Cael (Were Zoo Book Eleven)

by R. E. Butler

  Chapter Twelve

  Cael woke slowly, aware that his sweetheart was sprawled across him like a warm blanket, her breath fanning across his chest. He’d honestly never been happier. Not only had she said yes to being his mate, but while they’d made love, she bit him, the part of her that was a bear wanting to mark her mate. His neck had throbbed under her blunt teeth, but she hadn’t been able to break the skin. It didn’t matter, though, he’d wear the bruise with pride for as long as it lasted with his fast healing.

  And, even more amazing, was they’d declared their love for each other.

  He’d never been in love before. He was glad that Novi, his soulmate, was the first female to ever have his heart.

  Novi stirred and rubbed her cheek on his chest as she yawned.

  He kissed the top of her head, and she tilted her face to his, giving him a sleepy smile. “Morning,” she said.

  “Good morning. It’s still early, you don’t have to leave for work for about an hour.”

  She made a face. “I’m not looking forward to giving my two weeks’ notice.”

  “You’ve moved a lot, though. Haven’t you given your notice frequently in the past?”

  “Yeah.” She sat up and stretched. “But it’s always hard when I like a place, and I do like the manager at the thrift store and looking through all the stuff people donate.”

  She told him that she loved old books. But because they moved so much, she’d never been able to keep a lot of them. He decided he wanted to build her as many bookshelves as she needed to keep every book she wanted. Of course, they would be living in the apartment now, and probably for the conceivable future. He thought it was possible that her mother would never come to know the truth about shifters, and if that were the case, they wouldn’t be able to live under the park.

  Which would be a bummer. He couldn’t see raising a family in the apartment. It was nice, but it was only two bedrooms.

  She touched the corner of his mouth. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah.” He scrubbed a hand over his face and sat up. “I was just thinking about having a family.”

  Her eyes crinkled as she smiled. “How many kids would you like?”

  “I’m an only child, so I always wanted to have a couple of siblings.”

  “Me too. I was always jealous of kids that had brothers and sisters. So maybe three kids?”

  “That sounds perfect. And we can get started right away,” he said, wiggling his brows suggestively.

  “We already did, remember?”

  He did, of course. She wasn’t on birth control, but they’d decided to make love anyway despite that fact. They were soulmates, and although she was half human, the part of her that was a shifter was ready to move forward, and that meant babies. They’d talked about the fact she could be pregnant already after the second time they made love, and they’d decided that whenever she did get pregnant would be the right time for them.

  She bent and kissed him. “Dibs on the shower.”

  He laughed. “I could join you.”

  “Nuh uh. I’ll be late to work if I see you all soapy and wet.”

  “I’m that irresistible, huh?”

  “One hundred percent.” She climbed from the bed and said, “I won’t be long.”

  When the bathroom door was shut, Cael swung his legs around and grabbed his phone. He was going to drive Novi to work and then come back to the park and get to his duties. Then he’d pick her up when her day was finished and take her to her place so she could pack. He had no idea when she’d talk to her mom about moving in with him, but she promised she wasn’t worried about her mom’s approval.

  He needed to tell his parents about his good news, and sent a text asking if they had time to video chat later that morning. He’d want to have them meet Novi via video chat later too.

  They had just enough time to get to her work by the time they were both ready and walked to the employee lot where the park’s SUVs were.

  “You sure you don’t mind driving me back and forth?” she asked as he opened the door to one of the unmarked SUVs for her.

  “I don’t mind, I promise.” He shut her door and hurried around to his side, sliding behind the wheel. “And if you needed to, you could also just use one of the park vehicles.”

  “Why are some of the SUVs marked and some aren’t?”

  Half of the park’s SUVs had large logos on the sides and back, and the others were plain.

  “When Rhapsody and Kelley went to her place to pack after they mated, we only had marked vehicles, and they used one. It turned out that a male was stalking her in order to take her as his mate, and he was watching her house. He saw the park’s information on the SUV and came for her.”

  “Scary. She’s okay though, right?”

  “Yep. It all worked out, but the alphas declared that if someone wasn’t doing official park work, they needed to use an unmarked vehicle.”

  She hummed. “That’s pretty smart.”

  “That’s why they’re the alphas.”

  “So who will be alpha when Alistair is finished?”

  “I don’t know, actually. I expect he’ll be alpha until he dies or decides to retire. Elephants aren’t like wolves that need ranks, so we don’t have an official second-in-command. We’d probably vote on who took over, or Alistair might name his successor.”

  “Do you want to be alpha?”

  “Nah, I’ve got my hands full being the only vet. Being alpha means meetings with the other alphas and being responsible for the safety of every shifter in the park, not just our people. I only want to be responsible for you and our children, and the animals.”

  He pulled into a spot near the front door of the thrift shop.

  “I really don’t want to go to work today,” she said, brushing a lock of hair away from her face.

  “I don’t either, but we do what we must.”

  “Thank goodness in two weeks I’ll be able to be in the park and we won’t have to say goodbye like this and be apart.”

