Caesar (Were Zoo #23)

Chapter 1

There was no going back.

Not to the farm in Little River.

Not to her daughter, Fallon.

And definitely not to her old jaguar prowl in Tennessee, now taken over by the unhinged alpha Otto.

A male who thought Sera was his to take as a mate, whether she liked it or not.

And she definitely didn’t like it.

She sat in the second row of a black, unmarked SUV that belonged to the Amazing Adventures Safari Park, driven by a lion named Amadeus, with a wolf named Alfie in the passenger seat.

No one was talking right now. It was after two a.m., and the vehicle was humming a monotonous tune while they drove along the dark, winding roads. She forced her hands to unclench when one of her knuckles cracked with the pressure.

She was not just nervous, she was scared.

More scared than she’d ever been in her life, and the flurry of emotions inside her was a stark contrast to the calm outside the vehicle as it moved swiftly toward the safari park.

Two more vehicles had gone on ahead to scout for trouble, and there were two more safari park vehicles with them, plus two of the stallion shifters—Grey and Ford—were following their group just in case.

Just in case Otto and his jaguars decided to attack.

Even though the park shifters assured her she was safe with them, her instincts were screaming that she was far from it.

“You okay back there?” Amadeus asked, quickly meeting her gaze in the rearview mirror.

“As okay as I can be, considering I’m possibly leading a psycho to the park.”

Otto.

Alpha. Asshole. Psychopath.

He’d been promised Sera’s daughter, Fallon, in an arranged mating by their prowl’s former alpha, Dario, in an attempt to save his own neck.

Dario had died in the process, killed by Sera’s adopted daughter, Sunny, and her mate Seneca in the park.

Otto took over control of the prowl and needed a mate to unite his prowl and Sera’s, so he attempted to abduct Fallon.

But Fallon was not only already mated to Avi, a stallion shifter, but also pregnant.

Which caused Otto to turn his lecherous gaze to Sera.

A consolation prize of sorts.

And totally gross.

Sera was too old for nonsense like this, and had considered fleeing on her own and just disappearing, but in the end she’d chosen to go with the park shifters. They had tons of security in place at the park, including underground living quarters.

She’d be safe there.

But she only cared that Fallon and her baby were safe.

“It’ll be okay,” Alfie said. “Otto won’t be able to get to you once you’re in the park. The alphas wouldn’t have brought you here if it weren’t the best possible place for you.”

“I just don’t want anyone else to get hurt.”

“We get that,” Amadeus said. “We don’t want anyone to get hurt either. But we don’t want you to be forced into a mating because some alpha is trying to secure his leadership of two prowls.”

Sera swallowed hard. She felt like she was going to fall apart.

She’d left her prowl once Otto went to New Jersey to claim Fallon, and she’d inadvertently saved Fallon’s life from another herd trying to take over the Little River farm. The happy reunion had been short-lived—now Sera had to walk away to keep Fallon safe.

And she would do that. Hell, she’d walk across the country barefoot to keep Fallon safe.

But she still felt like she was drowning.

Flailing against a current that was determined to suck her down into oblivion.

She clenched her jaw and looked out the window at the darkness. It had only been a few days, but she felt like she’d been running forever. Her life had been turned upside down so many times she wasn’t sure which way was up.

“We’re about twenty minutes out,” Amadeus said. “As long as nothing comes up—”

The radio crackled sharply. “Ambush! Two vehicles, right on your tail!”

“Shit! Hold on!” Amadeus said.

Sera’s breath caught in her throat. Headlights flared behind them.

Amadeus hit the gas, the engine roaring as the SUV surged forward. Alfie picked up the walkie. “We’ve got two behind us.”

The radio burst to life with commands—shifters coordinated from the other SUVs. Tires screeched, engines roared. The SUV directly behind them swerved suddenly. Sera gripped the edge of the seat, her nails biting into the fabric as the SUV lurched around a curve.

She didn’t need to see him to know that Otto was near, that it was his people following them, trying to run them off the road.

“He followed us,” Sera said.

“The scouts were watching the roads ahead, they must have missed him and his people,” Alfie said. “Don’t worry, our people train for this.”

