Chapter 12
As the evening shift came to a close, Sunny smiled at how much she enjoyed working at the burger stall.
It was Friday evening, and she couldn’t believe how fast the week had gone by.
With Seneca manning the grill, she had quickly found a rhythm to working the air fryer and dressing the burgers.
The burger of the day with bacon jam made by Lucy and Tarquin had been another hit with the patrons.
She’d gotten to chat with customers while they waited in line and loved to talk to the kids about their favorite animals in the petting zoo.
“My cheeks hurt from smiling so much,” she said, rubbing them lightly. It made her smile even more.
“You really like working with me?” Seneca asked as he finished scrubbing the grill.
“I love it. It’s so fun.”
“I love you being here with me.”
She didn’t just like talking to customers and seasoning baskets of fries, she loved working with Seneca. She loved what a talented cook he was, and sneaking peeks at him when he wasn’t looking. And stealing kisses whenever they had a break.
That might have been her favorite thing.
Marcus joined them. “How was the shift?”
“Great,” Seneca said. “Whenever we have the bacon jam burger, it’s always a hit.”
“Oh yeah,” Marcus said. “We can’t keep the bacon jam in stock in the gift shop. So how are you liking it, Sunny?”
“I was just telling Seneca how much I love working here. I know it’s only been a week, but it’s been so fun.”
“I’m glad,” he said. “I’m officially offering you the job if you’d like it. I know you’re off for the weekend, so you can start on Monday. You’ll rotate lunch and dinner shifts with Tarquin and Lucy.”
“Thank you so much! That’s really amazing!” She looked at Seneca. “Can you believe it? I’ve got a job!”
He laughed and drew her close for a kiss. “Congratulations, sweetheart. We’ll add that to what we’re celebrating this weekend.”
“Oh yes, speaking of,” Marcus said. “We’re all set for Saturday night.”
“Awesome,” he said.
The sleuth was having a cookout Saturday night after the park closed to welcome her officially. She couldn’t wait.
Marcus said goodbye, and she and Seneca got back to closing up the stall. As she was tying one of the trash bags closed, she had the strangest feeling come over her.
“You okay?” Seneca asked.
“Yeah. Maybe? I feel really weird.”
“Weird how?”
“Like something feels off.” She rubbed the space over her heart and looked around. There weren’t many patrons since the park was closing soon, and she didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.
He straightened and scanned the area. “I don’t see anything or feel anything off. What do you think you’re feeling?”
“I’m not sure. It’s weird, though.”
For a moment, her mind flitted to Fallon, but that didn’t make sense. She shook her head. “Well, whatever it is, I feel totally safe here with you, so I’m not going to let anything worry me.”
“You’re definitely not alone.” He leaned down and kissed her, and for a moment, everything went really quiet around them and she reveled in the softness of his lips and the way his bear rumbled lightly in his chest so that only she could hear.
Her tigress let out an answering purr, right there under the surface.
Once more, she wished she could shift, but she pushed that thought away too.
If she wasn’t who she was—half-human, half-tigress—she wouldn’t have ended up exiled and at the safari park.
No matter what she lost to come here, she’d gained so much more with Seneca. Nothing could replace her family or friends, but she was making new family and new friends and new memories, and she was finally starting to heal.
It was freaking amazing.
“I’m good,” she said.
“Yeah?”
“Promise.”
He gave her another kiss and said, “Let’s get going, we’ve got a date tonight and moving into the apartment for the weekend.”
She giggled. She couldn’t help it.
She was getting everything she’d ever dreamed of, even the things she didn’t realize she’d needed so much.
Like a male who thought the world of her and only wanted her to be happy.
Who would have thought a desperate trip to a safari park with a little sliver of hope would bring her so much happiness?
“Let’s get going. I can’t wait to make you mine,” he said.
She hooked her arm through his and they walked away from the stall toward the employee cafeteria.
As they passed the security office, her world tilted sideways as she made eye contact with someone she never thought she’d see again.
Fallon!
* * *
Seneca wanted to run to the cafeteria and get on their way to their date.
Mostly he wanted to get back to their little love nest in the apartment that they’d both been setting up over the last two days so they had everything they needed and wouldn’t need to leave until Saturday when they met the sleuth for their celebration dinner.
But he didn’t run because he was enjoying walking with Sunny.
He enjoyed doing everything with her. Even flipping burgers had taken on new meaning with her by his side.
Sunny stopped walking and he looked at her. Before he could ask what was wrong, she raced away. “Fallon!”
Seneca’s gaze tracked the girl in Sunny’s path, eyes wide, face pale, and trembling with nerves.
“What happened? Fallon! Oh my gosh!” Sunny embraced her friend and let out a soft sob.
Fallon wrapped her arms around her in surprise. “I’ve been looking for you for a half hour. I was afraid to ask for you in case you weren’t here.”
Seneca stepped up to them and put his phone to his ear.
“Security.”
“Hey, Justus. We’ve got a situation. Sunny’s friend Fallon showed up at the park and I don’t think she’s brought good news. I’ll take them to the cafeteria.”
“Shit, okay. I’ll alert the security team and alphas. Is she hurt?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Okay, I’ll call the others to join you in the cafeteria.”
“Thanks, J.”
He ended the call and said, “Sweetheart, let’s get into the cafeteria so you two can talk.”
Sunny nodded and wiped at the tears on her cheeks. “Yeah, good idea.”
