Chapter 19

T hursday night, Alistair and Maggie were looking at the history of the memory, a large leather-bound book he made when he first created the memory, which contained the members' history as well as laws pertaining to their group.

"Elephants don't have a whole lot of rules," Maggie mused as she looked at the page where he'd written out the laws that he'd grown up with in his former memory.

"Not really," he said. "We don't mark our mates and we don't have official mating ceremonies. Casual sex is one thing, but when a male and female come together and declare they're mates, then when they have sex that makes them official mates." He turned the page and showed her where he'd written that Cael and Kelley had soulmates and their information. "So for the rules, I focused on leadership as well as joining and leaving the memory."

Leadership generally passed from the alpha to his eldest male child. When Alistair had created the memory at the park, he wasn't mated and had no offspring, so he'd made a law that if he stepped down from leadership or passed away without an heir, the remaining memory members would vote and the majority vote would become the new alpha.

He and Maggie had talked at length about having a child, because they'd been having sex without protection since the night of her sister's wedding. They were both happy to start a family, but she wanted to be married before a child came into their lives, and so did he.

"So if we have a kid and they can't shift, can they still be alpha?"

"Yep," he said, touching the line in the laws that stated just that. "Some shifter groups won't accept humans as soulmates, or even other shifter types. Our memory isn't like that."

"I'm glad. I like the memory. It's like getting an instant family."

He agreed. "So tomorrow night, we'll have a big cookout in the paddock after the park closes, and then I'll make the official announcement to the memory that you're my soulmate and their new alpha female. I'll ask if anyone objects, which no one will of course because everyone is happy that I found you, and then you'll be the alpha female."

"Not too shabby for a human," she said with a chuckle.

He kissed her. "Not at all. There's really nothing to it. I think I have it easier than other alphas, who've had to deal with usurpers." He was remembering when Joss's brother had tried to kill him and Jeanie and take over the pack. "Elephants aren't predators, so we're not quite as aggressive as the others. Once Indio finds his soulmate, our memory will be complete, unless another elephant wants to join us."

"Like someone from your family's memory?"

"Right."

She looked at the laws again and then closed the book. "I'm a little nervous."

"About what?"

"I don't know, it's all so new and different."

"I know, love, but you'll be amazing. And it's not like you're all on your own; I'll be right there with you. No one will treat you differently, except in situations when your authority is necessary. Other shifters will refer to you as alpha when we're in our shifter-only areas, never around humans of course, but otherwise you're still you, just my beautiful mate."

She leaned into him for a hug and he willingly gave it.

He felt something vibrate and she said, "Oop, my phone." She gave him a quick peck and said, "That could have turned into something really romantic there, sorry."

He groaned with a laugh.

"Hi, Penny," she said as she answered the phone. "I thought you guys weren't getting home until Saturday."

Maggie put the phone on speaker and set it on the coffee table.

"I'm still in Florida. I just had to call you and apologize."

"Okay, I'm listening," Maggie said.

"I'm sorry I was such a bitch to you at the wedding. You and Alistair. I was so stressed about the whole day, and then Seth said that Alistair shoved him for no reason and really got in Brian's face, demanding that we kick Alistair out of the reception. When Brian refused, Seth threatened to have a chat with Brian's boss about his employment. So we've spent the last few days worrying about whether Brian even has a job."

"Oh my gosh, that's awful. I'm sorry," Maggie said. She settled back in Alistair's embrace. "I can't imagine Brian's boss firing him because Seth said so, though."

"Well, he does have sway with the boss. One of Brian's work friends reached out and said that Seth did try to get Brian fired. Can you believe it?"

"Wow. What an ass."

"I know, right? But anyway, Seth ended up getting fired. It turns out that Brian's boss was in the hallway during the wedding and saw everything that happened. Brian called and talked to him a little while ago and he said that he was willing to let things go, but then Seth tried to make trouble and so they decided to fire him. So Brian's boss confirmed that everything you said happened is the truth, and I can't tell you what a bitch I feel like for not trusting you."

Maggie glanced at Alistair. "You were stressed and Seth was causing a scene. I wish you'd trusted me, but I'm not going to hold it against you."

Penny sniffled loudly, then blew her nose. "You're the best sister. I'm so sorry. To you and Alistair. When we get back from the honeymoon, I want to have dinner together so we can all get to know each other."

"I'd love that. We're busy this weekend, but how about next weekend?"

"Perfect. I'll need a vacation from my vacation. It turns out that Brian's the kind of guy who likes to get up and go to the gym at the butt crack of dawn every day, even on our honeymoon!"

"You didn't know that before? You lived with him for a year."

