Chapter 16
“She’s been moved underground,” Alistair said to the other alphas around the large table in the conference room. “The jaguars can’t get to her as long as she stays put.”
Joss nodded. “Right. We just have to keep the park safe. I can’t believe those assholes showed up while humans were around.”
Seneca agreed wholeheartedly. It was bad enough they came to the park at all to try to find Fallon, but they’d done it while the park was open.
“We’ll increase patrols,” Joss said, swiveling in the leather chair. “It’s what we normally do when we’ve got security issues. If they come back, we’ll deal with them.”
Seneca’s phone buzzed and he pulled it from his pocket, reading a text from his mate.
Marcus looked at him. “You can go, son. Let your mate know we’ll keep her and her friend safe. They’re fully protected under the alphas’ authority.”
“Thank you. All of you.”
The alphas nodded at him and he left the conference room and headed down the hall to the private living area. When he opened the door, he saw Sunny nearby.
“Come on, sweetheart. I have an idea.”
She took his hand and he led her to the market, which was closed for the night, the cafeteria empty and dark. They went behind the counter to the kitchen.
“We didn’t even get a chance to eat,” he said. “Everything happened so fast. Are you hungry?”
“I had popcorn and cookies with Fallon. But I could eat. What were you thinking?”
“Ice cream.”
“Heck yeah.”
In the walk-in freezer, he grabbed several tubs of ice cream and set them on the stainless-steel counter, and then he showed Sunny where the toppings were in the pantry while he gathered a large dish to make a sundae.
Adding scoops of vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry ice cream to the dish first, he and Sunny topped them with their favorites: chopped peanuts, colorful sprinkles, and cookie dough pieces, along with chocolate syrup and caramel sauce.
After cleaning up, he carried the dish to a table and set it between him and Sunny.
Sunny handed him a spoon.
“This looks great,” she said.
“How’s Fallon doing?” he asked, taking a spoonful of ice cream.
“Stressed. Worried.”
“That’s to be expected.”
“I said as much, but she’s an overthinker. I am too, of course, but I have you to put things in perspective.”
He smiled. “Hopefully, in time she’ll come to realize she’s safe here. And even more than that, is that we hope the jaguars move on since there’s no way that the alphas would allow her to be taken.”
Sunny nodded. “She doesn’t think they’ll give up. She said Dario is counting on her to be a literal sacrificial lamb to mate with this other alpha so that he can stay in power. It’s nuts that a male would use a female like that, alpha or not.”
“It’s old-school alpha bullshit. I’m thankful none of our alphas are like that.”
Footsteps sounded loudly down the hall and his dad rushed into the cafeteria.
“Dario’s back.”
“What?” Sunny asked.
“He and a handful of males are at the front gate. He’s asking for a meeting with the alphas to discuss the situation.”
Seneca stood abruptly, the chair scraping on the floor. He lifted the dish and said, “Let’s get you back to the house.”
She looked like she was going to protest, but then she stood and said, “All right. Just be safe, okay?”
“I promise.”
He took her to the private living area and gave her the ice cream and a kiss, then joined the alphas as they made their way up to the employee cafeteria.
His dad said, “Jupiter was on patrol and heard vehicle engines at the gate and found Dario and his enforcers. We’ve agreed to meet with him, but he’s not getting inside the gate.”
“You don’t want to just tell him to go to hell and send him on his way?” Seneca asked.
“We definitely want to do that,” Atticus said, “but we do want to hear what he has to say first.”
Once they were at the gate, the security team opened it enough to let the alphas out, and Seneca joined them. The area was illuminated by overhead lights and Seneca got his first good look at the jaguar alpha.
He wasn’t particularly well built, but he had a hard look about him, like he’d been fighting a long time and didn’t mind throwing down for whatever. He had short, dark hair and a beard.
“You asked for an audience with the leaders,” Marcus said. “We’re here.”
Dario’s gaze moved slowly along the line of alphas, and Seneca could see he was wary at the sheer number of alphas he was facing.
