Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
Nathan walked into Crossroads with Hyde and Amadeus and scoped out the place. It was Valentine’s Day, so it was fairly packed, but it was also after eleven p.m. and the crowd was starting to thin.
“Over there?” Amadeus gestured to a table near the dance floor.
“That looks good,” Nathan said.
Hyde offered to grab beers for them while they snagged the table.
Nathan sat so he could see the door and opened his phone to check the pin Alfie had sent him so they’d know when he and Myla arrived.
“This is cool,” Nathan said. “I’m happy for Alfie.”
“Me too,” Amadeus said. “But man, I wish it was me who’d found my soulmate. I can’t believe I’m the last guy in my family to find her.”
Nathan didn’t have any family anymore, but he did have the gorilla band in the park, led by Alpha Atticus. A lot had changed since he’d come to the park. Now only he and Patton remained unmated among the gorillas.
He was glad Alfie had found Myla. But just like Amadeus, he wished he’d found his other half.
Hyde joined them, setting beers on the table. “What’s the topic?”
“Being single,” Nathan said.
“Ugh. Any day now fate can smile on all of us,” Hyde said. He lifted his beer and they clinked their glasses in the silent hopes of finding their forever girls someday soon.
They’d all become friends years earlier when they’d been assigned to the safari park tours when they’d first introduced the VIP coupons and the park had been flooded with visitors.
Nathan handled electrical maintenance around the park, and had been pulled in as a security officer for the surge in park guests and long wait times.
He, Hyde, and Alfie had been put with Amadeus to patrol the area around the safari park and keep everyone safe.
They’d been thick as thieves ever since, each hoping to find their soulmate on a tour someday.
Or like Alfie, to just be in the right place at the right time.
The phone pinged when Alfie and Myla arrived at the bar.
He opened his camera app and got the video ready. They knew Alfie’s plans, and he hoped it all went off without a hitch.
Alfie and Myla walked in, dressed up from her brother’s wedding, and Nathan’s chest got tight.
He freaking wanted that so much. Wanted a female who looked at him the way Myla looked at Alfie.
Like he hung the moon, or the sun wouldn’t set unless he wanted it to.
He knew it went both ways. Alfie would raze a city to keep her safe.
Someday, Nathan would get his happily ever after, just like Hyde and Amadeus would. And their friend group would change as their lives changed, with mates and kids and lives intertwined with the safari park.
It would happen.
He just hoped it was soon.
“Oh!” Myla said when she recognized the bar that Alfie parked in front of. “This is where we met.”
He grinned at her, leaning over and giving her a sweet, long kiss. Her heart pounded and her skin flushed. Maybe they should just head home to the park.
“No,” Alfie said. He opened his door and got out.
“No what?” she asked.
“No to just going home. You sexy thing, thinking sexy thoughts.”
“Oh yeah? You think you know me so well? What sexy thoughts am I thinking right now?”
He laughed and shut his door, then came around to hers. He opened it and leaned down, whispering in her ear, “You’re thinking about giving me the best blow job of my life.” She barked out a loud laugh, covering her mouth when he gave her an amused look. “It wasn’t that funny,” he said.
She caught her breath, giggling a bit more, then said, “It was a little funny, though.”
He drew her to her feet and shut the SUV door. “So, what were you thinking?”
“About going home while it’s still Valentine’s Day.”
“We wouldn’t be home before midnight, though. But I will totally rock your world again on February fifteenth, as soon as we have a drink and maybe a dance, and then we’ll head home.”
“Sounds like a perfect way to end the night.”
“I think so too. Anything with you is perfect, though.”
Stars, she was crazy about him. She definitely had romance on her mind after spending the day with Alice and being part of the wedding.
She loved dancing with Alfie most, but she adored getting to dance with her brother and dad.
It had been a wonderful day, even if she’d spent a lot of it missing her soulmate.
“So we’re back to where we met,” she said as they walked through the door into the dimly lit bar. The first time she’d been there, she was stressed out and bummed at the way her night had gone, and then he’d shown up and saved the day.
“It’ll be different this time,” he said. “A good memory all around instead of one that started crappy for you.”
“But it ended so nicely, since I met you.”
They stopped at the bar and ordered drinks, talking over the events of the wedding.
He fit in so well with her family, and she felt like she fit in with the pack too.
Two vastly different worlds, but somehow it worked.
They moved to a quiet corner to finish their drinks, watching as the crowd dispersed slowly as it passed midnight, going from the most romantic day of the year to a regular one.
But she knew from experience with Alfie that every day was romantic, no matter the date.
They set their empty glasses on a nearby table and he pulled her to the dancefloor when a slow song came on. He’d turned her around the dancefloor of the reception, but this—even in the middle of a bar—felt more intimate. “I think this is better than the reception.”
He tipped her back and she giggled as he kissed her throat, and then he righted her. “I think so too.”
“It’s also the best Valentine’s Day I’ve ever had. And that includes the one when my dad got my mom a box of candy, but it was all caramels and she hates caramels, so I got them.”
He chuckled and spun her away from him before drawing her close. “I’m glad this tops that one. It’s the best one for me too, since I’m with the woman I’m going to spend the rest of my life with.”
