Chapter 20
The moment Caesar’s paws hit the pavement, he lunged. In a bone-jarring clash of teeth and claws, a lion and a jaguar met. Otto’s roars echoed across the park, full of hate and fury. Caesar answered with a bellowing roar that shook the ground beneath them.
Fur flew. Blood splattered. The world was nothing but claws and fangs.
And rage.
Otto twisted, his sleek form agile and quick.
He lashed out with razor-sharp claws and caught Caesar in the side, slicing through his fur and skin.
Pain flashed through him, but he didn’t stop the fight.
He lunged again and caught Otto in the shoulder, fangs slicing deep and scraping bone.
The bastard rolled and kicked Caesar off.
Around him, the battle was raging.
Eight jaguars and a multitude of park shifters were fighting, some human and some in their shifts. A wolf snarled as it collided with a jaguar, teeth snapping. One of the lions took down a jaguar, slamming him full-body into the pavement with a sickening thud.
But Caesar didn’t focus on anything or anyone but Otto.
He knew the park shifters had his back and could handle themselves.
This wasn’t a battle for dominance or pride, it was a war, and one that Caesar intended to win.
Otto came at him, slinking low with a snarl, claws gleaming in the streetlamps that illuminated the grisly battle.
As Otto spun on him, Caesar pivoted to let him pass and then sank his claws into his flank and pulled him off his feet.
Otto turned with a howl and they clashed again, claws digging into flesh, sharp teeth snapping.
Caesar clamped his jaws around Otto’s neck and tossed him to the side like a doll.
He hit the ground with a smack and rose to his paws, shaking his head and swaying slightly.
He padded forward and Caesar tensed as they circled each other.
They were both bleeding, both panting from the fight.
His body was aching, his side bleeding profusely from Otto’s claws, but he wasn’t going to stop. There was too much at stake.
Somewhere to the side, a jaguar’s pain-filled howl was cut off, and a bear roared in victory. When Otto lunged, Caesar met him with a brutal swipe of his massive paw, sending him skidding to the side, claws trying to get purchase on the pavement.
Otto was fast, but Caesar was bigger and stronger. And he was fueled by a greater purpose—setting Sera free.
He roared, his lion claiming her to the heavens.
She was his, damn it, and worth every drop of blood that poured from his wounds.
Otto slipped past Caesar’s claws and went for his leg, claws curling into him.
Caesar roared in agony but didn’t give up.
With a twist of his body, he lunged and clamped his jaws around Otto’s shoulder, crunching into his bones with a snap.
Otto shrieked, thrashing to get free, but Caesar dragged him down, teeth tearing through muscle as they crashed to the ground.
Otto kicked upward, his claws catching Caesar in the belly and ripping flesh, drawing blood.
His grip loosened on Otto’s shoulder and the male pulled free, but Caesar pivoted and knocked him back down again.
Otto hit the ground, his head banging on the pavement. He staggered upright again, still snarling.
Caesar, bleeding from his semi-useless back leg and the deep gashes in his side and belly, rose onto his paws and let out a furious roar, his ears pinning to his head and his shoulders rolling forward as he faced off against the male who would take everything from him.
Otto sank down onto his paws, his eyes glowing bright amber, and then he launched forward with a powerful cry, teeth bared and claws extended.
Caesar tilted forward and braced for the impact, the male hitting him like a truck.
But Caesar didn’t let himself get knocked off his feet; he grabbed Otto’s neck like a wayward cub and rose onto his good back leg, lifting Otto into the air.
He slammed him down to the pavement with as much force as he could muster.
Otto thrashed and clawed, but Caesar lifted his head and opened his jaws wide, clamping down on the male’s throat. Claws raked Caesar’s side, catching on his ribs, and blood poured from deep wounds.
But he didn’t let go.
He bit hard, growling into Otto’s neck.
Otto’s movements slowed. Then stopped.
Caesar held tight, his body bowed over the male’s as the battle sounds began to die down around him. There was no heartbeat, no breath sounds.
Otto was dead.
