Chapter 19
Otto Magnus, jaguar alpha and rightful mate of Serenade Caldwell, crouched near the tall stone walls of the safari park.
Beyond the walls were the animal paddocks, which from what he could tell of the drone footage they’d been taking for the last week, were empty when the safari tours didn’t cart humans around to gawk at them.
He had ten males with him. The best fighters from both prowls, the last ones who were truly loyal to him.
Tonight he was going to end things.
He’d planned to attack Friday night, but when they’d headed to the park and scouted the area after the park was closed, they’d discovered the lions were having a damn big party in their paddock. And only a fool would launch an attack when the entire lion pride was hanging out nearby.
And Otto was no fool.
So they’d left and returned the following night. He didn’t like waiting, but he also didn’t like to fail, and he had no plans to fail in his quest. One way or another, Sera would be his and he would take his rightful place as alpha of the joined prowls, with her by his side.
Or on her knees.
Whatever.
“Ready when you are, Alpha,” Ric murmured beside him.
Otto nodded and looked at his watch. It was nearly eleven p.m., and the security team had passed by a little while ago, and wouldn’t be back around for long enough to allow them to get into the paddock and break into the huge maintenance building.
He was certain that the location of the shifters was underneath the park and the maintenance sheds in each paddock were the way down.
Once they were under the park, they’d find Sera and kill Caesar and any who came against them.
The park shifters might have numbers on their side, but jaguars were not afraid to fight dirty.
With a low growl, Otto moved forward, stealthily avoiding the detection of the security systems that included motion detectors and cameras. When he was close enough, he lifted an EMP and looked at the males with him.
“We have ninety seconds. Use the time wisely.”
He pressed the button and a low, almost imperceptible whine filled the air. A pulse rolled outward like a blast of hot air. The lights on the security cameras and those in the park flickered once, twice, then cut out entirely.
“Go, go!” he hissed. They sprinted to the wall. One of the males tossed a hook up and it caught on the top of the wall. The male scaled the wall and laid a thick blanket over the barbed wire, then leaped down into the paddock. In seconds, they were over the wall and into the dark paddock.
They hurried toward the maintenance shed, but Otto stopped when something in the air changed.
Something was wrong.
Something was…coming for them.
“Move!” he shouted.
But it was too late.
A thunderous bellow echoed across the paddock. From the darkness charged a wall of muscle and antlers—Tank the moose, the park’s unofficial mascot.
They weren’t in one of the empty paddocks; they’d crossed into the norms’ paddock, where the non-shifting animals were kept.
Shit!
A nearby jaguar couldn’t get away in time as Tank gored him, tossing him into the darkness and bellowing his rage. Otto scrambled toward the other wall to get into the park itself, as Tank was standing between them and the maintenance shed.
Another jaguar was lost to Tank’s hooves, bones crushing with a sickening sound and the night filling with screams of pain and then nothing.
The remaining males followed Otto as he reached the gate to exit the paddock. The EMP had knocked out the gate’s electronic lock and he pushed it open, letting out his males, and closing it while Tank raced toward them.
The lights flickered back on and the sound of running feet came from all sides.
The security team was on the way and they were out of time.
Grabbing the nearest male, he tugged him forward, racing toward the center of the park.
Otto was shaking, not from fear but from the burning rage that was seething in his chest. His plan had been thwarted by a damn moose, but he wasn’t going to run like a little bitch with his tail between his legs.
Security team members came toward them and Otto stopped with his males as they left the safari tour trail.
This was his last stand.
“Bring me Sera,” he shouted. “I’ve come to collect my mate.”
* * *
The scent of roasted meat and fresh bread lingered in the air as Caesar leaned back in his chair, one arm stretched over the top of Sera’s seat.
Her hair brushed his fingers, and he absently stroked the silky strands.
She was smiling, but her eyes were heavy with fatigue.
It had been a long evening, but a good one.
They’d hosted a pride dinner Saturday evening in their home for the lions who weren’t scheduled to work.