  “It’ll be nice to see you whenever I want.”

  “I agree, I’m pretty fabulous.” She shot him a big grin, and he chuckled.

  “You are,” he said.

  Her eyes grew serious, and she said, “I’m going to miss you. But I’m excited for the day to be over so we can see my mom and pack up.”

  “That goes double for me.” They kissed, and though he’d meant it to be quick so he didn’t get too caught up in her, she was addictive in every form of the word, and the kiss grew deep really fast.

  She pulled back with a little sigh. “So easy to get carried away.”

  “It really is. Have a good day, sweetheart. Love you.”

  “Love you too. See you at five.”

  She grabbed her pack and shouldered it as she climbed from the SUV. He waited until she was inside the building and had turned to wave at him. Giving her a wave in return, he turned from the parking lot and headed back to the park.

  Once he’d arrived, he got a text from his parents that they were available for a video chat, so he called them from the maintenance shed while he prepped the food for the antelope, deer, and Tank.

  “How are you, son?” his dad, Braden, asked.

  “Great, Dad, you?”

  “Could complain, but I won’t. I’m breathing, the sun is shining, and I’m getting a new chair for my office on Friday.”

  “Sounds good. How are you, Mom?”

  “Good, honey.”

  His parents weren’t mated. They were part of the same memory that he’d grown up in, but aside from getting together to have him, they hadn’t wanted anything more permanent. They were both hoping to someday find their soulmate.

  “So the reason I wanted to talk to you guys is that I found my soulmate. Her name is Novi and she’s human. Well, part human and part polar bear.”

  There was stunned silence for a long moment and then both his parents talked over each other as they congratulated him.

  “Wait, did
you say she was part polar bear?” his mom, Abigail, asked.

  “Yeah. It’s a crazy situation,” he said, explaining how her life had been as she and her mom had stayed hidden from her father who was clearly off his rocker.

  “That’s terrible,” his father said. “The male should’ve taken them both in instead of trying to kill her. I’ve never heard of that happening, but then again polar bears notoriously keep to themselves and tend to be old fashioned with lots of rules and traditions.”

  Cael nodded. “I think that’s the case. He’s following his group’s rules and that’s why he won’t just leave them alone.”

  “She’ll be safe with you in the park, though,” his mom said. “That’s the benefit of where you guys live. I’m not sure I could stand to live underground, but it does have its benefits.”

  “You get used to it,” Cael said. “We’re hoping to get Novi’s mom to take one of the apartments here, so she’ll be safer. Until she does, Novi and I will stay underground, and then we’ll move up into the complex when she does.”

  “How are you going to get her into an apartment?” his dad asked.

  “We’re not sure yet. The alphas are trying to come up with a plausible explanation for why she can take one of them, but so far no one has any good ideas.”

  “I’m sure you’ll come up with something,” his mom said. “So when can we meet Novi?”

  “I’d like to bring her to the memory in a few weeks maybe? But I was hoping we could all video chat tonight.”

  “That would be fine,” his dad said. “Just send us a note to let us know when.”

  “You got it,” Cael said.

  “Can’t wait to meet her,” his mom said. “And we’re so happy for you, honey.”

  “Thanks, Mom. Love you both.”

  His parents returned the sentiment and said goodbye. Cael smiled, thankful that his parents were happy for him. He’d known they would be. They wanted him to be happy, and they didn’t care that Novi was human. Cael didn’t care, either. He was glad she was in his life. Making love to her, waking up with her, had been heaven, and he had a lifetime of that to look forward to.

  When he finished his work with the norms, he grabbed lunch in the employee cafeteria and met with Alistair to see if the alphas had any ideas.

  “It would be handy if she would accept a job in the park and we could make the apartment part of her salary,” Alistair said. “But we don’t really have any openings that a human could fill without knowing the truth of what we are. So much about the park, and us, is secret and needs to stay that way.”

  “What would really be good is if Novi’s biological father gave up and left them alone, so her mom could keep her place and be safe. But Novi’s not happy with her being alone because she doesn’t trust that her father won’t show up at some point.”

  Alistair nodded, rubbing his chin. “It’s unfortunate there isn’t some kind of shifter location system, where we could find her father and preemptively state Novi and her mother are under our protection and he needs to forget about them.”

  Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to happen. Shifters valued their privacy and keeping the secret from humans too much to do something so bold as to tell others where they were. Even if it was a private system for shifters, there were dangerous groups out there who would look at any kind of information like that as a way to take over territory or pull a coup and lead a group. Most shifter groups were on their own. The park was a unique place because the different groups all had each other’s backs. Any group that came against one of the groups at the park would be taking on every single shifter inside.

  “Well, no such luck with that,” Cael said. “I’ll come up with something to get her to the complex one way or another. She’s my mother-in-law and I won’t be able to rest easy until I know she’s safe all the time.”

  “I understand. If I, or any of the alphas, think of anything that would be helpful, we’ll let you know. In the meantime, what are your plans?”