He disengaged his jaws from his neck and moved back, staring at the lifeless body on the pavement.
He looked around for the first time since the battle had started. Many of the park shifters had turned into their animals but there were some who were still human, including Jupiter, who was bleeding and bruised, holding a still-human jaguar by his torn shirt and threatening him.
Jupiter met Caesar’s gaze and nodded.
The male held up his hands in defeat, and so did another jaguar who was human.
Caesar padded around the area, checking the jaguars who had shifted and were all dead, and the park shifters, who were bloody but triumphant. There were wounded among the park shifters, but no one had died.
“I surrender,” the jaguar Jupiter held said. “Please don’t kill me.”
“Shut up,” Jupiter said.
Adrenaline still pumping through his body and his leg only half-working, Caesar let go of his shift to help heal his body. He hadn’t been in his lion form long, but pushing himself to return to human was a surefire way to heal fast and he needed it.
His vision went wonky and he nearly fell over when he returned to human, and it hurt a hell of a lot when his wounds healed with the shift, but he rose to his feet and called out a sound of triumph from his lion, the primal sound spilling from his human throat.
Around him, the park shifters added their voices and the sound echoed in the night.
“Are you okay?” he asked Jupiter.
“I’ll heal,” he said.
Caesar called for Lucius and Amadeus, and they responded they’d be fine once they shifted. He rubbed his chest, the aching worry subsiding now that he knew his family was safe.
His clothes were torn from his shift, but he knew there was a stash of clothing in the cafeteria for emergencies, so he hurried inside and brought them out for whoever needed them.
After donning sweatpants, he joined Jupiter and Amadeus with the two human jaguars, the other park alphas coming to them.
“We didn’t lose anyone, right?” Alistair asked. “I don’t know who came out to help, but I assume it was pretty much all the males in the park.”
“We didn’t lose a soul,” Marcus said with a growl. “But those damn jaguars sure as hell tried. Two fuckers came at me and Seneca with knives as we were shifting to fight. Seneca took a blade to the side, and I got a cut on my shoulder. They fought dirty.”
“They definitely came prepared to attack,” Atticus said, using a torn shirt to wipe blood from his side from a wound that had healed when he turned from gorilla back to human. “We’ve battled some dangerous males before, but these jaguars were a whole different level.”
“Agreed,” Joss said. He looked at the two jaguars and snarled. “What should we do with them?”
“Let’s put them in the media center for now,” Caesar said. “Then we’ll figure it out. I’m not interested in killing people who aren’t a danger to us right now, but…” He let the sentence hang in the air unfinished.
The other alphas nodded.
A group of males escorted the jaguars to the media center, where they were restrained and kept under guard. “Let’s tell the females and those who stayed underground that the threat is over and our people are safe,” Alistair said. “Then we can meet topside and decide the next steps.”
Caesar nodded, anxious to get to Sera and tell her that Otto was dead.
“We know what we’re doing with the bodies,” Caesar said.
The park shifters had a protocol for dealing with the enemies of their people, which involved a pit and a special accelerant designed to turn shifter bodies to ash far faster than normal and ensure the remains couldn’t be examined by humans.
Someone touched Caesar’s arm, and it was Hyde, one of the bears. “We’ll handle it. Anyone with a soulmate should go see them right away so they know they’re safe. Those of us who are unmated can handle digging the pit and hauling the bodies.”
“Thanks, Hyde,” Caesar said. Before anyone moved, he added, “Thank you all for coming to my aid. Thank you for helping me set Sera free.”
“That’s what we do for our people,” Joss said. “A threat against one of us is a threat against us all.”
A murmur of agreement rose up from the crowd, and Caesar’s heart swelled. He was so damn thankful for the shifters who called the safari park home.
Swallowing past the lump in his throat, he headed into the employee cafeteria with the others to make his way down to Sera.
He found her pacing in the living area, eyes red from crying. The moment their eyes met, she ran to him and he drew her close. No words were needed right then. She clung to him like she was never going to let go, and he held her just as fiercely.
Otto was gone.
And Sera was finally free.