They walked to the cafeteria and he unlocked the door, ushering them inside. When the door was closed, the two females sat at one of the tables and he stood nearby.
“Why are you here?” Sunny asked.
Fallon glanced at Seneca. “Who is that?”
Sunny looked at him and smiled. “That’s Seneca. My soulmate.”
“Soulmate? Like soulmate-soulmate?”
“Yep.”
“Wow. You moved on fast.” Sunny flinched, and Fallon said, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to say that. I’m just stressed.”
The doors at the back of the cafeteria opened and the alphas appeared along with Jupiter and several of the other security team members. His dad gave him a curious look and Seneca shrugged.
“These are the alphas who run the park,” Sunny said, “including my father-in-law, Marcus. You’re safe here. Tell us what brought you here.”
“Are you sure it’s safe? For me, I mean?”
“Yes,” Seneca said. “It’s very safe here. But you should tell us everything so we know what’s going on.”
She nodded with a sniffle, then leaned back in the chair.
“Two days ago, Alpha Dario put me under house arrest. Me and Mom. We didn’t know what was going on, but we knew something big was happening.
And then last night, my mom managed to get information from some of her friends and they told her that Dario had arranged a mating for me with the alpha of another prowl named Otto to form an alliance. ”
“What? That bastard!” Sunny said.
Fallon gave a half smile. “Mom said I had to leave. That she’d heard about Otto when he’d attacked the prowl before I was born.
The battle had ended in a stalemate and he’d agreed to leave the prowl alone, but when Francis grew ill and Dario took over, Otto saw an opportunity to combine the prowls.
I think he was planning to just take Dario out but instead agreed to the arranged mating to form an alliance. ”
Caesar walked over. “Before we go any further, do you have your phone? They could track it.”
She took her phone out of her pocket and Seneca could see it was off.
“I turned it off when I fled before dawn. It took me forever to get here because I got lost without GPS and took a few wrong turns. I was just so worried that you weren’t here and I’d be all alone.
I didn’t know if you still had your phone, so I was afraid someone would track me if I reached out to you. ”
“I understand,” Sunny said. She looked at the alphas, focusing on Marcus. “Can we put her up in one of the apartments? She looks like she’s about to drop. Having made that trek myself, I can attest to how exhausting it is to flee like that.”
“Of course,” Marcus said.
“Will you hang out with me? I don’t want to be alone.”
Sunny looked at Seneca and his heart fell into his chest.
Their date.
Their weekend plans.
But he wasn’t going to try to guilt-trip Sunny into staying in the apartment with him that night. At the thought of sleeping without his soulmate, his bear let out a sad chuff.
“Only if Seneca can hang out too,” Sunny said. “He’s my soulmate. We’re a package deal.”
“Yeah, sure,” Fallon said. “I’m in no position to ask for favors anyway. I’m just glad to see you and know that you’re okay.”
“I’m glad you made it here too.”
Seneca stepped away to make arrangements with the alphas and security team, and let Sunny and Fallon talk.
“That’s a shitty thing for an alpha to do,” Jupiter said with a snarl. “I fucking hate alphas like that.”
“He was probably trying to save his own ass and saw an unmated female in his prowl as a way to keep the other alpha happy,” Alistair said. “Definitely asshole behavior.”
Seneca nodded.
It took about twenty minutes for an apartment to be ready. Seneca filled a market bag with food from the fridge in the cafeteria to stock it, thanked the alphas for coming to meet Fallon, and left them to their discussion about the changes the park was going through.
“Your mom didn’t want to come?” Sunny asked as they walked through the park.
“She said it would be too suspicious if she was gone too. And one of her friends is sick and she’s the only one who’s taking care of her. She didn’t want to leave her.”
“Your mom was always such a sweet person,” Sunny said.
When they reached the apartment, Seneca stayed outside.
“Aren’t you coming in?” Sunny asked.
“In a while. You two need to catch up.”
She glanced at Fallon, who looked like a scared rabbit sitting on the couch, and then at him.
“I’m not going to sleep tonight without you. Even if we’re on the couch again like the first night. And tomorrow? We’re in the apartment like we planned, because you’re going to mark me and make me yours in truth, right? Plus, we’ve got our dinner after the park is closed.”
He loved how fierce she was.
He hooked an arm around her waist and drew her close. Letting out his bear, he growled softly and kissed her. “You’re already mine, sweet female.”
“You’re mine too.”
She gave him another kiss and then walked into the apartment and closed the door. He turned and leaned against the wall and stared out into the nothingness of the empty park.
He hoped that Fallon coming to the park wasn’t something that would bring danger to their people. His stomach churned suddenly and he lifted his phone from his pocket.
“Hey, Dad?” he said when Marcus answered.
“Yeah, kid? You get Fallon settled?”
“Yep. Listen, I’m worried. What if Dario sends people after Fallon? It was an arranged mating for an alliance.”
“I’m glad you reached out, that’s what the alphas and I were talking about. Where are you?”
“Outside the apartment.”
“I’ll send some security to watch the apartment and you can join us in the cafeteria. We need to be on alert just to be safe.”
“I’m on my way.”
He opened the door and told Sunny he was going to speak to the alphas and would return in a little while. “Just to be safe, stay put, yeah?”
“Of course,” she said. “Is everything okay?”
“I’m sure it is, just talking to the alphas about security.”
“See you in a little while,” she said.
He nodded and shut the door.
He sure as hell hoped it was going to be okay.