
pha to help. That would be a sort of arranged mating, but either party would be able to say no if they wanted. I get the feeling female owls weren’t ever given a choice.”
“Yeah.”
“What about the males?”
“They had more of a say in things than the females, so if a male was against a mating, he wasn’t forced into it, but I think they’re also more involved in it in the first place. Females are just told they’re going to be mated and show up for it.”
“I think it’s awful that females don’t have a say in their future mates.” He toyed with the edge of the blanket. “I’m sorry you’ve lost your family in all this, but I’m not sorry that you’re mine. However we came to this place, we’re together and that’s what matters.”
“I agree 100 percent.”
He sat up and turned to face her. “Jess, will you be my mate?”
She blinked up at him in surprise. “I already am.”
“Yeah,” he said with a grin, “but I mean will you join with me officially on the full moon and declare yourself my mate?”
She sat up, the blanket falling to her lap and revealing her breasts. “I’d love to, Auden.”
He growled softly and pushed her gently back to the bed. “I think we need to celebrate.”
“You have the best ideas.”
* * *
After they made love, they showered together. He adored the sight of his mate with droplets of water all over her creamy skin. No female on the planet was as sexy as his soulmate.
“Ah, crap,” Jess said.
“What?”
“I forgot half the point of going to the nest last night was so I could get clothes. I only have the dress from my pack and it’s dirty. I don’t have anything to wear.”
“You can wear my clothes.”
She wrinkled her nose. “You’re way too muscular and tall for me. I’d look like an elf in your things.”
“Are elves tiny?” he asked with a grin.
“Excuse me, the word is ‘petite,’” she said with an arched brow.
“I’ll ask my mom to send over something for you to wear. Then we can go shopping after breakfast.”