She felt a subtle change in Alfie’s tone and caught the barest flicker of his wolf’s amber eyes. He’d gone serious, and it made her breath catch.
“You’re the best thing that ever happened to me,” he said.
“Me too.”
He slipped his hand into his pocket and dropped to one knee, pulling out a ring box and opening it. “Myla.”
“Oh my gosh,” she whispered. The diamond on the ring glittered in the soft lighting of the bar.
“When I talk about forever, I mean it. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, because you’re the best person I’ve ever met.
You’re gracious and sweet, and so freaking beautiful.
And you make me feel like I can do anything.
You said I saved you the night we met, but you saved me.
You’ve given me more love, and family, and a future that I wasn’t sure I’d ever get. Myla, will you marry me?”
Tears blurred her eyes. “Yes! Yes, I’ll marry you!”
He took the ring from the box and slid it on her finger, and as he rose to his feet to kiss her, the bar erupted in cheers and they both smiled and laughed.
“Oh, how I love you, sweet soulmate,” he said with a low voice.
“Mine,” she whispered.
They kissed, and then he hugged her tightly.
“Woohoo!” someone said loudly.
She lifted her head from Alfie’s shoulder and found Nathan, Amadeus, and Hyde cheering, Nathan holding his phone toward them. “Congrats, you two,” Nathan said. “We got it all on video for you.”
“You did?” she asked, brushing at her wet cheeks.
“Hell yes,” Hyde said. “Alfie asked us to be here to video the proposal so you could show your family.”
“Oh, that’s so sweet,” she said. “Thank you, guys.”
“You’re welcome,” Amadeus said. “We’re glad we could be here for you.”
“Wait, you set this up?” she asked, looking at Alfie. “Does that mean you asked my parents?”
“I did, at the wedding,” he said. “I didn’t want to spoil your brother and sister-in-law’s day, so I thought we could come for a drink afterward.”
“That’s really cool, thank you for thinking of them.”
She looked down at the ring and smiled. “I love it. I love you and your friends. And I love that you’re mine.”
“One hundred percent, sweetheart.”
“This is definitely the best Valentine’s Day ever.”
“The best night of my life, that’s for damn sure,” Alfie said.
“Damn, I need to find my forever woman like yesterday,” Nathan said with a rue-filled chuckle.
They joined the guys at their table and talked for a little while before they decided to head home, the guys following them back to the park.
“So did you know I was going to propose?” Alfie asked.
“I knew you would at some point,” she said, scooting down in the seat with a yawn. “But I didn’t know it would be tonight. I was really surprised.”
“Do you want to send the video to your folks?”
“Tomorrow,” she said. “We have plans tonight still, I think.”
“I just saw you yawn—are you sure you’re not too tired?”
“Heck no. We have to celebrate our engagement with a tumble in the sheets.”
“Sounds good to me, sweetheart.” He took her hand and kissed the top of it. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
She’d watched her brother get married, spent time with family she didn’t get to see often, shared a sinfully sweet piece of cake with Alfie, and then she’d gotten engaged.
It wasn’t just the best Valentine’s she’d ever had—it was one of the best nights of her life.
Thanks to a certain wolf who had perfect timing.
And a sexy smile.
Alfie pulled down the road toward the park with Myla’s head on his shoulder and comfortable silence between them. He currently had everything he’d ever wanted but never known if he would get: a soulmate, a family.
He’d been nothing more than a tool to his old alpha, but now he was fully loved by the sweet female next to him. Talk about coming around full freaking circle.
She’d said yes.
He hadn’t doubted she would because he could feel how much she loved him through their connection as soulmates. But he’d still been a little nervous. When she’d said yes and cried happy tears, he and his wolf had been filled with a sweet peace that settled all the way to his bones.
He turned down the side road and stopped at the guard gate. It wasn’t manned, so he entered a code and the gate opened and he pulled through, followed by Nathan, Hyde, and Amadeus in their park SUV.
“I love how cool the park looks at night,” she said, sitting up with a yawn as she stretched. “It looks medieval with the high walls.”
“It’s definitely a neat place to live.”
After they parked, he held her hand as they walked to the iron gate where he unlocked it with a code and held it for her, and then waited for his friends to get their butts through the gate so he could close it.
“Thanks for being there for me,” he said.
“We’re happy to,” Nathan said.
“You’d do it for us,” Amadeus said.
“In a heartbeat,” Alfie promised.
They parted ways in the employee cafeteria, each one heading to their private living area. Alfie and Myla made their way to the wolves’ area and their home, which she’d added her personal touch to in so many ways. It had been a house before, but it was a home now. Because of her.
Every good thing in his life happened the night he met her.
His heart was full, his wolf was happy, and judging by the sexy gleam in Myla’s eyes, they were far from done with the night.
“Baby,” he said as they walked across the dark space to their home.
“Yeah?” she asked.
He stopped at the door and lifted her into his arms. “I’m thinking sexy thoughts.”
“Do tell,” she said, snuggling into his arms. “I’m sure I’m thinking them too.”
“Oh, we’re definitely on the same page,” he promised, closing the door and carrying her toward the bedroom.
Life surely didn’t get any better than this—home, mate, and pack.
Thank you for reading Alfie!
I hope you enjoyed returning to the Were Zoo — because another soulmate story is waiting just around the corner!