“I’ve come to negotiate Fallon’s release. She’s part of my prowl and under my authority. You have no right to keep her.”
The tension in the air was palpable. Seneca glanced at his dad and saw his eyes flash to the amber of his beast.
“She came here seeking sanctuary,” Marcus said. “And we granted it. She will not be returning with you.”
“She’s part of my prowl and I didn’t give her permission to leave.”
“That’s irrelevant,” Caesar said. “If every shifter had to ask for permission from their alpha to leave a dangerous situation, no one would ever be able to leave. She left, asked for sanctuary, and we gave it to her. Period.”
“We’re done here,” Joss said. “We heard you out, we rejected you, and we’re done.”
The alphas turned to go back into the park when Dario said, “You don’t want this to escalate.”
Seneca’s bear surged under his skin at the implied threat.
“Escalate to what? You’re vastly outnumbered,” Alistair said.
“It’s not me you have to worry about. I promised Otto Magnus, alpha of a neighboring prowl, an arranged mate in exchange for him allying our prowls so he wouldn’t try to take mine over. He doesn’t take lightly to promises being broken.”
“That’s not our problem,” Seneca said. “You shouldn’t barter unwilling females to save your own ass.”
Dario seemed to notice Seneca for the first time, his dark gaze landing on him. “Who the hell are you to tell me anything?”
“I’m Sunny’s soulmate. And that makes Fallon my family and I won’t allow her to be harmed.”
“You can have your half-breed beast,” Dario said with a sneer. “But I will get Fallon back to fulfill my part of the arrangement. You can go along with it and hand her over, or you’ll face Otto’s wrath.”
“Otto will not be able to enforce that mating arrangement, period,” Caesar said, letting out a low, deep growl. “Don’t think you can step foot in our territory without repercussions. Get your males and get the hell out of here.”
“This isn’t over,” Dario said.
“The hell it’s not,” Marcus said. “You do not want to fuck with us, you worthless asshole. You try to come against us, and you’ll find out just how many predators are behind these gates.”
The alphas all growled, letting out their beasts a little, and Seneca added his bear’s growl to the group. Dario was visibly taken aback by the sheer show of force, but once more quickly schooled his features.
Without a word, he turned with his enforcers and got in the vehicles. Gravel sprayed from the tires as they spun swiftly, the vehicles lurching down the parking lot toward the exit.
“Let’s hope that he’s smart enough to just stay the hell away,” Marcus said.
“If he’s not, we’ll be ready,” Caesar said.
Seneca walked back to the employee cafeteria with the alphas. He made his way down to the private living area with his dad, his heart heavy with worry.
Worry for Sunny, for Fallon. For the park shifters.
“What if he comes back?” he whispered as he and his dad stood in the center of the room.
“We’ll deal with him,” Marcus said. “I’m not sure we’re done with him, but we can hope he’s realized how outnumbered he is.”
“If he doesn’t?”
“We’ve had many dangerous males come against us over the years. He’s just another blowhard alpha trying to exert his power and control over others. If he’s smart, he’ll forget about Fallon.”
Seneca snorted. “I don’t think he’s smart.”
Marcus grinned and clapped him on the shoulder.
“I don’t think he is either. The security team has increased the number of males on patrol around the clock.
You don’t need to worry about anything. Fallon is safe here underground and she’ll stay that way.
And you and Sunny can keep each other safe as you work in the burger stall for your shift.
Every worker will keep a walkie on them going forward so there’s an immediate way to be in touch with security.
You can each grab one before you hit the stall tomorrow. ”
“That’s smart. Will do. Thanks, Dad.”
“I will always stand up for you and your family, Seneca.”
He nodded and walked to his house after saying goodnight to his dad.
When he got inside, he saw Fallon curled up on the couch but not Sunny. In the master bedroom, his mate was asleep under the covers, breathing deeply. He stripped and climbed into bed, curling gently around her so he didn’t wake her.
She smelled like sweet dreams and love.
His bear settled immediately, thankful she was theirs and safe.
He was damn well going to keep her safe, no matter what.