Chapter 15

A listair was not a nervous male by any stretch, but he was about to do something that could make or break his relationship with Maggie. He could feel that she loved him, that he'd earned her trust and her heart. But it was still so very new and fragile, the sort of love that could be irreparably damaged if not handled right.

He'd gotten up early and spent an hour in a group chat with the other alphas, discussing the situation with his soulmate. Now that they'd shared I-love-yous, he could show her his shift. But there was a caveat: if she freaked out, she wouldn't be allowed to leave the park. Since the secret of their shift was so vitally important for all their safety, everyone had to know for certain that she could be trusted with such a serious thing.

Fortunately, two of the alphas had human soulmates and understood the difficulty of treading this path: Joss with Jeanie, and Atticus with Lori.

I think you have two options for revealing your nature, Atticus texted.

Which are? Alistair replied.

You either strip and shift in front of her, or you have one of your people bring her to the paddock after you've shifted and explain that it's you.

Alistair stared at the screen. He knew that Jenni, one of the lions, had been in her shift when her human soulmate, Devlin, was brought to the paddock. He'd recognized what she was even though he hadn't believed it until he was talked through it by another shifter.

Already being in your shift might make her feel like she's being lied to, Marcus the bear alpha texted. I think showing her how you shift is the best option.

I agree , Atticus texted. She may not make the connection if she can't see you change forms .

Joss the wolf alpha texted, When do you want to do this?

On Saturdays, the VIP tours started at eleven. It was just now passing seven a.m. He'd planned to sleep in and spend the day in bed with his sweetheart, but his elephant hadn't let him rest.

As soon as possible, Alistair answered. I'll gather my memory and have them nearby to talk to her while I'm stuck in my shift.

Would you like Jeanie or Lori there? Joss texted. You don't have any full human soulmates in your memory since Novi is half-polar bear.

I know that any of the human soulmates would love to help , Caesar the alpha lion texted. Let us know if you need anything.

Will do . Once Maggie's up, I'll have the memory meet me in the paddock, and I'll reach out to some others if I need the extra hands. Thanks so much, everyone.

Good luck, Marcus texted.

Keep us posted, Joss texted.

Atticus and Caesar both wished him luck.

He'd never had to reveal his shifting nature to anyone before. He'd grown up in a memory with other elephants and come to the park with other shifters, all of them knowing what the secret was. There was a lot riding on Maggie's response to his shift. If she panicked, if she tried to run away, then he'd have to keep her in the park until she could be trusted with the secret.

He knew it was a big ask of any human, to keep a secret so large and important from everyone outside the park including their family. But it was necessary. The secret was more important than anything.

He texted Indio, Cael, and Kelley and asked if they and their mates were available in the next hour to meet him at the paddock so he could share his shift with Maggie.

Rhapsody said she wants to come , Kelley responded. She's going to reach out to Luna and see if she's available to watch the baby for a bit.

Luna had come to the park a few months earlier with her older sister, Lucy. They were unique albino doe shifters.

Perfect, Alistair texted. Does anyone think I should reach out to any of the other human soulmates? Like Jeanie or Lori, or maybe Lexy?

Rhapsody and Novi want to get to know her, they've only met her one time , Cael texted. Novi can't shift, so she feels human most of the time anyway. You could always introduce Maggie to the other human soulmates later, when she's not overwhelmed with your shift.

Good point, thanks. I'll see you in the paddock around eight.

We'll be there with bells on , Indio texted.

Alistair put the phone down and settled back on the couch with a sigh. He heard Maggie stirring and got up, returning to the bed and curling around her warm body. It was heaven to hold her in his arms. After forty years of waiting for her, he finally had her. He was terrified of screwing things up and ruining what they had, but he knew that there was a part of her that believed he was still keeping things from her and he didn't want to keep that secret any longer than necessary.

He trusted her with his life and his biggest secret.

He just hoped she trusted him too.

Alistair held Maggie's hand as they walked through the park an hour later. While it had been tempting to sex her up in the shower after she'd woken, he opted to wait until later. He was too keyed up, his elephant too anxious to shift, to focus on anything but getting her to the paddock.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

They passed by the security office and hung a right toward the paddocks. He hadn't told her where they were going, only that he wanted to show her something.

"Yeah, why?"

"You just seem preoccupied."

"I am, I guess," he said. "I just…let me tell you everything when we get where we're going."

"Oh-kay," she said. "Where are we going, anyway? To feed the animals? I'm not really dressed for that."

"You look perfect," he promised. And she did, in curve-hugging jeans and a short-sleeved top that revealed just the right amount of cleavage to drive him wild.

"You're so sweet," she said.

They reached the elephant paddock a few minutes later. He squatted down and moved the decorative shrubs aside to reveal a keypad. Entering in the code, he unlocked the gate, which clicked loudly.