  “I’m picking up Novi and taking her to her place so she can pack, and then we’ll come back here.”

  “You’re going to stay underground until her mom moves in, assuming she ever does?”

  “Yes.”

  “All right, keep me posted. We’d like to have dinner with you two, the whole memory. Rhapsody would like to get to know her better; she’s excited to have another non-elephant person to hang out with.”

  Cael was glad that there was another female for Novi to get to know in the memory as well.

  He said goodbye to his alpha and went to his house to get ready to pick up Novi. The closer it got to the time to see her, the more excited his beast became. She’d been on his mind all day, but now that it was near the time to see her again, he was thrilled with the prospect.

  He parked in front of the thrift store and walked inside, curious about her work. She waved and smiled at him from behind the counter where she was checking out an older woman with a stack of clothes.

  “Are you Cael?” an older woman asked.

  “Yes. Are you Novi’s boss, Katya?”

  “I am,” she said with a grin. “It’s really nice to meet you, even though I’m disappointed that she’s quitting to work with you.”

  “Well, I won’t apologize for sweeping her off her feet,” he said with a chuckle.

  “And you shouldn’t,” Katya said, winking. “She will be missed. She’s a hard worker and so good with customers.”

  Cael knew he was grinning like a fool. His elephant was so tickled that his soulmate was being complimented.

  He wandered around the store looking at the shelves of glassware and curios, the scratched and dented furniture, and shelves of books.

  “Hey,” Novi said, joining him at a shelf of old VHS tapes. “I don’t think anyone even has a VCR anymore.”

  “Probably the technology holdouts. My grandma still doesn’t know how to change the clock on her oven when the time changes. It drives my mom bonkers when she visits and the clock is wrong.”

  Novi chuckled and then lifted a small elephant statue. It fit in the palm of her hand, the wooden statue depicting an elephant sitting down, trunk held high and one leg lifted like it was waving.

  “That’s cool,” he said, taking it from her and turning it over in his hands.

  “It was in a box I unpacked from an estate. The woman collected elephant statues by the dozens. I’ve never seen so many of them. I thought this one was really neat so I bought it. For a whopping two dollars.”

  “Nice,” he said. “I know just the place for it.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yep, on the bookshelf I’m going to build for you.”

  “Aw. Really?”

  “Yeah, I mean I’ve never made one before, but I found a kit online and it looks pretty easy. I figure I’ll get practice putting a bookshelf together and then I’ll be prepared for when I get to build a crib.”

  She beamed at him. “I love it. I’ll actually get to keep books now instead of having to read and return them.”

  He loved that he could do that for her.

  “Ready to go, sweetheart?”

  “I am. Let me grab my bag.”

  She hurried to the break room and returned with her bag and the elephant. When they were headed toward her place, she said, “I talked to my mom while we were both on lunch break today and I told her that I was going to move in with you and was packing up after work today.”

  “Oh? What did she say?”

  “She asked if I was aware of how fast we were moving,” she said with a light laugh. “And when I told her that I did, but that I also loved you and knew we were meant to be together, she said she was happy for me and would be there to help pack.”

  “Do you think she’s worried about living alone?” he asked.

  “I think a little, but she wouldn’t tell me if she was. She’s kept so much of how she feels about us being on the run close to the vest, even with me. I know she’s tired of always moving, always
looking over her shoulder, but she’s afraid to relax and let down her guard.”

  “Well, I’m not sure she should relax too much. I mean, we have no idea if your father is still looking for you or not. It would depend on his motivation.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Cael parked in front of the little house and turned off the engine, then faced his mate. “There must be a reason he’s kept after you for such a long time. Would even the most dedicated stalker follow you through countless states over two decades? It kind of boggles the mind. So to me it means that he’s been told he has to take care of you by a higher-up in his group, most likely his alpha. If it’s a direct order, something may hinge on it like a move to a higher rank or something of that nature. He may have no choice but to obey.”

  “Why couldn’t he just say no and leave us alone?”

  “You’re human, at least mostly, so you don’t understand what it means to be under the authority of an alpha. Once we align ourselves to an alpha, it makes it nearly impossible to ignore orders.” He touched the side of her neck. “Remember when you bit me the first time we made love?”

  She nodded.

  “You told me you couldn’t help yourself, that you felt like your bear wanted you to mark me so everyone would know that I was mated.”

  “Right. And?”

  “Imagine if you were a full bear. That compulsion you felt to do something your bear wanted to do was too difficult for you to ignore, so double that compulsion in your father and involve his alpha and you’ve got a recipe for a male who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Even if he doesn’t agree, he might not be willing to risk exile from his group or something worse.”

  “Worse like what?”

  “Death.”

  “You’re saying that maybe his alpha told him to find and kill me or he’d be killed?”

  Cael shrugged. “It’s all speculation at this point, sweetheart. Even if I could speak to him, I doubt he’d tell me about the inner workings of his shifter group or his motivation for hunting you all these years.”