The house had been packed full and overflowing with laughter, good food, and the kind of camaraderie that came from a group of people who genuinely liked and cared for each other.
After the party the night before, he wanted something a little more casual and the pride always enjoyed having a meal together.
The plates had long since been cleared and most of the pride had left. Only his sons remained at the table, sharing stories of the pride and their family. Jupiter’s and Lucius’s mates had gone to bed, and Caesar knew Sera was about to head to bed herself.
“I can’t remember the last time we just sat and talked,” Amadeus said. “It’s awesome.”
“It’s definitely a little slice of heaven,” Sera said.
Caesar was about to suggest that they call it a night when the overhead lights flickered. Not once, but twice.
And then they went out.
There was a thump and a hum, and the generator kicked in that would power the entire underground grid.
As the lights came back on, Caesar frowned. There were no storms that might knock power out, so what had caused it?
“What happened?” Sera asked.
“I don’t know,” Caesar said.
Caesar’s phone beeped, and so did the others. He read the screen: Alert! Security system is down.
“Shit,” Jupiter said.
They all stood, and Caesar bent and kissed Sera. “Stay down here, baby. I’m going topside.”
“Be careful,” she said, grasping his hand for a moment. “What if it’s Otto?”
“Then I’ll stop him,” he said with a growl.
She nodded, her eyes shining with worry.
He raced from the house with his sons. The lions who’d gone to bed and were part of the security team were hurrying behind them as they made their way to the stairwell and through the employee cafeteria.
They reached the ground level as the lights came back on and the generators clicked off.
“What the hell is happening?” Lucius demanded.
He saw Marcus and Joss and joined them. “It has to be a damn EMP,” Joss said. “Something took out the park’s grid for a minute and a half.”
“Wait, did you hear that?” Marcus asked.
They went silent and then he heard it. A scream. A bellow from Tank the moose.
“Someone’s in the park,” Joss said.
Jupiter joined them with a tablet from the security office and showed them footage of people inside the norms’ paddock and racing toward the gate, which was no longer locked because the system had been offline. “The security teams that were on duty at the time are on the way to the paddocks now.”
“It has to be Otto,” Caesar said with a snarl. “That son of a bitch has broken the final straw.”
“We’ve got your back,” Joss said.
“The security team is assembling and scouring the park,” Jupiter said.
They fanned out and headed toward the paddocks and the safari tour area. Caesar was furious. The male was so unhinged he simply would not stop.
“Bring me Sera,” Otto bellowed, his voice echoing around the park. “I’ve come to collect my mate.”
They found him and eight males just outside the safari park pathway, surrounded on both sides by the security team.
“She’s not yours,” Caesar said.
Otto laughed, a sharp and humorless sound. “We’ll see about that.”
“You can walk away for good and put an end to this,” Caesar said as he moved forward.
Around him the park shifters fell into formation—lions, bears, wolves, elephants, and gorillas—all supporting him and Sera.
The jaguars were vastly outnumbered, but they didn’t even bat an eye at the sheer number of shifters standing against them.
Caesar met Otto’s gaze and saw nothing but madness and obsession. He could see that there would be no reasoning with Otto and he would never back down.
It wasn’t going to be a fight for dominance—it was an all-out war.
“Last chance,” Caesar said, his lion rolling under his skin, ready to fight for Sera.
“Bring her to me, or die screaming at my feet,” Otto said.
Several jaguars shifted swiftly and the park shifters answered in kind—lions and wolves howling and roaring as clothes ripped and animals took the place of the males.
Caesar threw off his shirt and let his lion rise inside him.
His bones cracked and fire licked down his spine as his beast surged forward in a blur of golden fury.
Otto roared in return.
The two alphas collided as chaos erupted around them.
There would be only one survivor.
And no tomorrow for one of them.
Caesar had every intention of spending the rest of his life with Sera, so he was going to end things tonight.
He would be victorious, there was no other choice.