Standing, he pushed the gate open. "After you, sweetheart."

She hummed and walked inside. He followed and closed the gate.

"What lives here?" she asked. "Wait, there's nothing in here."

She scanned the grassy paddock, with the tall trees and small pond, plus the maintenance shed that had a door in the floor, which led to their private living quarters underground.

"It's the elephant paddock."

"There aren't any elephants in here."

"I know, sweetheart. Come on," he said. He took her hand and they headed toward the maintenance shed.

"Well, what happened to them? I didn't dream that there were elephants, right?"

"No, not at all."

How the hell was he supposed to start this conversation? He should have asked Joss how he brought it up to Jeanie, gotten some tips.

Shaking off the nerves, because he had to do this, he cleared his throat. "I wanted to show you something, and it's very important. It's a secret, and I have to know that I can trust you with this."

"Of course you can trust me with a secret."

He stopped as they neared the maintenance shed. He could hear the memory inside, whispering to each other as they waited for him to call them out.

He stared down at her, memorizing her face. She was so trusting of him, so sweet and such a special female. His heart swelled as he looked at her.

"There aren't any elephants in the paddock, Maggie, because the elephants aren't real."

She frowned. "You mean they're like animatronics or something?"

"No." He shook his head. He could not screw this up. "The elephants aren't natural, wild elephants, they're shifters. People who turn into elephants."

Her frown deepened. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about shifters. I know it's not a term you're familiar with, but it's what we call ourselves. I was born an elephant shifter and I was able to change forms when I was a teenager. The males in our memory—Cael, Indio, and Kelley—are not only my nephews but are also elephant shifters too. And there are more shifters than elephants. Novi is half-polar bear but she can't change forms, and Rhapsody is a black panther." He knew he was rambling, but he was aware that her whole demeanor was changing. She'd been open and curious and now she looked wary.

She leaned away a little. "You're freaking me out. You need to knock it off."

"I'm not trying to freak you out, Maggie. I'm telling you the truth. I can change into an elephant."

She jerked her hand out of his grasp and folded her arms with a huff. "What the hell are you up to?"

"What?"

"Is this some kind of game? You get me to fall for you and now you're trying to see how far you can push things and I'll still believe you? This is so ridiculous! I can't think of anything stupider than people turning into animals!" She threw up her hands and turned with an angry snort.

He put his hand on her shoulder to stop her. "Maggie, wait, please. I'm telling the truth."

She spun and knocked his hand away, her eyes flashing. "Oh yeah? Well, go ahead, big talker. Show me that you're an elephant. Because I think you're full of shit and I want you to take me home. Now."

He exhaled slowly and untucked his shirt.

"What are you doing?" she demanded.

"I'm doing what you asked. I'm going to turn into my elephant."

Her nostrils flared as her upper lip curled in a defiant smirk. "Fine. I'm looking forward to it."

He dropped the shirt on the grass and bent to untie his boots. "There's just two things that I need you to know."

"Besides this ridiculousness?"

He glanced at her, mildly amused by her defiance. He knew she was protecting herself because she felt uncomfortable, and he hated having to put her through it.

"Yes. First, you can't tell anyone about this. Not your parents or your sister, or anyone else. The secret of our people has to remain with only our people. It's too dangerous for us if it were to get out to the general public."

Her eyes narrowed, but she didn't say anything, only nodded.

"And second, don't panic. I'm trusting you with this secret, and once I shift, I won't be human again for a few hours. If you panic, my people are going to keep you here and you won't be allowed to leave. I need to know—all of us need to know—that you accept the truth of shifters and promise not to tell anyone."

She gave him a condescending smile. "Fine." Putting her hand over her heart, she said, "I promise not to tell anyone that you can turn into a big old elephant, okay? I'll keep it locked up." She mimed locking her lips and tossing a key over her shoulder.

He chuckled and shook his head. "You're going to be tripping all over yourself apologizing in a minute, trust me."

He called over his shoulder for the others to join them. He took off his boots and undid the button of his jeans.

"Cover the eyes of your impressionable females," he said.

Rhapsody and Novi turned their backs.

"Damn it, I wish I had a soulmate, this sucks out loud," Indio groused.

"You'll find her when the time is right," Alistair promised.

"I hope I'm younger than you, no offense."

He grimaced, then turned his attention back to his mate. She looked bewildered now, her gaze pinging between the five that he'd called out and himself.

"It'll be okay, sweetheart, I promise," he said. Then he stripped fully and let himself go into his shift. His elephant was so happy to get to shift in front of Maggie that it took almost no time for his body to change and reform into an enormous elephant. He shook his head out and stamped his feet a little to shake off the nerves that cascaded through him.

Maggie's gaze slipped up up up, and then the color leeched from her face and her eyes rolled back in her head.

Shit!