"He never gets up this early at home, but he keeps saying he doesn't want to waste a minute of our vacation, so early to the gym and then he runs me ragged all day doing all the sightseeing stuff."

Maggie laughed. "I'm glad you're having fun, though."

"I am. Okay, I just wanted to reach out because I didn't want you to think for a minute longer that I was mad at you or that I don't want you in my life, because I do very much. I want us to be closer than we are. You're my only sister. I love you."

"I love you too."

"All right, Brian's waving at me like a loon and pointing at his watch. We're doing a sunset dinner cruise. I hope I don't get seasick."

"I'll keep my fingers crossed for you."

They said goodbye and the call ended. Maggie blew out a breath. "Wow."

"So do you think she was mad at you this whole time?"

"Sure seems like it! I didn't even know she was still mad, I just figured she moved on. I'm glad that Brian's boss backed up what we told them."

"Yeah, but she should have sided with you from the beginning. You're family."

Maggie grimaced. "I know. I didn't want to make her feel worse. She called to get that off her chest and make herself feel better by finding out if I was really mad at her or not."

He pulled her close and tipped her face to his. "That was really kind of you. Which is why I know you're going to make an amazing alpha female."

She kissed him, then said, "I feel like I can finally put the whole business with my ex in the past and leave it there. I felt tethered to him in some weird way with Penny and Brian's relationship with him, and the way Penny didn't really support me. Now that he tried to hurt Brian, suddenly they're on my side." She smiled. "I kind of don't care how they got on my side, I'm just glad they're on it now."

"I'm happy you got some closure too."

He was lucky, because he'd never been wounded emotionally the way that Maggie had, but he could still empathize with her. Her family had hurt her maybe even more than that asshole, but she was healing and stronger because of all of it.

The perfect alpha female.

Jasper rolled his neck as he pulled the gate closed to secure the safari tour path. The last tour had finished hours earlier, and the park was closed for the night. It was his job to ensure that the paddocks were empty of the shifters, all the gates locked, and the Jeeps returned to their stalls where they waited for the following day's tours.

There was always the hope that a soulmate for one of the shifters might be on the tour, but that hadn't happened today. And it would never happen for him. He didn't have to wonder where his soulmate was, because he knew exactly where she was: his old pack. He'd walked away and asked her to come, but she'd stayed behind. It burned as much today as it did seven years ago, when he thought she would follow him so they could be together. But he was as alone today as he was when he'd left his pack with nothing but the clothes on his back and a freshly bleeding exile mark on his forearm.

Even now the mark burned, and he felt it somewhere in his subconscious, a constant ringing bell that he couldn't seem to ignore or dull.

He walked slowly down the path, checking each paddock and ensuring all was well. Aside from the norms' paddock, all the others were empty save for the elephants, who were hosting a cookout and holding a ceremony to welcome their new alpha female.

He stopped in front of the gate to the memory's paddock. In the distance, he could see light from the firepit and hear the echo of voices.

Jealousy from his wolf rose inside him, and he didn't try to stifle it. It was one of those monsters that lay in the dark with him, when he didn't work himself to the point of exhaustion so he wouldn't constantly think of her. He should have come to the park with his soulmate so they could start a life together, not alone with nothing and no one. The jealousy twined with bitterness, coating his tongue like too-sweet candy.

The walkie on his belt chirped, interrupting his downward spiral, and he lifted it off the leather strap.

"Jasper."

"It's Amadeus. There's someone at the front gate for you."

"What? For me?"

He turned from the elephant's paddock and walked down the path heading toward the front gate.

"Yep." The lion's voice lowered considerably. "A female."

"For me ?" he repeated, his footsteps quickening.

"Yeah."

"I'm on the way."

He kicked his pace up to a jog, his mind spinning. Everyone he knew was in the park.

Well, except for his former pack members. Those people he knew but they didn't know him anymore. He'd chosen exile instead of facing the demons and the price he would have been required to pay. No one from that pack would contact him. Not without accepting a severe punishment from the alpha.

That dickhead.

As he reached the gate, he saw Amadeus, Jupiter, who was the head of security, and Lucius, another lion, standing on the park's side of the large wrought iron entry gates that were now closed.

On the other side was a person standing in the shadows.

His wolf pranced in his mind.

The figure stepped up to the gate, hands clasping the iron bars.

As he moved closer, he caught the hint of cinnamon and a memory he didn't want to experience surged back into his brain, of a moonless night and a sky full of stars, and the broken promise that made him feel like half of his bones had been replaced with lead, weighing him down and dulling his senses.

Then he heard a voice that he never thought he'd hear again, and he knew that the eyes he couldn't see in the dark would be the most incredible shade of violet.

"Jasper? I need your help."