Chapter 21
Saturday afternoon crawled by, the silence of the small home in the bears’ private living area heavy around Fallon.
Though she was allowed to leave the area to go to the market whenever she wanted with only a text to Sunny or another bear to let her back into the locked space, she hadn’t had any fresh air since she shifted Wednesday night. It was starting to weigh on her.
Not the safety aspect—she was fairly certain she was safe underground behind so many locked security doors—but feeling trapped and not having any control over when she would be free to roam where she wanted. She didn’t like hiding, and she didn’t like feeling useless.
Yes she cleaned the house and did laundry even though Sunny and Seneca both told her she didn’t need to do that, and she’d even helped out with laundry for some of the other bears who were busy helping with the new security protocols. But she was still feeling kind of trapped and mostly bored.
The front door opened and her heart gave a little clench of longing as Sunny and Seneca walked in after the lunch shift, smiling like they were the only two people on the planet.
Fallon had never really thought much about soulmates until she saw how happy Sunny was.
Now she wanted that for herself. But she’d never meet her soulmate stuck in a house underground, that was for dang sure.
“Hey, babe,” Sunny said, her smile turning down. “Something happened.”
“Are you okay?” Fallon put down the tablet with the book she hadn’t been able to concentrate on reading and stood.
“Yeah, we’re fine.” She showed Fallon a photo of a dark vase filled with roses that were a deep purple-red on the counter in the security office. The next photo showed the card with only a few words typed and no signature.
I’m not giving up.
Fallon’s mouth went dry. “Otto.”
Sunny nodded. “The flowers were delivered to the front gate by a local florist with no return address or any other information. But it seems pretty damn clear it’s him.”
“So he does know where I am, which means it doesn’t matter that Dario is gone, Otto still thinks that I’m his somehow.”
Seneca nodded. “The alphas are gathering in the conference room now. You can join us so you know what’s going on.”
She put on shoes and followed them out of the private living area.
“Oh, that’s weird,” Sunny said, looking at her phone.
“What is?” Seneca asked.
“I got an email forwarded from my old email address to the new, secure one that Marcus had set up for me.” She tapped her finger on the screen and then her face softened. “It’s from Sera.”
“My mom?” Fallon asked, as worry and elation clashed inside her.
Sunny handed the phone to her.
Hi, honey. I didn’t want to reach out to my daughter because I was worried I might lead someone to her, but I know that by now you have figured out how to be safe yourself so I’m reaching out to you.
Otto has taken over the prowl and is telling everyone he plans to bring his mate home.
He’s worse than Dario ever was. I’m being watched closely by his people, but I’m going to find a way out.
I will come join you both when I’m able.
Trust I’m safe for now and I’ll do my best to stay that way.
Please take good care of yourself and tell my daughter that I love her very much and miss her. And I love you too. Mom.”
Tears burned in Fallon’s eyes as she read the email twice through.
She was relieved her mom was safe, but scared that Otto had taken control of the prowl.
Giving the phone back to Sunny, she waited for them to read the email.
Sunny hugged her. “It’s scary, but it’s also good news.
Your mom is safe. That’s what matters. And we’ll keep you safe until she’s here with us. ”
They left the private living area and joined the alphas and security team members in the large conference room. Sunny shared the email with everyone and then Fallon sat back and listened as the alphas discussed everything.
“We should move you,” Joss the alpha wolf said. “The longer you’re here, the more likely it is that Otto tries something bold like Dario did.”
“But if she’s being kept in hiding, how would he know she’s not here?” Seneca asked.
“I have an idea,” Marcus said. “We’ve got Fallon’s old phone.
I’ll take it to a shipping location, turn it on, and mail it out of state somewhere.
If Otto is watching, which I think it’s safe to assume he would be, it might give us a little breathing room if he thinks she’s left the park and he follows the phone’s location. ”
“Okay,” Fallon said. “So we distract him with my phone, but where would I go?”
“I’ve got a place in mind,” Joss said. He picked up his phone and left the room, and she tapped her foot nervously, wondering what the plan was. She didn’t want to be trapped underground, but she was scared of being alone too.
Joss came back in a few minutes later. “Crew, the alpha stallion at the Little River Farm, says they have an empty apartment in one of their barns that’s very secure. You can help around the farm as you’re able, and they will keep you safe. They’re not a big group, but their security is top tier.”
“That’s true,” Jupiter said. “We’ve helped them recently upgrade their security after another herd tried to take over. The barns are very safe.”
“Is it far?” Sunny asked.
“A half hour,” Joss said.
“When?” Sunny asked.
“We’ll leave under the cover of darkness tonight,” Joss said. “Caesar and Jupiter can coordinate everything so that we can be sure no one is watching or following.”
“Okay,” Fallon said. “As long as it’s safe for everyone going with me and Sunny and Seneca will be safe here too. I’ve hated that people could be hurt because of me.”
“It’s not on you,” Marcus said. “It’s on Dario and this Otto asshole. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
She smiled, but she still felt guilty. But maybe Otto would be fooled by the phone trick and the farm would be the fresh start she needed.
