Chapter 19
Seneca couldn’t believe how beautiful his mate was.
And such a fierce fighter.
She took down an alpha to save his life.
He scratched behind her ear and she purred. She stretched out next to him, her fur glistening in the late morning sun.
Normally, he would have been stuck in his shift for a few hours too, but Doc Paula had used special smelling salts on him to push him to shift to help his body heal faster. He wasn’t sure if Sunny would have trouble shifting back since it was her first time.
But she was a huge, gorgeous tigress and he was damn proud of her.
“Hey, kid,” his dad called as he walked into the paddock.
“Hey,” he said.
“How’s the knife wound?”
Seneca looked at his side. He could still feel the knife, but the wound was healed. “All good. But it does feel weird.”
“Stabbings are like that.”
Seneca snorted. “You’ve been stabbed?”
“During a sleuth battle for territory before you were born, I got stabbed by an asshole, who I took out afterward. Stung like a son of a bitch, though.”
He set a stack of clothes and a pair of shoes on Seneca’s lap.
“There were two jaguars who survived. Dario brought six with him. We found out that they came in through a weakness in the fencing by the apartment complex overnight. Between shifts.”
“Damn.”
“Right? They watched us and knew when to strike. It happened to be in a sort of dead zone for the security cameras and motion detectors, so Caesar and Jupiter are going over every inch of the park’s security systems to make sure there aren’t any other issues.
We’ll reach out to Dexter’s construction company to redo the fencing at the back.
The apartments are no good to us if they’re not safe. ”
“Shit, yeah.” Stallion shifter Dexter’s construction company had built the apartment complex for the park. As he got dressed, he said, “What’s going to happen to the jaguars?”
“We’ll release them in a few hours and escort them out of town.
They’ve been fully threatened by the alphas to never set foot here again.
” He paused for a moment and then said, “The two that survived were trying to escape during the fight. I think they weren’t on board for a battle.
With Dario dead, Fallon should be safe, but this other alpha is a wild card. We will just have to wait and see.”
Seneca nodded.
Marcus looked at Sunny, who lifted her head. “Thank you for saving my son.”
She yowled softly and he nodded, then left.
Seneca squatted down and cupped her big head. She blinked beautiful golden eyes at him. The knot in his chest was tight. She could have died trying to take out Dario while he’d been incapacitated.
But she was alive.
He was alive.
He was going to focus on the good stuff.
“Let’s go for a walk, sweetheart. You’ll be in your shift for a while.”
She rose onto her paws and stretched, swishing her tail. They wandered the paddock, moving slowly through the grass and trees that dotted the large enclosure. There weren’t safari tours during the week, so he didn’t have to worry about getting her hidden while she was in her shift.
“So,” he said, “I shifted right before I turned sixteen. I was scared because I thought it would hurt, even though my dad told me it’s not painful, just strange.
He said that fighting it would make it worse and take longer.
So I tried to relax, but thinking about relaxing made me stress out more.
” He chuckled, thinking about the memory.
She looked up at him with a curious purr.
“It wasn’t at all like I thought it would be.
It was so odd, hearing the bones cracking, feeling the muscles tearing and putting themselves back together so fast. And then I was on my paws and it was so freaking silent.
What I really remember is how the air smelled and I could pick up everything all at once.
All the sights, all the sounds and smells.
It was exhilarating. Dad took me for a run and I felt free for the first time in my life.
Like I finally knew what it meant to be a shifter.
” He looked down at her. “I bet you feel like that now, huh?”
She made an agreeing noise.
He rested his hand on her shoulder as they walked.
“You’re beautiful, sweetheart. I can’t wait to see you in your human form again too, whenever you’re ready.
In the meantime, I’ll tell you about the time I accidentally knocked down a tree when I was eighteen by leaning against it to scratch a hard-to-reach spot on my back… ”
* * *
A few hours later, as they were lounging near the pond and enjoying the quiet and sunshine, Jupiter walked in with a large bag over his shoulder. “I didn’t want to interrupt earlier, I figured you were enjoying hanging out.”
“It’s been really nice,” Seneca said.
“I brought food and a change of clothes for Sunny.” Jupiter handed the bag to Seneca.
“Thanks, man, that’s awesome.”
“The park is open, so when she’s ready to turn back, make sure you’re in the maintenance shed just to be safe.”
“Everything’s cleaned up?”
“Yep. Your dad is running the lunch shift at the burger stall for you.”
“I hadn’t even thought about it. The morning is a blur.”
“I bet. You guys did awesome, though, and I’m very thankful you’re both safe.
If you need anything, holler. I’ve gotta get back to checking out the perimeter.
I’m pissed as hell we had an issue and no one realized it.
But I wanted to personally thank Sunny for saving you and also taking out that asshole. ”
She lifted her whiskers like she was smiling.
Jupiter said goodbye and left. Seneca opened the bag and found a box lunch and a raw steak in a bag. Her eyes went wide when he lifted the steak from the plastic bag and she snatched it with a growling purr.
When they were both finished eating, she looked up at him and nuzzled her face against his side. “Ready to come back?”
She rose onto her paws and shook herself out. “Let’s get to the maintenance shed so it’s safe to shift.”
They moved across the paddock and he opened the door to the shed, letting her in and closing it behind them. “Just relax,” he said. “Which is funny because I said that stressed me out. But it’s easier to just let go of our shifts and kind of… just yawn maybe or sigh? I think I’m rambling.”
She let out a tigress sort of chuckle and yawned, her neck stretching as she tilted her head, her jaws wide. And then she shifted. Bones changed. Fur disappeared. Her beautiful tigress became a beautiful female.
The very center of his world.
“You shifted! You’re a rockstar, sweetheart.” He hugged her tightly and she hugged him back.
“I was scared that I wouldn’t be able to shift back.”
“Now you know that yawning is a great way to relax.”
She laughed. And then she started to cry. “I thought you were going to die.”
“I know.” He kissed her forehead.
“I…killed him. I don’t regret it, but I kind of do? I don’t know how I feel.”
He held her close. “You feel everything all at once and it’s normal. You were protecting me, and Fallon too. It wasn’t murder, it was survival. And I’m forever grateful to you for it.”
He held her until she stopped crying, and then he dried her tears. She dressed in the clothes Jupiter had brought, and they went down into the private living area and told Fallon what had happened.
“Marcus came to talk to me,” Fallon said, hugging Sunny and then Seneca. “I can’t believe you shifted and I missed it! I’m so glad you’re both okay.”
He gave Sunny’s arm a gentle squeeze. “For now, we’ll keep things locked down, so you’ll stay put down here, Fallon. The alphas will tighten security and repair the issue with the fencing that the jaguars got through. It won’t happen again.”
Fallon didn’t argue. “Okay.”
Damn he was exhausted. But he was so fucking glad to be alive thanks to his fierce mate.
His beautiful tigress soulmate.