The SUV ahead of them braked hard and jerked to the side, swerving behind their SUV and running the vehicle behind them off the road. “Fuck yes,” Amadeus said. “That’s one down. Hold on, Sera.”

“I am.” She gripped the oh-shit handle and closed her eyes. The engine revved again as he pushed on the gas.

There was the sound of an impact behind them, and she opened her eyes to look back and saw a vehicle off the road, its headlights pointing to the side.

She realized they weren’t being followed anymore.

The chase was over.

They were free.

For now, anyway.

Minutes ticked by, and then they made it to the safari park, the stone walls like a fortress in the dark. They stopped in a parking lot behind a guard station. Alfie and Amadeus rushed her through an iron gate while they were joined by other shifters who surrounded her.

When the gate slammed shut, her eyes stung with relief that she’d made it in one piece. “Did everyone get here safely? Was anyone hurt?” she asked as she was hurried into the park down a dirt path.

Alpha wolf Joss said, “The other two park SUVs just got here. No one was hurt. Another of our SUVs turned around to follow Grey and Ford back to the farm. They said two jaguar vehicles were forced off the road, but the others disappeared.” He looked at her. “You’re safe here, Sera.”

“Thanks, Joss.”

He nodded.

The door to a building opened and Sunny waved wildly. “Sera! Holy crap.”

She hurried out of the building and met Sera in a big hug. “Hi, honey,” Sera said.

“I’m so glad you’re okay.”

“Me too.”

Sunny’s mate Seneca had followed her out of the building. “Thanks for bringing her here, guys,” he said.

Amadeus said, “You’re welcome. I’m going to check in with Jupiter at the security office. We’ll need all hands on deck until we know what Otto is going to do.”

“Maybe he’ll just walk away,” Sunny said, voice filled with hope.

“That would be nice, but I doubt it,” Sera said. “Thanks, everyone. Thank you for coming to help me and my daughter. It means the world to me.”

“You’re welcome,” Alistair, the alpha elephant, said.

“Let’s get back to the house,” Sunny said. “I bet you never had such an exciting drive.”

Sera chuckled. She was still scared, some part of her ready to run if things got bad and people were in danger because of her. But she was also relieved.

And oddly? She felt like she was coming home.

Seneca smiled at Sera. “Come on. Let’s get you inside.”

She’d never been to the park, but Fallon had told her about the underground living quarters.

The bears had a private living area like the other groups did, with small homes in a large room painted to look like the forest. They walked from the employee cafeteria down a set of stairs and through a security door to the wide open space.

The home, a two-bedroom ranch, had a spare room for her that Fallon had stayed in after she’d left the prowl.

Sera sat on the edge of the bed and dropped her bag on the floor. It held everything she had—a few changes of clothes, a photo album from her childhood, and a small jewelry box that had belonged to her mom.

“Thanks, Sunny.”

“You’re welcome. I’m sorry that you were nearly hurt coming here, but I’m glad you’re safe. Rest well, and I’ll see you in the morning. We can grab breakfast in the market. It’s underground here. We can also get whatever clothes or toiletries you need to get settled.”

“You’re sweet.”

“Hey, you took me in when my parents were killed, and you made me part of your family. This is the least I can do, and I’m happy to be able to help.”

Sunny said goodnight and shut the door.

Sera sat in the quiet, dark room, her heart still racing.

She inhaled and exhaled several times, willing her jaguar to settle down. And finally, she did. For the first time in a very long time, Sera felt a little bit of hope uncurl in her chest.

Fallon was safe at the farm with her mate Avi and the other stallion shifters.

Otto had clearly waited for Sera to leave the farm and followed her, so he knew she was at the safari park and no longer at the farm.

She didn’t want any shifters to be hurt trying to keep her safe, but at least there were tall walls and big security guards on the surface to watch for him while she was underground.

He couldn’t get to her. And that meant she could relax.

And maybe even sleep well for the first time since Sunny had been exiled for being part-tiger and part-human, and the whole nasty mess had snowballed to this point.

But whatever happened…as long as her family was safe, Sera would be happy.

Otto could go fuck himself.

She was not going to be his mate.