When the meeting was over, she went to the house with Sunny and Seneca and packed her things. “Send a message back to Mom for me?”
“Yeah, you bet.”
“Tell her that I love her and I’m safe. And that I hope to see her soon.”
“I’ll do that right now.”
When it was safe for her to leave, she was taken to an unmarked SUV in the employee lot where a security team waited.
She said goodbye to Sunny underground, the two sharing a hug and tears.
“I feel okay about this,” Fallon said. “I feel like this might be the very best thing for me. A new chapter. And hopefully, Otto will lose interest when he can’t find me and then we can get together again.
In the meantime, text me anytime. We’ll video chat and watch TV together. ”
“I will. Love you, bestie.”
“I love you too.”
As the SUV drove away from the park followed by several others, she didn’t know what was waiting for her at the farm, but she had a feeling it would change her life completely.
* * *
Sunday morning, Sunny and Seneca sat at the kitchen table in their house and shared breakfast, the ice in her coffee mug clinking as she sipped the vanilla brew courtesy of Anke in the market getting her an amazing vanilla sweet cream from a local store.
“I’m kind of surprised the park doesn’t have a coffee stall,” she said.
“I guess no one has ever had that as a main talent. None of the soulmates have been baristas.”
“Sera made the best coffee,” she mused. “She’s the one who got me hooked on iced coffees.”
“Maybe when she gets free one day, she can run a coffee stall and we can add that to our food and drink options.”
“That would be very cool.” She rested her hand over his that was on her thigh and leaned against him. “Do you think she’ll ever be free to join us?”
“I hope so. But it might not happen for a while. There’s no telling what it’s like for her there.”
“Yeah, that’s what I’ve been thinking. She’s resourceful, though. I know she’ll find a way when she can. I just wish she’d left with Fallon.”
“Me too.”
She’d gotten a text from Fallon last night saying she already missed Sunny and hoped they’d be able to connect again in a few days when things settled down. Sunny missed her too.
She and Seneca spent the morning doing all the mundane things that being a couple entailed on their day off—laundry, dishes, checking in with Marcus and making plans for what to bring for the weekly Sunday night dinner at his house.
She’d agreed to bring pasta salad and was excited to get to visit the greenhouses to pick cucumbers and cherry tomatoes to use.
Dinner was just the three of them, and she adored hearing stories from Seneca’s childhood and Marcus’s life from before they came to the park.
Even though a lot of it was tainted with sadness because he’d lost his soulmate, he was so hopeful that all the bears would find their happily ever afters soon and the sleuth would continue to grow.
She and Seneca had never used protection while they made love.
It had been a conscientious decision to let things happen when they happened.
She couldn’t wait to have a child with her soulmate.
Seneca had already told her that if they had a boy, he thought naming him after both their dads—Jarek Marcus—and the same for a daughter with their moms’ names—Autumn Bethany.
She loved that idea very much, bringing both their families together.
Someday.
It would happen when it happened, and the timing would be perfect.
As the day waned and the workday tomorrow loomed ahead, they settled on the couch to watch a favorite police drama and share a bowl of popcorn.
“We’ve been together for two weeks,” he said, popping a few kernels into his mouth. “It feels longer, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah,” she said, snuggling down into the couch next to him. “Like we’ve known each other forever even though it hasn’t been too long.”
“Well, this has been the best two weeks of my life.”
“Mine too.”
“Next weekend, let’s go on a date.”
“Are we allowed to leave the park?”
“I’ll plan something inside the park after hours. Our people are really good at finding unique ways to have dates that are very safe.”
“Oh, that sounds awesome.”
“I grabbed something for you, by the way,” he said.
“You did?”
“Yep. I asked Lucius’s mate Sidney if she could draw a picture for me. It’s on the counter.”
She got up and went to the counter and found a brown sack.
She’d met Sidney earlier in the week. She was an artist who could draw amazing animals and worked in the gift shop, drawing animals that the park sold to patrons.
She sometimes worked out in the park, where patrons could watch her sketch. She was really talented.
“Oh! It’s you!”
He grinned.
The small, framed pencil sketch was a bear that looked just like Seneca.
“We always have pics taken on the safari tour, so I found an image of me and asked her to draw it for you. A two-week anniversary gift. And next time you shift during the daytime, I’ll take a picture of you and she said she’d be happy to sketch it.”
She set the picture on the bookshelf next to his collection of grill cookbooks and came to the couch, giving him a big hug and kiss. “I love it so much, thank you. And I love you.”
“I love you too, sweetheart.”
She smiled so wide that her cheeks hurt. “You’re the best soulmate a girl could ask for.”
“You are too. I’m a better male with you in my life. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me.”
They settled back against the couch, arms around each other, TV glowing in the darkness of the family room. It was the best kind of evening—no stress, no worries, just the two of them together. They’d already proven they could face anything together and come out stronger on the other side.
She had her soulmate and that was all she needed.
And iced vanilla coffees.